Jack Cooper

Nearly every country in the world has some form of journalistic press to inform the residents on what politician has cocked up recently, or which z-lebrity has had an affair with a tramp. In the case of the UK, all newspapers are equal, but some are much more equal than others.

Let's get some basics out of the way. Newspapers can be divided into two obvious categories: the broadsheet and the tabloid. Normally, the broadsheet is a serious, formal and wordy newspaper packed full of the latest stock market figures and economic movements. A tabloid focusses on lifestyle things, gossip, and in the case of The Sun, tits.

The problem is that our tabloids in particular have gained a reputation for being amazingly awful. Now I don't know what tabloids are like in other countries, but I do often hear that the UK does have the worst press in the world. That's very easy to believe, especially when you consider that one of our papers had to shut down for good because it dug itself such a deep hole by nosing into celebrity lifestyles.

Let's start with the 'Redtops'. The Sun, the Daily Mirror and the Daily Star arguably are the lowest of the low you can possibly get, since they don't really feature news at all, just 'ooh, Mel B made a different kind of tea this morning! THIS IS HEADLINE WORTHY'. Saying that though, I don't think these are the worst newspapers you can buy in the UK. You see, these papers don't pretend to be anything serious. It's obvious that they are very, er, simple, and so leaves the customer with no doubt about what they're reading. They're stupid, but they are honest with what they are. That doesn't mean you should buy one; they still make horse shit look more interesting.

Honesty isn't really a word you can associate with the Daily Mail, or better suited as the Daily Fail. I don't even know where to start with this one. Upon initial brief reading, you seem to find a rather well-written formal looking paper that has an ideal blend of current affairs and general lifestyle. Sounds like an almost perfect recipe. But then you start to read some articles on the political agenda... oh dear. This isn't a paper that has a slight leaning bias in the right-wing department, it's a full-on tip. Everything the Labour party does is scorned upon, and everything UKIP does is amazing, brilliant and fabulous. Oh wait, not fabulous, that sounds a bit gay and gay is wrong in the world of the Daily Mail.

It doesn't stop there, though. Not only do we have political bias so strong it's almost amusing, we have the ultimate propaganda producer here (or just spouting BS in other words). 'COFFEE WILL SHORTEN YOUR LIFE BY 20 YEARS', screams one headline, complete with a source from a fat man in a shed. The funniest thing is that in a few days' time, you'll see 'CAFFEINE PROVEN TO BE ESSENTIAL TO HEALTHY LIFESTYLE'. Oh that's right, another fat man called you and gave out his tripe for £35. The worst thing about all this is that these misleading headlines scare people into believing stories that are incredibly false. Take weather stories, for an example. 'BRITAIN SET FOR ARCTIC FREEZE AS TEMPERATURES PLUMMET TO -20°C NEXT WEEK' inevitably reads one headline. This does genuinely worry people about staying warm, getting stranded and rising energy bills. And then of course it ends up being the hottest week for years and the paper acts like the story never happened.

Although I haven't mentioned them, pretty much all newspapers in the UK face some kind of controversy. I don't want to go in-detail about them, simply because I haven't really read them. So I'll reserve judgement, but I'm sure they can't be worse than the sodding Daily Mail. 

Why can't newspapers just be honest? Oh, that's right, honest stories don't sell. Newspapers' number one purpose is not to inform you, it's to grab money from you. That's why you'll find The Sun shouting about leaked sex tapes, even if the most destructive natural disaster had just hit and killed - god forbid - thousands of people.

Hey, at least we don't have bloody Fox News.

I haver never thought of myself to be an 'Alpha Male' kind of guy. Perhaps I'm a 'Beta Male'... geddit? Better? OK, I'll stop.

In more relevance to the title of this post, I am not someone who is a film-lover. I'm fairly sure I've talked about this before, so I'll keep it short and say I just get quite easily bored with them. My issue is my mind thinks too logically - yes, hear me out here. When watching a film, my mind knows 'this isn't real', and I'm always subconsciously thinking that. The end result means I can never depart from the real world and enjoy this wonderfully fantastic story that's being shown to me on the big screen. It is a big shame.

One day, I was browsing on the amazing site that is Imgur, and came across a post that shows a gif of this character introduction in this film. It was quite good, and with everyone commenting things like 'OMGG BEST FILM EVA!!!11!!1', my curiosity rose. I was hoping to find someone in the comments asking what the film name was. Sure enough, my knight in sparking armour was there with the million dollar question. The film turned out to be something called '10 Things I Hate About You'.

I was so intrigued by this film at this point, so much so that I bashed it into Google. Turns out this film is a teenage romantic-comedy. Now I never judge anything at all ever, but I immediately knew this film would be pissing awful. The thought of a cheesy American film with a plot on the wrong side of predictable was floating round my head.

Then I saw the 7.2 score on IMDB. OK then, this film might actually be alright. After all, not many teenage films get that high. I decided to take the plunge, and watched it. Expectations were low, fidget levels were forecasted to be unseasonably high.

And then, my life changed forever.

Based from the Shakespeare play 'The Taming of the Shrew'

I'm not going to go on in-depth like some kind of film critic (do your own bloody homework about the plot), but this film was seriously something amazing. Screw you Disney, this is the true definition of magical.

Never had I felt before to re-watch a film immediately after finishing one, but that changed after this. The silliest thing is that I can't even work out why I love it so much; it is in essence a basic teen love plot filled with some jokes.

Perhaps it was the characters. You really root behind nearly all of the protagonists - something even the big boys can't always manage - and feel the emotion that they feel. Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles do an amazing job with their characters, not forgetting Larisa Oleynik and Joseph Gordon Levitz as well of course. I'm really not sure.

What I am sure of is that this film also left me a little bit disappointed, but not in the way you might imagine. Coming away from this, I felt I had hit my 'best movie ever', and nothing in the near future will be able to top that. It's safe to say that I don't want to ever see another rom-com ever again, however ignorant that may sound.

If this film flew as low under your radar as it did mine, then I suggest you watch it. Unless you are 95 and have the same humour as a burnt sausage, then I suggest you stick to Question Time. 

Jack has put a corny rom-com at the top of his movie list. Yep, definitely not Alpha Male.

Back in 2012, I was an owner of a 4th generation iPod Touch. It seemed like everyone had one, and for a good reason. Its 'retina display' was amazing for when it was launched in 2010 alongside the iPhone 4, and of course you had the vast Apple ecosystem of apps alongside your music player.

After about 9 months of ownership, the relationship started to turn sour. The device started to slow down more and more, with apps completely out of the device's reach when it came to performance requirements. Hardly surprising when you find out the Touch came with a measly 256mb of RAM. This lag became more and more substantial until just using the damn thing became a chore.

By that summer, I put my foot down and decided I wanted to get something new. But I didn't want another iPod, oh no. I wanted to upgrade to the daddy iPad. The latest 'Pad at the time was the 3rd generation, and it looked mighty tempting. It too had just received a 'retina display' makeover (albeit much later than the iPod and iPhone), and was marketed as a highly capable tablet.

In August 2012 I took the plunge and forked out £400 (yes, really) of my hard-earned pounds for one. For that money, it should really give me daily back massages. But all was well, and it meant I could comfortably surf the web anywhere in the house without resorting to a small phone screen or a clunky laptop. Needless to say, it was used for many hours on a daily basis.

Fast forward to today, and the trusty old thing is still getting used daily for casual web browsing. That's pretty much all it gets used for - there's barely any apps or music on there, save that for my phone. But has anything changed? Yes, very much so.

First of all, we have the cosmetics. Due to its aluminium back, this thing is fairly scratched. Nowhere near as bad as my chrome-backed iPod mind, but you'll still struggle to pass this thing off as 'good condition'. Considering it spends about 95% of its life in a protective case, I struggle to think how horrible it will look now if the back had been on every hard surface in my house. It's also worth mentioning that there are a few chips along the edges, but they are pretty small and minor.

Then we come to the overall performance of the thing. Over time, electronic devices just slow down for no good reason, even if they are kept clean (I'm looking at you, iPod), and it turns out my iPad is no different. With a measly 1GHz dual core processor and 1GB of RAM, a lot of apps and even websites are really starting to tax my poor 'Pad. Safari is particularly bad at times, where the device will freeze for a good 30 seconds before responding. It's fair to say this thing isn't the slick beast it once was.

It's got so bad now that my phone, a budget Motorola Moto G, is much nippier flicking through websites. The only saving grace for my iPad now is the screen is still a pleasure to use for full-fat websites.

Certainly, I want to replace it. In my head, I know I shouldn't have to replace a £400 device in less than three years, but that's how technology works I'm afraid. I certainly won't have my phone for two and a half years, for certain. But what do I replace it with?

Do I keep with Apple? The iPad Air 2 is a beautifully thin thing with the fancy Touch ID and now 2GB of RAM. But I do fear that I will fall into the same trap as before. On the other hand, I could get a taste of Android on the big screen, with choices ranging from the rather nice looking Nexus 9 to the cheaper Tesco Hudl 2. Android is king when it comes to customisation, but there isn't many tablet optimised apps on the Play Store.

I'm not totally sure right now, but one thing I do know is that I don't have a casual £400 in my pocket right now. Damn unemployment...

In these tough times (a phrase that's totally not overused), people like to adventure into cheaper markets to get more for their money. For many things out there, it makes good sense. Why should I pay £1.50 for branded biscuits when I can get the same version unbranded for 5 times less?

But I'm not here to talk about biscuits; I'm here to talk about headphones. Now, being tight with your cash when it comes to technology is always a bit of a minefield. In other words: if you spend only £250 on a laptop, chances are it will be immensely crap. But headphones are interesting: you see many people very happy with cans costing no more than a tenner. I was intrigued by this, so back in April this year I purchased a pair of Sony MDR ZX100 headphones for a grand total of £12.

So, the real question is this: can you get away with paying so little, or is it really just the classic case of 'you get what you pay for'? Well if we judge from build quality alone, you do seem to get what you pay for. These headphones are far from ugly, but the plastic they're made from is very cheap, flimsy and squeaky. There's no padding along the top either, so long periods of use does result in a good deal of uncomfortable feelings. The larger your head is, the more you're going to hate these cans.

Noise cancellation? There isn't any. It's not exactly the headphones fault; they just weren't designed to keep the outside world away from you. It's also worth mentioning that these leak sound very easily as well, so if you're partial to listening to the Cheeky Girls while on the bus, I'm afraid it won't be just your dirty little secret.

But on to the most important part of any headphones - the sound quality. I'm pleased to report here that you certainly get your £12 in this segment, and perhaps arguably then some more. Sound is not what you'd call vibrant or punchy, but it's crisp and clear. It's one of those headphones that allow you to hear things in a song that other devices can't pick up. But don't get me wrong: the bass is adorably weak, and there's not much high range sound at all. These will work if you're not into your thumping drum'n'bass music.

Other small issues? Well, the cable is a bit on the short side. And the design of the ear pieces themselves are a bit small, which means they sit on your ears rather than over them. Now, push your ears against your head and keep it there for a long period of time. Trust me, it gets painful after a while. But that's exactly what these headphones do. Pleasant they be not.

Chances are, if you buy cheap headphones like these you aren't going to keep them treasured in your sound recording studio. No, you're going to be carrying them around - which means listening them on mobile devices. So what's it like when you plug these things in your phone? The answer is quiet. You lose no quality, but you do lose volume. This means the outside noises are going to leak in easily, and the fact these aren't sound proof is only salt to the wound.

The solution would to buy a headphone amp, available from about £20. But then that defeats the point of cheap headphones. However, this problem is associated with pretty much headphone set out there - so don't take this as a personal attack. My advice would be: if you're always out and about, stick with some good quality earphones instead.

Overview - ratings takes price into consideration

Sound quality: ★★★★☆

• Bass: ★★★☆☆
• Mids ★★★★☆
• Highs ★★☆☆☆
• Crispness ★★★★☆

Build quality: ★★★☆☆
Looks: ★★★★☆
Noise cancellation: ★★☆☆☆
Noise leakage: ★★☆☆☆
Comfort: ★★☆☆☆

I'd like to start with something that is completely unrelated to the title of this post. And that something is that I've only just started watching the Cornetto trilogy of films (aka Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz & The World's End). Quite frankly, I am ashamed of myself for leaving it this late since they are bloody good films. Certainly felt like I wasted the first seventeen years of my life, that's for sure.

Anyway, shall we actually move on to something that's relevant to the title? I have a secret interest in meteorology that I tend to keep quiet about to all but the closest of my friends. Being interested in the weather just seems to be the ultimate combination of old man and geek - something that isn't a great tag for a 17-year-old. But hey, I'm still gonna talk  about it. Tough balls if you don't like the weather.

On Halloween, we had a remarkably warm day here in the UK. And I mean proper, shorts and sunbathing kind of warm. It hit 24°c in London - that's 75F - which is pretty much double of what it should be. I ain't complaining, but it's actually completely the opposite of what I want.

You see, I'm a traditional type of guy. When I picture Christmas, I imagine the stereotypical jumpers huddled around the fire, keeping warm from that white snow that's falling outside. Of course, that doesn't really happen - I'm enough of a realist to accept that (but damn I wish it did). But the key word there is snow.

To me, winter isn't winter without at least one day the town being completely covered in its own duvet of snow. And unfortunately last year that didn't happen. Instead, we just got battered by dozens of storms that came one after the other, and if the media is to be believed, the whole UK just couldn't even and was literally dying right now.

If you want to believe the media, then apparently this winter will be a big freeze with tonnes of snow and many children going "yay". But, then again, they said that last year, and then it turned out to be one of the mildest bloody winters on record. Pah.

Surely I'm not the only one that wants a 'proper' winter? Sure, snow disrupts businesses, causes deaths and isolates villages, but SLEDGING DOWN HILLS.

Subscribers now sit at 44 as I write this, so my snail-pace momentum of gaining subscribers... is still a snail.

Here's my latest video, but a new one should be up shortly after this post goes up. Look out for it here.

But first, let's get my arse into reverse and talk about the fact I have new lighting. I have new lighting. There, done.

Anyone who lives in the UK will know that there has recently been a swarm of shops named Poundland. Surprisingly, they are bits of land where you can buy stuff for a pound. In many ways, Poundland is a good retailer: you can buy properly branded stuff in there for a lot less than the original RRP. Sounds great, doesn't it?

However, the almighty Poundland range of Things does not stop there. They, next to the established brands, have a 'own-brand' kind of thing going on; ranging from earphones to glasses (yes, really). I've never brought any own-brand stuff from there for the simple fact that I don't want to die, but I have wondered: is it any good?

Quick answer: probably not. But there must be things in there which are good (and therefore you can rely on that rather than brands costing many times more). That's where my new video idea comes into play.

Soon I will be starting a new video series where I will be testing out these cheap Poundland products, and coming to a conclusion on whether it's very shit or only mildly shit. So yes, expect things ranging from earphones to any other tat I can find. This should be very, very fun.

It sounds quite like the Ashens way of things, and that's because it kind of is. But I won't be in front of a brown sofa, and I will be using my own humour.

Look out for it coming soon, complete with a channel art typed by Comic Sans *shudders*.

Subscriber check! 41, which is a nice growth. The Jack Cooper Seal of Approval™ has been applied here.

And here is my latest video, complete with my new lighting. Enjoy!

Seasons, eh? What good have they ever done for us? Apart from allowing things to grow, new life to appear, trees to go through their important cycles and food to ripen, what in the name of all that's holy has the seasons done for mankind?

I ask this question because where I live at least, the nights are getting longer and longer - winter is approaching quickly. A few weeks ago, you could see where you're going even when the sweary programs were being broadcasted, but now you're lucky if you can eat your dinner outside somewhere that isn't in inky-black darkness.

I bring this up because light is a crucial thing for my video recordings. For sure, I do have light bulbs in my small room for the night (no less than five, in fact), but the colour temperature they give out is all wrong. The light they beam out is too warm. Are you still following? If not, allow me to explain quickly:

"Dat tungsten lighting doe" - Nobody, ever.

It's a very simple thing that isn't too well-known if you aren't in the photography or film business. Basically, the light a light source gives out (be that the sun or a candle) can be measured by it's colour in the Kelvin Scale. Typically, this ranges from 0K (midnight) to about 10K (direct sunlight). A household lightbulb gives out about 2.5K Kelvin, which is also known as tungsten. It gives a characteristic yellowish tinge that I'm sure you're familiar with. If you don't know, whip out any camera you have and take a photo indoors without a flash. It will come out very yellow.

The right Kelvin I'm looking for is about 5.5K. I can achieve that easily during the day; I just have to open my curtains, but in the night I have to use my tungsten light-bulbs. Trust me, a tungsten video looks god-awful.

The solution is some studio lights, particularly a softbox. These come with special 5.5K lightbulbs to simulate natural light, and they work really well. But I haven't got the money for them at the moment, so if any videos in the near future come out looking like I've recorded them using a potato, you'll know why. And since I'm typing this at 5:05pm and the light is already dimming, it looks to be a likely prospect. Sorry.

Subscriber check! I have 29, a net gain of three. Can't complain about that, but let's keep that momentum going please!

Here's my latest video. It isn't very recent, but hey. Deal with it.



Now you've read this, go and visit my channel!

See ya soon.