Are you familiar with „The Fall“?

It’s a British mini-series that has just released its second season. A psychological thriller, portraying cat and mouse chase of the killer by determined DSI Stella Gibson. It is intense, disturbing and giving you the glimpse into minds of both parties. The plot takes place in greyish Belfast, showing us a side of Ireland that is completely different from the touristic perspective one may see usually.

The key to the success of the series is the cast. Definitely the leads: Gillian Anderson as stern, immaculate Stella Gibson and Jamie Dornan as obsessed strangler Paul Spector, who in his other life is a grief counsellor with family and two children.

What is really gripping about the series is a strong female protagonist. Stella doesn’t conform to conventional view on women and their desires. She is the leading detective on the case and everyone on the task force is her subordinate. She baffles her colleagues with her lack of interest in romantic relationships, being entirely in control of what she wants for herself.

Not really seeing a lot of these types of characters in other TV series right now. In most of them, even when the protagonist is supposedly strong-willed and independent, in the end it always comes to finding love and the man who can give it to her. Here the plot focuses on the investigation and repercussions for everyone involved. The show doesn’t need a romantic subplot if the writing is good. Of course, sometimes it’s necessary for the sake of the story or the type of series.

Here you can find the trailer for “The Fall”:

Identifying your taste in music and why is the pop music so repetitive

I came to a realisation today. I honestly don’t remember the last time I have searched for a song name on the search engine. It’s amazing how you can just use the app and identify the song in merely few seconds. Of course I’m talking about Shazam(as I’m aware there are several alternatives, like SoundHound for example). Sometimes all you need is a couple of sounds and you already know that you like that particular tune. Imagine how it was when you couldn’t use the app, or search for it in Google.

What is kinda funny though it’s that apparently Shazam became available in 2002! Stanford graduate named Wang created software that could actually distinguish music from all the other background noises by turning it to data. A different purpose that Shazam apparently is used for is recognizing the future hits, what songs will catch on. A pretty handy tool for music executives, I would say!

This video explains it all:

You can find the whole article on Shazam and identifying the people's taste in music here:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/12/the-shazam-effect/382237/

Today I’m willing to share with you some of the tunes that I “shazamed” while watching a TV series or hearing them on the radio or somewhere. Hope you enjoy it!

Tom Odell- Can’t Pretend

John Gold- Vampire's Kiss

The Antlers- Kettering

The Naked And Famous- Girls Like You

Controversial "The Promise"

Like I mentioned at the beginning, I want to make you acquaintance with some not that well-known series. Well in this case a mini-series. This hidden gem (well, at least for us) has only four episodes, which makes the story both engaging and fast-paced. It was released on Channel 4 in the UK (after reading this short review/informative piece you can guess why not on BBC).

In short, the main story has two main protagonists; one of them is a typical young British girl, Erin, who finds her grandfather’s journal. She goes on a trip to Israel with her best friend, who has to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. The other hero of the story is her grandfather, Len, who was a British soldier stationed in Tel-Aviv after the World War II. Throughout the series, Erin reads parts of his journal, finding out more and more about his story and retraces his steps.

Not revealing too much I believe it this series is extraordinary in a way it presents more balanced perspective on Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most of the information you can find or even creative visions in the films are always biased toward Israel. It’s really remarkable how this series can depict both sides, showing us that one as well as the other is to blame for the existing situation. 

What I find compelling is how the series combines both plots in such a way that they complement each other. The whole story within the story always appeals to me. A thought-provoking plot and how it unravels makes it an enjoyable watch. I strongly suggest checking out this series for yourself, you won’t be disappointed!

Here you can watch the trailer:

If you want to read more about the series, look this up:

http://honestreporting.com/channel-4-breaking-the-promise/

Here you can find the IMDB page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1692202/