Relive Ultra Music Festival Miami 2014

Probably the most antiscipated event from Ultra other than the music festival is the official release of their aftermovies. With Final Kid in charge of the mammoth task in creating the ultimate experience for fans around the world to relive the event, they have their work cutout with them having to make this years even better than the years before which was mind blowing! They're calling this video "a short movie" with the tag line "United We Dance" and is different from previous after movies with only one track featured in the entire 15 minute duration. Also they feature interviews with the various DJ's and some of the frequent fans that visit the festival. All in all it still is a damn good production, the added insights from the DJ's really give you a sense of what they're going through while performing for the masses and it just makes you want to be there, to experience it all! If theres one thing an Ultra After Movie does, it makes you want to attend the next one and this definitely does that, enjoy!

Monday Choon: Steve Angello, Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman - Payback

While many didn't know how life will go on with out Swedish House Mafia, one former member cerntainly didn't wait for this to happen as he is the only one making a name for himself on the dance music scene since then and thats Steve Angello. He always wanted to prove that he was more than just a guy who spun decks but also a damn good producer too. His previous track we featured on the Bucket, SLVR with Sadko was proof that he's certainly still out to make a name for himself and he follows on the success with that, in his latest hit Payback featuring Dimitri Vangelis and Wyman. The video is taken from his live set at Creamfields, earlier this year. Enjoy!

Burning Man 2014

Many of the modern day festival goers talk about Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival or Electric Daisy Carnival as some of the best they've experienced but theres one that only those that attend know of how great it is. 

Burning Man festival in the USA has been in existence since 1986 and is a week long event that is held yearly in the Black Rock Desert in Navada. It attracts all sorts of people, the weird to the rebel and if you're lucky you may just spot some Victoria Secret Models as our very own Candice Swanepoel has attended the past two years.

The event is described as an experiment of community, art, self experission and music. Some of the structures put up are amazing to see but when the festival culminates, all burns to the ground with it. It's truly one of the most amazing things you will witness if you do attend but it's only for the daring. 

One week in the dry, hot and dusty outlands of Nevada with no sign of civilization for 100's of kilometeres isn't for everyone but the event has proven to be quick a success with them having to cap the attendence to 50,000 due to safety reasons. Today's Monday choon isn't a song but a video by dutch DJ Sander van Doorn capturing some of his moments at this years event.

Braai Challenge 2014

South Africans are a unique bunch of folk, we are known as the rainbow nation and are a cultural melting pot with so many different and diverse people. Today, the 24th of September, we celebrate our heritage, although we are all different and have many cultures, we all love a good braai and hence the concept "Braai Day" was born. It's not created to stem away from the importance of the day but rather to embrace it by doing what we South Africans love doing the most. 

Last night we kicked off the Heritage Day celebrations in Durban with a Celebrity Braai Challenge at the Suncoast Hotel Pool deck. A group of 10 teams, each led by a local celebrity competed for the honors of SA's best braaier. I was invited by the organisers Dan Nicholl and Jan Scannell to get a team together 4 days prior to the event. Now putting together a team for a braai isn't as easy at it seems. Although this was in the name of fun, everyone wanted to win. So after a long process of screening and elimation I finally had my team ready. 

• Kajal Bagwandeen ( The Beauty) - TV personality and Dancer extraordinaire 
• Deeolan Govender ( The Spice Merchant) - Marketing Manager for Robertsons Spice & Rajah 
• Vickesh Dayanund ( The Fire starter) - No one can control an open flame better than him!

With not much time to plan we had a rough idea on what we were going to make and what the strategy was going to be. After a quick meet and greet by the event organisers it was time to get on with business! Deeolan took charge of preparing the steaks, Kajal had prepared a special marinade for the lamb had that on the go, the night before I mixed up a tandoori rub for the chicken, after mixing it with some yoghurt and fresh minced garlic/ ginger it was ready to go on the skewers. 

While we were busy with the meat preps, Vickesh had the fire on the go, we were told that points would be deducted if we opted for coal and not wood so he had built up an all wood fire. We were allocated with some help in the form of one of the dancers, Kimberly who helped us whip up a sweet and spicy wors basting sauce. Once the fire was calm and ready for cooking, on went the meat. Ensuring all of it was cooked to perfection, we were ready for plating. 

Kajal was on the ball with making sure the table was neat and clean for judging and took pride in the plating, proving that although men feel that a braai is their place a woman's touch always comes handy. She also made a mint, coriander, yoghurt dip for the chicken and provided other condiments to accompany the other food. Being one of the first teams to be judged by the panel was always nerve wrecking but we were confident. Jan and the executive chef from Suncoast seemed happy with what we had prepared with the tandoori chicken and dipping sauce being firm favourites. 

After the judging was complete, it was time for the prize giving. In 3rd place came former Bafana Captain Neil Tovey's team, 2nd place was awarded to Team Suncoast and the overall winner was Team Brent Russell who secured the services of Mike Meyers, owner of Durbans most famous coal fired steak house, BarBaCoa. Due to the prizes being sponsored by Suncoast the GM was kind enough to return their prize and award it to the team that came in at 4th place which turned out to be mine! Not having known about the prizes on offer, it was a good surprise for us and a nice touch to say thanks to those that stepped in to help! 

Overall it was a great event that encapsulated what being South African was, with various folk from different cultural background all celebrating around fires that united us all. Once again, a big thank you to the members of my team and others that stepped in to help. "A Captain is as only as good as his team" and I had a damn good team! To all South Africans, have a wonderful Heritage Day, celebrate the wonderful country we are blessed to live in. 

Monday Choon: Tritonal & Paris Blohm ft. Sterling Fox - Colors

If you watched the Ultra South Africa 2013 aftermovie, you would find this song very familiar as it was used for that very video. Many though seem to think the song is by Nicky Romero since he featured it in his set but this is to set the record straight, it's not by him but rather DJ duo Tritonal of Austin Texas and Paris Blohm with vocals from Sterling Fox. The song was released in June this year by Spinnin Records and has been popular with many of the top rated DJ's, including Nicky, it's a great song and hence it makes our featured track of the week, enjoy!

Bucket Tech: LG G3 - Review

Even the box is fancy

When people are due for an upgrade for their smart phone, natural instincts will direct them to the internet to read reviews on the latest gadgets that's thrown out their by the various brands. Most reviews are long and filled with technical mumbo jumbo that you don't understand but boast to your friends anyway because it makes your phone sound cool. A few weeks ago I was given the LG G3 to review but I'm putting a twist to this one, instead of regurgitating what everyone else is writing about, I'm going to take a leaf from the brand's marketing slogan for the phone "simple is the new smart" and give you a simplified, first hand experience with the phone and how it will affect your life on a daily basis.

Looks

Having attended the launch and seeing what the phone was capable of, I was pretty excited to get this phone for reviewing purposes. Playing with it for 30 minutes is one thing but having it a part of your daily routine makes a big difference and that is where the true test comes in. Lets start of with the cosmetics, the phone definitely looks the part, with its brushed aluminium finish available in various colours, 5.5" LCD screen and no buttons on the front make the phone sleek and sexy in appearance. The main power button and volume buttons are quote oddly located on the back of the phone, LG says it makes them more accessible when using the phone with one hand...yeah, didn't really do it for me. There are also flap covers available for the phone with a first of its kind round cut out for a display interface. I highly recommend the cover as I found the phone if dropped, can scratch easily.

Quad HD display is phenomenal

Display

Undoubtly one of the main talking points about the LG G3 is its screen, I kid you not when I say this, it will leave you speechless. It's the first phone to use Quad HD technology, what is Quad HD? Well precisely what the name says, four times HD. The screen has pixel density of 538ppi, which basically means the quality of the images view are true-to-life. LG is setting the standard with this one for future brands to follow and I'm glad they're settled for a 5,5" screen. It seems the norm size but it keeps the phones physical size to a respectable level and you won't feel like you're carrying around a phablet. Of course there is a catch to this phenomenal screen, with the clarity and brightness being so high, it uses a massive amount of battery life. Just over 30% to be exact!

Picture taken at night, on Auto mode with low light

Camera

With many of our current smart phones, the camera's are good but not great. The guys at LG took this into consideration when deciding on the camera that came with the G3. In the end what they've created is nothing short of magical, a 13 megapixel camera with optical image stabilizer and laser focus which translates to the end user take almost perfect pictures all the time, every time, anytime, anywhere and in any lighting conditions. Laser focus enables the phone to focus on the object in milli seconds, allowing the user to snap almost real time pictures, therefore not missing a second of the action. Couple this with the optical image stabilizer and blurred pictures are a thing of the past. There are occasions it does take a while to focus but when I say a while, its still way faster than any phone out there. It also has dual flashes which make pictures much more clearer and adds more detail to whats being captured. 

Taking selfies with help from Chia of the Socialite

Selfies Made Easy

The front camera is pretty decent at 2.1 megapixels, the clarity difference is very noticeable but one of the key features of it has to be the selfie detection. We live in an era where taking a selfie is becoming as important as breathing for some and with one having to press a button to capture it, it often moves the phone and you end up taking 50 selfies before chosing one to post to instagram. With the LG G3, it has a built in gesture control to activate the camera. It's quite neat to use as I demonstrated with many during the time in which I had the phone, simply activate the front facing camera, get everyone in the frame, open your palm and make sure it is visible in the screen, when ready to take a picture, clench your first to capture. It will give you a 3 second countdown and capture the perfect selfie every time. This will save you plenty of time in the future and make you look less of a nana. 

Smart Notice

Operating System

The make or break thing for me on a phone is the OS, Android has flooded the market with the various brands but many of them choose not to customise it too much which leaves me and others feeling that there is just too much to the thing. Not saying that it's bad, some people do feel like they want to be operating the Starship Enterprise when using their smart phone but for others, they just want something simple to operate, hence they keep going back to Apple. LG however have taken the step to customise Android's KitKat v4.4.2 to their phone. Simplifying the OS to the devices needs and cutting out all the other junk that you would find on a standard Android device. It makes the device much more user friendly to operate for everyone. I guess that's what they meant by "simple is the new smart" because at the end of the day, your cellphones primary use is to make and receive phone calls, well and now to receive whatsapp messages. 

Google Now tracking my where abouts

Google Intergration

Being Android, the phone is fully Google functional, what I found pretty cool was the voice activated Google search, by use of a trigger sentence "Okay Google", it will open up the search menu, awaiting your search instruction. So you can search for something on the internet without having to type anything! Google has integrated itself well and the phone also comes with Google Now, which pretty much is like a PA for you, or a creepy stalker that tracks your every move. No really it does, it will gather that the place you stayed at over night is home, and track your daily travel routes, notifying you if there are any delays on the route. It even tracks your location to bring you precise weather reports of the area you're in! The phone has access to Google's play store which has thousands of applications to chose from, besides the social media apps, one can find almost anything that they might find interesting. LG also have a store of their own but that is mainly for applications realted to the phone. 

Accessories

As mentioned before, the phone will have LG covers available for it, LG have also released a wireless charging mat for the G3, the downside to it is that is has to be plugged in to charge, so I don't really see the point. With Nokia's it worked as a portable battery pack. The main accessory for the G3 would have to be it's watch, what makes it different and miles apart from its competitors devices is that you can use it on any android device and is not limited to LG products. The watch also makes use of Googles voice activated menu which makes usability effortless. 

Verdict

While there may be some flaws with the phone, such as build quality and battery life, there is no phone out there at the moment that is perfect but I'd like to say that this one is almost near perfect. Most of the features and key aspects of the phone is revolutionary which is basically setting standards for others to follow. Add to that the good looks and simplified Android user interface LG have modified and you really do have a winning phone. The only other phone that came come close to this is the Oneplus Plus but with limited stock and only available to purchase via invite, LG is sure to have that part of the market sorted. Many times I get asked the question on which is the best phone on the market and I always tell people that the answer is based on user preference because we were flooded with similar devices but at long last there is a device that stands out from the rest of the crowd and while LG might not be very popular with the main crowd, they sure do have a great product out.

Specifications

Processor: Quad-core 2.5GHz Krait 400

Memory: 16gig onboard with 2 gigs of RAM

Screen: 5.5" Quad HD LCD, 16 million colours, 1440 x 2560 resolution

Camera: Back - 13 megapixel with optical image stabiliser & laser autofocus, Front - 2.1 megapixel

Battery life: Talk time - 19 hours, Standby - 565 hours

Some pics taken with the phone

Double Crunch is back!

After an absence of more than 3 years, KFC South Africa have heeded the call of thousands of their supporters by bringing back the much loved Double Crunch. When you combine 2 juicy fillets, 2 slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato, smothered in a new special mayo and served in a fresh sesame seed bun, whats not to love about it? They celebrated the relaunch of this burger by treating some real fans of the burger on an action packed Sunday, those select few were the lucky ones to get their hands on it before anyone in SA. Not to worry though, you can find the #DoubleCrunch as of today, 16th September 2014 at all branches. Well go on then, what are you still doing reading this??? Go buy one before the Colonel changes his mind and pulls it from the menu!

Monday Choon: Nicky Romero & Anouk - Feet On The Ground

It wasn't that long ago when Dutch DJ sensation Nicky Romero burst into the EDM scene with his hit track Toulouse. Ever since then he's taken the world by storm with his releases, rising to the top of DJ Mag top 100 charts and is one of the most indemand DJ's. He also launched his own record lable, Protocol which produces music for many other top DJ's and his colaborations with other greats in the industry only does more for his reputation. Today's featured track is hot from the Protocol kitchen, which see's Nicky team up with Anouk for this great track. 

Bucket Babe: Nicolene Vertue

It's spring time in South Africa's, that means more greenery, more sunshine and less of the cold weather chills. That in turn translates into packing away the winter clothing and out with the skirts and bikini's! Today's featured girl is definitely a fan of swimwear as she made us patiently wait a good few months so that we could feature her new shoot, yup this is an exclusive. She's driven by passion, prefers two wheels over four and likes to keep things simple and chilled. She's your typical South African hot girl next door with a passion for kids.

Nicolene Virtue

Bio

I am a very ambitious and out-spoken person. I’m extremely strong willed and once I’ve decided on something it will take a lot to get me off track. I have very diverse ambitions, I have a passion for kids and will always fight for their rights, but besides that I have a great love for pole dancing(pole fitness), modelling, acting and singing.

I am a family person and would much rather have a braai at home than hang out in a club. I like long drives, love high heels, crazy about the colour blue and I’m addicted to chocolates. 

Links

Twitter: @Nickycolene
Facebook: Nicky Vertue
Instagram: nickyvertue

Q&A

1. Hot girls and hot cars go hand in hand, what ride would you like to see yourself in?

• I’m more of a biker girl than a car girl, which is why I ride a Honda CBR 600

2. What sandwich are you most likely to make for me? and will it be toasted or plain?

• I ALWAYS toast my bread, so most probably a toasted cheese and tomato. 

3. What type of music gets your booty shaking?

• Anything with a nice rhythm, but I do prefer the Afrikaans music I grew up with.

4. Dream cover shoot?

• Women's Health.

5. If given a choice, full time model or full time executive, what would you choose?

• Full time model of course!

6. Everyone loves popcorn (well I think they do) what is your topping/ sprinkle of choice?

• Depends on whether I’m in the mood for something sweet or something more savoury in which case I would choose between icing sugar or salt and vinegar.

7. Growing up you must have had someone you aspired to be, so who is your role model?

• This might sound cliché, but definitely my mother, she is the strongest person I know.

8. Obviously being female, you would love fashion, your favourite designer/ label?

• I’m not really into labels, but love Sissyboy, simply because they fit me best.

9. Anyone holding that hand yet? or is it available?

• Engaged! :)

10. Which city is your dream party destination?

• Athens.

Bucket Tech: iPhone6 - First impressions

Disclaimer: I do not belong to any affiliation of mobile device type or make, I own a god damn Blackberry, yes, its 2014 and I still have one, deal with it. I don't hold preference to any brand or OS, I'm just a tech observer, not a guru but I know enough to know what makes a device good or shit.

So if you are on Twitter or follow tech updates on various other channels, you would have known that Apple have launched their new mobile device, the iPhone6, along with an iPhone6 Plus which has a larger screen display. Like most of their other mobile phones, they are available in various memory size, being 16, 64 and 128gig. Whilst most Apple fanboys were, lets us a Netflorist expression here, "creaming their pants" while watching the live stream reveal, most other onlookers didn't seem to phased. Most of the stuff Apple have added to their new flagship device has been on other competitors devices for over the past year and in some cases more than 2 generations of phones!

The phone to me didn't surprise me, there was no "wow factor" and instead of giving specifications of the phone, they kept comparing it to the original iPhone, why?! We don't give a shit about how much better it was to your mp3 player that could make a phone call, we want to compare it to the other market leading devices! Then some of the features of the phone didn't make sense, they still opted to go for an 8 megapixel rear camera which has optical image stabilizer. That's nice, Sony and LG have 13 megapixel rear cameras with that and laser focus. Health App? That trick is old now. Apple Pay, which allows you to make purchases with your phone? Really? Even beep bank invented that before you! Steve must be thrilled... not Jobs. #JustSaying 

Don't get me wrong, its not a crappy phone, it seems pretty much on par with the others that are available on the market, its just not mind blowing like what we've come to expect from Apple. What I do like about Apple is their build qualtity, many of the new Android devices are good but feel like cheap toys from the Chinese bazar. Apple's devices feel like they're worth the money you paid for them and while my only gripe would be the non-removable battery, my hope is that they have improved on the life of it.  iOS8 seems promising and will be released to iPhone5S devices later on this month, sadly there will be no Android crossplatform usage interms of applications. 

Now the phones were not the only devices being launched on the night, as predicted, Apple Watch made its debut. They had to launch such a device seeing that Samsung and now recently LG have one on the market but for me this was the show stopper. Compared to their competitors, the watch kicks ass, besides it looking cooler and available in various styles and wrist bands, the functionality is so much more than seeing who is calling or previewing incoming messages and emails. It makes use of a digital crown which uses technology simlar to that of the track wheel from the original iPod to navigate around and select apps. It makes use of a force touch command to enable user preferences and theres a host of other things that it does all this and tell you the time.

You got to give it to them though, even though they've lost the creative guru that was Steve Jobs, their brand still holds great value and the hype around any of their events is nothing short of news stopping. So I honestly don't think they are in a state of demise as other people might be saying but of course when it comes to things Apple, it would be different and expensive... very expensive. It's almost like they want to have this false sense of exclusivity.

Which brings me to my next point, they still remain in their own "clique", which allows intergration with only their devices with the help of blody iTunes, down the line  this would end up being a pain in the ass. In this day and age with various mobile ecosystems, it will be hard for every user to have a preference. In a basic house hold everyone would have their own taste when it comes to these things but streamless sharing and connectivity may prove to be a problem if companies like Apple continue this way in the future. Sure, their brand was once highly regarding as the forefront of innovations but what they must come to realise now that others are beating them in that race now so its time, not to concede defeat but rather join the party.