Ah, the great struggles of 2015. Obviously we were all keen to trim a few pounds, but then the returns diminish and we give up and take to the Ben & Jerry's - but then brain freeze strikes! Quick - to Google!
Snapchat introduced 'Filters' which positively revolutionised the way we sent mundane photos of ourselves to each other when we had nothing else to do. Instead of a gloomy selfie, we could send a photo of ourselves spewing rainbows.
The eclipse was a big feature (with a pinhole camera naturally being the safest way to view it - I opted to look it directly in the eye, obviously), Windows 10 came out (for free, I hasten to add!), and obviously we needed to calculate percentages urgently to statisticalise things*.
*Actual over possible times 100!
What Goes Up
EE revolutionised the way my phone battery dies far too quickly, by releasing its Power Bar which allowed us to charge our phones in our pockets and revolutionised the way we start fires in our own homes!
Netflix, meanwhile, gave us all strong reason to get up for 7am every Tuesday morning to catch Better Call Saul, keeping us joyfully entertained and ensuring the rest of every Tuesday was distinctly unproductive and sluggish.
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| Mike Nails His Priorities |
Some people had a fight that was on TV and some other people thought it was good, whilst some thought it was bad. Some people played Cricket and much the same happened (except we won and now have the ashes back).
A Golden Ticket
The good people at Wonka's Chocolate Factory decided the world needed selection boxes twice a year, and now we can get them at Easter, too^!
We decided we needed to hold a vote to make sure people could not take part in said vote and then complain about the results, whilst those of us who did partake could complain about the people we weren't voting for; and the BBC let this one slip on live television, because they're wildcards.
I reached the conclusion that a 24-hour each way trip was definitely worth it for five days abroad, and paid yet another visit to South Africa, spending 10 hours in Cape Town airport along the way, when even the staff had gone home - a new contender for 'Strangest Place I've Slept'. My short time there was action-packed and I got to revisit some 'old' friends and see some excellent progress with the South Africa Challenge Team.
Hey @SAChallengeUK - forgot to share the customary #CarSelfie with you! #challenge15 #SASelfie pic.twitter.com/vHQ6ibGt7A
— Ben Oddie, BSc (@oddbod92) July 16, 2015
A rather rushed return journey home lead straight into a drive down to Loughborough (Looga-barooga) to receive, quite possibly, the most expensive piece of paper I've ever purchased. The day was aptly topped off by grabbing a quick selfie with the famous 'VC Bob' and it's safe to say, we went viral.
^I only discovered these in 2015, they've probably been around for years!
†Yeah, I didn't really.
2015 was also a great year for film. We saw the latest sequels (all available, naturally, in 3D) to Jurassic Park, Casino Royale, and Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope) - Jurassic World, Spectre, and Star Wars (Episode VII: The Force Awakens), respectively; and Leonardo DiCaprio has still yet to beat my Oscar record.
Musically, 2015, felt a lot like I'd accidentally gone back with Michael J Fox as I managed to catch Fish (the singer from Marillion, as though that clears it up for you), Def Leppard [sic], and Whitesnake (Here I Go Again). No, these weren't through YouTube, they genuinely all are still touring and whilst visually it may have looked a lot like a talent show from a Saga holiday; it was actually far from it.
I took a trip to Berlin (namely for the Christmas Markets) and sampled a Premium Porker or two, along the way. We visited the Olympic Stadium, bought 108 Kinder Riegels (which it transpires are available in England anyway) after sampling them aboard a Crepé (revolutionary, by the way - go and make one now), and took home Die Neuen Weihnachtshits (Schlittenfahrt is a classic).
Naturally, Christmas wouldn't have been complete without taking a trip to the cinema to catch a distinctly non-3D showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I'll not spoil it for those who have yet to see it, but Viceroy Gunray knows Liam Neeson is a Jedi and I have a bad feeling about Ian McDiarmid‡.
That pretty much concludes 2015, at least from my perspective. I wish you all the best for 2016 (we have a bonus day in February, too!). To answer the question long asked (by David Bowie) - we don't know, but we did find water there.
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| "Are we taking a 'selfie'?" - Yes we are, Bob. |
Your mission - to get an #LboroGrad2015 selfie with VC Bob - thanks @oddbod92 for the photo! pic.twitter.com/StRwObTJEi
— Loughborough Uni (@lborouniversity) July 17, 2015
As if it weren't enough - I even met the queen†! |
| The Queen 'Meets' Me |
†Yeah, I didn't really.
We Have to Go Back...
Obviously we wouldn't have covered everything did we not mention the 'Back to the Future' day (which was actually from the second film). Despite many people's best efforts, neither the fax machine nor the double tie made it big this year. Sequels in 3D definitely did, however. Oh, and we managed to invent hoverboards that don't actually hover, since they have two wheels (that's double the wheels of a unicycle - the closest we've got to no wheels) and they, too, revolutionise the way we start fires in our own homes. Had Marty McFly rocked up to a bonfire in 2015 it would have perhaps been more accurate.2015 was also a great year for film. We saw the latest sequels (all available, naturally, in 3D) to Jurassic Park, Casino Royale, and Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope) - Jurassic World, Spectre, and Star Wars (Episode VII: The Force Awakens), respectively; and Leonardo DiCaprio has still yet to beat my Oscar record.
Musically, 2015, felt a lot like I'd accidentally gone back with Michael J Fox as I managed to catch Fish (the singer from Marillion, as though that clears it up for you), Def Leppard [sic], and Whitesnake (Here I Go Again). No, these weren't through YouTube, they genuinely all are still touring and whilst visually it may have looked a lot like a talent show from a Saga holiday; it was actually far from it.
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...
December, as always, was spectacular. Lots of Decembery things happened, and I missed out on decorating our own tree, so I built my own.I took a trip to Berlin (namely for the Christmas Markets) and sampled a Premium Porker or two, along the way. We visited the Olympic Stadium, bought 108 Kinder Riegels (which it transpires are available in England anyway) after sampling them aboard a Crepé (revolutionary, by the way - go and make one now), and took home Die Neuen Weihnachtshits (Schlittenfahrt is a classic).
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| Weihnachtshits: The Cover |
Naturally, Christmas wouldn't have been complete without taking a trip to the cinema to catch a distinctly non-3D showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I'll not spoil it for those who have yet to see it, but Viceroy Gunray knows Liam Neeson is a Jedi and I have a bad feeling about Ian McDiarmid‡.
‡ This 'spoiler' is from Episode I - the opening scene. Approximately 3-6 films behind Episode VII
That pretty much concludes 2015, at least from my perspective. I wish you all the best for 2016 (we have a bonus day in February, too!). To answer the question long asked (by David Bowie) - we don't know, but we did find water there.
"Always remember: your focus determines your reality."Ben
