Eddie, is that you?

Hello there! :)

After this post I'm going to make a break from blogging and this is why I decided to give you more information about my musical preferences. :) 

Some facts about the band:

Iron Maiden are a British heavy-metal band formed in 1975. The founding members were Paul Day, Terry Rance, Dave Sullivan, Steve Harris and Ron Matthes. After some changes in the band today’s formation is Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Janick Gers, Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain.

Iron Maiden, Angel Witch and some other bands are all collated to the genre New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The band who have been in existence for 40 years released their first album Iron Maiden in 1980. Iron Maiden is considered to be one of the most successful metal-bands in the world.

The name:

It is presumed that the name Iron Maiden is connected to the homonymous instrument of torture. It may be also a reference to Margaret Thatcher who died in 2013 and was also known as The Iron Lady.

Musical style:

The songs are most likely to be building on heavy metal’s common rhythms.  The riffs, the power chords, the slow passages and the variation of rhythm make their arrangements so diversified.  Another stylistic characteristic is the constant repeat of a melodic phrase on the guitar, two-parted guitar solo and the gallop style in the songs “The Trooper” or “Run to the Hills”.

Some other characteristics are the crispy sounds on the bass guitar, the extremely fast passages in the songs played without a plectrum. The typical Iron-Maiden lead sound is the result of a phaser effect which helps to evolve a bluesy tone.  

Paul Di’Anno’s singing brought some punk elements to the style which changed when Bruce Dickinson joined the band. His singing is characterised by his ability to sing very high tones. This is why his nickname is “Air Raid Siren”. 

Content of the songs:

All the songs are either based on historical events, literary material or cinematic material.

Historical events

Run to the Hills:                        genocide against America’s Indians

The Trooper:                              attack of the Charge of the Light Brigade on the 25^th of October 1854

Literary material

Phantom of the Opera:               novel Phantom of the Opera

Flight of the Icarus:                    novel Flight of the Icarus

Cinematic material

Children of the Damned:            British horror film Children of the Damned from 1963

The Mercenary:                           the movie Predator from 1987

The Mascot:

The mascot of Iron Maiden, Eddie is pictured on every single album cover and a constant companion in form of a life-sized puppet on the concerts.

Example:

The song Aces High is based on the Battle of Britain during World War II. 

Aces High with lyrics

The Trooper with lyrics

I like classic music as much as I like metal music and so I want to show you also a version played by the band “2cellos”. The band members are Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser – yes, they are Croats, my compatriots. ;) The other videos are worth seeing too, believe me! 

The Trooper from 2Cellos

\,,/    Stay tuned!!   \,,/

Kiwis and Rings

Hello everybody! :)

 

The today’s post is going to be about New Zealand, a beautiful country with an extraordinary variety of animal and plant species. I was always interested in Geography, I love watching documentaries about countries on the far side of the globe and I especially like New Zealand, even though I wasn’t there yet  :( .

First of all, some geographical facts about New Zealand:

The insular state is located near the centre of the water hemisphere (more water than land on this hemisphere) and is made up of two main islands. These two islands are separated by a strait called the Cook Strait. Around the main islands there are a number of smaller islands. The largest landmass of New Zealand is the South Island, which is divided by the Southern Alps. The highest peak is Aoraki at 3,754 metres. The Northern Island, however, is marked by volcanism.

The climate in New Zealand:

The climate in New Zealand depends on the region. The West Coast is extremely wet, whereas the South Island is almost semi-arid. Snowfall is less common on the North Island but when it snows, it is most likely to happen during the snow season, about early June until October.

The diversity of animals, plants and fungi:

The reasons for the great diversity of unique species are the island’s isolation and the biogeography. Broadleaf trees and the southern beech are the two main types of the country’s forest. About 80 percent of the land was covered in forest before the arrival of humans and the beginning of deforestation, which let the percentage fall down on only 23 percent. Birds dominated the forests and due to the lack of mammalian predators, birds like the kiwi evolved flightlessness. Yes, the kiwi is a fruit but there is also the bird ;). With the arrival of humans, rats, ferrets and other animals came to the island and induced the extinction of many species including birds, frogs, lizards and fish. Some other indigenous animals are frogs, spiders, insects and snails. The island is a very popular breeding place for birds, though.

Enough with those boring numbers and facts :D The reason why I wanted to write about New Zealand is because it was a filming place for “The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit".

The movie was filmed in the most beautiful places in New Zealand.

Matamata

The quiet and peaceful Shire was build around the Waikato town. The hobbit holes are so detailed and they really transmit a unique calmness - like nothing bad could ever happen in this beautiful village. The Shire is located in the northwestern part of the continent, where the village Hobbiton, home of the hobbits was rebuilt for the filming of The Hobbit Trilogy. It will remain there as an attraction. 

Wellington

Wellington was a very important shooting scene since the forested area around the Mount Victoria was used as Hobbiton Woods in the movie. In those woods, the hobbits were hiding from the black riders.  The River Anduin and the Gardens of Isengard are also located in Wellington. The Hutt River and the Harcourt Park depicted those sceneries. The Kaitoke Regional Park was the place in the movie called Rivendell, where Frodo recovered from the knife attack from one of the Dark Riders. Rivendell was also an outpost of the Elves.

 

Takata Hill

Takata Hill was the filming site for Chetwood Forest. Here the Ranger Strider led the hobbits to Bree to escape the Black Riders. 

Canterbury 

The set for Edoras, the main city of the people of Rohan was located on Mount Sunday. It took the crew nine months to build up the set.

 

Mackenzie Country

Those who have seen the movie remember the battle scene which took place on the Pelennor Fields. This scene was filmed near Twizel where thousands of orcs clashed with men of Gondor and Rohan.

Southern Lakes

From the village of Glenorchy you can see Mount Earnslaw and Lothlorien. The north-western slopes of this mountain featured in the opening scene of The Two Towers. You can see the Anduin and Argonath, the Pillar Kings. The pillars were computer generated. 

Fiordland

 

The River Anduin, where the Fellowship paddled south from Lothlórien was represented by the Waiau River and the Fangorn Forest is near Te Anau. 

Stay tuned! 

image source:

http://www.zastavki.com/pictures/originals/2013/Fantasy__038816_.jpg

http://img.swifty.com/slides/2/4/8/9/8/0/2489808552/b89c3cf714dfef8eaf1a00e3070fdf92acb30d3e.jpeg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwbZ3xYN16pIHFE6CArI8Eh42cnv3UHlCAVd2pGzlTwKemx_VdyI2I34IZkDlZyUyY1h_lUlg2NCv8r9gOTVUNRnd4IjgUxI9b4cV61CuxDYAfBFEqMJXkngLFF3tyOC-uR53mSKS0yk/s1600/HARCOURT_03.jpg

http://www.paulcampion.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/LOTR_twoTowers_edoras_01_940.jpg

http://nzsabbatical.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/dsc_4514.jpg

http://www.queenstown.net.nz/images/a/a8/TheArgonath.jpg

https://www.herr-der-ringe-film.de/v3/media/galerie/herrderringe/neuseeland/kawarauanduin-cb177600.JPG 

It’s LeviOsa, not LevioSA

Hey guys! :)

Today I’m going to write about....guess what? Exactly, Harry Potter! I was searching for some interesting topics, especially culture topics which refer to Great Britain but suddenly Ron’s face appeared right in my mind’s eye. Pretty creepy, I know. Anyway, he is kind of a funny guy who does stupid things all the time and makes the audience laugh. :D

Short biography

Harry Potter is a fantasy book series written by Joanne K. Rowling also known as Robert Galbraith – her pseudonym. She was born in Yate, Gloucestershire where she later was working at the Amnesty International’s office. She was sitting on a delayed train from Manchester to London when she came up with the idea for the Harry Potter series. After she finished the HP series, she has written three more books, not for children but rather for adults. During the period of writing the HP series she suffered some private setbacks as her mother’s death, divorce from her husband and poverty. Some years later she was diagnosed with clinical depression, an illness which partially affected the story and so the characters known as Dementors were created. Furthermore, she admitted that she based the character of Hermione on herself and that the Weasley’s turquoise flying car was inspired by her best friend’s old Ford. Now she is the best-selling living author in the UK with an estimated fortune of £560 million. J.K. Rowling is not just a novelist but also a supporter of charities as Comic Relief, One Parent Families, the Labour Party and also Better Together.

Most important main characters

Harry Potter

Best known as the boy who survived the Dark Lord’s attack with a single mark on his forehead. After his parents died the Dursley’s adopted him. Harry suffered a lot during his childhood. He didn’t have an ordinary room but a bed in a storeroom where he was supposed to sleep. Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was a better place for him. He was finally able to conjure, met Ron and Hermione, Dumbledore and Hagrid, but also Draco Malfoy who, how it turned out, was going to be his foe until the very end.

Ron Weasley

Ron Weasley is the sixth son of Arthur and Molly Weasley and one of Harry Potter’s best friends. Although his family is not rich he is able to attend the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Hogwarts just as his brothers Percy, Fred, George and Ginny, his little sister. Ron is not the person one would mention when one is talking about heroes or smart wizards but it turned out that he is really important to Harry, especially in the fight against Lord Voldemort.

Hermione Granger

Hermione Granger is the second best friend of Harry Potter and the daughter of Mr and Ms Granger. Her parents are Muggles, and working as dentists in the Muggle world. Hermione is kind of a know-it-all and really good at school. Draco often called her a mudblood, which is a highly abusive term for a Muggle-born wizard or witch. Hermione is, as Ron, often a great help and shares her knowledge with her friends.  

 

Well, this was a really short introduction to the main characters of Harry Potter! :)

I hope you enjoyed reading!

Draco is really mean...

Molly is the best :D hahaha

this one is really mean too...but I felt like I have to put it in!!! :D

Stay tuned!