Thứ Năm, 28 tháng 7, 2016

XCEL CLASS - I AM THE CHOSEN ONE

X-cel class is an honor English class of The Olympia Schools. I heard that this class only has 10 seats for 10 excellent students who are active, love challenging tasks, and desire to become a useful global citizen. Last school year (2015-2016), I was lucky enough to be in 9E, something similar to X-cel class, or it is the X-cel class, but the class was consisted of 18 people at first and 16 people at the end of the year.  Some people couldn't handle the heat, so they had to get out of the kitchen. There were homework everyday; we are all exhausted, but I learned tons of English skills and life skills, including baring pressure and anti-procrastination. I know nothing about 10 X-cel, I know that many new talented students are craving do be in this class, but I know for sure I am a part of it.


I am suitable for X-cel class! My picture is hanged in the Hall of Noble; my mind is vibrant and unconventional; my average grade is tremendous even though I haven't put any afford into it, so why not me in the top 10 most excellent students?



I was trying to do the X-cel class application. No one in my former class 9E knows about this, and I do not expect them to know this. However, I find some difficulties while registering on this form: I own a tiny number of extracurricular activities (because I am too poor and too shy to join some), I have not took part in any international English test, and I have no recommendation letter from my teachers (and no one in 9E has it). Therefore, I decide to ignore this application form and head straight to the main point. The 250–word essay, single-spaced, to tell them reasons why I want to apply for X-cel class, how do I plan to become an active member of the Xcel class and how Xcel class help me meet my educational and career goals.

My essay: 
"Participating in an honors class is not only an honor for me, but it's also a chance to advance all aspects of my academic performance, especially in later abroad education. After hours researching and asking for X-call students' experiences, I found out that there are plenty benefits I can gain from applying into X-cel class. Personally, I love to finish challenging tasks and critical thinking, and X-cel class was designed to utilize these skills. To become an active member of the X-cel class, I will show my diligence toward my assignments, be hard working, and freely express my thoughts whenever possible, even the most conventional thoughts. Besides finishing in-class tasks and homework, I will do external research and improvement exercises that will support me to accomplish my goals. Socializing and be more open to my classmates will be significant. If I am one of the ten students in this class, I will have more opportunities to obtain essential skills of a global citizen, including problem solving, communicating, concentration, team working, and many other useful life skills. Therefore, I can start to work more professionally and attentively like a university student in an all-star's environment, and I believe my confidence and stress taking level will rise as well. As a ninth grader who plans to study abroad, participating in X-cel class will enhance my college application with impressive scores, so I will be able to apply into higher competent universities and hunt more amount of scholarship. Furthermore, the pressure I am willing to bear in the whole course will help me eliminate my laziness and procrastination, the main threats to my education and career. To conclude, I am exceedingly qualified for X-cel class, a dramatic step of my high school year, as well as my career."

Thứ Tư, 27 tháng 7, 2016

PULLING OFF BLUE LIPSTICK

I am immediately turned on by cold and bold shades of lipstick, and white, grey, blue, and yellow are my top preference. This summer, I ordered some $1 lipsticks from Shop Miss A, and luckily enough, I had a chance to pick up a blue matte lipstick from Kleancolor Femme Lipsticks in the shade "Teal Attraction" after watching loads of review and swatches on Youtube. This tiny lippie is highly pigmented, perfect matte finish, although it comes out oily and sticky at first.





Being bold in the insipid crowd has been my hobby since I cannot communicate by words but images. If you are trying to create a bold look for yourself, then blue lips can be a recommendation. 


Teal Attraction can be a legit Jeffree Stars's Jawbreaker and Skylie dupe!

In Vietnam, they only sells pink and red lipsticks because most girls follow Korean beauty standard, which is super duper lame, so if you want to go creative on your look, you should order lipsticks online, or DIY them from nontoxic crayons (I tried, but crayon lipsticks turn out disappointingly sheer and drying).

Ke$ha rocked it! So why not?


Thứ Ba, 26 tháng 7, 2016

TURNED MY SISTER INTO A GOTH

When I need more friends, more interesting friends, I will give them some bands or some TV series as a "friend assimilation task". I have never found anyone like me, so an idea of turning my siblings goth is kinda irresistible.

My younger sister, Lipliner aka le min hoe aka Minh Đu Dây
I will make her look at least this glamorous.
I put on the contouring, the eye makeup and glorious gothic eyebrows that I always wanted to possess. I do not own a proper full set of cosmetic, so I have no pale foundation to cover her dark skin. Her eyebrows are easier to conceal than mine, so these triangular brows fit her look perfectly, but I'm not. I also put on her a layer of Kleancolor Madly Matte Lipstick in the shade Slate, my favourite color.
If you wear dark makeup, it doesn't mean you're a goth. You can only considered a goth when you're into goth music and the whole dark subculture. My lil sis is only 10 years old, but she enjoys Siouxsie and the Banshees. She told me that she was so lucky to have a gothic sister like me, because she could become a lame preppy kids like other girl in primary school.

Last step is spiking up her look. Although spikes are not purely goth because they are more punk, but she sure looks more edgy with that spiky collar. She raises her long bang, so it's much more convenient to style gothic look. I also teased her hair a little bit to create a Robert-Smithish hairdo.







Conclusion: goth makeup make everyone prettier! This picture received over 30 likes on my superduper underground Instagram account @cadavecarver. I will be continuing on this awesome project, so follow me on Instagram (I do f4f).


Thứ Bảy, 23 tháng 7, 2016

15 THINGS THAT INTROVERTS NEVER TELL YOU

1. We don't care about you if we are not close to us


2. We don't need anyone to care about them except for our true friends


3. We do not want to listen to your personal stories.


4. We hate crowds


5. We do not enjoy networking events


6. We force ourselves to act to like you


7. We know how to get the work done. We are creative although we do not like socializing.


8. We love writing stuff


9. We feel safe to be with certain people


10. We have friends, people who candidly love us.


11. We can do extrovert activities, for a while


12. We are not shy, disruptive or uptight



13. We are ok alone. Even fun.


14. We hate small talks


15. We select our friends - respect that

DEATHGASM (2015) - MOVIE REVIEW


For everyone already inclined to see a heavy-metal-themed New Zealand horror-comedy called Deathgasm, here’s some good news: The movie is exactly what it promises to be. 

Plot: After his meth-addict mum is sent to a mental asylum, teenage metalhead Brodie  moves to the suburban town of Greypoint to live with his bible-bashing Uncle Albert, Aunt Mary, and obnoxious cousin David. There he soon befriends role playing game-nerds Dion and Giles and another metalhead Zakk (James Blake), with whom he forms a band, Deathgasm. When the guys chance upon and perform a song written by Satanic metal star Ricky Daggers, they unwittingly unleash a plague of demons that possess the locals and kill the living in order to pave the way for the coming of an ancient evil known as Aeloth, The Blind One. With the help of axe-wielding blonde hottie Medina, the metal-heads try to find a way to prevent Hell on Earth.

Is there anything more sublime in this world than a heavy metal horror movie? The world's foremost form of music genre with the greatest combination of film known to man to create an exquisite experience for connoisseurs of peerless audio visual entertainment. If I'm brutally honest, the script for Deathgasm is a bit of a mess, the action lurching awkwardly from one scene to the next, but its mixture of metal mayhem and outrageous splatter is so irresistible that a completely coherent narrative is of little consequence. The riffs are heavy and the gore is very gory (with the graphic dismemberment achieved through the use of practical effects), which is what matters most with this type of flick.


Directed by Jason Lei Howden, who clearly knows his music and his horror, Deathgasm owes a lot to the splatter classics of Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson, his film possessing a similarly energetic and madcap style. When the demons attack, anything and everything becomes a weapon: an angle grinder, an engine block, a chainsaw, an axe, a weed whacker, a big, black, double-ended dildo, some love beads, and a pair of vibrators. That's right… Deathgasm features a fight scene in which the heroes are armed with sex toys, which should give you some idea of just how demented the film really is.

WHY DO I BECOME STRAIGHT EDGE




Look at the society today. Kids are doing drugs; adults are doing drugs also. All of them end up broke, or depressed, or having mental/physical health problems. Ok, it's your choice, I do not judge if you want to look cool or relieve your despair.

They know the consequences, but they don't stop.


When rebellious people do drugs, I found out that one thing is even more rebellious, the thing that existed in my mind since I was a kid.


I have been hating these addictive substances since I was a kid, but until I found out Minor Thread, my favourite punk band, I would have known the term straight edge. Now I know why I'm drawn to this band so much, as well as Bleeding Through, AFI and Motionless In White (not a purely straight edge band). Staying away from drugs is just my way of life. I am not a coward, I just don't find drugs appealing. Straight edge is somewhat similar to veganism, but it's more simple to quit your craving for a glass of wine than food, if you haven't tried any wine.


Why do people need to do drugs? Depressed? To look cool? Well, let’s just chill with some hardcore songs. This antidote is way too healthy and badass for depression. I have experienced devastating moments of my life, when I cannot freely express myself because of excessive strict parents, when my love betrayed me, when i was being in the disgusting schools, the terrifying society and premeditated loneliness, but these song turn my mood down side up immediately. 


I’m not yet an adult, but I have better idea of life than many adults. Accidentally being an elitist here, but I need to stay true to myself. The bad can easily contaminate people, but the good is hard to achieve. It’s not because my parents told me to be so because they also smoke and drink. It is my awareness and self discipline against drugs. I'm honored to possess a opened mind yet a stubborn attitude, so if my surrounding people smoke, or drink, or do drugs, I won't be like them; I will stay drug free. I do not want to be a bad role model for the future generations, and I do not want to harm any one with secondhand smoking as well. Being drug free is totally harmless and fun, and I can be hardcore at the same time.


I'M PROUD TO BE STRAIGHT EDGE!


10 UNGOTH CONFESSION

1. I hate septum and regular ear piercings. Septum doesn’t fit my ugly nose and trendy af. 

GUDD LUCK!

2. Beside traditional goth music, I do listen to djent and industrial/ebm. Before I became a goth, I was into Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, and Panic at the Disco, and I actually still listening to them now.


3. I’m straight edge. This can be considered nothing related to the ungoth thing, but many goths do drink and smoke, which is contrary to my moral.


4. My favourite band is Motionless In White, a gothic metalcore band with 80s goth music influences. 


5. I love horror movies, but I watch sci-fi more frequently. I love the mix of both genres. 

CYBORGS and ALIENS is LOVE!

6. I have no local goth friends. Most of my friends are consider alternative, emo, metalhead, or some "nomad" people. 


My BFF is a nomad!
7. I hate anime/manga and the whole lolita subculture, even I am really fascinated by the rest of the Japanese culture. I also own a loathing for pastel goth, nu goth, and trend goths.

They follow trends because they have "self-respect"!!
8. I wear normal clothing within my family to keep my parents from shocking, and goth band tees are saved to be worn in public. I do not possess a big amount of goth clothing nor cosmetic, so my public image is kinda casual even I wear a Bauhaus band tee. Anyway, I need to impress strangers and get some goth friends if I am lucky enough to get some. 

I guess being a goth makes me much more fun. My morbid attitude make me feel happy af.
9. I hate black and red lipstick. Black has become trendy; red is also trendy, but it's too girly for my preference. My favourite lip color is white, blue, nude, and pale colors. These colors accentuate my heavy eye makeup. 


10. I am a huge fan of My Little Pony, basically because I am drawn to colorful and creative stuffs. Pinkie pie is my favourite character even though I hate the color pink. She makes me feel joyful and relieved every moments in life. 

I personally own 3 Pinkie Pies!

Thứ Tư, 20 tháng 7, 2016

GOTH BANDS OF THE >00S

Below is the list of my favourite >00s goth bands. I found them on YouTube, SoundCloud and VampireFreak, and I guarantee you will be digging these bands after a few seconds.

1. Escarlatina Obsessiva



2. Lebanon Hanover



3. She Past Away 


4. Virgin In Veil



5. Gild The Mourn



6. Esoterik



7. Plastique Noir



8. Merciful Nuns








NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES CHALLENGE

It's summer break, and no parents expect their children to spend all day sticking their eyes on screens playing video games and binge watching. I tried extremely hard to reduce the daily use of electronic devices, but nothing seems to be effective because I have too much future-related stuff to do on my devices such as referring YouTube tutorials, practicing guitar on Yousician, taking Instagram pictures, and basically, living my life. My parents are huge elitists and always require absolute obedience from me, so the relationship between me and my parents is kinda uncomfy. I never show them what I actually did; I always lie to trade for a tiny bit of peace, but every way is chocking because they never knew the truth! So hard to live in conflict and deception lately.

I hate summer, the most uninspiring season of the year, for me. My laziness started to grow like a limp in my soul, so I am never willing to do excessive chores for my parents. They called me a useless, limited, stupid child because I do chores in the most carelessly, and I used to this since I was a 3 years old kid. Mom becomes more skeptic about what I was doing in my bedroom, and I hate it. Although my mental health is strong, she always pull me into panic whenever she spontaneously jam into my room. I lost control and close my laptop right the way, or in a safer way, close the tab I am currently working on and rapidly switch to a "studying" tab. I am caught most of the time, and my electronic devices are all confiscated! This means: no music, no movies, no communication with a few number of long loving friends, no dictionary, no Deustch learning, no guitar practice, no job opportunities, and no life!


Their is a huge chance that I have a normal dad and a strict mom.

At this time, I only have 2 hours a day using electronic devices with parents permission. 2 hours cannot be long enough to download a movie, which takes 4 hours to complete, so I decide to finish my 16 entries for this blog. On the first day of the no electronic devices challenge, I almost died of boredom, even though I had a bunch of book to read, a bunch of art ideas to execute, and a bunch of board games to jam with. I hate my independence which leads to my shortage of money, so even I want to hang out in the neighborhood and go shopping, it will remain insipid as staying at home. So sad. On the second day, I begged my mom for some "money for breakfast"; she gave me some, plus my own fund, and I have enough money to buy a decent 16GB Kingston USB which can be plugged in my TV. I imported a bunch of music and illegal fake Just Dance video games into my new USB. Therefore, I can fake play high quality video game all day.

It has been 3 weeks since my electronic devices where took away. But my days are still boring. It could only be fun with many friends and camping activities like in the last 2 days of Step Up camp. I spend time on good paper books which I also have a pdf version inside my devices. Such an indulgent waste of money. I see no benefit doing this obligated challenge, but parents are too blind to see it. They only hope for better behavior and the decrease of my stupidity that they made up from their despite. Hope this soon end.

SUMMER SERIES WATCHLIST

1. The 100

 

Plot: Set 97 years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization, when a spaceship housing humanity's lone survivors sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth in hopes of possibly re-populating the planet.

Genre: Scifi, Drama

 

The series was off to a slow start, but it is getting better and better. The premise is original and fun, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. There is no doubt about it that this show is one to keep an eye on, it seems it gets darker each episode, but with that said that could also end up killing the show as a lot of viewers have accepted its violence so far because it has been done tastefully, without too much gore. Most of the bloodier scenes take place in a dark place or is carefully done by camera angles to get the point across but to not upset the CW's typical viewers, and this is great in a world of The Walking Death and Game of Thrones, etc. It's a welcome method of delivering the same intensity without being overly grotesque.

Spoil: a lot of bloodshed, lesbian, AI, post-apocalyptic



2. Scream (MTV)

 

Plot: What starts as a YouTube video going viral soon leads to problems for the teenagers of Lakewood and serves as the catalyst for a murder that opens up a window to the town's troubled past.

Genre:  Horror fiction, Mystery, Thriller



Being a big fan of the original "Scream" movie, I thought a TV series like the original would less likely attract me. But to my surprise this was really amazing, of course there are some cliché moments but still it would give you the thrill of what's going to happen next. The main highlight of this TV series is the story, it clearly explains the motive of the killer which makes sense and there's a good mystery behind it. Added to that the bits of romance and friendship bond between the characters is too good. A coming to the cast, all the characters have acted very well especially Willa Fitzgerald really has been top notch. Another thing to be appreciated is that each and every episode is good and the story doesn't deviate with any unwanted segments. I would recommend any horror fan to watch this and trust me you will never get bored of this SCREAM.
Spoil: a lot of bloodshed, bi curious characters


3. The Shannara Chronicles

 

Plot: Series of adventures, war, and evil that occur throughout the history of the Four Lands.

Genre: Fantasy

 

I was captivated by this show after just a few minutes... the sets, locations, characters, every visual and musical component of this show is stunning and stylish... it's clear that a lot of effort goes into every scene to make it so. Admittedly, the dialogue feels superficial at times but is obviously catered to the MTV audience. I'm no longer a teenager myself and this show feels like a guilty pleasure. My wife got hooked just as easily. I'm trying to think of a show that is more gorgeous than this one and none come to mind. In contrast, it's not afraid to be brutal either, which is refreshing. I was set back at first by some of the "modern-looking" costumes until I learned that it takes place in a post-apocalyptic future.

Spoil: do not watch the series if you read the book.

    

4. Orphan Black

 

Plot: A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her.

Genre: Scifi, Drama, Thriller

 

I am just mesmerized watching the actress play so many roles with such differing mannerisms, personalities and even vocal/linguistic differences. I am in awe of her ability. She absolutely needs to get an award for this performance. The premise is unique and a welcome addition to the sci-fi genre. Truly it is one of the best sci-fi shows I have seen in a very long time. There is mystery, romance, danger and with the promise of more characters to be played by Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black just has to continue for as many seasons as possible. I love the rest of the cast also, (especially her homosexual foster brother who provides some timely comic moments). The excitement just builds and builds as the season unfolds. Love it.

Spoil: Biopunk, homosexual