Saturday 31 March 2012

Happy 200th Charlie D!


Most recent article in Impact...
Charles Dickens: father of some of the most iconic characters of English literature. This year marks the big two-double-zero for him, and, as part of our birthday celebrations for dearest Charles, we thought we’d provide you with a handy Blagger’s Guide on a few of his most celebrated quotations and how to neatly drop them into conversation…
Oliver Twist (1838)
“Please, sir, I want some more!” ? This is a perfect one for the typical dining hall scenario where the dear, kind hospitality staff simply haven’t put enough on your plate again.
“Don’t cry into your gruel; that’s very foolish”, basically translates to,
“Stop crying into your cheerios; it won’t solve the fact that you got with him”.
A Christmas Carol (1843)
“Bah, humbug!” ? Classically about Christmas, this can always be adopted to shoot down an opponent in an argument. Always.
“Darkness is cheap” can be adopted when justifying to visitors why the lights should be kept off. Those £2 saved could easily buy you a vodka lemonade.
“The night is waning fast, and it is precious time to me, I know. Lead on, Spirit!” ? To be used in dire taxi situations, just in case the driver isn’t grasping the fact that your nightclub ticket expires at 10.30!
A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
“It is a far, far better thing I do, that I have ever done…” ? When you’ve finally dragged yourself away from Fifa/Facebook/Topshop.com and have started your essay.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” – University in a nutshell.
Great Expectations (1860)
“A young gentleman of great expectations!” ? Hopefully others will say this about you when you’ve finally submitted your KPMG application.
“Take another glass of wine, and … turn it bottom upwards with the rim on one’s nose” ? A good one for your next pre-lash…
Bleak House (1952)
“Fog everywhere.” ? Pretty much speaks for itself…
“It is a melancholy truth that even great men have their poor relations.” ? A casual remark that could be adopted when your housemate has brought home a partner you don’t approve of.
And lastly, upon his death-bed, the great man himself is rumoured to have uttered: “Be natural my children. For the writer that is natural has fulfilled all the rules of art.” Make of that what you will.
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Wednesday 14 March 2012

a pause for thought


I’m currently writing two essays AND trying my very hardest to keep on top of current affairs, so that when I’m taking my well deserved 4 hour gossip/coffee break in the Hallward CafĂ©, I can avidly discuss who’s next to be hauled into Levenson or whether Germany will in fact ever recruit a president who is more capable in his job than my 10 year old cousin would be.

And it’s exactly in this mix of historical essays and current affairs that things get interesting. Yes, I admit, I have reached that stage of education where I actually find my subject interesting! (To be honest, considering it’s costing me £3,290 a year, I may as well.) Let me explain…

Presentation Work: The Profumo Affair: 1963
-       a British political scandal, where John Profumo, Secretary of State for War had an affair with Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Russian spy. He then denied it in the House of Commons but later admitted to lying and resigned. This was the first time that such a scandal was splattered all over the media and where the traditional British ‘cover up and carry on’ was completely abandoned…government and media conflict…

Essay 1: The Kinsey Reports
-       in the 60s, the American Alfred Kinsey released a couple of ‘sex surveys’ which showed that ‘scandalous’ and ‘unimaginable’ things such as petting and homosexuality were in fact very normal and common! HUGE tabloid coverage and intervention of ‘the establishment’…government and media conflict…

Essay 2: The 1968 Student Movement and generational conflict in West Germany
-       in 1968 the students of West Germany criticized their elders and the government, accusing them of still having fascist tendencies and urging them (through pretty radical methods) to confront this Nazi past and deal with the politics of memory.  There was obviously huge media coverage, but whilst some papers supported the government, others supported the students and some journalists and publishers were arrested…government and media conflict…

Current Affairs: News of the World Scandal
-       no need to elaborate here I feel, but yes, surprise surprise…government and media conflict…

George Orwell once very nicely said: “Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”

 Sadly though, I feel that these examples pretty much just highlight that although Joe Bloggs may now read The Guardian on his super sleek iPads, the press mentality is still exactly the same. Just that now I can go and twitter about it.

Oh how Times have changed..?
(sorry)

Tuesday 6 March 2012

The only fashion advice you'll ever need...

The other day I went to Sainsbury's across the road wearing my pyjamas. Now I know full well that in the wider world, socially this is just not ok. However, I'm in my last semester of university (yes, scary) and so I simply HAD to do it. Students can get away with wearing pretty much anything...'this old thing? Yeah, it was my Grandad's jumper..' and sometimes I do just love to spend the day in my pyjamas. Nonetheless, university has provided me (obviously amongst other things!) with me a few valuable dressing tips...



1) The sales are there because the shops want to get rid of their leftover stock. Face it, that leather corset with the edgy zip detail is there because it's gross and no-one wants it. Those £10 would be better spent on a cinema ticket/dinner out/ANYTHING else...

2) If you want comfort, embrace comfort. Just like when you're craving chocolate, surprise surprise, your body is telling you you need a pick-me-up, when you want comfy clothing, that is literally all that will suffice! Be it for a journey, a library session, a hang-over day or a mooch around town.

3) Leggings are only socially acceptable if you're a girl, are under 25, your derriere is covered and they're OPAQUE ie a THICK black material where we CANNOT see you under garments. 

4)You'll be drawn to particular clothing styles probably because you feel comfortable in them and they suit you, so embrace that! Buy things because you like them and they make you feel good not because Kate Moss looked good in it. Then again, K-dog obviously has the exact same fashion style and taste as me... 

5) If in doubt, wear black; it's smart, it's casual, it's smart-casual. Oh and it's slimming.


Sunday 4 March 2012

I'm still here!

So I haven't blogged in a fair while, simply because the Third Year work load has got a bit ridiculous and I'm currently working on two essays... But fear not, once inspiration hits me I'll be right back in the game! x