Fake Your Death

On Monday My Chemical Romance released their very last song ever, Fake Your Death.  It came with this album trailer which gave me all sorts of feels:

They will always be my favourite band.

Things I Love #61

Yesterday, this little blog turned TWO!!  In some ways it feels like I've been doing this for ages and in other ways it feels like just the other day that I pushed publish on my very first post.  Either way, I am grateful to every person who has commented and followed along!  Now, onto this week's list:

Lexigrams "are illustrated cards showcasing the best words the English language has to offer."  If you like strange words and illustration, I highly recommend this site.

Shit Rough Drafts features Paul Laudiero's imagined first drafts of famous books and movies.  Pretty funny actually.

I'm always seeing faces in random things so I quite enjoyed these photos of hidden faces in everyday objects and places.

Marceline the Vampire Queen is getting her own graphic novel.  This is such awesome news!

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We Love Fine have a set of vinyl Bravest Warriors toys available for pre-order.  Anyone want to get me a Christmas present??

My Chemical Romance have announced a release date and more info on their greatest hits album.

Chris McVeigh has some super awesome Lego Christmas decoration patterns.  Next year I'm going to make ALL THE STAR WARS ONES.

The 10 Best Dog Vines of 2013.  The pug in the beginning is just the best:


How cool is the Blue Bill Tee?  The Life Aquatic is one of my favourite movies.

And lastly, check out these geeky throw pillows from Heart Felt Designs on Etsy.

Seen anything you love this week?  Let me know in the comments.

Things I Love #60

Like a lot of other South Africans, I woke up on Friday morning to the news that Nelson Mandela had passed away.  Even though he has been ill for a long time, it was still a shock and the world feels a little emptier without him.  There have been some really wonderful obituaries and slideshows of his life and I thought I'd share a few as part of this weeks Things I Love:

These amazing pictures are on the front and back of the Mail & Guardian's special edition:

Madiba: A Symbol of the Power of Good - an obituary from the Mail & Guardian.

They also have an amazing tribute site where people can share their condolences and memories.

11 Greatest Nelson Mandela Quotes which includes a slideshow of his life in pictures.

Nelson Mandela, South Africa's Liberator as Prisoner and President, Dies at 95 - an obituary from the New York Times.

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Okay, now onto some less serious stuff:

2013 The Year in Band Names is pretty hilarious!  Seriously, what are some of these guys thinking...

For reasons I cannot fathom, someone created an all-emoji version of Moby Dick...

Our Tumblrs, Our Teenage Selves looks at how curating a tumblr is much the same as decorating your bedroom walls.

Check out some concept art from the Pippi Longstockings movie that Hayao Miyazaki planned to make but didn't.

Star Wars yoga anyone?  Check out these awesome prints by Rob Osborne.

26 Problems that only anxious people understand.  This is basically my life guys...

Also I am fairly sure this is what I would be like as a superhero:

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Worst Things for Sale catalogues the worst things for sale on the internet.  Some of them are pretty ridiculous!! 

How cool are these Death Star inspired wall tiles?  I think I need these for our future home!

"Don't Try": Charles Bukowski's Concise Philosophy of Art and Life.

Night Of The Killer Lamp: 23 Ridiculous Horror Movie Adversaries.  This made me laugh.

Write Every Day and How to Deal with Literary Self-loathing.  Some good writing advice.

I've recently started coveting a pair of creepers and these Hello Kitty ones are all kinds of perfect.

Dirds are images of birds with dogs heads...its kind of bizarre:

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And finally, Gerard Way has revealed the cover of the My Chemical Romance greatest hits album May Death Never Stop You.

Seen anything you love this week?  Let me know in the comments:)

Things I Love #40

Happy Father's day to my most awesome dad!!  And also to all the other fathers I know, hope you've all been spoilt rotten.   The first item on this weeks list is quite fitting...

Lego released a happy Star Wars Fathers day video and it just warms my heart:

On the subject of LEGO, check out these amazing pictures of Nathan Sawaya's Art of the Brick show.  Who ever said LEGO was for kids!

 I love Stan Lee but I am not so sure how much I'd like to smell like him.  What do you think about Stan Lee's signature fragrance?

Least Helpful rounds up all the most useless reviews on Amazon and presents them for our enjoyment. I got a few good laughs out of this one.

Textile artist Claire Moynihan creates the most amazing 3D embroidered insects and bugs.  My favourite is the snail.

Ever wanted to make bread rolls that look like xenomorph eggs?  Well now you can.  

Have I mentioned how much I am loving the Walking Dead?  Well I am and this Walking Dead debit card would be so super awesome:

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Jason sent me this Buzzfeed article with 12 scientific way that reading can improve your life.  Needless to say I am feeling pretty awesome about the amount of reading I am doing these days.

This Social Media Job Title Generator makes me laugh.  My favourite one so far has been Virality Cornholio.

I love this Iron Fist Spineless Blouse so very much.  That said, the word blouse really bugs me, it sounds terribly old fashioned...

This Instant Shakespeare Insult Kit is my new favourite thing!  If you cross me, prepare to be called an artless, beef-witted dewberry or a fobbing, fly-bitten fustilarian or....you get the picture.

Frank Iero from My Chemical Romance and Leathermouth has released a very rough solo track:

In other My Chem related news, The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys was released this week.  MTV Geek had an exclusive interview with Gerard Way to celebrate.

I don't really uses Twitter much but I enjoyed this article about 7 SA Twitter terms that need to go global.

This poster series featuring inspirational quotes from the DC universe is so cool.  I want to cover my walls with them!

Another poster series I'd love to have?  The Slothzilla series which "depict the tedious and nap-filled chaos created by the Slothzilla."  Need I say more?

This photo of a wedding party being chased by AT-ATs makes me smile.  It also makes me sad that we didn't think of that...oh well...

Some interesting thoughts on Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby.  I'm so sad that I didn't get around to seeing it before it went of circuit but, considering I was sceptical about the 3D maybe that's not such a bad thing?

This chair belongs in my life.  That is all.

Finally, Rolo's reaction to the smell of toast never fails to make me smile:

And that's all for this week.  Seen anything you love?  Let me know in the comments:)  

PS.  I am going to be taking a little break for the next week and a half.  My exam is on the 24th and I really need the extra revision time so I will be back to blogging next week Wednesday or thereabouts.  

Thank You for the Venom

The first time I heard My Chemical Romance was on a Rock Sound sample CD.  It was track 11 and it was Thank You for the Venom.  It was love at first listen.  Until I got my hands on the full album, I had Thank You for the Venom on repeat.  I knew every word.  My Chemical Romance was everything I was looking for in a band.  They were misfits, they liked the same things I liked, their music spoke to me (that sounds terribly cheesy but I am going to go with it because it’s true) and it was loud, fast and awesome.  Plus their name had a literary reference.

Helena became my end of work anthem because MTV showed the video everyday just before the music store I was working at closed.  Jason and I used to stand and watch that video together and wait for the day to end way back when we were still just friends.   I’m Not Okay became my way to let everyone know that, actually, I wasn’t okay with where my life was going and that something needed to change.  Singing those words was more than just enjoying the song, it was telling the truth.  I played Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge so often that one of my friends even made me a “You Need a New Band” compilation to try and wean me off of them!!

I followed everything they did, through the Black Parade and that weird death cult drama to the way more upbeat Danger Days which made me want to dye my hair bright red again and run around with a laser gun.  I am lame like that.  Did I mention I wore a glittery Revenge bracelet for months just because I saw one on Gerard Way’s wrist in a video clip?  Yeah, that happened.  The point is that they were always there in the background, a soundtrack to my adult life and all the changes it would (and did) bring. 

This weekend, the band issued the following statement on their website:

"Being in this band for the past 12 years has been a true blessing. We've gotten to go places we never knew we would. We've been able to see and experience things we never imagined possible. We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end. Thanks for all of your support, and for being part of the adventure."

Without much of an explanation, without a reason why, the band I have loved with all my heart since the day I first heard them is gone.  I am sad because there will be no new album to accompany me into my thirties, I am sad because I will never see them live but I am also glad that I found them in the first place and that the music doesn’t go away just because the band aren’t together anymore!  

Anyway, if you are interested this is a pretty good In Memoriam post from MTV.  Needless to say I will be doing some pretty obsessive MCR googling over the next few days to see what other reactions or reasons might surface.  In the meantime, I will leave you with a few of my favourite videos:

Are there any bands that you feel this passionately about?  Let me know in the comments so that I don’t feel like an overdramatic weirdo…