Music - Fifi Rong and how you can contribute to her EP 'Violently Silently'

Last night I was lucky enough to discover Fifi Rong. She @fifirong had followed me @priscillacita on twitter and I had to check her out. As a fashion designer I love cultural dress and her image is intoxicating, everything I adore! I wanted to know more. She had also sent me a DM in which she mentioned I could sign up and get access to her music and so I did. My initial thought was that she reminded me of Martina Topley-Bird. Upon further reading of her website http://www.fifirong.com I discovered Fifi had also worked with one of my personal favourites, Tricky.

Fifi Rong - Next Pursuit

This was the first song I played upon arrival at her website and so therefore the first thing I ever heard when I became an instant fan!

My favourite video clip has to be 'Over You' where she elegantly unravels red fabric twisted and knotted around her like bondage. I like the idea of freedom and untangling ourselves from the things that bind us. More videos are available on her Youtube channel

Since becoming a fan I had to sign in to @RagDollMagBlog and follow her on my other account. Which let's just say led to this blog post!

She is currently working on her new EP 'Violently Silently' and has a campaign seeking support to assist her with it. How can you help? 

Click here to help support

By clicking on the above link you will be taken to pledgemusic.com where she has a whole assortment of goodies/experiences up for grabs which will help crowdfund the making of her EP. My top pick would have been the rare vinyl compilation but they are all gone. Thankfully there are options which range in price for all or most budgets. If I had the budget, my other top pick I would choose is to write a song with her and have Fifi produce it. Unfortunately for me I don't. Another exciting option is to have Fifi perform a private gig for you! Other experiences include attending an open rehearsal or VIP gig experience. However the executive producer on a new music video is all gone. You can also get her music on CD, digital format or on a special edition USB. T shirts and tote bags are available as well.

The campaign will run for 3 more months and if she reaches her goal Help Musicians UK will offer her a top up fund. 

Here's what I managed to find out about her new EP. 

"The EP is gona be strong, it's getting in shape :) and I'm liking it a lot". She describes it as being "a musical mini journey," consisting of "5 tracks" with "3 main tracks." "First track is intro and made entirely out of samples of the first track". "The first main track is the second track of the EP which is the single of the EP." "There are occasional sounds from the 3 main tracks dropped in the intro, so it's like a teaser preview of the EP. Whereas the last track is like the summary of the EP. Like a remix of the 4th track/song." "So that's the basic structure of the EP. It's an evolution of all that I have become. An honest reveal."

The lyrical themes of the EP "are different emotional stories". "The key theme of my music is always a hybrid of many musical genres into a unique sound, my sound." "It's an evolution in sound, song writing and my production." "I like to take my listeners from my past to the present and grow with me". "It's a solo EP, entirely produced and written by myself." 

She has also "made music for short film" and previously "remixed for other people". "In this campaign I would write a song for it with a pledger and produce for them". Fifi uses "Logic X" to create her masterpieces and is "Loving it :)".

She "hopes people join" her "and stay closely from now to the release :)" "The scheduled release is the end of Sept".

The title, 'Violently Silently' reminds me of Bjork's 'Violently Happy' but as for any other similarities or differences I'll just have to wait to find out. Other images it conjures up in my mind are quietly sneaking up, creeping ever closer, delicate and subtle like Lady Snowblood or the Chinese equivalent. Silent but violent. Silence speaks volumes. When you don't speak up against things violence continues. The very act of silence allows violence to flourish and take over. 

Stay tuned as I will update you about the release of Fifi Rong's 'Violently Silently' EP.

Are we living in a simulated universe?

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/11/universe-computer-simulation

It could also be the boundaries of our universe within the multiverse  or whatever is on the other side. It doesn't have to be a simulator. We are still speculating at this point. Another theory could be that since we can create simulated platforms that if we are really a simulated universe created by something higher up then the same rules could apply where that something higher up could also be simulated by something else higher up than it and so on and so on.
Who made the rule that nothing can move less than one space? That brought to mind fractals where as much as you zoom in you can always zoom in more indefinitely. Much like my theory at the other end of the scale where if we kept on zooming out, what would be beyond the multiverse? It could be multiverse within multiverse within multiverse etc. Why would something not be able to move half a space or a quarter of a space or be situated on the borders of multiple spaces simultaneously? Who said the rules have to be the same as chess anyway? It is really limited thinking to project rules onto something we know little if anything about.

The Facts About Fracking

 I'm no expert but I like to inform myself and I like to share what I find with others. It is my hope that in doing this together we can make the world better and a true paradise. We are clearly not there yet. It is scary to think about the massive hole/grave others are digging for us and at the same time telling us it is to benefit us. I really don't understand how those people think. There are so many green alternatives so it is really frustrating why a bunch of people are being so stubborn and set in their ways. I don't understand why governments subsidize certain things when that money would be better elsewhere. It is okay to close one chapter or even a book to start a new one. It is this group of backward thinkers that we need to enlighten before it is too late and also people who have the best intentions but are not aware of what information is out there. As great as it is to align with like minded people they are not the ones ultimately in the end I hope to reach as they are already on board.

Image source - http://frackmanthemovie.com/assets/shared/phpThumb/phpThumb.php?src=/uploads/websites/831/54d019195f4ed.jpg&w=800

The facts about fracking

What is fracking? http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14432401

Frackman trailer

Frackman: Dayne Pratzky takes on coal seam gas - The Feed

Frackman visits The Project

On the issue of employment it might be an idea that not too many jobs need be lost if workers can switch over to the green sustainable renewable energy side of things. There might be a gap where some might need training in a new area but there will be job openings available at the other end. We can't be too short sighted on that. We still need some form of energy. We're not suddenly going to go without. It could maybe just be in some other form. So there is room for expanding, job employment, profits, providing energy, all the good things but without the devastating ruin. Sure everybody has the right to be able to afford to eat, have shelter, education, ability to get from A to B etc but that should not be at the expense of the environment or the people directly effected by detrimental consequences of continuing on a path to hell.  All I hear are excuses. 

Land ownership law is pretty scary/sketchy. One can go purchase land but not the ownership of what is beneath the surface. Any company can intrude and mine its resources and the land owner has no rights to stop it. Crazy huh? You can't even buy your own patch of paradise without the fear looming over you that any day someone is going to stop by, stomp all over your dreams and destroy everything in sight and whatever they can get their hands on. It then becomes uncomfortable and  unenjoyable at the surface in which case land owners could cite such as a case against the intruders. However at that point paradise is lost and it's a case of too little too late. The damage has been done.
http://www.icsm.gov.au/cadastral/Fundamentals_of_Land_Ownership_Land_Boundaries_and_Surveying.pdf
I have to disagree with 2.11 "ownership limited to some extent, - which is the situation with land since it cannot be destroyed)." The land might still be there but not in the same quality. Land can most definitely be destroyed if once something could grow and be healthy and then later that no longer be the case. There is such a thing as soil degradation and desertification. Or the soil could become contaminated with toxic chemicals and poisons etc. If the land is not fit for use anymore then it can be destroyed. Of course you can't burn it into ashes and blow it away upon the wind. You can't break it into pieces and throw it in the bin to be carted away. Well you can if you dig a big mine! That is destroying land. Who created the content for 2.11? It definitely needs to be revised.
I love the way that it is the owner's responsibility to use their land in such a way as to not injure their neighbour but what about the intruders mining resources since they are not the owners?

Coal Seam Gas - The Project

The other scary thing is that they want to get their hands on land which is used for crops for us to eat so any environmental devastation in such an area is going to be a hefty price to pay for such carelessness. There is only so much viable arable land for crops so to deliberately set about implementing something that has such high risks is foolish to say the least and that land once destroyed would take far too long to recover. The same goes for fresh water pollution in aquifers etc. We have a limited supply of fresh drinking water. These are basic survival resources, resources which are far more important to protect than anything we could risk them for. Not only is water scarce but why waste it in the first place during the fracking process.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/our-food-bowls-should-not-be-sacrificed-to-mining-20110817-1ixpe.html
I'm not into economics or stocks. I've always said I'd rather invest in property than stocks if I ever had enough to invest. I like real tangible things as opposed to something that could crash and dissolve into nothing. I wouldn't mind if we were all living in little tribe villages and were about subsistence farming and living. So I of course have never held certain views and have not been duped by any clever marketing ploys. That patch of paradise has always been a day dream of mine.

http://downtoearthmother.com/2015/02/05/csg-frackinginaustralia/

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/03/12/factbox-csg-australia
Coal Seam Gas is methane. Methane is a contributor to global warming. I remember the commercials on TV urging consumers to go beef free as cows produce methane gas as a way to help reduce global warming. Why is gas touted as being a clean energy when urging the public to switch over from coal energy?
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/is-natural-gas-clean/?_r=0
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/6466890/Methane-impact-on-global-warming-much-greater-than-thought.html

http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/225538115730

Vegan eats and recipes

Here are a few vegan food finds and recipes from around the web that I have stumbled upon.
If they haven't closed yet please go and support this vegan restaurant. @GustOrganics  http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150615/chelsea/vegan-restaurant-that-got-hate-mail-from-crossfit-people-is-closing

These vegan strawberry crepes look absolutely delicious!

Image source https://twitter.com/peta/status/610898392928006144

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/traditional-indian-foods-made-vegan/ These recipes we have not tried yet but will when I make the effort to go through them and create a shopping list to incorporate them so we have everything we need to make them.

http://rightrelevance.com/tw/veganismrr/9120324d6847412ce89ad27fc2cc264062516c99/vegan%20diet/vegan%20diet This link goes to lots of articles and recipes. Just scroll down and see what takes your fancy.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/creamy-potato-leek-soup-vegan.html

Image source http://dingo.care2.com/pictures/greenliving/3/2448.large.jpg

This one is our favourite so far and has become a regular go to meal! http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7732/pumpkin-curry-with-chickpeas

Image source http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/sites/bbcgoodfood.com/files/styles/bbcgf_recipe/public/recipe_images/recipe-image-legacy-id--513500_11.jpg?itok=l0Hrjrpu

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2027/onepot-mushroom-and-potato-curry We actually have tried this recipe. I usually like mushrooms so I'm not sure what was going on but my taste buds did not enjoy this one so I wont be making it again. Everybody is different so while I'm not a fan you might like it.

Coconut oil

https://safeordangerous.com/670/coconut-oil-safe-dangerous/1
Verdict: I would use for beauty remedies but not for ingesting.

GMO Mosquitos

http://environews.tv/world-news/petition-seeking-to-stop-the-release-of-gmo-mosquitos-into-key-west-still-going-strong/
"local bugs could evolve to outsmart the genetically modified males." I don't know where I stand on this. If it works it could be great. There is always a fear when it comes to new technology and that is because it hasn't been around long enough for us to see what the outcome will be in the long term. We can either predict that it will be ultimately safe or harmful and right at the beginning that is unknown. If there are other types of mosquitos that carry Dengue then this isn't going to get rid of it for good anyway unless they branch out and genetically modify other types of mosquitos as well. The last thing we would want is the creation of super bugs, super mosquitos as well as a super strain of Dengue. When we try to play God it may backfire. I'm not really on board with gmo in general.

Beauty Products - Cruelty Free, Palm Oil Free, Vegan

For those who wish to shop in an ethical way but don't know where to start or what to avoid and what to buy check out Choose Cruelty Free also their Palm Oil List has links to other sites that provide information as well as a list of alternative names for palm oil and its derivatives so that you can check labels and ingredients. (That link is no longer there but I found this https://choosecrueltyfree.org.au/palm-oil/ ) I really do not want to put a link to any lists that I've seen that are pertaining to palm oil free because when I look at multiple sites and lists they either contradict each other which can be very confusing or some brands use it in some products and not in others, or some palm oil free brands, products or parent companies I have read else where are not cruelty free. Then there are other sites where they list other ethical concerns including the incorporation of nano technology. It can all become overly daunting! Also I see companies or products that are listed as being okay but when I go to the supermarket and read the labels it no longer appears to be the case. There is also the debate between boycotting or using sustainable palm oil. Since reading further I've decided to boycott palm oil altogether since sustainable palm oil is only traced back to the drop off location and not back to the plantation and they still clear forest for new sustainable plantations. I've now seen appearing on lists non deforrestation palm oil. I need to look into what's going on with that.
Here is the Cruelty Free Vegan List
I'd also like to highlight the Tasmanian based cosmetic brand Cherry Brown. I'm not personally recommending it as I haven't tried their products but it is something I am thinking about doing as it ticks all the lists of being cruelty free and palm oil free as well as vegan. It is also why it will be quite difficult for me to do beauty features for the magazine because a lot of beauty companies or parent companies are not cruelty free and then the ones that are cruelty free there are less that are palm oil free. For example Australis is cruelty free but does use palm oil. I haven't researched if the palm oil they use is sustainable or certified etc so I am not sure about that. In the future I'd like to create a line of skin care and cosmetic beauty products that tick all my boxes. I'd also like to write a book about ingredients. Then I also run into further complications - do the models also have to reflect similar beliefs, values and lifestyle choices?
On Cherry Brown's About page there are some interesting FAQs:
"What do Cherry Brown products contain?

Cherry Brown products contain only the purest ingredients, including seed and nut oils and waxes and natural mineral colours.  There are no petroleum derived ingredients in any of our products.  Full ingredients lists are available on the individual  product pages."

"Why are there no bright red lipsticks available?

This is probably the most common question of all!  Bright red lipstick is generally made using synthetic dyes (which are not good for us) or carmine (extracted from crushed beetles).  The reds available using natural minerals tend towards a more natural red, moving towards a more orange or blue red."
Also on the lipsticks page it mentions "Our lipsticks are free from: Animal testing, petroleum products, palm oil in any of its forms, animal ingredients, chemical additives, preservatives, synthetic dyes and colours, micronised ingredients, nanoparticles."

I haven't totally figured out this blogger thing. Every time I copy and paste it changes the background instead of the original transparent.