Life360 Issue 2 2010

LIFE 360

ISSUE II

LATEST MUSICAL BUZZ...

From The Beatles to Lady Gaga

INSIDE SCOOP

On Eason The Asian Sensation and his New UK Tour

NEW PRESCRIPTION for Shopaholics

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BE STEPS AHEAD With our GEEKO PLUS:Taste Around The World Under £10

Life 360

Dear Readers, Sergei Rachmaninoff once said, “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.” In our magazine’s second issue, we the Life360 team, have endeavoured to pay tribute to this very vibrant component of life.

This issue includes an interview with Chinese pop sensation Eason Chan’s assistant. We also bring you reviews of two popular live music spots in Cardiff – the Live Lounge bar, which is the only place in town offering live performances daily, and the North Star pub.

We give you a sneak preview of the two most anticipated gigs coming to Cardiff International Arena next month – the Lady Gaga Concert on March 3 and the DJ Tiësto event on March 12.

Also, the latest video on our YouTube channel consists of people of various nationalities singing popular songs in their native tongue.

We hope we have hit the right note with this issue, and that you enjoy every bit of it!

Vandana Gupta (On behalf of the Life 360 team)

Create: Wei-Ju Chen, Vandana Gupta, Devika Jeet, Wenxiao Huang, Shirin Mann, Xuan Zheng Craft: Xiaoyi Feng, Shan Long, Basha Liu, Saloni Karnik, Caitlin Ritchie Complete: Chioma Amaechi, Le-Wei Hsi, Mitalee Kurdekar, Changchang Liu, Yan Pan, Shuya Zhang

Playlist...

Life 360

On the Cover The buzz on The Beatles and Lady Gaga ... p 4, p 11 Get the inside scoop on China’s singing sensation Eason Chan ... p 5 Be first to know the hottest tech news in Geeko ... p 5 Shop ‘til you drop without breaking the bank... p 6 Enjoy a culinary world tour for a tenner ... p 8

Features

Reviews/News

Online

360 View: Olympic Soundtrack The Herculean task of writing an anthem for the world ... p 4

by Wenxiao Huang

M-iWorld: Interview Insight into Eason Chan, Hong Kong’s “god of singers” ... p 5

by Xuan Zheng

For an encore performance and two bonus features of Life360, visit our website: http://journalism.cf.ac.uk/life360

Intersection: Interview How the internet can save China’s music industry ... p 10

by Xuan Zheng

Full Circle: Reviews Our take on the latest live music and movies ... p 11

by Shirin Mann

Watch videos on our YouTube channel available now: LifeThreeSixty

Feature: Discount Designers A superstar look at a fraction of the cost ... p 6

by Shirin Mann

Quadrant: Hot Topics Interesting and unusal news from the music world ... p 4

by Devika Jeet

Feature: Taste the World Savoury international recipes for under £10 ... p 8

by Devika Jeet

Geeko: Tech World Milestones and developments at your fingertips ... p 5

by Vandana Gupta

Log On

PICTURES: COURTESY FLICKR,BARBIE.CO.UK

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We are eager to hear from you.

Send us your pictures and comments: maglife360@googlemail.com

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Arc

Many Dreams, One Winner

The eyes of the world fall on the best athletes and the ears on some of the best musical talent.

By Wenxiao Huang

Obviously, becoming a famous theme song is much more difficult than becoming a Grammy winner. Actually, Olympic theme songs prefer the likes of young geniuses. The theme song of the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics in Greece was sung by Bjork, an Icelandic singer who became famous when she was 11-years-old. Tina Arena, the singer of The Flame (the theme song of the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics in Australia) had also become famous in her childhood.

There is still a week until the end of the Olympics, and the song may become famous just in one night. Well, we always can dream.

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very four years, the Olympic Games like a huge magnet attract the world’s attention. This means from February 13 to February 28 and from March 12 to March 21, spotlights will continue to focus on Vancouver, Canada, the place for 2010 Winter Olympics. In fact, in addition to the explosive sports competition, the theme song of Olympic Games is also a hot issue.

This year, the theme song of the Vancouver Winter Olympics is I Believe, sung by local jazz-pop singer Nikki Yanofsky, who was born in 1994. Perhaps the young singers are a good match for the Olympian athletes. They are both winners; they are both young and both have big titles. Another song for the Vancouver Olympics is One Dream, by Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan.

However, the theme song of the Winter Olympics is not as popular as the theme song in the Summer Olympics, such as The Peace Appeal Song from the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics in Japan, Light the Fire Within from the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in America, and Because We Believe from the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics in Italy.

“Because the theme song is for the

public, not for the experts… The standard to judge it is I can sing it right now.”

Indeed, compared to the famous Summer Olympic theme song, such as Hand in Hand from the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics in Korea, Friends For Life from the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics in Spain, The Flame from the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics in Australia, and Oceania from the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics in Greece, the theme songs of the Winter Olympic are without world known singers or big titles, and not even known by many people. “In my opinion, simple melody and memorable lyrics are the most import things for the theme song of the Olympic Games,” says Xin Zhao, a singer in Sheng Dian Band in China. “Because the theme song is for the public, not for the experts… the most successful theme song for me is Hand in Hand. The standard to judge it is I can sing it right now,” he added.

Quadrant

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By Devika Jeet

MI has decided not to recorded to help Haiti’s earthsell London’s Abbey Road quake victims and features stars studios. The historic building including Leona Lewis, Kyle immortalized by the Beatles 1969 Minogue and Robbie Williams. album “Abby Road” will stay under the record company’s ownership.

A big Facebook campaign was started to save the studio.

“Helping Haiti” has beaten off competition and remains at number one in the UK official sigles chart.“ Everybody Hurts” was

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Sarah McLachlan during a Concert If you win the Olympic title it is easy to become famous, however, it is not that easy for the people who sing the theme song of Olympic Games. “I saw the news about the Olympics, but I have not heard the theme song yet,” says Crystin Wright, a shop assistant in Cardiff.

There is still a week until the end of the Olympics, and the song may become famous just in one night. Well, we always can dream.

Rocket Man in Concert

Sir Elton John has sparked outrage after claiming that Jesus was gay. In an interview with the US magazine, Parade Sir Elton John said he believed Jesus Christ was a “compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems”.

As a tribute to her brother Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson has agreed to participate in a world tour. The Jackson 5 tour slated for later this year will be a tribute to the King of Pop, who died last June.

Happier times Jackson siblings at the Grammys

Life 360

Eason Chan, Asia’s Superstar, is ready for Europe

After completing 26 sold out concerts all over the world, Eason is now coming to the UK. Life360 had an interview with his assistant.

1. Can you give us a short introduction about Eason?

Eason Chan (Yik-Shun Chen) is a frequent winner of music industry prizes in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. He was crowned with the name “god of singers” in Hong Kong.

M-iWorld

By Wei-Ju Chen

2. How did Eason become a singer?

Eason went to England when he was twelve and later studied architecture in university and trained in music for four years. He came back to Hong Kong and won a singing competition in 1995 and released his album debut in the same year.

3. What is Eason’s music style?

Some people say ‘no style is Eason’s style’. It’s because Eason tries to add in new elements in every album, and gives fresh music to his audiences. Also, in this way, he keeps himself always enthusiastic about music.

4. What is Eason’s attitude to music?

There is no other answer, he loves music and he loves to sing. He once sang for two hours for an encore at a concert. When he is at karaoke, he sings all night so others have no chance to sing. He’s never gets tired of singing.

5. Can you recommend three must-listen songs of Eason?

It’s a tough choice. Maybe I would say, Ten Years, The King of Karaoke, and Shift of Love.

6. How should people who don’t understand Chinese enjoy Eason’s music?

Eason sings sincerely. Even if you can’t understand what he’s singing, you still can feel his emotion in the songs. His U87 album was recommended as one of the top five essential albums in Asia by Time magazine in 1995. His songs are touching for people who speak different languages.

7. What are Eason’s dreams?

To be a world wide famous singer, help debutants in the music industry and found a charity.

Geeko

By Vandana Gupta

Google’s abuzz The shiny newcomer to social networking Google Mail is the latest to join the social networking and microblogging bandwagon. On February 9, it launched a new addition to its wide array of settings called Buzz. It The Buzz is the new Twitter combines elements from Facebook and Twitter. Users can update their bunch of followers about the latest goings-on in their life and their followers can in turn ‘comment’ on and ‘like’ those status updates, photo albums or videos. Buzz was recently in the news for its faulty privacy settings but Google promptly resolved the issue.

Barbie’s in a Hot New Avatar!

From glam doll to tech savvy

The image the name Barbie brings to mind is of a blonde glam doll. No one would ever imagine her as a bespectacled geek. But toy industry giant Mattel have done the unthinkable by giving their most well-received creation an image makeover. The company conducted online polls on its Facebook and Twitter pages to decide what her 125th career option would be – and much to her fans’ delight, Barbie is now a computer engineer!

Baribie’s new job

Eason Chan in his conert costume

Happy Birthday YouTube!

Five revolutionary years for the visual world Popular video-sharing site YouTube celebrated its fifth birthday on February 14. Created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees, it was bought by Google, Inc. in November YouTube’s birthday cake 2006 for $1.65 billion. As of February 2010, Charlie bit my finger, with over 160 million views, remains its most viewed, most favourited and second most discussed video on the website in the United Kingdom.

The website serves more than one billion videos per day and has become a vital part of people’s daily lives.

Microsoft’s much-awaited Windows Phone 7 The new toy for both heavy users and fun makers

On February 15, Microsoft announced that by the end of this year, it will launch the much talked about Windows Phone 7 series operating system. It will come with a unique set of in-built features such as a touchscreen on which there will be ‘tiles’ New phone system including favourites and their contact details (Facebook and Windows Live profile, email, phone) with real-time updates. An in-built Bing search, maps and GPS will also be available. Besides that, users can upload, store and share photos and video, as well as play Xbox 360 games. Music can be played much like the Zune. This device will be a delight not only for professionals on-the-go but also people who want their personal world at their fingertips.

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Feature

Get the Look for Under £30 Discover the hidden delights of Cardiff boutiques

By Shirin Mann

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s your dinner ball around the corner? Or just another special night out? Cardiff city offers the best that fits your £30 dress budget. High quality fashion at low ‘affordable’ prices, is the need of the hour and the choices are not the mainstream, high-end brands at the city centre, but the beautiful, young, unexplored boutiques that could just make your day.

The nervousness of being spotted at a party with someone wearing the same dress as yours, can be quite nerve wracking, especially when you are buying your dress as the retail store that has a hundred more pieces of it. The game of hide and seek or sticking to the other corner of the room, can be now avoided with the new found boutiques, that display the beautiful, limited ‘made only for you’ clothing, that is created and sold in a few pieces, that makes it much exclusive.

Floyd Clothing at High Street, Cardiff, is one such place that offers women’s apparel to suit your style. From the very vibrant, trendy, sexy dresses to comfortable but classy, elegant and formal, all made for those special occasions reveal themselves on its wooden racks. Open six days a week, Floyd Clothing along with its affordable prices is offering season sale for a whole month that can help you look gorgeous not only with your dress but also with the perfect hand bag fitting your budget.

Catherine James, 24, working at the boutique says, “We have a wide range of cloth-

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Seren’s shop in High Street Arcade, Cardiff ing, from formal shirts to sexy short dresses.

Most popular are our three-way dresses that get sold out very soon. You can wear them in three different styles making them into a one shoulder, a strapless and a backless dress. So no one will ever know that you are wearing the same dress on three separate occasions.

Our clientele is of all ages, but it’s more popular with the younger crowd.”

Another one that you must check out is Lunacy, also situated at the High Street Arcade, Cardiff that is the favourite of many students.

Lunacy exhibits a line of very vibrant, bold, ‘eye popping’ designs that are unique and gorgeous, unlike most stores that have the repetitive style of clothing everywhere. The store displays an attractive interior, in hues of pink, turquoise, deep purple and red calling out to all the window shoppers that eventually find their way in. Operating seven days a week, Lunacy also has its own website, for all the busy bees or the lazy ones, which along with its clothing also features women’s jewellery and other cute gift items.

A regular Lunacy customer, Verity Cann, 22 explains, “It is one of the best stores in Cardiff. I love the bold designs and the colours.

It’s very individual. My dresses from here are always appreciated by people, and I am constantly asked about them. The best part about Lunacy beside the style, comfort and designs are its prices. It’s easy on the pocket which makes you want to come here again and again. I always leave here happy.”

Very unlikely that you still haven’t found what you’ve been looking for but very likely that you may want to buy another one, your place is the Seren Boutique. The Europeanstyle boutique at Morgan Arcade, Cardiff is the hub for the chic and cool. Shining with fancy chandeliers and ornamented beautiful mirrors makes it a shopper’s paradise.

Along with its high-end pieces, its showcases

Floral skirt from Floyd’s, Cardiff

life 360

Above: Dolly Mix outfit from Seren Below: Seren also stock lines from Arrogant Cat’s catazine

individual clothes made by upcoming designers at an affordable price and others at much discounted price for the next few weeks. The tempting boutique also proposes a collection of soft leather hand bags and the French, Brazilian and Italian taste of shoes.

A student and dedicated shopper of Seren clothing caught in action at the store says, “A friend told me about this store a month ago, and since then I find myself here every time I need a new dress or new shoes. It’s comfortable and wearable. Not tacky or showy just perfect for every occasion. I always pass on the word.”

Along with several other such boutiques in the Queen’s Arcade, Morgan Arcade, High Street and around Cardiff Bay, there may be many of us that would prefer online shopping, for the simple reason of having busy

schedules or being in the ‘no mood’ zone.

For you these boutiques also have their own websites where you may place your order and have them home delivered. They may also give online discounts or deals that you must look out for.

Along with the newly discovered boutiques and stores, the good old stores like Peacock, New Look, H&M and Miss Selfridges, along with their new party line have heavy sales at their stores that could be worth looking at when you take a stroll down the city.

Whether you’re going out for a special dinner or another regular night-out, there should be no compromise on looking fabulous. It’s the start of a new month, enough reason to maximise your wardrobe while paying less. Be ready to look a million bucks dressed in £30.

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Feature What does Japanese, Chinese, Turkish and Greek food have in common? A way for you to enjoy all four cuisines for less than £10!

Devika Jeet gives details…

Experiment, Experience & Enjoy Exotic Cuisine Sesame Seed Chicken 500g chicken wing drummettes 1/2 cup milk 3/4 cup sesame seeds 1/4 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, ground Salt & pepper Place the milk in a small bowl. Place sesame seeds, bread crumbs, crushed pepper, salt and pepper in another cup and mix. First soak the chicken drums in the milk, and then cover them with the sesame seed mixture. Arrange them on the oven tray on top of parchment paper. Don’t let them touch each other, otherwise they won’t be crispy. Preheat the oven 400° F (200° C) and cook for about 45 minutes until the take a golden colour.

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Yummy Sushi

Greek Salad 1 cup whole ripe olives 1 head romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-size pieces 200g Feta cheese 125ml herb dressing 1/2 each cucumber and red onion, thinly sliced 3 tomatoes cut into wedges, or just use cherry tomatos Combine all the ingredients. Just before serving add dressing and toss.

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large number of people from different nationalities are living together here in Cardiff. This provides us with an opportunity to understand different cultures without having to travel around the globe.

We can start this journey with our palates and enjoy the feast. Tasting new cuisines and experiencing a different ambience will help us travel around the city, visit new restaurants and eateries, shop at unique super markets and learn to make new dishes all for less than a tenner.

Famous for its olives, this Mediterranean cuisine has much more to offer. “Greek food is very healthy and not very fattening. A meal is incomplete without a variety of salads.

We use olive oil to cook and the food is not spicy,” said Iliana Premeti, a Greek marketing executive. Famous dishes are moussaka and souvlaki and the must have traditional dish is fasolada. Along with all the salads, meat is an important part of the diet. Restaurants in Cardiff are Agean Taverna, Hasapiko Greek Taverna and Aphrodite Greek restaurant.

“Beijing roast duck is a must have” With the migration of the Chinese population, this cuisine is famous around the world.

Traditional Chinese cuisine is also based

Life 360 on opposites (yin and yang), whereby hot balances cold, pickled balances fresh and spicy balances mild. “Most authentic Chinese food is cooked on real fire and not made in the oven. In China different minorities have their own food and customs; this provides a variety and different variations in the cuisine.

Like in the southwest, food is spicy where as in the southeast the food is more on the sweet side. The Beijing roast duck is a must have,” said Yuheng Ren, an employee of the China China restaurant. Though Chinese food is very popular, all the ingredients are not very easily available in Cardiff. Supermarkets that cater to specific requirements are - BA Cash and Carry, Japanese and Korean shop, Global food shop and Dongo Jang Hang.

“Turkish cuisine is a blend of Central Asian, Middle East and Balkan cuisine” “Japanese food is very different from other cuisines. We emphasise and highlight the natural taste and beauty of the food. The aim of cooking is to retain the nutrients and not to change the flavour of the food,” said

Alwyn, executive chef, Zushi Japanese café and noodle bar. This cuisine has much more to offer than sushi and the food is usually low in fat. A bowl of rice and soup accompanies every meal.

Turkish cuisine is largely influenced from the Ottoman cuisine and can be described as a blend of Central Asian, Middle East and Balkan cuisine. Famous for Kebabs, this cuisine has a wide variety to offer. Discussing the popularity of the cuisine in Cardiff, Hakan, manager, Bosphorus Turkish restaurant said “I have been working here for 20 years and Turkish food has gained popularity over time.

All the ingredients for the cuisine are easily available. Though there is an association of Turkish food with meats, we do have fish and vegetarian dishes. The meze starters are very famous.”

The four cuisines will help satisfy the curiosity and help you feel more connected to other cultures. These dishes are very different from each other and will make you open to new tastes. We will help you make a few simple but yet exotic dishes. Some interesting recipes are given below with a promise that all the ingredients are available at the nearest Tesco or Sainsbury’s.

Chinese Sticky Cake

Japanese Fried Wonton 20 wonton wrappers 20 small cubes processed cheese 8 shiso leaves Vegetable oil to fry Cut shiso leaves in halves. Place a piece of shiso and a cube of cheese in the centre of a wonton wrapper. Fold the wonton wrapper in half diagonally, shaping into a triangle. Seal the edge well. Heat oil to 2000 C and deepfry the wonton until brown.

3/4 cup water 1½ cups dark brown sugar 1¼ cups rice flour 1 egg 2 tablespoons milk 1/2 cup dates, chopped Grease a 7” cake tin. Put the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool. Mix flour, egg and milk together in a bowl. Add the syrup and stir thoroughly until smooth then add dates and mix well. Pour the batter into the cake tin and steam for about 45 minutes, or until the cake starts to come away from the edge of the tin. Leave in the tin to cool, and then serve in thin slices.

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Intersection/ Full Circle

Save Today’s Music Industry in China!

Hongbo, a famous internet observer in China, has given Xuan Zheng from Life360 some deep thoughts on China’s music industry at present and its relationship with the internet.

According to the latest music industry report released earlier this year by the international market research company Forrester, the past decade is the worst one for the music industry, and 2009 is the worst year of the decade. The annual record sales dropped by 13 per cent and the profit just reached £4 billion across the world. Compared to what it was 10 years ago, the figure has been halved. The consumption of music last year has decreased by 32 per cent from the previous year. The situation is expected to improve over the next three years.

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ife360: What is your overview of Chinese music industry at present?

HONGBO: I can hardly see an industry of music in China.

Chinese music industry with a history of 100 years has suffered from pirate copies in the 1990s and then has been attacked heavily by the internet.

2009 has been a tough year for domestic music companies, and it ended up with a cold-war between the music and internet companies. The copyright of traditional records has always been ignored and abused by the free download system that the internet provides, that more and more recording companies and artists have to do more on-stage performances to make profits of their music.

Life360: And you said China has no music industry…

HONGBO: There is a set of figures as followed. In 2008, the sales of actual copies in China reached 213 million yuan (equals to £20 million). The music purchased by mobile users made a profit of 59 billion yuan (equals to £5.53 billion), but recording companies can only share 298 million yuan (£28 million) of the profit. If China’s so-called music industry especially the traditional music

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industry still focuses on selling records and earns £20 million per year, why don’t they run a soya milk business? It would be more profitable.

“The traditional recording industry will die off sooner or later” Life360: Does the foreign music industry also have a tendency to decrease?

HONGBO: The Digital music sales number is increasing internationally, and it grows larger every year. However, the sales number of actual records decreases yearly, so does the output of the whole music industry. It means that the increasing market share of digital music can’t help the sales of the whole music industry to rise.

Life360: What do you think it demonstrates?

HONGBO: It demonstrates that the industry, which relied heavily on music and its products, has passed its most glorious period. The mode of the recording company making and selling

records is fading away. If you are still making candles while light bulbs have been invented, you have to admit that the industry of candle making will soon disappear. Similarly, the traditional recording industry will die off sooner or later.

Life360: What can we do to save the music industry?

HONGBO: Music itself will never die. What I meant is that great Chinese musicians should not rely on the recording industry anymore. The industry no longer feeds them up by selling copies. We need a good attitude to the industry and the Internet without collision.

Dying records

“We need to encourage people who truly love music to produce music” Life360: Did you mean that the music industry needs to embrace the internet?

HONGBO: Yes. Our traditional recording industry should use the internet properly. If we let our users decide the price of the digital music and give a prize to those who bid for the price appropriately, it does not only sell our products but also creates a better consumption atmosphere. We need to encourage people who truly love music to produce music, not any “industrialized music makers”.

Life360: What else can we expect in the future?

HONGBO: The live show.

Music is basically a kind of live art in its history. We need more live shows and they need to be charged.

China’s own Simon Cowell

LISTEN

Lady Gaga Live in Cardiff Winner of Best International Album, Best International Breakthrough Act and Best International Female at the 2010 Brit Awards, Lady Gaga, comes to Cardiff on 3 March, 2010 to spread her magic on the people of Cardiff. With super hit singles like Poker Face, Bad Romance and Love Game, Lady Gaga topped the charts in 21 countries. Her Monster Ball world tour comes to the UK with the support of Alphabeat promising a huge show for the fans. The tickets are available from £30 to £90 depending on the seat you pick. Guaranteed to be sold out soon, the show is also rumoured to have some surprises for the guests. If you don’t want to miss out on the grand concert, book yourself a seat now.

Life 360 Where: International Arena, Mary Ann St, Cardiff, CF10 2EQ When: 03 March, 2010 Time: 6.30pm till late

Lady Gaga stays cool always

DJ Tiësto Live in Cardiff

RELAX

Where: International Arena, Mary Ann St, Cardiff, CF10 2EQ

The Live Lounge

When: 12 March, 2010 Time: 9pm till late The party starter Tiësto, the first DJ ever to have sold out tickets months before the show and to have made house music an international success, is now coming to Cardiff to make it even bigger. The hot Dutch party starter stops in the city while touring England and Wales during his 2010 tour. After having earlier sold out two nights in a row at Brixton Academy, O2 Arena and Alexandra Place, March 12 looks to be a promising night at the Cardiff International Arena. With the release of his new album Kaliedoscope hitting charts around the world and being played in every club and car, the producer, composer and DJ is coming to shake the city. Before its sold out, get your tickets.

WATCH Director: Clint Eastwood Writer: Anthony Peckham (screenplay) John Carlin (book)

City’s only bar that offers live music everyday of the week. For music lovers of every kind, Live Lounge has something to offer.

From Jazz, Rock to Alternative, the bar features many bands like The Lazy Mojo Band, The Big What?! Band, Goose, Still Small Voice, Colum Regan, SixOneSeven, 49 Giraffes, Super Natural, Honey Fungus and many more displaying varied genre of music.

Although open to people of all ages, the lounge is more popular among the 20-year-olds. Along with great live performances, the lounge kicks off as a happening dance floor in the late hours to the tune of the lounge’s DJ playing latest hip hop and other chartbusters. Some great news for the party lovers is, it’s open till 4am.

Lady Gaga’s hit album

Live Music in North Star A converted Victorian pub, North Star is a beautiful, cosy and happening bar that serves great food, great drinks and to perfectly match the ambience has live music on every Friday of the week. Along with a hearty roast dinner of the chef’s choice, you can spend some quality time with your loved ones listening to the tunes of good musicians like John Lewis and The Threatmantics. Apart from live music nights, you can enjoy Quizzes on Mondays, Comedy Club on Tuesdays, Open Mic nights on Wednesdays, some more great alternative live music on Thursdays and great deals on food on the weekends.

Having so much on the platter, it can be slightly heavy on your pocket for food as well as drinks.

Released Date: 5 February, 2010 Genre: Drama/ Action

Invictus (2009)

The president and the captain

By Shirin Mann

Clint Eastwood’s Invictus has once again surprised the audience with its theme and subject. Morgan Freeman playing Nelson Mandela, does full justice to the role. The movie is the screen performance of Mandela’s story in imprisonment for 27 years, centering the game of rugby, which was an effort made by the then President Mandela to bridge gaps between the Blacks and the Whites in South Africa. Matt Damon plays the rugby team captain and has like before displayed great acting. The movie is fast paced and entertaining, with Freeman being the focus of show. With beautiful scene shots, good acting and great story telling, they should have given more attention to shots of the rugby game, which is flawed and played against the rules.

Band playing on stage

Welcoming lounge

Where: 9 The Fairy Cardiff, CF10 3FA

Where: 131 North Road, Cardiff CF14 3AE

Genre: Rock, Pop, Jazz, Alternative

Genre: Acoustic Country, Jazz, R&B

Time: Open till 4am

Time: All Fridays 8pm till 11pm

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life 360 ISSUE II