Archive for » August, 2012 «

Been there, done that?

28
Aug 2012

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Heard that expression before? – Of course you have, it’s a massive cliché, and one that carries a lot of greatness. Some of that greatness is in the fact that everyone has done something. 

I refer here to absolutely anything - from screening calls, to burning toast and finding out there’s no more bread. 8O

We can all be a part of that phrase. Or at least that thought when someone brings up the thing you’ve done before.

Sharing our opinions on things we know about, to others, offers them a sense of security.

You know, like when someone has money woes and you say, “I know exactly how you feel“. Or, someone hates their job and you both partake in a meaningless conversation about just how crappy bosses can be – to show you actually know what it’s like.

There’s always that warm feeling you get when you Google a query, and someone’s already asked the same thing. You complain about the state of telephone customer services because of impossible language or dialect barriers, and someone else agrees. It’s a beautiful thing.

I feel like it’s kind of why we do anything. Such as going to the cinema with the big screens and the enhanced SFX (as if you weren’t familiar with a cinema) instead of waiting for the DVD release. Or read reviews about other people’s experiences; we care to share.

Now, this isn’t to say that we aren’t individual enough to discover great things without help, it only means that we’re, well, human. ;-)

Category: A Thought...  Tags: Dreama, Life Lessons, mantra  

The party’s over, so who’s doing the washing up?

17
Aug 2012

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Before the London Olympics many precautions were taken to clean up the local area, ensure public transport was working great, that security were paid, and that strikes didn’t happen.

It was almost that kind of “lets throw everything under the bed because we’re having guests over” mentality.

Now it’s over, will people return to defacing public property, throwing empty lager cans over someone’s garden fence and/or looking so unapproachable that even a stranger wanting to approach to ask them for the time, is off the cards?

Time will tell.
What we had in London was a two week bonanza where we got to brag that we were hosting one of the most memorable sporting events known to man. But I hope that isn’t all it was.

The ‘United spirit’ got into everyone, even you – can you really say otherwise?

Now that the party is over, who’s responsible for maintaining that morale? In re-enforcing it when the chips are down and the banks are empty?

Are we really expected to go on the same way as before, waiting for the next thing to help us ignore this recession we’re apparently not having? Hmm… :-?

Category: A Thought..., I'm Just Sayin', Random Chit-Chat  Tags: London economy, London Olympics, public funding, recession  

Never play without a heart…

14
Aug 2012

Category: A Thought..., Stuff I Like  Tags: Dreama, inspiration  

The London Olympics…and the Bits We Got Wrong

08
Aug 2012

Aah, August: Home to summer and the finals of most events in the London 2012 Olympics – perfect time for a catch up & a chit-chat! So, lets… :-)

The Olympics

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I loved the opening ceremony, I got all squealy and patriotic watching it at home with the family, I’ll admit it’s the only one I can ever remember watching so I have no real form of reference, but it was good fun. That said, I went online the next day (even during) and saw people do nothing but poo-poo it!

Nothing pleases us, ever. So the weather didn’t hold up and there were some obvious “in-crowd” bits, you know like the Eastenders map going up, and references to British literature that only someone living under a rock might not have heard of (cause if you don’t know Mary Poppins, well, shame on you) – but so what?

I think Danny Boyle did a fantastic job and sitting by the fireplace in the warmth and comfort of my home, even when I could see those angry looking raindrops falling on screen, I wished I was in the stands. That’s saying something.

Bits we’ve gotten wrong (so far)

Gosh, where do I start?

1) Having people stand in the airport for hours and hours trying to get into London.

2) Having rows upon rows of empty seats and available tickets, but requiring people solve the Da Vinci Code online before they get one

3) The Olympic lanes clogging up the streets and upsetting the City’s beloved taxi drivers

4) Using so many scare tactics about how busy, crowded, expensive and noisy London would be, that it truly seems empty – because everyone’s flown away to greener pastures

5) Having politicians publicize a “stay-cation” (where we stay here instead of going on holiday) and then having those same politicians go on holiday mid-Olympics

6) Selling Fish & Chips in the Olympic park for £8.50 – No. Just no. 8-O

7) Not paying the Olympic volunteers. I know they’re volunteers, but if TFL and the police get extra cash for doing their actual jobs, the least we could do was give the campers something more than floor space for their tents.

8) Spending millions of pounds cleaning up the city…only because we have the Olympics this year.

9) There not being some way the general public can get involved with the Olympics that doesn’t involve being squeezed out of position for watching the torch fly by for a millisecond (oops, now I’m complaining).

Other than that, it’s been smashing so far…I even went along & watched Team GB play basketball & that was awesome! I hope you’re enjoying it too, wherever you are…

Category: I'm Just Sayin', Random Chit-Chat, Stuff I Don't Like, Stuff I Like  Tags: the London Olympics  

Trackbacks: REIFIER | Sweden | Adidas Competition winner and More!

01
Aug 2012

As it’s the beginning of a brand new month, I felt there was no better time to update you on what I’ve been up to lately…

Recent releases…

My 4-track EP REIFIER (released on April 30th) has had some great feedback and I wanted to officially say thank you! :-D So thank you, to everyone of you that listened to it, shared it with friends, posted about it, rated it, purchased it online and gave me feedback. You guys rock! :-D

The video for CTRL+ALT+DEL (track 4) was also very well received which is really exciting! I thought I’d leave the links here once again for anyone that might not have seen or heard them yet.

Trackback: Sweden…

As you know, back in March, I flew to Sweden to perform (the image above is of me with some Swedish/Congolese dancers who also performed).

It was great fun & I hoped to get some footage & images to you that were recorded on the night, but unfortunately due to issues with the technical people at the event, I still haven’t been sent anything to show you. That sucks :-| but there’s nothing I can do about it and anyway, the main point of going to Sweden was to raise money for charity which it was and I’m really pleased that I was a part of achieving that!

Trackback: Adidas Competition…

Remember the Adidas competition I had running from earlier this year in January? There was a winner! Her name is Cordel and she is from South London! :-) Cordel was lucky enough to win the exclusive Adidas Decade trainers with the limited edition keyring!

Here’s her reaction after finding out she won:

I was hoping to have a picture of her to go along with the tweet, which was one of the reasons for the hold up, but I thought it was important to share this for everybody that entered (and anybody wondering whether or not there was a winner) . A huge thank you to everybody that did enter and that publicized the competition for me. Entrants really got creative with their answers so there were lots of giggles when selecting a winner! :-D

Lastly, those of you wondering about upcoming shows, I assure you, they are coming! ;-) They’ll be listed on the gigs page shortly and in the mean-time, you can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook or you can send me an email from here, and I promise I’ll get back to you.

Remember, if you become part of my mailing list, you’ll find out about everything before anyone else & it’s really easy to join, just send me your name and email address below -

I think I’ve covered everything, but let me know if there’s anything I missed! :-)

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Category: About Dreama, Competition, Music, Random Chit-Chat, Stuff I Like, Thank You, Video  Tags: Adidas compeition, CTRL+ALT+DEL, Dreama, iTunes, mailing list, Reifier, Sweden