COOL POINTERS; Talk To A Stranger..

“Don’t talk to strangers.”

There’s one global piece of advice that I think we all remember getting from our parents at an early age. It’s right up there with:

“Don’t do drugs.”

“Don’t talk back.” and

“Look both ways when crossing.”

This is the kind of instruction you get at a very young age and it doesn’t usually come with much explanation. It’s just one of those universal truths that we seem to accept as law for all human beings..

“Don’t talk to strangers, it’s dangerous.” That’s about as far as it ever gets. If you're as lucky as I was, you may have heard "Don't talk to strangers, most people are lovely, some are bad". We don't realise the direct impact we have on the lives of the youth. If a child is brought up on the first ideal - "Don't talk to stranger, it's dangerous" you can see how later in life that same child will find it hard to meet new people, no?

But don't get me wrong.. It’s not really bad advice for a 3-year-old. As they doesn’t have the ability yet to see the bad in people, bless them.. they're just too innocent.

But it’s terrible advice for adults.

Talking to strangers is one of the most important things we can do. Strangers hold the keys to all kinds of knowledge that we want. They help us understand more about people and how we relate to each other by unlocking cultural misunderstandings.

Strangers have so much to offer us, and I think we should go out of our way to talk to more of them. I promise you that every 'stranger' has the answer to at least 1 of your 100s of unanswered questions!

This was my most recent experience with a strange..

On the 16th of January, I went to my guy's house, he wasn't in so I spoke to his flat mate properly for the first time (amazing chat), spoke about about our perceptions on the real meaning of life, our disconnection with nature and  each other. 

Anyway, left there about.. 7pm (meant to be meeting my boy, Dominic). Went to the bus stop in town, where an older guy (later found out he was 72) was rambling on to his friend slightly erratically about something he couldn't get his head round. He was saying that he one had a friend who was a gardener for 50+ years, who after 10 odd years on the job could tell (not predict, not forecast, TELL) him what the weather was going to be like for a day, sometimes a few days, and he was ALWAYS right. Despite what the "experts" & "professionals" were saying.

I thought to myself "No way is he talking on this subject! I have to manoeuvre my way in to conversation.." and suddenly became a part of their, once, private chat with a laugh. I said, "you're confusion is justified! You shouldn't feel crazy. It's your body's natural discontentment towards life, if we all weren't told about the weather and love with nature, don't you think after TEN years, we, humans, would also be able know what the weather is gonna be?..". 

And he just said back "exactly, that is what I mean!" And we began talking.. We spoke for AGES (about an hour), about so many things, I told him to enlighten me because I could see how much he wanted people to listen to him. 

I recorded this conversation (voice memo) because I knew I'd obviously tell people about this fabulous man! The man's name was Alan French, he told me a lot of mind-blowing facts about my town. Check this, he also told me that Tarzan was based on a true story, about a boy named Peter the Wild Boy, who was buried in Northchurh which is only 15 minutes from my house, sound unbelievable? Search 'peter the wild boy' yourself!

The last thing that this total strange told me was that that the pub near me called, 'Top of The World' represents the highest point on Earth, Everest, and the road leading up to the actual Mount Everest is called 'Northridge Way', YES.. So is the road leading up to the pub. 

I learnt so much from this absolute stranger! And feeling you get after acquiring new valuable knowledge is unbeatable, they do say 'knowledge is power'.

Click here to see Alan's hugely insightful and informative blog!

 #Talk2a'Stranger' #Brothers&Sisters

Stay tuned and stay blessed!

COOL MUSIC; P MONEY vs BIG H: WHAT WILL HAPPEN?

You may have heard it. You may not believe it. You may not even have heard it till right now! Regardless! It's happening. The clash of the year, and one of the biggest clashes in grime history, has now been confirmed by both of the rappers involved. P Money, one of my favourite MCs, from Lewisham in South London, is clashing BIG H, straight out of Tottenham!! Both MCs have had their fair share of beefs, famously P Money and Ghetts, and then for Big H.. the list would find out and surpass Blogger's word count. Ultimately, this clash will be amazing for a number of reasons. 

1. Both MCs feel as if their respective flows have been copied as grime has grown and new MCs have emerged. I think most will agree that they're both not too far from the truth here..

2. Big H speaks about his relationship with P Money being 'tense' on The Grime Show, claiming that P Money has maybe not been as polite as he could have been in their previous encounters.

3. Big H is a mad man, and is hell bent on the destruction of P Money. This mixed with P Money's composure and confidence, will promote this clash all by itself.

4. THESE ARTISTS DO NOT FLOP.

Both these MCs are very different. As people and as artists. In fact, they're completely different. That's where the main spice comes from, they're difference. One of the only things they share is confidence. Big H is a character, he's loud and it is very clear that he thinks a lot of himself, and not very much of those around him in the game. Big H talks about his recent EP 'Fire and Smoke' being his weapon of destruction. Big H wants to flush out all the s*** in grime and keep it real. P Money on the other hand is a completely different personality, he's a reserved character who I've been in very close proximity ha, check me. He hasn't commented much about the clash with H and you shouldn't expect to hear anything too revealing about the clash and his opinions on it. Although, P's personality can come across a bit arrogant, so can H's. With Big H though, it is different. He is almost too arrogant, the way he MCs and talks is almost as if he doesn't take anything that seriously. I feel that H should be a bit more careful in his approach to LOTM6, he needs to do his research on P, because P Money is a master lyricist. His wordplay and skippy flow attract reloads and massive crowd backing, this is a disadvantage to H as his flow doesn't warrant a reload as often.

But in the meantime, have a look at BOTH MCs, and come to your own conclusions! First up, we have both of their 1Xtra Fire In The Booth's released only two weeks apart from each other. 

BIG H - FIRE IN THE BOOTH

How'd you find that?

Here's P

P MONEY - FIRE IN THE BOOTH

I'm allowed to have an outright opinion, right? A few of my pals are certain this one's going to Big H, but I am almost positive that they're all wrong. P MONEY FOR THE WIN. Listen to the guy, he's a lot more talented than most, not just Big H. Thaaaat said, Big H is a lot more suited to clashing so it is going to be close whether you like it or not.

Since starting this post, there has been all sorts of dramas surrounding the clash. Big H didn't turn up for the pre-clash contract signing, making people believe that he had 'wimped' out of things and ultimately proving me right about his character. But no! It's not over yet, according to H, his absence was due to mis-communications between him and Jammer (LOTM6 owner), something about Jammer telling him the wrong time. ANYWAY, here's a screenshot showing what Big H thought about rumours claiming he was too scared to clash P Money.

I don't know what will happen yet with regards to the clash, all I know is both Big H and P Money will clash! And it's going to be an epic one. Who will win? What will happen?

Follow both artists on twitter to keep up to date with their feuds and what they have to say about this upcoming clash of the titans!!

@KingPMoney

@BigHOfficial

@JammerBBK - for news on this clash and more!

Stay Tuned and Stay Blessed!!

@ZachEkpe

check out.. www.kitkittyfashion.blogspot.com!

COOL POINTERS; iMOAN - WATCH YOUR STEP!

Afternoon beautiful people! After many years of procrastination, I present to you.. my FIRST post. As you've seen in my little bio section, 'I occasionally post things that I hope will fascinate people as much as me.' And boy o boy have I been swept off my feet by my latest discovery. 

I'm sorry to say that if you do not own an iPhone 4/4s/5/5s/5c, with iOS7, you will not be able to participate. That said, the relative next to you or downstairs is probably in possession of one, so use theirs!

ANYWAY.. Ever wandered how true the gossip about our privacy actually is? Well, here's something that should help you form your own opinion on the matter. I personally was amazed when I stumbled across this, since seeing this I have probably told everyone I know with an iPhone about it from friends to customers at work!

Ok, so finally.. Here are the steps:

1- Go to Settings

2- Scroll down a LIL to Privacy

3- Then go to Location Services (make sure they're turned on, if they've previously been switched off then this may not work as well for you, but credit you for your battery preservation skills!) 

- Scroll down,below all your apps, to System Services!

4- Now in your System Services you'll see Frequent Locations, GO TO FREQUENT LOCATIONS!

5- Make sure your Frequent Locations are turned on, scroll down and view your locational history, click on one of the locations if you're thinking 'hmmm.. this isn't THAT accurate..' (again.. if you previously switched off Frequent Locations then your results will not be as extensive as most, worry not though, this is a default setting and should already be turned by the cheeky buggers running apple.)

6- I won't show you all exactly where I've been and at what time but I feel as if I have taken you far enough. Press the addresses and your phone will pull an inch perfect register of where you've been for the past 2 months.

Amazed? I told you. 

Although this may be seen as an invasion of our privacy, it is also an example of human lethargy! We all agree to these terms as we hurry to set up our brand new iPhones, but next time take a step back, have a read, see what information you're nonchalantly handing over to these massive corporations. 

Thank you for reading! Eyes peeled for the next one. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @ZachEkpe for more blog info, and an look into my life!

Stay tuned, stay blessed.