Wednesday 27 June 2012

Qube recording stuio - About us


Qube has been around now for 2 years and we have the best professional and creative staff that you could ever wish for in all aspects of the media, including music.

Qube’s recording studio is perfect for any artist, whether solo or band, to realize their creative ideas and produce high end, radio quality audio.

Whether you are a solo artist, band, or songwriter, you’ll find that Qube have the ideal equipment and professional, friendly staff to really make your music the very best it can be.

Our engineer’s are experts within the music industry, and not only will they make you feel at ease and comfortable, but their experience will help you create the best music you’ll have ever dreamed about creating!

Qube prides itself on friendliness, professionalism and quality in everything that we do, which is why our recording studio will always be the right place to come for any artist to make their music come to life.


Modern Warfare 3


In November 2011, ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’ was released in the UK with extremely high expectation that thousands queued up and down the country at midnight to get their beloved game. But, with such anticipation surrounding the game, many would suspect if it could live up to all of the hype!

With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 been the sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops’, which was released in 2010 and gathered an amazing $12.7 million in the US alone for just the XBOX 360, the pressure really was on to overcome that mark.

As expected, sales have went through the roof with it estimated as making over $700 million worldwide in just the first five days.

The story in Modern Warfare 3 carries on from Black Ops, much like a movie ending on a cliffhanger.  This clearly worked with Modern Warfare 3 been one of the best selling games in history.

A lot of gamers love the realistic elements to what they are playing. The big thing with this would be graphics. Comparing Modern Warfare 3 and blacks Ops graphically, there isn’t much of a difference. Only really intense hardcore gamers could tell a difference. It’s more the carrying of the story that people buying the game want to do.

With the story in both of these games been completed in an average of around 5 hours, you’d expect the game to be quite a bit cheaper, however with a lot of first person shooter games, many buy them for there multiplayer options.

The multiplayer options, with either the PS3 or the XBOX 360 the Modern Warfare 3 are very good, offering many ranges of courses and weapons. There is also the online where you can play gamers across the world to show of your skills in the Special Forces. There are also Special 0p’s online tasks to complete, so few can argue it is an easy game to finish!

99% of gamers would rate Modern Warfare 3 highly, with the very best in first person shooter games that have ever been released. However with this story now complete, many may be wondering what the Call Of Duty franchise  will release next to top such success!


'Corset care and functionality‘


Most people In Britain, especially women, know of fashion guru Gok Wan, best known for his hit TV show ‘How To Look Good Naked’, which helps women with dressing to suit their size and shape. But what if women don’t know how to dress for their size and shape? Well, there are some alternatives, one of which being the resurgence of the corset!
  
The wearing of corsets has, in recent years, made a huge impact once again on the fashion industry and has become a sought after item for many women looking for a fashionable, sexy look. Wearing underwear as outerwear has become a key style statement as seen on many celebrities such as Rihanna, Madonna, and Katy Perry, and in several A/W 2011 catwalk shows becoming a key part of a look which fashionable, stylish women seem keen to emulate! Traditionally worn as an undergarment, the corset has a lot of advantages. It pushes the bust up and the waist in, giving an hourglass effect to even a boyish figure while also holding a curvier shape giving women of all shape's and sizes more confidence in their appearance.

Corsets are not just good for making a women look and feel beautiful and sexy however; wearing a corset is also extremely good for posture. A corset can support the back, which can be particularly helpful if having to sit down on a chair for long hours, ideal for a woman perhaps working in an office. Not only is it great for posture, but, regularly wearing a corset can result in permanent inch loss giving a smaller, neater waistline, something most women aspire to!

A well-made corset is a specialist piece of clothing, and so does have to be cared for as such. If cared for correctly, a corset can last a lifetime! A corset should never be cleaned in a washing machine, as this could severely damage it. After wearing the corset, air it out, away from direct sunlight as this could make it fade, if there is a stain, then gently dab with a sponge, anything else could damage the fabric or rust the bones, and finally, occasionally, bring the corset to a dry cleaners, but make sure that they are experienced in dry cleaning corsets as they could damage it if they don’t treat it with the loving care such a well made garment deserves.

An important point to remember, is when first putting on a corset, don’t do it up very tight, let it mould into your shape after a short period of time. If a corset is done up to tight, too soon, it will not only feel uncomfortable but even a sneeze could destroy the front structuring and never use a metal hangers as this could cause rust!                

A corset can supplement the delightfulness, beauty and elegance of a woman, all reasons why corsets have been popular for so long, and no doubt, they will not be going out of fashion any time soon!

Faith in the community


Create posters, with articles about Charity events/youth clubs around the community, which would be good to get involved with. To promote these events that are going on, put the posters into shop windows around the community, for example in the Big Johns window.

You would have to really promote the events to everyone, however maybe concentrate a little bit more on a certain demographic. For example, if you are promoting a youth community centre, then bring a few (30-50) posters/articles to a local school about it for the teachers to hand out.

For example, there is St. Martin’s youth community centre in Highgate.  They are currently looking for donations as the Birmingham City Council may be taking away their budget and they want to keep running. They put on events that you can go too, you pay a certain amount to go in and this will help them keep the centre going.

Events being put on are ‘Friday Night Live’. The description really promotes to any youth.

“If you are interested in cooking, sports, music, dance then you really need to be checking this place out”

On the St. Martins youth community centre site they have a calendar, which show all of the upcoming events that they have. The site address with their blog on is below.





The Tourist


The Tourist – Staring Johnny Depp
                                        Angelina Jolie
                                        Paul Battany
                                        Timothy Dalton

Rating: 1 (out of 5)

While on the train to Venice, Frank (Johnny Depp) meets mysterious beauty Elise (Angelina Jolie) After spending hours talking, he thinks he’s met he’s perfect girl, not realizing she’s about to drag him into a nightmare international chase for a terrorist that looks exactly like him!

Put like this, you might say that this film sounds good. After all, it does have a very high profile cast, and a writer/director in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, a relatively unknown director in Hollywood, however has won both a BAFTA and an Oscar for his film ‘The lives of others’, which was his latest film before ‘The Tourist’. But, unfortunately no, this film isn’t as good as it should have been at all!

It starts of slow, with the audience not knowing what is going on. This isn’t a bad thing, and all throughout the film, I was waiting the pace to pick up, but it never did at all.

A film like this, one with very little action in, will always rely on the actors to draw the audiences attention into the story, a lot like romantics do. ‘Ps. I love you’ and ‘’The Notebook’ are two films that come to mind. They get the audience emotional; help them connect to the characters and/or storyline. For ‘The Tourist’ to work this is something that the characters had to do and they simply never, which made the film dull and uninspired.

Throughout the whole of the film, the relationship between the two characters Jolie and Depp play is constantly very dull, and as a result of this made watching it very awkward, and I constantly kept asking myself the question, what is the point in this film?

All, or at least most directors have something in mind that they want to get out of the audience while they are watching the film. The best example that anyone would know about is when Jack, played by Leonardo Dicaprio in the infamous ‘Titanic’, dies. James Cameron will have wanted to get an emotion response from the audience watching, leading them to maybe shed a tear or two. Michael Bay, known for his mesmerizing action sequences in films such as Transformers and Bad Boys, will want to get a shocked and amazement reaction out of his audiences when watching sequences such as Optimus Prime and Megatron fight it out to the death. Again I use films such as Romantic and Action, because I get the distinct feeling that is what Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is trying to portray in this unimaginative piece of film.

If you haven’t seen this film, here is a glimpse of the sort of action packed nonsense you are missing out on. 2 men come to kill Johnny Depp, so he starts to run upon the rooftops of Venice, or more just walk really fast, while Jolie looks on from below, ‘worried’, if you could use that word, and finally he gets away by jumping into a fruit stand in the local market, like that has never been done before.

Aside from all of the insufferable boring scenes, what makes it so much worse is the music. Throughout the film, there is this constant piano playing very slow and droll, which only seems to make the film go even slower then it is shot.

Looking back at this film, I would have to say that this is probably the worst film that Depp and Jolie have done in their careers. The fact that it was nominated for 3 Golden Globes for best motion picture, best actress and best actor in a musical or comedy is mind blowing seen as ‘The Tourist’ portrays no sign of it been either a musical or a comedy!

I would certainly suggest staying away from this film all together as it is a waste of 2 hours of your life that you’re not going to get back, if your in the mood for a film which stars Depp or Jolie, then maybe go to Pirates of the Caribbean or Mr., and Mrs. Smith, both of which have better acting and the films actually live up to their reputation. 

Who is the best director of all time?


Over the years, there have been some brilliant directors that have created some fantastic films that have gone down in history as the breathtaking. From Quinton Tarantino making Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Alfred Hitchcock bringing us Psycho, Orson Welles brought us Citizen Kane, Steven Spielberg, with E.T, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan and then of course, Martin Scorsese who gave us Goodfellas and The Departed.

All of these directors have gone down in history as making brilliant and historical films, but have any of these directors ever changed the face of cinema? You would have to say no. There is, however one man that has.

In 1997, a film came out that would change cinema, as people knew it. That film was Titanic. True, this isn’t a film that most would call their favorite film, however the graphics and technology used in this film was something that was never done before.

In the 1980’s, even the early 90’s, the thought of a film reenacting this true story and actually seeing a ship weighing over 50,000 tones sink in the way it did, people would maybe think you’re a bit crazy, but it was done, and done superbly well.

The man, who directed this epic movie, was of course James Cameron. With this film many people argue he did change the face of cinema as we knew it at the time and he did it in style with Titanic winning a massive 11 Oscars, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best sound and best editing. Titanic is one of 3 films in history that have one this amount of Oscars, Lord Of The Rings and Ben-Hur also have 11 wins each.

After Titanic was released, then came a flurry of films like it, including Matrix, Gladiator and of course Lord of the Rings.

Titanic isn’t the only the great and historic film that James Cameron gave us though. He also gave us ‘The Terminator 1&2 and Aliens. These, not nearly as successful as Titanic!

In 2010 though, James Cameron done it again, proving he is one of the greatest film makers in film history. He created a film that he has wanted to make for 20 years, Avatar.

He wanted to make Avatar 20 years ago, even before Titanic. He couldn’t however because of the technology, it simply wasn’t advanced enough. So he waited and waited and when the time was right and technology was advanced enough, he made his own 3D cameras, called Stereoscopic Cameras.

Stereoscopic cameras are cameras that are made for shooting in 3D. It makes the experience a lot better for the audience as it looks a lot better than a film made in 2D and transformed into 3D like the Green Hornet was. Films like the Green Hornet, which maybe good films and good storylines, still may look poor because the film wasn’t filmed in 3D. This is something that James Cameron wouldn’t want to do.

There have been suggestions Avatar cost an astonishing 500 million dollars to make however it was more like somewhere in the region of 280 million plus marketing costs, costing more than films like Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers. It is, however reaping the benefits of this, grossing 601.1 million dollars in just 47 days according to box office data, and to date grossing well over a billion dollars making it the most successful movie ever made. It sailed past Titanic, also directed by James Cameron, which is estimated to have made just over 600 million dollars all together.

Despite the amount it cost and grossed, Avatar never won the Oscar for best film of the year, losing out to The Hurt Locker, directed by Cameron’s ex wife Kathryn Bigelow. It did however win 3 Oscars, including, Best achievement in Cinematography, best achievement in Art Direction and Best achievement in Visual Effects.

Based on these facts and figures, James Cameron has clearly now changed the face of Cinema twice with the making of Titanic and Avatar, and with Avatar 2 and 3 just been announced making it a trilogy, who knows what other records he will brake but with Cameron also directing the making of graphic novel called Battle Angel, he’s sure to have more success in the future.



Lord Mayor Murder Mystery Night..


How do you feel when you give money to charity? Do you feel happy and satisfied? Or do you feel like you are just giving your hard earned money away?

There are many events in Birmingham where not only are you giving money to charity, but you are also getting something in return!

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham has many events coming up, including a Murder Mystery Night, performed by local top drama group The Billesley Players. 

You, and the Lord Mayor himself, will get to play detective and try to unearth who are the victims and who are the killers on this fun, light hearted evening. On top of that, you will be giving money to four charities. The Burns centre at the Children’s hospital, Birmingham PHAB camps, The Stroke Association and Birmingham institute for the deaf, 4 charity’s the Lord Mayor is raising money for in 2011!

These are 4 very important charity’s, not only Birmingham but in the whole of the UK. The Lord Mayor is particularly aware of the struggles of the Burns Centre at the children’s hospital, as his grandson has had to have treatment there in the past.

The Lord Mayor, over the next few months is putting on many charity events around the Birmingham, including trying to break the world record for most people having their blood pressure checked in just 8 hours, this raising money and making people aware of the dangers of strokes and just how serious they can be.

At this Murder Mysteries evening, for just £22 per person, you will get a 2-course meal, while you interrogate and discover who the murderers are! There is also going to be a bar and a raffle at this exciting event.

Performing at the Murder Mysteries Night will be top Birmingham drama group The Billesley Players, who will transport the Lord Mayor and his guests back to 1915 when a family celebration comes to a halt when the butler is found dead in the house library and the Billesley Players will be taking time out of their busy schedule practicing for Neil Simon’s ‘The Odd Couple’, taking place June 9th/10th 2011.

Iain Neville, chair of The Billesley Players is extremely looking forward to this event. “This event raises money for four great causes, so we were more than happy to volunteer our services. The only difficulty has been preparing for the Murder Mystery Night while also rehearsing for our production of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple later this year”

“The Highbury Hall event is sure to be a lot of fun and maybe the Lord Mayor will turn out to be a bit of a Sherlock Holmes.”
The event takes place on March 17th 2011 from 7pm-11pm and will take place at:

Highbury Hall
4 Yew Tree Road
Moseley, Birmingham
B13 8QG

Places for this special event are limited, so to book your tickets by contacting Gilli Hale or Bev Whitehouse, Lord Mayor's Parlour by:



T: 0121 303 2040/303 1999



Will Libya turn into the new Iraq conflict?


This is the question that people are increasingly asking as British and US ground troops are put on standby for an invasion of Libya to help rebels take down Colonel Gaddafi and his loyal followers.

The USA President has insisted that America will stand up for free will and basic human rights however Americans in Libya at the moment were his primary concern in an address he made to the world on the 27thMarch.

“First, we are doing everything we can to protect American citizens. That is my highest priority. In Libya, we've urged our people to leave the country and the State Department is assisting those in need of support”

He continued, “The United States also strongly supports the universal rights of the Libyan people. That includes the rights of peaceful assembly, free speech, and the ability of the Libyan people to determine their own destiny.  These are human rights. They are not negotiable. They must be respected in every country, and they cannot be denied through violence or suppression”

Obama, who has been in office now for 2 years, says that the rest of the world must “speak with one voice” in order to help the civilians in Libya.

“The American people extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all who’ve been killed and injured. The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya. These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop”

“In a volatile situation like this one, it is imperative that the nations and peoples of the world speak with one voice, and that has been our focus”

Many civilians across the globe could think that this could be another Iraq, where it was alleged that the only reason ground troops was sent in was to get oil, however the President does not see it this way.

"As one Libyan said, 'We just want to be able to live like human beings.'  We just want to be able to live like human beings. It is the most basic of aspirations that is driving this change, and throughout this time of transition, the United States will continue to stand up for freedom, stand up for justice, and stand up for the dignity of all people”

Clearly the President, regarded as one of the most powerful men on the planet, feels that if it is necessary, then he will send in ground troops to help the rebels topple Colonel Gaddafi and help the Libyan people help set up a democratic system where they can live in peace and have the freedom that they desire, and David Cameron, Prime Minster of Great Britain, feels the same way and feels Colonel Gaddafi should be facing a war crimes trial, and not be given Exile, something both Italy and Germany are pushing for.

Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said that both Italy and Germany are in talks with Turkey, the African Union and the Arab League about the possibility of granting Gaddafi exile, as they believe that this will convince him to leave power more peacefully rather than drag it out as was done with Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003.

Cameron, however, thinks that Gaddafi should be facing war crimes, as he is not only stopping people have their freedom of speech, but also he is committing the murder of innocent civilians in what the Libyan ambassador has called “real genocide”

It has become so terrifying that 2 Libyan airplane pilots and 2 Libyan navy ships have fled to Malta after they refused to follow orders to bomb civilians and pro democracy protestors. Protesters want Gaddafi out as he has ordered the military to kill peaceful protesters, which has led to over 1,000 innocent Libyans being murdered.

In Libya, there have already been air strikes by Britain, who have flown over 120 missions deep in the Libyan dessert, taking out Gaddafi's ammunition bunkers.

In a Commons statement on March 28th, Cameron said he would "disagree with anyone who says that destroying a Gaddafi arms dump is not in the terms of the United Nations resolution"

"We can see very clearly what Gaddafi's regime is doing in Misratah, is doing in Zintan and other places - he's using munitions to kill people, to murder his own citizens. So therefore depriving him of weapons I think is absolutely not only in the letter of the resolution but in its spirit too," he told MP's.

There is also now a no fly zone, which is intended to stop Gaddafi killing innocent people from the skies of Libya.

The PM said: "The no-fly zone is now fully operational and effective. When it has been challenged, Gaddafi's planes have been shot down. He can no longer terrorise the Libyan people from the air."

This will come as a boost to protestors in Libya, who are witnessing countries help them dispose of a man who said just 8 days into the protests that he will not relinquish power and has vowed to die a “Martyr”.

Gaddafi, who has now been in power for 42 years, blames “Rats” who are agents from foreign intelligence services for the current unrest the country is feeling.  He then continued that anyone carrying weapons against Libya or co-operating with outside forces fomenting discord against “the country of my grandfathers” then they would be executed.

This has led the world to look on with not only sympathy but also with caution as the USA and the United Kingdom meet with the rest of the United Nations to discuss what is going to be done to help the civilians of Libya!


Japan tragedy


Young people in Britain may not know how to react to what has happened in Japan with the devastating earthquake and the Tsunami. Some may think that some of the videos look cool like it would in a typical Hollywood Blockbuster, like a prequel to the film ‘2012’, Others may be worried and devastated to how this will effect not only Japan but also the rest of the globe with aftereffects.

While city’s have been wiped out and an event which has left thousands dead, and millions homeless, without food, electricity or water, youngsters and even adults all around the globe go about their lives like nothing has happened, just catching a glimpse if they happen to see the news. 

People going about their daily lives should be more worried about how Japan is going get back to how it was before, and how the rest of the globe is going to help. With millions now homeless and over a billion dollars in damages, there will now surely be dozens of charities to help.

It won’t be just about helping Japan though, with 20 other countries including the USA and Russia been put on red alert and many experts believing an earthquake over 8 on the Richter scale could cause more then just one Tsunami.

With the earth as fragile as ours, disasters like this are going to happen, It is debatable just putting it down to global warming while it is true we as a race have not taken enough care of this earth for thousands of years, personally I simply think it is Mother Nature taking its course and tragedies like this are going to happen. Now, the question is, how do we help get over this devastating catastrophe.  

January transfer window 2011


We are now at the end of the January transfer window, and the question has got to be asked, did it go money mad?

A total of over 215 million pound was spent in the January window by premier league clubs, compared to just 29 million in the January transfer window of 2010.

There was many a debate between football forums and football shows when Aston Villa purchased a young English striker, Darren Bent, for £18 million pound, rising to £24 million. Many football fans and even experts thought that this was to much money, even though he is English and has a ratio of 1 goal every 2 games in the Top Flight.

In contrast, in the last 5 years, he has scored the same amount of goals as Drogba of Chelsea, who cost £30 million plus from French club Marseille, and Rooney of Manchester United, who cost £27 million from Merseyside club Everton.

Many thought that this was going to be the talk of the January transfer window, along with Manchester City’s purchase of Edin Dzeko, bought for £29 million, and these 2 transfers was the talk of window, at least until the final week of the window.

While Liverpool put a bid in for Uruguay striker Suarez of £23 million, who plays for Dutch giants Ajax, Spurs, reportedly put in bids for 5 strikers playing in the La Liga of Spain. Reports suggesting an £18 million bid for Athletico Madrid strikers Diego Forlan and a bid close to £40 Million for Sergio Aguero. Spurs reportedly also had big money bids rejected for Read Madrid’s Karim Benzema, Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente, Seville’s Luis Fabiano and former Manchester United man front man Giuseppe Rossi. All bids, unfortunately for spurs, failed, along with a bid for Blackpool skipper Charlie Adam. 

Then, Chelsea, the current Premier League holders put in a 35 million pound bid in for Spanish striker Fernando Torres of Liverpool, which was rejected at first. But with Torres then handing in a transfer request, Liverpool said he could leave if Chelsea met their valuation of a staggering 50 million pound, which they did.

With Torres gone, this sparked another transfer of Andy Carroll joining Liverpool from Newcastle United for 35 million pound, with many saying this was over the odds as he is an unproven striker in the premier league.

Over the past few windows, Chelsea has not spent as much as other clubs, with last year them having a loss of £70 million pound. This year however, champion’s league football is not certain for them and this forced Roman Abramovich, Russian Billionaire and Chelsea owner into action, not only purchasing Torres but also spending £21.3 million plus midfielder Nemanja Matic on central defender David Luiz from Benifica which took Chelsea’s spending to £71 Million, more than any other club.

Over the years, like anything else, the price for players in any league in the world has shot up, especially in the January transfer window, however with the economy the way it is, and some football clubs severely effected by this, few would have expected a Transfer Window with so much high profile activity.