tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28591005087131155722024-03-05T12:10:54.482+00:00The thoughts of an owlI'm a 30 something bloke, a dad, a writer, a musician, and interested in all kinds of stuff. Music, films, books, TV, theatre, thinking, and everything in between.Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-3312015887012729312016-05-04T00:42:00.000+01:002016-05-04T00:47:30.330+01:00You beautiful blue bastards<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Leicester City are the Premier League
Champions. Who’d have thought you could type that outside of some cruel joke.
But it’s true. And it’s absolutely crazy.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276308/Article/images/29216223/14170529-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276308/Article/images/29216223/14170529-large.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">No, I’m not Leicester born and bred. I grew
up in Essex, not really having a club that I supported. I followed Liverpool,
because they were the best team at the time, but I really fell out of love with
football for quite a long time.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Fast-forward to 1998 and aged 18, and I
moved to Leicester for University. At the time I was more excited by the prospect
of a world class rugby club on my doorstep, having played throughout college,
and the Tigers’ ongoing success was amazing to experience, first as a student,
and then as an adult, setting myself up for a new life in the city. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At this time, it was the height of the
Martin O’Neill era, and Matty Elliott had lifted the league cup twice. But as a
Tigers fan (as I now classed myself) there was the distinct feeling that the
best rugby team in the country were getting a raw deal from the press in favour
of City. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">You couldn’t ignore the new stadium being
built, right on the edge of my old campus and just a stone’s throw from my
house on Hinckley Road. But it came at the same time as relegation, and the
hiring of Micky Adams, who I always liked. It was impossible not to feel sorry
for the club as they then announced they were heading into administration. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I went to see them a few times around this
period, watching the once proud club scraping out 1-0 wins against the likes of
Gillingham and Burnley. I loved the humour. The "whoooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaa YOU'RE SHIT Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...." after every opporsition goal kick in front of the Kop. And even this year, as we secured the Championship, the fans chanting "We are staying up". </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Because that was Leicester. The yoyo club. Up, down, then up, then down, then down even further, to the
third tier. At this point we’d moved house, and our elderly neighbour Norman
was a huge Leicester City fan, man and boy. We used to talk about the club over
the fence, he’d swear about Milan Mandaric and the revolving managerial door
which reached its nadir (so he said) with the appointment of Sven Goran
Eriksson. He died in 2011 and I do wish he'd have been able to see this.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At this point I was following the club
more, and took a real interest in their trials and tribulations. The
re-appointment of Pearson, the heart-breaking last minute loss to Watford in
the play-off semi-finals, the joy of the Championship-winning season, then the
unbelievable win against Man Utd. Then came the strangest season ever (or so I
thought). Leicester should have won more than they did, but they couldn’t stop
leaking goals, and they weren’t helped by Pearson’s ever more bizarre
behaviour.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The recovery from being bottom of the
league was something seriously amazing, and at this point they had truly
captured my imagination and my heart. This club, in my adopted city, doing
this. They were my team. I was a true blue Leicester City fan. I’m not the
biggest die-hard fan, I have friends who go to every single match. But I live
in the city, have done for 18 years, and my kids were born at the Royal, just a
stone’s throw from the King Power.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And this season. I can’t write enough about
this, and won’t. Many others have done so, and far better than me. I do however
think that this team sums up what it is to be Leicester. A team full of
unwanted and marginalized players. Players who were forgotten about, or passed
over for bigger or more glamorous names. Very much like the city itself. You
have Schmeichel, continuing the tradition of great Leicester keepers like Banks
and Shilton. You have the solid central defence of Morgan and Huth and being a
former centre back myself I can appreciate their discipline and positioning to
not let anything past. You have a midfield made up of other clubs cast-offs
(Albrighton and Drinkwater) and a couple of mercurial players, a magical Algerian
Muslim and a hardworking French Malian. The diversity of Leicester shines
through this team. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then you have the main man, a rough and
ready factory worker who’d missed out on his best chance years ago, but was
given another. A real Cinderella story (but substitute the glass slipper for
Reebok Classics). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there’s
Claudio. The Don. The Italian Uncle everyone wishes they had. He will go down
in Leicester legend and deservedly so.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So three cheers for the unfancied 5000-1
shot, the team who no-one ever gave a chance to, the Fox among the roosters.
Leicester City, you bloody beautiful blue bastards!</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://vimeo.com/165083670">Celebrations in Leicester</a></span></div>
Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-82161027055230863452015-10-07T16:04:00.001+01:002015-10-07T16:04:31.495+01:00A Greater Britain - reframing David Cameron's speech to the Conservative conference.I was looking at David Cameron's speech to the Conservative conference, and his out-of-context attacks on Jeremy Corbyn. Then I thought just how easy it is to misrepresent someone when you take their words out of context.<br />
<br />
So here, for the first time, is David Cameron's Greater Britain speech. Shocking, I'm sure you'll agree.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“I am so
proud to be standing here in front of you today – back in government...</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">…and not
just any government – a majority Conservative Government. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">To the
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When you
put your cross in the Conservative box, you were putting your faith in us.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">---</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">What happened that night?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
Conservatives, winning across Wales; on the march in the Midlands. Bolton West,
Derby North, Berwick, Wells – Conservative once more… …Gower for the first time
ever.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
North, more Tory; the South, the East, almost a clean sweep… …and Cornwall –
that wonderful county – 100 per cent Conservative.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">They
didn’t understand the people who make up our country. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For me,
that has a very literal meaning. I am not going to fight another election as
your leader. We cannot let that man inflict his security-threatening,
terrorist-sympathising, Britain-hating ideology on the country we love. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">---</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In all
the challenges we face, we will be guided by our Conservative values. </span></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
scourge of poverty.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The brick
wall of blocked opportunity.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
shadow of extremism</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Delivering
this social reform is entirely fitting with the great history of the
Conservative Party</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">To save
Britain from the danger of … A Greater Britain – that is our goal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">---</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Thousands
of words have been written about the new Labour leader.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">But you
only really need to know one thing: he thinks the death of Osama bin Laden was
a “tragedy”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In the
coming years, we’ll be launching the biggest aircraft carriers in our history…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">…a new
class of Hunter Killer submarines…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">…new Joint
Strike Fighter jets; improved Apache helicopters; a new fleet of drones…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">We will
never be safe here in Britain until we eradicate that death cult. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">---</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Believe
me, I have no romantic attachment to the European Union and its institutions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I’m only
interested in two things</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">America
and China</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">We still
need to </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Print
more money</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">---</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">You know
what makes me most angry about Labour?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">No – not
the rich…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">…it’s
poor people, working people.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">If you
want something done about it, come to us, the Conservatives.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">But for
me, there’s one big piece of unfinished business in our economy </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A more
prosperous Britain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">that
means entering those no-go zones, where politicians often don’t dare to
venture. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Why?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Homes
where no-one works; children growing up in chaos; addiction, mental health
problems, abuse, family breakdown </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Nearly
two-thirds of children in poverty have parents who are in jobs. For them, work
hasn’t worked. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So let
the message go out: if you work hard, want to get on, want more money at the
end of the month</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Improve
or be taken over”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When it’s
serious enough, that punishment must mean prison. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">---</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
system is still not working.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Britain
has the lowest social mobility in the developed world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Here, the
salary you earn is more linked to what your father got paid than in any other
major country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Our
reforms are already working.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">This
movement is sweeping across our country. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For too
many people, even a good education isn’t enough. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When I
read what some young people born and brought up in this country are doing, it
makes me feel sick to my stomach. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">More
children studying maths and science. More learning coding and engineering. More
doing the extra-curricular activities that teach confidence and build
character. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">That is
why I’m so passionate about academies and free schools.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">We have
to stop it at the start </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So I can
announce this today:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">If an
institution is teaching children intensively, then whatever its religion, we
will, like any other school, make it register so it can be inspected.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">This is
passive tolerance. And I’ll tell you where it leads</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Freedom.
Democracy. Equality. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">We
shouldn’t just be saying what’s wrong with these practices; we should be saying
what’s right with Britain. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Our way,
the Conservative way, the only way to greater days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So big
battles. Big arguments. A Greater Britain.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So I have
a message for those who voted for us and those who never have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">We can be
that Greater Britain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Because
we know this: nothing is written.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">We’ve
proved it in schools across our country…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A Greater
Britain…</span></div>
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Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-71110993778439420292014-05-06T20:41:00.002+01:002014-05-06T20:41:46.843+01:00Confessions of a Harry Potter virgin: The Philosopher's Stone, or Flight of the Gryffindor<div>
As Bilbo said, I have put this off for far too long, but I'm at a stage to start finally. So, as promised, a Harry Potter newbie's thoughts on the world of Potter and friends.</div>
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So, we kick off with an Owl. Quite apt really. </div>
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The owl is in the middle of leafy suburbia, and heralds the arrival of a biker from hell. Well, Hogwarts. Hagrid is bringing baby Harry to his Aunt and Uncle, who are really quite monstrous. They keep him in a cupboard under the stairs to be mistreated by their spoilt little boy, who is exactly the sort of precocious little dick who you'd quite happily slap silly (more of them later).</div>
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So Harry finds funny things happening to him, before letters start arriving marked Hogwarts. His Uncle Monty... No, sorry, Vernon (Richard Griffiths is deliciously wicked here) does everything possible to stop Harry getting his letter, taking the family off to a tiny rocky island (little explanation here, I'm guessing the book does more).</div>
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Back comes Hagrid, who has the most delicious turn of phrase and the greatest use of the word 'Codswallop'. He's also a bit of a liability, but more on that later. Hagrid scares the family silly, and tells Harry about his past, before whisking him off to London. </div>
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So far it seems like a series of vignettes. Others have said it's very faithful to the book, and possibly it's turned into more of a series of sketches of some of the key scenes as an intro. It starts to fall together a little more once Harry's with Hagrid. He heads into the murkiest pub in the history of film, to step through a magic wall and into a street right out of Dickens to buy all the magic essentials. A lovely cameo by John Hurt sees Harry find his wand, and is told it's the twin of Voldemort's (I thought he should not be named?)</div>
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Tooled up and ready to go, Harry heads to a pre-renovation St Pancras to find platform 9 3/4 and the train to Hogwarts where he meets ginger lad Ron Weasley. What I hadn't realised before starting was that everyone already knows Harry, and he's the famous kid around wizard world. It's a nice touch that he knows nothing about this place and already has all these ludicrous expectations on his shoulders, nicely illustrated in the scene where Snape mockingly questions him in front of a room of sniggering students and an 'oh Miss I know the answer so much my arm's going to come off' Hermione Granger.</div>
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The world of Hogwarts is beautifully realised, and we get some talking head exposition from goody two shoes Granger and meet the four houses, of whom I'm guessing we really only need to worry about Gryffyndor, home to Harry, Ron and Hermione (yay!) and nasty Slytherin (BOO!) home to another precocious little shit, Lucius Malfoy.</div>
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We learn dastardly things are afoot, and our trio of heroes meet a three headed dog called Fluffy, who guards the Philosopher's Stone, a source of Ancient Magic (capitalised on purpose). They also inadvertently stumble upon a wandering troll, who Ron manages to defeat in an act of sheer coolness that belies his stumbling efforts in classes.</div>
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Then Quidditch. Which in the grand tradition of sport is almost completely incomprehensible. Lucky then that the vast majority of people on the field are completely redundant, all you need to do is catch the Golden Snitch to win. Kind of like the yellow marble in Hungry Hungry Hippos. Of course Harry catches the Snitch, by falling off his broomstick and swallowing it. Is that in the rules? Given the lengths someone was going to make him lose, you'd expect a steward's enquiry at the very least...</div>
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Darstardly things are afoot and it seems Professor Snape (Alan Rickman channelling Hans Gruber in full-on sneer mode) is behind it all. There's also a mirror where Harry whiles away his hours looking at his dead parents. Dumbledore admonishes him saying it's possible to get addicted to the mirror. Well, at least it's healthier than online porn, or writing slash about Dumbledore and Hagrid. What?</div>
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So, after snitching little shit Malfoy gets them into trouble, our pals have to head into the haunted forest where Harry is almost attacked by a ringwraith. No, sorry, Voldemort, who is drinking unicorn blood. As you do. Then Hagrid, who is the worst spy in the world, reveals he's given away the secret of how to get to the Philosopher's Stone to a bloke in the pub. Nice one Hagrid.</div>
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So we conclude. Slytherin win the house competition, our heroes have lost. But wait. In a quite flagrant case of Deus Ex Dumbledoria, the head wizard awards just enough points that Gryffindor scrape a narrow victory. </div>
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Now... Isn't this all a little too neat? Now, I'm not saying it was a conspiracy, but it seems that Dumbledore was at the heart of this all. And all of a sudden his favourite house have just enough points to allow them to win. So. Isn't this whole Philosopher's Stone, Voldemort business just an elaborate ruse so that Gryffindor win the house competition?</div>
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More to come...</div>
Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-273117566821885652013-10-24T14:23:00.001+01:002013-10-24T14:23:14.559+01:00Confessions of a Harry Potter virgin<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
I've managed to avoid Harry Potter until now. Not intentionally you know, it just has never crossed my path. Now there are many (in geekdom and further) who find that incredible. How on earth could I have not seen Harry Potter.</div>
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Well, I haven't. Actually, let me clarify, I've seen bits of the films on TV occasionally, usually as the wallpaper to a skull-splitting hangover or a family christmas gathering, but I've never seen the first film, and never sat down to watch any in their entirety.</div>
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So here we go. I've got the Blu Ray boxset and will be watching them all, from the outset, and posting my thoughts here, because it helps to talk about this, and why I've utterly failed as a geek. Well, not failed, but while Potter was busy becoming a globe-spanning behemoth, I was obsessed with the Lord of the Rings films, and re-reading the books. I had been waiting for them since I was little. Then children came, and they were too little for the wee wizard. </div>
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So... Greetings to Harry, and Hermione, and Ron, and the rest. Now to find out more about all these half-heard, little understood concepts that keep invading my consciousness. Muggles, hufflepuff, Tom Riddle, Horcruxes.</div>
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I'll chart my thoughts about the films, (this may take some time, as I have two young children, and that does not afford much time for watching!) and what I think about the world. I may even read the books. We'll see. Until then...</div>
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Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-52205123087828595572013-05-13T21:58:00.002+01:002013-05-13T21:58:45.249+01:00Can you hear me Mr Gove?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US">Michael Gove, the nations favourite
know-nothing Government Minister has been out opining in public about subjects
he knows nothing about. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Well, I say public, I mean the Daily Mail.
The non-thinking man’s daily newspaper.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Plus ca change plus ca la meme chose. And
again he’s criticising stuff that he seriously knows nothing about. It’s all to
do with a history exercise, in which students have to take the knowledge they
have about the rise of Hitler and assimilate it into a ‘Mr Men’ style book.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now Gove is holding this up as evidence of
the infantalising of children and the dumbing down of education. Yet again, he
so spectacularly misses the point that it’s almost comical. In fact, speaking
of comics, there’s a particularly good cartoon, drawn by Steven Collins,
reimagining Gove as the hero of Independence Day… It doesn’t end well, and with
every public pronouncement, becomes more and more true.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At the same time as this is happening,
Commander Chris Hadfield of the International Space Station tweeted a link to a
video he’s recorded while on the station. It’s him singing Bowie’s Space
Oddity, and it really is rather beautiful. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I defy any ten year old to watch that video
and not want to become an astronaut. And in many ways this is what this is all
about. The distillation of knowledge, which allows someone to communicate with
others in an elegant way and invoke a sense of wonder is a very rare gift.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Chris Hadfield has spent his time on the
space station engaging with people on social media, and communicating his research
findings in a very simple, yet effective way. This study into the way water
behaves when you squeeze a flannel is enthralling.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The students who’ve created their Mr Men
books have taken an incredibly complex subject, learnt about it, and taken all
that information, and communicated it in a simple way. That isn’t infantilizing.
It’s actually incredibly hard. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To take a complex subject, like the rise of
national socialism, or the behaviour of water in zero gravity and make it
engaging to kids is what teachers across the country do every single day. It is
this that Gove seems to want to replace with the dry, by-rote learning that he
treasures so much from his schooldays.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The simple fact is times move on. Things
get better, people learn when given examples that they can relate to. For example, the use of a Mr Men format can be used to make a point quite beautifully, quite elegantly, and far more effectively than a long key-point referenced piece. <a href="http://paulbernal.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/mr-gove/">See</a>?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Research and by-rote learning has impact. When people can see that impact, they are more likely to support the things that cause those effects. Meaning more money being put into sciences, or universities, or the NHS. When people see those effects, they (hopefully) won't then vote for
short-term policies like the reduction of funding to schools, hospitals and universities across the country. This may save the country money in the short term, but an investment in the minds and futures of the young people of this country is an investment in the future of this country.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Major Tom vs Mr Gove. I know who I’d
choose.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-2235286352567874052012-06-09T08:41:00.001+01:002012-06-09T21:44:31.490+01:00555%: The future's bright, the future's Ginger<style>
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If you were around in
the 90s and had your ear to the alternative scene, you may well be aware of a
band called The Wildhearts. You may also be aware that the man behind them was
called Ginger. </div>
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Well, if this was the
NME, this would be a where are they now feature, but as I’m a fan of most of
Ginger’s work I can tell you that he’s actually one of the most prolific and
talented UK songwriters of the past 20 years. </div>
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Eight albums with the
Wildhearts, three or four solo albums (depending on who’s counting) and an
unerring ear for melody and crunch, which takes in ABBA, Cheap Trick, Sparks,
Metallica and everything in between.</div>
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He’s also very
available to his fans, being a big fan of Twitter, and running a Formspring
question and answer forum where he’s answered thousands of questions from his
fans. Anyway, disillusioned with the rock lifestyle last year, he was close to
quitting, before someone told him about Pledge music. </div>
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Pledge is a
crowd-sourced album funding model. Ginger, never the biggest fan of record companies,
gave it a go, setting a modest target to be reached in around six weeks so that
he could realise his dream of recording a triple album.</div>
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The record was fully
funded within six hours, and a couple of months down the line stood at 555% of
the total. Which is what he decided to call the album.</div>
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<a href="http://thewildhearts.com/gfx/artwork/frankenstein_art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://thewildhearts.com/gfx/artwork/frankenstein_art.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now some ‘rock stars’
may choose to take the money and just bang out an album. Not Ginger. He roped
in musicians he’d worked with throughout his career, from CJ and Ritch of
WIldhearts fame, Willie Dowling of Whatever and Meg and Mog fame, Jon Poole of
random (and Cardiacs) fame, and the relatively unknown Chris Catalyst, Rich
Jones and Victoria Liedtke.</div>
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The album runs the
gamut of styles from Simon and Garfunkel style folk, to Rush inspired
intrumentals, a punk blast or two, and the pop genius that Ginger has become
rightly famous for.</div>
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The sheer variety on
offer here is almost ridiculous. Westward Ho! (A New Reputation) is an
off-kilter pop tune, with big choruses and a African-inspired mid section,
which takes it to a whole other level.</div>
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Of course there are
the standard Ginger rockers, with I-N-T-E-R-N-A-L-R-adio, The Other Side, Baby
Skies and Beautifully, Blissfully Unsettled being tunes you’d expect of mid-90s
Wildhearts, but it’s on the tracks where he cuts loose from his past that the
album really shines.</div>
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Another Spinning
Fucking Rainbow (surely a candidate for best song title of the year) begins
with a squelchy bassline, mutates into a Stevie Wonder funk riff, and end up
with a country-inspired chorus. And Taste Aversion is a big showtune of a metal
blast, with the radio baiting chorus “Fucked from behind”. Not one to play with
the kids around!</div>
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Ginger also shows
himself as a superb ballad writer. On each disc of the album there’s a track
which gives the album an extra lift. Incidental Noises is a funk-lite ballad
about the annoying things your other half does, Illuminating Times a beautiful
soft tune, and Sleeping in the Light an inspiring track featuring full
orchestration and sky-high choruses.</div>
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The real stand-outs
though are a track that pushes the limits of his band, a simple and sweet tune,
and an 80s inspired rocker. We’ve Been Expecting You is a 60s-esque campfire
tune about the birth of a child and is one of the sweetest, most heartfelt things
I’ve heard Ginger do. Lover It’ll All Work Out is possibly the best straight-ahead
rock tune Ginger has ever written, with inspiring lyrics referencing his
near-retirement from music.</div>
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And the final
stand-out is the closer to disc one. Time begins with a stately Big Ben guitar
refrain. Timing changes throughout, and chorus that owes a lot to the Beatles,
before hitting a proggy middle section which takes the song into the
stratosphere. There’s hints of Pink Floyd in there, and a bit more Rush. It’s
truly spectacular.</div>
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It’s a crowning moment
on an album with many highs, and very few lows (Very Very Slow, a real filler
track). But the fact that 30 tracks, written by one man in a very short period,
can be so consistently brilliantly is truly astounding.</div>
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Not only is this a
highlight in Ginger’s career, it’s also testament to what musicians can achieve
outside the traditional confines of the record industry. It’s difficult to
imagine a record label giving him this freedom to record whatever his creative
impulse wanted to, and I hope to see more artists take these kind of risks.</div>Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-19439425338767155892011-07-19T10:56:00.000+01:002011-07-19T10:56:05.161+01:00"Wanters, not needers. Hypocrites and cheaters…<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">…this is the News of the World." </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LYyXREJSHGs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So the Wildhearts wrote in 1993. It still seems remarkably prescient, with lyrics such as "We changed, we didn’t even try. We opened up our mouths, telling all those lies to ourselves… And everybody else." This seemingly speaks down the years for this whole sorry saga.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the intervening 18 years, not much seems to have changed. The tabloids went about their dirty business, and in the words of one News of the World employee, "Lives were ruined." The only surprise is that it's taken this long for the politicians to stand up to the Murdoch empire, and for the public to actually give a crap.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Lots has happened in the last week or so. The Murdochs are appearing before parliament today to answer questions about the phone hacking scandal, as will Rebekah Brooks, who was arrested last week, along with Andy Coulson, the Prime Minister's ex-director of Communications, and a number of other senior figures. It's difficult to see how David Cameron can come out unscathed, so sullied he is by association with Coulson and Brooks. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan police have resigned over the furore, as it has been alleged that journalists have been paying police for information. This brings the story into a wider realm, and out of a pure media focus. This is corruption, plain and simple, at the heart of the metropolitan police, politicians, and journalists.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">These are the three estates which are supposed to support, to fight for the public, and we are supposed to go to them to sort out our problems. The journalists relied on the police for their information, the police seemed happy to take the odd back-hander for information, and cast a blind eye over the more nefarious activities in the press. And the whole time the politicians, afraid of what revelations the tabloid could spin about them, cosied up to Rupert Murdoch, allowing his values and ideas to suffuse their politics, until we appear to have three identikit parties, each run by a waxwork clone of each other (apart from Ed Miliband, who's played by Mr Bean).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As allegations pile upon allegations, which pile upon wrongdoing, almost to the height of the world trade centre, those fated towers could be the most significant part of the whole story, as it was announced that the CIA are investigating whether victims of the 9/11 attacks had their phones hacked. One private investigator has already come forward to state that journalists tried to get phone numbers of the victims from him, which he declined. This could end in the downfall of the Murdoch empire globally, as surely no-one will want to associate with a company capable of such things.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The sorry state of affairs is that through the collusion of politicians, the press, and the police, the public have lost their outlet, and their ability to influence politics, and if one good thing comes out of this, it's that the press will report on, rather than shape the political arena, that is the job of the people, and they can rediscover their voice.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Let's hope we're not "too far gone to change the mess we’re in."</div>Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-21195035869095269612011-07-06T14:09:00.002+01:002011-07-06T19:43:36.918+01:00Howling mad at Murdoch<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I've been following the phone hacking scandal with interest since the Guardian broke the news back in 2009. Then there was the scandal with Andy Coulson, then PR director for the Conservative party. And still no-one cared. Of course, it was because they were targeting politicians and celebrities, and because they were in the public eye they kind of deserved it. I actually <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/newspapers/2011/04/phone-yeah-cameron-murdoch">agreed with Hugh Grant</a> (for the first and only time) that the right to privacy was a human right, and one that the papers were taking away by intercepting phone messages.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I kind of thought that they couldn't get much worse. But then came the revelations of the past few days, that the News of the World hacked into the mobile of a girl who had been abducted (and was most likely dead) in order to get a story. Now I studied Journalism at uni as part of my Media degree, and I knew that to be a tabloid journalist involved a set of rather flaky morals… It's why I chose not to pursue that career. But this is really beyond the pale…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">At a time when the police were investigating a murder, the News of the World actively disrupted that investigation, and by deleting messages stored on the phone, gave the family false hope that their daughter was still alive.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And what's more, it gets worse. It appears that the News of the World hacked into the phones of the families of not only the girls murdered by Ian Huntley, but also the families of the victims of the 7th July bombings. All for a news story. I mean, other than intruding on the grief of people, </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> what did they hope to achieve</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Rebakah Brooks, the Chief Exec of News Corporation, part of Rupert Murdoch's vast media empire says that it was 'inconceivable' that she knew anything about the allegations… I can only think of the scene from the Princess Bride where Vizzini repeatedly says "That's inconceivable!" and Inigo Montoya responds with "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means". Anyway, she was very clever with her words, neither confirming nor denying anything.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It was nice to see Jon Snow on Channel 4 news last night utterly skewer Simon Greenberg, the operating officer of News Int, who repeatedly assured him that Rebekah Brooks was the best person to take this forward and investigate it fully. Despite being in charge of the News of the World at the time.</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Hzh1jZPOkU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The satirical website Newsthump <a href="http://newsthump.com/2011/07/05/rebekah-brooks-to-tell-rebekah-brooks-that-rebekah-brooks-is-innocent/">sent this up </a>far better than I could.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But why should we care? It's bad people doing bad things right? Well… Every government since Thatcher has had to gain the support of Rupert Murdoch (and his newspapers) to get into power. That's a fact. He aggressively promotes his own neo-liberal values, wanting a laissez faire approach to business, because that's what makes him the most money. And it has just been announced by David Cameron that he sees no problem whatsoever with Murdoch owning all of BSkyB. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As part of this deal, Murdoch promised make Sky News an 'independent' company. But this is a farce: News Corp pays Sky News's bills, provide its satellite access, and is able to place loyalists on the board. Murdoch will therefore be able to cross-promote his services, have the Times (the biggest selling newspaper) promote Sky, having Sky cross-promote the Times, NOTW and the Sun, and so on. It's a massive blow for autonomy and media plurality. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But apart from anything else… The unethical and illegal behaviour of companies and organisations owned by Mr Murdoch show a massive failing in the senior management of News International, and an inability to control rogue staff. This has massive implications in a company that would potentially control a huge media and broadcasting empire, the likes of which the UK has never seen before.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It also has implications for the freedom of the press, and their ability to investigate a story. There's no doubt the government will come down hard on them for this, and restrict the ability of journalists to do their jobs. A free and inquiring press is what keeps governments and corporations honest. In this case, the greed of a corporation could lead to the downfall of the free press, and that's a very sad thing indeed. On a positive note, this could mean the end of politician having to play to the gallery of the tabloid press and actually get on with doing their job properly. Which would be nice. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But let's not forget, Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks created an atmosphere where journalists thought it fine to hack into the answerphone messages of a dead teenager, and of the grieving families of murder victims, let alone a plethora of politicians and celebrities. It makes me ashamed to be part of the media business, it really does…</span>Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-47829079327914240732011-06-23T15:18:00.000+01:002011-06-23T15:18:35.501+01:00Enter Night<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I've been up to a few things recently. Most of all, my little boy had chicken pox. Which is horrible, and I sympathise with all parents who have to see their littleuns go through it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I've decided I need to get fit. After being told last year that my blood pressure is high (and hitting 13 and a half stone at one point) I've got back on the exercise bike and got my sweat on. So far so good (it's been a week or two only. I also tried running, but bugger me sideways if that's not the most ridiculously difficult way to keep fit… I'll keep at it though. As a teenager I was hellaciously fit, playing tennis, basketball, football, rugby and so on. Then I stopped and aside from the odd weights session, and a year going to the gym, I've not kept at it. I will though, and you should hold me to it right here if I don't…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I've been reading <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Metallica-Enter-Biography-Mick-Wall/dp/1409112950">Enter Night, the Metallica biography by Mick Wall</a>. It's no secret that I'm a huge Metallica fan. I've seen them play five times, own all the albums, numerous bootlegs, and have played in tribute bands, having at one point or another learnt how to play all their songs (apart from Blackened. The main riff is a complete fucker). It's a fascinating book and I've learnt tons more than I knew before about the band who shaped my teenage years. If you are in any way interested in the band, or the music business, I would highly, highly recommend this book.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And finally, being as it's disclosure time, I'm an enormous Lord of the Rings geek. Like big time. I know all the names of the characters, who they're related to, their lineage and so on. I've read the Silmarillion… Twice. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So of course I'm enormously excited about Peter Jackson's version of The Hobbit. Not released until December 2012, <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20504849,00.html">they've just released the first photos</a>, and bugger me if I didn't have a complete nerdgasm over Martin Freeman as Bilbo, and the first glimpse of Thorin Oakenshield.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Until next time peeps, keep it frosty.</span>Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-61966200518224949872011-06-07T20:42:00.000+01:002011-06-07T20:42:32.954+01:00The kings of loving it<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I’m a keen musician, and as long as I can remember I’ve loved music. I remember recording songs into my nan and grandad’s stereo. I’ve played guitar for the last 15 years, and I’ve got fairly good at it, I think…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I remember the pure joy of working out songs and playing along to them all night on a cheap guitar while I was at uni. The neighbours must have hated me!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I’ve not really done anything truly creative for a while though. Recently I recorded a <a href="http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=10655996&q=hi&newref=1">couple</a> of <a href="http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=10656092&q=hi&newref=1">tunes</a> that I played as an acoustic solo artist from around 2005-2007. They were pretty good and I want to do some more, but creatively there just didn’t seem to be the time to do it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">But I found another place to release my musical passion. A friend, Mr Simon Ball, arranges a regular tribute band night, the Allstars. Now, a few years back the very concept of tribute bands would have turned my stomach, but there’s something about this. It brings together some of the most talented musicians in Leicester to play songs that they love. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Over the past few years I’ve been lucky enough to play with some incredibly gifted musicians, and indulge some of my rockstar fantasies. I’ve covered Nirvana, Velvet Revolver, Feeder, Terrorvision, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam. It’s made me realize how many sickeningly talented people there are out there, who can come together and put together a pretty damn good ‘tribute’ (gah! Hate the phrase) band in less than four practices.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I’ve also realized a couple of personal ‘do it before you dies’, in playing a full hours worth of Metallica, which plain rocked out. A friend coined us “the kings of loving it” due to the sheer joy we seemed to have being onstage. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZMcdlrF6XFI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I also helped organize and played a full tribute to Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, which though it was at the other end of the scale technically, for the sheer unadulterated blast of noise, it almost surpassed the Metallica one.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/bcOTSf31ivg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I think the reason these nights work so well, is that there’s no pretence, no bullshit. Other tribute bands might get paid. We don’t. We do it for the sheer love of music, and the enjoyment of performing to people who want to rock out. Think of it as a live jukebox. Oh… And it’s free.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I guess the thing is, that it’s the closest thing I’ve found to the childish fun of recording nursery rhymes on your nan and grandad’s stereo. And that’s what ‘loving it’ is all about.</span></div>Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859100508713115572.post-42886950441973801022011-06-07T09:28:00.001+01:002011-06-07T12:39:44.118+01:00All watched over by machines of loving grace<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, this is my blog. So hello. I don't really do introductions, so let's just say, I enjoy writing, I enjoy sports (especially rugby), I'm a gamer, a musician, and a dad. I work in HE, and I'm probably not going to mention that any more unless I'm promoting myself. So, on to interestingness…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Last night I watched the final part of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b011k45f/All_Watched_Over_by_Machines_of_Loving_Grace_Love_and_Power/">All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace</a>, the three part documentary by <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/">Adam Curtis</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I'm trying to digest what it was that he was trying to do with the whole thing, each part seemed to have a distinct theme, the first looking at how Ayn Rand's 'selfish' philosophy of objectivism was embraced by capitalists of the late 20th century, and how it led to the decimation of world money markets thanks to an over-reliance on technology, the humans believing it infallible. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The second programme looked at the ecosystem and the dangers of using technology and 'machine think' to tackle natural systems. The problem being that natural systems are too chaotic and have far too many parts to them to ever be able to effectively simulate.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The third went further by looking at how humans have applied these systems and technologies to their own behaviour. Through the prism of Africa, we saw how mining companies exploited the resources, and western governments stirred up tensions in order to exploit weak leadership. In the background was the idea of the 'selfish gene', that we are controlled by an in-built 'computer program' which cares for nothing expect self-replication, at the expense of us. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It was easy to see the conceit, that we have ceded our own responsibility to systems and machines. They are the 'genes' that drive us, and we are controlled by them, because we no longer think of something we can control. From the reliance on the computers controlling the money markets in the first programme, through the trust in computer systems modelling natural systems and behaviour, later shown to be wrong, through to our latest ideas about genes and control, with the open ended question, is this another system we're putting too much trust in?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The lack of responsibility is given greater resonance by showing the damage our reliance on technology causes. It's hard not to feel moved by the fact that wars in Africa, and the problems in Zaire/The Congo appear to be caused by the mineral deposits there, and the control of that land that our addiction to technology requires. With images of the Rwandan genocide and war in the Congo, it was chilling stuff… But nothing was as chilling as the company man at the start of the programme reassuring his shareholder that the genocide would not affect profits, stating "we don't care about it".</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">I can see why technologists hate this programme, criticism on Twitter has been vehement, it takes aim at many of their sacred </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">cows, and gives them both barrels. I've not even gone into the criticism of commodification of the self that is inherent in online publishing (and see the irony of expounding on it here!) It's not necessarily always on target, but Curtis makes excellent links, and leaves pretty much everything open ended. It's the sort of documentary to make you think, and one that needs much more discussion. </span></span>Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11922283815133150809noreply@blogger.com2