The Wanted - Weakness

"I know what she's doing to me"

With boyband One Direction likely to make the X-Factor UK final this year (and rightfully so -- they may not be the best "singers," but they're certainly the most likely to succeed post show), and the Wanted riding high on the charts with Take That's big comeback waiting in the wings, it seems like the boyband has returned as a pop music staple. Normally this would not make me all that happy. There's just something inherently cheesy and manipulatory about these types of groups. This new breed isn't much different, but there's a slight change in aesthetic and sound that promises the potential of some interesting pop music. The Wanted's debut single was an excellent slice of string-laden 2010 radio pop. And while the follow-up was more in line with treacly boyband ballads of the past, the album as a whole is really quite good. The use of guitars on most of the tracks was a brilliant move. It's an unusually consistent listen. Take Weakness, a late album track that's unlikely to be a single but packs the punch of one. I picked this song to highlight because it reminds me very much of some of my favorite Swedish popstars (Sebastian Karlsson & Whyte Seeds in particular).

The Wanted - Weakness by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Stresa: All'ISTUD programma post-laurea per l’accesso alla Green Economy

La Fondazione Istud, storica e prestigiosa Business School di Stresa ha predisposto il programma post laurea per l’accesso alle nuove professionalità della Green Economy intitolato “Green Management and Entrepreneurship Programme” – prima edizione.
Le selezioni si terranno a Stresa dal 4 al 10 novembre prossimi.
La Green economy non è una moda. Su questa nuova rotta si sta dirigendo l’intera economia globale e cresce anche la richiesta di manager dal "pensiero verde", come mostrano le
ricerche condotte negli ultimi due anni dall’Osservatorio Green Economy di Istud. Il “Green Management and Entrepreneurship Programme” è stato progettato al fine di formare un profilo manageriale che sappia rispondere alle nuove necessità aziendali, e permetterà di completare il profilo di formazione con insegnamenti di tipo economico-gestionali applicati al settore green, utili per entrare in azienda da protagonista.
Il Programma si rivolge a laureati di provenienza tecnico-scientifica e di altre facoltà interessati a sviluppare una carriera manageriale o imprenditoriale nel campo del Green Business.

Borse di studio

EDP - Renováveis, Kyoto Club, Plastipak Italia Holding, Provincia del VCO, S.E.A. - Società Esercizi Aeroportuali e Terna offrono borse di studio a copertura totale dei costi di iscrizione al Programma.
(Redazione Cultura di AgoraMagazine)

Trial And Error - October 2010 Soaps

I'd promise I'd do a soap blog once a month so here's the one that I was meant to do for October. Hope you enjoy.

Coronation Street: I won't beat around the bush - I couldn't give a flying fig about Steve and Becky more of the time (he's dull, she's overrated) and the addition of Becky's godawful sister, Kylie has meant more screentime. Sometimes I wish I didn't read stuff in advance but anyone could've told that Becky would become desperate to want to adopt her nephew and it seems that Kylie isn't that bothered with selling him off either. Thankfully more interesting/less irritating stuff did happen last month with the gradual acceptance of Sophie/Sian, Rosie getting her claws into Jason and a mysterious person leaving a wreath at the doors of Underworld. There was also the reveal that Jack hadn't long to live as well, which I did find sad but apart from that and the ongoing feud with Tina/Graeme vs. David, it does seem like everything is only leading to the tram crash in December. I can think of a few characters I wouldn't mind seeing perish during that particular event, particularly Claire and Ashley who won't just bugger off to France already.

EastEnders: Speaking of countdowns, you can just tell that Stacey Slater is on the way out because the emphasis on her has been more heavier than usual (then again, I can't remember a period of things being a Stacey free zone). The last few weeks have seen her and Janine beating the shit out of each other (usually with Kat stirring things in the background) as well as her and Ryan becoming closer due to his desire to be involved in Lily's life. However, the more important thing is that it finally looks like someone other than Max will get a clue about Stacey murdering Archie. Now that Janine knows her former lover was a rapist and Lauren's privy to Bradley not being the killer, surely one of them will deduce that Stacey murdered Archie. As for Alfie and Kat, they're mostly working though it should be fun enough to see how they are in the not so revamped Queen Vic and Roxy is surprisingly less irritating as well. I think we could've done without seeing Billie's death, despite some truly great performances (Carol's breakdown) and I have little interest in Billy's storyline with Julie. Just saying.

Emmerdale: Probably the most consistently written soap and definitely the most eventful over the last few weeks. The angst between Aaron and Jackson might have needed toning down but the van crash was pretty powerful TV and it's a bloody miracle that Jackson didn't actually die given that characters have died on this show in less dangerous ways. It's also been nice to see more of Hazel and Jackson's father and more importantly, Bob's addition into this story has felt like tacked on than Paddy's constant attachment with anything Aaron. Speaking of Paddy, I'm not particularly interested in the triangle with him, Marlon and Rhona but it's watchable and like the Chas/Carl/Eve storyline better handled (or least less annoying) than most soap affairs. As for Ryan's trial/Nathan's kidnapping by Cain/Natasha turning herself in - it made for some great TV but it's also nice to see it finally wind down as well. And if the writers can find some way of breaking up Charity and Cain and giving the former more to do, that would be nice as well. Also, Amy and Victoria seem like a recipe for menace as well.

Hollyoaks: Over the last few weeks, I've been watching this more for the Ste/Brendon storyline than anything else. As a couple, it's hard to ship them - not only is Brendon still not an engaging villain but given that his relationship with Ste is about to become abusive, should I even favour it in the first place. Also in less intense storylines, 'alien' Kevin is amusing enough as was Lee's godawful stage play and Darren and India's attempts of stopping Jamil from an arranged marriage. The Costellos and Theresa seemed more dominant in last week's Hollyoaks Later special but those specials aren't as great as the main show, even if they are supposed to be more 'grittier'. Oh, and someone who's supposed to be dead is back soon.