Avatar is a film that tries to be too clever. Much like The Matrix, Avatar revolves around humans entering a world in virtual bodies (hence the 3D experience) in order to run tests on alien habitats and communicate with the locals. This is very much established in the first thirty minutes of the film but what is to follow in the next two hours is edited (to be more precise not edited) in a way that leaves the viewer waiting for the credits to roll. The effects of mass deforestation caused by an oafish army general are laid out whilst romance of the mudblood kind happens between wheelchair hero Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).
It is at this point in the review that one might assume the phrase “mass deforestation” means Al Gore had something to do with the production of Avatar. Not true. It is in fact James Cameron, who having already wasted vast amounts of money in the past on Titanic, directs what he would probably describe as an “intelligent interpretation” of Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. Instead Avatar is a dumbed down version of Gore’s Oscar winning documentary as portrayed by “blow shit up” extraordinaire Colonel Miles Quadritch.
Avatar plays as a pieced together action/adventure story packaged with an environmental warning for the future advertisement. Cameron as a result of clumsily illustrating the effects of deforestation highlights the ineptness of the Army in the film (made to retreat by blue people with spears!?!?). The wrong parallels can certainly be made between the film and real life and whilst the script isn’t necessarily dreadful, the acting definitely is.
No matter how big the budget is of any film, if the acting is bad it remains bad and this is directly aimed at lead Sam Worthington. An ex-army man torn between helping scientists and his army compadres, Worthington’s inexperience tells when it is most needed after he finds romance. Maybe he should have taken acting lessons off of Chris Pine who knows a thing or two about anonymous leads starring in big blockbusters a la Star Trek.
One could argue that the plot and dialogue is irrelevant when the viewers can be wowed by all the colour and beauty of a mystical world in 3D. As a linguist myself I do marvel at the morphological and phonological features of this alien language. Yet this film, for all its hype and budget, fails to be an innovation in film making and is more like an extended recording of someone entering World Of Warcraft. A sight myself and not many other people want to see.
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Friday, 25 September 2009
Modernizing The iBeatles
It’s 2006, Friday night, at the pub, huddled around a table, the mood is tense and the next question of the General Knowledge round of the pub quiz has just been announced. “What are the three biggest bands that are not currently on iTunes?” bellows the bartender. Everyone at my table looks around cluelessly at each other utterly stumped. Fifteen minutes later the answer is revealed aloud to us: Radiohead, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles.
It’s 2009 and only one of those bands is still not on the biggest legal music library (and it isn’t one of the first two).
For all of the multi-platinum selling albums, the Fab Four have still sold zero legal downloads and it is a telling sign to their today listeners that, after nearly forty years on from their last new release of material, the band are aging. So much so that their fans would probably be more aptly described as yesterday’s listeners rather than today’s. And it is this chasm between the two that has hindered the chances of The Beatles morphing from teenage heart throbs to wise and fashionable elders.
As a result McCartney, Ringo, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison have leveled with today’s listeners and gamers and commissioned the release of the video game Beatles: Rockband as well as all thirteen remastered studio albums. It is a facelift that would put the likes of Jordan and Kerry Katona to shame for it commemorates the realization of a generation gap. Electronic, plastic guitars have replaced electric ones and dad’s dusty vinyl player sits in the loft untouched. Instead iPods assert the MP3’s status over records, cassettes and even compact discs which have all been pushed to extinction.
This has left The Beatles to slowly adapt to their new technologically enhanced environment by themselves like in a David Attenborough nature documentary. Scurrying around the soil finding new and exciting means to survive, and it is in this forest that game consoles run wild and now live in harmony with various insects. There
is no denying that, on release, these two entities will deepen The Beatle’s canon but can they evolve it?
There is that sinking feeling that whilst Beatles: Rockband is taking two steps forward, the remastered CD’s are just another step back. A triumph for tangible products everywhere it maybe, sound engineers who worked on the remastering process would hark on about being thankful for what you get. An acknowledgement that perhaps the feud between Apple Corps and the remaining Beatles (and remain partners) is ruining their best chances of new era popularity on iTunes.
However the mp3 format isn’t for everyone. Sgt Peppers is technically a concept album and it is hard to see how parts of The White Album (Wild Honey Pie is just 53 seconds long) and Abbey Road (especially side 2) can work as single track downloads. The same goes with the tracklist on Rockband. There are only a couple off of Revolver (arguably their best LP) as all of its tracks have such complexity that it cannot be restricted to just a plugin & play drum kit, two guitars and a bass. The production of any Beatles record is just as, if not more, important than the performers.
“Make us sound like were underwater” famously asked John Lennon of producer George Martin when recording Yellow Submarine. Such acid heavy, LSD inspired sessions involving band and Abbey Road engineers (labcoats and all) have almagamated everything from three-part harmonies (all of Please Please Me), to backward guitars (Tomorrow Never Knows) and even orchestral pop (Eleanor Rigby). The fact that these songs are four decades old and still popular proves that no matter what product, design or format those four lovable Liverpudlians take it is their songs that has and will make them that unreachable pinnacle of music.
It’s 2009 and only one of those bands is still not on the biggest legal music library (and it isn’t one of the first two).
For all of the multi-platinum selling albums, the Fab Four have still sold zero legal downloads and it is a telling sign to their today listeners that, after nearly forty years on from their last new release of material, the band are aging. So much so that their fans would probably be more aptly described as yesterday’s listeners rather than today’s. And it is this chasm between the two that has hindered the chances of The Beatles morphing from teenage heart throbs to wise and fashionable elders.
As a result McCartney, Ringo, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison have leveled with today’s listeners and gamers and commissioned the release of the video game Beatles: Rockband as well as all thirteen remastered studio albums. It is a facelift that would put the likes of Jordan and Kerry Katona to shame for it commemorates the realization of a generation gap. Electronic, plastic guitars have replaced electric ones and dad’s dusty vinyl player sits in the loft untouched. Instead iPods assert the MP3’s status over records, cassettes and even compact discs which have all been pushed to extinction.
This has left The Beatles to slowly adapt to their new technologically enhanced environment by themselves like in a David Attenborough nature documentary. Scurrying around the soil finding new and exciting means to survive, and it is in this forest that game consoles run wild and now live in harmony with various insects. There
is no denying that, on release, these two entities will deepen The Beatle’s canon but can they evolve it?
There is that sinking feeling that whilst Beatles: Rockband is taking two steps forward, the remastered CD’s are just another step back. A triumph for tangible products everywhere it maybe, sound engineers who worked on the remastering process would hark on about being thankful for what you get. An acknowledgement that perhaps the feud between Apple Corps and the remaining Beatles (and remain partners) is ruining their best chances of new era popularity on iTunes.
However the mp3 format isn’t for everyone. Sgt Peppers is technically a concept album and it is hard to see how parts of The White Album (Wild Honey Pie is just 53 seconds long) and Abbey Road (especially side 2) can work as single track downloads. The same goes with the tracklist on Rockband. There are only a couple off of Revolver (arguably their best LP) as all of its tracks have such complexity that it cannot be restricted to just a plugin & play drum kit, two guitars and a bass. The production of any Beatles record is just as, if not more, important than the performers.
“Make us sound like were underwater” famously asked John Lennon of producer George Martin when recording Yellow Submarine. Such acid heavy, LSD inspired sessions involving band and Abbey Road engineers (labcoats and all) have almagamated everything from three-part harmonies (all of Please Please Me), to backward guitars (Tomorrow Never Knows) and even orchestral pop (Eleanor Rigby). The fact that these songs are four decades old and still popular proves that no matter what product, design or format those four lovable Liverpudlians take it is their songs that has and will make them that unreachable pinnacle of music.
Saturday, 5 September 2009
Street Children: The Forgotten Generation [FAILED competition entry]
Nelson Mandela once said that “education is the most powerful weapon with which you can use to change the world”. In the U.K. teaching is the beating heart of society where acceptable cultural attitudes are learnt by children who are pumped through primary to secondary school and many on to university.
In the classroom, the pressure of parents for their sons and daughters to do well is high and national benefactors like the government are equally keen to see struggling institutions do well. The pampering of many state schools with equipment ranging from chemistry textbooks to electronic whiteboards is seen as the ideal solution.
With such luxuries and indulgences, the education system in the U.K. should be in a rosy state of affairs. However the smell of new science textbooks and the gloss of electronic whiteboards have now been smeared by rapidly accumulating “sticky” affairs in the media.
Teacher unions are clashing on the validity of SATs whilst universities, like Oxford, are skeptical about the implementation of the “super” A* grade in A-Levels in 2010. It suggests there is much confusion surrounding what children should be learning on their way to that coveted university place or wanted apprenticeship.
So when a continent doesn’t have the ability to pluck prospective teachers from a conveyor belt of graduates fresh out of their degrees, or a contingency plan to fall back on, many of Africa’s children have been shunned into the wilderness of the streets, deprived of shelter, education and a way of life.
Cramped, disgusting, unsafe, homeless, diseased, there are many adjectives to describe conditions that UNICEF estimates around 10 million street children live with each day in Africa. One of these is Josephine Agbi Accra who lives in KonKomba (a shanty town), Ghana, a place notorious for prostitution and violence. An orphan, Josephine was found by a fieldworker of Street Child Africa, pregnant to a child whose father had left her to fend for herself. Josephine’s situation is all too common amongst street children in Africa where education is still widely viewed as a privilege not a right.
In the North West Province of South Africa, children are “privileged” to walk 4 hours a day from high in the Magaliesberg Mountains down to the major city of Rustenberg to get to school and back. The idea of bus transportation is alien to them and by dusk the dusty roads are commandeered by rapists looking to pick up innocent schoolgirls walking home. There is no free bus pass issued to anyone outside a 3 mile radius by the council as in my home county.
Instead local governments are often corrupt with greedy politicians looking to boost their own income at the expense of helping others. This leaves many schools in a sorry state of affairs, with many overcrowded, built from poor quality materials and lacking the basic sanitary requirements. Although it would be a mistake to overlook the impact of NGOs (non-governmental organizations), it is hard to assist an entire continent when there are an estimated 21 million children of primary school age living in sub Saharan Africa alone.
Many of the street children not being found by charities like Street Child Africa are inadvertently becoming part of a forgotten generation in a continent where neglect is all too familiar. Mariama from Maputo, Mozambique is 8 years old and already the sole guardian of her 3 younger siblings – one of which is still a baby. The person, who found her on the street, acknowledges that without foreign aid, these children will forever remain invisible to the rest of the world.
There is a desperate need for the emergence of a new-age Africa to rise from the shadows to promote education as an entity everyone is entitled to; regardless of color, race or gender. Charities like UNICEF are making inroads by promoting non-formal education in villages like Konovohogho, Côte d’Ivoire.
This method of teaching enables children to sandwich school between raising crops and looking after livestock in the morning and evening. All materials and teacher training are provided for by UNICEF in the hope many of the children continue onto higher education once their basic literacy skills have been acquired.
This is why ActionAid UK dubs them as the “feeder schools of Africa” that have the biggest impact in countries with the worst literacy rates. The major benefit of non-formal education is that children can adjust their timetables depending on how productive the agricultural season is. In the drier months children can devote more time to schooling whilst during the wetter periods more time can be spent on the farmland.
However one criticism of non-formal education is that it is over reliant on its sole major sponsor: worldwide charity. There is much debate as to whether the global recession is enough to hinder a person’s good nature to donate money to charity. Africa’s problem is that it is dependent on foreign aid much like a young child is attached to its mother. However where it takes years for an infant to learn responsibility, for Africa it is taking decades.
According to the Right To Education Project website, street children are highly concentrated in countries with struggling economies. In the past this would have described countries in the third world but now, in a recession hit era, it can account for others such as the U.K. Don’t let the new textbooks and electronic whiteboards deceive you, the U.K. is heading towards darker days for education. If various affairs aren’t sorted out soon then street children shall perhaps become a more familiar term closer to home.
In the classroom, the pressure of parents for their sons and daughters to do well is high and national benefactors like the government are equally keen to see struggling institutions do well. The pampering of many state schools with equipment ranging from chemistry textbooks to electronic whiteboards is seen as the ideal solution.
With such luxuries and indulgences, the education system in the U.K. should be in a rosy state of affairs. However the smell of new science textbooks and the gloss of electronic whiteboards have now been smeared by rapidly accumulating “sticky” affairs in the media.
Teacher unions are clashing on the validity of SATs whilst universities, like Oxford, are skeptical about the implementation of the “super” A* grade in A-Levels in 2010. It suggests there is much confusion surrounding what children should be learning on their way to that coveted university place or wanted apprenticeship.
So when a continent doesn’t have the ability to pluck prospective teachers from a conveyor belt of graduates fresh out of their degrees, or a contingency plan to fall back on, many of Africa’s children have been shunned into the wilderness of the streets, deprived of shelter, education and a way of life.
Cramped, disgusting, unsafe, homeless, diseased, there are many adjectives to describe conditions that UNICEF estimates around 10 million street children live with each day in Africa. One of these is Josephine Agbi Accra who lives in KonKomba (a shanty town), Ghana, a place notorious for prostitution and violence. An orphan, Josephine was found by a fieldworker of Street Child Africa, pregnant to a child whose father had left her to fend for herself. Josephine’s situation is all too common amongst street children in Africa where education is still widely viewed as a privilege not a right.
In the North West Province of South Africa, children are “privileged” to walk 4 hours a day from high in the Magaliesberg Mountains down to the major city of Rustenberg to get to school and back. The idea of bus transportation is alien to them and by dusk the dusty roads are commandeered by rapists looking to pick up innocent schoolgirls walking home. There is no free bus pass issued to anyone outside a 3 mile radius by the council as in my home county.
Instead local governments are often corrupt with greedy politicians looking to boost their own income at the expense of helping others. This leaves many schools in a sorry state of affairs, with many overcrowded, built from poor quality materials and lacking the basic sanitary requirements. Although it would be a mistake to overlook the impact of NGOs (non-governmental organizations), it is hard to assist an entire continent when there are an estimated 21 million children of primary school age living in sub Saharan Africa alone.
Many of the street children not being found by charities like Street Child Africa are inadvertently becoming part of a forgotten generation in a continent where neglect is all too familiar. Mariama from Maputo, Mozambique is 8 years old and already the sole guardian of her 3 younger siblings – one of which is still a baby. The person, who found her on the street, acknowledges that without foreign aid, these children will forever remain invisible to the rest of the world.
There is a desperate need for the emergence of a new-age Africa to rise from the shadows to promote education as an entity everyone is entitled to; regardless of color, race or gender. Charities like UNICEF are making inroads by promoting non-formal education in villages like Konovohogho, Côte d’Ivoire.
This method of teaching enables children to sandwich school between raising crops and looking after livestock in the morning and evening. All materials and teacher training are provided for by UNICEF in the hope many of the children continue onto higher education once their basic literacy skills have been acquired.
This is why ActionAid UK dubs them as the “feeder schools of Africa” that have the biggest impact in countries with the worst literacy rates. The major benefit of non-formal education is that children can adjust their timetables depending on how productive the agricultural season is. In the drier months children can devote more time to schooling whilst during the wetter periods more time can be spent on the farmland.
However one criticism of non-formal education is that it is over reliant on its sole major sponsor: worldwide charity. There is much debate as to whether the global recession is enough to hinder a person’s good nature to donate money to charity. Africa’s problem is that it is dependent on foreign aid much like a young child is attached to its mother. However where it takes years for an infant to learn responsibility, for Africa it is taking decades.
According to the Right To Education Project website, street children are highly concentrated in countries with struggling economies. In the past this would have described countries in the third world but now, in a recession hit era, it can account for others such as the U.K. Don’t let the new textbooks and electronic whiteboards deceive you, the U.K. is heading towards darker days for education. If various affairs aren’t sorted out soon then street children shall perhaps become a more familiar term closer to home.
Friday, 4 September 2009
Transformers 2 Movie Review
In terms of film making when there is someone like Martin Campbell (Casion Royale) or J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) to inject a tired series with a sharp shock of brilliance then there is always going to be someone else who embodies the complete antithesis.
A grave digger, er, director like Joel Schumacher able to hammer the final nails into a franchises coffin. Batman and nipple plated battle suits, James Bond and shaken martinis, there have been many fallen heroes resurrected by the powers of film.
Special effect have played an integral part of this and none more so that in Michael Bay films. A name synonymous with carnage, Bay has already obliterated New York City and H-bombed Nagasaki on his resumee. He blows shit up and Transformers 2 is no different.
The film continues in the same vein as the first, with Shia Le Boeuf and Megan Fox reprising their roles as the love-struck couple struggling to cope with the norms of long distance relationships. Scenes of leaving home and first days at university are blended with themes of destruction.
Le Boeuf and Fox play their parts as if the film were a comedy to increase their likability to the audience. Lacking the ruggedness of a Bruce Willis and the looks of a Brad Pitt, Le Boeuf is comfortable playing the nerdy teenager. This is highlighted by his objection to Einstein's theory of relativity whilst in a physics lectures. Nevertheless the film's real stars are the Transformers themselves.
Optimus Prime returns with all the other oddly shaped and sized machines to provide big battles in bigger locations. No environment is too safe from oblivion and after ruining space, Japan and Ben Affleck's acting career, Egypt is the prime location for Bay to bl0ow shit up.
Along with the U.S. Marines (fronted by Josh Duhmal and Tyrese Gibson), the action is relentless on the viewer. Jumping from location to location, critics suggest that 2 and a half hours is too long for a film that lacks emotional depth. However Bay is merely excersing his right to exploit every angle, trick and sound available before the movie ends.
There is no emphasis on plot nor is there space for memorable acting performances. It's a tribute to an era of special effects no longer hampered by pieces of string hanging from above or painted scenery of the 60's. Transformers 2 is a guaranteed action packed evening at the cinema with definitely no strings attached.
A grave digger, er, director like Joel Schumacher able to hammer the final nails into a franchises coffin. Batman and nipple plated battle suits, James Bond and shaken martinis, there have been many fallen heroes resurrected by the powers of film.
Special effect have played an integral part of this and none more so that in Michael Bay films. A name synonymous with carnage, Bay has already obliterated New York City and H-bombed Nagasaki on his resumee. He blows shit up and Transformers 2 is no different.
The film continues in the same vein as the first, with Shia Le Boeuf and Megan Fox reprising their roles as the love-struck couple struggling to cope with the norms of long distance relationships. Scenes of leaving home and first days at university are blended with themes of destruction.
Le Boeuf and Fox play their parts as if the film were a comedy to increase their likability to the audience. Lacking the ruggedness of a Bruce Willis and the looks of a Brad Pitt, Le Boeuf is comfortable playing the nerdy teenager. This is highlighted by his objection to Einstein's theory of relativity whilst in a physics lectures. Nevertheless the film's real stars are the Transformers themselves.
Optimus Prime returns with all the other oddly shaped and sized machines to provide big battles in bigger locations. No environment is too safe from oblivion and after ruining space, Japan and Ben Affleck's acting career, Egypt is the prime location for Bay to bl0ow shit up.
Along with the U.S. Marines (fronted by Josh Duhmal and Tyrese Gibson), the action is relentless on the viewer. Jumping from location to location, critics suggest that 2 and a half hours is too long for a film that lacks emotional depth. However Bay is merely excersing his right to exploit every angle, trick and sound available before the movie ends.
There is no emphasis on plot nor is there space for memorable acting performances. It's a tribute to an era of special effects no longer hampered by pieces of string hanging from above or painted scenery of the 60's. Transformers 2 is a guaranteed action packed evening at the cinema with definitely no strings attached.
Thursday, 3 September 2009
The English Don’t Have Bad Teeth
The difference between the reality and the fantasy can be extreme. Whether it’s what tent you would like to get on trip or the food you’re going to get at dinner, at camp it can seek out the pessimists from the idealists. For everyone under the age of twelve at Wapomeo it is the latter when it comes to answering one question: who are the two most famous people from England ever?
It’s not current queen Elizabeth II. Not even literary grandfather William Shakespeare. The “correct” answer is Daniel Radcliffe and Robert Pattinson. Actors whose anonymity has been stripped from them by Hogwarts in return for the fruits of fortune and fame. The result is a completely fantastical (and utterly ridiculous) view of the stereotypical Englishman. So when they find the tennis floater, washed up on the shores of Ahmek, is a man studying for his Masters instead of his NEWTS and wants to be a journalist not an auror then they are going to be a little disheartened.
It is the same scenario with some female counselors (incidentally who are over twelve) at Wapomeo too. For when Keira Knightley speaks English propa in films like Pride and Prejudice and Atonement she is cementing myths that England still values finishing school and social etiquette rather highly. However this balloon of established actors is weighed down by television shows such as Little Britain and Eastenders which depict a fairer representation.
Chavs in tracksuits. Teenage parents on benefits. Underage drinking (sound familiar?). There is a much more sinister image of England (and probably of Canada) if you are willing to look for it. One not clouded by film and mythical stereotypes. Brendan Fraser doesn’t go around killing mummies in plaid shirts and Hugh Grant doesn’t go “on the pull” equipped with dodgy dentistry. Nevertheless this doesn’t stop these being two of the most fashionable pieces of fiction when it comes to typecasting different nationalities.
Canadians aren’t bearded park rangers equipped with axes to take down bears in Algonquin Park. In Toronto and Montreal life is very different from the rural agenda. This should make pigeon-holing entire nations into one outfit impossible. Wouldn’t you say, eh?
It’s not current queen Elizabeth II. Not even literary grandfather William Shakespeare. The “correct” answer is Daniel Radcliffe and Robert Pattinson. Actors whose anonymity has been stripped from them by Hogwarts in return for the fruits of fortune and fame. The result is a completely fantastical (and utterly ridiculous) view of the stereotypical Englishman. So when they find the tennis floater, washed up on the shores of Ahmek, is a man studying for his Masters instead of his NEWTS and wants to be a journalist not an auror then they are going to be a little disheartened.
It is the same scenario with some female counselors (incidentally who are over twelve) at Wapomeo too. For when Keira Knightley speaks English propa in films like Pride and Prejudice and Atonement she is cementing myths that England still values finishing school and social etiquette rather highly. However this balloon of established actors is weighed down by television shows such as Little Britain and Eastenders which depict a fairer representation.
Chavs in tracksuits. Teenage parents on benefits. Underage drinking (sound familiar?). There is a much more sinister image of England (and probably of Canada) if you are willing to look for it. One not clouded by film and mythical stereotypes. Brendan Fraser doesn’t go around killing mummies in plaid shirts and Hugh Grant doesn’t go “on the pull” equipped with dodgy dentistry. Nevertheless this doesn’t stop these being two of the most fashionable pieces of fiction when it comes to typecasting different nationalities.
Canadians aren’t bearded park rangers equipped with axes to take down bears in Algonquin Park. In Toronto and Montreal life is very different from the rural agenda. This should make pigeon-holing entire nations into one outfit impossible. Wouldn’t you say, eh?
Monday, 25 May 2009
[Special Guest Blogger: Fraser Carlisle] So I put down my pen to write...
So. My first blog. The first thing I ponder as I type this late night reflection of my thoughts…. Why am I? Is it some sort of arrogance? Is it a miscalculated notion that what I have to say somehow merits the attention of others? Why in the middle of exams am I dedicating time to giving my time to write two cents’ worth on issues with which the young can I identify, hoping for a ‘oh that’s so true response’?
Or is it perhaps because I see this blog as a stepping stone to writing the World According to Carlisle? Or debating a return to Keynesian fiscal policy in the nation’s broadsheets?
Well the answer is I don’t really know. I suppose its more curiosity. If all the celebs can blog than why can’t I? I confess I am a little late to this web phenomena and as this is my first blog it is perhaps pertinent that I write a blog of self-reflection. A blog about blogs if you like.
The reason for my curiosity is evidently what gives appeal to blogs. A mode of expression that makes us feel like the celebs. And in a society fascinated by celebrity culture; wouldn’t it be nice to feel like one? You don’t have to be competent in the placement of the ‘Oxford Comma’ or abide by the conventions of Standard English. No-one will judge you by looks or accent; only by what you have to say. There aren’t really many rules. You don’t have to scrutinise fiscal policy or the direction of post-modern society, all you have to do is write something interesting.
Therefore now would be an appropriate juncture to ask you, am I interesting you? Well I’d hope so as I’ve nothing left to say. So how did I feel about that first blog? Did I change the world? Did I feel I wrote something worth reading? Did I express myself in the manner I would have liked to? Well if I you’re still reading I can’t have done that bad, particularly as I’ve not really said anything.
It’s an odd feeling laying yourself bare on the Internet for all to judge. Will I write a second blog? Well perhaps this is getting closer to why we write blogs. If people care about what I have to say we feel important and keep writing, if not I’ll be on the scrapheap of millions of failed bloggers. But oh well you have to try everything once.
Or is it perhaps because I see this blog as a stepping stone to writing the World According to Carlisle? Or debating a return to Keynesian fiscal policy in the nation’s broadsheets?
Well the answer is I don’t really know. I suppose its more curiosity. If all the celebs can blog than why can’t I? I confess I am a little late to this web phenomena and as this is my first blog it is perhaps pertinent that I write a blog of self-reflection. A blog about blogs if you like.
The reason for my curiosity is evidently what gives appeal to blogs. A mode of expression that makes us feel like the celebs. And in a society fascinated by celebrity culture; wouldn’t it be nice to feel like one? You don’t have to be competent in the placement of the ‘Oxford Comma’ or abide by the conventions of Standard English. No-one will judge you by looks or accent; only by what you have to say. There aren’t really many rules. You don’t have to scrutinise fiscal policy or the direction of post-modern society, all you have to do is write something interesting.
Therefore now would be an appropriate juncture to ask you, am I interesting you? Well I’d hope so as I’ve nothing left to say. So how did I feel about that first blog? Did I change the world? Did I feel I wrote something worth reading? Did I express myself in the manner I would have liked to? Well if I you’re still reading I can’t have done that bad, particularly as I’ve not really said anything.
It’s an odd feeling laying yourself bare on the Internet for all to judge. Will I write a second blog? Well perhaps this is getting closer to why we write blogs. If people care about what I have to say we feel important and keep writing, if not I’ll be on the scrapheap of millions of failed bloggers. But oh well you have to try everything once.
Saturday, 23 May 2009
Energy Drinks And Electrolytes Make Me Intelligent
Whether it was the image of a girl jogging halfheartedly whilst txting her boyfriend or the fact a linguistics exam was looming, the idea of buying energy drinks for the all nighter that lay ahead became increasingly likely.
From the hyperactive years of my childhood at primary school that culminated in me winning the 100m dash at Sports day in year 6 (I have the badge to prove it!) my energy levels have dwindled since entering grammar school and university. The overkill of revision for exams, working at John Lewis for half the weekend and the weekly Bucks clubbing circuit combo of Litten Tree/Revs is enough to depress, I mean er, deplete any sixth former of their vigor.
In response students and sportsman alike resort to the intake of various energy drinks that are probably the most accessible (and legal) equivalent to steroids. Nevertheless these drinks aren't without controversy and many, like Red Bull, are banned across Europe. The ridiculously high sugar levels in such a small can means that in countries like Sweden it can only be obtained on prescription from a doctor. However this hasn't stopped energy drinks prosper in countries where it is not banned like the U.K.
In England the double vodka and Red Bull is very much the "partygoer's choice" whilst in Scotland, where there are stricter alcohol laws, Pussy is mixed instead. On the drink's website it's branded as "natural energy" and the name alone screams macho to everyone who drinks it. In a club, energy drinks are essential to keep going until that last dancefloor track but every guy knows that Pussy is essential for a good night out!
From the hyperactive years of my childhood at primary school that culminated in me winning the 100m dash at Sports day in year 6 (I have the badge to prove it!) my energy levels have dwindled since entering grammar school and university. The overkill of revision for exams, working at John Lewis for half the weekend and the weekly Bucks clubbing circuit combo of Litten Tree/Revs is enough to depress, I mean er, deplete any sixth former of their vigor.
In response students and sportsman alike resort to the intake of various energy drinks that are probably the most accessible (and legal) equivalent to steroids. Nevertheless these drinks aren't without controversy and many, like Red Bull, are banned across Europe. The ridiculously high sugar levels in such a small can means that in countries like Sweden it can only be obtained on prescription from a doctor. However this hasn't stopped energy drinks prosper in countries where it is not banned like the U.K.
In England the double vodka and Red Bull is very much the "partygoer's choice" whilst in Scotland, where there are stricter alcohol laws, Pussy is mixed instead. On the drink's website it's branded as "natural energy" and the name alone screams macho to everyone who drinks it. In a club, energy drinks are essential to keep going until that last dancefloor track but every guy knows that Pussy is essential for a good night out!
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Snake On Nokia Phones Was What Made My Childhood
Nokia phones were not always known for the number of contacts they could hold or the number of text messages they could receive. In the late 90's they were known, by many teenagers, as phones where you could enjoy the hugely addictive game Snake.
To many it was a simplistic game pre-installed on non-color Nokia handsets; but to others it was a way of life. The game required its participant to guide a snake around the screen eating dots of food in order to grow and achieve a high score. From this basic concept, the game would rapidly expand to cater different mazes, different difficulty levels and different types of food available.
Much like many arcade games, Snake was unbeatable. Sure you could get a high score, but to complete the game meant you would have to fill the entire screen with a long, bendy black line. In fact so difficult was it, at the height of Snake-mania, my local Carphone Warehouse ran a competition where if you could prove to have completed the game they would give you a new phone. Many, including myself, tried this unachievable feat by using the slowest level as there was less chance of dying. However as I soon found out, the only way to play Snake is on maximum difficulty or not at all.
The chosen devices to store this game on included the Nokia 5110. Not known for its technological capabilities (the phone stored 12 text messages), Snake along with Pairs and Bantumi made a formidable force in its Games section. In fact as the new wave of Nokia handsets came around, no sooner had Snake begun to prosper that Snake 2 was released. New mazes, multiplayer capability and the ability to go through walls made this the must have phone ... of 1998. The addition of Space Impact as well meant it became the Christmas present on any 13 year olds wish list.
The Snake franchise grew to become synonymous with Nokia models up to the point where it was introduced on the ill-fated Nokia N-gage with 3D visuals. The N-Gage tried to embody a system that could put phones and gaming in equilibrium. From a simple black line, the snake had evolved to the extent it was about to hit itself. Snake had lost its edge ever since the introduction of color phones. New games could be downloaded, customers wanted a camera and an mp3 player leaving Snake to find food by itself.
The N-Gage illustrated that mobile phones aren't meant to compete with portable platforms like the DS. The same can be said that mobile phone games aren't meant to compete with portable games. They have a more arcadial function that is addictive, time-wasting and a competition to obtain a high score you could boast to your friends. Pre-installed games function to showoff the phone's ability, whether it is a monochrome screen, the 16 bit display or, regrettably, the three dimensional visuals.
Addictiveness conquers visuals!
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
To blog or to vlog?
If radio is for ugly people (that's you Chris Moyles) and television is for photogenic beauties (that's you Tess Daly) then does that make blogging and vlogging (v is for video) the new equivalents on the internet?
There is this common perception that the attractiveness of someone on radio is proportional to the sexiness of their voice. It's generalizations like this that make me think the woman who does those M&S adverts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHFKE6PD_6U) is a total minx. However does that sweeping statement mean the looks of a blogger are determined by the aesthetics of their language usage.
I mean if we can make relationships between tone of voice and attractiveness then why not with other variables. Every user who has seen me knows that the bold effect's thickness of letters is very much like the size of my arm muscles. Now if this were true and a writing's aesthetics create an identity of the blogger then surely size zero models should write in courier font. After all this gives the truest indication that you suffer from weight issues, are probably anorexic and go about life prancing around in a stick like fashion.
On the contrary with vlogging there is a much simpler principle when it comes to characterizing your work in order to garner as many hits and page views as possible. If you look at the vlog section on Youtube, the most popular channels are those of people who talk about popular topics (or have big boobs), who have a clear spoken expression (or have big boobs) and a great personality (or have big boobs). So with the most attractive curves attaining the most popular profiles, it's hard to see how written blogs can compete with only poncy fonts and limited effects.
The only distinct possibility of garnering as much attention is if I incorporate photos of supermodels like Heidi Klum, Kelly Brook etc. Although it may mislead fanatics of such babes into thinking my blog is about their favorite swimsuit or most visited beach, the viewing of a cerebral thesis on whether to blog or not is just as entertaining. I could give it a go though...
Whether or not this results in angry user complaints remains to be seen but, hey, at least its some much needed exposure. At the moment vlogging is the more popular with most laptops nowadays having webcams as standard whilst Youtube is one of the most popular websites in the world. In fact this lead to one of my friends labeling vlogging as the "lazier option" to blogging. There is no doubt a separate art is required for each and the vlog is one I hope to master in the near future. Stay tuned.
There is this common perception that the attractiveness of someone on radio is proportional to the sexiness of their voice. It's generalizations like this that make me think the woman who does those M&S adverts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHFKE6PD_6U) is a total minx. However does that sweeping statement mean the looks of a blogger are determined by the aesthetics of their language usage.
I mean if we can make relationships between tone of voice and attractiveness then why not with other variables. Every user who has seen me knows that the bold effect's thickness of letters is very much like the size of my arm muscles. Now if this were true and a writing's aesthetics create an identity of the blogger then surely size zero models should write in courier font. After all this gives the truest indication that you suffer from weight issues, are probably anorexic and go about life prancing around in a stick like fashion.
On the contrary with vlogging there is a much simpler principle when it comes to characterizing your work in order to garner as many hits and page views as possible. If you look at the vlog section on Youtube, the most popular channels are those of people who talk about popular topics (or have big boobs), who have a clear spoken expression (or have big boobs) and a great personality (or have big boobs). So with the most attractive curves attaining the most popular profiles, it's hard to see how written blogs can compete with only poncy fonts and limited effects.
The only distinct possibility of garnering as much attention is if I incorporate photos of supermodels like Heidi Klum, Kelly Brook etc. Although it may mislead fanatics of such babes into thinking my blog is about their favorite swimsuit or most visited beach, the viewing of a cerebral thesis on whether to blog or not is just as entertaining. I could give it a go though...
Whether or not this results in angry user complaints remains to be seen but, hey, at least its some much needed exposure. At the moment vlogging is the more popular with most laptops nowadays having webcams as standard whilst Youtube is one of the most popular websites in the world. In fact this lead to one of my friends labeling vlogging as the "lazier option" to blogging. There is no doubt a separate art is required for each and the vlog is one I hope to master in the near future. Stay tuned.
Saturday, 16 May 2009
17 Again: A Lighthearted Must See!!!
17 Again director, Burr Steers, clearly felt that a man's life was not complete without a male equivalent to Freaky Friday - and how right he was. After thrilling many six year olds with the High School Musical franchise, Zac Efron has now set his sights on conquering the 12A certificate kingdom. Along with distinguished t.v. movie actor Matthew Perry and that old one who bitches to the pregnant one (Leslie Mann) in Knocked Up, they have produced one of the better lighthearted fantasy/adventure films to date.
The film sees Efron and Perry switch bodies after a meeting with a high school janitor goes all science fiction at the ol' town bridge. This enables Efron to experience high school (again and again and again) and find out where he went wrong with his wife before she settles for divorce. The film delves into important social issues such as milfs and whether near-romantic tomfoolery that borders on incest à la Back To The Future is still appropriate to a young audience.
Indeed the eye candy on show can now add dancing in front of wildcat cheerleaders to his resumé. Oh wait doesn't that sound familiar? And although the film's ending is completely predictable by about half way through ("spoiler"! the end sequence is a rehashing of the opening scene), 17 Again is rather enjoyable if you don't take it too seriously.
A bit too far???
The film sees Efron and Perry switch bodies after a meeting with a high school janitor goes all science fiction at the ol' town bridge. This enables Efron to experience high school (again and again and again) and find out where he went wrong with his wife before she settles for divorce. The film delves into important social issues such as milfs and whether near-romantic tomfoolery that borders on incest à la Back To The Future is still appropriate to a young audience.
The director seems to think so and this attempt to mend a broken relationship entwined with everyday school activities makes for an enjoyable film for the pre-teens. With Efron represented as a shining beacon of adolescent America in the film, the actor is all too keen to reveal his no sex stance in senior year. From this scene alone, the standard family outing to the cinema has turned into an attempt by movie producers to tell your kids to behave like Zac Efron!
Indeed the eye candy on show can now add dancing in front of wildcat cheerleaders to his resumé. Oh wait doesn't that sound familiar? And although the film's ending is completely predictable by about half way through ("spoiler"! the end sequence is a rehashing of the opening scene), 17 Again is rather enjoyable if you don't take it too seriously.
A bit too far???
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Why I Hate* Pollock Halls.
When your mum has given you a pack lunch five days a week for the last fourteen years there is only one logical choice for that boy’s accommodation at university. That is to replace the mother with the “lazy” catered option supplied by Pollock Halls at the University of Edinburgh. Two meals a day, it’s own bar and café and picturesque views of Arthur’s Seat has made many of its residents look a fool by the university’s prospectus.
The barricades, the barbed wire walls, the security cameras on site all make it feel like my ineptness of being able to live on my own has resulted in me being locked up in prison. Whilst many of Pollock’s buildings share the same appearance (only differentiated by name), it is no great surprise that one quarters “Grant House” is aptly nicknamed “Grantanamo Bay” by most of its slaves. However in real prison where mass murderers can live out life sentences in cells that have beds and their own toilets, it makes me jealous that I can’t have my own en-suite facility.
Instead I am greeted to pneumatic drills in the morning from building work, power-outs during the day and then fire alarms in the middle of the night. Although Pollock is currently undergoing a major face-lift it is sadly not a substitute for undergrad stupidity. For instance during Fresher’s Week certain individuals it seemed were magnetically attracted to fire alarms. Although I have to say thanks to the installation of one (!) security camera in the foyer of Turner. Now the majority of fire alarms are a result of unskillful smokers who are incapable of putting a towel over a smoke alarm correctly.
Based on the first month of living in Pollock, blackouts and fire alarms are as much part of first year in halls as is going to lectures. In particular students of Chancellor’s Court and Ewing House have had the unique experience of being evacuated from a fire whilst in a blackout. There have also been instances where two houses have had fire alarms on the same night. Truth be that it keeps the fire services earnest to their pay, they are probably getting a wee bit bored with it by now.
No matter because after any fire alarm or indeed any night can you arise for breakfast - the most exciting meal of the day. Where the words “assorted pizza” at dinner leave many grabbing for their snapfax to head to Papa Johns, breakfast is quiet as many students sought an extra fifteen minutes of slumber instead.
It’s hard to admit that I’ll miss Pollock. Truth be told that I have made many friends as a result of standing in front of Turner waiting for the fireman to give the all clear. Nevertheless I can’t help imagine that in the fireman’s mind, he’s probably thinking he’s never going to send his kids to Pollock and neither shall I.
*hated (when all the renovation is done)
The barricades, the barbed wire walls, the security cameras on site all make it feel like my ineptness of being able to live on my own has resulted in me being locked up in prison. Whilst many of Pollock’s buildings share the same appearance (only differentiated by name), it is no great surprise that one quarters “Grant House” is aptly nicknamed “Grantanamo Bay” by most of its slaves. However in real prison where mass murderers can live out life sentences in cells that have beds and their own toilets, it makes me jealous that I can’t have my own en-suite facility.
Instead I am greeted to pneumatic drills in the morning from building work, power-outs during the day and then fire alarms in the middle of the night. Although Pollock is currently undergoing a major face-lift it is sadly not a substitute for undergrad stupidity. For instance during Fresher’s Week certain individuals it seemed were magnetically attracted to fire alarms. Although I have to say thanks to the installation of one (!) security camera in the foyer of Turner. Now the majority of fire alarms are a result of unskillful smokers who are incapable of putting a towel over a smoke alarm correctly.
Based on the first month of living in Pollock, blackouts and fire alarms are as much part of first year in halls as is going to lectures. In particular students of Chancellor’s Court and Ewing House have had the unique experience of being evacuated from a fire whilst in a blackout. There have also been instances where two houses have had fire alarms on the same night. Truth be that it keeps the fire services earnest to their pay, they are probably getting a wee bit bored with it by now.
No matter because after any fire alarm or indeed any night can you arise for breakfast - the most exciting meal of the day. Where the words “assorted pizza” at dinner leave many grabbing for their snapfax to head to Papa Johns, breakfast is quiet as many students sought an extra fifteen minutes of slumber instead.
It’s hard to admit that I’ll miss Pollock. Truth be told that I have made many friends as a result of standing in front of Turner waiting for the fireman to give the all clear. Nevertheless I can’t help imagine that in the fireman’s mind, he’s probably thinking he’s never going to send his kids to Pollock and neither shall I.
*hated (when all the renovation is done)
Friday, 8 May 2009
Star Trek: The Review
To the ardent Star Trek fan, or to be politically correct "Trekkies", a likely pastime may include putting on a Starfleet uniform, brushing up on the odd Klingon and heading to a sci-fi convention. This is what makes the term "Star Trek" divide a nation of filmgoers into ones who say it's just a television series and ones who would give up their phaser figurine collection to be in the new movie. To do the former would be to overlook a canon so diverse its official website counts 380 different types of aliens, 780 ships, 328 forms of food as well as a countless number of characters and actors who have spearheaded the franchise.
The baton has now been passed from the likes of Shatner and Stewart to a third generation crew that already boasts trendy teen show credits like Heroes (Sylar's Zachary Quinto). It leaves director J.J. Abrams the conundrum: how to make a film that satisfies a Trekky appetite but appeal to a new fanbase despite the two being light years apart?
The latter is mainly done thanks to one James Tiberius Kirk (played by Chris Pine). From the childhood car chase to his futile attempts to charm sexy Lieutenant Uhura at a bar (what university student can't associate with that?) we find out our character's playful but rebellious attitude. Much like Batman Begins, this prequel does not deal with the Kirk that Trekkies have to come to know. Bruce Wayne didn't put on a bat suit straight away and nor does Kirk command the S.S. Enterprise.
Instead following orders from his superior Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood), Pine is able to make his character much more likable by doing what the average filmgoer wants to see but with a tinge of Trek geekiness. Fights (!) with Romulans. Snappy dialogue (!) with Vulcans. Making out (!) with Orion green chicks. Kirk's make-it-up-as-I-go-along approach to much of the film results in very entertaining action sequences.
It is Kirk's "acquaintance" with a frosty ice creature when you realize the stark contrast his character is to Spock (Zachary Quinto). Played like a human computer and with a "logic answers all" ethos, Quinto makes a great companion to Pine's Kirk. Although the two would not want to admit this, their on screen "friendship" drives the film to a climatic battle against Eric Bana; the biggest badass a family friendly 12A certificate would allow.
Abrams states in many interview that he was not a Trekky when he made this film. Instead he embraced a franchise and created a movie that he feels is acceptable to everyone. What he manages to do is produce a well balanced film that does not alienate a fanbase but rather regenerate a series back into warp speed. With an oldboy role for Leonard Nimoy and impressive special effects to boot, this new Star Trek has ushered in the first of hopefully many more summer blockbusters to come.
The baton has now been passed from the likes of Shatner and Stewart to a third generation crew that already boasts trendy teen show credits like Heroes (Sylar's Zachary Quinto). It leaves director J.J. Abrams the conundrum: how to make a film that satisfies a Trekky appetite but appeal to a new fanbase despite the two being light years apart?
The latter is mainly done thanks to one James Tiberius Kirk (played by Chris Pine). From the childhood car chase to his futile attempts to charm sexy Lieutenant Uhura at a bar (what university student can't associate with that?) we find out our character's playful but rebellious attitude. Much like Batman Begins, this prequel does not deal with the Kirk that Trekkies have to come to know. Bruce Wayne didn't put on a bat suit straight away and nor does Kirk command the S.S. Enterprise.
Instead following orders from his superior Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood), Pine is able to make his character much more likable by doing what the average filmgoer wants to see but with a tinge of Trek geekiness. Fights (!) with Romulans. Snappy dialogue (!) with Vulcans. Making out (!) with Orion green chicks. Kirk's make-it-up-as-I-go-along approach to much of the film results in very entertaining action sequences.
It is Kirk's "acquaintance" with a frosty ice creature when you realize the stark contrast his character is to Spock (Zachary Quinto). Played like a human computer and with a "logic answers all" ethos, Quinto makes a great companion to Pine's Kirk. Although the two would not want to admit this, their on screen "friendship" drives the film to a climatic battle against Eric Bana; the biggest badass a family friendly 12A certificate would allow.
Abrams states in many interview that he was not a Trekky when he made this film. Instead he embraced a franchise and created a movie that he feels is acceptable to everyone. What he manages to do is produce a well balanced film that does not alienate a fanbase but rather regenerate a series back into warp speed. With an oldboy role for Leonard Nimoy and impressive special effects to boot, this new Star Trek has ushered in the first of hopefully many more summer blockbusters to come.
Monday, 4 May 2009
An Ode To The Video Game Console
What you are about to read may reveal me as a self-confessed nerd. If you are someone who thinks I am relatively cool please stop reading. However to the other 99.9% of you please continue ...
As an undergraduate it has dawned on me that the game console is, apart from the laptop, one of the quintessential luxuries that should be taken to halls. To visiting grandparents it is a lifeless creature in hibernation whose only purpose is to collect dust. However to students, when turned on, the game console enters you into a parallel universe that escapes you from the clutches of exams and essay deadlines.
If this were the case then the term "educational game" would be an oxymoron. However sadly this genre is a very real reality and games like Brain Training do exist. Nevertheless other genres rely on a different kind of skill; not one tested in the lecture theater or the science labs. Racing games test reaction speeds, first person shooters assess eye coordination and music games like Guitar Hero probe finger speed. The limitless genres available mean the game console can cater for anyone from the psychopathic mass murderers (G.T.A.) to the karate kid wannabees (Super Street fighter).
In fact many self-affirmed "pro-gamers" would instantly alienate a laptop as the "lite version" of a game console. Simplistic 2d games like Jetman rule the Internet and offer short term relief to studying. Even on social networking sites like Facebook, applications that involve filling in questionnaires for the fun of it, are fueling new waves of procrastination techniques. Maybe this is why the idea of finding out how you are going to die or what Pokémon best describes you is one of the main reasons Facebook has over 175 million active users.
So when exams loom and the mind is saturated to the fullest of jargon and impractical formulae remember to take a trip to your nearest video game console. At home it can relieve stress from work and serve as a lot of fun. After all that is what its main purpose is so you can just leave the brain training for university.
As an undergraduate it has dawned on me that the game console is, apart from the laptop, one of the quintessential luxuries that should be taken to halls. To visiting grandparents it is a lifeless creature in hibernation whose only purpose is to collect dust. However to students, when turned on, the game console enters you into a parallel universe that escapes you from the clutches of exams and essay deadlines.
If this were the case then the term "educational game" would be an oxymoron. However sadly this genre is a very real reality and games like Brain Training do exist. Nevertheless other genres rely on a different kind of skill; not one tested in the lecture theater or the science labs. Racing games test reaction speeds, first person shooters assess eye coordination and music games like Guitar Hero probe finger speed. The limitless genres available mean the game console can cater for anyone from the psychopathic mass murderers (G.T.A.) to the karate kid wannabees (Super Street fighter).
In fact many self-affirmed "pro-gamers" would instantly alienate a laptop as the "lite version" of a game console. Simplistic 2d games like Jetman rule the Internet and offer short term relief to studying. Even on social networking sites like Facebook, applications that involve filling in questionnaires for the fun of it, are fueling new waves of procrastination techniques. Maybe this is why the idea of finding out how you are going to die or what Pokémon best describes you is one of the main reasons Facebook has over 175 million active users.
So when exams loom and the mind is saturated to the fullest of jargon and impractical formulae remember to take a trip to your nearest video game console. At home it can relieve stress from work and serve as a lot of fun. After all that is what its main purpose is so you can just leave the brain training for university.
Sunday, 26 April 2009
And people think it is only I who makes English mistakes
It's 5 a.m., English assignment due in 7 hours and the spellchecker on my macbook is contradicting my instinct. Do I rely on my intelligence or obey my laptop? On one hand if I follow my nous and it fails me I could be the guy my tutor will eternally know as "that one who doesn't know the difference between s' and 's". However if I were to substitute my ineptness with the intel of a mac then I would probably have to put a reference at the end of the work out of guilt.
I'm certain most students have these situations similar to mine when it comes to late night work.
To me, as an English student, there is that added pressure of making work sound coherent, concise and most importantly correct. Ultimately if I makes a grammatical mistake or a speling error then all my "mates" are ready to let me know about it.
A clear example of this is incarnated in the critical reaction to my first blog. The "blogism of fire" started when a fellow linguist and "friend" commented on my facebook "can you please put an apostrophe in show's". Now if blogs had been around in the 18th century then Samuel Johnson, curator of the first dictionary, may have probably sent me a twittering message of disgust at the blunder. However I thought people were past that.
For today's modern reader finding spelling errors and telling someone about them functions to feed their ego. In their mind they are probably thinking "I am better than you because I know the difference between onto and on to". Nevertheless in my case there are always two excuses you can use in your defense. To my friends I say "who is the one who does English at university?" and to the ones who study English I just say "typo".
From timed essays in class to assignments at the death of night, the English language is a very delicate creature. However if someone finds that "jade" hasn't been capitalized in Heat magazine it's not going to kill it or, worse, stop the printing presses. So when it comes to my work please judge the beast by it's content rather than its skin.
I'm certain most students have these situations similar to mine when it comes to late night work.
To me, as an English student, there is that added pressure of making work sound coherent, concise and most importantly correct. Ultimately if I makes a grammatical mistake or a speling error then all my "mates" are ready to let me know about it.
A clear example of this is incarnated in the critical reaction to my first blog. The "blogism of fire" started when a fellow linguist and "friend" commented on my facebook "can you please put an apostrophe in show's". Now if blogs had been around in the 18th century then Samuel Johnson, curator of the first dictionary, may have probably sent me a twittering message of disgust at the blunder. However I thought people were past that.
For today's modern reader finding spelling errors and telling someone about them functions to feed their ego. In their mind they are probably thinking "I am better than you because I know the difference between onto and on to". Nevertheless in my case there are always two excuses you can use in your defense. To my friends I say "who is the one who does English at university?" and to the ones who study English I just say "typo".
From timed essays in class to assignments at the death of night, the English language is a very delicate creature. However if someone finds that "jade" hasn't been capitalized in Heat magazine it's not going to kill it or, worse, stop the printing presses. So when it comes to my work please judge the beast by it's content rather than its skin.
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Looking down from university and onto The Inbetweeners.
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