ADIOS ESPANA - OLA ADEOTOYE (23.06.14)


 Titans of the game, unbeatable, the pass masters, all can be used to describe the Spanish national team. In recent years they have ruled the world at not only international level but on the club scene as well. Their crown jewel FC Barcelona managed at the time by the mastermind of 'tiki taka' football Pep Guardiola swept aside all that came up against them like a modern day Roman empire (unfortunately twice it happened to be Manchester United in their way).

Then to further compound their dominance on the football stage the national team ended their tournament hoodoo by capturing the European Championships in 2008. All that seemed to do was whet the appetite of this greedy trophy machine, and in 2010 they picked up the World Cup in South Africa, followed by the European championships in 2012 dismantling Italy 4-0 in the final. But like all great empire's there comes a time when those at the top fall, and Spain's run of three successive international trophies is over at the first hurdle.                                                                                                                               It was expected that the 5-1 slumping at the hands of Van Gaal's Netherlands side might act as a jolt of electricity and surge through the entire side, how wrong those people were.

Chile even before the World Cup had started had already previously shown Roy  Hodgson's England on Wembley turf that they were not a team to take lightly. A side featuring key players like Alexis Sanchez (FC Barcelona),  Arturo Vidal (Juventus) and Eduardo Vargas (Napoli) will cause even the best teams problems. As the referee blew his whistle on 96 minutes Jorge Sampaoli's Chile side plunged the final dagger through Spain's World Cup ambitions in Brazil. Their 2-0 loss left them rock bottom of Group B with zero points from a possible six, with only a dead rubber game against Australia to prepare for before the squad flies back home, albeit a lot more prematurely than we all thought.

It's the end of the line at international level for players like Xavi, David Villa, Iker Casillas, and Xabi Alonso, the end of an era if you will. But Spain have a conveyor belt of talent coming from within their local academies and current young stars. Players such Isco, Thiago, David De Gea, Jese Rodriguez, Iker Muniain, and Gerard Deulofeu. All are the next crop of stars who will feature heavily in any future successes of the Spain national team. But for now the greedy trophy hungry machine I spoke of earlier is in a gentle slumber, while their fans await the rise of their future Spanish heroes.

CHANGE -JULIET AMPONSAH-GYASI (23.06.16)

Change is inevitable. It can be uncomfortable, unsettling, confusing and easily misinterpreted. But at the same time it could mean something completely different. 

Change is inevitable. It can be life-changing, inspiring, heart-warming and a chance to learn something new.

In both circumstances, whether positive or not: Change is undoubtedly inevitable.

Often in my life and probably yours too, it’s easy to fall into patterns and routines that bring about pretty much the same result over time. But when we carry out these routines, and we don’t get what we expected or what we wanted, we’re thrown into some kind of state of confusion. We ask questions (the who’s, the what’s, the when’s) but how often do we seek out the why or how? Why am I reacting to the change in this way and how could I have approached it differently?

I have very recently become a believer that change comes in order to allow us to grow. Change comes in order to force us out of our comfort zones. Change comes in order to allow us to learn from our past in order to act accordingly in the present.

Ultimately, change comes in order to allow us to move on.

Though it’s not easy to recognise it may be for the better, it’s important to realise that we have no control over when it will eventually come. As human beings, it’s in our nature to want to know the next step and to feel in control of the situation, when in reality we have no such control over whether or not a particular circumstance may change the direction in which we were going. As confusing as it may seem, embracing the fact you have little control over what will happen next may actually help you continue to progress, rather than stubbornly sitting down and insisting things will go exactly as you wish them to. 

See the thing is, in believing you have ultimate control over everything, you fail to seek and weigh up all the available options. You can become set in your ways, refusing to accept that another way is better. There may come a time when your way can no longer work at all, and because you didn’t think of any of the other options before, you feel utterly at a loss and have an even greater sense of not being in control after all. You’ve limited your options and you’re not able to choose another pathway so easily when you’ve gone so far with one line of thinking.

When you allow yourself to realise you don’t have ultimate control, you begin to seek out option 1, 2, 3 and 5 in trying to get where you need to go. You consider other routes more naturally and can weigh up the pros and cons of them all. If one way doesn’t work out, you can always use another, with modifications if need be. You may not have all the answers but you can always seek help since you know you’re not the one controlling each path, but you do have control of which path you choose to follow, just as you have a choice in stopping and following another path if you wish.

Allowing yourself to be open to your lack of control seems to allow us to be more adaptive, more creative and have better control over ourselves and how we react to particular situations. Though our circumstances may change, we’ve probably already considered these possible changes and so we are more able to adapt and display the knowledge we have learnt from previous changes too.

So as I have said all the way through: Change is inevitable and pretty uncontrollable. But if you accept that you have no direct influence on it, it almost becomes easier to accept and a lot easier to work through. It takes a little time to come to terms with the fact that all your plans won’t necessarily always go the way you hoped, but over time you may come to realise: that was how it was supposed to be. Change is as great a teacher and it challenges us to consider things we may not have seen before. It is only my sincere hope that the changes that are about to happen in your life are received with a mind as open as your eyes in perceiving and receiving what the potential change in circumstance has to offer.

Peace and Love,

Abenaa B x

HOLLAND VS SPAIN - OLA ADEOTOYE  ( 15/06/2014)

It was a rematch of the 2010 final in South Africa, Netherlands coached by new Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal and Spain by their all conquering overseer Vicente Del Bosque. Four years prior to yesterday's titanic match, Bert van Marwijk's Holland attempted to kick Spain off the pitch (literally in De Jong's case), as a way of countering the slick possession based game the Spanish made it their own. Such tactics were condemned by pundits n professionals in the game even those from Holland.

However such employment of tactics weren't anywhere to be seen yesterday. Indeed Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso expertly dispatched his penalty on the 27th minute after Diego Costa was brought down a little clumsily by Dutch centre back Stefan De Vrij. But importantly Captain Robin Van Persie scored a well taken looping header over Iker Casillas, meaning both sides went in at halftime level. But what happened in the second half no one not even Van Gaal himself foresaw what was going to happen (though he might tell you the exact opposite) in the second half.

Holland came out like a team possessed, yes the stats as they always will in Spain's case favoured the World Cup holders, but in the second half the entire team was savaged by blistering and precise counter attacking football, lead by Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie. The Dutch put a further four goals past the reigning champions, with Robben's solo mockery of the Spain backline before firing it into the net was the pick of the bunch.

The Dutch were fantastic and ruthless with the way they countered the Spanish, whereas Del Bosque's side were quite simply shell-shocked. They now face an up-hill struggle getting out of the group, even more so after Chile beat Australia 3-1. So anything less than a win against a very talented Chile featuring captain Arturo Vidal (Juventus) and Alexis Sanchez (FC Barcelona). Meaning potentially the reigning European and World champions could go out in the group stages.

As for the Netherlands they march on and have now sent a warning shot to the rest of the 31 teams in the World Cup, that they are gunning for glory this summer.

BRAINWASH: THE EP LAUNCH

 TUES 17TH JUNE 
@ SURYA LONDON | KINGS CROSS | N1 9JL 

Clixx will be releasing his brand new EP "BRAINWASH" ; and also in celebration of his 21st birthday this month he will be holding an EP launch event on the 17th of June @ Surya in Kings Cross.

This will be an intimate event where he finally gets a chance to introduce his new sound to close friends, fellow creatives and supporters in attendance. It will also be an opportunity for people to mingle and network with one another.

With appearances on BET, MTV Base, Capital FM & SBTV; And being credited as "a breath of fresh air" by MOBO, Clixx definitely is an artist to watch out for this year. - @NewVisionMedia  

 If your not already familiar with Clixx CHECK OUT THE LINKS BELOW and get up to speed with this phenomenal artist! 

Clixx - Shut It Down Feat. Ayo Beatz

Clixx - Only If You Want Feat. Jermaine Riley 

Clixx - Perspective

Clixx - Dolphins Feat. Just Viv

Click here to view Clixx's latest freestyle. 

SUPPORT ACTS ON THE NIGHT INC:

 AYO BEATZ - Ayo Beatz | 'Don't Worry' [GRM Daily]

LEVELLE LONDON - Levelle London - Place Called Love

GOLDIE 1 - Goldie 1 - You Know Why (Official Video) [@Goldie1Official] | Link Up TV

    ADMISSION:   

    ADVANCE TICKETS: ONLY £5 !!   

   MORE ON THE DOOR  

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE:

 >>>>> CLIXXEPLAUNCH.EVENTBRITE.COM <<<<<

  Closest Stations: KINGS CROSS & ST PANCREAS 

HASHTAG: #ClixxBrainwash || #TeamClixx || #TeamClicka and support the movement!

Your support by posting the event flyer to your blogs/websites would be greatly appreciated.  If you have any enquiries about Clixx or the event then please feel free to contact us.

WORLD CUP'S EVE - OLA ADEOTOYE ( 12/06/2014)


Ever since footballs governing body FIFA announced to the world that the 2014 World Cup was to be hosted by Brazil a powerhouse in the sport, we have (as in I and the rest of the waiting world) have been counting down the years, the months, and the days, and now ladies and gentlemen the Eve of football's greatest...no let me rephrase that, 'Sports greatest competition' has finally dawned on us all.
Thursday evening the rest of the viewing world and fans will witness organisers present all the cultural flavours Brazil has to offer during the opening ceremony. As marvellous as it will be in terms of bright lights, wonderful colours, and pyrotechnics, the football fan inside of me is itching for the on-pitch action to commence.

First things first the hosts of this summer's festivities go head to head with Croatia. Though they are much fancied by most to win the tournament, it will by no means be a straightforward match. Especially when going up against a side with the likes of Luka Modric, Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Rakitic, Mateo Kovacic and other recognised faces Niko Kovac's side will be a test for most teams.

From there after its 32 teams battling each other for 29 days and all for world domination and capture of the famous Jules Rimet trophy. The summer really does star here for football fans, whereas in a normal year we'd have to wait till the start of the new Barclays Premier League season, while using ongoing transfer speculation as a form of mild entertainment.

Ready your flags, your world cup jersey's and your cans of beer because whatever team your all supporting (mine personally being Nigeria and England) one thing is for certain this year's World Cup will be full of thrills, spills and the usual upsets that will make the tournament in the adopted 'home of football' very special!

IS RIHANNA FASHIONABLE ? - EMAN ELITE ( 09/06/2014)

Vogue in the modern day French language means ‘style’. Style something that each individual possesses, when it comes to getting dressed up and showing the world their particular Fashion sense. The magazine which has been up and running since the year of 1892 had an illustration of lady in a fuchsia dress as their front cover. However now, it seems Vogue is channelling the sex appeal of celebrities to boost sales and profits. In particularly Vogue Brazil as I say this, but regardless, it is the same magazine.

Taking a look at these two photos of singer Rihanna, I am failing to see the ‘fashion’. These photos are from Rihanna’s Vogue Brazil 2014 shoot. Taking the pictures from completefashion.org it said ‘The Bajan superstar shows no sign of slowing down as she lands another prestigious Vogue cover’ I am sorry ‘Prestigious’ it said. In my own fashionable opinion, there is nothing neither fashionable, nor prestigious about a woman grabbing her breasts in front of the camera. I am not saying that Bajan born and bred singer cannot dress, or channel her inner fashion self, we have all seen her do it. But Vogue is a FASHION magazine, which features and showcases style, fashion, and everything elite about clothes.

We all know that Rihanna is not afraid to show off her body, it is one of her major selling points, other than her music, but when it comes to Vogue, I would rather see Kim Kardashian on the front cover, once she has been styled by Kanye of course.

Fashion is what fashion is; let’s say it is in the eyes of the beholder. But this just goes to show that fashion may no longer be about clothes and style, but is now about the sexual exploitation of celebrities.  Rihanna definitely being one of those that likes to be exploited. I may be over exaggerating, but this is what I feel, and I am talking from both a male point of view and a fashion blogger point of view.