A Guide To Online Dating

CC image courtesy of MattysFlicks on Flickr

I hate to spout the whole "new year, new you" cliche, but one good thing about the impending New Year is the chance to start afresh and wipe the slate clean. And if the past year for you has been marred by a bad breakup or heartbreak, this sentiment can be even more poignant.

With that in mind, online dating is the most logical solution for those looking to kick-start their love life. Because honestly, what do you have to lose?


How To Win A Break Up

I’ve never been a massive fan of social media and find excessive use unhealthy, seeing those who engage in social networking so heavily as sheep who will quickly move onto the next fad once they tire of the current one.

You know the types, who can no longer live in the moment without simultaneously updating their Facebook/Twitter/Instagram pages.

CC image courtesy of Alex Bellink on Flickr

However, when you’re dealing with someone who shattered your heart or treated you like cr*p, as petty as it is, social media can be a handy tool to provide visual evidence of everything your ex is missing out on. Especially if your ex is the type who still likes to play mind games, who will throw breadcrumbs your way with random contact but still doesn’t know what they want.

No longer entertaining that rubbish, whilst showing off the better, happier you can prove a point way more effectively than words or conversations ever could.

Are Expensive Cosmetics Ruining Your Skin?

Honey is widely recognised as a natural remedy for acne
CC image courtesy of Kaytee Riek on Flickr

Pimples. The bane of my life. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had to deal with acne breakouts, varying in severity. From the initial breakout, to the marks that stay on your skin for weeks after, it’s had me wishing that since my teen years are long since behind me, my teenage skin would be part of the past too.

With such conflicting advice out there, I do wonder if the use of products is more of a hindrance than a help, and if perhaps natural remedies would be best to tackle problematic skin, for both your face and your purse.

So I’ve decided to compare shop bought skin treatments, that claim to be good for spot-prone skin, to natural products.

Is Cloudy Tap Water Safe To Drink?

The other day, I came home in the early evening to find the water coming out of the tap looked like this: (i.e. cloudy)


Why Can't Jake Gyllenhaal Keep A Woman?

The impossibly handsome Jake Gyllenhaal
CC image courtesy of Nathan Congleton on Flickr

Director Antoine Fuqua commented that the intense training Jake Gyllenhaal undertook for his latest role in boxing drama Southpaw, which left little time for a personal life, may have contributed the breakdown of his relationship with 25-year-old American model Alyssa Miller

Let’s be honest now, an actor like Jake Gyllenhaal, whose majority of movie roles are Oscar bait, was never going to take someone seriously who has @LuvAlyssaMiller as their Twitter/Instagram handle…model or not.

How To Deal With Depression When Nothing Else Works

So you’ve tried antidepressants. You’ve tried "talking" therapy. They’re not working, or they’re hit and miss. The things that are contributing to your depression aren’t improving either, and in order to have the energy to fix them you need to conquer your depression first.

Sound familiar?

If so, I’m hoping that a few of my personal tips (having dealt with similar issues) can be of help.

Are You Treated Better When You Put More Effort Into Your Appearance?

So, it took slyly being followed around the supermarket by a security guard to confirm that: 1) perhaps I was looking a little scruffy today and 2) appearances really do matter.

Like anyone, I have my rough-looking days (usually when all I’m doing is running errands locally), and days where I don’t look as shabby. For example, some days I look like this:

Exhibit A: Scary/Rough

And on other days I look like this:

Exhibit B

Now I’m not trying to imply that I’m a beauty queen or anything, but I find it funny the way I’m treated differently when I look more presentable and like the person in the second picture.

Shallow much?

What The Hell Happened To Zayn Malik?

I’ve never been much of a fan of One Direction being, ya’know, over the age of 14, as well as always slightly resenting the fact that these pretty boys and their mediocre music would clean up at award ceremonies, in favour of actually critically acclaimed artists, due to popular vote courtesy of their obsessive teen-girl fanbase.

As the saying goes don’t hate the playa, hate the game.

In fairness to the band, they always come across as nice, down-to-earth lads in interviews, who treat their fans well. It must be hard to take their ridiculously loyal and obsessed fans seriously (it’s actually hilarious when you see some of their protective fans’ comments online)…though I guess not so hard if collectively, these fans are making you a millionaire.

But at least they used to look pretty smart/swagged out.


One Direction: the skinniest legs in show business
CC image courtesy of El Hormiguero on Flickr

Breaking Up Like Big Sean

Ahh the rainbow of emotions one can feel after a break up, especially if you're Big Sean (if his new song is anything to go by).

Please see the Vine I created especially:

Let me explain. As the official video for "I Don't F*** With You" drops, let’s reflect on how Big Sean has gone all Tay Swift, slamming an ex through song form. Or perhaps he’s been taking tips off recent collaborator Calvin Harris on how to prolong breakup bitterness.

Calvin Harris Bitches About Rita Ora (Again)

Crikey! It seems that not only is Rita Ora leaving a trail of broken hearts behind her, but also associated health problems!

It’s been reported that Calvin Harris had to bow out of this year’s EMA awards in Glasgow due to "heart problems". A couple of days later an interview with the superstar DJ surfaces, with some not-so-flattering comments about his ex-girlfriend.

Now, I’m not saying the two are inextricably linked, but this girl does seem to leave her exes worse for wear. Just look at poor Rob Kardashian.

How To Replace Your Eyelash Curlers

Often when you buy eyelash curlers, they come with spare rubber inserts once the rubber part on the clamp has worn-out. I’m talking about your standard generic eyelash curlers, which have always done the job for me.

Sometimes the replacement rubber inserts are included in the packet. But recently, I bought a new pair of eyelash curlers and I couldn’t find the spare inserts. I then realised they were clipped onto the eyelash curlers:

WhatsApp Update Reveals If Message Has Been Read

Oh for god’s sake, why is social media so keen to stalk out its users?? Now I have to be kind and reply asap and I no longer have the privacy of ignoring someone.

I blame Facebook, which bought out and took over the app earlier this year. Since we all know how Facebook likes to infringe on its users' privacy, and encourages us to do the same when it rolls out a new feature, this is hardly surprising.

Sure, WhatsApp has always had its "last seen" feature, but this added blue tick nonsense just confirms to needy people that you’re ignoring them. I swear they’re purposely trying to cause problems in people’s friendships/relationships. Sh*t stirring much?

Juicing vs. Blending vs. Nutribullet

No-one can debate the health benefits of incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet.
Personally, if I go a few days without eating any fruit or veg I can definitely see the effect is has on my skin and health, so the health and nutritional benefits from our five-a-day are hard to dispute.

As well as vitamins and minerals, fruit is also a good source of fibre (providing the fruit is ripe) which is where it gets a bit complicated. But understanding the difference between soluble and insoluble fibre (more detail about that later) is crucial when deciding which fruits and veggies to consume, especially if you decide to vary it up by blitzing up your fruits and veggies.

With our busy lifestyles, it’s hard to prepare and eat fruits and veggies all the time. Plus, certain fruits are high in acid and sugars, which is a pain if you have sensitive teeth. Not to mention, eating the same bits of fruit and veg everyday can be boring and uninspiring.

As such, juicing and blending has become popular – you’re not only able to mix up a bunch of fruits or vegetables to give you variation, but they can be consumed quickly and on the go too. All the prep is done beforehand, so no peeling or chopping is required if you’re consuming a piece of fruit or veg that’s quite messy.

A Notice to Sky Customers: Read the Fine Print

I advise this since I got a letter from Sky today informing me of a price hike on their line rental and call tariffs. I get notified this in my second month of being a customer. When I looked up online after to see if this is legal, I found this from the official Sky website:


Sky's contract clause, justifying price increases

"Under your 12 month Sky contract you are entitled to protection from any price increases in the first 60 days of your subscription. During the first 12 months of your contract you are also protected from price increases to your Sky package that are greater than 10%."

Ahh that explains being hit with the price increase letter two months into being a customer. Great marketing/sales technique guys. Not underhanded at all.

Ever Had Trouble With Childproof Caps?

Now, I’ve never had trouble with those childproof "push down and turn" caps you find on things like medicine bottles, household products etc.

Until today.

I buy a bottle of Dr Magic Double Action Foam Unblocker for my kitchen sink (which didn’t do much by the way, try the Mr. Muscle one instead). No matter how much I try to "push down and turn", the damn thing won’t open!

Either these childproof caps are getting tougher to open or my ability to open things is declining with age. 'Coz trust me, they’re not just childproof any more, they’re friggin' army proof!

Arctic Monkeys at Earls Court (26/10/13)

I can’t be the only one who looks up clips online, of a live performance that I was actually present at, for nostalgic purposes.

It’s been exactly one year since I attended the Arctic Monkeys show at Earls Court, so I feel a belated post about the show is justified.

In a nutshell? An enjoyable but forgettable night. The only memorable part of the night for me was when “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High” played (well that, and when the show temporarily stopped due to a few technical hitches):

That slow burn intro is just perfect… the dramatic spaghetti western/surf rock-esque electric guitar riff is like something from a Tarantino movie.

My Top 5 Bart Baker Parodies

I don’t know why I find these crude, tasteless and generally messed-up Bart Baker (a.k.a. the “King of Sting”) parodies so damn funny, but I do.

Maybe it’s the clever lyrics that draw on pop culture, which also manage to incorporate that particular celeb’s latest antics to have hit the headlines into the song. Or maybe it’s because a lot of work goes into mimicking the original song/video, and you have to admire the consistency.

Titanic ***ALTERNATE ENDING***

You may be wondering why it's only three years after this video was originally posted on YouTube, which is a GENUINE alternate ending of Titanic, that it's gone viral in the past few days.

I reckon this resurgence online is because myself and many others caught the film on UK TV this past week. I noticed it was on not just once, but twice (the first viewing must have gotten good ratings). I haven’t seen the film in ages so it was good viewing, and people must have looked the movie up online after, much like I did, to find things such as a "behind-the-scenes" featurette etc... and found themselves here.

Anyway, here it is in all its cheesy glory, awkward dialogue and all. You can see why the filmmaker’s decided not to go with it in the end, because it almost feels like a spoof. The only thing funnier than this alternate ending of Titanic is the YouTube comments of the video.

"This ending really sucks, lady!" :D

The Men with Many Wives

"I don’t really support brothers who have this mentality like ‘No, she’s got to be pure, chaste, never been touched, she’s never seen daylight etc… and then he’s been around the block and you ‘fink well, c’mon, bruv."

Despite me finding Hasan, featured in the Channel 4 documentary The Men with Many Wives, and his polyamourous way of life particularly abhorrent, I must say I liked him just a little bit more after that comment. Why? Because it sums up hypocritical Muslim attitudes in a nutshell.

As someone who comes from a Muslim culture, perhaps I’m a little biased having had to deal with illogical, hypocritical parents, who like to spout religious crap when their actions are morally opposed. But hey, it’s ok to be a crap parent as long as you’re praying five times a day, right?

So, as much as I’d like to be all "live and let live", you can understand why it riles me up when people use a medieval text (that has little relevance to modern Western society) to justify their morally ambiguous behaviour.

The Themes of Don Jon

A lot of people may be put off this film because of the subject matter – a film about a guy who is addicted to pornography. Not exactly a subject that will appeal to the masses. However, the film does cleverly explore a lot of themes that people may be able to relate to.

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t go watching this movie with your parents and the scenes with Joseph Gordon-Levitt cracking one off in such a concentrated and sinister fashion, followed by a Kleenax slam-dunk into the trash, can be a little hard to stomach.

But Gordon-Levitt, playing Jon (a modern day Don Juan), has enough charisma as an actor to pull it off. And kudos to him for his directorial and screenwriting efforts, as the film was also aided by a clever script, sharp visuals and editing to keep you engaged.

Despite the subject matter, the film handles the sexual content in a non-gratuitous manner and is always relevant to the story, as well as subtly making several points for you to consider and think about.

If you’re simply looking for a couple hours of entertainment and nothing too thought provoking, the film is still entertaining enough for you to enjoy. But there are several themes that aid the plot of the story that feel relevant to modern times, and that to me is the mark of a good, engaging film and exactly what I look for when deciding what movie to watch.

Specifically, the main theme running throughout the film is just how much the media influences your perspective on many things, including sex and romance, and how this affects men and women differently.