Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red.

So I know that I've been really bad about posting recently, and I'm sorry. It's just that last term was super busy, what with coursework and essays and tests and university applications... I'm already 100% done with this term and we don't even go back until tomorrow. Also, I have a HUGE coursework deadline on Tuesday that I'm nowhere near ready for, as well as a Spanish presentation tomorrow morning that I haven't even started.

But I'm going to be good and post because I know I've been neglecting you. Sorry.

The Geography of Birthdays

Guess what: IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY. WOOHOO! So I thought it was appropriate to have a look at the geography of where the day of your birth is celebrated and when.

Sam Pepper and the It's On Us campaign *TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual Assault/Rape*

So by now most of you will have seen Sam Pepper's new video. Now, I don't watch him, I'm not subscribed, I've never seen one of his videos. Until today.

Sleeping Tips and Why they're Helpful

Image: Clipart

Sleep /sli:p/
noun
A condition of body and mind which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended.(Google definition)

Sleep. We spend a third of our lives doing it. But what actually is it and how can we make it even more beneficial?

How Does Water Create Conflict?

Water shortages are becoming increasingly important as there is no alternative for our survival, and the locations of the remaining sources have caused many conflicts, making the problem worse. For example, the Tigris and Euphrates river basin in the Middle East has caused disputes over the ownership of their water supply. Iraq have accused Turkey and Syria of holding back water supply through the construction of dams in the upper course of both rivers, which escalated hostilities particularly in the 1970s, but has also been related to the threat of the countries' national security today.

Movie Review: Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain

Released in the UK as simply 'Amélie', this 2001 French-language rom-com features Audrey Tautou as Amélie Poulain, a young Parisienne waitress who one day finds a small box of toys hidden behind a tile in her apartment. She decides to locate the owner of the box, and anonymously leaves it for him. She decides that she wants to continue to help people, and when she finds a photo album dropped by a childhood friend, Amélie follows both her heart, and the guidance of her neighbour Monsieur Dufayel, in order to return it.

Catalan Identity in Pyrénées-Orientales

Coat of Arms
Image Credit

The Pyrénées-Orientales département in south-west France (Catalan: Pirineus Orientals) is the southernmost département of France aside from the island of Corsica, and is part of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, which also encompasses the départements of Aude, Gard, Hérault and Lozère.

How Popular Games are Viewed by Different People

Video games are a way of life for some people, for some they're played for pure enjoyment, others just don't really care one way or the other. However, we all have opinions on them, and in this post I hope to show you another opinion on two popular games compared to the general consensus.

The Wind is Blowing

As part of my wider reading for my university personal statement I read an article from Geographical, the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society, about the controversy surrounding wind turbines and was moved to write about the issue here.

Image: Symscape

Just to be clear, onshore wind farms are located on land, whereas offshore ones are found either in the sea or in freshwater.

Did you know? Onshore wind energy supplied just under 2% of the UK's total electricity in 2010, and by 2020 it's expected to produce 5.6GW, which, along with 2.7GW from offshore farms, could power 4.6 million homes.

Books in Translation

Harry Potter, Roald Dahl, Twilight, Divergent... Things all these books/authors have in common? They've been translated into other languages. Think about how many books you've read recently - most of them will be/will have been translated at one point. The Harry Potter series has been translated into 73 languages, as of July last year (x) and it undoubtedly will be translated into many more.

So Many Music Streaming Apps!

Music streaming apps are becoming ever more popular as the desire to have everything in one place becomes more apparent. For a set amount each month, you can log in to a huge database of music using the internet which you can then listen to at your leisure. It's great for the consumer, though how does it actually make money?

What I look for at University Open Days

This time of year is the time for university open days if you're around sixth form age in the UK. Yesterday I went to Leeds, and to Exeter last week, so now I've had a little bit of experience of them and am starting to get an idea of what I'm looking for when I go to the next ones.

How the English Education System Works (at the moment!)

I've had many a discussion with Americans over the internet as to how our education system works, and as I've seen from the stats that many of you are, in fact, American, I thought I'd make a post about it.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet: My Spanish Essay (Translated)

I'm now also going to be bit lazy and pop in some Spanish work, but don't worry, it's all translated into English. If you want to see the original essay in Spanish, it's on my personal blog. Please bare in mind that it isn't very well written as my Spanish is most definitely not my first language.

The internet has changed how we learn, communicate and relate to each other in the world. There are many advantages to this new way of life, but also disadvantages. Like the majority of things, I think that we should only use the internet in moderation.

Cool Crown Jewels: More English Coursework

I KNOW THIS IS REALLY LAZY. But to be honest I don't really care. A-levels are happening and also it's 10pm on a Sunday night. So. Behold my Horrible Histories-esque piece about the crown jewels. It's written for younger readers, but don't be put off. It's interesting and also I tried to be funny. Featuring art by my awesome friend Eva Morley (Twitter) (Instagram).

Interesting Channels on YouTube

I've been spending a lot of my limited free time on YouTube recently, and thought that instead of talking about what I've been watching, I should tell you about some of the awesome science channels that are on there (in no particular order).

1. Veritasium - this is a channel that tries to explain so many things about the world around us by showing us cool things. For example:

This explains what a kilogram actually is and how the definition is changing. Now I had never even thought about this before but found it incredibly interesting to watch!

2. Vsauce focuses more on mind blowing facts. This video completely blew my mind!

To think that we're all at least 50th cousins! Say what?!?!?

3. Crash Course - This channel is by the awesome John and Hank Green but is more to teach us about things than to make our minds explode.

This video may be a little bit on the controversial side for anyone who's religious, but I find this stuff very interesting, although Hank did use a bit too many long words!

4. Sci Show - Yes, another channel from the Green brothers, this time focusing more on science news.

Now Blogger has decided to stop embedding videos, so here's the link to a video about why we lie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX3Hu8loXTE&list=TLMW6oE4I-1m_n7IyNkSrmOSaAFRcusjXZ.

As you can see, there are so many different aspects to our world that can all be explained using science! Hopefully in the future I'll be able to discuss things like these on here. I know this has been a bit of a lazy post, but revision has just taken over recently - luckily within two weeks they'll all be over!

Why Ballerinas Like Roundabouts: My A-Level English Coursework

So my English Language coursework has just been moderated and as it's written in a similar style to these blog posts, I thought I'd like to share it with you. Enjoy!

The Origins of "May Day"

So tomorrow (May 5th) is the May Day bank holiday here in the UK, and as I wasn't really sure about how it came about, I thought I'd do some research and tell all of you guys!

According to this wikipedia article, May Day had its origins in pre-Christian society, and is closely linked to the celebration of Walpurgis Night, a Germanic festival (originally 'Walpurgisnacht'), whcih was celebrated on the 30th April. This is the eve of the feast day of St, Walpurga, an 8th-century German abbess, and is said to be the night of a witches' meeting.

The Origins of the Easter Egg

**MASSIVE DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT CHRISTIAN, SO I AM RESEARCHING THIS AS I GO. I DO NOT INTEND TO OFFEND ANYBODY.**

Ok, so now that's out of the way, I'm sorry this is late, but I had some technical problems. As you all know, Easter has just passed, and so I figured that I should do an Easter-related post. I wasn't sure what to write about until my friend's sister asked: "Why do we have chocolate at Easter?" So that's what this is going to be about.

TFiOS Soundtrack

Yesterday, the soundtrack for the TFiOS (or The Fault in Our Stars) film was released. Here's the lineup:

Ed Sheeran – All Of The Stars

Jake Bugg – Simple As This

Grouplove – Let Me In

Birdy & Jaymes Young – Best Shot

Kodaline – All I Want

Tom Odell – Long Way Down

Charli XCX – Boom Clap

STRFKR – While I’m Alive

Indians – Oblivion

The Radio Dept. – Strange Things Will Happen

Afasi & Filthy – Bomfallarella

Ray LaMontagne – Without Words

Birdy – Not About Angels

Lykke Li – No One Ever Loved

M83 – Wait

Birdy – Tee Shirt (Bonus Track)