Offbeat Warwick: This Blog Is Titled "A List Of Things I Think Are Quite Good"

So, after the self-explanatory title, here it is:

Number One.

My first thing that is good is a film that I have watched SO many times this summer - Nocturna, a film about a boy who is afraid of the dark. So this boy Tim is afraid of the dark and has a favorite star that makes him feel better about that, but one day he notices it isn't there, and so he missions it through the night to get his star back. Okay, the storyline may not be great, it's a pretty standard message about finding courage and conquering your fears, but then it is also a film for 7 year olds and some of it is a bit cheesy as a result. You are probably sat there thinking, well, that sounds like EVERY DISNEY FILM EVER (except maybe Disney's Sleepy Hollow which was something that should never have been made) but it is not. The most obvious difference between this and most animated films is the style, everybody is out of proportion and hardly any characters have noses, but this just makes them better because the characters themselves are brilliant. Particularly the Cat Shepherd who has big arms for running on all fours and is nimble and wonderful.

So that also gives you a good idea of the general look of the film as well as the Cat Shepherd, as the whole film is set at night the colours are lovely and muted which I quite like.

If there is one bit you have to watch it is a brilliant segment while Tim and the Cat Shepherd are running through the city showing all the people that come out at night and give you bed-hair and shake the dew onto the trees.

Number Two

So I have been mocked by many people about this one since starting uni, but I really love National Geographic and so should you. So, my gran has been getting me and my dad subscriptions for years now and it's genuinely the best present ever, the first issue of your subscription even comes with a branded fleece. Everyone go out right now and buy a copy, unless you hate learning about the world and how it works and looking at awesome pictures of weird animals and reading articles on stuff like this:

This guy is a Roma gypsy who made it big selling metal and to show his status got this tie made. From real gold. With the brand of his car woven into the deisgn. Who doesn't love that right? Yes, maybe it is not massively academic, but it's a magazine full of interesting articles about complicated things written in a way that is easier to digest than a full-on academic paper, from archaeology to world politics. Also, their infographics are top-notch and dayum, bitches love infographics.

Number Three

The third thing in this list is this blog. It is updated pretty regularly with new and awesome things that are happening, mostly in the design/illustration/general arty stuff world, everything is linked which is good and they do loads of videos on different trades (prime example: pub sign painting) and how things are created and the such. Also, there are links to loads of class things such as this and this which are oddly addictive because everybody likes to think that they have an eye for colour/room design/how to use negative space to create a calm and collected mood. This blog has introduced me to so many interesting things and I just love knowledge.

Number Four

Someone Like Me (Tales From a Borrowed Childhood) by Miles Kington is a book that my Dad heard on Radio 4's book of the week and then demanded that my mum buy for him, which bless her socks, she did, and I promptly stole. It's written as if to be an autobiography, but is pretty much entirely fictional. But ignoring that, it is also one of the wittiest books I have read. Each chapter is readable in itself, so if you ever find yourself perusing a library, then find this and read:

a. The chapter in which the Kington's hold a memorial for an aunt who has not yet died

b. The list of advice from his father

c. The chapter about wardrobes

It is genuinely funny, if you are not going to take things too seriously and analyse the writing too closely, and if I had the money to be buying hardback books for everyone I would be giving you this right now as a reminder that most of the time, people are a bit ridiculous.

Number Five

So, Offbeat is a music appreciation society so my fifth item on this list is another list, but this one is a list of songs I've been listening to recently, some are new songs, some are less new but NO LESS GREAT.

1. Yuksek - On a Train