Now That's What I Call Leveson

The news of the past few days has looked like a collection of the 'Best Bits' from the past 18 months. We've had the classic hits of Hugh Grant ruthlessly seeking vengeance on News Corp and The Mirror. Kate and Gerry McCann have made a long awaited comeback to point the stick at Mr Investigative Journalism for being accused by British Media of murdering their child Madeline. The one hit wonder of Christopher Jefferies who won libel damages for his wrongful arrest in the case of Jo Yeates' murder, has come back, looking better than ever (presumably spending his cash). Even political hits have been replayed such as in-depth discussion about Jeremy Hunt's involvement in the BSkyB and whether the coalition is set to burst.

Sour Grapes

Photography is a passion of mine, and having thought about it, I'm surprised that I haven't actually written a blog on the subject. So, having made a big song and dance about it recently on my Twitter and Facebook accounts, it seemed the appropriate time to start.

I have entered rather a few photography competitions in the past few years, since I've had the passion; none of which I have won. However, until last week, every time I haven't won, I've looked at the pictures that did win, and in awe, fully understood why those images were chosen ahead of mine. They generally have been taken using a top range DSLR camera and various lenses, and therefore can take better qualities images. Those I do not begrudge.

Hair: It'll Grow on Me

My current hair style isn't too dissimilar to that of one of the Beatles back in the 60's. It's brown and just sits there looking a mess despite it being combed. It is essentially, a helmet of hair without actually having any purpose. I have had this hair for well over 5 years, and I have become bored of it.

I took to the internet for inspiration on how to design the top of my head. I wanted something which wasn't too different to what I already possess, but something 'fresh' and even a little bit fashionable at the moment.

Four Years Blogging; Now It's Becoming Neglected

And so, another year has passed in the age of my blog; now having just 'celebrated' its 4th birthday. However, over the past year I have been busy getting a degree and therefore my blog has suffered. Once upon a time, I used to get annoyed if I hadn't blogged for over a week, but those days are long gone. Now, I can post anything for six weeks, and I only find it slightly frustrating.

So why have I become so neglectful of my digital baby in recent times? There are a few factors:

The Princess and Her Privacy

Well, at least they did until this week. You would have thought being Princess, and being the future Queen of England, you wouldn't have nude photographs of yourself passed around the Internet for everyone to ejaculate over. For example, when our current Queen was just a Princess Royal, were nude photographs of her circulated? No. How about the Duke of Edinburgh? Did we have pictures of him naked, with only his cupped hands to protect his manhood. No. Or how about Prince Charles and Camilla? Well, thankfully not.

When the Queen was in her twenties and courting Phillip, the possibility of the paparazzi hounding them was unthinkable. In fact, photographers were not even called by the now derogatory term 'paparazzi'; they were just called ‘photographers’. Now, when the young Royal couple go anywhere in the World, they are followed by photographers and journalists. They are then kept in designated pens from which they are allowed to watch Prince William and Princess Kate collect flowers from young children, as they smile continuingly.

Album Review: Matchbox Twenty - North

Matchbox Twenty's new album North comes out on the 3rd of September 2012 in the UK, but with thanks to Play.com, I have it two days early, and what a treat it was to see it on the doormat upon waking up this morning. It is a great album by an amazing band who can write both amazing songs musically and lyrically, with Rob Thomas writing a majority of the songs, and being the main vocalist.

The Greatest Show On Earth

I enjoyed the Olympic Opening Ceremony so much, that I think I might just series link them all. I was cynical about the entire thing, but I was wrong to be so because it was an amazing thing to witness - right from the beginning to end, despite the even lasting for nearly four hours.

The opening clip with the animation of the journey down the River Thames was very well done, and was actually quite funny I thought. However, this show wasn't just for us Brit's - it was for the entire World, and like many people have said: I'm not sure they really got most of it.

London 2013

Breaking news! The Olympics are coming to London, and are set to start Friday, 27th of July 2012. So, let's start looking ahead to London 2013; the year which won't be very sporting at all.

There will be no build-up to London 2013; I doubt if it will even affect anyone. It won't cause traffic chaos or lead to the people of London taking two weeks off work. Also, unlike the Olympics, there will be no-one running around carrying ignited fuel, which will travel the country causing disruption where ever it goes. It will be an event which will allow everyone to carry on their lives however they wish.

IDontGetThisFad.co.uk/Adverts&Sponsorship

Adverts have a lot of influence on our every day behaviour. They can change the way we talk, make us perform little squeak noises, give us topics of conversation, and not to mention make us buy over-priced goods we don’t need. It now almost seems like we have started watching television programs in between watching a series of 30 second dramas which have the ability to invoke emotion in viewers. It's about time someone released a television channel that showed nothing but adverts day and night… Someone has created a website, tellyAds, which has archives of adverts, with their slogan actually being 'TV Without The Boring Bits: The Programmes'. A channel isn't far away, surely.

Album Review: Maroon 5 - Overexposed (Deluxe Edition)

I would not hesitate to say that Maroon 5 are easily my favourite band, with Adam Levine being my favourite singer (closely followed my Matchbox Twenty and Rob Thomas), so when I opened a link posted on their Facebook Fan group, which stated that they were to release a new album within a matter of months, I nearly exploded; I was more hyper than a kid leaving a sweet shop. Then, a week later, they released their new single, Payphone, on YouTube. I quickly grabbed the mouse and clicked the link. It's all been downhill since…

I should have known that it wouldn't reach my dizzy heights of expectation after the Moves Like Jagger single, which is incredibly popular both sides of the Atlantic - arguably their most popular song to date. That is the only reason I can imagine for them producing a mismatched album which includes mainly electronic, club sounds, with a dash of Funk and sprinkling of their traditional stuff – a return to disco some might call it.