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Christmas

- music - movies - Christmas gift

Technology - iPhone 5 - applications

Where to eat

- Karmello

- my’o’my

Fashion

- winter style

Reviews

- Coldplay concert - John William’s

concert

What the hell is

- Gangnam Style - Belgian Fries

High

School

Book review

- With or Without you

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Table of contents

3 Christmas: songs

4 Christmas: movies

6 Christmas: winter activities

7 Christmas: decorations

8 Winter Fashion

12 a Gift idea – Polaroid 300

14 Where to Eat: my’o’my

14 Where to Eat: Karmello

15 review: Coldplay concert

17 review: John William’s

concert

20 Gangnam Style

21 Belgian Fries

22 iPhone 5

22 2 iPhone Applications

24 Book review

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3

Ho-ho-holidays are

coming…

Judge me all you want. Call me out, tell me I’m

stupid and don’t understand the real meaning of

this holiday but you won’t change a thing.

Because even though this time of the year is

about family, friends and forgiveness, for me it

just doesn’t exist without the commercial side.

Xmas, ladies and gentlemen.

Now, when it’s settled that I’m such an America

mass-media monster, we can make my must-

have xmas list (in no particular order because

every single thing is equally important).

Songs

Who are we kidding? Christmas does not exist

without all these songs they make us listen to

on the radio. But I’m not complaining. In fact,

there is basically nothing I’m waiting for more

right now then to be able to press play on my

iPod Glee Christmas playlist without feeling

guilty that I’m rushing things. So let’s see what

we have on the first place.

“Last Christmas” by Wham! is just a legit classic.

Every year when I hear it for the first time it

feels like my heart is swelling with a sudden

affection. Just a simple, almost lame, song, one

would say. What’s so special about a guy (who,

in fact, was gay, but if you know me, you know it

just makes things way more exciting) whose

heart got broken during his winter trip and now

he meets this lost lover again? Technically,

nothing. But it’s become an anthem so we do

not argue and enjoy till our ears bleed.

Another song you’ll have pleasure to hear is

obviously “All I Want For Christmas Is You”

performed by Mariah Carey. It’s not even classy

since it’s dripping with pop-ness but we forgive

it because she’s beautiful and can hit these

horrifying notes I don’t even dare dreaming

about.

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And then, there’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside”. It’s

not the original that won my heart, because, to

be honest, I find it kind of lame and boring, too

slow and just not right (with all the respect to

the artist). It’s the Glee’s version that makes my

heart melt and goofy grin grow on my face

every time because of two different voices that

fit oh so beautifully and perfectly together (and

the scene, oh the scene, but, really, you don’t

have to watch it to love the song itself). The

lyrics is basically about one lover asking the

other to stay with them where’s cozy and warm

instead of leaving because there are better

things they could be doing then walking in the

cold weather (like, talking for example. Of

course I meant that. What did you think about?

Wanky!). So brace yourself because I’m planning

to attack the school’s radio and sing my babies’

song till you’re throwing up with rainbows.

Okay, I see how long it took me and it’s only the

beginning so just don’t forget about “Let It

Snow!”, “Rocking Around Christmas Tree” and

“Jingle Bell’s Rock”.

Movies

Without unnecessary introductions: “Home

Alone” and “Home Alone 2”. But only the first

two parts, the rest is just the most crappy way

of earning money I’ve ever seen. No Christmas

without Kevin, you can all go home. You may

laugh at “They took my Kevin, I took their lives”

but this is not a joke. I really am capable of

committing serious crimes if you make me be

late or (fear to think!) prevent me from

watching. It’s not even the fact that it’s funny (I

mean, how many times can you laugh at two

dump men getting their ass kicked by a kid?) but

the magic that it brings. It just feels like

Christmas. And Macaulay Culkin is just so sweet

with his big blue eyes, mischievous smirk and

messy blond hair (oh sorry, he was, now he

looks like a drug addict).

I know writing about a move you haven’t seen

(yet!) doesn’t really make much sense but I just

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had to. Because “Love, Actually” deserves a

place in here even if shame on me for not

watching it, but I’m really planning to do it and

with all the gifs I’ve seen I can safely say I get

the plot. And Alan Rickman starred in this so I

don’t have more questions. Sweet, wanky

comedy with a Christmas background. What’s

not to love?

Now, it’s time to meet a great villain that

changes thanks to the Christmas magic which

literally can do anything (like turn you back from

a snowman into a human or make you forgive

your boyfriend for cheating, just saying).

Whenever you’re watching the animated

version or the one with brilliant Jim Carrey,

Grinch stays the same and wins every heart

thanks to his grumpy self. Personally, I’m very

fond of the animated one and I absolutely adore

“You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch” (that also

figures on my A Very Glee Christmas Playlist, but

it’s beside the point).

Obviously the list could go with no end because

of all these Christmas-related hits (that most of

the time are not so good, but who’s

complaining?) but I’d just like to add “Charlie

and The Chocolate Factory” that I just can’t get

tired of. Maybe it’s because of all these candies

or catchy songs or creepy Umpaloompas or

simply Johnny Deep, I don’t know but I’m

certain I’ll find myself sitting on my couch with a

cup of tea (by the way, did you know that

adding lemons to tea causes the Alzheimer's

disease?) also this year, no doubt about that.

(And don’t forget about Christmas episodes of

your favorite tv shows. Never forget about

them. They are as important as Kevin. It’s

unlikely that they’ll finish with a cliffhanger so

they won’t ruin people’s Christmas. At least I

hope they’re not such a heartless dumbasses

but with tv show writers you never know)

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Winter activities

I don’t believe that you don’t have at least one

funny slash horrifying story about sledding.

Mine, for example, is about hitting the bench.

Or my mum pushing me (not on purpose, of

course) and my legs tangling so my face was in

contact with the ground and snow half the ride

(and may I add, that hill is high as hell, just

saying). See? Fun, fun, fun. So grab this product

of Satan and run up the hill because it’s all fun

and games.

Since we never know whether it’s going to snow

or not, we all should enjoy this white cold trash

that wets our clothes while it lasts. And there’s

nothing better than a good snow fight.

It all starts with a soft laughter and harmless

threats, just like Monopoly. But we all know

how this family game ends (or rather that it

never does) so it’s not hard to predict the result

of this activity. Who cares if you’re wearing

gloves or not, have new pants or high heels that

make escaping through the thick snow rather

impossible. It’s a war and the rules are simple.

Get out of this cold and wet or not at all.

Another thing you cannot avoid that is literally a

legit activity is Christmas shopping. It’s stressful

as hell, real torture and most of the time you

leave it till the last minute so you run around

the mall, entering the same store for the fourth

time, hoping maybe this time a perfect present

will pop out of nowhere and sweep you off your

feet with its awesomeness and nice prize. Don’t

be naïve, it never happens.

And now something nice and calm. Ice-skating.

You have to go. Just once. No one cares that you

can’t and the vision of your ass hitting ice hard is

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not appealing at all. And c’mon, is there

something more cliché then ice-skating in the

evenings, with “Last Christmas” blasting from

the speakers and the love of your life holding

tightly your hand? (if you’re socially awkward

and 5ever alone, just like me, we can skip the

last part. But one can dream, right?).

Tacky decorations and all

this Christmas-related crap

I’m not going to lie, every year I throw myself at

the decorations in Carrefour just to hug them

for a moment because it feels like seeing an old

friend. Bright red and baubles in every

imaginable style everywhere, Christmas lights,

fake snow with snowflakes and “Angel’s Hair”.

And other stuff. And by “stuff”, I really mean

that. Mugs, tablecloths, candles, bedclothes,

pens, watches etc. And clothes. Oh Christmas

clothes. You know this kind of tacky Christmas

sweater with matching fuzzy socks with

reindeers and snowflakes?

My absolute top must-have. Add to the set a

see-through Starbucks’ cup with a snowman and

I’m all over the moon. Fine, you’re right that I

would live without all these useless things and

all I do is giving big companies more money. So

what? Life is short, I want to enjoy it even if it

means being happy for stupid reasons like

decorating my room with expensive and

ridiculous decorations I’m going to put to the

boxes in a couple of months anyway. I regret

nothing.

And one more this.

Coke’s commercial.

I cannot even express in words how mad and

scandalized I was with it last year when found

out they had changed it. Are you kidding me?

Where’s my “Holiday Is Coming”(that also I

should have mentioned in the “Songs” category

but decided the whole thing deserves

discussing)? The first time they air it is like

Christmas’ official opening sign. Where’s my

adored lorry? Where’s my favorite commercial

ever? Did you really think I would buy this shitty

snow-ball one? Well, hell to the no.

So have yourself a merry little Christmas as the

beautiful songs says, don’t be a Grinch but enjoy

the most wonderful time of the year!

Merry Christmas,

PS

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AUTUMN/WINTER season 2012

Fashion people have it harder. Always have,

always will. We get up at the crack of dawn, just to

make sure our outfit is undeniably perfect, we look

through fashion blogs every day, even though we

have a long list of extracurricular activities and

homework, we don’t whine when our legs hurt

from walking around too much in shopping centers

and we certainly don’t regret any penny we spent

on the newest collection in stores. Our devotion has

no boundaries. But winter... Winter is the one and

only exception to the rule. Every November through

February morning, we wake up feeling nothing but

the coziness of our warm bed and the baleful air

waiting for us right the moment we step out of it.

Automatically, we don’t care about the perfect

outfit, hanging beautifully on the wall, which we

spent half an hour of the previous night to choose.

Strangely, just looking at this flawless dress and a

thin sweater, makes us unbelievably cold from

inside out. We cast a last glance at it, shaking our

heads ‘no’, because all we can manage, is to grab

the warmest hoodie and the first pair of jeans that

horridly do not even match, but altogether, almost

seem to give us the effect of the tucking downy

duvet. Then, all the way at school, when after the

first period you start to come around and go to the

bathroom, you look at yourself in the mirror and

with every inch of your heart you regret the choice

of your outfit (or the unacceptable lack of it). This

this not the way it should be. And you, more than

anyone, should know that.

First of all, we need to accept that winter equals a

totally new tactic of dressing. Unlike the

summertime, when we minded so much about

having multiple dresses, skirts, shorts or god knows

what, now, all we need to focus on, is finding just a

couple of amazing pieces we will wear over and

over throughout the whole season. Which basically

means finding a few perfect sweaters, a few pairs of

perfect jeans and some really comfortable shoes.

by TOPSHOP.

9

Sweaters. The best way to wear them in this particular season is to have a shirt with a characteristic collar

underneath it. Which basically means going back to the ancient times of our parents’ youth. The collar of the

shirt should be studded (the already studded versions of the shirts in stores are way more expensive than the

unstudded models, so I suggest buying your own

studs and ‘doing it yourself’), but both ways are

equally acceptable. The whole thing is beyond

amazing, because it’s both really fashionable and

warm. Which is the exact goal we’re aiming at.

Another advantage is that if you get bored, you can

always throw on a huge necklace, or simply change

the colors of the sweaters and shirts. Also, when

you get overheated, you can simply take off the

sweater and still look nice. Summer was the time to

change the clothing style every day. Now it’s time to

experiment with matching bags, hats or accessories.

As for sweaters, I’d suggest slightly (or not-so-

slightly) oversized ones, because the slim tight ones

are already a bit out of season. Remember to

choose the best ones you can find (the color, style,

material), because it alone is substituting for your

most precious summer skirts or dresses. Have in

mind, that this season is undeniably ruled by plain

sweaters (multiple color fiber is ok), which means

no animals or hearts in the middle, no matter how

cute you think they are. For the shirts, the most

important parts are the collars. Jeans or white is

largely popular, but your creativity here is totally

welcome and highly advised.

Very often, there’s a problem with the sleeves and

what to do with them. There are two stylish

solutions to it – you either roll them up (actually

with sweaters rolling up could not be such a great

option, so what I mean is just to push them up,

without rolling it up) or you leave it normally, but

you expose the shirt sleeves. The second option is

definitely more fashionable and elegant, but the

first one is more comfortable and modern. Choose

either one.

Remember: try to contrast the color of the shirt and the sweater – for example, for a white sweater you should

choose jeans or black shirt, whereas for a black/grey/dark-colored sweater – a white or cream shirt. Sometimes

a white shirt and a cream sweater works too, but you still need to be careful with it – do avoid the similarity of

colors. Dark shirt + a dark sweater is a definite no.

by TOPSHOP

The next important things are jeans. I’d totally suggest Jeggins (super tight ones), simply because they make

your legs look longer and thinner (especially with sweaters). If you wear baggy pants, your figure is going to

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seem heavy and shapeless). As for the color, I’d choose dark ones because, a) obviously, they make your legs

look thinner b) they would emphasize the look of you sweater.

By TOPSHOP

The last (but not least) important thing are the

shoes. For autumn, they can, fortunately, still be

high-heeled. I’d suggest black anklet wedges. They

are super comfy, go great with your dark jeans and

make your legs look longer. But if you already have

long legs and don’t feel the need to emphasize the

fact, you can of course experiment with shoes in

colors different from your jeans (claret, brown). But

have the heels and the whole shoes in the same

color please! Suede is so ridiculously in, so I’d also

stick to that.

The other option for shoes are boots. Apparently

some people dislike wearing heels (can you even

believe that?), claiming that they are too high, too

uncomfortable, too dangerous … I totally refuse to

agree with that, but I can admit that I have seen

some very nice boots in stores that Iook really,

really good. So good, that surely even people who

love heels, would gladly add at least a pair to their

collection.

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The boots I’m talking about, have a 1-3 cm-thick

heel, are over ankle and are usually black,

sometimes decorated with studs or buckle details.

They are really comfortable. With a leather-sleeved

parka (wait until the next article about all kinds of

outwears!) they make a perfect London look.

Animals go to sleep in winter. Lucky them. But just because we cannot do that doesn’t mean that we

are not allowed to feel a bit lazier and ‘leave me alone’ – er than we usually do. So, instead of

worrying about having different styles every day, how about just sticking to that one set pattern, but

just changing the pieces (shirts, sweaters, jeans and shoes). That way will spare you a lot of trouble

and you’ll still look as perfect as ever.

HS

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300

- Idea for a Christmas present

A friend, companion, art tool and simply the best

gift in the history of all gifts. But honestly - isn’t it

the essential of any modern art lover’s desire? For

some people, the idea of the camera may seem

intimidating, because they know that the society of

people who own it is entirely closed to the involved,

meaning the artistic souls that derive the pleasure

from anything artistically beautiful. In a way, it’s

a sophisticated form of art, because of the

uniqueness of the pictures that cannot be

manufactured. We don’t snap half as many pictures

as on normal cameras, which makes all of the

photographs highly thought-out (well mostly),

reminding us of all the good memories we

captured. Each picture has a story leading to or

following it and it makes you think of people

involved in the particular period of your life. The

magic of this particular camera is downright

irresistible.

You would not get it unless you experience it.

First of all, don’t panic when the picture comes out

blank. A minute is all it needs to become visible,

and once it does, the happiness is indescribable.

Every time, the waiting feels like forever, but its

priceless, how the anticipation turns ANYONE into a

little kid, squirreling and cheering for it to ‘go

faster’. It could be really hilarious sometimes.

About the camera itself, it runs on 4 A batteries,

which God knows when are going to run out, so I

suggest always having an extra set along with the

camera. Its refill is sold in a set of 10 pieces (the film

is definitely smaller and more oblong than the

traditional polaroid films) locked in a small plastic

box (usually around 40 zl a pack, but if you can find

those with a close expiration date - they do have an

expiration date, the current regular version is dated

till 2014 - you may purchase them in a lot cheaper

price – I found a place on allegro where you can buy

it with just 25 zl), which you just put in without

unpacking (!). Unlike the real polaroid, it’s really

easy to use, runs on just 4 settings, that differ

themselves with the lighting effect it provides. I

personally think, that the only worth using one is

‘indoor-dark’ (any other makes the pictures really

dark, so use them only when it’s intentional),

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because it gives pictures a vintage effect, with

unnaturally light central points. One important

remark: the room cannot be fully dark (even a place

outside at night, with no or very minor street

lights), because the effect turns out just no good.

Literally, everything here depends on the light you

give, so don’t be surprised, when each and every

picture comes out differently. Be careful with that.

You also might want to know, that the picture you

see though the eye, captures way less than it turns

out on the photograph – once, when I took a

picture with the Palace of Culture and Science, my

friends were sure that it won’t catch the whole

building, but it turned out to not only catch it all,

but also leave a fine space above. Also, not that I

was dumb enough to try, but DO NOT TAKE

PICTURES IN THE MIRROR. Just saying.

If you may wonder, it did survive a fall on the

ground. Just the batteries fell out, but once you

push them back in, the camera works perfectly fine.

Last but not least – don’t take pictures when you’re

alone. Doesn’t matter if the other people aren’t on

the photographs, or even if none of you are on

them. Just have in mind, that the more people you

love are involved in the moment of taking the

picture, the more properly the Polaroid is able to

work its magic.

HS

FujiFilm Instax Mini 7s

Polaroid 300

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1. my’o’my

Szpitalna Street 8 (Wojciecha

Górskiego), Śródmieście, Warsaw.

Food: Tortillas, salads, bagel burgers, toasts + breakfasts till 13:00 Price: 11 zł – 16 zł Everyone is talking about it for a reason.

Outstanding food, helpful staff and the

general magic of the place makes it hard

to resist.

Food: the bagel burger ‘lux’ was so worth the

try (served hot: burger beef meat, cheese,

arugula, tomato, cucumber). The magic lays in

the beef and sauce – I can tell it’s one of the

best burgers I’ve ever eaten.

The place alone is very cute and beautifully

designed; pretty small (garden, first floor and

the second floor), but not crowded, which

makes it a quiet place where you can just relax

or lazily spend a Friday afternoon with friends.

would I come here again: YES (for everything, I

feel a strong urge to try out the whole menu

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2. karmello

Chmielna Street 11, Śródmieście,

Warsaw. Food: Pralines (gift boxes), chocolate bars, fresh croissants, hot and iced chocolates (flavored), coffee’s Price: drinking chocolate, coffee (hot and iced) – 6zł – 10 zl A perfect spot for breakfast. The place is very small - a 10 m2 inside + a 4 table garden on the street. Food: Croissant, even though warm, was not buttery enough. The plus was the great chocolate melted in the separate small bowl, that goes with the croissant. What I’d gladly recommend is the flavored iced chocolate – not only was it beautifully decorated, but also

perfectly seasoned with mint and lemon balm. I don’t like it sickly sweet (like the drinking chocolate in Wedel), so this one here is just ideal for me. Very refreshing.

would I come here again: YES (for the drinking chocolates)

HS

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John Williams

Don’t you feel a shiver down your spine every

time you hear the opening sounds of the Star

Wars’ song? Aren’t your eyes swimming in tears

when “Leaving Hogwarts” starts playing? Oh

and don’t tell me you don’t feel at least a tiny

ache in your chest when you start listening to

“Rose’s Theme”* and think straight away about

the scene when Jack and Rose kiss for the last

time on this unforgettable staircase. Now it’s

time to ask a question who’s behind these

masterpieces and many more. Straight to the

point. John Williams.

(*”Titanic’s” Soundtrack is not Williams’ but James Horner’s

although it was inspired by John’s work.)

I decided to bring up the topic and educate you a

little bit because of the Concert of the Movies’

Music that took place on 14th Oct in the Congress

Hall in honor to John, which I was so lucky to

attend.

According to Wikipedia (let’s face it, where else

would I look for information?) John Towner

Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American

composer, conductor and pianist. So far he has

won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe

Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, and 21 Grammy

Awards. With 47 Academy Award nominations,

Williams is the second most nominated person,

after Walt Disney.

He has composed some of the most recognizable

film scores in the history of motion pictures,

including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman,

the Indiana Jones films, E.T. the Extra-

Terrestrial, Home Alone and its sequel (wow, did

you know that?) , Hook, Jurassic Park,

Schindler's List, War Horse, and the first three

Harry Potter films.

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He’s a genius, isn’t he?

Now back to the concert.

The event was a kind of a celebration of the

composer’s 80th birthday (even though he’s got

birthday in February but still) and I’m pretty

sure John even texted (or maybe tweeted?

Would it be appropriate of him to tweet?) the

organizers and the Polish Orchestra Sinfonia

Iuventus to thank them and express how much

it all meant to him. Being able to listen to the

professionals play alive was something

absolutely amazing and breathtaking. There

were people dressed up in Star Wars’ costumes

so when they came on stage during the

performance, the impression was magical.

Almost surrealistic. Also, I have to admit my

eyes watered more than a little bit when they

were playing “My Heart Will Go On”. The only

thing I have to complain about (and I will not

accept the fact that Start Wars were the theme

of the whole concert) is the Harry Potter part. I

mean, c’mon, one piece? Not even “Hedwig’s

Theme” or “Leaving Hogwarts” (maybe good,

that would probably have left me as a sobbing

mess) but “Christmas at Hogwarts”. Not cool

considering the fact that he composed

soundtracks to first three parts of HP. But apart

from that (not so little) disappointment we also

got to listen to “Superman”, “Jurassic Park”,

“Jaws”, “Indiana Jones”, “Gladiator”* and

“Forrest Gump”*.

(*Also, not John’s pieces but Hans Zimmer’s and Alan

Silvestri’s)

I’m glad you know now whom you owe so much

and as soon as you get home, you’ll get (I’m not

saying download though, because it’s illegal,

right? Right?) at least one album of his and

enjoy the music as much as I and the rest of the

world do.

Have a nice day! -PS

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OH MY GOD. THERE'S

GOING TO

BE A CONCERT IN POLAND.

The moment that I found out was... pretty exciting. Well, it's one of my favorite bands so why shouldn't I jump around like a retard? I've waited for it so so long and here it is –within the reach.

~ First thing to do - get money for the ticket. Easy thing - ask parents. ✓Money - checked. What's next? Find a friend to go with you. There's the first obstacle. I have no friends. Yeah. Write to some people I know - nobody likes Coldplay. Damn. Wait, no. One of my friends loves them.

Text her. She doesn't have any money. DAMN.

Okay, found another friend. She agrees. Praise the Lord! (funny thing, I'm an atheist) ✓Get a friend - checked. I want to buy the tickets as soon as possible so they don't get sold out. She hesitates. Hesitates for 5 months. Great. I have to wait with the purchase in case she stands me up. Aaaand she does. Lucky me. ✗Get a friend - unchecked. ✓Lose all the hope and crawl in the hole crying - checked.

~ A few months pass. I already forgot about the concert. Okay, I didn't. It still squeezes my guts when I see the posters. Damn you people, stop putting them everywhere like crazy. And no - I can't go alone. Parents.

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~ New school, new people. Ask Gabrysia if she wants to go. She agrees. OH MY GOD! YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES. ✓Get a friend - checked. I implode inside. It turns out that a few people from my class are crazy about Coldplay. I love all of you. Like. Really. Run and get the ticket. Still available. ✓Get the ticket - checked. ✓Be the happiest person in the world - checked.

~ Too bad the concert is on Wednesday... Nevermind that, we manage to get to the concert early enough to get a great spot. We get some weird bracelets. Of course - the roof of our national stadium is open. Because asjhjhs you, that's why. People are perfectly fine soaking wet. Meanwhile, my friend gets lost. Of course.

She finds me after about ten minutes.

~

Music starts pouring from the speakers. It's not Coldplay yet but I can feel warmth spreading down my limbs.

✓Survive through support - checked. Okay, that's way too good to be true.

~ Back To The Future theme floods the stadium. OH. MY. GOD. That's funny... everyone should be screaming and jumping all excited but nobody does it. Everyone is standing and watching the shining lights in amazement. Fireworks go off. Hurts Like Heaven blasts everyone's ears. Our bracelets start shining. Some shine red, others blue, pink, white, green, yellow... Stadium turns into a huge wave of blinking lights.

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Outstanding sight, believe me.

People jumping and screaming, tears streaming down their faces (literally)… Band members come out. A few songs pass. Nobody seems to care that our legs are going to fall off from jumping too much. Lovers in Japan come up. Canons burst out with confetti in the shape of flowers, butterflies, teardrops and crowns.

Girls stuff their bras with it. WHAT. Don't ask me. I'm as confused as you are. Everyone is squealing with excitement. The whole concert is full of confetti, lights and amazing music. It's magical.

~ We get out of the stadium. Everyone starts singing the same song. It's beyond amazing.

~ That concert was that kind of thing that you don't forget. Thousands hearts beating in the same rhythm... People understanding each other because their hearts and minds belong to one band.

✓Have amazing memories - checked ~Suzie

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What The Hell is Gangnam Style?

Gangnam Style is the title of the K-Pop single

performed by the South Korean rapper PSY.

It’s become the most popular song of the year,

beating the much loved and adored ‘Call Me

Maybe’ by Carly Rae Jepsen. Its phenomenon

is based on two major things. The first one is

the newly invented dance style, which is just

destroying the system with its weirdness, fun,

energy and general awesomeness. In a

mysterious way, it quickly made its way into

peoples’ hearts. The second one is obviously

the catchy beat that’s stuck in your head

within a single play on the radio. And, despite

the general opinion, the song itself is not dirty

at all. It’s actually very sweet, having lines like

‘the girl who hides, is way sexier than the one

who shows’. The video was released on July

15th this year and has already reached six

hundred and eighty one million views. it is the

third most viewed video on YouTube and the

first K-Pop music video ever to appear on the

list. It has set the glamorous record as the

most ‘liked’ video in the history of YouTube.

The song has also many parodies, including:

"Jewish Style", "Mitt Romney Style", "Gandalf

Style" and many many, more... Each more

inappropriate than the other.

PSY has performed his famous dance with a

lot of famous people around the world, for

example: Google's executive chairman Eric

Schmidt, the British Prime Minister David

Cameron and the UN Secretary-General Ban

Ki-Moon.

Have You heard it yet? If not, do it right now!

OPA Gangnam Style! - John

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21

What The Hell are Belgian fries?

Asking a Canadian fanatic of Belgian fires, he

explained everything to me in just a 5 minute

long conversation on the phone. “Now, here’s

what you need to know” – a clearly happy

tone, glad he can share his expertise. “There

are some very important characteristics that

differentiate the Belgian from the popular

French fries and simply shame on you, my

friend, if you fail to tell them apart”. He

continued saying, that unlike the ordinary

fries, Belgian variety is always freshly cut and

fried. They’re fried twice; the first time just

after being cut, the next time – without being

frozen in the meantime! - just before being

served. They are way thicker than the usual

fries, but they still have the crispy outside and

the fluffy inside. The rich, fluffy inside makes

them taste like potatoes, which is not a thing

we can say about the ordinary fries.

Doing a little bit of an extra research on its

history, I learned that French fries came from

the southern part of Belgium, which is closer

to France. Unlike the thick, original Belgian

fries, firstly invented by the poorest people in

the country, who could easily stuff themselves

with these huge pieces of fried potatoes, the

southern version was meant to be more classy

and served as an extra to a meal.

The phenomenon of this long-forgotten

version of fries, probably comes from the fact

that we already got tired of the same old

French fries. Also, maybe because we know

that the Belgian ones are way healthier, as the

fluffy part still contains some bits and pieces

of vitamins and nutrition of real potatoes.

Well, sort of.

Right now they are widely popular, which is

why they’re also becoming more and more

known in Poland. The place I like to visit is the

tiny Belgian Fries place, on Złota Street 3

(behind Galeria Centrum), where they serve

9 delicious kinds of fresh fries. Their prices

range from 5 zl (small fires, 200 g) to 12 zl (for

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22

the hugest, 600 g). Besides the fries, you can

also order one kind of burger (14 zl), onion

rings (6 zl), chicken wings (9 zl), nuggets (with

cheese and pepper, 8 zl), jalapeno peppers

with cheese (9 zl), hash browns (6 zl), sweet

fries (8 zl) and Belgian waffles (6 zl). I did enjoy

the Belgian version, my favorites are the

seasoned ones, which makes me think of the

famous beach fries sold in local Taco shops in

the California. I do absolutely plan to go there

for more.

H.

What the hell is iPhone 5?

You may have heard a lot about the new

iPhone 5 in the past few weeks. But do

You know how exactly it differs from the

previous generations of the most popular

smartphone in the world? If you want to

find out, this article is for You.

The biggest visible change in the design is

the screen. All the previous generations

had a 3,5 inch display, but unlike those

models, iPhone 5 has an all-new 4 inch,

1136 by 640 pixels Retina Display. It’s

simply the best you can get on a

smartphone. The second noticeable

difference is the back of the phone. Now,

most of the back panel is covered with a

nice kind of aluminum feel metal. The very

top and bottom remained glass.

The next thing is that the headphone jack

has been moved to the bottom part of the

device and the speakers design has been

slightly changed, which makes it look

more like the ones on the new iPad. Apple

has also introduced a new connector for

iPhone this year and it will become a

standard for other new devices, meaning

iPods and iPads. It’s called Lightning, is a

lot smaller and reversible. If you worry

about your accessories You can always buy

an adapter. Speaking of redesigning, Apple

also redesigned their headphones, which

are now called Earpods. They are said to

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23

be better and more innovative but to me

they simply look like a pair of hairdryers.

The last external improvement is the

thickness and weight of the phone. Its

thickness has been reduced from 9.2mm

to 7.6mm (17% thinner) and its weight

dropped from 140g to 112g. One ounce

may not seem to be very much but when

you compare those two weights it feels so

much lighter, almost like a toy.

Now it’s time to take a look inside the

iPhone 5. This baby has the newest

generation of Apple processors (A6), a

new, better camera (8MP) which is

capable of shooting 1080p videos at 30 fps

and has a totally new Panorama feature

that allows you to take high resolution

panorama photos. With the new iOS6

preloaded on the iPhone 5 you get

improved Siri, virtual assistant with a few

new features, Apple Maps (unfortunately

not the best, they have a lot of bugs and

Google Maps are way better) and with a

taller screen you can see more of your

applications and web content.

In conclusion, iPhone 5 is one of the best

smartphones ever made, but

unfortunately in Poland it can be quite

pricey. The 16GB starts at about 2800PLN

and a 64GB version costs 3700PLN. But it’s

worth saving for and you should be very

satisfied with both the hardware and the

software system (maybe except the maps

:)). And if you ask, if I’m a fanboy, my

answer is yes, I am.

-John

Two iPhone Apps

1. VideoTUBE I used to be annoyed, whenever I wanted to replay something on YouTube, because with each play, it had to reload all over again. Not to mention, a hell lot of MB’s was consumed, completely unnecessarily, which bothered me when I was using 3G. Thankfully, not anymore, and that’s because of this app. It allows me to download ALL of the videos from YT (even official music videos) straight to my iPhone. I can now watch and re-watch them, make playlists with them.. This app made my life so much easier. Completely free.

2. Akinator

I’d possibly call it the coolest app in the history of apps. It’s magical, wonderful, amazing… But also incredibly scary and intimidating. Though that’s what makes it so cool - I could literally play with it for hours. It basically is a game, in which you have to think of a certain public person (singer, writer, politician) and properly answer all the questions given by at the ‘Akinator’ regarding the person you’re thinking of. If you answer the questions truthfully, the Akinator will always get the person right. For example, I thought about Abel Tesfae (which obviously he guessed correctly). And I honestly don’t think you know him. He’s an incredible singer.

HS

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24

With or Without You by

Brian Farrey

I honestly couldn’t decide whether I wanted to

read faster, anticipating how it’s all going to

turn out, or to use my whole willpower to

slow down and make it last as long as

possible. I failed miserably, finishing it in just

less than two days. Sure enough, when I finally

put the book down, I simply could not stop

thinking about it. It’s the kind of book, that

gives you knowledge about life, you probably

wouldn’t get anywhere else. It makes you

realize things, you’d never realize, if you

hadn’t read this book. And it gives you hope

that even in the darkest times of life, there’s

always a way out, if that’s what you truly

desire.

Asked about the genre of this book, I wouldn’t

say it’s a romance or Young Adult literature, as

Amazon classified it. It may have originally

been aimed at young adults, but I guess it’s

the book’s level of maturity that makes me

think differently. In fact, adults may even

enjoy this book more than teenagers because

I guess, they would be able to understand it

more deeply. But I suppose. In this case it’s

more the type of personality, than the age

that counts. All I can say is that it’s not a book

you’d expect to find on a shelf marked “young

adult literature”. And the only way you can

truly understand that is to read it.

Personally, I would call it a very intelligent

story about love.

The first meaning of love is reserved for lovers

only. The kind of lovers that loved each other

so much, it physically hurt. Who aren’t able to

view their lives without their other half in it

anymore. Who are willing to sacrifice and

forgive anything, because they know that life

without their love would be completely

aimless and just not worth living. You can

actually tell the author is homosexual – no

straight man could afford such gentleness,

writing about love. ‘We made love’, one of the

characters said at one point, which I really

appreciated. He showed us exactly, what a

perfect relationship should look like - the

perfect real relationship, not the surreal

fairytale one - and I think he couldn’t have

done it better. As much as the main characters

were way far from being perfect, in the

mayhem of their imperfections, they were just

flawless together. Love. The author showed us

the true meaning of love. Whenever anything

happened, whenever something was kept

untold, love was always the factor that solved

all the problems. No matter what happened, it

was always able to pull the lovers back

together.

I always wondered what a relationship like

that would really look like. I mean a

heterosexual one. And now I know. From a

more than reliable source. The author was

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25

lucky enough to get married, as he called his

husband ‘his own Erik’. I guess what I love

most about male homosexual relationships is

the way they can afford to be so fully exposed

and vulnerable with themselves. In straight

relationships, the man is supposed to be the

strong one, the protective one that would

never allow himself to cry. But here, they are

equally half a “female” and half a “male” of

the relationship. I have always pictured a gay

relationship to be very strong. Despite having

a hard time dealing with society, general

acceptance, the families, the government,

they still choose to be together. So many

obstacles, yet they are determined to be

together, because love is all they have. That I

call love.

The next kind is strictly meant for friends, the

kind of friends that found each other in the

most lonely moments of life, when they had

absolutely no one. Who stick together “no

matter the weather”, who are by each other’s

sides throughout all of the adventures, feeling

that victory tastes sweeter and pain is less

painful when they are shared. Who love the

other person more than they love themselves.

Who feel responsible for the other and are

able to sacrifice so much to save them.

But even such an amazing friendship could

end for the right reason. Which brings us to

the song, that was brought to the story. One

of its few lines goes: “I love you hard enough

to move on”. And that’s what Evan did. For

some people the story may seem somehow

unresolved and unsatisfying, but I can’t

possibly imagine a better ending. It was

exactly how it would have happened in real

life. It hurt, it did, but Evan needed to ‘move

on’. For himself and for Davis. He loved him so

much, but he knew that it would be better for

both of them if he let go. There was absolutely

no future for their relationship. Some could

take it as a selfish act, they may think that he

abandoned the friend and let the fate decide

about his life. But for me, it was just an act of

pure love. It sure hurt him as much or even

more than it hurt Davis. But he knew that

Davis had the right to decide about his own

life. And as much as Evan loved his friend, he

needed to respect that.

The third kind of love, lives within the family.

The love, even seemingly cold and absent, is

always quietly lying in the family members’

hearts no matter what. Parents can act in

various ways, but there is not a parent who

does not love their children. Whatever mess

parents make, they do it out of love. And

that’s for sure.

The genius thing is how the author managed

to include so many important aspects of life

within one book. Love issues are a significant

part of the story but certainly more than that

contributed to the greatness of this book.

One of them, is that the book truthfully

portrayed the life of a gay community. The

author didn’t try to deny any stereotypes

about gay people, nor claim anything specific

views. Instead, he just showed us two aspects

of their world, that couldn’t be possibly more

different from each other. I guess he wanted

to accentuate that everything depends on

what we want to believe, not what it really is

like. One aspect was the community of

bugchasers, who were nothing but stupid,

pathological and sick. They didn’t believe in

true love and viewed sex just as a physical

activity with no feelings attached. The other

kind of it was just a normal, healthy happy

relationship of Evan and Erik. So close,

because they’re both gays, yet so far. Just like

“normal” straight peoples’ relationships. They

too, could be pathological, sick or great. But

oddly enough, no one seems to have a bad

opinion about that.

What also made me think was the denial that

gay people tend to show. All of the hate that

straight people send to gays, makes the

“unsure” gay people think that being gay is

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26

shameful. Nowadays, people are thought to

be more tolerant and open-minded, but still,

there are too many of people in this world,

who are homophobic. That causes a lot of

violence, mostly because the “unsure gays”

are in denial. Like Kenny. It was probably the

author’s way to tell people – show your

acceptance, because one day you might regret

that you didn’t.

I also like it how the book contains bits and

pieces of gay history or art knowledge. It’s

commonly known that the information gained

during reading just any book, tents to stays in

our heads forever. For example, now I know

that Stonewall rebellion, the biggest event in

gay history, started in 1969 . And that Keith

Haring, a great modern artist, who created a

signature radiant baby, died of AIDS.

Speaking of AIDS, he book could also be a loud

appeal to people to be aware of HIV. The

author showed us the struggle of a sick

person, how his health was changing no

matter how regularity the drugs were taken

and body exercised, how unpredictable the

sickness could be. We hear about two people

being happy, and a week later, just out of the

blue, one of them dies. Apart from showing us

the development of this sickness, he also tried

to show us that it’s the attitude of the people

who are infected that counts and how people

from their closest environment should care.

We got to know two of them – Sable and Mr.

Benton, also so close, yet so far. Both of them

got the disease through no fault of their own.

Mr. Benton should be the person who hates it

like no one else, as all of his friends and most

importantly, the love of his life died of it in

just a period of one year, yet still, he is strong

enough to try to fight it. He is a happy and

cheerful person, who would never want

anyone to struggle as much as he does. He

even helps people, by teaching a yoga lessons.

Sable, on the other hand, devoted his life to

revenge. The only person he lost (and still,

even that wasn’t exactly true, as he still lived)

was himself. Still he hated the whole word for

doing this to him, claiming that it was

extremely unfair. Maybe it was, maybe it

wasn’t. But all we know is that even if he

infected thousands of people, he would never

feel happy. Never as happy as Mr. Benton,

who accepted his life just the way it was.

The book itself is very well written. What I

absolutely adore is the choice of words for

describing feelings. It was one of those books

that could make you feel something very

strong, something that’s usually missing in our

everyday life. I love the author’s way of

thinking and the consistence in creating the

plot and characters, which I consider perfect.

They are real and relatable at the same time,

which is not a common thing in literature

nowadays. The amazing thing, is that the book

tells us a story about a taboo subject, but

doesn’t make us uncomfortable while reading

it. That’s a book I would both get for a gay

friend, to comfort him that everything’s going

to be ok, or for an absolute homophobe, to

make him realize that gay people exist. In

fact, I already asked my friend who lives in

New York to buy me a copy, as there’s one

person I’d really want to give this book to as a

Christmas present. I hope it works out. Fingers

crossed, but before my friend reads it, I hope

you do. Because I doubt you’ll regret it.

HS