...being realistic sucks...

Morning guys, today I would like to write about realism. Now you’re going to think -Erghh? What? How? Has Linda gone arty or something? But no I would like to talk about how people these days think ‘romance’ is not realistic anymore. How sad is that?

Being realistic means looking at things as they “really” are. But who are we to know what things ‘really’ are? Being realistic means being neither positive nor negative – just accepting the way things are. This literally sounds like a death trap to me. Like the end of all imagination and joy. Fuck holistic attitudes. Fuck being even-tempered. Fuck being realistic.

Whilst watching this movie, it came to my understanding that meeting someone, wherever, falling in love, unconditionally and unquestioningly, and actually making a conscious decision to be with that person is unrealistic. WTF?

Has society really conditioned us to stop believing that there is something magical about falling in love? That it can happen anywhere and that people can connect on many different levels?

I mean, yes, sadly it doesn’t happen a lot, but it does happen sometimes and I would like to comprehend how society has made us believe that that kind of falling in love is unrealistic. Is completely sterile on-line dating or a meaningless encounter in clubs and bars really the way we go about things these days? I don’t fucking hope so, cause that would really depress me and as the eternal optimist I am, I believe there is more to it, really.

I am jaded too for sure, but I know that things like that happen, because they happened to me before. I met random strangers on busses and they became great friends. I saw ‘the one guy’ and I knew everything about him and he knew everything about me, too. Is that unrealistic? Or is it simply what sometimes happens in that little space between people and their feelings that is inexplicable and magical and hence labelled as unrealistic.

Maybe if you have never been in love before and experienced that kind of magic, then you’d think so. But I am still dreaming because if people don’t dream big, then they consequently don’t think big either. I doubt that Rothko was particularly realistic. But what materialised out of his ‘unrealistic’ attitude is ‘real’ magic. Do you get me?

So to end with an extremely tacky line (it wouldn’t be the first time) I would like to say: Dream on lovers! Shitaroo, that sounds like a Kylie Minouge song.

Laters Linda x

Linda's top 10 favourite blogs and websites

Morning beloved readers, how are you?
It's list-making time again and today I would like to share my favourite blogs and websites. Basically this shit rocks my world.

Disposable Youth

I mean I fancy the pants off of this blogger and I tried everything from asking him out to slagging him off and introducing myself, but NOTHING! His blog is still pretty ace though, especially if you’re into music and fashion.

Nightmares and Boners

Frank, funny, emotional, well-written, honest, crazy, psychotic, sincere, out-spoken and girly....basically I wanna be BFFs with her.

Cute Boys with Cupcakes

Cute Boys? With cup cakes? Fuck yes!

LOL Cats

On a dark day this website picks me up every time. Just a beacon of hope and yes I know that I’m talking about LOL Cats.

Fail Blog

People are stupid. Stupid people are funny. This is what failblog is for.

Go Fug Yourself

Hilarous. Just hilarious!

Style Rookie

The ORIGINAL fashion blog from now 15 year old Tavi. If you’re not reading this, then you probably also don’t know what ‘an internet’ is.

Cafe Con Lesley

Lesley Arfin basically hangs out with all the cool kids in New York, so if you wanna know who’s hot and who’s not, check out her blog. It also helps that she is simply mental, in a good way. Thoroughly enjoyable blog.

Yelawolf

I’m simply obsessed with Yelawolf at the moment and on his MySpace you cannot only download most of his previous and absolutely amazing albums but you can also perv on his pics big time!

It’s Getting Boring By The Sea

In my opinion, this is the best music blog out there, which finds the right balance between talking about the most obscure indie shit and the least obscure new Drake single. It also gives you loads of free downloads and exclusive videos. Always on the forefront of what’s happening musically. So if you wanna impress that indie boy in skinny jeans, this is the place to brush up on your music knowledge. I love it! Check it out.

Fashion Fix #15

Hi guys, today it's fashion fix time again. On a day that I am wearing a Jason DeRulo T-Shirt, I thought it might be a good idea to go a bit casual and post a summertime entry. So here is what I would be rocking to go the beach / a BBQ / or hiking in the hills.

Football Worldcup Hotties 2010

Hi guys I watched the game last night, yes THAT game during which Germany annihilated the Aussie squad and one thing stood out besides their ability on the ball. They were smoking hot. So I was inspired to come up with my very own list of football hotties playing in the cup 2010. I’m sure they are all great footballers, but they for sure are real lookers. And now don’t give me that ‘girls only watch the World Cup to perv on players’ talk, it’s lame.

Yoann Gourcuff...I love a bit of intensity.



Tim Cahill...yes I admit this is a bit of a charity pick, but the red card was a bit uneccessary and he's got nice lips.



Robin Van Persie...he's got something, haven't figured out what yet, but he's got something.



Lukas Podolski...I mean just LOOK at those arms.



Heath Pearce...give me some of that full-bodied curly bliss



Gregory van der Wiel, yummy little cutie pie with rock hard abs, and rocker tattoos



Florent Malouda...nice jawline, nice jawline.



Fernando Torres...just a little ray of sunshine in this bleak world.



and holy f**k pretty much the entire Dutch squad is extremely easy on the eye.



Arne Friedrichs...future husband material. WAG it out babes.



laters Linda x

Fashion Fix #14

Morning lovers, Fashion Fix time. Without words, cause it's all pretty.

The Creators Project

Hello guys today I would like to be Vice Mag’s bitch again. Basically Vice have launched something called The Creators Project, which is a new network dedicated to the celebration of creativity and culture across media. The Creators Project has two mandates: on one hand it’s a modern day media channel that we will continually identify and celebrate the work of visionary artists wherever they are. On the other hand it is also a content creation studio, an arts foundation of sorts that will facilitate the production and dissemination of new work with these artists and their collaborators.

So anyway, The Creators Project mostly features in-depth interviews with artists (musicians and other creative types). Some of them quite interesting, others not so much. Guess which one it is today?

I would like to talk about Mark Ronson a bit. I interviewed the guy once and he was mega doped-up and talked a lot of rubbish. Anyway, he is a bit more together and bearable in this clip and let’s face it, his hair looked amazing when he was 14 years old. He’s talking hip-hop and diva pop-stars, so maybe you’ll find this fairly fascinating, let’s hope so. Enjoy:

Relation-shit

Hi guys, today I would like to write about something very special, something unique, something that comes totally unexpected. BOYS and relationships! Fuck me, yes again, I’m sorry, I cannot help it.

On the weekend I got together with my ‘romance’ focus group and quite literally witnessed some eye-opening discussions about that eternal mystery called love.

Obvs now I would like to share these insights with you. This post is metaphorically challenging, so please don’t think literally, think laterally!

So we all know that sometimes a relationship just turns into relation-shit and in order to avoid that from happening there are some steps to take. Listen up!

A very wise man told me that you always need to clean up after yourself – metaphorically speaking. So no lying, no deceiving and no indulging in a new relationship if you’re still mentally grinding over the last one. It’s quite simple. It all starts with one little crump and if you clean up as you go along, you’ll be fine. You can always use a nice and clean kitchen and you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for. But if you don’t clean up as you go along, that one little crump will turn into a heap of crumps and sooner or later that mess will become too big to clean up. Now your kitchen is mega dirty and the prospect of getting it clean again seems way too overwhelming. And even worse little leftover crumps will keep falling into the cracks of your kitchen appliances and you can never clean that shit up unless you move the entire furniture. Do you get me? Be honest, don’t carry grudges, talk about your feelings and make sure you’re straight up about things.

A yes or no is ALWAYS better than a maybe. Don’t be lame, make a decision.

Whatever floats your boat, make sure you always know where the nearest harbour is.

I reckon that when it comes to relationships understated is always better than overstated. Big feelings – yes. Big make-out sessions in public – no!

If you ask me most of the time sleeping is better for you than sleeping with someone.

And it’s also mates before dates.

But then the last two points maybe illustrate why I am still single….

Laters lovers! Linda x

Beatsteaks @ ULU review for Gigwise

Morning guys, here's a review I did for Gigwise about Beatsteaks. Shit name, fucking fantastic band. Come on and share the love!

Lately there seems to have been some sort of bizarre German renaissance going on. Berlin is the hipster destination du jour, a German Kate Nash carbon copy has just won the Eurovision song contest, and let’s face it, the Germans will most possibly win the bloody football world cup, too.

So Berlin punk band Beatsteaks have chosen the perfect time to conquer the UK gig scene. Setting off to play to a packed ULU, the tension in the air is palpable. Still a relatively unknown band to these shores, Beatsteaks are massive in their native Germany having recruited followers over years of relentless touring and through their totally unique, in-your-face sound.

Seconds before the band enter the stage, you just know that this crowd, who are already religiously chanting the band’s name, are going to go absolutely ballistic. And bonkers they go, as Beatsteaks open their set with old cheerful sing-along ‘Atomic Love’. During the first song full-on stage-diving already occurs and consequently follow-up swing-punk-smasher ‘Hand in Hand’ seals the deal turning the venue into a sauna-like mega disco. The crowd is so hyped on heat and high-drinks, they cling to every word superbly charismatic power-house front-man Arnim says. He knows perfectly well how to command the crowd, and ensures that all eyes are on him.

Launching himself from the rafters and singing standing up on the barriers, Arnim still embodies that old good-time Rock’n’Roll attitude, that’s only to be found in one-offs like Iggy Pop. He invites crow-participation, but he is also in total control of the venue at all times. After finishing a soulful cover of ‘Teenage Kicks’, Beatsteaks send the crowd into a frenzy with their most powerful and most frantic-sounding last single ‘Jane Became Insane’. The tune’s chorus is brimming with off-kilter melodies and the razor-sharp, high-pitched guitar lines and clap-along bridge guarantee that this bomb of a song is going off, big time.

Beatsteaks’ latest album ‘Limbo Messiah’ is showcased at its most glorious during the ULU gig and Gigwise have hardly ever seen a band with such an immense physical presence along with similarly immense tunes. They combine the best of Black Flag, Minor Threat and Bad Brains and the troupe’s explosive mix is equally captivating and cathartic. Their gig at ULU is a celebration of everything that’s good about music: dedicated fans, a dedicated band and magnificently demented and catchy songs. Beatsteaks the world is yours to conquer!