Sunday, Sunday / Tuesday, Tuesday (22) + (23)

image source: wreckmybrain

The last two weeks were uneventful to say the least, hence why I decided to blend these two together. I say uneventful, I did quite a lot of travelling in one-day last Wednesday – Liverpool > Antony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach > Manchester (!!) > The Peak District > Home.

A lot to do in one day, but it was so worth it. Manchester was the highlight of the trip home, even though we were only there for a couple of hours to have lunch at the Hard Rock. I fell in love with the city, and I can’t wait to go back their one day to soak in all the music glory – especially Oasis (of course). 

EA decided to announce the release of a pets expansion for The Sims 4 after twelve stuff packs, five game packs and three expansion packs. I cannot believe there have only been three expansion packs since the release of Get to Work back in 2015. I swear EA just want to run consumers dry and take forever to fix bugs and glitches – especially with The Sims 4 – rather than focus on quality, content and the demand for certain aspects of the game to be implemented. 

Cats and Dogs will be released in early November of this year, and will finally introduce the aforementioned animals to the game. Even though I sound bitter about how long this has taken to become an expansion pack, I’m pretty excited for the features that are going to be executed in game. 

In comparison to the previous pets expansion packs for previous stages of the Sims franchise, the pets will be uncontrollable – ala real life – and will rely on interaction via sim rather than the player being the pet themselves. I personally never liked to be able to control the animals in The Sims 3, it removed the spontaneity that we were able to work with in The Sims 2. 

Obviously only a handful of aspects of the game have been revealed since it will be released this autumn, but this is what we do know: 

- New veterinarian career track. This will follow the same path as Dine Out, in which you can own and run your own restaurant, hiring and training staff. You will also be able to visit the vet if you do not own/work there – like hospitals in Get to Work – to take your pets to when they’re sick or you want them neutered.

- New seaside town named Brindleton Bay (the aspect I’m looking forward to most, it looks b-e-a-u-tiful).
- A Sims 3-esce Create-a-Style colour wheel will be implemented in Create-a-Pet to ‘paint’ different colours of fur on your cats and dogs.

- Racoons and foxes will appear in the game, so much so that you’ll be able to create them in Create-a-Pet and have them as pets (!!)
- Can adopt pets and strays

- Kittens and puppies will be available to create in Create-a-Pet

- Will be able to travel with pets to destinations that your able to travel with your sim to

- New traits and training for your pets

- Costumes (!!)

Along with Cats and Dogs, the ultra-versions of Pokemon Sun and Moon are also set to be released this November. I have – and love – both games, but I still haven’t completed either of them. The Alola region is so expansive; there is such a vast amount of gameplay to explore. Again, this is what we know so far about these versions:

- New Z-power ring (and Z-move)

- New dual edition of the game(s)

- Lycanroc will have a new form – dusk. To obtain this new form, a special Rockruff will need to be obtained from the Nintendo Network that can evolve into this form. It will be available on the network from the release date – November 17 – to January 10, 2017.

- Not much has been said on the alternate storyline to the original two games, other than it will feature different Pokemon that aren’t available in the original games, and Necrozma will play a prominent role.

- Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon will be the first games to feature the ‘I Choose You’ cap Pikachu

- A new photo booth feature is set to make an appearance. Players will be able to take pictures of themselves with their Pokemon, choosing from several different backgrounds and also perform various Z-Move poses.

Queens of the Stone Age dropped their seventh studio album Villians last Friday (August 25), and it’s an absolute belter. Aly & AJ also released their new track ‘Take Me’ on August 18, their first release in 10 years (excluding their work as 78violet). Reviews will be up for both this week, so keep your eyes open. 

Not only did Foo Fighters release one of their best singles to date last week, they also performed ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ with the one, the only Rick Astley. They performed the track at Japan’s Supersonic Festival (August 20), in the styling of a famous YouTube mash-up of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and the original ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. 

The most badass rock group of the 1990s – L7 -- are releasing a documentary this September, and I cannot w a i t. Directed by Sarah Price, L7: Pretend We’re Dead will immortalize the bands entire career, starting in Los Angeles in 1985 to their break-up in 2001.

As per music documentary, the film will include unseen home and performance footage, alongside interviews with (via Rolling Stone): ‘Garbage’s Shirley Manson, Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, Butch Vig, Joan Jett, Lydia Lunch, CSS, Brody Dalle and X singer Exene Cervenka.’

L7: Pretend We’re Dead will be released in cinemas across America starting September 1, and will eventually be released on DVD and Video-On-Demand on October 13^th. 

H3H3 finally won that stupid lawsuit that never should have happened in the first place! I’m so happy for them, they went through so much shit because of that idiot and now they’re finally above him in a MATTER OF LAW.  

If it wasn’t for Jenna, I don’t think I’d be as happy as I am on a Wednesday/Thursday. These past two weeks have produced two of her best pieces of content, and I am dying to see what she’s up to this week.

gif source: thetrashprincess.tumblr.com

I’m still getting through a huge list of shows to binge-watch, and Gilmore Girls is one of them. There are seven seasons – 21 episodes a season – plus a new mini-series … and I’ve only just got into season three.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was enjoying it or not. But three seasons in, I am in love with the warm feeling that the show gives me and can’t get enough of it. And Luke. Someone be my Luke pls. 

I hate Buzzfeed. But, its only redeeming quality is Buzzfeed: Unsolved. Shane and Ryan are my spirit animals, and they have explored both the Supernatural and True Crime realms on the current two seasons of the series.

They’ve added a new feature to the second series – a Q&A episode following the main one. As if I couldn’t get enough of just one episode a week.

   

Another YouTube series that I’m extremely fond of is Bright Sun Film’s ‘Cancelled’ and ‘Abandoned’ series. This week, Jake talked about the short-lived Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, which is something I’d never really understood until now.

His videos are so in-depth – including some fascinating interviews with those involved in whatever the subject matter is – and are definitely worth the watch. 

You all know how much I watch television, so take a look at this article I wrote for The National Student on why book adaptations are best suited for television.