Issue 4 Winter 2012

supported by The BIG Bolton Fund‌

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Credits Team Saeed Atcha – Editor Mithun Kerai – Sub-Editor Khalil Malji – Financial Director Beth Stevenson – Fashion Editor Jasmine Moore – Fashion Journalist Naim Ismail – Sports Editor Chloe Bennett – Showbiz Editor Jenna Bonney – Showbiz Journalist Saimah Malji – Showbiz Journalist Tiana Marie – Journalist Alex Clarke – Journalist Sholah Martins – Journalist Kennedy Johnson – Journalist Adam Toorawa - Journalist

With special thanks to Ronan Dunne, CEO, O2 UK Inayat Omarji Amy Doram Red Helmet EJ Bolan

Contact Xplode Magazine There are many ways you can get in touch with Xplode Magazine Bolton. Give us a ring on: 07531 192 591 Send us a present: Xplode Magazine Bolton BCOM 1 Vicarage Street Bolton BL3 5LE ‘Like’ us: Facebook.com/xplodemagazine ‘Tweet’ us: @xplodemag ‘Email’ us: info@xplodemag.co.uk Distributed FREE in the Bolton area. Contributions welcome. Design & Print by Trendy Design Co www.trendy-designs.co.uk

Hello! I can’t actually believe we’re on our fourth issue! This issue has some amazing articles for you to read and we’ve also decided to splash out and create a brand new website in conjunction with i4 Visual Media, just for you! The brand new web site is packed with articles, blogs and loads more! I’d like to say a massive thank you to all the companies involved in making Xplode Magazine, what it is today. From the design and print team over at Trendy Design, to the funders over at UnLTD and the web funders at Disney and most importantly, our office space from BCOM, I thank you all. Xplode is all about giving you young people the opportunity to showcase your talents. I would love for you to join the Xplode web team whether it’s writing an article or even updating our blogs, we have a space for you, so get in touch! It’s been a very fast but fantastic time creating this issue and we honestly haven’t made it a full year without you! From myself and the Xplode team, have a very Merry Christmas and we'll see you in the new year! Saeed Atcha Disclaimer: Xplode Magazine Bolton is a constituted community group and we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information. If you have seen mistake or anything that you are not happy with then please e-mail us: info@xplodemag.co.uk. All information is correct at the time of print and any unauthorised copying or reproducing of Xplode Magazine's content will constitute an infringement of copyright. © Xplode Magazine 2012, All Rights Reserved.

Contents

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Games Reviews

8

Skateboarding

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15

Gifts For Her & Him

Music Reviews

Christmas Lights

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9

13

Film Reviews

Show Racism The Red Card

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Capital FM Outdoor Ice Rink

16 Body Image

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Gifts For Him

One Million by Paco Rabanne Eau de toilette Available at perfume retailers A great present that he's guaranteed to love.

Santa Beard Hat Combo by Beardowear A quirky gift to keep him warm and enhance his masculinity! Calvin Klein Classics by Calvin Klein Comfortable and stylish, this underwear is guaranteed to be a winner.

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Gifts For Her

Fame by Lady Gaga Eau de parfum Available at perfume retailers The first perfume by Lady Gaga and the first of its kind, a fruity fragrance that she'll adore.

Articles written by Beth Stevenson & Jasmine Moore

Slipper Boots by Urban Outfitters Keep her feet toasty warm with these gorgeous slipper boots, because nobody wants cold toes.

Kelly Brook's Collection Available at New Look Every girl loves pretty underwear, and this set is ideal to keep her feeling beautiful!

Concert Tickets! To keep them both happy, why not log onto to a reputable ticket site and buy them two tickets for their favourite bands, to keep the excitement running through to the New Year.

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Seasonal Trends

I chose this sequin dress and purple suede shoes because they are both completely gorgeous. The dress fitted a dream and was exceptionally comfortable, the sequins make it ultra-glamorous and you are guaranteed to stand out! Whilst the shoes are timeless and can be worn again with lots of different things, the platform makes them equally as comfortable as the dress and they aren’t too high to stop you dancing. With the Christmas and New Year parties on the way, they will see you through! So layer up with a leather jacket and a clutch bag and you’re ready to go!

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Seasonal Trends

This beautiful teal dress with a lace over dress is perfect for Christmas and so comfy too! Get it from Miss Selfridge, in BHS in the Town Centre and team it up with a pretty fur coat or a black leather jacket to complete the look. These heels from Internacionale are perfect for the dress too! They’re high, but comfortable for added glamour over the festive and New Year season.

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The skateboard is basically made from roller skates that are attached to a board. This is really where it all starts, as surfing becomes more popular, skating becomes a way to surf when there are no waves. This used to be known as "sidewalk surfing". Skating can now be enjoyed by children as young as two, but the majority of skaters range from early teens to twenties. Many cities have built high quality skate parks, and a number of camps and lessons are available to young people. Bolton’s very own skate park is near Morrison’s in the town centre. Some families even enjoy skating as a family activity. Since the year 2000, skateboarding has been more widely attractive, and more and more young adults have been enjoying it. Now that you know what skateboarding really is and how fun it can be, it’s time to grab your board and get out there!

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Article by Tiana Marie

Film Reviews

Skyfall: “The name’s Bond… James Bond!” Of course 007 has to take the top spot for this year’s best film. Daniel Craig plays the role of James Bond as his battle against the villains continues. It’s not just any old Bond film either, as this time the film marks the 50th anniversary of Bond madness! There’s only one man for the job when MI6 is put under attack by a group of terrorists, that man has a licence to kill and a personality that could intimidate a rock. That man is James Bond! In the words of Trey Songz, simply amazing are the words which define this film! The chase scenes through the streets of Istanbul, the tense fights and of course, the opening 3 minutes and 50 seconds where the wonderful Adele’s song plays, all add to the brilliance of this production. It comes to no surprise that Skyfall has taken 3rd place for being the biggest film of all time behind Titanic and Avatar, and don’t you worry your pretty little heads my beautiful friends because there is news that Daniel Craig has signed contracts for the next two Bond films, so be prepared for action as its not long before we see more from the world’s most successful franchise!

10. THOR: The Dark World 8. The Wolverine 6. Scary Movie 5 4. Oz: The Great and Powerful 2. Monster University Article by Mithun Kerai

9. The Hunger Game: Catching Fire 7. Star Trek Into Darkness 5. The Hangover: Part III 3. Fast 6 1. Iron Man 3

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Music Reviews

2012 has been an amazing year for music, with new artists such as Little Mix, Frank Ocean and Lana Del Rey who have joined the likes of Labrinth and Emeli Sande in gaining chart success, however there's another new star that's been greatly successful in 2012

Best Newcomer 2012– Rita Ora The Eurovision drop out first shot to fame when she featured on DJ Fresh’s single ‘Hot Right Now’. The single proved to be an instant success when it reached No. 1 in the UK Chart. Rita then released ‘R.I.P’ and ‘How We Do’ which have since become equally as successful. She then became the first artist to have three consecutive No. 1 singles in 2012. It’s easy to see why stars such as Jay-Z have claimed Rita Ora will be as big as Rihanna and with being announced as the face of Superga UK’s spring/summer campaign Rita Ora will definitely continue to make a mark in 2013 too!

New Releases: Gabrielle Aplin- The Power of Love The majority of people may not be aware of the sensational new talent of Gabrielle Aplin. The YouTube sensation first gained recognition when she uploaded her cover of a ‘You Me At Six’ song ‘The Liar the Lighter’ in 2008. At the age of 17, she set up her own record label to enable her to release some of her own material, including the EP ‘Home’ earlier this year. The EP gained 2.5 million views on YouTube and in addition to this, she was chosen by iTunes as the Single of the Week. Her latest success is based on Gabrielle’s cover of the 80’s classic ‘The Power of Love’ originally produced by ‘Frankie Goes to Hollywood’. The song is used in John Lewis’ Christmas advert, an opportunity most artists would dream of gaining and the star has gained this at such a young age of 20. The song creates the soundtrack to the heart-rending advert, starring a snowman’s quest to find the greatest gift for his partner and is tipped for being a strong contender for the Christmas number 1, and I’m hoping it gets there!

Artist Spotlight

Article by Chloe Bennett

This issue’s artist spotlight is on Rihanna following the release of her new album ‘Unapologetic’

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Real Name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty Born: 20th February 1988 Star Sign: Pisces Birthplace: Saint Michael, Barbados

Did you know? Rihanna started pursuing her music career at the age of 16 when she went to United States and started to record demo tapes. It was the release of these demo tapes which caught the attention of Jay Z and subsequently led to her being signed to Def Jam Recordings. Throughout her career Rihanna has starred in several films, such as ‘Bring It On’ and ‘Battleship’ and most recently produced her own television series, searching for an up and coming designer to make an outfit for her performance at Wireless Festival, Hyde Park. Musically, Rihanna has sold 25 million albums and 60 million digital singles to date and with the release of her new album ‘Unapologetic’ featuring the single ‘Diamonds’ it is clear to see that Rihanna will continue to dominate the charts in coming years!

Following on from Chloe’s article, I’m going to count down 5 of this year’s biggest hits!

Top 5 Singles Of 2012

Gotye, the 32 year old Belgium Singer-songwriter took the world by storm this year by reaching the number one spot in over 10 countries. ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ sold over 4.5million singles and reached platinum status in over 8 countries, 2012 could not have got any better for him. Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff are an American band known as ‘Fun’. The band is best known for its first U.K and U.S number one single ‘We Are Young,’ which featured Janelle Monáe, was such a great hit! 2012 is the year that ‘The Wanted’ took to America, dominating the charts with hit single, ‘Glad You Came’ which has been one of the bestselling singles this year! It reached number one in the charts (which you can hear on 96.5 Bolton FM on a Saturday between 12 & 2) as well as reaching the top 10 in 12 different countries! The Wanted are a 5 membered band who have recently been named one of the best boy bands today with one member, Tom Parker, growing up in Bolton. Adele released a third single from her album, 21. ‘Set Fire to the Rain,’ reached number 1 in a number of various countries. Adele is famous worldwide and loved by artists like Rihanna and Bruno Mars. For her powerful voice, she has won big with 6 Grammys, 2 Brits and a BMI London award this year. Flo Rida never seems to disappoint. He ended last year and started this year with his hit dance-pop single, ‘Good Feeling’ which reached number one in 8 countries and the top 10 in over 15 countries! The song made its first appearance in the charts in France and Sweden in 2011 and made its final appearance in the world-wide charts on the 42nd week of 2012 making it a very successful song! I’m already looking forward to counting down next year’s top hits! Article Written by Saimah Malji

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2012 has been such a good year for gamers as developers have been getting better and better at pushing consoles to their limits. I’ve gone through hundreds of games that have been released this year, to find you the top 3 most unique and amazing games of the year.

Top 3 Games Of 2012

DISHONOURED This unique game is set in the fictional plague ridden city of Dunwall. You play as the bodyguard to the empress who is framed for her murder. You then become an assassin to get revenge on those who have wronged you. A major feature of this game is that your play style affects the ending and the way people treat you. The most unique thing about this game is that it is set in a steam punk world with a bit of magic thrown in the mix to hone your physical skills which require money. To get new powers requires artefacts called runes, but how these are spent, depends on you. This game is the beginning of a new era of gaming and it’s not often that new concepts are created and showed off so well on their debut!

Boarderlands 2 Borderlands is a shoot and loot game set on the mysterious planet of Pandora. You have the choice of playing one of 4 ‘Vault Hunters’ each with their abilities and specialities, to stop the villain, Handsome Jack from opening a vault with untold powers and riches within. Fans of the previous game will be glad to hear many of the major characters reappear. This game was made iconic by its unique cell-shaded graphic design; it was so good, that other designers around the world have tried to replicate it.

ASSASSINS CREED III I think the best game of 2012, is Assassins Creed III. This game is an open world stealth game set during the American Revolution and the modern day settings. In both you are in a centuries long war between the Assassins and Templars. Initially you are Desmond Miles, an assassin in the modern day. You use a machine called the ‘animus’ to view the lives of Miles’ ancestors and learn things to help him save the world. You then become Connor, a half British, half Mohawk (Native American) member of an order of assassins. In the game you take part in some of the most famous battles in the revolution and get help from some of the most influential men in the history of the United States.

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Article by Adam Toorawa

Sports

The UK’s Anti-Racism Educational Charity Organisation, ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ is a campaign which aims to tackle racism through the support and assistance of professional footballers and educational resources. This very successful association have targeted professional footballers to act as role models to present anti- racism messages to young people and others who will learn from them and ultimately ‘Show Racism the Red Card’. This campaign has successfully been going on for over 12 years successfully and has had a huge impact to the young people. In addition, the campaign has spread widely across the UK even to Cardiff and Glasgow. Significantly, these influences have given the chance of the campaign’s representatives and volunteers to expand on role models such as actors and other professional sports people. The organisation’s mission statement is to do the following three things to help take racism out of football and to educate young people: • Producing educational resources • Developing activities to encourage young people, to tackle racism • Challenge racism in the name of football and other sports Samuel Eto’o, a professional footballer states that, “racism is something created and anything that can be created, can be undone.” Let’s work together to battle racism and kick it out of football! Article Written by Naim Ismail

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Sports

Article written by Naim Ismail

A fabulous ice rink has been built in Victoria Square, courtesy of 102 Capital FM, Manchester’s No. 1 Hit Music Station. This aims to attract thousands of people to take advantage of the Town Centre shops, restaurants and bars. Capital FM will be entertaining the skaters with ‘Capital Ice Radio.’ Bolton Council’s aim is to attract thousands of people, to make this a spectacular event and a Christmas to remember. Leader of Bolton Council, Councillor Cliff Morris, said: “Boltonhas got a spectacular line-up of events this Christmas. I’m sure the ice rink will be popular with visitors and it really will make this year. He added, “A fantastic spread will be available at the festive market and plenty of street entertainment will dazzle the crowds. We’ve pulled out all the stops this year to make it a truly magical Christmas and I’d urge everyone to pay Bolton Town Centre a visit.” Other fun activities are available such as Santa’s Grotto and The return of Real Reindeer to make the event even more enjoyable. The Town Centre started to glitter with the fabulous lights a couple of weeks ago, as us Boltonians are really looking forward to Christmas.

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Christmas Lights

Rain, wind and gloomy skies weren’t enough to stop Boltononians coming out in full force as the annual Christmas lights were switched on by Bolton’s favourite chefs, The Hairy Bikers and Boltonian Paralympian, Ola Abidogun. Thousands gathered to witness the annual show and the spectacular fireworks display, which gave Bolton’s iconic Town Hall, a wonderful glow. There was something for everybody this year, including the author of ‘I’m Still Standing’, yes that’s right, the miracle man himself, Fabrice Muamba! Fabrice was joined by BWFC club chaplain, Phil Mason as they delivered us a warm Christmas message. It was a great night, enjoyed by everyone including The Hairy Bikers, families and friends. The packed line-up of entertainment started at 4pm with Capital FM’s Rob Ellis and Sally Hudson hosting the performances throughout the night which included routines from Footlights Drama School, Ajay’s School of Song and Dance, Bolton Majorettes and Bolton Children’s Workshop. There were also be appearances by The Albert Halls pantomime cast, who are featuring in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs over the festive season and the Reebok Rebels with Lofty the Lion. I guess you could define the Christmas lights switch on in Bolton as ‘a day when Bolton truly becomes a great big family.’ Article written by Mithun Kerai

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Body Image

Article written by Tiana Marie

Does any of this sound familiar? "I'm too tall." "I'm too short." "I'm too skinny." "I need to lose weight." "If only I was shorter/taller/had curly hair/straight hair/a smaller nose/longer legs, I'd be happy." It does? Well you're not the only one who thinks that way, I’ve definitely felt that way and I know many other people who have too! We all have this 'perfect' image locked into our head of what is 'acceptable' and what is 'perfect', but what is perfect? In all seriousness, not one person on this earth is perfect, you may think that there is that special someone who is 'perfect', but in all honesty they’re not. From past experience, I know how it feels to want to be that 'perfect image' and even now I often feel like this, but what you have to realise is that, you are who you are and that’s what makes you, well you! As a teenager, you're going through a lot of changes in your body, and as it changes, so does your image of yourself. It's not always easy to like every part of your looks and, when you get stuck on the negatives it can really bring down your self-esteem. We all go through these stages in life where we think we are never ‘good enough’. Some people really do have difficulties, coming to terms that being who we are, makes us unique. If you ever feel the need to speak to someone who you don’t know, as you might feel comfortable with, email me tiana@xplodemag.co.uk and I will be happy to talk to you. You should forget about this perfect image and dress and make yourself look the way you feel most comfortable with because it’s not going to help you!

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The name Santa Claus originates from the Dutch word sinterklass which means Saint Nicholas. The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree has been traced back to the 16th century. The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers. Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone. All the gifts in the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ would equal 364 gifts. 1 in 3 people say they cannot snap their fingers! 1 in 4 of us believes we have beautiful feet! 1/3 of the internet browsing is actually done in the bathroom, while on the toilet! The average woman can keep a secret for only 47 hours.

Post a picture of you reading this very magazine on your Facebook or Twitter page, tagging us in it and you will be entered into a prize draw to win a mug with your picture on it along with £20 high street shopping vouchers! We’ll also have 4 runners up. What’ve you got to lose?! We will randomly choose a winner on 1st February 2013 and we will contact you. 1)A Skeleton 2)A match 3)7 on a phone keypad

4) ICU

5) It’s in the middle of waTer

18 Riddle Answers:

I am whole but incomplete. I have no eyes. You can see right through me. My largest part is one fourth of what I once was. What am I? Scratch my head, I was once red and now I am black instead. What am I? I live above a star but never burn. I have 11 neighbours but they never turn. My initials are p, q, r and sometimes s. What am I? What three letters frighten a thief?

Q: What does Santa suffer from as he gets stuck in a chimney? A: Claustrophobia Q: What did Santa say to the smoker? A: Please don’t smoke, it’s bad for my elf Q: Why did the turkey cross the road? A: Because it was the chicken’s day off BODY BOLTON CAPITAL CHRISTMAS

ELF ICE LIGHTS

REINDEER RINK SANTA

Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire? A: Frost bite

Pages by Alex Clarke, Sholah Martins and Kennedy Johnson

How is the letter T like an island?

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