Assassin's Creed Syndicate: Street Gangs, Organised Crime and Revolution!

Image from the Assassin's Creed UK site

Polygon says the new Assassin's Creed which was revealed 12th May at 5pm UK time is actually called Syndicate and not Victory.

Other than the name change all else is expected from the new instalment. The game will feature an assassin called Jacob Frye and will...

 ''transport millions of gamers to an astonishing recreation of London during the Industrial Revolution they will find themselves immersed in a game world they'll have to see to believe...''

Image from AC US site showing a set of brass knuckles lying on a table with the words carved ''God save the Queen'' and ''Rooks'' beside an image of a bird

I couldn't agree more with that statement. The Industrial Revolution was such a pivotal time not only just for London but the whole of Great Britain. It changed the way we lived and sparked new ways of thinking for our society including the birth of social sciences like sociology and social history, and ultimately created the society we live in today! Through these social sciences came about new ways of living, introducing the working age, anyone being able to go to school and introducing health and safety rules for workers as during the Victorian age it was a bleak and dangerous time. I think it's great that Ubisoft has given the UK a chance to show it's importance to the world, how it influenced other countries and puts us on the map that little bit more, so we aren't just known for royals and tea! I cannot wait to explore London at such a dark yet significant time of history!

Ubisoft officially unveiled Assassin's Creed Syndicate via livestream on the 12th May at 5pm UK time.

Skip to 14:00 and watch the reveal here! 

I think I'm most excited about the change in combat dynamics. Now that we are in a much more modern era compared to previous Assassin's Creeds, it isn't legal to walk around with a sword and pistol, so it seems hand to hand combat is going to become much faster and on a much larger scale, involving trains and horse carriages. I think this might be the stealthiest Assassin's Creed yet to come as you can't just walk into a situation head on any more without facing the consequences not only from your Templar foes but trying to slip out of the hands of the police force.

I was a little bit concerned however for the carriage riding (possibly might be one of the games downfalls), I think for me it's going to get in the way a lot particularly when trying to escape from enemies or chasing foes and I might just find myself screaming at my tv screen. On the plus side Ubisoft are giving us the gift of using the environment to our advantage, didn't show much but a pallet loaded with barrels being shot off it's harness onto an enemy so I'll be looking forward to seeing some more gameplay footage regarding that.

As stated in the reveal, we now face an environment that is no longer ruled by religion or kings and queens but by money. With the increase in technology, transport and trade this sparked new opportunities for opportunists and burglars, so I think we'll get to delve into causes and reasons to London's street gangs, the beginnings of white collar and organised crime. Are you excited? I sure am! 

Let me know what you guys thought of the reveal, what are you most looking forward to?

Assassin's Creed Sydicate is set to be released on Xbox One and PS4 October 2015 and Fall 2015 for PC

 

Spirituality: A Holistic Lifestyle

Religion, Culture and Fish & Chips

I was finding it quite difficult to bring some new material to my blog and a few friends have suggested for some time that I write something a lil more personal and seeing as I have gone on such a journey already regarding this topic, I think it's worth a post. I believe everyone has some form of spirituality, religion or culture as they all come as package, whether it's going to Sunday mass, attending a football match or grabbing you and the family a quick take away on a Saturday night. It's something that you do 'religiously', you feel empty without it. You feel it's part of you. Society is so hectic with technology on the rise many people in this day age find it hard to commit to just one traditional religion solely and tend to mix and match activities and beliefs to suit their lifestyle, it's also a great way to integrate with other cultures and find new friends who share similar interests. As I have said before in the introduction to my previous post My Top Favourite YouTubers & Channels life is too complicated and diverse to have just one religion ruling them all so everyone is out to find their own truth. My truth is a Holistic one, in the traditional sense it is an individual who focuses on the mind, body and soul of ones self and whatever they personally find important and sacred to them enhances or heal those qualities.

''To love others you must first love yourself'' 

Education

I think Education is a major fundamental of not just a holistic lifestyle but in life in general, from the first few steps you take as a child to the prison cell or that sticky situation you regrettably find yourself in. I believe education is almost the solution to most problems, social sciences involve opening your mind to new thinkings, understanding and applying that knowledge to discussions and problems which could also in turn help you in life lessons. Subjects like maths and science can help you think more rationally and calculated. But sometimes education isn't enough and people lack the social skills like empathy to understand other peoples situations and why they do things. Some individuals are ignorant and stubborn and refuse to listen or learn but empathy is a an emotion stronger than you think and can lead to great things but I will talk a little bit more on enhancing those qualities later. I am very grateful to have experience immediately both sides of the white and black Caribbean culture. My Mother wasn't traditionally religious but had her beliefs and my Dad was a strict Catholic. At one point in my life I was praying every night before bed, reading the Bible, going to Mass and Sunday school, and I have completed the 3 main 'initiations' into the Catholic community - Baptism, Communion and Confirmation. I can't say that there was an actual point in my life where I was a Catholic because I was a natural rebel and I had made my mind up from the start. But going through that stage gave me a strong insight into Catholicism and even though I was attending a Catholic school we weren't just learning about Catholicism and Christianity but Islam, Buddhism, Judaism etc which enlightened me even more about other cultures. Understanding through education I believe is a quality everyone should have, they are the first stepping stones to a happy life but for people who don't have those natural qualities of empathy and can be quite judgemental may find help in something I've been learning about in the past 5 months now which leads onto my next point regarding my interests and hobbies.

Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter, one of the most influential interracial couples of the 50s

Identifying & Enhancing Your Qualities


Hobbies & Interests


Self-awareness is another fundamental to Spirituality, knowing what type of person you are, what makes you happy, knowing how to behave and deal with situations appropriately will lead to a happier life. Self-awareness is probably one of the most difficult traits to harvest and understand. One of the most basic stages of  learning self awareness was probably when someone told you how you were behaving, be it bad or good and it's up to us as human beings whether to sit and reflect on recognising these qualities....are they good or are they bad? If so, do I need to change or should I enhance these qualities and carry on being this way? From a young age and having an older sister of course it's natural for younger siblings to look up to their older siblings. I had stumbled across a white thick paperback book, simply with the word Astrology written across at the top and of course to my curiosity I picked it up and asked my sister what Astrology was. From then I had acquired the leads to my personality, behavioural and social traits. After learning much about myself I sat back and tried to identify with some of the qualities I had gathered and I either accepted that this is the way I was and I tried not to let the negative qualities cause me any more trouble. May I stress that a lot of people mistake that Star Signs define people perfectly when in fact they are generalisations, external factors such as socialisation have a strong influence on rearing an individuals personality. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT.

Crystals From Bottom to Top - Blue Agate, Turquoise, Aventurine, Amethyst and Rose Quartz
Crystal in hand (top of post) - Lapis Lazuli 

It's also good to bear in mind that with age self-awareness becomes much stronger and I have still got a LONG way to go. Who says you have to be either one end of the spectrum, happy or unhappy. How about, I still haven't lived life, I still have so much to see and learn? I believe life is about balance and there are many other ways to creating that balance, one of them being enhancing or healing your personal traits. I'm going to keep this short and sweet as I am still learning about this subject and I would also like to make a separate post solely around this. I have been reading about and using crystals for the past 5 months. In some cultures people believe that certain crystals have healing capabilities, this could be in health, yourself personality wise or for others and there are hundreds to choose from. I'm not going to go into too much detail because as I said I would like to write a more detailed post but if you can't wait go ahead and Google it, there's so much to know. Over those 5 months I have made a collection of  6 crystals, each bearing their own healing qualities which I personally sought out and found that those are the qualities I needed healing. I meditate with these crystals, some of them I wear as they have been made into a necklaces and as well as this I do Yoga a couple times a week and I can confidently say that I feel healthier within myself. I snack less or not at all, I want to eat healthier and therefore my stomach feels lighter. I also feel more grounded within myself, I don't get annoyed as easily and I'm involved in less conflict, I'm more mature, responsible and think more rationally about situations and just generally more happy, not saying that I was a total train wreck before! My mind is clearer, I can see my goals and what makes me happy. Guys, I could go on forever but I'm going to have to leave it there!!

Please let me know if any of this has helped you in any way, if you have any questions on any of the topics I've mentioned today feel free to ask, my Twitter and Instagram are on the right hand side of this post or you can leave a comment. I shall be making more posts on Crystals, Yoga and Meditating and it will be in much more depth than it was today! 

PEACE. 

Dreaming in Blue

So last night I had a very happy dream and it's main features were the colour blue, so here I'll try give a quick summary of the meaning of dreaming in blue and some typical things that might come up in your dream as blue.

I was walking with a few friends all dolled up ready to go somewhere (god knows where). Was casually walking past a shop when I decided I wanted to get some sweets (typical me). I think I might of grabbed some jawbreakers and a lollipop (very typical me), as I walked to the counter I realised it was my old primary school teachers serving. There was about 3 of them that I recognised. I put my sweets on the table, they were scanned, I was just about pay until Rebecca (one of the teachers who I knew) said ''Is this number 15?'' to her other colleague and she replied ''Yes! Yes it is!'' They all started screaming congratulations you're our 15th customer and gave me a free pair of white jeans (LOL) and a box containing some bits. Wasn't too fussed about the jeans but as I opened the white SHOE box there laid a doll of some kind, a silver string or something (not too sure), a pair of earrings and a blue flower that I think you could put in your hair. I said thank you and started hugging my old teachers one by one, only those that I could reach (the others were too far away) and brought up in conversation that I went to their school that they taught at, but I don't think they remembered me. So after all that fuss I turned  round and saw some random Chinese dude trying to give my earring away to his family! (specifically his little girl). In my head it was an uproar of rage haha but I just said ''excuse me?'' and just looked at him in a confused manner and snatched the earrings from him and then the dream ended. 

Immediately, when I woke up I grabbed my dream book called 'Dream Decoder' (if anyone wants to check it out). It's a very simple dream book, not very detailed but good enough to start me off so eventually I can recognise meanings of symbols and colours in dreams without having to look at it. It's just a quick summary. I went to 'Dreaming in Blue' page and found this....

Dreaming in Blue (SUMMARISED)

Though to represent power of the conscious mind - especially if appeared as the sky. Traditionally associated with transparency, spirituality and infinity. Some believe it can indicate feelings of gentleness or patience. Different shades can represent different emotions: a bright blue suggests happiness while brooding indigo tells a more downward emotional state. The following objects that often appear with the colour blue: 

Water - Linked with the dreamers emotional life. Vivid blue water can be a sign that you need to pay attention to your emotions

Hail - Usually has emotional significance. Recall how long the hail lasted. Caught in a hail storm? Did you feel afraid of exhilarated?

Air - Can signify a yearning for freedom in your emotional or working life.

Smoke - Did the blue smoke obscure your view - or swirl upwards to some exciting destination?

Precious stone - Can signify liberation from a current problem

Clothes - Can be a symbol of masculinity or of the male side of you (in my case) 

Blue bird - May symbolise happiness, hope and liberation 

Caged bird - Can signal lack of independence and a yearning for emotional freedom

Artwork - Paintings or drawings may be general reflection of your present life circumstances

Photograph - A photograph tinted blue suggests something is obscured from view in your waking life

Heart - May refer to a quarrel between yourself and a loved one

Vase - Can be a sign that you feel emotionally contained.

References: Dream Decoder by Dr Fiona Zucker and Johnny Zucker