Monkey At The Drive-Thru Prank [video]

Leeds Gay Pride 2014 (Photos)

Leah McFall — Home (music video)

Poor cocoa farmers taste chocolate for the first time (video)

8 totally ridiculous quotes from George W. Bush

Afterglow (Music video)

Cat And Horse Make Unlikely Friendship [video]

8 videos that will definitely make you smile

The other night I was bored so got to watching social experiments and just like happy videos on YouTube. Like you know when you got on YT to watch a video or two, and end up staying for hours? Yeah... that happened, but the videos made me smile so it was worth it :-)

World Pup! [video]

Uzo Aduba's auditions as other OITNB characters! [video]

40 awesome, honest, cakes!

I see these "honest" cakes come up on my Tumblr dash from time to time, you know, the ones that say things like "I hate you" and "sorry I...*something ridiculous*"? I find them quite funny, and also think they're cute. I'd love if it my enemies baked me cakes to say sorry, or if somebody baked me a cake after hurting my feelings! Below are 40 shining examples of these beautifully honest cakes.

Tiny birthday for a tiny hedgehog! [video]

Amazon sent me a german step-ladder instead of the Michael Kors watch I ordered!

This should
be mine!

They say if something is too good to be true, it probably is! I was just having a look on Amazon at watches, when I saw the Michael Kors MK8283 for £26. I quickly checked the price on other sites and it was selling for about 4-6 times this, so of course I immediately snapped it up—thinking I could either give it to my dad for his birthday, or sell it for a bunch more than I bought it for...that's when things where downhill.

8 amazing places in Europe to visit besides Paris and London!

So I had a dream the other night where I was in Vienna, Austria for Christmas. I then googled "Vienna at Christmas" and was astonished that it was actually as beautiful as I pictured in my dreams! I took this as a hint that I should go to Vienna at Christmas, so hopefully that will happen within the next 5 years.

This got me thinking, without the dream, I would've never thought to go to Vienna. When most people think of European major destinations they think of Paris and London (me included!), but below are x other awesome places in Europe! (The descriptions are from around the web, but hopefully I'll be able to do my own reviews some day)

Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Instant Camera Review!!

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 has been on my wishlist for a while now. I've wanted an instant camera for ages! I finally decided to take the step and buy one. You can currently buy one for $63, or buy the previous model for $59! I'm really enjoying it, continue reading to see my full review.

Dog Surprised with 100 Balls for Birthday [Video]

Dirty urban dictionary definitions of normal words!

Urban Dictionary has saved us all from lots of awkwardness, but there are some crazy words on there that make you think "who would ever use that"?! There are also some words you had no idea had a sexual or dirty meaning!

What Happens When You Crack An Egg Underwater [Video]

Lana Del Rey: WHERE IS YOUR COMPASSION?!

Lana Del Rey with a fan in Paris
earlier this week.

Lana Del Rey, once quoted as saying "I already have everything I want", has once again hit headlines for a recent interview in which she was hauled into saying she wishes she was dead. If you're a Lana fan, a tumblr user, or into pop culture; you've probably already heard the story. I'm here to go back to the basics, give the true story, get done with all this politically-correct sh*t, and talk about the fact that Lana has said she wants to die.

"If Black People Said The Stuff White People Say" [Video]

MCDONALDS CLOTHING LINE?! (and why they changed the happy meal box)

Retail: £699

You probably didn't realise unless you're very fashion savvy, but McDonalds have released a clothing line—consisting of bags, belts, shoes, and even a visor! The bags cost between £578 and £699. Of course, if you're really into fashion, you'll know I'm lying. However, Moschino DID release a McDonalds-inspired line.

Who on earth would wear this?!

This new lingerie trend is totally crazy, I can't believe it's a real thing! They call it the "C" string... see the pictures below!

My braces story

I've decided to write an exhilarating and emotional story about my life before, during, and after braces. The problems and the good good things that come along with braces.

Puppy rescued from canyon!

Lately I have seen a lot of animal rescue videos and it makes me very happy! While hiking through the desert in 2010, Zak Anderegg discovered a puppy trapped deep in a canyon slot in Arizona. He knew he couldn’t just leave the little guy, so he grabbed his gear and his camera and started the difficult process of extracting Riley who is now a member of his family.

Myspace Famous People who made it out of Myspace

At it's peak in 2008, Myspace had almost 76 million users and had a peak value of $12 million. Hundreds of people were made e-famous whilst on Myspace, however as Myspace begun to die out, so did most of the people known there. However, a lucky few continued to be successful.

Amazon Prime vs Netflix

Almost half of the United States population subscribe to Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hulu Plus. Sadly, we don't get Hulu in the UK, so I can't review that (actually, thinking of it I could just use the proxy I use to access my American best friend's Netflix, but...whatever). On a daily basis, 31% of adults watch video on non-TV devices, so I thought making this review would be a good idea!

6 Tumblr tips you probably don't know about!

I've been on Tumblr for a very long time (since I was 13 to be precise, crazy) so I thought I'd share some little tips with you!

Tips included in this post:

1. How to find out what year you made your blog (using HTML)
2. Take advantage of the keyboard to queue, reblog and draft posts, to view post notes and make new posts!
3. Report a serious problem on Tumblr related to a post or blog
4. When to post to get the most notes!
5. View posts in a chronological order or from a specific day
6. Find out who you (or someone else) reblog the most from your past 250 posts!

Dog escapes cage, then releases other dogs from dog kennel

"Beauty or brains?" Dogs are both! This video from 2007 (wow, a whole 7 years ago) shows dogs are more than just good looks. At The Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in London, one lucky dog (pun intended) manages to unlock his cage in the dog kennel, then proceeds to unlock the other dog's cages! See the video below

Invisible Driver Prank

Toyota teamed up with MagicofRahat to make this hilarious prank which features a driver in a car seat costume! Hilarious—see the video below!

How to make gifs for Tumblr

I make a couple dozen gifs every week for Tumblr, and I was request a tutorial by a follower. You will need photoshop, in 32-bit mode. My tutorial is from a Mac, but you follow the same instructions on Windows pretty much.

Volkswagen powerful new advert about driving whilst on the phone

Mobile use is the leading cause of death whilst driving. Volkswagen created an advert as a brilliant way to communicate how risky it is to use mobile phones while driving. It blows my mind that it's still legal to use your phone whilst driving in some countries, but blows my mind more than people actually want to! See the video below.

Puppy live cam!

Did you know there's a channel on Youtube called "The Pet Collective" where they have dozens of live video feeds of animals?! My favourite is the border collie puppies. They're so adorable!

Orange is the new black, kitten spoof

Orange Is The New on Netflix has become a huge success! Viewers and critics simply can’t get enough of the prison show. The Pet Collective has joined the Orange obsession by debuting this adorable kitten-themed parody of the series. In less than a week, the cute spoof has amassed over a quarter million views!

Amazon to release "mystery" product, give away mystery in video.

the front page of amazon today!

Amazon are releasing a mystery product, and making a big deal out of it. They released a—probably overexaggerated—video to announce the product, however the video actually (probably accidentally) shows us what the product is!

5 really fun flash games you've probably never played

Thought flash games were a thing of the past? Is your memory flooded with memories of 2007? Mine too, but recently I've found some really entertaining and funny ones that I feel the need to share!

Don't Speak Into The Mic and Win 10 Dollars

Jimmy Kemmel is becoming my favourite TV show I don't actually watch. Like I see clips on youtube (like the one below!) and make gifs of his show and stuff and find the show hilarious, but it doesn't broadcast in the UK :( Anyway, his latest game is where passersby are asked to play a simple game. The interviewer/microphone holder simply says, “Don’t talk into this microphone and win ten dollars.” How people react is hilarious!

8 one-hit wonders from the last 14 years!

The term "one hit wonder" is a controversial one, but below are 10 one hit wonders what from the past 10 years, or at least who I would think of as a one hit wonder! Think of any yourself? Leave a comment :-)

Should divorce be a court matter?

In my opinion, divorce shouldn't be a court matter. Courts should be for criminal cases, and breach of contract, not relationship problems. The use of court in divorce increases time, expense, stress, and in some cases–publicity.

7 things you wouldn't believe are being sold on Amazon

Amazon will happily sell everything, and almost anything! Whatever they're doing, it seems to be working, as last quarter they made a profit of $239 million. See some of the crazy things they sell below!

How to cheat an exam, and why I didn't do it.

On Friday the 23rd, I totally messed up an exam. I made a mess of a whole question, and was pretty sure I lost 25% marks. Because of this, it was impossible to get an A, and I needed 93% on the other questions I did for a B. I most likely had a C. This was my best subject, and if I hadn't messed up the final question I would've definitely got an A.  Luckily, there were 2 exams. After a few days of hard revising (I wrote over 10,000 words revision!) I decided to cheat.

50 awesome advertising techniques

After seeing an interactive advert today, I decided to look online for some more interesting ways brands are advertising themselves. I'm so glad I did, because there are some amazing and inspiring ones. See them after the break!

Share your thoughts: What do you regret?

They say you shouldn't dwell on things you regret, which is true, but sometimes it's good to think about the things you regret. You learn from things you regret. For example, once I changed my URL on tumblr and lost 2000 followers, so learnt not to do that again! What do YOU regret, and what did you learn from it? Leave a reply in the comments!

High school was terrible (and how I dealt with it)

When you start high school, and whilst there, you are constantly told by teachers and parents that it's "the best time of your life". In all reality, most people go to college (which is better than high school) or end up in a job they love (much better than high school), and even if they don't, being in primary school or nursery would've been a much better time in their life. It's ironic, they basically tell teenagers things aren't going to get better in our lives, yet expect them to always be happy and positive.

High school was terrible for me. I had big wonky teeth (before braces, now I just have big teeth!), glasses, and big teeth (after braces). I am also feminine and came out pretty early in high school. Each year, however, got that small amount better. The last year , I still hated it, but I pretty much laughed in it's face.

"Bear Man" Of Finland Has An Unbreakable Bond With Brown Bears

So adorable, I love bears! Once upon a time, Fin Sulo Karjalainen was asked to take care of some orphaned bear cubs, and he has been in love with the powerful animals ever since, reports Barcroft TV. The 73 year old now runs a centre which is home to 20 brown bears, with his brother. See the videobelow! . See the video below!

And they say all police officers are bad?

A Jacksonville police officer gave a local boy the birthday that had been stolen from him, all because of an auto burglary. According to the police report, someone broke into the boy’s mother’s van on Gilmore Street between 5 p.m. March 27 and 2 p.m. the next day and stole children’s clothing valued at about $2,000. That included his birthday present.

On the plus side.. (society isn't all that bad)

I feel like society, including myself, talk about the negatives too much sometimes. Yes, it's great to talk about feminism, issues related to sexuality and gender identity, and political issues, but sometimes you just have to think positive!

Cat is surprisingly good at jenga!

Whilst I cry over the fact that a cat is better at me at playing jenga. You can see the video below and decide if it's real or fake!

Quick, easy and cost-effective summer snacks!

It's nearly Summer, so it's time for quick and easy snacks as opposed to warm complex cooked meals! Here are 5 great snacks, which are also cost effective.

Beauty tips [Masterpost]

Summer is coming, so there's more pressure than ever to look perfect and feel fabulous! Below is a bunch of links to help you look your best and have a great summer.

Avoid greasy skin in the sun!
How to get whiter teeth
Get rid of spots overnight
Best summer hairstyles
Top 10 highest calorie burning exercises
How to get clearer skin quick
Decide what colour clothes suit you most
How to get better breath
Awesome abs in 2 weeks

#VIOLENCEISVIOLENCE, domestic abuse against men.

As a feminist, I am always interested in if there are any issues related to the rights/social status of men. One of the most striking ones is that domestic abuse against men is ignored, and even laughed at. a hidden camera was set up in London to see how strangers would react to seeing domestic abuse. Watch the video to see the results, I must admit I was a little disappointed by what happened (thumbs up to those people who helped the woman none-the-less!). See the video below and see for yourself!

Patrick Jean: Pixels [Short Movie]

Patrick Jean uploaded a short movie called "Pixels" in 2010, a whole 4 years ago, based on the story of New York City, followed by the world, being taken over by pixels such as PacMan and Space Invaders (invading earth)! In the past 24 hours it has been shared on Twitter and Facebook over 365,000 times—wow. The video is very well put together and edited, you would think it was made in 2014! Watch the short movie below.

10 anti-rape tips

Trigger warning: This post is about rape

Of course, the best anti-rape technique is better education, and making people stop raping other people. Sadly, education all over the world is timid and this will probably never happen, so we have to take it upon ourselves to try stop rape happening. A woman has a 1 in 5 chance of being raped in the U.S. I've compiled a list of "tips" on how to avoid being raped.

SUMMER FASHION!!!

Summer is almost here (I type from the inside of a rain covered window in the middle of Britain) so I decided to do a summer fashion/style post! A lot of the time during summer I just wear nothing but obviously I can't write a blog post or post pictures of that. 

Beagles rescued from lab see the outdoors and grass for the first time!

9 beagle dogs were rescued by the Beagle Freedom Project from horrific living situations. Their entires lives had been spent in a laboratory as test subjects. The video below shows their rescue and their first time seeing the sun and walking on grass!

Synthpop duo "La Roux" makes comeback with "Let Me Down Gently"!

La Roux, the synthpop duo from 2009 are making a comeback! After the 2009 album and hits "bulletproof" and "in for the kill", duo La Roux seemed to drop off the face of the earth, but they are back with the catchy tune "Let Me Down Gently". I really hope the song/album does well as I remember in 2009 I really liked them and were disappointed they didn't realise more music.

10 Double Standards Within Society

There are many double standards within society, based on gender, sexuality, race.

Why popular religions should be overthrown

The three most popular religions are Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. I believe these should be overthrown as well as any other naive religions.

what you think is more important than what you follow
— LEON ☼ (@leonmcgann) May 20, 2014

Why I believe these religions are foolish:

Conchita Wurst strips naked for Austrian art project

Conchita Wurst, aka the Queen of Europe, has bared all for an Austrian art project, as reveleaded by Closer magazine!

Picture pot: Giant dogs!

I've never had pets, so I'm obsessed with animal pictures online (as well as other peoples pets when I'm at their house)! My recent obsession is large dogs (as well as my long time obsession of goats). I just want to cuddle with them. (Click the pictures to enlarge them!)

12 Things The British Public Think Wrongly About

Last year Ipsos MORI carried out a survey on around 1000 British adults age 16 to 75, to find out their thoughts about social issues within Britain. See the shocking results below! (Diagrams by Buzzfeed)

My all time movies and books!

Hi, I hope you're having a lovely Monday (as lovely as Mondays can get), I'm only in college about half of the time this week as I've finished some of my exams so my week is going pretty good. In other news, I'd really appreciate it if you signed up to my newsletter, I decided I'm going to send out a newsletter weekly with what's been going on in my life (as on my blogs I'm quite private!), as well as some fun stuff like viral videos and my book/movie/tv show of the week. You can sign up by filling in the form below, I'd really appreciate it—but if not, that's cool too!

Email Address

First Name

This post is going to be about my all time favourite movies and books, but whilst writing it I realised I have read hardly any books and it's embarrassing. I should read more, comment below some books you think I'll enjoy. I don't really have a specific category, I don't read enough to have one! Just not sexual fantasy because I read enough of that when looking at old women's e-readers on the bus.

30 super cute same-sex wedding photos, and facts!

Same sex marriage is now legal in 17 countries and 18 US states, we're slowly getting closer to marriage equality. After years of seeing opposite-sex wedding photos, set aside some time and take a look at some of the same-sex photos—Get the tissues ready!

How to get clear, spot-free, skin in 2 weeks!

Around 6 weeks ago I begun using face care products, I used the whole lot..a daily exfoliator, cleanser, toner, moisturiser—even steaming my face once a week! UNTIL...one day...my cleanser and toner ran out...
As these ran out, rather than buying more, I simply started to follow the tips/steps in this post to naturally get better skin without often-expensive and unnecessary products!

skin care, before and after  =)
both not photoshopped

Please note, if you have a skin condition, are young (damn) or inherently have spotty/bad skin, this guide won't help you 100%—but your skin will still improve. As you can see in my second picture, my skin isn't perfect, I still have a few spots and my skin tone is still a little uneven, but greatly improved (in my opinion)!

6 reasons everyone should paint their house pastel colours!

↓Scroll down↓

Over the past several months I have become addicted to pastel colours, especially when used in architecture! My favourite are green and pink (totally different to my favourite non-pastel colours!); what are yours? Here are 6 reasons everyone should paint their houses pastel colours!

I got a £1,300 fine! (Refusing to paying off a government mistake)

If you are speeding, you are in the wrong, you pay a fine, if you have stolen from a shop, you are in the wrong, you pay a fine, if you break something expensive in a shop, you are in the wrong, you pay a fine.  If the government makes does something wrong, such as overpay you, they FINE you. you shouldn't have to pay for their mistake.

They disguise it as a payment, but the definition of fine is: "punish (someone) for an illegal or illicit act by making them pay a sum of money.". The problem is, they are the one who committed an illicit act, and they punish you rather than themselves.

So in 2012, HM revenue and customs (the UK's customs/tax department) sent my parents a letter saying they were going to pay my parents £1,300 in child tax credits. £1,300 might seem quite high for some of you, but my parents income (joint) is under £20k. Today, 2 years later, they are saying they overpaid us £1,300. WHAT?! They are basically saying my parents should have got no tax credits—something's wrong there; even families earning £40-70k get some tax credit.

Also, the expect the payment by the 21st of next month. None-the-less, my dad refuses to pay it, although even if he planned to, it would be impossible to. My mum and dad together have under £300 every month after bills, the mortgage, and everything else is paid for, so if we were going to pay it back it would take at least 5 months.

Long story short: The government are charging my family £1,300 (to pay in one month) for their mistake and we aren't paying it =)

Teaching children pink is for girls and blue is for boys is dangerous in the long term

Even if they aren't taught it by their parents (which most children are), from a young age, children in western society are taught that pink is "for girls" and blue is "for boys". If it's not from their parents, it's from toy stores, or clothing, teachers/school or even stationary (and other unnecessarily gendered products!)

In my opinion, gender stereotypes lead to sexism, homophobia, transphobia and hate & discrimination in general. The colour stereotype is one the first social norms we learn, and although not incredibly harmful, it can lead onto more harmful stereotypes. Stereotypes encourage simplistic ways of viewing a complex world. There is a reason humans use stereotypes. They help us make quick decisions in confusing/ chaotic situations, however quick decisions are not always the right ones.

For example, they will go on to being taught that boys and girls wear different clothes, have different length hair, and that boys like girls and that girls like boys. Not many parents teach their parents they can wear whatever colour or style clothes they want, that they can have their hair how they want, and that they can like whoever they want. This then leads on to children being bullied using homophobic slurs (4 years old in the village I live in use the word gay and faggot), which can seriously affect the children who will actually end up gay. Transphobic slurs are part of most young teenager's vocabulary, and feminine words, e.g. "girl" and "pussy", are used in a negative way.

Finally, a lot of stereotypes are superficial, arbitrary and subject to change. For example, 100 years ago, boys played with dolls and lego was unisex. At the moment, we are still clinging onto stereotypes from 50 years ago, and if the youth of today follow them, by the time they have children, the stereotypes will continue in an endless circle.

Rihanna breaks fan's phone—Signs it and donates $25,000.

Differences between high school and college (UK)

If you're from the UK, comment telling me what you did (or are planning to do!) after high school. If you're from another country which uses a totally different schooling system—I'm talking to you, America, feel free to comment your confusion!

Please note, this post is about the most common, academic route of education in the UK (High school>College>University). The step-up from high school to college, is said to be harder than the step-up from college to university. If you're not an academic person, you'll likely really struggle, as I have. I decided to write this post as I finish my first year in 19 days.

First of all, it's extremely difficult. I had done three of my subjects previously, so thought I would have an advantage. I probably did, but this advantage wasn't enough, and I still struggled a lot—especially with one, English Literature. In high school I would fill in about one or two A5 books in each subject, in college I filled in a whole A4 notebook. Also, I have to remember most of the things I learnt in college, whereas in high school I could get away with just remembering half of the stuff!

Secondly, it's a lot more informal. You don't have to call teachers by their second name, which is good from a student's viewpoint (being treated like an adult instead of a child) and also from a feminist viewpoint; Jennifer Coates says, "Miss is ridiculous: it doesn't match Sir at all. It's just one of the names you can call an unmarried woman.". Also, when you're ill, rather than having to get your parents to call in, you can just text or email in (or just not go, you know...whatever). There's no uniform (unless you go to a sixth form) and most teachers don't pick on you in class, just the rude ones.

You are given more independence. If you want to fail, they will let you fail. If you don't want to  come in, they won't make you. Some people see this as a bad thing, but personally I like it. One thing I hated about high school was pressure from both my teachers, as well as my parents.

Something I hate is that you have to actually revise! In high school you can get away without revising, or revising for just a week before your exam. However, in college you need at least a month revising, and some spend up to 3 or 4 months.

One of my favourite things about college was the diversity there! There are people from all races, of all ages (which is great if you get on with older people, like me!). It's really easy to talk to people, especially in the first and second month—everyone talks to everyone. This is different to high school where everyone is in groups, and it's quite hard to make friends. My biggest fear (brought on by social anxiety!) was not making any friends, but I was settled in after a month with a friend group!

My first driving lesson!

Today I had my first driving test! I was meant to have it last Friday, however I decided I wanted a longer lesson (1.5 hours instead of 1) for my first time, so rescheduled it for today. I eventually lost interest and was just like "Whatever".

I arrived home, and after eating and hair-spraying my hair to avoid it falling in my face whilst driving, my instructor arrived 5 minutes early. I ran downstairs like a hot mess. My driving instructor seemed really nice and we got all the necessary stuff over with (payments, my progress booklet, etc). My cousins had been with him before, and passed their first time, so I figured he must've been a good instructor. I was a little nervous about having a male instructor, as I have no male friends and don't really talk to men — other than my dad!

We drove to a un-crowded (but not empty) cul-de-sac and the lesson begun! I'm learning in a manual car, which is a lot more difficult; but in the UK there is stigma around driving automatic, and my parents have this too! The instructor taught me about the basics of being in a car, how to set off (going up a hill and down a hill), how to use mirrors, set up the seat/mirrors, etc. He also taught me how to turn the wheel (and the method is actually really frustrating) without crossing my arms, how to change gears, how to park, etc, etc, etc. Just basic stuff. I went up to gear 3 (well, 4... you'll understand later).

Overall, I did pretty well (only stalled twice!), but talking about good things is boring and unentertaining. Here are some mistakes I made...

1. Gear 2 and 4 are next to each other. Accidentally moving from gear 1 to 4 instead of 2 was scary!
2. I was taught a really weird way of steering, to avoid crossing arms. I'm not going to go into it as it was hella complicated but basically if you do it wrong you can set off the air bag and break your nose lmao not cute, I was in fear of this whole time.
3. Driving in the lane. Last year in psychology we learnt that males biologically or pre-historically (I can't remember which) have good spatial awareness. This clearly isn't the case with me...
4. Ignoring the instructor. You are supposed to take your foot off the accelerate when you press the clutch, but at first I was scared to take my foot off the accelerate (it just feels odd!) so would just ignore the instructor.
5. Forgetting the order of things to do. Before you set off, you have to do like 5 things and I always forget the order :(
6. Crashing into the side of someones house — just kidding.

Do you drive? How did you find learning? Do you drive automatic or manual? Comment about how sorry you feel that I'm driving manual!

I'm starting a Conchita Wurst fandom

As with most countries outside of Austria, Conchita Wurst has been brought to my attention after winning the Eurovision, but I wish I knew about her earlier. Conchita Wurst is genderfluid, and represents herself* as Conchita when performing and being a celebrity, and Tom whilst "relaxing at home". Conchita says she likes that she can be Tom, as people don't recognise her on public transport and she can say what she wants.

Conchita's amazing winning performance!

Conchita was born in Columbia (Wikipedia falsely says Australia), as stated in an interview, however moved to Austria at a young age. The 25-year-old speaks Austrian and English. The same year the persona of Chonchita was created, she graduated from the Graz School of Fashion, and has lived in various locations in Vienna. In 2011, the persona of Conchita was created, and upon her TV appearance she stated, "This is about an important message, it's call for tolerance for everything that seems different. The performer compares the choice of last name to the common German expression 'Das ist mir doch alles Wurst,' which translates as 'it's all the same to me' and 'I don't care'.

Rise like a phoenix? Rise like Conchita!

On 10 September 2013, it was announced that Wurst would represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, after being selected by the Austrian national broadcaster ORF. Wurst's selection sparked controversy in Austria. Four days after ORF announced its decision, more than 31,000 people liked an "Anti-Wurst" Facebook page. However, regardless of the negativity, Wurst went on to win Eurovision in Copenhagen, with 290 points. It was great to see such an inspiring, non-binary, person being supported by hundreds of millions of people.
Upon winning the Eurovision singing contest, "This night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. You know who you are. We are unity, and we are unstoppable!"

*I use female pronouns as that is how she represents herself to the public

How to survive in a long distance relationship/friendship

I've been using the internet as my primary source of entertainment for over 7 years now, so along the way I have had the pleasure of many long distance friendships (no comment on relationships). They can be hard, but they can also be very fulfilling and, regardless of how much catfish convinces you otherwise, successful.

Content in this post
1. How to call each other (via mobile) without breaking the bank
2. How to message each other for free!
3. How to watch movies together
4. How to save money sending gifts
5. How to get cheap flights

If you have any tips yourself, feel free to leave them in a comment!

1. How to call each other (via mobile) without breaking the bank
Localphone. (who now let you try with a free call!)
This is thee cheapest way to make international calls. You can make a call through the app, or through the calling card. Neither person needs to have internet connection if using the calling card! 250 calls to US numbers costs just £0.48, or 800 for £1.25
Skype.
Method 1:
Skype is by far one of the cheapest methods to use where only one person needs to be connected to the internet. One partner needs to log onto Skype (can be done on the mobile app OR on the computer), and they can call the others mobile phone. ,The connection isn't amazing, I must admit, but if you're outside (such as during a break at work/college/school) it's pretty good. For £3.44 a month, you get 400 minutes to call US numbers, from the UK, or add another £1 for unlimited minutes!
Method 2:

If you both have good internet connection, you can simply log into skype on your phone, and have a regular Skype call (minus video...if you're in public...probably... but you do you)

2. How to message each other for free!
I don't want to go too much into messaging, as you have Kik for simple text/pictures, and Whatsapp for audio/video/location, but sometimes you need to send a text (e.g. when they don't have internet)
afreeSms, cbfsms, freesms, 24sms — Allows you to send a text to anywhere in the world simply, without registration.

3. How to watch movies/TV together
A good way to relax with your long distance lover/friend is to watch a movie together. Obviously, buying the same DVD, putting it in the player at the exact same time, clicking play together, etc would get annoying/frustrating. Watch2gether allows you to watch a movie from YouTube or Vimeo. YouTube is allowing an increasing amount of full videos to be uploaded, and Vimeo aren't as strict copyright-wise as YouTube. You can even chat and go on webcam together at the same time. CUTE!

4. How to save money sending gifts
It's nice to occasionally buy long distance friends/partners gifts, as it isn't like you can go shopping or out for a meal together.
Method 1: Don't buy them gifts
Method 2: Buy gifts that can be given online (e.g. memberships to the sites/games they use) or online giftcards (e.g. Amazon)
Method 3: Buy a present from Amazon/eBay, or another site which allows the item to be delivered straight to the persons house; this not only saves you shipping money (which could either be saved yourself, or sent to them via PayPal, but also saves any potential import fees that may be charged to them.
Optional: You might've saved some money doing one of the above, but they are quite impersonal. To make up for that, buy a card or write a letter and send it in the post. It won't cost more than £2 and it just makes the present more personal!.

5. How to get cheap flights
So it's finally time to meet your bae/bf—great! BUT wait, flights are e
xpensive as fuck :(
Tip 1: The cheapest day to fly is on Wednesdays (followed by Tuesdays), and the cheapest time of day is the first thing in the morning.
Tip 2: Don't buy tickets too early or too late! "Airlines don’t start releasing cheaper seats until 3-4 months before departure for domestic travel and conversely 4-5 months before international travel." says farecompare
Tip 3: Use flight comparison websites, one I find especially good is studentuniverse
Tip 4: Fly during winter/autumn. It might not be ideal, but if you really like/love the person you're going to meet, you'll have fun regardless!
Tip 5: Speak to a travel agent. These people are experts in the field and whilst you spend hours looking for the cheapest flights, they may take minutes!

10 unnecessary gendered items we use everyday

1) Shampoo. It's 2014, everyone should have nice/clean/luxurious hair!!

the back of TRESemmé shampoo. crazy—everybody, regardless of gender deserves to look fabulous!

2) Makeup. Wouldn't it be great if everybody walked around like the Capitol of Panem (THG)

3) Clothing. As discussed with my friends earlier (whilst I wore leggings), instead of men's and women's sections in clothes stores, they should just have fashionable and unfashionable!

4) Public bathrooms. It's 2014.

5) Toys. Gendered toys just cause bullying, and judgement—even from parents in some cases.

6) Snuggies. They're literally a blanket/dressing gown/thing you wear to lounge around in, they don't need genders!

7) Chapstick/face care products in general. Everyone should have nice skin and not feel uncomfortable buying a gendered product!!

8) Tea. I'm embarrassed that this is even a thing.

9) Electric razors. Lets be real, the quality of the razor is more important that the users gender.

10) EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT that calls itself "man-sized"

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"Boycotting" Subway

halal-only subway sign!

As you may know, people in the UK are currently raged by the fact SOME Subway stores, in high muslim population areas, are only serving halal food. I worked it out, and only 12% of Subway stores are serving halal only, and some have been since 2007, so it's not a new thing.

In my opinion, religion should not influence businesses. Restaurants shouldn't be allowed to say gay people aren't allowed as some Christians don't believe they should be, so fast food places shouldn't be allowed to serve religion-specific food as some people of that religion don't believe they should. The people from that religion should just not buy the food that's against their religion. I understand it's not this simple, though, and am fine with there being some halal-only stores.

the idea of boycotting allows people to think they are contributing towards the cause without actually doing anything
— LEON ☼ (@leonmcgann) May 1, 2014

BUT, SUBWAY TASTES GREAT. I'm not going to be boycotting it, and think the people who do are nonsensical. I could understand refusing to go in one of the halal stores, if you felt that strongly about not supporting the change, but refusing to go in all Subway stores, including the 88% which are serving the regular menu is crazy.

Electronic scanning of bus passes?!

Since I started college after easter break, buses have been much stricter for some reason! Arriva buses, who I have always preferred for their chilled out attitude, have suddenly been checking by bus ticket 10 times closer than usual. First buses wouldn't let me use my arriva ticket on them (I don't make it a habit, as I usually use my metro ticket), and now they've started using scanner machines!

If you've never used one of these before, let me tell you.. they are terrible! I'm not sure why some companies are choosing to use them. It's so frustrating, I wasn't even warned I would have to start scanning it, one day my bus driver was just like "scan your pass!". Let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages. Play fair.

Advantages:
Fraudulent tickets will no longer be a problem
Bus drivers/passengers who don't speak English won't have to communicate so much (maybe)
Disadvantages:
Takes longer than just showing your ticket
Sometimes the machine doesn't work, and you have to scan your ticket multiple times
Inconsistencies between bus companies and drivers.

Overall, I don't think it's a terrible idea (ok I do) BUT, I think they should just use the old method of quickly looking at bus passes, and only make someone scan it if they think it might be fraudulent.

I complain about public transport too much.

Lush virgin! (Bubble bar review)

After yesterday's "controversial" post, which obviously got taken the wrong way, I decided to go for an eas, lighthearted, totally un-offensive (I hope) topic today.

Yesterday my friend gave me my birthday present (a day late, but it's the thought that counts!), a Lush™bubble bar!

It's funny, as I was at high school 5 years and never got a birthday present once, but after 7 months of college I've already received one - thanks Erin!

Erin told me the story of how she told the shop assistant I was gay to help them pick out a bubble bar for me. They eventually got me the Dorothy, which the Lush website describes:

"Our Dorothy bubble bar will take you far from the rain and grey clouds to somewhere over the rainbow where blue birds fly. Relax your body and let yourself sink into the sea of fluffy bubbles and vibrant blue water, and forget about the wicked witches and flying monkeys in your life. The exotic floral scent of ylang ylang, sweet figs and uplifting orange oil will take you down the yellow brick road and far away. When you’re ready to come back and face reality you know what to do, click your heels three times…"

Left: the packaging (which smells great!) Middle: the label with instructions Right: the bubble bar!

I'd never been in the Lush store before, as my Mum HATES the smell (and I rarely go shopping with anyone else!), but when the product was crushed into the bath, she said she liked it. I don't think Mother McGann trusted them as they don't test on animals too, she was like "you'll get a rash!" - crazy woman. Also, she watched me crush it into the bath and was like "when does it explode?!"...it's not a real bomb (we thought it was a bath bomb originally)!

After initially putting it in the bath the water looks so cool, as it smells so great. I wish the way it looked stayed a little more, rather than just being taken over by huge bubbles. Either way, once I was in I felt relaxed (more relaxed than baths usually make me feel) and felt like I could fall asleep. Maybe that was something to do with the fact that it was 9am too though. The water was such a lovely colour and reminded me of the sea in Majorca.

left: the bath after the bubble bar being crushed
right: the bath after i got out!

I think Lush products are a great present idea, as they're inexpensive, but can be personalised (if you get one that fits the persons character) as they have a huge collection. They help you relax and are made from fresh ingredients, and best of all, they don't test on animals! The website also claims they are 'skin softening' - somebody come feel me!

I can't believe I spent 25 minutes writing a post on a small bath product, but I hope you enjoyed reading it! Have a nice weekend.

Some of my favourite art/inspiration posts from about the internet!

Things that inspire me artistically are things that use colour correctly, as it's easy to get colour wrong. I love simplicity, as well as uniqueness. I love candid photos as well as manipulated on a computer.

i love the simplicity of only using the colour white, so gorgeous! 

pastel colours are another favourite

i love all the colours in this photo!

DON'T VOTE UKIP (and encourage others not to!)

As some of you will be unaware of UKIP (most non-brits probably) I'll answer some questions first.

Q. Who are UKIP?
A. A right-wing anti-egalitarian political party. Semi-similar to republicans in the United States.

Q. All countries have these sort of parties. What's the problem?
A. Whereas when the U.S vote was coming up, a huge amount of people knew about the problems with the republican party, this isn't the case with UKIP. Many of their activists don't even know their policies, never mind the general public.

UKIP are anti-EU, xenophobic, misogynistic, homophobic, racist, transphobic and ableist. They believe unless you were British born, male, are white, not muslim, and are working full time you shouldn't be treated equally. They don't believe in paid sick pay, or maternity leave, or paid holidays. They believe if you don't contribute towards society, you shouldn't get anything back. They believe disabled people's benefits should be cut. I find this horrifying, as someone with a cousin with cerebral palsy who will never be able to work.


Their political stances are just foolish. They don't believe in laws that affect businesses, as they think it should be down to businesses to decide what they want to do (see the picture above). Recently, Ukip have voted against updated rules on cab design and safety, which would make it easier for the drivers of lorries to spot pedestrians and cyclists.

In the past they have said: Islam is Satanic, Africans should be left to "kill themselves", the winter floods are due to gay marriage, Lenny Henry, who seeks equality in the creative arts, should emigrate to "a black country", British Muslims should have to sign a special code of conduct promising not to engage in violent jihad.

One thing I LOVE about England is the multiculturalism. I was one of the few people who was happy about a non-British act winning Britain's got Talent last year (they were the best act anyway)! Ukip obviously want to end this. They want to leave the EU, which would allow them to dramatically slow down the movement of people from and to the EU. They are over exaggerating the problem. The UK is overcrowded, with or without immigrants from the EU. They claim Europeans are taking our jobs. I think they're forgetting we can go work in European countries too, and thousands of Brits emigrate into Europe every year. It's ironic how they say we should be proud of British history. Have they forgotten we initially invited people from other countries over ourselves?

Ukip have ties to the BNP, even if they deny it. In a recent poll to stop the EU funding BNP, Ukip voted no (they shouldn't stop funding them). All I could imagine with Ukip in power, is a more violent, unequal, and hate filled country. If you're not old enough to vote, you should encourage your family not to vote for them!

How to make thin hamster!

Upon seeing these gifs on tumblr, I thought they were a joke, so went to Youtube to find the video! It turns out the video is in fact not a joke, or fake. It was posted by hamster fanatic (I know, we're all eager to join that fandom) ghiblilover25 who has plenty more hamster videos on her channel, including "Hamster spews up dung" — Lovely! You can watch the "How to make thin hamster" video below!

Body-painting clothes

Those jeans are so cute right? They fit perfectly and the colours are lovely! Well guess what? (you probably already did from the title..) they're painted on! Some amazing artists are able to actually use body paint to paint realistic looking jeans onto human skin, amazing! It's like makeup for legs. You can watch a video about it below, I found it super interesting. You'd have to have plenty of courage to go out like that though!

Small house love!

Recently I saw a post on Tumblr referring to a small eco-house that cost just $33,000 to build!

Look how cute it is!

"After spending years in the rat race, with their lives revolving around paying a hefty mortgage, Andrew and Gabriella Morrison decided to call it quits. They bravely decided to downsize to save money and adjust their lives so they could focus on more important things than monthly bills.

Since they both had a background in construction, Andrew and Gabriella built their tiny house (called “hOMe”) together. Then, they even set up the website Build A Tiny House to help others do the same."

This may sound really stupid, but I take comfort in the fact that, if you try hard enough, you can build a small and highly functional house for such a small amount of money. I know that if I end up in a low paid, 9 to 5 job, that I still will be able to afford a nice house if I want one!

Whenever I see small houses, such as the one above, on Tumblr, I just fall in love! They're so adorable and the creators/builders must be so smart and I bow down to them. Oh, if only I was smart enough to be an architect!

Everyone should watch this video about social networking!

Gary Turk uploaded his first video to YouTube just 9 days ago, and it's already got almost 4 million views! It's a short movie/spoken word called "Look up", written, performed and directed by Gary Turk, based on the world we live on and our dependency on social media. I find it ironic, however, that his video was posted on Youtube – one of the biggest social media sites. I don't agree with everything said in the video, I think social media can be a great way of documenting things, however he makes some good points. The story told throughout the video is heartbreaking and it's definitely worth the watch.


*Ignores the video and shares on all my social networks*

The 16 best free Android apps every user should have in 2014!

Days left widget

Gentle Alarm is a superb app, great for people like myself who aren't awaken by a regular alarm. The alarm starts of quiet with an extremely annoying high pitch repetitive sound and slowly gets louder, until you wake up! Another feature which helps me wake up is the fact you have to answer three math equations, which you can choose the difficulty of, in order for the alarm to stop.

2048 Number puzzle game is a fun little game. You swipe to move the tiles on the beard and when two tiles with the same number touch, they merge into one. Your goal is to reach 2048!

Flightradar24 allows you to see airplane traffic from all over the world in real-time! It's super neat for when you're waiting for someone to arrive but they're on the plane and you can track them!

Days Left Widget allows you to add cool widgets telling you the days left until an event of your choice. You can choose a number of colours, icons and sizes — so cute.

Clean Master app

Split Camera is great for Instagram addicts! It allows you to take two pictures, then puts them together in one square frame. You can change which image is bigger, as well as where it fades.

Draw Line: Classic is a simple, yet VERY effective and fun game. All you have to do is match the coloured dots together, which may seem easy at first but after 10 minutes your mind will be boggled!

Super-Bright LED Torch is an app which allows you to use your phone flash as a torch. It's simple really.

Clean Master defines itself as an optimizer and security app. It not only scans your phone for viruses in just eight seconds, but frees up RAM and deletes cache files to improve SD card performance.

TVCatchup allows you to watch live TV from anywhere you have internet connection!

uTorrent mobile app

Audible is an audiobook app which allows you to collect a library of audiobooks which you can listen to at any time, including a fully featured player.

uTorrent — it's 2014, of course you can torrent from your phone.

GoKeyboard allows you to have Emoji's on any Android phone (rather than just the latest ones).

Voltage Control (root required) allows you to overclock your phone for maximum performance (on some devices), and underclock for maximum battery!

Screencast (root required) is a unique app which allows you to record your devices screen. Great for video sharing and Youtube tutorials.

PVSTAR+ not only allows you to watch Youtube videos, but allows them to play in the background. Anybody who has tried to play music on Youtube on their photo will know how frustrating it is when the music stops when the app is in the background!

FlashFox enables flash on your device. It's not perfect, but it's great for those occasional moment it would be handy to have a flash browser!

How to get emojis on Android (works on ALL phones)

Want to get emoji's that will work on twitter, instagram, SMS and anywhere else you can type—on an Android?! Find out how below.

You could have these!

Method 1: 

1. Go to the Play store
2. Download "Go Keyboard" — It's free!
3. Then, download the emoji keyboard
4. That's it, you can now post emoji's all over the web and use them anywhere on your phone
5. Comment this post to try it!

Method 2:

1. Go to the Play store
2. Download "Symbols keyboard Free" — It's also free
3. Press "S3" on the keyboard to get to emoji's

Method 3 (for Android 4.4 or above users): 

1. Go to the Play store
2. Download "Google keyboard"
3. There you go! This only works on Android 4.4 or above, sorry

I hope this post helps, at least one method should work for you, and if not—I'm really sorry! Emoji's aren't as good as people make out, but they do make conversations a bit less dull. 

Leggings are unisex!

Yesterday was the first time I wore leggings. I think all clothes are/should be unisex, and I just wear what I find stylish. Ironically, these leggings were BOY London—coincidentally designed/made for men. Still, this didn't distract from the fact they were leggings, and I knew they had the potential to cause controversy (another advantage of re-defining clothes as unisex!).

It didn't take long for somebody to get bothered by the way I was dressed. A lady on the bus said to me "Why are you wearing leggings, you're a boy?", to which I replied "Why does how I dress affect you?", and put my headphones in. I didn't say much as it was too early for an argument. 10 seconds later I hear a woman storming downstairs on the bus... "You can't talk about how he's dressed, you look like a mess love!" I heard her shout at the woman who was rude to me. They continued to have an argument for a couple of minutes, which was fun. It was ironic how the angry woman was more bothered about it than me.

the outfit i was wearing. taken from my instagram. follow me @leonmcgann if you like!

Something else I realised was how comfortable they are! I now know why some people wear them year round. They almost outweighed the discomfort I was getting from my un-broken-in Docs. Several people complimented me and a few people asked me where they were from (2 were people I'd never spoken to before) so I'd say I was successful in my goal.

The only problem I have with them is that they show your bulge REALLY easily. I had to go through a bunch of t-shirts and shirts to find one that covered that area; I feel super uncomfortable with an obvious bulge. However, I can understand that some straight guys would wear these like jogging bottoms and not mind their bulge showing... once they got over the fact they were wearing leggings.

20 things to do alone when you're bored!

originally posted on my old blog on MAY 30, 2013 (wow, over a year ago!)

1. Write your thoughts in a journal, if you’re angry write down what made you angry and screw it up or burn it. It can be fun to keep a journal to look back to in years. I have a 10 year one!

10 YEAR JOURNAL, BUY AT HTTP://WWW.JOURNAL10.COM

2. Read your favourite magazine or book (or buy one!) and sit on your bed and read it with a cup of tea (or maybe coffee if you’re American)

3. Do something nice for someone without them or anyone else knowing you did it. Sometimes seeing someone smile is nice enough, that you don’t even need to tell them you did it – cute I know.

4. Get up early and watch the sunrise. Instagram it if you’re a cool kid.

5. Go for a walk to some nearby parks or flower gardens. Take photos or just relax.

6. Treat yourself to breakfast

7. Treat yourself to lunch

TEA AND SCONES…SO BRITISH

8. Spray your bed with lavender so you can sleep better surrounded by the wonderful smell (cute)

9. Make a bowl full of your favourie fruits and eat them as you watch your favourite TV show (my personal favourites are watermelon….all types, oranges and grapes)

10. Daydream about what you’d do if you won the lottery, then imagine it happening. Maybe all that wishful thinking will pay off.

11. Go to your nearest big city (like I live in Wakefield but it’s crap so I go twice as far to Leeds) and go on a shopping trip, buy some nice clothes, shoes, CD’s, books, whatever, then you can spend your time listening to the CD’s, trying on the clothes, reading the books – fab!

12. Make a list of 100 things you want to do by this time next year, and do 2 every week.

13. Take up a new hobby or activity. Watch video tutorials on Youtube and learn for a few days, if you enjoy it, you can continue doing it and become an expert!

14. Run a nice hot bath and just relax.

15. Learn a foreign language, maybe for somewhere you plan to go within the next few years. In my sidebar there is ‘hello’ written in a random language!

16. Make a chocolate fondue, complete with fruit and marshmallows, yum!

17. Try something new!

18. Go to a book store and find a few new books, then come home and read them next to the fire.

19. Go to the shop and buy tonnes of biscuits, then have a tea party all day long!

20. Do something artsy, like draw or paint. If you’ve ever gone to an art gallery you’ll see that anything can be art, no matter how simple or messy it may look!