Sunday 22 April 2018

Superstar DJ Tim Bergling aka Avicii Has Died

I tend to not comment on high-profile celebrity deaths, mostly because I feel like certain things are too sacred for the fickle online world of social media. Plus, I find outpourings of grief from strangers a little disingenuous.

Lately as well, there have been so many random celebrity deaths, often in bizarre circumstances or due to drug or alcohol abuse, that I guess you sort of become desensitised, as sad and heartless as that sounds.

However, when news broke that superstar EDM DJ Tim Bergling, or Avicii if going by his stage name, had passed away I was so shocked I actually thought it was a hoax. When I found out it wasn’t, I couldn’t help but share the news on social media and text my friends about it.

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I’m not sure why I’m so affected by the news. I mean there’s the obvious reason in that 28 seems far too young to die. A cause of death hasn’t yet been confirmed and while there have been vague hints of past issues with alcohol, this is speculation. Given that drugs and the dance/rave culture go pretty much hand in hand, it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that drugs were also at play but again, who knows?

Sunday 8 April 2018

Family Problems

People wonder why shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians are so successful, but whilst the girls’ glam fashion choices has a lot do with it, if you too have a love-hate relationship with your siblings then you can definitely relate to their family dynamic, not to mention the endless drama that seems to follow the family around like a dark cloud.

Off topic, but as I’ve mentioned before I’ve always been quite intuitive when it comes to reading people or judging certain situations or interactions accurately. It’s probably why I struggle to maintain romantic, platonic and familial relationships – I can pick-up on people’s less-than-perfect traits and once I do, that person’s personality flaw will grate on me.

I’ll try to ignore it, cut people some slack and rise above but this becomes exhausting and eventually I start talking or hanging out with people less. They then pick up on this shift and, becoming defensive, become distant as well. As I find it childish and extreme to go from being close to ignoring each other forever, I will still check-in with folks from time-to-time but the relationship is never really the same.

So as someone who follows showbiz news because it appeals to my analytical side, (I should get a life, I know) it’s why I wasn’t surprised that Channing and Jenna Tatum announced their separation – despite being drop dead gorgeous, I always got a vibe that Channing just wasn’t that into her.

I got the same vibe off Queen Letizia and her husband King Felipe of Spain. I find Queen Letizia effortlessly chic and very put together, and I’m sure I’m not the only one, male or female, who admires her style. But her husband seems quite aloof and not very affectionate with her.

However, being a royal (and a King no less) I put the reserved behaviour between the two down to etiquette. If you look at photos from early-on in their marriage though, King Felipe was a lot more touchy-feely with a pre-nose job Queen Letizia.

Queen Letizia hit the headlines recently however, when video footage surfaced of rather frosty behaviour between her and her mother-in-law Queen Sofia:

"Queen SofĂ­a and Queen Letizia Face Off, and Spain Is Aghast" - NY Times, April 5th, 2018 

It seems even royals have trouble with their in-laws from time to time. King Felipe eventually had to step-in to defuse the situation.

Sunday 1 April 2018

Self Improvement vs. Accepting Yourself

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Image credit: mcredifine
My life has been randomly hectic for the past couple of years and unfortunately, blogging took a backseat. I also didn’t bother to renew this site's custom domain registration, which meant my search visibility took a battering and since I was no longer getting the consistent traffic that I was used to, it was even more of a reason to not be as active on here.

I find my desire for blogging returning however, as I forgot just how therapeutic it can be. As someone who is prone to bouts of situational depression, if there’s an outlet that can bring you any kind of relief, it’s well worth continuing with.

It also helps to clear and organise my thoughts, and I’m finding myself rambling less to poor folks in my everyday life since I’ve gotten back into writing. I know a lot of people can relate to things I write about as well, which is why I originally set up this blog.
I guess the purpose of this post is that I find myself reflecting on my current circumstances, which make me feel like I’m exactly where I was 3-4 years ago, despite making numerous changes in my life.

I think as adults, especially if you have a pattern of struggling to maintain relationships, jobs or whatever, it's important to be self-aware so you can look at areas about yourself that perhaps need improving. The goal isn’t to be too self-critical, but more so you can live your best life.

Sunday 18 March 2018

Why Modern Friendships Aren't Sustainable

I wrote an article a while back about Sex and the City and how we can draw inspiration from the female friendships featured in the show as something to aspire to, as opposed to the shallower aspects such as the fierce fashion choices, fabulous apartments and casual relationships.

However, the cast of the infamous show hit the headlines recently, mainly because of the way Kim Cattrall publicly lashed out at co-star Sarah Jessica Parker on social media:

Tensions in the workplace happen all the time, so it’s unreasonable to expect a TV show or film set to be any different. But it was still sad to see confirmation that when it came to the close-knit friendships portrayed in the show, life certainly didn't imitate art.

Interestingly, the stars of another one of my favourite female-led shows Charmed also hit the headlines not too long ago for similar reasons, when Rose McGowan (who has very vocally spoken out against sexism and sexual harassment in Hollywood) lashed out at former co-star Alyssa Milano, again on social media, for supporting the wife of Harvey Weinstein (who is now facing numerous allegations of assault and harassment).