Civic Center Council Meeting.

Today marked the day I actually sat and listened to politics for more than an hour. Albeit my mind did trundle off every so often but I was generally surprised that at least two of the topics at hand I did find interesting.
First things first; pinstripes and un-ironed suits were the name of the game in this chamber. Bar one woman who was in flaming orange (and looked entirely lost throughout the whole procedure) the primary colors were without a doubt, blues and greys. Perfectly matching the chairs, walls and drapes; my bright green jacket would have fared better in the house of commons but I was just destined for higher things.

The general things discussed were of course mainly to do with my wonderful home of Southampton; which was no surprise since the meeting was conducted in Southampton's civic center. The topic kicked off with Declarations of Scrutiny. Since those involved were nice enough to take the time to explain it to us; a Declaration of Scrutiny is when judgement is passed on another persons decision. This is since laws dictate that a person cannot "scrutinize" a decision they made themselves. The hour and a half kicked off with a debate over whether the recent charity event of selling artwork to raise money had actually benefitted anyone? There seemed to be some confusion over whether the artwork was theirs to sell in the first place and where most of the raised money had got to. Very shady stuff; until we moved onto the development of a new Sainsburys in Portswood.

For me personally I liked hearing their developmental ideas for my area-for instance an old pier which has been a landmark through my nineteen years, is in talks of being turned into a hotel. Nightclubs I used to and still fairly often frequent are targets of anti-social behavior; this topic in particular kept making me want to raise my hand and make a point. All these men, falling asleep and gazing around the room-were VERY behind the programme when it came to matters I believe the public would be interested in. Such as anti-social behavior on our doorsteps. They've only just realized that The Square (an infamous nightclub on the highstreet) is one of the worst places for violence in town. And they appear to rely to much on statistics. They did all agree that crime has fallen to 23% over 10 years, but left it limply at "of course some areas are worse than others". Next topic!

Although some interesting ideas were raised for certain problems, like the development of a new Sainsbury's opposite the Waitrose in Portswood. This was very exciting news for them; it involved heavy traffic and the question-"will it draw people to the old highstreet? or from it?". The combatant approach was an idea one man had heard from China, in terms of small businesses...And then I lost the plot but he was most definitely on the ball and I admired his league of inspiration.

Needless to say; I appreciate what they do in terms of their zest for all things development and traffic but, this meeting in particular, just seemed entirely pointless. I know for a fact that the ideas they put forward in those meetings, never get put into reality. "You know you're from Southampton when you've been waiting for an ice rink from the council which they promise every year!". (It's a Facebook group) but it's true. They like to voice their opinions but you know it doesn't amount to much. I have never been more uninterested in gossip.

New York Fashion Week

So New York Fashion Week is upon us once again; and this time around it has brought pastels, beiges, whites and utility to the A/W collection.
Although this Summer was promised bright colors and sailor stripes-it appears we are fading out of the winter in trench coats, dull colors and clogs no less!
Like the shoulder pads of '09 created by Balmain-this collection is no doubt heavily inspired by the recession we are recovering from. The shoulder pads of last year represented woman taking a stand; as they did in the eighties for women in the workplace, so they did for the credit crunch of 2009. Granting power back to those in need of it. This seasons collection screams practicality. It's the outfit of someone who's bank balance has been hurt so bad they're unable to buy many more clothes. Although this thought is painful to consider-the fashion world has us in their thoughts as they create a line up of minimalist simple looks. Nothing extravagant it makes the financially crippled wardrobe a smorgasbord of opportunity. Even the plain white t-shirt has been reinvented by names like Chanel, Yves St Laurent, and Stella McCartney.
Although Balmain refuses to go quietly, still sporting leather; Denim is also back in force along with the jumpsuit. Marc by Marc Jacobs sported military influence down the runway and the trench coat revelled in beige being back in.
Although there is a gaping hole where Alexander McQueen should be, the show must go on-albeit in heavy snow and clogs.

New York New York

As lectures are now a mere 48 hours away, It's time to reflect on the holiday's that are coming to an end. Probably my most memorable holiday within a holiday I've had in a while. Five days of it were spent in New York City with the fabulous Domonique Jenkins!
This being a product of a particularly boring hour before a seminar and a conversation that went something like: "Dom, do you want to come to New York with me?" "Yes!!". About 24 hours later it was booked and we had approximately a month to start saving. Some may call us silly, but planning and thinking just takes the fun out of things.
And needless to say the months panic beforehand was completely worth it.
It was my third time in the city but Domonique's first, so we did the Empire State Building (twice), the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Ice Skating in Central Park,some serious designer shopping went down on Fifth avenue, we visitied the Rockefeller and other tourist spots. We did more unusual things such as make reception order us Chinese food at 1am,(A minimum order of $30! So we got buffalo wings and fries from Benash instead) eat a box of Taffy then shout out our 16th story window to the people below, make friends with the people in RadioShack, get a gross vegetarian burger (which we hadn't actually planned on), and decide to eat cheesecake for breakfast (worst decision ever). We also followed some recommendations from friends such as heading to Dylans Candy Store. I feel that in five days we managed to accomplish a lot, to much to put down into one blog. And I'm probably forgetting about a million things.We tried to put on our Journalist hats when on our last day we had a bomb scare. Upon firstly getting annoyed that we had to walk around the block to get to our hotel, we attempted to ask the cop what had happened but he wouldn't spill. So we ran upstairs to our hotel room and put on FOX news before going back down and asking the firemen instead. Well, that and to get photos with the men in uniform. Not going to lie.
But apparently New York takes unattended bags very seriously and the tape came down by the afternoon.
We spent the last few hours sitting in Central Park trying not to count down the minutes. It is extremely hard to put down how New York makes you feel into words. I'm racking my brains trying to describe exactly how it feels when you leave and I'm pretty sure Dom knows what I'm trying to say here! It is the most amazing place in the world. It's the only place where it is constantly light, where you don't need a sun or a sky. It's in it's own universe. The whole city just buzzes, and you can feel it the moment you arrive and you most definitely miss it when you're home. It's the only place where you don't mind sleeping through sirens and car horns because it's almost like a lullaby. You wake up excited to be where you are in the world and it's impulsive to go to the window just to soak it in. It's the best kind of wake up call. It was my third time there and I still feel the same as I did the first time I stepped out onto it's concrete.

After our time was up in the incredible New York, we managed to snag a limo ride back to JFK (thanks Armando!) and we watched the Empire skyline fade into the distance as we rode through Queens. And to quote Dom as we set off; "It feels like we're leaving home!", and I couldn't agree more. But we will be back New York. I read a quote on a billboard whilst in Battery Park that sums it up as best as can be: "What is it in the New York air that makes sleep useless? Perhaps it is that the heart beats faster here than anywhere else".

Survival Of The Fittest

Reading "A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman", I have to admit I wasn't expecting to agree with half of what was being said. I have never admired the thoughts of feminists, but I did find myself unusually understanding a majority of the points Wollstonecraft made.
Feminism aside, the authors tirade against the royal family (undoubtedly because it was a king instead of a queen) did however raise some good questions.
Our royal history is splattered with bloody murders, plots, lies and sabotage. All undesirable traits in anyone we consider to be a human being, yet we gladly enjoy them being the face of our country. Not to say the royal family does not come under fire for events (for example the most recent death of Princess Diana), yet still our Queen sits pretty.
I suppose in a sense, it helps that the royal family is essentially locked up. They're not wandering our neighborhoods at night and their activities are constantly monitored, yet to all intents and purposes, they do get away with murder. No pun intended.
So why do we continue to be proud of them? Treat them with reverence and make their history a part of ours? Because the human race is not perfect. As much as Rousseau and Wollstonecraft would like it and wish it to be. Suspected murders aside, the more common mistakes people like the Royal family make, bring them down to a more equal level. Wollstonecraft argues for equality, well hearing that one of our admired Princes showed up to a costume party in a wrong choice of outfit is not entirely unrelatable. It reminds us that they are just human beings despite winning the hereditary lottery.

For Wollstonecraft to argue that a more powerful individual rising above another is unnatural, just goes to show how little she understands of nature. The stronger lion becomes an alpha male, the eldest elephant with the most generations becomes a matriarch. It's the way of the world and if Rousseau's state of nature were to exist in reality, I'm sure it would demonstrate perfectly what I'm trying to say; or what is more commonly called; survival of the fittest.