The front-page story “‘Baby wards could close’” is the first of three articles this morning aimed at describing the possible fallout of a NHS budget in deficit.
The first thing that leapt from the page at me is the source of information. Having been exposed to the style of this newspaper for a number of years, inoculates me against their sensationalist front-page headlines. These headlines are designed for one purpose: to sell and in that respect, this is a successful piece of journalism.
As you get deeper into this particularly shallow story you begin to realise just how little evidence this publication requires whilst inflaming the public. The list of hospitals that are having their maternity wards threatened is second-hand. The Conservative Party handed the list to the newspaper after they received it from the East of England Health Authority. To not question this source is simply bad journalistic practice.
The quotes used are too easily sought on behalf of the central Conservative Party with not a single reply from central government sought in response. Instead the EADT uses quotes from spokesmen of the two local hospitals mentioned in the list and a local Unison executive. The article is also inaccurately used as a means to mention again the actions of Hazel Blears joining a picket line in front of a hospital in her constituency, threatened with closure by the local NHS trust, (not by central government!). In itself, this story is rehashed in a small article on Page 7.
This article is blatantly biased and represents the sensationally inaccurate reporting attached to articles that can be used as attacks on Labour within the pages of this regional tabloid. Its message is clear: ‘Tories good, Labour bad’.
Friday, December 29, 2006
J101-News Analysis-3/10: The Daily Telegraph; 13th Dec 2006
With all the turmoil and disruption in my hometown, I could not possibly ignore the stories being written about one of the most audacious serial murder cases in the UK.
The 13th December, the front page of the Telegraph: five pictures of five young women were regimentally placed under the banner headline: “Five bodies in just 10 days”. This was the morning after the discovery of what turned out to be the last two bodies on the outskirts of Ipswich. This is the spin placed on the story; the frenetic nature of which is hard to deny when the first quote used is that of Stewart Gull, the leader of the investigation announcing that “It is such a fast-moving inquiry, it is almost a crime in action”. Caroline Davies speculates about the identity of the two bodies found the day before and then gives an impression of this fast paced section of the enquiry.
In a case with so many people involved, this short beginning to the daily coverage of the Telegraph is garbled. It moves all over the place because of the order in which these announcements came. There seemingly was no call for an ordered structure. With so many young girls involved it is not clear who is who just from the text alone and therefore relies heavily on the five pictures above.
The Story, being several days old at this point, this short piece seems to be trying to do too much.
The 13th December, the front page of the Telegraph: five pictures of five young women were regimentally placed under the banner headline: “Five bodies in just 10 days”. This was the morning after the discovery of what turned out to be the last two bodies on the outskirts of Ipswich. This is the spin placed on the story; the frenetic nature of which is hard to deny when the first quote used is that of Stewart Gull, the leader of the investigation announcing that “It is such a fast-moving inquiry, it is almost a crime in action”. Caroline Davies speculates about the identity of the two bodies found the day before and then gives an impression of this fast paced section of the enquiry.
In a case with so many people involved, this short beginning to the daily coverage of the Telegraph is garbled. It moves all over the place because of the order in which these announcements came. There seemingly was no call for an ordered structure. With so many young girls involved it is not clear who is who just from the text alone and therefore relies heavily on the five pictures above.
The Story, being several days old at this point, this short piece seems to be trying to do too much.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
J103-Reading Analysis-4/10: Mass Civilisation and Minority Culture; 10th October 2006.
In this reading F.R. Leavis criticises that which has been said in the previous passage by Matthew Arnold. The main reason for this is the gulf of time between the two men. I believe that the two men (had they been put together) would have seen eye to eye about the importance of high culture and who has reign over it, but would spend their time together fighting over a means to get back to ‘the good old days’ and the factors required to do so!
It is clear to see why John Storey has placed these two thinkers together and at the beginning of his collection of essays. Leavis, being the later of the two has the benefit of seeing whether what Arnold foretold had come true.
It is clear that both Arnold and Leavis both believed that there are a select few within society that can fully appreciate and pass “unprompted, first-hand judgement” on different aspects of culture. The differences between the two men start here; in Arnold’s essay he becomes festooned within the complexities of this ability to obtain “Sweetness and Light”, Leavis is far more concerned with how society changed in the sixty years between the two essays and how complicated this issue had become.
Leavis’ analogy of the “currency based upon a very small proportion of gold” has several uses. He alludes to the ideas of cultural capital and the methods with which status is acquired and exchanged among the populace. What this small phrase also denotes is the delicacy of the balance between Culture and Anarchy that Arnold discusses in his essay. There is a chronology to his arguments that should be understood before you assess how effective this “pamphlet” is. Leavis uses two quotes from his contemporary and father of the new criticism movement: Ivor Armstrong Richards. A man born five years after Matthew Arnold’s death, he seems to be held in high regard by Leavis and is used by him to explain Arnold’s ideas of an elite class more fully.
The author uses the elite with care. He defends their existence and shows that they are the ones that “keep alive the subtlest and most perishable parts of tradition.” Like Arnold he holds the elite in high regard, but goes further to explain what they are defending against and how this is threatening our advancement. Far from being domineering in his vision of what the future must hold, he seems far more paternal. He is concerned about technology and machinery in particular and concludes that at present it is our true master and that maybe, with more of his kind of leadership, it will become the tool that it has always promised it would be.
He touches upon Americanisation. He clarifies this term and suggests that a wider view is required when touching upon this subject. He argues that people “who are most defiant of America do not propose to reverse the processes consequent on the machine.” What he is basically saying here is that ‘Americanisation’ has given us a great deal, but we should be wary of what it is doing to our behaviour through it’s ‘standardisation’ through broadcasting and mass media/production.
Leavis’ style and language, although somewhat convoluted, is simple enough to understand and I think achieves its aim of drumming up support to stem the tide of rapid technological development and all the pitfalls that it creates for our traditions and existing cultures.
It is clear to see why John Storey has placed these two thinkers together and at the beginning of his collection of essays. Leavis, being the later of the two has the benefit of seeing whether what Arnold foretold had come true.
It is clear that both Arnold and Leavis both believed that there are a select few within society that can fully appreciate and pass “unprompted, first-hand judgement” on different aspects of culture. The differences between the two men start here; in Arnold’s essay he becomes festooned within the complexities of this ability to obtain “Sweetness and Light”, Leavis is far more concerned with how society changed in the sixty years between the two essays and how complicated this issue had become.
Leavis’ analogy of the “currency based upon a very small proportion of gold” has several uses. He alludes to the ideas of cultural capital and the methods with which status is acquired and exchanged among the populace. What this small phrase also denotes is the delicacy of the balance between Culture and Anarchy that Arnold discusses in his essay. There is a chronology to his arguments that should be understood before you assess how effective this “pamphlet” is. Leavis uses two quotes from his contemporary and father of the new criticism movement: Ivor Armstrong Richards. A man born five years after Matthew Arnold’s death, he seems to be held in high regard by Leavis and is used by him to explain Arnold’s ideas of an elite class more fully.
The author uses the elite with care. He defends their existence and shows that they are the ones that “keep alive the subtlest and most perishable parts of tradition.” Like Arnold he holds the elite in high regard, but goes further to explain what they are defending against and how this is threatening our advancement. Far from being domineering in his vision of what the future must hold, he seems far more paternal. He is concerned about technology and machinery in particular and concludes that at present it is our true master and that maybe, with more of his kind of leadership, it will become the tool that it has always promised it would be.
He touches upon Americanisation. He clarifies this term and suggests that a wider view is required when touching upon this subject. He argues that people “who are most defiant of America do not propose to reverse the processes consequent on the machine.” What he is basically saying here is that ‘Americanisation’ has given us a great deal, but we should be wary of what it is doing to our behaviour through it’s ‘standardisation’ through broadcasting and mass media/production.
Leavis’ style and language, although somewhat convoluted, is simple enough to understand and I think achieves its aim of drumming up support to stem the tide of rapid technological development and all the pitfalls that it creates for our traditions and existing cultures.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
J103-Reading Analysis-3/10: Culture and Anarchy; 10th October 2006.
In this reading Matthew Arnold explains from the start that this essay will only concentrate on the ability of culture as a means of spreading “the best which has been thought and said in the world;” He discusses the disadvantages people put themselves under when they only experience the world through reading and the lack of questioning he sees when it comes to “stock notions and habits”. He argues that a man simply has culture if he “examines himself”. He clarifies this by saying that this examination is the “essence of culture”.
“Culture has one great passion, the passion for sweetness and light.” In this essay he mentions this several times. It is his theory that culture works towards a perfect utopian future that will be reached when the “masses of humanity are touched with sweetness and light.” In this utopia the class system will no longer exist and all people will have access to the best and brightest ideas of the moment.
This egalitarian approach to a way out of our current situation is the noblest thing that this essay alludes to. But there is little feeling behind the words of this essay. The sources of belief in these theories seem to be personal and with little physical or objective proof to make them any more than theories. His theories are cast like a net over all of the populace from the position of the middle classes. This position comes off as smugness when you start looking at his life and career. Rugby School followed by Balliol College and on to a fellowship elsewhere at Oxford just seems to reek of pomposity.
His time in history is one of relative peace but one of land grabbing. The European Imperialist forces are carving up Africa and the risks of expanding the empire are starting to come into light relief. These risks are stemmed by the opinion that ‘if you have no culture, you don’t deserve power’. This gives light to the fact that he speaks from a position of privilege and not one of poverty.
This theory although seen now as one of conservatism, was at the time seen as exceedingly radical. The traditional homes of power were in a state of flux as democracy spreads across nations where their structures were leaning towards more aristocratic methods of governance. Arnold welcomed this democratic shift as we see in his egalitarian ideals that he wanted to be shared across the world.
The scope for this argument made by Arnold is too narrow. All it did was show that essentially Arnold believed everyone should become middle class before the greater goal of ‘sweetness and light’ was strived for. It goes some way to explaining what a monumental struggle it must have been to start from almost nothing trying to implement or encourage the implementation of these theories. But as a theory worthy of implementation on its own, it does little to encourage faith to that end.
“Culture has one great passion, the passion for sweetness and light.” In this essay he mentions this several times. It is his theory that culture works towards a perfect utopian future that will be reached when the “masses of humanity are touched with sweetness and light.” In this utopia the class system will no longer exist and all people will have access to the best and brightest ideas of the moment.
This egalitarian approach to a way out of our current situation is the noblest thing that this essay alludes to. But there is little feeling behind the words of this essay. The sources of belief in these theories seem to be personal and with little physical or objective proof to make them any more than theories. His theories are cast like a net over all of the populace from the position of the middle classes. This position comes off as smugness when you start looking at his life and career. Rugby School followed by Balliol College and on to a fellowship elsewhere at Oxford just seems to reek of pomposity.
His time in history is one of relative peace but one of land grabbing. The European Imperialist forces are carving up Africa and the risks of expanding the empire are starting to come into light relief. These risks are stemmed by the opinion that ‘if you have no culture, you don’t deserve power’. This gives light to the fact that he speaks from a position of privilege and not one of poverty.
This theory although seen now as one of conservatism, was at the time seen as exceedingly radical. The traditional homes of power were in a state of flux as democracy spreads across nations where their structures were leaning towards more aristocratic methods of governance. Arnold welcomed this democratic shift as we see in his egalitarian ideals that he wanted to be shared across the world.
The scope for this argument made by Arnold is too narrow. All it did was show that essentially Arnold believed everyone should become middle class before the greater goal of ‘sweetness and light’ was strived for. It goes some way to explaining what a monumental struggle it must have been to start from almost nothing trying to implement or encourage the implementation of these theories. But as a theory worthy of implementation on its own, it does little to encourage faith to that end.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Everyone's Left Me!!!
And then there was one!! Lucy has just left me and now I'm sitting here poised to get all my work done before I leave on Wednesday morning! It's pouring with rain and the band is moving across the South of England and will reach East Anglia by tomorrow! I'm going to be following that cloud all the way home.
Right, well, first up is the essay that I started on Friday. I'm trying to shoehorn what I want the essay to be into the question that I have chosen. How much do I agree with the statement that we are seeing a 'dumbing down' in the media at large? A lot! That's how much I agree with it. I have begun my argument with a simple theory that 9/11 accelerated our need for 'sound bites' from our news sources. Obviously this dependancy is not entirely because of this, but it commodifyed news overnight. This would be fine if we were being lead by a morally sound power base, but unfortunately, George Bush is too busy filming his Christmas message from the White House with one of his dogs as the star!
This weekend has been tough in respect to avoiding throwing things at the TV! This country is already gripped with election fever and everyone involved seems to have taken stupid pills. Mass reforms within all aspects of society are required and all the politicians can do is attack each other over who is the most trust worthy or able to deliver these massive reforms. The New Labour project has failed because its policy of spending without reform is not viable and was never going to be viable in the long term. The mistake that the Media and through them, the public are going to make is believe that another party can do better. The Conservatives may well be promising that tax cuts are not the answer, but this age old policy will return soon after they would take office. The very definition of their name is not legitimate for the future of this country or the global community at large: to conserve what we have now is not something that I desire, neither should it be desirable for the majority of Britain. People are being born, living and then dying below the poverty line all over the world, increasingly in the 'Developed' World. This is an issue that links everyone, across all nations. People have been lead to believe ever since the beginning of the Imperial movement that poverty pays heed to national boundaries and can be tackled by the same individual nations. This lie has survived for over 2,000 years and must be stopped if global prosperity is to be shared among all people on this small planet.
Today the government has announced that "deadbeat dads" could face having their names published on the internet in a 'name and shame' campaign aimed at reducing the backlog of £3bn in unpaid child support. The Child Support Agency is being advised at the same time that £2bn of that backlog is impossible to collect. With this in mind, why on earth are they being told that tough tactics and a re-branding of the Agency are required? This is one of the main reasons for my despair towards old New Labour: their policy of 'if it's broke, re-brand it'.
With the announcement this week that NASA will have colonised The Moon by 2020, surely must come the realisation that the project of evolution that is the Human Race, must consolidate itself within the next 20 years, if harmonious progress is to be made. My argument is that the old systems in all walks of life need not only to be updated, but scrapped and born anew if any substantial progress is to be made.
As Kofi Annan leaves the UN, replaced by Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, I find myself getting quite excited over the prospect of the inevitable re-shuffle of posts that is to follow Mr. Ki-moon being sworn into office in the New Year. It is an opportunity to hand out a slap on the wrist to the less responsible members. I know my wish of seeing the US' role in the organisation being downgraded is unrealistic, but you never know! Its constant neglect of paying its dues cannot go unpunnished if the UN is to be useful in the monumental shifts needed on the world stage.
'Hell' and 'Handbasket' are words that spring to mind...
Right, well, first up is the essay that I started on Friday. I'm trying to shoehorn what I want the essay to be into the question that I have chosen. How much do I agree with the statement that we are seeing a 'dumbing down' in the media at large? A lot! That's how much I agree with it. I have begun my argument with a simple theory that 9/11 accelerated our need for 'sound bites' from our news sources. Obviously this dependancy is not entirely because of this, but it commodifyed news overnight. This would be fine if we were being lead by a morally sound power base, but unfortunately, George Bush is too busy filming his Christmas message from the White House with one of his dogs as the star!
This weekend has been tough in respect to avoiding throwing things at the TV! This country is already gripped with election fever and everyone involved seems to have taken stupid pills. Mass reforms within all aspects of society are required and all the politicians can do is attack each other over who is the most trust worthy or able to deliver these massive reforms. The New Labour project has failed because its policy of spending without reform is not viable and was never going to be viable in the long term. The mistake that the Media and through them, the public are going to make is believe that another party can do better. The Conservatives may well be promising that tax cuts are not the answer, but this age old policy will return soon after they would take office. The very definition of their name is not legitimate for the future of this country or the global community at large: to conserve what we have now is not something that I desire, neither should it be desirable for the majority of Britain. People are being born, living and then dying below the poverty line all over the world, increasingly in the 'Developed' World. This is an issue that links everyone, across all nations. People have been lead to believe ever since the beginning of the Imperial movement that poverty pays heed to national boundaries and can be tackled by the same individual nations. This lie has survived for over 2,000 years and must be stopped if global prosperity is to be shared among all people on this small planet.
Today the government has announced that "deadbeat dads" could face having their names published on the internet in a 'name and shame' campaign aimed at reducing the backlog of £3bn in unpaid child support. The Child Support Agency is being advised at the same time that £2bn of that backlog is impossible to collect. With this in mind, why on earth are they being told that tough tactics and a re-branding of the Agency are required? This is one of the main reasons for my despair towards old New Labour: their policy of 'if it's broke, re-brand it'.
With the announcement this week that NASA will have colonised The Moon by 2020, surely must come the realisation that the project of evolution that is the Human Race, must consolidate itself within the next 20 years, if harmonious progress is to be made. My argument is that the old systems in all walks of life need not only to be updated, but scrapped and born anew if any substantial progress is to be made.
As Kofi Annan leaves the UN, replaced by Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, I find myself getting quite excited over the prospect of the inevitable re-shuffle of posts that is to follow Mr. Ki-moon being sworn into office in the New Year. It is an opportunity to hand out a slap on the wrist to the less responsible members. I know my wish of seeing the US' role in the organisation being downgraded is unrealistic, but you never know! Its constant neglect of paying its dues cannot go unpunnished if the UN is to be useful in the monumental shifts needed on the world stage.
'Hell' and 'Handbasket' are words that spring to mind...
Friday, December 01, 2006
J103-Reading Analysis-2/10: Distinction & The Aristocracy of Culture; 28th November 2006.
In this reading Pierre Bourdieu discusses the different elements of his ideas of distinction and its actions and reactions within the realms of culture. He isn’t theorising; this is the finished product, with only minor tweaks as time progresses. I agree almost whole-heartedly with these Ideas and their large influence on our daily lives as social and cultured beings. Incidentally, I find it interesting that this was written in the Orwellian year of 1984. Art sees the first awarding of the Turner Prize to Malcolm Morley; an explicit example of what Bourdieu discusses in this piece.
Morley is a photo-realist painter, his receiving of the first Turner Prize was particularly controversial (if only because he hadn’t lived in Britain since 1958), but this was not as controversial as the prize itself. Although I can’t find a comment from Bourdieu (maybe because the prize is, by design, a British institution) I believe he would cite the encouragement of artists to ‘compete’ as a clear example of his theories at work. Also, Morley being the winner might bring condemnation of his pandering to “what Erwin Panofsky calls the ‘sensible properties’”, (his painting of photographs that are particularly pleasing to the eye). Bourdieu quotes this in the text to highlight the two-tier appreciation of cultural artefacts; this is a major component of his reasoning behind ‘Distinctions’.
In places the text is complicated and long-winded, but he adds enough accessible examples into the text to keep you from getting lost within his complicated style. One example of this simplification is that of eating habits working as an illustration of different tastes, (helpfully underlined on my copy). In this passage he describes “The antithesis between quantity and quality”. He explains that the function of food is defined by ‘necessity’. Essentially he says that at times food serves only as a way of filling you up and at others it acts as a form ‘luxury’. When it performs this function he says that it “tends to use stylised forms to deny function”. In this case he is eluding to the fact that nouvelle cuisine disguises food as a means of filling you up and into an art; changing it into an act of appreciation. Bourdieu takes this relatively simple explanation and complicates it with his explanation in the following paragraphs.
This act of ‘complication’ is the main theme of this piece and of his entire body of work. He is a Post-Marxist, Post-Structuralist: he doesn’t try to explain the human consciousness in an ‘over-simplified’ structure as Marx did with economics. Instead he puts emphasis on the simple fact that one human being is an extremely complicated element within an infinitely complicated system.
In using modern art as his basis for exemplifying the proliferation of these “two ‘antagonistic castes’” he himself does himself a disservice because as he himself concludes “The new art is not for everyone”. He himself is producing an essay that is inaccessible to a large proportion of the population.
In conclusion, this inaccessibility is the reading’s major downfall. In trying to explain the exclusion of the ‘mass’ from “the ‘reading’ of a work of art” he himself excludes this same faction, but without the pomposity evident within the majority of critiques “of ‘secondary meanings’”. He attempts (and in my view, fails) to make the mass aware of what is going on when they feel excluded from certain ‘higher’ echelons of culture. Instead, he produces something that within its own right is inaccessible and simply adds to frustrations felt by the large proportion of society. It all depends on what your standing within this ‘dynamic’ framework (distinction from structure) is. If you are studying Bourdieu then it gives a detailed (sometimes too detailed) account of what his theories are. If you approached this piece from a “functional” standpoint then it serves no greater purpose than one of confusion and perhaps over complication of your life experiences.
Morley is a photo-realist painter, his receiving of the first Turner Prize was particularly controversial (if only because he hadn’t lived in Britain since 1958), but this was not as controversial as the prize itself. Although I can’t find a comment from Bourdieu (maybe because the prize is, by design, a British institution) I believe he would cite the encouragement of artists to ‘compete’ as a clear example of his theories at work. Also, Morley being the winner might bring condemnation of his pandering to “what Erwin Panofsky calls the ‘sensible properties’”, (his painting of photographs that are particularly pleasing to the eye). Bourdieu quotes this in the text to highlight the two-tier appreciation of cultural artefacts; this is a major component of his reasoning behind ‘Distinctions’.
In places the text is complicated and long-winded, but he adds enough accessible examples into the text to keep you from getting lost within his complicated style. One example of this simplification is that of eating habits working as an illustration of different tastes, (helpfully underlined on my copy). In this passage he describes “The antithesis between quantity and quality”. He explains that the function of food is defined by ‘necessity’. Essentially he says that at times food serves only as a way of filling you up and at others it acts as a form ‘luxury’. When it performs this function he says that it “tends to use stylised forms to deny function”. In this case he is eluding to the fact that nouvelle cuisine disguises food as a means of filling you up and into an art; changing it into an act of appreciation. Bourdieu takes this relatively simple explanation and complicates it with his explanation in the following paragraphs.
This act of ‘complication’ is the main theme of this piece and of his entire body of work. He is a Post-Marxist, Post-Structuralist: he doesn’t try to explain the human consciousness in an ‘over-simplified’ structure as Marx did with economics. Instead he puts emphasis on the simple fact that one human being is an extremely complicated element within an infinitely complicated system.
In using modern art as his basis for exemplifying the proliferation of these “two ‘antagonistic castes’” he himself does himself a disservice because as he himself concludes “The new art is not for everyone”. He himself is producing an essay that is inaccessible to a large proportion of the population.
In conclusion, this inaccessibility is the reading’s major downfall. In trying to explain the exclusion of the ‘mass’ from “the ‘reading’ of a work of art” he himself excludes this same faction, but without the pomposity evident within the majority of critiques “of ‘secondary meanings’”. He attempts (and in my view, fails) to make the mass aware of what is going on when they feel excluded from certain ‘higher’ echelons of culture. Instead, he produces something that within its own right is inaccessible and simply adds to frustrations felt by the large proportion of society. It all depends on what your standing within this ‘dynamic’ framework (distinction from structure) is. If you are studying Bourdieu then it gives a detailed (sometimes too detailed) account of what his theories are. If you approached this piece from a “functional” standpoint then it serves no greater purpose than one of confusion and perhaps over complication of your life experiences.
Woah! Been A While!
Ok this is a statement of intent!!
I've just had a massive day today!! GrrrGrrr, the music magazine I've been working on every waking moment is almost finished! This is one of the major reasons why the neglect to my blog! No excuses, just stating what's been going on!
Anyway, suffice to say that I don't think that money is going to be a problem for this little project of mine!! The magazine myspace is: www.myspace.com/grrrgrrr check it out and leave a comment! If you want to contribute, drop us an email and we will get back to you tout suite!
Anyway, back to that ellusive intent! At this very moment I am working on the magazine, (about to stop) and this blog, (my first in almost three weeks! The statement is this: Interview is next; I will complete it before the end of the day and then I can fully enjoy the Snow Ball tonight! Then tomorrow its onto Blogger to do at least Four blog entries for Popular Culture and Introduction to Journalism (two each, mind! Don't want to get carried away!) That leaves me with a fair few to do... but still!
The slightly longer term is that I get my Blog's and my essay for Popular Culture finished before the 13th (when I go home).
This is my Intent, at 1430 on the first of December 2006!!!
I've just had a massive day today!! GrrrGrrr, the music magazine I've been working on every waking moment is almost finished! This is one of the major reasons why the neglect to my blog! No excuses, just stating what's been going on!
Anyway, suffice to say that I don't think that money is going to be a problem for this little project of mine!! The magazine myspace is: www.myspace.com/grrrgrrr check it out and leave a comment! If you want to contribute, drop us an email and we will get back to you tout suite!
Anyway, back to that ellusive intent! At this very moment I am working on the magazine, (about to stop) and this blog, (my first in almost three weeks! The statement is this: Interview is next; I will complete it before the end of the day and then I can fully enjoy the Snow Ball tonight! Then tomorrow its onto Blogger to do at least Four blog entries for Popular Culture and Introduction to Journalism (two each, mind! Don't want to get carried away!) That leaves me with a fair few to do... but still!
The slightly longer term is that I get my Blog's and my essay for Popular Culture finished before the 13th (when I go home).
This is my Intent, at 1430 on the first of December 2006!!!
Monday, November 13, 2006
J103-Reading Analysis-1/10: The Ideologies of Everyday Life; 3rd October 2006.
Discussing the different historical ideas of what ideology goes to form Brett Farmer’s method intended to pick apart ideology, it’s importance and how its definitions compliment each other.
Farmer’s introduction is an example of a condensation of ideology of a particular society. NASA’s attempt at summarising every important feature of the Earth, science and the human race on a brass plaque attached to the farthest reaching object created by man is used as a basis to show deep-rooted ideals hidden within seemingly objective organisations. The plaque as an artefact is used in the case against attempted objectivity and its cousin; universalism: “it serves as a neat example of one of the guiding postulations of cultural studies”.
In defining ideology he makes a fatal error; he explains that ideology is defined externally and rarely is used while talking about yourself. The error comes when he applies his own beliefs to the cultural studies community! For example the phrase: “the network of ideas and beliefs through which culture and its members order, represent and make sense of reality.” Every word in this phrase contains certain connotations that would be jumped on by anyone trying to do the same thing and pin down what ideology is. I believe that his error lies in the fact that he is trying to belong to too many factions or complete societies. He speaks on behalf of cultural studies and then again on the behalf of human society. In no way am I saying that these factions are separate in real life, but by his own reckoning shouldn’t the two share some kind of separation so that they can observe the other, in other words isn’t he a short-circuit between the two?
He accredits this view of ideas and beliefs to Marxism and produces evidence from his early work written with Engels. In actual fact whilst beating around the bush about where his theory comes from he shows that his hand is given to him almost word for word from The German Ideology (1846). The weakness of this lies in the fact that it required no discipline within himself to obtain this seemingly reverential nugget. He goes into some detail about what Marx’ views were on the subject and how his economic take on most of society lead him to this conclusion. In this detail he proves Marx’ link between “ideology and social reproduction”. In replicating Marx and his definitions of ideology he shows his own weaknesses regarding independence and originality; he shows that in essence he is creating an archive of what has come before.
Moving through Althusser, Farmer helpfully summarises another philosopher in four bullet points: Ideology is productive, everywhere, inescapable and heterogeneous. He goes on to link Althusser to Barthes in that they both spent their lives concerned with everyday life and not with vast sociological organisations as Marx did with the houses of economics. Barthes is covered more thoroughly later so this section of the text only serves as an introduction to Mythologies (1957).
The reading then compiles everything discussed into a simple exercise; discussing the ideologies of gender. This involves how the gender divide has been enforced throughout the modern era through various means. Questions are asked of certain signification all around us in public life; those of “urinary segregation” and “physical culture” are particularly evident. Farmer takes “physical culture” and runs with it for several pages, emphasising the ‘patriarchal’ nature of enforcement and its application in all parts of society.
Farmer’s introduction is an example of a condensation of ideology of a particular society. NASA’s attempt at summarising every important feature of the Earth, science and the human race on a brass plaque attached to the farthest reaching object created by man is used as a basis to show deep-rooted ideals hidden within seemingly objective organisations. The plaque as an artefact is used in the case against attempted objectivity and its cousin; universalism: “it serves as a neat example of one of the guiding postulations of cultural studies”.
In defining ideology he makes a fatal error; he explains that ideology is defined externally and rarely is used while talking about yourself. The error comes when he applies his own beliefs to the cultural studies community! For example the phrase: “the network of ideas and beliefs through which culture and its members order, represent and make sense of reality.” Every word in this phrase contains certain connotations that would be jumped on by anyone trying to do the same thing and pin down what ideology is. I believe that his error lies in the fact that he is trying to belong to too many factions or complete societies. He speaks on behalf of cultural studies and then again on the behalf of human society. In no way am I saying that these factions are separate in real life, but by his own reckoning shouldn’t the two share some kind of separation so that they can observe the other, in other words isn’t he a short-circuit between the two?
He accredits this view of ideas and beliefs to Marxism and produces evidence from his early work written with Engels. In actual fact whilst beating around the bush about where his theory comes from he shows that his hand is given to him almost word for word from The German Ideology (1846). The weakness of this lies in the fact that it required no discipline within himself to obtain this seemingly reverential nugget. He goes into some detail about what Marx’ views were on the subject and how his economic take on most of society lead him to this conclusion. In this detail he proves Marx’ link between “ideology and social reproduction”. In replicating Marx and his definitions of ideology he shows his own weaknesses regarding independence and originality; he shows that in essence he is creating an archive of what has come before.
Moving through Althusser, Farmer helpfully summarises another philosopher in four bullet points: Ideology is productive, everywhere, inescapable and heterogeneous. He goes on to link Althusser to Barthes in that they both spent their lives concerned with everyday life and not with vast sociological organisations as Marx did with the houses of economics. Barthes is covered more thoroughly later so this section of the text only serves as an introduction to Mythologies (1957).
The reading then compiles everything discussed into a simple exercise; discussing the ideologies of gender. This involves how the gender divide has been enforced throughout the modern era through various means. Questions are asked of certain signification all around us in public life; those of “urinary segregation” and “physical culture” are particularly evident. Farmer takes “physical culture” and runs with it for several pages, emphasising the ‘patriarchal’ nature of enforcement and its application in all parts of society.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
J101-News Analysis-2/10: BBC News 24; 5th Nov 2006
As the english interpreter sighs heavily whilst listening to the press conference held by the judiciary in Iraq this morning, BBC news cover the event with ever decreasing humility. The split-screen shows the sentance being read over and over again until it is all about the man, his image and his defiance in the face of his own death. Quotes from the hearing are flashed up on the screen under the images. This is propeganda at its very worse, the expert (Hamid Alkifaey) present in the studio in White City is a commentator on this Iraqi conflict and former Iraqi politician explains his views of where we go from here. The huge amount of violence predicted is brushed off by this man explaining that the country can 'get on with re-building' their battered country.
This whistle-stop tour through the 'facts' shows scenes from Tikrit and Najaff to stir relief among the Western nations, jubilation in the streets as the verdict is read. Kirkuk is not shown, but pro-Saddam rallies are reported on all newswires. Saddam's reaction is described as defiant: hailing Allah, "long live the nation", "goto hell with your rules and clauses!", hailing the people of Iraq and declaring the judge "a mouthpiece of the occupation". Sections of this film are removed for the "protection of the identities of the court". For example, the former dictator is hauled to his feet as he remains adament that the court is illigitament. The anchors watch the verdict being delivered silently; the camera switches back on and they immediately mention Saddam's composure and mock his outward image of control over these proceedings.
What is not discussed is the fact that this (Iraq) is the issue that Americans feel is the most important in next week's mid-term elections. This verdict was rushed through and is never mentioned in BBC's coverage.
A speech is read by the Iraqi Prime Minister, the translator returns and his depressive style is again evident. He is the english source of what these men are saying, his voice is the one that Americans and Britains will hear when being shown today's proceedings.
This is Show after show, being played before us by a company of performers that all have their own agendas. The true message is lost; this is an execution bundled up into a blanket and taken far into the desert and burned. Iraq's judiciary has been responsible for the last three years for the future of this young country. It has had to balance justice with the reaction that any verdict will stir within the nation.
This is a prime example of how 24-hour news influences the presentation of hard fact, turning it into 'The Greatest Show on Earth'.
This whistle-stop tour through the 'facts' shows scenes from Tikrit and Najaff to stir relief among the Western nations, jubilation in the streets as the verdict is read. Kirkuk is not shown, but pro-Saddam rallies are reported on all newswires. Saddam's reaction is described as defiant: hailing Allah, "long live the nation", "goto hell with your rules and clauses!", hailing the people of Iraq and declaring the judge "a mouthpiece of the occupation". Sections of this film are removed for the "protection of the identities of the court". For example, the former dictator is hauled to his feet as he remains adament that the court is illigitament. The anchors watch the verdict being delivered silently; the camera switches back on and they immediately mention Saddam's composure and mock his outward image of control over these proceedings.
What is not discussed is the fact that this (Iraq) is the issue that Americans feel is the most important in next week's mid-term elections. This verdict was rushed through and is never mentioned in BBC's coverage.
A speech is read by the Iraqi Prime Minister, the translator returns and his depressive style is again evident. He is the english source of what these men are saying, his voice is the one that Americans and Britains will hear when being shown today's proceedings.
This is Show after show, being played before us by a company of performers that all have their own agendas. The true message is lost; this is an execution bundled up into a blanket and taken far into the desert and burned. Iraq's judiciary has been responsible for the last three years for the future of this young country. It has had to balance justice with the reaction that any verdict will stir within the nation.
This is a prime example of how 24-hour news influences the presentation of hard fact, turning it into 'The Greatest Show on Earth'.
Friday, November 03, 2006
J101-News analysis 1/10:The Guardian (London); Oct 6, 2006; P1.
If you look at the ongoing debate on Muslim women wearing veils with fresh eyes, there isn’t any evidence of where it all started. Jack Straw is no longer at the centre of this debate. His comment in his column in the Lancashire Telegraph; then published later in The Guardian, caused huge controversy and questioning about his authority in the matter. The column itself is a well-balanced, sensible approach to something that is seen by many, as an undesirable subject to bring up in public. His comments, although seen as intrusive into Muslim women’s rights by the more hot-headed members of society, are exactly what were required to start a debate on this issue and the wider ones of integration into British society.
My admiration of Jack Straw increased by a factor of two when reading what he had written and not what it was spun to represent. The narrative and reasoning are clear and his position is not compromised by his actions. It is my belief that his support among liberal members of society increased as mine has. He has shown in the column that under the veneer attached to him by attacks from the press in the past, he is a very intelligent and reasoning individual and in my opinion has shown himself as someone that Blackburn should be very proud to have as their representative. I would hope that in the near future the debate of whether he was right or not can end and the debate on the true issue is begun in earnest.
My admiration of Jack Straw increased by a factor of two when reading what he had written and not what it was spun to represent. The narrative and reasoning are clear and his position is not compromised by his actions. It is my belief that his support among liberal members of society increased as mine has. He has shown in the column that under the veneer attached to him by attacks from the press in the past, he is a very intelligent and reasoning individual and in my opinion has shown himself as someone that Blackburn should be very proud to have as their representative. I would hope that in the near future the debate of whether he was right or not can end and the debate on the true issue is begun in earnest.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Film Festival! Film Festival! Oh.... And PR!
So here we are, just over two weeks until the Film Festival of Cornwall opens its doors in the Princess pavilion right here in Falmouth and as a volunteer I was pouring wine and setting up the press opening this morning.Probably one of the easiest journeys into town this morning, as I knew that I had to take the 968 at 0830 just to be sure of being at the pavilion for 0900. Arriving was an odd experience all of itself; Ben, (seemingly) the head coordinator was there already in a rather sharp suit for the time of day munching on a sausage sandwich that I wasn't coveting as much as my breakfast would have allowed. He explained that there was going to be somewhat of a wait until the equipment, buffet and wine arrived, so he suggested that we sat down.
As we start talking, I find that he did his degree (probably in Performing arts) at Suffolk College in Ipswich (my home town). We discuss all the nightspots that we each frequented (a few matches) and on and on about the town and our memories of it. As things start arriving I sweep into organised mode and start off by laying tables for wine glasses. I arrange press packs, blackout windows and meet and greet at the door all the way up to 1215 when I have to leave to go back up to Woodlane to listen to the best guest speaker so far.
Megan Lloyd Laney is a Communications Consultant working within the charity and non-profit sector. She did a geography degree and ended up attending a masters in Journalism. She's worked for the Economist, New Scientist and The Voice simply on the back of being able to convince editors that "I can write these stories". She then moved to Jo'burg SA in the late eighties and wrote about apartheid and AIDS within the development community, but ended up having her phone tapped and her life threatened. Upon returning to Britain she decided that she had enough influence to go to major charities asking for a single page press release a week. Finding that these charities couldn't manage this she decided that she would help them craft a tangible message to release into the world. She now works as an advisor to the Department of International Development who spend "a penny in every pound" the Inland Revenue receives and teaches part time at UCF.
She is so on point for the whole hour that I would love to meet up with her at some point and pick her brain about anything, but specifically about changing the world!
During the rather large amount of down time whilst waiting for stuff to turn up this morning I picked up a leaflet (more of a pamphlet) called Grrr Grrr! It explains that it "has been put together for the sheer love of music, strange art and just random being". It's a magazine I can imagine going around London in the late '70's, early '80's. It's got REALLY bad spelling and the design could do with a lick here and there, but the content is Class A, heart-felt prose about small bands from all genres. There's the odd review, but this being the first issue, I think is more of a statement of intent in the shape of a showcase of bands that the magazine likes/want to see more of. Thoroughly impressive in today's atmosphere of cutthroat, soulless music journalism... Fantastic!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
I Got up on My Surfboard today!!!! (And nothing else matters!)
...Yeah! That's right folks! Up three (count them) three times!!! Greatly satisfying! So what if they were right at the end of the session!? The point is I was up, I was vaguely steady and then I fell in! WOO HOO Go me!
Hectic day today though! Up at eight (ON MY DAY OF???) down to Woodlane for a department meeting: made some good points and one or two jokes! Then hell for leather back to Tremough for the start of my radio show! Apparently (according to Katey) it was very funny to hear the panic in Sam's voice as I was rushing about trying to get my stuff together for Surfing. It was immense! The radio show was a bit poo this week, but hey, good music, a bit of fun? It's all good!
Anyway, in tomorrow for a lecture and a seminar and once again I'm raring to go!!!
SICK!
Hectic day today though! Up at eight (ON MY DAY OF???) down to Woodlane for a department meeting: made some good points and one or two jokes! Then hell for leather back to Tremough for the start of my radio show! Apparently (according to Katey) it was very funny to hear the panic in Sam's voice as I was rushing about trying to get my stuff together for Surfing. It was immense! The radio show was a bit poo this week, but hey, good music, a bit of fun? It's all good!
Anyway, in tomorrow for a lecture and a seminar and once again I'm raring to go!!!
SICK!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
WOO!! Way cool!
Just got back from the Media Centre where I completed my first show for RadioWave, the University Radio station. Sam Lynas (Journalism) and I ripped up the air(Network) waves with our own brand of music and banter!
It was so much fun! Just being in the hot seat, pushing faders, cueing tracks and smacking Sam upside his head!
Anyway, just a quick post this one, SO looking forward to next week! It's going to be so much fun! YAY! Be sure to tune in next Wednesday at 1100!! http://intranet.falmouth.ac.uk/radiowave/home.html
Ciao!
It was so much fun! Just being in the hot seat, pushing faders, cueing tracks and smacking Sam upside his head!
Anyway, just a quick post this one, SO looking forward to next week! It's going to be so much fun! YAY! Be sure to tune in next Wednesday at 1100!! http://intranet.falmouth.ac.uk/radiowave/home.html
Ciao!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Four Days?? My Weekend wasn't that busy!!!
I just don't understand it! I could have sworn there was supposed to be a couple of days of rest in between Friday and Monday! There's no way that I'm complaining about that fact but here I am now on.... Um.... TUESDAY!??? It can't be Tuesday already! There's just no way!! *checks watch* I swear technology is against me! Damn thing! It just can't be Tuesday! Oh well, until I manage to acquire the services of an atomic clock I think it's pointless to question the exact time and just get on with it!
Just had News Reporting; syllabus moving at a fair old lick BTW! We're into week three and now experimenting with interview technique. A great trick if you know how and something that I have been looking forward to all along. We were 'taken out of our comfort zones' and asked to pair up with someone that we haven't spent much time with. Having disappointed myself with a couple of my snap judgments of certain members of my peers, I chose Nick Shircore.
Nick is nothing like I believed him to be at the very beginning of the course. He is thoughtful, restrained and a genuinely nice guy (sorry mate! It was all me!). I want to say here and now that in the brief twenty minutes that we spent finding things out about each other I found someone that I can not only relate to and work with in the future, but someone that I would like to spend more time with in a social environment. I felt hugely vindicated after the experience because I had tried my hardest to shatter the old sage of first impressions counting double. I succeeded and feel that my liberal, laid-back approach is one that can gain momentum in any aspect of life. In a phrase: CHALLENGE THE ACCEPTED, QUESTION EVERYTHING! Who's to say that anyone who came before us had more valid ideas than us? The status-quo is something to be improved upon, not accepted as gospel! (I'm sure gospel will pop up once or twice in the future of this blog!)
Anyway, slightly bricking it this afternoon! I've got my first slot on the radio tomorrow; I'm hoping that It will go well and that it won't take me too long to ease into it and form my own style of show. Tune in tomorrow, (Wednesday) at 1100 and listen to me make a total fool of myself! ((Intranet page, Bottom left: RadioWave!)) But seriously guys, if there are any issues that you want to raise or any requests for music I'm all ears! I want to try and make my show as interactive as I possibly can! I think I'm aiming at a cross between Jo Whiley, Zane Lowe and Jeremy Vine! Sound impossible? I hope not!!!!!
Just had News Reporting; syllabus moving at a fair old lick BTW! We're into week three and now experimenting with interview technique. A great trick if you know how and something that I have been looking forward to all along. We were 'taken out of our comfort zones' and asked to pair up with someone that we haven't spent much time with. Having disappointed myself with a couple of my snap judgments of certain members of my peers, I chose Nick Shircore.
Nick is nothing like I believed him to be at the very beginning of the course. He is thoughtful, restrained and a genuinely nice guy (sorry mate! It was all me!). I want to say here and now that in the brief twenty minutes that we spent finding things out about each other I found someone that I can not only relate to and work with in the future, but someone that I would like to spend more time with in a social environment. I felt hugely vindicated after the experience because I had tried my hardest to shatter the old sage of first impressions counting double. I succeeded and feel that my liberal, laid-back approach is one that can gain momentum in any aspect of life. In a phrase: CHALLENGE THE ACCEPTED, QUESTION EVERYTHING! Who's to say that anyone who came before us had more valid ideas than us? The status-quo is something to be improved upon, not accepted as gospel! (I'm sure gospel will pop up once or twice in the future of this blog!)
Anyway, slightly bricking it this afternoon! I've got my first slot on the radio tomorrow; I'm hoping that It will go well and that it won't take me too long to ease into it and form my own style of show. Tune in tomorrow, (Wednesday) at 1100 and listen to me make a total fool of myself! ((Intranet page, Bottom left: RadioWave!)) But seriously guys, if there are any issues that you want to raise or any requests for music I'm all ears! I want to try and make my show as interactive as I possibly can! I think I'm aiming at a cross between Jo Whiley, Zane Lowe and Jeremy Vine! Sound impossible? I hope not!!!!!
Friday, October 13, 2006
To Blog the Word...
To Blog the word 'blog' may well seem slightly redundant to some people, but this is no ordinary rambling at five to two in the morning!
I came up with the idea the other day when I had entered the word into a passage. The spellcheck on this confounded (all American) website decided that it didn't recognise its own content! Can you believe that? A website, that without doubt, looks very nice; its clean, crisp templates sorting us all into lovely little boxes, but when it comes to know what it's content is; it hasn't got a clue!
In fact, this issue has incensed me so much that I refuse to tell this god-awful excuse for a spellchecker that it really should make an effort to learn the word that most of us have come to love or hate! It's bizarre! Something that you just couldn't make up if you tried! Kinda like the fuss going on down at GTMO at the moment!
You see, the BBC has come across a very interesting (classified) document belonging to the CIA. In this document it reveals the levels of paranoia at work in what seems to be all branches of the government in the US. The CIA in this document warn all involved at Camp X-ray to be on their guard for the organisation of their prisoners, their visits from their lawyers and in one case a lawyer himself! They believe that after the one to five years that these prisoners have served of their indefinite sentences, they are now trying to win their freedom through highly complicated 'mind games' with their captors! Now, just who do they think is in charge down there? Hey? I mean honestly, do you think that if you were serving an undefined and illegal sentence, seemingly out of the reach of the law, that you would suddenly think after a couple of years, "hey, I'm not going anywhere, lets see if we can get those Yankee bastards thinking we're geniuses!"? I mean, HONESTLY!
I would say to you (cringe at the 'Blairism'), I have had some military training in my short life; I'm not proud of it, but I got heavily into elite training techniques (reading about them etc.) and they're pretty difficult to achieve when you haven't been incarcerated! Let alone when you've been in solitary confinement for almost a year!
This is all in the light, this week, of another document; an affidavit signed by a female legal officer on the base, who was told boastingly by many army personnel that they freely beat inmates. And, if that wasn't bad enough!! A Naval officer that worked at the prison, this week, divulged to the world that when prisoners were deemed to be behaving well they are given Happy Meals as a reward! FUCK! I know I said I'd read up on elite training techniques, but those books that I read must have thought that one a bit too extreme for public knowledge! "Please! No! Hang me! Kick me! Shoot me! Please! Anything, but another Fillet'o'Fish sandwich!"
More evidence (if it was needed) that this prison is immoral, barbaric and, above all, illegal!
Is America as stupid (at the moment) as we give it credit for? Well, being lead by a monkey on the roll of the oil and defense industries isn't a very good start now is it?
The little black poet is alive and well in this disgruntled commentator!
I came up with the idea the other day when I had entered the word into a passage. The spellcheck on this confounded (all American) website decided that it didn't recognise its own content! Can you believe that? A website, that without doubt, looks very nice; its clean, crisp templates sorting us all into lovely little boxes, but when it comes to know what it's content is; it hasn't got a clue!
In fact, this issue has incensed me so much that I refuse to tell this god-awful excuse for a spellchecker that it really should make an effort to learn the word that most of us have come to love or hate! It's bizarre! Something that you just couldn't make up if you tried! Kinda like the fuss going on down at GTMO at the moment!
You see, the BBC has come across a very interesting (classified) document belonging to the CIA. In this document it reveals the levels of paranoia at work in what seems to be all branches of the government in the US. The CIA in this document warn all involved at Camp X-ray to be on their guard for the organisation of their prisoners, their visits from their lawyers and in one case a lawyer himself! They believe that after the one to five years that these prisoners have served of their indefinite sentences, they are now trying to win their freedom through highly complicated 'mind games' with their captors! Now, just who do they think is in charge down there? Hey? I mean honestly, do you think that if you were serving an undefined and illegal sentence, seemingly out of the reach of the law, that you would suddenly think after a couple of years, "hey, I'm not going anywhere, lets see if we can get those Yankee bastards thinking we're geniuses!"? I mean, HONESTLY!
I would say to you (cringe at the 'Blairism'), I have had some military training in my short life; I'm not proud of it, but I got heavily into elite training techniques (reading about them etc.) and they're pretty difficult to achieve when you haven't been incarcerated! Let alone when you've been in solitary confinement for almost a year!
This is all in the light, this week, of another document; an affidavit signed by a female legal officer on the base, who was told boastingly by many army personnel that they freely beat inmates. And, if that wasn't bad enough!! A Naval officer that worked at the prison, this week, divulged to the world that when prisoners were deemed to be behaving well they are given Happy Meals as a reward! FUCK! I know I said I'd read up on elite training techniques, but those books that I read must have thought that one a bit too extreme for public knowledge! "Please! No! Hang me! Kick me! Shoot me! Please! Anything, but another Fillet'o'Fish sandwich!"
More evidence (if it was needed) that this prison is immoral, barbaric and, above all, illegal!
Is America as stupid (at the moment) as we give it credit for? Well, being lead by a monkey on the roll of the oil and defense industries isn't a very good start now is it?
The little black poet is alive and well in this disgruntled commentator!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Just over two hours and Counting...
Well first proper lecture of the week is over and here I sit in the main IT suite on the Woodlane campus contemplating how to spend my recess... Well, i suppose blog posting might be a good use of my time!
News reporting this morning was very satisfactory LOL! So pompous! I really enjoy the practical aspects of the course and I think that this is really going to be my module of choice for this first semester. But anyway, after turning up WAY too early we got underway at 0930 starting with our ideas for news stories! EEK! Think fast Kit! ...and... Bingo! Sailing club! Here goes nothing; hand up like a good little boy and off we go! So I have a story, possible interviewees and several angles to portray, excellent, and I didn't even break a sweat! (he says lying!)
I love filling my time here... especially down time, it's a challenge that I've faced before, but never with the kind of motivation and sheer drive that I have for my subject of choice. Blogging comes to me easily, reading, a breeze and extra credit (that I don't brag about) a snap!
I think the problem that I'm trying to get to dear void is one of a personal nature... It's one that I refuse to whine about, so, in general I'm putting it to constructive use. My feeling of hospitality and comfort has been rocked this morning whilst sitting at this lovely G4 (that in no small way reminds me of Aragorn being wiped of all his data and reinstated, *sniff*).
I love reading other people's blogs they are a great insight; when used in a certain way, into who a person is, what drives them and what their plans are for the future. In my opinion (it might just be me: the ultimate paradox of a public journal!) this public outlet is not to ridicule, not to subversely attack and not to try to cause general mischief! So far from engaging from persons in this rather crap excuse for a forum I would call for anything said on here to be said in 'the real world'.
So go on, get to know sources of disdain and you might be very surprised by what you find!
News reporting this morning was very satisfactory LOL! So pompous! I really enjoy the practical aspects of the course and I think that this is really going to be my module of choice for this first semester. But anyway, after turning up WAY too early we got underway at 0930 starting with our ideas for news stories! EEK! Think fast Kit! ...and... Bingo! Sailing club! Here goes nothing; hand up like a good little boy and off we go! So I have a story, possible interviewees and several angles to portray, excellent, and I didn't even break a sweat! (he says lying!)
I love filling my time here... especially down time, it's a challenge that I've faced before, but never with the kind of motivation and sheer drive that I have for my subject of choice. Blogging comes to me easily, reading, a breeze and extra credit (that I don't brag about) a snap!
I think the problem that I'm trying to get to dear void is one of a personal nature... It's one that I refuse to whine about, so, in general I'm putting it to constructive use. My feeling of hospitality and comfort has been rocked this morning whilst sitting at this lovely G4 (that in no small way reminds me of Aragorn being wiped of all his data and reinstated, *sniff*).
I love reading other people's blogs they are a great insight; when used in a certain way, into who a person is, what drives them and what their plans are for the future. In my opinion (it might just be me: the ultimate paradox of a public journal!) this public outlet is not to ridicule, not to subversely attack and not to try to cause general mischief! So far from engaging from persons in this rather crap excuse for a forum I would call for anything said on here to be said in 'the real world'.
So go on, get to know sources of disdain and you might be very surprised by what you find!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Further Investigations Into The Pentagonal Pool...
In the previous blog entry there was a mention of an unusual sight in one of the ground floor offices in the main house up at Tremough. The Pentangle set into that North wall's paneling still doesn't sit well with my inquisitive mind.On Sunday my friend's Kate, Lee and I took a walk in the afternoon down into Penryn and what turned out to be a very wet Penryn at that! Before Penryn, before we'd even left the estate I noticed a break in the foliage opposite the gatehouse at the end of the driveway. Upon peering into the grotto from above the first thing that sprang into my mind is it's current seclusion.
I jumped down into the grotto to see what the two Virgin's were protecting. I knew that Jim had explained that the grotto had apparently been built after the pool. This seems to be consistent; both virgins are minus their heads, so revealing their respective constructions.
I recognised the plaster used from some buildings that my school had refurbished in the sixties. The motives that first came to my mind, even on Thursday when the image and goal of finding the pool were put into my head were ones of balance. I thought that the nuns of the school decided to negate the seemingly 'evil' motives of building such a pool in the grounds by placing images of the Virgin to protect the ones remembered there.I have done some preliminary research into Pentangles and my original conclusion may well be correct, but on the other hand, a less sensationalist or more concerned group in control of the convent may have seen other symbolism in the appearance of the two (that I am aware of) Pentangles on the grounds.
For example in Christian lore the Pentagram can be used to symbolise the five senses. With the letters S,A,L,V and S at each point it was also used to represent health. The points on the star can also be used to symbolise five fingers, the five wounds of Jesus on the cross and the five joys that Mary had of Jesus, (Annunciation, the Nativity, the Resurrection, the Ascension and the Assumption). In Islam a Pentagram has also been used to represent the five pillars of Islam and the five times of Prayer. The symbol has also been attributed to King Solomon as his seal, this is somewhat confusing as many factions connect St. David's Star to him. I think that the most interesting (but probably most coincidental) is the five joys of Mary.
At the time at which I write this and for several hundred years I suspect my original thought of a Pentangle being a sign of evil or the worshipping of evil is dominant. In recent years my investigations into Paganism, Wicca, Satanism and the Occult have lead to a fascination in artifacts such as these and far less of a feeling of alienation with such things compared to those associated with the major religions.
The jury is still out as to what the motives of the original commissioner or the erectors of the two Virgins were. The identities of the owners of the tomb stones are still elusive, but as I began this post as saying, the whole arrangement doesn't sit comfortably with me... The investigation continues...
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Tour Of Tremough and Penryn ...Jim Style!
With the rain coming down onto Rosehill in a mist of undecided droplets, the coach stood on Woodlane; as out of place and odd as the building that lay at the centre of this tour around the Tremough Campus and the surrounding area. Boarding a coach first always stirs feelings of importance in kids, and, being a big kid still, this time was no exception! "straight to the back" was the call and... Well, it just had to be done!
Once everyone had sat down and got themselves settled into their seats Jim, in tour guide mode, distributed a tourist guide to Cornwall, I suppose in an attempt to make the distinction to anyone who watched us flock around Tremough that we were in fact 'outsiders'. In a major way though the map serves as one contextual layer of everything we do here in Falmouth. Rather unexpectedly, as the bus moved off, Jim took his role as tour guide and made it his own...
As we turn onto Melvill Road he exclaims that Falmouth is a relatively new town, about three to four hundred years old. The explanation for this is a simple one; before that time the bulk of the South coast was not safe against attack from invading forces and the constant threat from Buccaneers and pirates. The castles of Pendennis and St. Mawes were some of the first structures to exist around the mouth of the River Fal, both completed in the 1540's. The beginnings of the town (according to Pevsner) didn't come for almost one hundred and fifty years later with the construction of The Church of King Charles the Martyr (1662-5) paid for by Sir Peter Killigrew. His house lies at the end of Avenue Road (Arwennack House) with the monument to his life (1737) standing opposite in all its Egyptian austerity.
We go straight out of Falmouth and into Penryn, following the riverbank towards Truro. As we turn around the harbour wall Jim explains that the industry that has kept Penryn afloat after the migration of importance down river was the shipping of the Granite mined out of the hills above the town. Before that it had been (from the early 13th century) the equivalent of Falmouth. Glasney College, founded in 1265 is drawn by Jim as a very interesting link into the past as a sort of temporal rudder for CUC to take Cornish education into the future. As we head up the main street, around the Wren-esque Town Hall we see the different eras of architechture laid out infront of us as we continue over the hill and back down to the A39 and the grotesqueries of the industrial estate and ASDA and B&Q beyond. We now travel up the bypass; alongside the estate that the college purchased from a Convent School in 1999. You can't see the magnificent new buildings on the site until you drive up the granite lined driveway past the vast building sites and a curious grey stone building on the left.
The first thing that hits you about the main building on the Tremough campus is the sheer size and boldness of the design. It towers over the road like a giant blue and black spaceship sitting on a rocky outcrop. It is impressive, not oppressive; it reeks of high design and all the decisions made to be different and conform all at the same time. It is supposed to conform with the planning regulations that were no doubt very tough for such a large building being placed within such a vista.
One of the first things mentioned after we got off the bus was one of the solutions to the planning regulations. The tree next to Jim (picture, right) is revealed to be a Sequoia; one of the Californian Giant Redwoods! Jim explains that the building can't break into the skyline... [para]So what do we do? Raise the skyline three hundred feet of course! The view is deemed to be an important one: 'one of the best in Cornwall' and it's easy to see how important it must have been to the three periods where building took place here. Obviously the main building at Tremough (picture, above) was designed to increase its impression of the landscape from within, but also the chapel (built in the nineteen-fifties, pictured below) shares the same important aspect. Jim recalls that when the college first bought the site there was a large relief of Jesus Christ on that wall.
We enter the main house through what is now the student services block. It is connected to the 18th century house via a lone corridor that shares the view over Penryn and the gardens of the house before it.
Once inside the house we walk down the main staircase (pictured, near left) and into the office at the bottom of the stairs... What we find inside is quite surprising considering that this house had been used as a convent school for so long. On the North side of the office there was a Wiccan pentangle very nicely inlaid into the oak paneling. My first thought was to the owner of the house that had it made! Jim continues; gathered in the hallway outside, he adds that down at the gatehouse on the old driveway there is a pond in the garden with the same shape.
With the house covered from several angles and views of parts of the interior etched into our short term memory it was on into the main part of the new development. As we had already seen the building from the bus stop it was time to head up the south side of the structure and through the garden entrance by the side of the design centre.
We come across several conflicting textures as we move into the heart of the courtyard. On the steps where we came in, their continuation leads onto the top of the design centre to the architect-designed roof garden. Jim tells us that the original idea is severely flawed as it was soon realised that depressed students or staff might well use it as a jumping off point (so to speak). We let ourselves into the design centre and look around its open-plan workspaces (pictured, below).
Back outside we discuss the problems and disparate nature of the juxtaposed buildings; the design centre with its organic curves, open plan work area and general positive feeling and the austere, formal shapes of the main library, office and lecture building. We are told they were designed by two different architects and that the rumour around campus is that they didn't really like each other! (It's not difficult to see why!) From the main courtyard we head up the seemingly endless pathway to the entrance of the lecture building.
Inside the main building we are greeted by the spinal corridor. In the floor's current configuration this corridor links the two columns of seminar rooms that in turn are separated by a network of moveable dividing walls.
We move into one of these rooms and discuss it's design's effect on the mood and general feeling of the room as a teaching space. We come to realise that the whole room is without any natural light... Why is this? It does seem strange when it's pointed out.
Ever onward further into the inner-reaches of the structure and towards the two large lecture theatres at the other end of the building. We sit for a while and look at the possibilities of the rather blank space while Jim carefully wraps up his tour of the buildings.
The future of Higher Education in Cornwall is secure so long as the drive behind the novelty and unique nature of the buildings and its occupants continue to exist in this south coast iddyl.
Below are some more photos that I took throughout the course of the tour.
Once everyone had sat down and got themselves settled into their seats Jim, in tour guide mode, distributed a tourist guide to Cornwall, I suppose in an attempt to make the distinction to anyone who watched us flock around Tremough that we were in fact 'outsiders'. In a major way though the map serves as one contextual layer of everything we do here in Falmouth. Rather unexpectedly, as the bus moved off, Jim took his role as tour guide and made it his own...
As we turn onto Melvill Road he exclaims that Falmouth is a relatively new town, about three to four hundred years old. The explanation for this is a simple one; before that time the bulk of the South coast was not safe against attack from invading forces and the constant threat from Buccaneers and pirates. The castles of Pendennis and St. Mawes were some of the first structures to exist around the mouth of the River Fal, both completed in the 1540's. The beginnings of the town (according to Pevsner) didn't come for almost one hundred and fifty years later with the construction of The Church of King Charles the Martyr (1662-5) paid for by Sir Peter Killigrew. His house lies at the end of Avenue Road (Arwennack House) with the monument to his life (1737) standing opposite in all its Egyptian austerity.
We go straight out of Falmouth and into Penryn, following the riverbank towards Truro. As we turn around the harbour wall Jim explains that the industry that has kept Penryn afloat after the migration of importance down river was the shipping of the Granite mined out of the hills above the town. Before that it had been (from the early 13th century) the equivalent of Falmouth. Glasney College, founded in 1265 is drawn by Jim as a very interesting link into the past as a sort of temporal rudder for CUC to take Cornish education into the future. As we head up the main street, around the Wren-esque Town Hall we see the different eras of architechture laid out infront of us as we continue over the hill and back down to the A39 and the grotesqueries of the industrial estate and ASDA and B&Q beyond. We now travel up the bypass; alongside the estate that the college purchased from a Convent School in 1999. You can't see the magnificent new buildings on the site until you drive up the granite lined driveway past the vast building sites and a curious grey stone building on the left.
The first thing that hits you about the main building on the Tremough campus is the sheer size and boldness of the design. It towers over the road like a giant blue and black spaceship sitting on a rocky outcrop. It is impressive, not oppressive; it reeks of high design and all the decisions made to be different and conform all at the same time. It is supposed to conform with the planning regulations that were no doubt very tough for such a large building being placed within such a vista.
One of the first things mentioned after we got off the bus was one of the solutions to the planning regulations. The tree next to Jim (picture, right) is revealed to be a Sequoia; one of the Californian Giant Redwoods! Jim explains that the building can't break into the skyline... [para]So what do we do? Raise the skyline three hundred feet of course! The view is deemed to be an important one: 'one of the best in Cornwall' and it's easy to see how important it must have been to the three periods where building took place here. Obviously the main building at Tremough (picture, above) was designed to increase its impression of the landscape from within, but also the chapel (built in the nineteen-fifties, pictured below) shares the same important aspect. Jim recalls that when the college first bought the site there was a large relief of Jesus Christ on that wall.
We enter the main house through what is now the student services block. It is connected to the 18th century house via a lone corridor that shares the view over Penryn and the gardens of the house before it.
Once inside the house we walk down the main staircase (pictured, near left) and into the office at the bottom of the stairs... What we find inside is quite surprising considering that this house had been used as a convent school for so long. On the North side of the office there was a Wiccan pentangle very nicely inlaid into the oak paneling. My first thought was to the owner of the house that had it made! Jim continues; gathered in the hallway outside, he adds that down at the gatehouse on the old driveway there is a pond in the garden with the same shape.
With the house covered from several angles and views of parts of the interior etched into our short term memory it was on into the main part of the new development. As we had already seen the building from the bus stop it was time to head up the south side of the structure and through the garden entrance by the side of the design centre.
We come across several conflicting textures as we move into the heart of the courtyard. On the steps where we came in, their continuation leads onto the top of the design centre to the architect-designed roof garden. Jim tells us that the original idea is severely flawed as it was soon realised that depressed students or staff might well use it as a jumping off point (so to speak). We let ourselves into the design centre and look around its open-plan workspaces (pictured, below).
Back outside we discuss the problems and disparate nature of the juxtaposed buildings; the design centre with its organic curves, open plan work area and general positive feeling and the austere, formal shapes of the main library, office and lecture building. We are told they were designed by two different architects and that the rumour around campus is that they didn't really like each other! (It's not difficult to see why!) From the main courtyard we head up the seemingly endless pathway to the entrance of the lecture building.
Inside the main building we are greeted by the spinal corridor. In the floor's current configuration this corridor links the two columns of seminar rooms that in turn are separated by a network of moveable dividing walls.
We move into one of these rooms and discuss it's design's effect on the mood and general feeling of the room as a teaching space. We come to realise that the whole room is without any natural light... Why is this? It does seem strange when it's pointed out.
Ever onward further into the inner-reaches of the structure and towards the two large lecture theatres at the other end of the building. We sit for a while and look at the possibilities of the rather blank space while Jim carefully wraps up his tour of the buildings.
The future of Higher Education in Cornwall is secure so long as the drive behind the novelty and unique nature of the buildings and its occupants continue to exist in this south coast iddyl.
Below are some more photos that I took throughout the course of the tour.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Weekend over!!! A Meditation on Expeditions!
Well Kids, there we are; the wonders of the first weekend of freshers fortnight done and dusted for another year! How does everyone feel!? I've just hopped out of the shower; been trying to wash away that dirty feeling after a particularly heavy evening and weekend of ups and downs! Just be thankful that my housemate Matt didn't get his way tonight! I would have been singing Meatloaf very loudly at the Stannery crowds to the pleasure of only him I feel! I think I've missed a chance to shine, but equally a chance to be shot down in flames!
This weekend started with a persuasion to attend the seventies disco night... Not such a bad idea, but one that had bittersweet written all over it!! Sure enough, by the start of Saturday morning I'd had phone calls from Glasgow and a bit of a throbbing headache! The two weren't related in any way, just happened to occur at the same time, but I wasn't to be believed!
Saturday was more an afternoon than anything else! We had all hit the sack pretty early in the morning, but I think mine was pretty impressive standing as it did at four o'clock. Rugby was a bust; I finally managed to kick myself out of bed at about twenty-five to twelve. If I had thrown my kit on at that moment, I could have made it down to the ground, but it just wasn't to be! My ex-girlfriend Kimberly called at the moment that hasty exits crackled across my synapse'. After a hour and a half filled with frustrations on both sides, evacuation, toothbrushing and an unknown mealtime lay in front of me; Is it still Brunch if it's after midday?
My famous barbecue beans, garlic mushrooms, bacon, fried egg and toast, washed down with a nice cup'o'tea was the perfect start to the rescue of Saturday and all its occupants! Sure enough, the design of the accommodation down here comes to my aid once again... ...Enough shared, enough separate... Katey was planning on joining the Expedition society and Lucy and Gemma wanted to go along for the introductory amble along the coast to the South of Falmouth beach. Whilst an Englishman enjoys his first cup'o'tea of the day he is instilled with feelings of power, conquest and an undeniable need to get on (once said cup is finished). I thought a mild walk along the shore in the afternoon would put feelings of a wasted day behind me so plans were made to that effect.
Whilst waiting for the bus outside the Media centre the four of us found ourselves not alone on this first part of our evening's excursion. Twelve students waiting for a bus that didn't arrive, joining the two previous buses that had done the same! With the impossible task of reaching the Moor in fifteen minutes looming large a white knight appeared in the form of a man with a van!!
The twelve of us wanting to go down to town were offered a lift and... Well... Needs must!
The walk ended up being a total washout! We set off from the Moor half an hour late just in time for the heavens to open and Thor to knock out a tune! We arrived at the Maritime Museum and the weaker members of our number were given the option to turn back (which they duly did). Katey (being an absolute trooper) wanted to carry on and none of us had any reason to turn back! By the time we got to the Beach the wind and rain had convinced even the leaders of the society! We held up in the cafe and scoffed down cake and hot chocolate before heading back to initiate the new plan of all cooking together back at the flat.
Spag Bol was the choice, I was the cook and the company was great! We all sat at the table in the kitchen (NO TV ON!) bottle of my favorite red was polished off before deciding what movie we should all watch. We decided that we could do a good deed by helping our friend Harriet overcome her fear of Jurassic Park and watch a great movie all at the same time! We managed to squeeze both the original and The Lost World all before expiring at around two o'clock!
The Freshers Fair was always one of my favorite events during my two previous freshers weeks and this was no exception! You can feel the enthusiasm coursing through every participant and likely signature holders! I signed up for Rowing, Rugby, Film and surf societies, Zen Meditation and a surf lesson on Wednesday.
The headache is gone now and my bed looks very inviting (no matter how un-made-up it is!)...
As an endnote, I heard from my sister Hannah this morning. She has arrived in Normandy already having a great time and being weirded out all at the same time! I miss her as I think she is the only thing that could make this experience better! She is on her own expedition into territories unknown and I'm thinking about you frequently H!
Pyjamas Pyjamas!
This weekend started with a persuasion to attend the seventies disco night... Not such a bad idea, but one that had bittersweet written all over it!! Sure enough, by the start of Saturday morning I'd had phone calls from Glasgow and a bit of a throbbing headache! The two weren't related in any way, just happened to occur at the same time, but I wasn't to be believed!
Saturday was more an afternoon than anything else! We had all hit the sack pretty early in the morning, but I think mine was pretty impressive standing as it did at four o'clock. Rugby was a bust; I finally managed to kick myself out of bed at about twenty-five to twelve. If I had thrown my kit on at that moment, I could have made it down to the ground, but it just wasn't to be! My ex-girlfriend Kimberly called at the moment that hasty exits crackled across my synapse'. After a hour and a half filled with frustrations on both sides, evacuation, toothbrushing and an unknown mealtime lay in front of me; Is it still Brunch if it's after midday?
My famous barbecue beans, garlic mushrooms, bacon, fried egg and toast, washed down with a nice cup'o'tea was the perfect start to the rescue of Saturday and all its occupants! Sure enough, the design of the accommodation down here comes to my aid once again... ...Enough shared, enough separate... Katey was planning on joining the Expedition society and Lucy and Gemma wanted to go along for the introductory amble along the coast to the South of Falmouth beach. Whilst an Englishman enjoys his first cup'o'tea of the day he is instilled with feelings of power, conquest and an undeniable need to get on (once said cup is finished). I thought a mild walk along the shore in the afternoon would put feelings of a wasted day behind me so plans were made to that effect.
Whilst waiting for the bus outside the Media centre the four of us found ourselves not alone on this first part of our evening's excursion. Twelve students waiting for a bus that didn't arrive, joining the two previous buses that had done the same! With the impossible task of reaching the Moor in fifteen minutes looming large a white knight appeared in the form of a man with a van!!
The twelve of us wanting to go down to town were offered a lift and... Well... Needs must!
The walk ended up being a total washout! We set off from the Moor half an hour late just in time for the heavens to open and Thor to knock out a tune! We arrived at the Maritime Museum and the weaker members of our number were given the option to turn back (which they duly did). Katey (being an absolute trooper) wanted to carry on and none of us had any reason to turn back! By the time we got to the Beach the wind and rain had convinced even the leaders of the society! We held up in the cafe and scoffed down cake and hot chocolate before heading back to initiate the new plan of all cooking together back at the flat.
Spag Bol was the choice, I was the cook and the company was great! We all sat at the table in the kitchen (NO TV ON!) bottle of my favorite red was polished off before deciding what movie we should all watch. We decided that we could do a good deed by helping our friend Harriet overcome her fear of Jurassic Park and watch a great movie all at the same time! We managed to squeeze both the original and The Lost World all before expiring at around two o'clock!
The Freshers Fair was always one of my favorite events during my two previous freshers weeks and this was no exception! You can feel the enthusiasm coursing through every participant and likely signature holders! I signed up for Rowing, Rugby, Film and surf societies, Zen Meditation and a surf lesson on Wednesday.
The headache is gone now and my bed looks very inviting (no matter how un-made-up it is!)...
As an endnote, I heard from my sister Hannah this morning. She has arrived in Normandy already having a great time and being weirded out all at the same time! I miss her as I think she is the only thing that could make this experience better! She is on her own expedition into territories unknown and I'm thinking about you frequently H!
Pyjamas Pyjamas!
Friday, September 29, 2006
A New Beginning, FINALLY!!
So, thats it! I'm finally at Falmouth! (love the ring to that incidentally). With the first week over and done with, the waiting is almost over! Lectures start on Monday and quite frankly, the anticipation is pretty overwhelming, but i shall endeavour to get through the excitement for you dear reader.
My fear of failure is slowly subsiding as the first day approaches... Having such an unusual background along with a very odd educational path to get here hopefully gives me an ability to stand out from the crowd, but has also given me a fear of incompatibility with our literary and critical assignments.
Our first reading assignment was sneaked into the end of our photo presentation this morning and although the material is pretty complex when you first get into it, it reaveals a style that, once a few paragraphs are read, is easy to digest.
My mood is content, but my eagerness to get on is allowing me to prepare myself fully for the weeks ahead and the career beyond that.
I feel a weekend of Reading and Rugby are on the cards!
My fear of failure is slowly subsiding as the first day approaches... Having such an unusual background along with a very odd educational path to get here hopefully gives me an ability to stand out from the crowd, but has also given me a fear of incompatibility with our literary and critical assignments.
Our first reading assignment was sneaked into the end of our photo presentation this morning and although the material is pretty complex when you first get into it, it reaveals a style that, once a few paragraphs are read, is easy to digest.
My mood is content, but my eagerness to get on is allowing me to prepare myself fully for the weeks ahead and the career beyond that.
I feel a weekend of Reading and Rugby are on the cards!
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