Listening Recommendations

Hello internet! I hope everyone is doing well.

Today's post will be a casual one; no deep meaning or anything. Since i'm a deeply auditory person and i like to go on walks alone (sounds pathetic but it's actually quite therapeutic), i need things to listen to if not i'll get really irritated by the surrounding noise; so just thought i'd share some audio things i'm enjoying currently.

Podcasts: I recently just got into podcasts so there aren't many, but here are some i enjoy.

1. Hello Internet Podcast

This podcast is a subjective one. It's two guys talking mostly about tech-y (nothing professional), internet-y things as well as plane crashes, current events and life-isms amongst other things. What makes this so subjective is that if you know of/like the people whom are making this podcast, the possibility of you liking this will be higher. But i still do recommend giving this one a try, although it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

2. The Cracked Podcast

I think the most adequate description for this pod cast is "things you never knew you wanted to know about". Topics include pop-culture, human behaviour and anything within this vein. It is a very enjoyable listen and is recommended for everyone.

3. Freakonomics Radio

Their description of exploring "the hidden side of everything" and "teaching us to think a bit more creatively, rationally, and productively" sums up this podcast the best. It is definitely one of the most interesting listens on this list and is really enlightening most of the time. Topics of this podcast is rather diverse but are mostly about decision making and current issues in society and culture. So if any of these things interest you, give this a listen.

4. Radio Lab

This is a podcast where "science meets culture" and each episode is (and i quote) "an investigation -- a patchwork of people, sounds, stories and experiences"; exploring everything from current affairs, ecology, physics, biology, ecology, chemistry, human behaviour and almost anything you can think of there is an episode on. This is personally my favourite one to listen to because i find this kinda stuff really interesting.

Music: This is mostly just what i'm currently listening to, mostly J-music. For this section, I'll list a few artists and my favourite songs from them right now.

1. ONE OK ROCK

Genre: J-Music, Alternative rock, Rock, Pop punk.

Recommended for those who liked Paramore's Riot! and Brand New Eyes albums, Hey Monday and anything similar. Also most of their songs include some semblance/if not a lot of English (it's quite good don't worry), and can i just add that the lead singer sounds bloody awesome.

Songs: some of my favourites include from 

Beam of Light (2008) Album

"Koubou"

Niche Syndrome (2010) Album

"Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer"

"Jibun Rock"

Answer is Near (2011) EP

"Answer is Near"

The Beginning (2012) Single

"The Beginning"; Theme Song for the 1st Rurouni Kenshin movie

"Ketsuraku Automation"; Current Favourite

"Notes'n'Words"

2. the GazettE

Genre: J-Music, Alternative metal, Alternative rock, Nu metal.

Recommended for people who like Avenged Sevenfold-ish kinda music but different. Their sound is kind of a power metal-ish mixed with alternative rock in addition to sounding dark? That's the best way i can describe it. They are a Visual Kei band so fair warning if you ever check out any of their MVs. 

Songs: some of my favourites are from 

Dim (2009) Album

"Guren"

Toxic (2011) Album

"Red"

"Shiver"

"Vortex"

Division (2012) Album

"Ibitsu"

"Derangement"

Beautiful Deformity (2013) Album"

"UNTIL IT BURNS OUT"

"Fadeless"

3. Pentatonix

Genre: Acapella

Recommended for anyone who liked the Pitch Perfect movie.

S/N: I've linked all the MVs of the songs because some are not in the albums.

Songs: 

"Daft Punk" - Pentatonix Vol. II

"La La Latch" - Pentatonix Vol. III

"Happy"

Bonus: One of songs from these artistes;

Daft Punk - Doin' It Right (ft. Panda Bear)

Yui - Again; Full Metal Alchemist OP

Florence + The Machine - Shake It Out

Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder

Lorde - Team

Congratulations! You've made it till' the end. Hope you will check some of these out. I know this had been a long post, so i'll end of here, thanks for reading.

-Rachel

I judge people; label me what you will.

Greetings to whoever may be reading this! 

So being my first actual blog-type post, i thought i'd start with something that everyone deals with on a daily basis; Judgement. I confess that I do judge people a lot, like extensively. Okay, before you make assumptions, i'm not judging you based on outer-appearance only, i'm judging you more on your behaviour and actions, just want to get that out of the way. I don't think judging people is a bad thing all the time, but you cannot base your whole idea of that person on that one time you judged them.

The reason I judge people is to know what is the most appropriate behaviour if I ever were to interact with that person. It helps me categorise you into subsets of social archetypes so I don't accidentally offend you. You'd be surprise at what you're able to know from just looking at someone for a minute. From the way someone dresses to the way they behave and to the way they talk, gives you quite a bit of insight as to where are they in life. Also, other than all of these social reasons, it is just fun. It hones one's observational skills, it helps you notice the small details about the person and fleshes them out more completely. This is why I sometimes people watch. Not to sound creepy or anything but it really does train one's observational and analytical skill.

But no matter how observant you are, all your judgements are still subjected to change upon interaction. Your judgements do not define the person you are judging, it only gives you a gist of what they are all about. It is definitely not definite!

Just to end off, I hereby absolve you from all the guilt you feel when judging someone, unless you base your entire impression of the person based on it. And for all you people who claim that you never judge, YOU ARE ALL LIARS! Studies have shown that you have already filed them into different categories, the split second you meet someone, which is technically judging.

S/N: I'll be posting more of these blog-y posts, more so than poems or things like that, but once in a while, when i feel inspired i'll probably go back to writing them.

-Rachel.