A new review show that I'm doing for WINOL. Co-presented by Graham Marshall.
Do let us know what you think with comment, criticism, and general hatred.
Cheers
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Monday, 10 October 2011
Fresher Life - My First Package.
Last week, as part of my transformation into something approaching a journalist, I went out and made my first package. It took far too long, and suffered at the hands of my apparent inability to edit in a short space of time. Nevertheless, it was finished, and here it the written version for you perusal:
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Freshers’ Fortnight. A hectic affair in which new students begin their university experience in a new city, in a new house, with new people. It’s a whole new chapter of their life unfolding before them. No more parents to take care of them, and complete independence is a must. What could go wrong?
We set off one bright afternoon with one goal in mind: seek out freshers, and quiz them on their university life. However, finding freshers turns out to be more difficult than anticipated. Two house were too busy celebrating 21st birthdays to talk to some purple-haired, second-year journo, rocking up with a camera bag and a tripod expecting some goofy stories. We were also spurned by more houses, who were either “too timid” to be interviewed, or otherwise occupied with taking one of their housemates to hospital (Now that would have been the right kind of interview).
Eventually, we found a fresher willing to be subjected to interrogation. Dayo Hammed, a student from Nigeria led us into a remarkable clean, if somewhat bare, kitchen (understandable as it takes more than a fortnight to build up a respectable collection of group photos and/or pictures of models with which to adorn the walls). At present, there are only two decorations, souvenirs of the freshers fayre, one befitting any respectable student house “Drink vodka and get drunk.” Standard fare, really. After an awkward few minutes trying to set up the camera. We set to asking our carefully chosen questions about money, food, and what’s been going on. He tells us that university is his first experience of being truly independent. As an international student, it’s fair to say that Dayo is a little more out of his element than most people starting further education, and that although he hasn’t had much chance to go out, he is very much enjoying the experience.
We say goodbye to Dayo and carry on our search for the (apparently) elusive fresher. After being refused two more times our luck begins to pick up. The more people we talk to, the more trends begin to emerge. Many of our freshers, it seems, have yet to fully appreciate a true university shopping experience. A hefty majority are surviving on care packages from parents and many have yet to even do any washing. One fresher, Tess Buckley said that her biggest worry was that her washing would come out either bright pink, or ridiculously small. I can relate to washing procrastination, as, when a wash can cost you upwards of four quid, you tend to get into the habit of wearing certain items inside out. And back to front. And deodorant starts becoming your best friend. All in all, there is great motivation to try and last as long as possible, even to the point of going home to get it done. For some however this is not much of an option. Melodie Hornsby-King, although English by birth, lives in Spain during the holidays, and so, will find it difficult to visit, other than at the term breaks.
Homesickness does tend to take its toll on the fresher population. Ali Izatt said that: "If at home, you want to talk to someone, you can, here you can't do that, it's like: I want my mum!" She did say that since she had her boyfriend with her at Winchester, it does make everything, much easier to deal with.
Verdict. Despite all the issues that university life throws at them, our freshers are taking the bull by the horns, and seem determined to see it to the end.
------------------------------------------
Thank you very much, reader, for seeing this through to the end as well. A post will shortly be up with the actual film. Until then, why not check out www.winol.co.uk for more work from my course at the University of Winchester.
-------------------------------------------
Freshers’ Fortnight. A hectic affair in which new students begin their university experience in a new city, in a new house, with new people. It’s a whole new chapter of their life unfolding before them. No more parents to take care of them, and complete independence is a must. What could go wrong?
We set off one bright afternoon with one goal in mind: seek out freshers, and quiz them on their university life. However, finding freshers turns out to be more difficult than anticipated. Two house were too busy celebrating 21st birthdays to talk to some purple-haired, second-year journo, rocking up with a camera bag and a tripod expecting some goofy stories. We were also spurned by more houses, who were either “too timid” to be interviewed, or otherwise occupied with taking one of their housemates to hospital (Now that would have been the right kind of interview).
Eventually, we found a fresher willing to be subjected to interrogation. Dayo Hammed, a student from Nigeria led us into a remarkable clean, if somewhat bare, kitchen (understandable as it takes more than a fortnight to build up a respectable collection of group photos and/or pictures of models with which to adorn the walls). At present, there are only two decorations, souvenirs of the freshers fayre, one befitting any respectable student house “Drink vodka and get drunk.” Standard fare, really. After an awkward few minutes trying to set up the camera. We set to asking our carefully chosen questions about money, food, and what’s been going on. He tells us that university is his first experience of being truly independent. As an international student, it’s fair to say that Dayo is a little more out of his element than most people starting further education, and that although he hasn’t had much chance to go out, he is very much enjoying the experience.
We say goodbye to Dayo and carry on our search for the (apparently) elusive fresher. After being refused two more times our luck begins to pick up. The more people we talk to, the more trends begin to emerge. Many of our freshers, it seems, have yet to fully appreciate a true university shopping experience. A hefty majority are surviving on care packages from parents and many have yet to even do any washing. One fresher, Tess Buckley said that her biggest worry was that her washing would come out either bright pink, or ridiculously small. I can relate to washing procrastination, as, when a wash can cost you upwards of four quid, you tend to get into the habit of wearing certain items inside out. And back to front. And deodorant starts becoming your best friend. All in all, there is great motivation to try and last as long as possible, even to the point of going home to get it done. For some however this is not much of an option. Melodie Hornsby-King, although English by birth, lives in Spain during the holidays, and so, will find it difficult to visit, other than at the term breaks.
Homesickness does tend to take its toll on the fresher population. Ali Izatt said that: "If at home, you want to talk to someone, you can, here you can't do that, it's like: I want my mum!" She did say that since she had her boyfriend with her at Winchester, it does make everything, much easier to deal with.
Verdict. Despite all the issues that university life throws at them, our freshers are taking the bull by the horns, and seem determined to see it to the end.
------------------------------------------
Thank you very much, reader, for seeing this through to the end as well. A post will shortly be up with the actual film. Until then, why not check out www.winol.co.uk for more work from my course at the University of Winchester.
Monday, 5 September 2011
Counting the calories... I never was much good at maths.
Well, McDonald’s have done it again. Not only are they responsible for a large number of people feeling bad for being stout/fat/obese, whatever your name for it is (just for this post I’m skipping over the fact that people have free will, and whatever goes down their gullets is their own choice, and it’s no good blaming someone else for your health problems, then expecting the public to fork out for a gastric band surgery you lazy bastards!). Now McDonald’s have found a way to make people feel bad before they’ve even eaten anything.
The golden arches are now going to be showing how many calories are in each of their foodstuffs. The first thing I’m going to say, is that anyone who consistently eats at Maccy-D’s should feel a nagging sense of shame. The second, is that I would think a lot of people who eat McDonald’s food, do not want to know what’s in it. The third is that this blatant advertising of calories is a slap in the face to some of our most vulnerable people. The calorie-counters.
This fragile section of our society have their lives ruled by those little tables printed on the side of everything we consume telling us that “100ml semi-skimmed milk is: 49 kcal.” (Honestly I prefer the missing kid pictures). Lately I have been dipping into this curious mindset, to have to know everything about what you are eating. It’s nothing short of a drug. And not the fun kind that make pretty colours and sleepiness abound from fluffy white clouds. The kind that takes obsession to a higher plane of existence. And means you just can’t have another Jaffa cake, Or even the first one.
Now, this McDonald’s business won’t have any effect on the hardcore CC, as they have memorised the calories of everything they could possibly ever venture within 10 feet of. The people who are going to be most affected are the rookies. The dabblers. The people that were ‘just curious’ to see what they were eating. And this news about the Big Mac could just about turn them insane.
You see, eating just stops becoming fun when you’re thinking to yourself “this pizza just doesn’t taste as good knowing that it’s damn near half of my calorie GDA.”
Does this mean I’m going to stop eating the food I like? No. but, it almost makes being a vegan seem an easier to live with alternative.
Almost.
The golden arches are now going to be showing how many calories are in each of their foodstuffs. The first thing I’m going to say, is that anyone who consistently eats at Maccy-D’s should feel a nagging sense of shame. The second, is that I would think a lot of people who eat McDonald’s food, do not want to know what’s in it. The third is that this blatant advertising of calories is a slap in the face to some of our most vulnerable people. The calorie-counters.
This fragile section of our society have their lives ruled by those little tables printed on the side of everything we consume telling us that “100ml semi-skimmed milk is: 49 kcal.” (Honestly I prefer the missing kid pictures). Lately I have been dipping into this curious mindset, to have to know everything about what you are eating. It’s nothing short of a drug. And not the fun kind that make pretty colours and sleepiness abound from fluffy white clouds. The kind that takes obsession to a higher plane of existence. And means you just can’t have another Jaffa cake, Or even the first one.
Now, this McDonald’s business won’t have any effect on the hardcore CC, as they have memorised the calories of everything they could possibly ever venture within 10 feet of. The people who are going to be most affected are the rookies. The dabblers. The people that were ‘just curious’ to see what they were eating. And this news about the Big Mac could just about turn them insane.
You see, eating just stops becoming fun when you’re thinking to yourself “this pizza just doesn’t taste as good knowing that it’s damn near half of my calorie GDA.”
Does this mean I’m going to stop eating the food I like? No. but, it almost makes being a vegan seem an easier to live with alternative.
Almost.
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Capitol Punishment: Is it really this clear cut?
You can find more on that story here.
I had a discussion with some of my friends not too long ago on the death penalty, and when we thought it could be a justified course of action. We came to the conclusion that if certain crimes (murder, perhaps rape) could be proven beyond any doubt then it could possibly be acceptable. However, we could not think of many situations which could fit such a criteria.
It is my opinion that this is a subject that requires much in the way of debate and commentary. If only to remind people that it is not something to be taken lightly.
The first of the e-petitions (an online form of petitioning which allow public prompting of parliamentary discussion) were recently published by the government. Among those with the most signatures were several calling for the return of capitol punishment. One of these says, and I quote: “With todays technoligy,ie DNA,there is no lilkliy hood of an innocent person being found guilty. [sic]” Now, atrocious spelling aside, this is a completely naïve view to hold. Yes, technologies such as DNA aid hugely in the conviction of criminals and solving of cases. But this does not mean that it is an exact science. My course at university is a part of the Innocence Project. An organisation that works to exonerate wrongly convicted individuals. One ongoing case, which my university is involved in, is looking into a man convicted of a quadruple murder, with forensic evidence being part of that which led to his sentencing. It is far too complicated to go into on the blog (trust me, it makes an Eastenders plotline look like it was written by a five year-old) but Panorama conducted an investigation into it, entitled "Fair Cops?" you can find out more about the programme, and the case on this page (be sure to look at the ‘see also’ links).
The point I’m trying to make is that forensic evidence cannot necessarily be trusted 100 percent, especially when life is at stake. This isn’t even taking into account the possibility of human error or forensic misconduct.
 |
| Staines' blog: http://order-order.com/ |
You can find an interview with Mr. Staines, as well as some more information on e-petitions here.
If you want to put across another point, or say anything at all about this post. Feel free to leave a comment below.
Much love, Internet.
Thursday, 1 September 2011
As if I could ever understand…
Hello there, Avid Readers. I need an opinion. Or, failing that, a silent void in which to vent my bewilderment.
I’ve been reading the i newspaper pretty much since it came out (on and off, I’m not made of 20p pieces!). I think it’s a pleasantly concise read, with fairly broad subjects, without the majority of ‘celeb’ driven ‘news’ that adorns the pages of the red tops. Not that I don’t dip into the tabloids now and then for a patronising chuckle. I’m digressing. Something I’ve never understood about the i, a paper which, in my opinion, is attractive to younger professionals and their ilk ,as it’s not full of as much waffle as stories from most other broadsheets etc. is what on earth is with the cartoon strip?
First of all, I think a cartoon strip is out of place in the i to begin with, but… que cera. As if… by Sally Ann Lasson has not only failed to make me laugh, or even smile. But it has started to make me doubt in our society’s sense of humour. Maybe it isn’t supposed to be funny? As far as I can tell it’s aimed at middle-aged women, which completely goes against my world view of the i. if it was the Daily Mail I’d understand, but… maybe I’m over thinking it.
Here’s a link to the artists page: https://secure.mrsite.co.uk/usersitesv18/sallyannlasson.com/wwwroot/index.htm
Maybe someone else can find something about it that I’m missing, and explain it to my hurty brain.
Peace out. And much love.
I’ve been reading the i newspaper pretty much since it came out (on and off, I’m not made of 20p pieces!). I think it’s a pleasantly concise read, with fairly broad subjects, without the majority of ‘celeb’ driven ‘news’ that adorns the pages of the red tops. Not that I don’t dip into the tabloids now and then for a patronising chuckle. I’m digressing. Something I’ve never understood about the i, a paper which, in my opinion, is attractive to younger professionals and their ilk ,as it’s not full of as much waffle as stories from most other broadsheets etc. is what on earth is with the cartoon strip?
First of all, I think a cartoon strip is out of place in the i to begin with, but… que cera. As if… by Sally Ann Lasson has not only failed to make me laugh, or even smile. But it has started to make me doubt in our society’s sense of humour. Maybe it isn’t supposed to be funny? As far as I can tell it’s aimed at middle-aged women, which completely goes against my world view of the i. if it was the Daily Mail I’d understand, but… maybe I’m over thinking it.
Here’s a link to the artists page: https://secure.mrsite.co.uk/usersitesv18/sallyannlasson.com/wwwroot/index.htm
Maybe someone else can find something about it that I’m missing, and explain it to my hurty brain.
Peace out. And much love.
Friday, 26 August 2011
Friday News Roundup: GCSE results are sexist, dieters have it rough, and I don’t understand this country’s justice system.
Here are some stories from today’s paper that caught my eye.
Firstly, stealing the thunder of the A-levels, this year’s GCSE results have found that the gender divide is growing wider, with girls streaking ahead in most academic subjects. Surprise, surprise, adolescent boys have something to do with their hands that’s more fun than revising…
Next we have a report that fewer students are taking modern languages (I think they‘re all waiting on ancient Sumerian to be reintroduced to the syllabus), with the number of students taking French and German having fallen by 13% since last year. Speaking as someone who took both Italian and French for GCSE, as well as French at A-level, take it from me. It’s because they’re hard. Besides if you go abroad all you have to do is talk loudly at people. Everybody knows that.
Bad news for the obese, next, as scientists have found that cutting 500 calories per day does not, in fact, result in a one-pound weight loss per week, as had previously been thought. Reasons include changes to the body’s metabolism as weight is lost. To summarise, that one chocolate bar you forgo, does bugger all. You’re probably best off following Ricky Gervais’ advice: put the fridge in the attic and make yourself work for your food.
In London riots news, a looter who stole a coffee flavoured ice cream, only to lick it once before giving it away as he didn’t like the taste, was given a 16 month jail term. Now, I have no problem with him getting a jail term. After all, it’s the principle of the thing that matters. But what I don’t understand is how one person can get a year and a half sentence for nicking an ice cream, when another can admit to looting, in court and be given a one-day prison sentence which he doesn’t have to serve, since he had been in custody for most of that time already. Will someone please explain the logic of that to me? Obviously the guy will get a criminal record, but still, a day! it probably costs a lot more than it was worth just to process the guy. Unfortunately I can’t find a link to that particular case, but if anyone else can, I’d be much obliged.
And finally, everybody’s favourite Italian PM, Silvio Berlusconi has announced herbal tea, to be the secret to his success. So if you want to be just like him, get drinking that tea! Well… that, and become a massive media mogul, who runs a country, and has ‘relations’ with loads of beautiful young women…Here endeth the lesson.
Gender Gap: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14666847
Modern Languages: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/the-big-question-why-are-fewer-students-choosing-to-study-foreign-languages-at-gcse-413245.html
Ice Cream Looter: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8722733/UK-riots-Looter-who-pinched-too-scoops-of-ice-cream-jailed-for-16-months.html
Berlusconi’s Superdrug: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/berlusconis-diet-secret-revealed-herbal-tea-2344114.html
Firstly, stealing the thunder of the A-levels, this year’s GCSE results have found that the gender divide is growing wider, with girls streaking ahead in most academic subjects. Surprise, surprise, adolescent boys have something to do with their hands that’s more fun than revising…
Next we have a report that fewer students are taking modern languages (I think they‘re all waiting on ancient Sumerian to be reintroduced to the syllabus), with the number of students taking French and German having fallen by 13% since last year. Speaking as someone who took both Italian and French for GCSE, as well as French at A-level, take it from me. It’s because they’re hard. Besides if you go abroad all you have to do is talk loudly at people. Everybody knows that.
Bad news for the obese, next, as scientists have found that cutting 500 calories per day does not, in fact, result in a one-pound weight loss per week, as had previously been thought. Reasons include changes to the body’s metabolism as weight is lost. To summarise, that one chocolate bar you forgo, does bugger all. You’re probably best off following Ricky Gervais’ advice: put the fridge in the attic and make yourself work for your food.
In London riots news, a looter who stole a coffee flavoured ice cream, only to lick it once before giving it away as he didn’t like the taste, was given a 16 month jail term. Now, I have no problem with him getting a jail term. After all, it’s the principle of the thing that matters. But what I don’t understand is how one person can get a year and a half sentence for nicking an ice cream, when another can admit to looting, in court and be given a one-day prison sentence which he doesn’t have to serve, since he had been in custody for most of that time already. Will someone please explain the logic of that to me? Obviously the guy will get a criminal record, but still, a day! it probably costs a lot more than it was worth just to process the guy. Unfortunately I can’t find a link to that particular case, but if anyone else can, I’d be much obliged.
And finally, everybody’s favourite Italian PM, Silvio Berlusconi has announced herbal tea, to be the secret to his success. So if you want to be just like him, get drinking that tea! Well… that, and become a massive media mogul, who runs a country, and has ‘relations’ with loads of beautiful young women…Here endeth the lesson.
Gender Gap: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14666847
Modern Languages: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/the-big-question-why-are-fewer-students-choosing-to-study-foreign-languages-at-gcse-413245.html
Ice Cream Looter: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8722733/UK-riots-Looter-who-pinched-too-scoops-of-ice-cream-jailed-for-16-months.html
Berlusconi’s Superdrug: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/berlusconis-diet-secret-revealed-herbal-tea-2344114.html
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