tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32797358297427096742024-02-20T08:01:26.850-08:00BlogBerryCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-8564828287642244592012-05-27T14:27:00.000-07:002012-05-27T14:28:04.725-07:00Magazine Spreads and Critical ReflectionBelow are both the final edits of my magazine articles.
The top article is generally about the art of animation and how it is reverting back to the way it once was back in the 1930's. I decided to choose this topic because I have a passion for the subject; I also realised that I could use copyright free images because the images I have used are taken from my sketchbook. The article is written as if it were to be published in a specialist magazine, the likes of which I found examples of online. It was fairly difficult to write in a specialist way without getting too technical; which I found a lot of articles on animation did. Although I understand the terminology, and those buying the magazines would as well; I tried to make it appeal to a larger audience since the topic of Disney hits a wide range of people. The layout I wanted to look vintage; as if the images used are film cells from the past. I also left them looking rough, as opposed to cleaning them up and erasing my guidelines. I wanted to pull quotes from the passages and put them in quotation marks, not just because it is a standard magazine look, but also because they almost become like chapter headings in a story book; which seemed appropriate within the article topic.
I initially wanted to add more drawings, of small animals interacting with the text and sitting on the title etc. But the attempt failed as adding the drawings meant less space for text, as well as it then becoming too image heavy. The opening statement I set in bold, again because it is a standard magazine layout, but also because it lets the reader know what the article is about. I feel like the large animated images may peak a persons interest, and therefore having a short summary allows them to decide whether they want to read it before continuing. I considered having a sepia background but eventually felt that leaving it white means the text is easier to read and the images stand out more.<br />
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This second article is a travel piece about New York City. I chose to write this piece because I have been to New York several times and as such feel I know enough to suggest things to do. I wanted to write it with the idea of suggesting things that wouldn't usually be seen. I deliberately didn't mention famous landmarks like the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty because I felt they were generic. When I went recently, I struggled to find articles that would tell readers unusual things to do within the city. Although I don't suggest necessarily unusual things, I have tried to incorporate things like the best view off of Queensboro bridge, or the best places to eat outside of central Manhattan. This I feel gives it a tiny edge over the standard articles you see about visiting sites like Ground Zero and Central Park. One of the things I struggled with was to figuring out where to place the images to make it look like a travel article. I eventually loosely based it on online Elle Travel articles. They often have a scroll bar down the bottom for images, and although I couldn't incorporate that, I used the basic idea and put the images in a row down the bottom. Again the images are my own and therefore copyright free. The short barkers above some of the paragraphs are there to break the text up, and also to keep interest. I want the reader to want to know what they should "take the time" to do or "don't miss" out on. The effects on the images I thought came across almost looking like fridge magnets; this I thought was a nice (if accidental) touch because it's a staple image of things brought back off of holiday from tourist shops. </div>
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Overall I am relatively happy with my magazine articles. I am happy with the layouts and the topic of both of them. I incorporated my own experience on one of them and a topic I am heavily interested in on the other. My one real struggle was with the animation piece and the writing style for it. I found it difficult to keep it down to earth whilst talking about a fairly technical subject but I felt it works fairly well. I'm also impressed with the layout and how it all came together. </div>Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-74795972857877560622012-05-24T18:51:00.000-07:002012-05-24T18:51:24.159-07:00Land Final Edit and Critical Reflection<br>The topic of Fox Hunting for our land project was not the wisest choice when it came down to the technicalities/legalities of filming fox hunting groups in the area. We decided early on that we should mainly focus on the history of fox hunting in the area as opposed to showing a bias either for or against the practice. This made it much easier to film and edit as we simply amalgamated both the fox and the hound footage together, without showing a preference. We also thought it might make it easier to gain an interview with a local group if we were seen to be neutral on the matter.</br>
<br>Despite this, many of the hunts refused to get back to us the moment that they heard there was a camera involved. Thankfully, the Hursley Hambledon Hunt was kind enough to allow us to film their kennels. Although the Hursley Hambledon group has not hunted foxes since the ban, they refused to talk about even their drag hunting on camera since they were so afraid of the controversy surrounding the matter. The huntsman also refused to speak to us on film, although he was more than happy to appear on camera with the dogs which was a fortunate turn of events for us. The matter of filming the dogs themselves was also tricky. We were not allowed in the pen with the hounds due to the sheer number of them. There was much concern over the equipment being knocked from our hands, and we were even cautioned about getting too close to the fence in case one of the dogs jumped up. Thankfully we threw caution to the wind and got some great close up shots of the hounds as they bounded up to investigate. The three people seen at various points throughout the footage were all there on that day to assess the younger hounds that had recently come back to the kennels as adults. The woman seen on camera had been a master in the Hursley Hambledon hunt for 20 years and was incredibly interesting to talk too. We were restricted from filming anywhere on the location other than the kennels because they were afraid of us filming the buildings, therefore the area we were allowed to film in was extremely small. Unfortunately this meant that the interviewee was often drowned out by the noise of the dogs in the background. We managed to salvage the quotes we had but all together lost a majority of what she had said. All in all the people at the kennels were incredibly guarded; just around the corner were some stables, but we were also restricted to film the horses. They explained that the horses were actually owned by the huntsman's wife and were concerned that she would not grant permission for them to be used in the footage. Despite trying to placate the group, they would not waver on their word and as such we missed out on filming an animal that is a staple of the fox hunting image. The Hursley Hambledon hunt were incredibly kind to allow us to film their kennels regarding a matter that is highly controversial in current times, therefore we did understand their reservations and did what we could with what we had.</br>
<br>Filming the foxes was a surprisingly altogether easier ordeal. Despite hitting some dead ends with sanctuaries that did not care for foxes, we were eventually put in contact with a rescue centre that dealt with taking in abandoned fox cubs. Despite the fact that the animals were one day to be released back into the wild, due to their young age, they were allowed to interact and be petted by humans for the time being. Due to this stroke of luck, we were allowed into the pen and left alone for half an hour with them to film. The cubs, although skittish, were incredibly curious about us and we got some great footage of the two siblings. Our one concern was that the area in which the foxes had been filmed was not rural countryside in which fox hunting is usually imagined. Instead the cubs were seen on hard concrete; this we decided wasn't completely unrealistic as they would just come across as urban foxes. Our only other trouble was fairly humorous and easily overcome. The pen in which the cubs were housed was incredibly small, barely big enough for two of us, and the cubs quickly became curious about our camera bag. Since they continually ran over to chew on it, there were numerous occasions of accidentally getting the camera bag in shot, but we managed to kick it back enough so that it was behind us and they eventually left well enough alone.</br>
<br>During the editing process we became concerned that the way in which the footage was edited together, made it look like the Hursley Hambledon hunt was still in the practice of fox hunting. We felt it was important to put a disclaimer on our uploaded Youtube video to state that this was not the case. Despite several different editing techniques, we couldn't find a way to tie in the fox footage with the hounds without raising concern. Since we had decided to come across as unbiased on the matter, we decided that the footage should merely be seen as an homage to an old English tradition, as opposed to anything opinionated or slandering.</br>
<br><iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cEfpyREBBZg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-7653222179928858482011-11-20T10:39:00.000-08:002011-11-20T10:57:52.947-08:00Monkey Business.. Oh and Law.<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/loghyr99/852427079/" title="intelligent_monkey by loghyr99, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1053/852427079_1f4c370422.jpg" width="300" height="225" alt="intelligent_monkey"></a></center>We've been working on What's On for... I lose count of the weeks. <br />But what I should never lose track of is how much media law dogs us; even as student journalists creating our (technically) amateur(ish) work. (See how I attempted to dodge Defamation there? Learnt something)<br />In our Halloween special, Jake Gable and I came across the problem of Fair Dealing. In other words, Copyright. We tried to use trailer clips of a couple of the films we were promoting and ran into the issue of, well, just stealing images really. However after a few tweaks here and there (cutting them down to half their length and putting huge "This belongs to...." on the images, we survived).<br /><br />Yet copyright is actually a major issue; for instance this debate that I've highlighted down below...<br /><br />If you find media law a bit, slow-going, shall we say. Here is an article on copyright law, involving monkeys.<br />Basically, a guy went on holiday where a couple of cheeky chimps, took his camera and took photos of themselves. Harmless enough-but now there is a debate going on about who actually owns the images. According to laws, the monkeys do. But don't tell Cater News Agency that...<br /><br />http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110712/01182015052/monkeys-dont-do-fair-use-news-agency-tells-techdirt-to-remove-photos.shtmlCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-62749920690960193052011-10-15T13:38:00.000-07:002011-10-15T15:45:17.907-07:00Media Law: Libel and Defamation<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NKSzeFhDBNk/TpoMvCGmJnI/AAAAAAAAARs/KQTBlli9fIE/s1600/imagesCAP4CAT1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 168px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NKSzeFhDBNk/TpoMvCGmJnI/AAAAAAAAARs/KQTBlli9fIE/s320/imagesCAP4CAT1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663853483529741938" /></a><br /><strong>Publication & Defamation & Identification = Libel </strong><br /><br /><strong>Defamation</strong><br />If what you write:<br />-Lowers someone in the estimation of others<br />-Causes them to be shunned or avoided<br />-Ruins their profession<br />-Exposes them to hatred, ridicule or contempt<br /><br /><strong>Defamation via pictures.</strong><br />Careluss use of background shots, for example:<br />-Talking about an issue like fraud with an unrelated company in the background<br /><br /><strong>Defamation Inferences</strong><br />Things that could be read wrongly given the context.<br />An example of an innuendo in a headline being this:<br />http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/07/03/us-athletics-diamond-idUSTRE6622I420100703<br />Although this example being not necessarily harmful, journalists need to assess the whole context before hand. <br />Another thing to take into account is <em>who</em> you are writing about. Are they powerful enough to sue? <br /><br /><strong>Libel Defences </strong><br />-Justification - "It's true and I can prove it in court". <br /> Having witnesses or defiant proof for something.<br /> E.G. American media ran a story on Lindsay Lohan stealing a <br /> $2,500 necklace, on the basis that the store in question stated<br /> that they had CCTV footage of the star commiting the crime.<br /><br />-Fair Comment - An honestly held opinion based upon facts or privileged material such<br /> as press conferences. Or if the story is in the public interest.<br />-Balance - If the story explores both sides of a story or accusation fairly<br />-Bane and Antidote - Defamation removed by context (undoing what you've previously <br /> said in the same article)<br />- Apologies and Clarifiation - For instance in this case <br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3649261.stm<br /><br />A journalist will have no defence if they have not:<br />-Checked their facts<br />-When they have not "referred up"<br />-When they have not attempted to put themselves in the shoes of those they are writing about<br />-Evidently got carried away by a juicy story<br />-Not bothered to wait for a lawyers opinionCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-83026704617270130222011-10-15T07:07:00.000-07:002011-10-15T15:11:28.159-07:00Spot The Problem<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cjybXBVQ3aM/Tpnuxz3PnNI/AAAAAAAAARg/82v2jm-sunI/s1600/what%2527s%2Bon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cjybXBVQ3aM/Tpnuxz3PnNI/AAAAAAAAARg/82v2jm-sunI/s320/what%2527s%2Bon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663820545898028242" /></a><br />We're back. After a lengthy Summer period which went past in a flash, we have returned to Winchester News Online. Where I now have the promotion from "What's On Girl", to Showbiz Editor. I do exactly the same thing, I just now sound more important when I fire off those oh so important emails begging for an interview.<br /><br />Last weeks show was trial and error. I now have a producer in the form of Jake Gable, who is my camera man, co-presenter and general help when I start flapping over things like what to say in a link. We struggled initially to come up with a layout for the show, since this time around we wanted the show to be more engaging and more hands on. Anything showing the presenters up is going to be good viewing, and trying the events ourselves means we can have much more fun making the show. Especially when it's myself and Jake Gable who manage to find a pun or cheesy line to fit into any situation.<br /><br />We narrowed it down to a Salsa Class, which Jake Gable attended alone on account of me being ill. A clip of Matthew LeTissier being interviewed which we borrowed from the guys over at Sports, and an interview we got with Rebecca Vaughan; the star of the show I,Elizabeth which is currently touring the country.<br />Although the show essentially came off without a hitch, we did encounter the usual problems upon the way. So in true fashion and to make my lecturers proud, I will simply list the things we could have done better.<br />Enjoy.<br /><br /><strong>Problem #1: </strong><br />Two cameras were originally just an idea to create a polished looking<br />finishing touch. (Two angles, practically Sky News). Instead it ended up<br />being a necessity, as, despite checking the cameras meticulously before<br />we left, one of them decided to give up on life just as we got into the<br />venue.<br /><br /><strong>Problem #2:</strong><br />Thanks to Problem #1, we captured Rebecca Vaughans answers to my<br />questions, but the moment she left, had to re-record me asking the same<br />questions, in the same tone of voice, to her empty chair. I literally<br />deserved an Oscar for my acting that day. I will thank the dead camera in<br />my acceptance speech.<br /><br /><strong>Problem #3:</strong><br />Dressing rooms have mirrored walls. Which is fantastic. Especially when<br />you don't want to get a reflection of a camera behind the stars head.<br />Lord knows we don't want the camera to be seen! A magician never reveals<br />their secrets.<br /><br /><strong>Problem #4:</strong><br />Props can't be hung on hot lightbulbs. Just saying.<br /><br />I could go on. There was also the issue with the fact that I (unintentionally) gave myself the better camera angle whilst interviewing Rebecca, to the point where I made myself look more important. Given my (apparent) diva attitude and my (slight) tendency to want to hog camera time, I just get raised eyebrows when I say that this was NOT on purpose. Though I'm sure Freud would disagree.<br />Jake also encountered problems when he ventured out alone. Apparently Salsa classes are in the dark these days. Meaning poor old Jake was a mere silhouette upon our Final Cut Pro screen when it came to editing. Thank the powers that be that he did have shots in the light and we salvaged it with a voiceover (and a pun!).<br /><br />Despite our setbacks, which unfortunately everybody must face, we pulled together a show. And for our first week back it could most definitely have gone worse.<br />Next week we're prepared to face all this, but in London for our Halloween special. It's going to be scarily good, I promise. (Sorry, couldn't resist).<br />But if you can't wait that long, watch last weeks show and play "Spot The Problems" to yourself.<br />There'll be less and less problems each week so enjoy the easy levels why they last.<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xTJDIV12nJU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-80180757712357081082011-04-02T11:22:00.000-07:002011-04-02T11:47:38.146-07:00The Unintelligible PresentersThe American phenomenom which has had everybody talking lately has been the weird spate of high profile presenters suddenly talking unintelligible gibberish on television. Presenters including news anchors and the infamous Judge Judy begin talking normally but descend into words and phrases that don't make any sense. <br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/o0tK38K-aWg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XvkC4t2d9Ok" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />These are just two cases of a handful of presenters who have experienced this in the past week. People behind the scenes have clarified that there were no auto-cue difficulties and the presenters themselves have claimed they were not in control of what was coming out of their mouths. A few also claimed to have suddenly experienced a searing head pain at the same time. <br />Both the anchor featured at the bottom of the two videos and Judge Judy (Judith Sheindlin) were rushed to nearby hospitals for tests where the anchor above was diagnosed with a severe migraine which could have caused a minor stroke. However there still remains no explanations for the remainder which experienced the same phenomena at similar times. <br /><br />So: aliens? the military? I'm sure you'll find every available explanation for a few weeks. But as long as it doesn't occur on WINOL, we're good.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-78683054665922223962011-03-26T07:39:00.001-07:002011-03-26T09:08:26.948-07:00WINOL Reflection<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--9cMefm8ecs/TY4PdIFyKFI/AAAAAAAAARI/_3UthRuCSB4/s1600/winol.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 203px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--9cMefm8ecs/TY4PdIFyKFI/AAAAAAAAARI/_3UthRuCSB4/s320/winol.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588421180675729490" /></a><br />After finally coming to the end of our first semester alone on WINOL, it's come to that time again to look back and reflect on everything we ever did wrong and publish it. Like a who's who and a what's what of our past six weeks of stress, frustration and hair tearing.<div><br /></div><div>To be honest, I feel our time on WINOL without the third years could have gone worse. At the end of the day we are producing a bulletin every week complete with news packages, sports and good graphics. We always seem to have people on production which we never did last year and minor hiccups have been taken on board and reprimanded within the day. </div><div><br /></div><div>The News Team have now got it all down in terms of framing interviewees and general shots of whatever their story is. Voice overs are clear and things are now getting to the point where there is no fear in introducing a cheeky pun (Sam Homewoods package about Marching Mums). There are no things such as white balance issues and overall I think the news team has become very strong and trustworthy with people like Andrew Giddings and Keiran Brannigan who seem to have a natural flair for it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sports of course is excelling. SportsWeek has hundreds of loyal followers and fans who never fail to watch or comment. It's the strongest area of WINOL and can stand on its own without the bulletin. I think this is largely down to Will Cooper at the helm as they have promoted and made connections in all the right places. They often get their packages down early which means they can spend time on perfecting areas like the title sequence-adding gloss to an already superb area of WINOL (and for me to say that about sport is unheard of).</div><div><br /></div><div>The only issue, small though it may be, would be in the gallery itself. Although we have an extremely strong production team, for the first few weeks there were issues with people coughing during VT's which was picked up on microphones which hadn't been muted. For some reason as well this semester there seemed to be an extreme lack of talkback between the gallery and the floor which meant camera people had to cue presenters. Though these are minor hiccups they are the only things which if we got on top of, we would have a near perfect bulletin. </div><div>When it came to deadlines, we met them, but at a push. In terms of things like the script, it should be down to one maybe two people to decide whether it is good to go as opposed to other people coming over and making changes. Breaking news and script changes cannot be helped but when the script is due it won't do to have people coming over and putting in their opinion about how headlines should be written/said/typed. When it comes to their turn to write the script, they can then alter it how they see fit, but until that point, the script should be down to whoever is presenting the bulletin that week. </div><div><br /></div><div>Subbing was of course a nightmare this semester. When the term began there was major confusion over who was in charge of what and why. When this finally got cleared up there was frustration from reporters about how their stories had been altered beyond recognition by subs, and sometimes filled with mistakes. This was finally all sorted out by changing how the site is handled. Editors are now in charge of their teams articles and publishing them as opposed to being handed to a complete different party. </div><div>This is a change for the better, and although I can see where reporters were coming from, they made it even more difficult by handing in articles at either midnight or 1am in which case by the time the subs woke up, they had no time to sub-edit it properly and get it up on the site before the deadline. The whole thing was not properly organised and the deadline in itself was unreasonable in regards to lectures we had Thursday morning. </div><div><br /></div><div>In terms of people within the class I think there is a lack of communication and understanding between team members. Everybody's job is just as important as the others and no one is better and/or should be undermined. As well as this people should listen to each other and talk properly as opposed to immediately ranting. At the end of the day this is a course, not a career. Although I myself went through a phase of needing to remind myself that I'm not actually getting paid to work for Winchester News Online.</div><div><br /></div><div>With a few more weeks practice I have every faith in us that we can achieve Soccer Saturday. It would be an incredible coup for us in terms of future work and practice for live television. It would be difficult and a lot more stressful than our "worry Wednesday" but I think it can be achieved and it's something we need to be passionate and put our all into.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>After all "WINOL in this together!"</div></div>Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-90107866524397090122011-03-24T09:07:00.000-07:002011-03-26T09:07:20.062-07:00The Outsider<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YMdroR-xi24/TYt7ttgEE9I/AAAAAAAAAQ4/uVgJxrhChcw/s1600/albert-camus.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YMdroR-xi24/TYt7ttgEE9I/AAAAAAAAAQ4/uVgJxrhChcw/s320/albert-camus.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587695787921642450" /></a><br />Like James Joyces' Ulysses, The Outsider seemed to be written like a thought process. <div>The style was disjointed with short snappy sentences. With quotes like "With the 2 o' clock bus...should get there before nightfall" it's like the reader has entered the characters head, with all his reassurances, worries and random thoughts.</div><div><br /></div><div>The theme of existentialism runs throughout the book with ideologies like time being completely irrelevant to the story. The characters can exist and react in a sort of suspended reality where there is little to no past guilt and no thought of future consequences. The present time is also non-existent. "Mother died today. Or, maybe yesterday". </div><div>In terms of the future, Meursault seems to not even have an inkling of it when he is faced with old people. Rather than understanding that they are people and a majority of us will face old age at some point, he regards them with interest as almost being separate entities. </div><div>They were "noiseless" and "grouped around the keeper". He can't decide whether "they were greeting me and trying to say something". He exists in the present and therefore old age is something non-existent in his world. Also the fact that he hasn't seen his mother for years implies that he probably didn't witness her aging either. </div><div>Later on Meursault agrees to marry Marie just for the sake of it with little care for the actual ceremony and sacrifices of marriage in regards to just answering the simple question of "will you marry me?". </div><div>His consistently living in the present means the things that occur to him right then and there he will become consumed with. When a woman cries at his mothers funeral he feels like "she will never stop", this is probably just because Meursault has no comprehension of a few minutes time when she no doubt will. In a restaurant Meursault becomes randomly interested in a woman who he coins "the little robot". She has funny movements and he follows her out of interest until he can no longer see her again at which point she is forgotten about.</div><div><br /></div><div>In existentialism the past is pure guilt. To live a peaceful existence you need to have no recollection of the past and no thought for the future, which in itself is dread. Meursault epitomizes this after he has killed the Arab. It isn't until he is being interrogated that it suddenly dawns on him that he took a life. Even then it comes across as nothing more than a fleeting thought, a sort of half interested realization of what he has done. If it wasn't for the rules and regulations of society forcing that emotion in him, it wouldn't have phased him. It also can be assumed that as he is shooting the Arab he is not thinking about the impact that would have in the future in his own life. </div><div><br /></div><div>His detached emotions are summed up right at the beginning of the book when his mothers hearse casually reminds him of nothing more than the pen trays in his office at work. Things are very mundane to him and no object or item is more significant than the other. He also displays emotional detachment when it comes to Salamano abusing his dog and Raymond beating his girlfriend. Although it is noted at one point that when Salamano loses his dog and begins to cry, Meursault thinks of his mother. Though he himself makes no connection. He also comments at one point "one can't help feeling a little guilty I suppose", like emotions are things to be embarrassed about. </div><div><br /></div><div>According to existentialism; guilt, fear and worry are all things that come from others. "Hell is other people" is a quote that epitomizes the existentialism view. Meursault has a few examples of his own although some of the time, the judgement from others is in his head. When the old people appear at his mothers wake he notes that "they came to sit in judgement of me". When he asks for time off of work he "had an idea that he looked annoyed and I said 'sorry sir'". When he reaches the old people's home he comments about the warden: "I had a feeling he was blaming me for something". Even after his mother's funeral he leaves the grounds to go for a walk and thinks to himself "what an agreeable walk I could have had if it hadn't been for mother". Although the premise is that he is still feeling grief and therefore can't enjoy himself, the phrasing and wording of it sounds accusatory, as if it was selfish of her to die at that point in time when he could have enjoyed a walk. </div><div>In the world of the outsider, there is no affection; merely getting "used" to each other. There is nothing remarkable in the world of Meursault. As Edmund Husserl, a phenomonolgist once remarked: when objects are paid attention to is when they become a problem. If you just breeze through life and pay no attention to the world around you, the past, the future, or even the present that much, you will be the perfect manifesto of existentialism. </div>Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-46052712779073090972011-03-04T03:37:00.000-08:002011-03-26T09:06:59.791-07:00The New Industrial State<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wLfpsGDkBQs/TY4PFzyODJI/AAAAAAAAARA/fJblp5GfAWA/s1600/jkgalb.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 194px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wLfpsGDkBQs/TY4PFzyODJI/AAAAAAAAARA/fJblp5GfAWA/s200/jkgalb.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588420780087970962" /></a><br />John Kenneth Galbraith was born on October 15th 1908 in America. He was an economist and a Keynesian.<br /><br />Keynes (Galbraiths influence), opposed the original ideologies of Laissez-Faire Capitalism which believed that the market would achieve balance by itself. He instead believed the Government should step in to increase spending whenever and wherever the case may be.<br /><br />In Galbraiths book The New Industrial State, written in 1967, he talks of a large firm called the Techno-Structure. This Techno-Structure should supposedly be something like a human entity, being fairly self-sufficient. These changes in the industry, from manpower to a technology led market were brought to the forefront after World War II when changes to the economic life were far greater than anything that had come before it. However, Galbraith argues that this modern technology reduces the reliability of the market, since so much more needs to be managed, monitored, and avoided. One tiny fluctuation in the system could bring the Techno-Structure to a grinding halt. Also the whole system is much more inflexible as situations need to be known far in advance and not changed.<br /><br />Before this technology was introduced, products were far less abundant, but far more necessary. Products such as loaves of bread or medicine were in short supply but there was no question of them being constantly needed as they were everyday objects that maximised the consumer’s satisfaction levels. But with nowadays industry being able to produce products at a high rate, items such as beauty products or games need an element of persuasion if they are to be brought. Although they may maximise one persons satisfaction level, it may not apply to everyone and in order to shift the levels of product the structure has produced, elements like advertising come into play. Since in recent times, people were becoming less and less poverty stricken, those with low levels of literacy were joining the classes of people with excess money to spend. Therefore television and radio advertising were key to reaching these specific individuals.<br /><br />The regulation of Aggregate Demand became a recognised policy during the 1930’s and was advocated by John Maynard Keynes. It was put into effect by the Roosevelt Administration and was thought to be a move on behalf of the Labour Party, and was immediately opposed. The reasons being that during the 1930’s most industry was led by Entrepreneurial Corporations who did not have a need for it. This was down to the fact that they were using simple technology with little to no planning involved. They could simply lay off workers if demand was to fall and they had a much smaller Techno-Structure. Of course the more Mature Corporations were desperately in need for the regulation as that sort of planning would offer them security and safe planning. They were vulnerable to a fall in earnings which would curtail the whole business and one mistake could “disintegrate the very brain of the enterprise”. Of course the more Mature Corporations won out in the end and technology continued to expand.<br /><br />Aggregate Demand needs to be regulated as correct production (not going into un-necessary excess) creates large amounts of savings. These savings are then stored and used to fund further production. If these profits and savings are not made then they cannot meet the need of Aggregate Demand, therefore monitoring is imperative as the whole system depends upon one another. This sort of monitoring prevents unpredictable fluctuations in demand, sales and production in which case planning would be impaired, technology would have to be used more cautiously and the whole Techno-Structure would be far less secure.<br /><br /><br /><br />The Techno-Structure is essentially just one big well oiled machine in theory. Men who work for these large organizations agree to lose all individuality for it and even rival firms within the structure avoid competition because situations like price-cutting would threaten its survival.<br /><br /><b>“Mutually destructive behaviour is banned”</b><br /><br />Whether this infinite structure is actually in control or not is another question. Most people will argue that there is such a thing as Consumer Sovereignty, where the consumer governs the uni-directional flow from purchasing an item from the market, where this information will then reach up to the industry. Meaning the Techno-Structure can monitor what people are buying and respond to the customer’s choices. This is called The Accepted Sequence, and it sustains the idea of industries trying to understand what produces the most customer satisfaction.<br /><br />However, The Accepted Sequence may be becoming less and less so as the producing firms reach out to control the markets, manage behaviour and shape the social attitude of the consumer. Mainly with aspects like advertising and heavy persuasion as to what is good for them to purchase.<br /><br />In terms of consumers buying products, not only is it important for them to do so, it is equally as important that they have the money to spend in the first place. Spending is a physical need, even within the techno-structure itself. When it comes to situations like increased incomes or maybe a slight depression; the Techno-Structure uses taxes to keep demand under control. When income increases, so do taxes. This prevents people from spending ridiculous amounts and spiralling demand out of control. Likewise, when incomes decrease, so do taxes. Freeing up more money for people to spend and therefore keeping demand high. Taxes must be large in regards to income to have any sort of effect and Taxes are purely there so as to direct consumer spending.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-7219012577053594012011-01-11T18:24:00.000-08:002011-01-13T00:05:03.352-08:00A Giant Snake Eats the Earth and Other 2012 Predictions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TS0dZxzy2EI/AAAAAAAAAP8/6B-N_K2qOuk/s1600/the-end-bb.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TS0dZxzy2EI/AAAAAAAAAP8/6B-N_K2qOuk/s400/the-end-bb.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561133443576944706" /></a><br />So apparently- and this is exclusive to the year 2011 - if you add your birthday to the age you are going to be this year it comes to either the number 111, or 2011. Observe:<div><br /></div><div>91 + 20 = 111</div><div>1991 + 20 = 2011</div><div><br /></div><div>Pretty nifty! Almost as nifty as the calculator I found lurking, completely unused on my desktop to figure out this little magic trick. Of course these are just my own personal digits, I welcome you to try it yourself and see if it really does apply universally or just to those born in the year of the sheep (rejoice!). </div><div><br /></div><div>Now to me, this does seem a little weird, I was left mildly disconcerted at this being proven correct, but does it spell disaster? Of course we are all apparently fated to meet our doom next year. The ill fated 2012 which has spurred a Hollywood movie, curiosity and even panic on some peoples behalf. We as humans have been fascinated by our demise and how it's all going to end almost as much as we are fascinated by how it all begun in the first place. So to hush any speculation worthy of Perez Hilton, let's be boring for two seconds and look at the facts:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Why are we all going to face doomsday next year?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Well: First of all there is the infamous <b>Mayan Calendar</b>. The Mayan's were an extremely clever civilization for centuries old folks, and they based all of their theories upon the stars. Apparently their calendar accurately predicted centuries later occurrences such as the World Wars, the black hole in our galaxy, and the solar eclipse of 1999. All of which were dated to the exact year that they happened. Turns out they even predicted their <i>own</i> demise when they correctly jotted down the year that their civilization was over run by Spanish foreigners and destroyed. Their calendar took note of every future event, every detail: right up until 2012 when their calendar ends. This of course to people in the know means that the last prediction is that there is no life after 2012. To people like me and every other student out there who are in a different kind of know how, it means they probably just got lazy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Second of all there is the wonderful <b>Nostradamus</b>. A soothsayer of his time he actually had a string of creepily correct predictions. Again down to the date that they would occur. In a nutshell he predicted the Great Fire of London with these wise words<i> </i><b>"the blood of the just will be demanded of London, burnt by the fire in the year 66". </b></div><div>He continued his soothsaying with this next statement: <b>"From the enslaved people songs chants and demands. The princes and lords are held captive in prisons, in the future by such headless idiots</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:13px;"><b>"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:13px;"><b></b></span>Which of course correlates with the "off with their heads!" happy French Revolution. Later predictions even involved the death of Princess Diana in which he actually mentions her by name, Hurricane Katrina, and the 9/11 attacks on New York City. For 2011 he has predicted that a war will occur between that of the Christian world and the Arab world which will destroy many countries and of course 2012? A comet will hit the Earth, destroying everything that lives here. Here's to hoping he also just got lazy and bored of soothsaying. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lastly we come to our own 21st Century theories which are based upon nothing quite so magical as a stone age calendar or a 16th century magician. Turns out that a couple hundred years back, the sun shot out some solar flares, which are scheduled to happen again in 2012. These solar flares fire so far and are so electrically charged that it would severely damage everything we depend upon, like air traffic control, emergency services (like hospital equipment), electricity, it would all be damaged beyond repair. When these flares happened centuries ago it didn't have an effect since the world hadn't invented the lightbulb yet, let alone the ipad, but if it was to happen today? It would throw us into a complete third world state as even our water supply is run by computers and electricity. Even if the world isn't blown to pieces by a comet, the theory goes that we would be forced to start from scratch again. Resorting back to a complete state of nature (yes Rousseau), with illness, famine-you get the gist.</div><div><br /></div><div>So whether it's a religious war, a comet, a lack of electricity and whether it all adds up in your head or not. I most certainly am not taking any chances. I am celebrating Christmas as early as possible in 2012, just in case. And despite it all, at least we can be thankful of one thing definitely not happening...</div><div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TS0cSwS-IdI/AAAAAAAAAP0/PAOuwqX85pA/s1600/apophis.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TS0cSwS-IdI/AAAAAAAAAP0/PAOuwqX85pA/s320/apophis.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561132223400124882" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Giant snake eating the Earth? Lets see you predict that Nostradamus.</div>Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-20104421496940642122011-01-03T09:04:00.000-08:002011-01-13T00:07:57.189-08:00Burberry Biker and Other Summer Trends<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TSIF50wU-4I/AAAAAAAAAPs/imt_zK-yPtM/s1600/models-present-creations.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TSIF50wU-4I/AAAAAAAAAPs/imt_zK-yPtM/s320/models-present-creations.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558011381100641154" /></a><br />Colour Blocking. The word du'jour of the fashion world for s/s11 as Raf Simons for Jil Sander did a show drenched in neon and the magazines loved it. Colour Blocking is when an outfit would, for example, have bright green trousers and a yellow shirt. Eliminate shades, patterns or anything else that would deviate from your traffic stopping image. Despite this blast of colour, still expect to see neutrals dotted around during the summer months as last season still prevails.<div>For a quick lowdown and what the designers picked for their s/s collections, here are the stand out looks:</div><div><ul><li>Dolce and Gabbana went for the romantic side of summer. Floaty dresses, petticoats and light looks were on the menu as they conjured up images of Taylor Swift's music video for Love Story; in my head anyway.</li><li>Burberry Prorsum rode the other end of the spectrum with their biker chick chic. Leather, aviators, boots. She is the girl in the magazines with the bedhead hair, pulling her jacket and biting her lip. She is riding off the back of Balmains shoulder pad Balmania and she is a powerhouse.</li><li>Despite the battle with the 60's, the 70's have won out in the end with the likes of Marc Jacobs characterizing this image and having mountains of retro fun with it.</li></ul><div>Other little trends like the oriental look, clashing patterns, (bad taste is now <i>the </i>taste) are also floating about on the s/s breeze. My personal favorite for this season is Burberry's hard hitting biker chick. She is fabulous, does what she wants and doesn't seem to take that long with hair care. </div></div>Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-6546733632846385842010-12-30T17:17:00.000-08:002011-01-13T00:06:44.848-08:00The 2010 Mash Up.So Christmas is over for another year, leaving a trail of hangovers, paper hats and empty bank accounts. I hope everyone got everything their hearts desired and you're all looking forward to 2011. If you're not then here; have a little slice of 2010!<br />This guy (DJ Earworm)...(yeah I don't know either) takes the cream of the Top 40 crop from one year (he does this annually) and bungs them all together into one epic song. And when they call it a mash up, it actually is mashed line by line. Take a listen.<br /><br />I also respect the fact that this was a very lazy blog post.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">HAPPY NEW YEAR! </span><br /></b></span><br /><object width="380" height="285"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LLA7JMPE_xU?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LLA7JMPE_xU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="380" height="285"></embed></object>Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-27033481810190099712010-12-13T07:49:00.001-08:002011-01-13T00:10:00.320-08:00A Blog From Years Ago That I Forgot to Post or Something About Cartesian Doubt<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TQa_z2Cle1I/AAAAAAAAAPg/FvFLIcT0PlE/s1600/Fiction4_Sophie_Calle.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 196px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TQa_z2Cle1I/AAAAAAAAAPg/FvFLIcT0PlE/s200/Fiction4_Sophie_Calle.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550334488181308242" /></a><br />My most recent lecture involved a myriad of rhetorical questions. Why do we so willingly accept paying off debts such as mortgages and student loans? Why do we continue to go to a job which is hated by the majority?<br />Those who refuse to conform to this restricted style of living have two sides of the board to fall on. They are either brandished mad people; or are lucky enough to be admired. If you are willing to play this mental lottery of sanity, you could end up somebody like Sophie Calle. Or, a safer version of this liberated form of person comes in the form of Mary Blair.<br />Both artists in their own right (French and American respectively), Calle in particular rails against society. Calle, in an artistic creation of Cartesian Doubt, questions everything in life. Studies it and could ultimately baffle anyone who tried to challenge her way of thinking. Calle's more famous studies involve finding a lost address book, and by interviewing everybody inside, built up a suitable mental image of the man in question.<br />Not restricted to just one place, Calle once flew to Italy, following a man who had no idea he was an intricate part of her new interest. Calle's life is liberated, and in no way restricted by places, people or even time.<br />This form of living has been a goal of society's for centuries. The romantic revolution during the 1800's, held the belief system that people should be free; and not restricted by cities and industry.<br />Mary Blair (an artist that designed and heavily influenced Walt Disney's 1951 version of Alice in Wonderland) creates scenes, animals and people that appear to have no sense of physical being. The tree's are the color they want to be, the people are any shape and size, regardless of how people want them to appear. Her sense of style and idealism brings to light the apparent rigidity of normal life. Blair's world is freeing, shape shifting and exciting; (The perfect choice for Lewis Carroll's Wonderland) but also a life that most of us, symbolically, would desire.<br />So why aren't we all as creatively free as we'd like?<br />To bring the example into popular culture, Lady Gaga, a well known figure in the music industry is often noted for her insane sense of style and belief system. Yet she is rarely if ever criticized; since her extraordinary amount of talent over rides this.<br />So do we need to have something going for us? A streak that enables society to overlook the non conformity because we make up for it in other areas? Maybe if you're extraordinarily talented you just can't fit in by rule of thumb. So does that make the rest of us-the crowds and the general public, undeniably average?<br />Probably. In fact most definitely. But why is this depressing? Everybody has the chance to achieve what they want in life.<br />And besides, without us, the talented would have no one to shine for.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-14087757206028413142010-11-30T07:39:00.001-08:002011-01-13T00:09:09.509-08:00The Living DeadLocal street artists located in Paris and Berlin have created graffiti with a difference.<br />These images are made from discarded animal pelts and fur coats. Scattered across the cities, they form the shapes they once held in life, acting as a reminder of the lives that have been taken.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TPUcQ37tIiI/AAAAAAAAAO4/Te8Up0c_mdQ/s1600/against_fur07.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TPUcQ37tIiI/AAAAAAAAAO4/Te8Up0c_mdQ/s400/against_fur07.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545369592394490402" /></a><br /><br />These lambs adorn a slaughterhouse. Numbered for effect they eternally wait for their death. Although wool is considered an okay pelt to be seen in, it is the <span style="font-style:italic;">way</span> the animals are killed that anger protestors and organisations such as PETA.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TPUd4fQz2HI/AAAAAAAAAPI/jX5NE3kk1GY/s1600/against_fur01.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 303px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TPUd4fQz2HI/AAAAAAAAAPI/jX5NE3kk1GY/s400/against_fur01.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545371372478519410" /></a><br /><br />Wolves run the streets along with animals such as bulls, deer, cats and bears. Amongst the concrete buildings a moose watches over commuters as a leopard creeps along some railings. Although all silenced, they are far from hidden.<br />To see the full gallery of these living dead visit: <span style="font-weight:bold;">http://www.neozoon.org/pictures.html</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TPUuK7vyv3I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/H24TnG2RDIo/s1600/against_fur06.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TPUuK7vyv3I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/H24TnG2RDIo/s400/against_fur06.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545389281548353394" /></a><br /><br />If the 2D life forms were not enough, the creators have also come up with something quite chilling. These animated creations are robots, covered in the discarded pelts. Although the movements are far from active, it effectively hammers home that these animals should be doing so much more. They have been killed, skinned and then re animated in such a way that you tend to forget these faceless creations were killed so someone else could wear their fur.<br /><br /><object width="380" height="285"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lKeZ4fLNuS8?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lKeZ4fLNuS8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="380" height="285"></embed></object>Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-10927958245006006902010-11-23T08:27:00.000-08:002011-01-13T00:12:21.096-08:00Designers for the Disabled<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TOv4pzkv0bI/AAAAAAAAAOo/x-ZsiblMga8/s1600/GW_topmodel.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 199px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TOv4pzkv0bI/AAAAAAAAAOo/x-ZsiblMga8/s400/GW_topmodel.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542797163512189362" /></a><br />Models have walked the runways in leaps and bounds in recent years. The controversially anorexic have grown curves, gained breasts, and now, they're taking another step.<br />For the first time ever, a fashion show used disabled models for two shows in London. Showcasing clothes from the likes of Ann Summers and ASOS, the fashion shows had support from Eastenders and Hollyoaks stars, as well as gaining critical success.<br />Proceeds from the shows went towards supporting HAFAD (Hammersmith and Fulham Action on Disability) who hosted the first show on the 22 Oct. The second show on the 25th was hosted by London fashion show "Disabled and Sexy" who featured their show for spinal muscular atrophy awareness.<br />The models featured in the show stated that, for their own personal reasons, the shows helped prove that even people with disabilities could look and feel sexy.<br /><br />The fashion shows coincided with the search for contestants for a new BBC3 programme. "Britains Missing Top Model" which will have the same premise as "Britains Next Top Model", except this time around eight disabled woman will compete for the prize; a high-fashion photo shoot and a cover on a glossy magazine.<br /><br />Is this really fashion with a heart? Or is this just this seasons trend? I highly doubt whether next years collections will showcase disabled models (rumour has it that a couple of high profile designers refused to collaborate with the HAFAD shows), but for now, the shallow walls are crumbling on superficiality.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-91992524860890147792010-11-20T19:49:00.000-08:002010-11-20T20:40:44.908-08:00The Intellectuals and the Masses<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TOiivhc7bTI/AAAAAAAAAOg/c-sLHkAxoXk/s1600/canstock0795178.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 209px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TOiivhc7bTI/AAAAAAAAAOg/c-sLHkAxoXk/s320/canstock0795178.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541858278796651826" /></a><br />The French Revolution was not just a shock for the people living in Versailles. When it occurred it essentially sent shock waves through most of the elite as the peasants made it more than clear. If they massed together, not even the monarchy was safe.<br /><br />John Carey is a professor of English at Oxford University and the author of The Intellectuals and the Masses. He in no way condones the views set by the elite but showcases their values in his book.<br /><br />The elite had always sat high and dry, safe in the knowledge that the people beneath them in the hierarchy were too stupid to realize that they could be doing better with their lives than building carts and doing other physical labor. However, times were changing, and social developments meant that crowds of people were now learning to read and growing in power. People like Lord Northcliffe jumped on this new cultural change and created newspapers pandering to their needs. The newly invented tabloid embraced the lives of everyday people. It specialized in being picture heavy, so that it was even easier to read than before. This led to the belief that the common newspaper bypassed the intellectual. On top of that they were enabling woman to become clever, something unheard of.<br /><br />A rift was created between England, a rift brought about by fear as the elite desperately tried to cling on to their status in the social order. They knew that once everyone else became educated, there would be nothing setting them apart from the rest of England. So they created modern art. Modern art being something so unintelligible and so unlike the art that had come before it, only they could understand it. Modern art was apparently the "superior art", it belonged to them and if you didn't understand it, you were not `elite`.<br /><br />These extreme views were epitomized in a few individuals in particular.<br /><div><ul><li><b>Gissing</b>-Apparently the earliest English writer to formulate the intellectuals, he only slept with woman who were inferior to him and would regularly boast about beating them up. He believed woman's education was to blame for the cultural change. Upon writing his book "In the year of the jubilee" he states that aspects such as fashion illustrate the folly and greed of woman and everything to do with their attire. When he travelled to Italy in later life he was greatly moved by the sight of a peasant. Although he couldn't care less about the person as a human being, he is moved by the notion that somewhere in the world, certain people are still in their place and are still working the land with no inclination to be educated.</li><li><b>H.G Wells</b>- Another one who holds woman's education responsible. "Woman's craving for material things has ruined mankind". He also believed in sterilization and elimination of certain members of the human race. Those suffering from genetic illnesses or those who are not mentally stable should be killed or sterilized. "The way of Nature in this process is to kill the weaker". He dreamed of a modern Utopia in which we would all live in a Big Brother-esque world, where we'd all be recorded according to fingerprints and numbers. Everyone is kept control of. The fact that this would be so appealing is no surprise, since this is what the elitist were most afraid of, losing their power over the masses. </li><li><b>Wyndham Lewis</b>-A huge supporter of Hitler, he greatly appreciated the idea of eliminating certain races and certain human beings. He thought that the world had become just one big melting pot, where races and culture were no longer distinguishable. Pedigree and class were incredibly important to the intellectuals during this century, and the fact that Englishmen essentially came from the same stock as Shakespeare would have been a great source of pride. Therefore other cultures were thought less of. The idea that racial purity generated strength, meant that health of the race was paramount.</li></ul>The mass was seen to be spreading in an unhealthy way. Suburbs which were built to accommodate the ever growing population were condemned for ruining the countryside and were said to be worse than slums. When they were eventually built, they were thought of to be breeding grounds for, not only more masses, but diseases and further education opportunities. Everything the elite detested. </div><div>Freud described these masses as a primal horde/pack. The idea of it plays to animal instincts. Those who are apart from the mass have successfully managed to suppress their unconscious desires and instincts. They have successful Ego's and Superego's and are therefore better humans than those giving way to their need to huddle together.<br /><br /></div><div>Characters such as Bloom in James Joyce's Ulysses is also mass. Yet through the book, we get to know him extremely well. His fears, his fantasies, his desires etc. Joyce individualizes someone from within a crowd and shows that they are all human, not just one body of people. Yet the idea that education should be a privilege still held. Nothing so fine should ever be so common. Only higher forms of life actually live, the rest should merely survive.</div><div><br /></div><div>Things like the cinema and movies and even newspapers were seen as cheap forms of entertainment, tacky and not intelligent. Even the newly invented crematorium was seen as a "conveyor belt" into death. The crowds had even over crowded the cemeteries. This all eventually culminated in the holocaust during Hitlers reign in the Second World War. Whether the situations Carey pinpoints in his book is to blame is debatable. Though it is clear the intellectuals mentioned were great supporters and would not have protested the thought of it happening. As D.H Lewis made clear, the mass murder of millions of people would be no more terrible than the fall of leaves in the autumn.</div><div><br /></div><div>The masses were to blame for everything over the coming years; woman's rights, marriage problems, disbelief in God and the grand principle of female independence. The elite tried their best to make education as inaccessible as possible to the inferior masses and to some extent this is still continuing today. </div><div><br /></div>Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-66826056548919840902010-11-20T18:35:00.000-08:002010-11-20T20:38:02.601-08:00James Joyce: Ulysses<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TOiOVxDcsZI/AAAAAAAAAN4/xvLznGsLJ7s/s1600/canstock0795178.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 245px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TOiOVxDcsZI/AAAAAAAAAN4/xvLznGsLJ7s/s320/canstock0795178.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541835846075593106" /></a><br />James Joyce was born February 1882 in Dublin. Chapter 15 of his book Ulysses is one characters stream of consciousness, repressed fears and wish fulfillment as he spends one night in a brothel. <br />Bloom hallucinates continually about sex and fantasies as his sub-conscious gets the better of him.<br />The whole chapter is like one big dream in terms of the way Bloom even changes clothes according to the situations he finds himself in. He may lose himself in a fantasy for an hour but find that little to no time has passed in the real world. <br /><br />Towards the beginning of the chapter, Bloom hallucinates his mother and father are with him and reprimanding him on the state of his clothes. Although he is muddy because he almost got run over, he becomes ashamed and tells his father that it's because he has been playing with the other children. On top of this, we become aware that his outfit has changed to that of a young boy's. This feeling of fear and unworthiness in front of a father figure has echoes of Sigmund Freud's belief in the Oedipus complex. Bloom feels like a child, and this is reflected in his outwardly behavior. Throughout the chapter, Bloom is also looking to become a father figure to the other character of Stephen. This is due to the fact Bloom recently lost his real son and has the instinct to feel like a father again. Therefore their is a common theme of father and son through the chapter.<br /><br />Woman in the chapter are all either prostitutes, whores, ugly, mean or crazy. The woman's attire is described like "vicelike corsets" or "restrained in net tight frocks"; language associated with traps and limited means of escape. When Bloom is visited by his grandfather (yet another dream sequence), Virag lectures on womans clothing and how it is highly deceiving. Aspects of a dress such as the rouched bits which hide the fat, and the padded bits for enhancement, so that when you strip it down, it's nothing like what you anticipated. Woman are temptresses who entice you in. "The vice of her painted eyes".<br />On top of that, one female character; Zoe, also appears to dabble in witchcraft. She reads Blooms palm, while a chalked circle appears on the floor. Two signs that back in the early century were sure signs of evil and witchcraft. <br />The woman Bloom meets within his hallucinations all treat him like dirt. They beat him either mentally or physically and he even turns into a camel when faced with his wife.<br /><br />Bloom also gets visited by a nymph at one point within the brothel. A nymph that saw Bloom having sex many years ago within the forest. She (another woman who is not normal) is annoyed that Bloom had disrespected the forest in such a hideous way. She claims that he took the forests innocence. Since the trees and the animals that were witness to Blooms crime, did not consent (I'm assuming) to having their innocence removed, the implication is clear that Bloom essentially raped the forest of it's purity. However, Bloom reminds her that sex is a "natural phenomenon" and that sex and nature are linked. At the beginning of the novel two characters discuss the fact that "even the all wisest Stagyrite was bitted, bridled and mounted by a light of love". Stating that even the greats like Shakespeare turn into animals when it comes to sex. Eventually, the nymph has to agree and disappears, albeit in a worse mood than when she arrived. <br /><br /><br />The whole chapter allows the reader to see Bloom's worst fears, deep seated worries and his fantasies. He turns from a sheepish child in front of his father, to a burdened camel in front of his wife, and still yet to a power hungry and selfish ruler during another fantasy. We see every side of his personality and the argument remains whether James Joyce revealed himself through the character of Bloom, or whether the book is merely a work of fiction. But as the chapter itself states: "Sleep reveals the worst part of everyone".Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-59689175216963554512010-11-17T10:12:00.001-08:002010-11-20T20:37:42.357-08:00Sigmund Freud<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TOih9fuVPfI/AAAAAAAAAOI/GT9yf2Pb7xc/s1600/canstock0795178.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TOih9fuVPfI/AAAAAAAAAOI/GT9yf2Pb7xc/s200/canstock0795178.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541857419339316722" /></a><br />Sigmund Freud was a German psychologist born 6 May 1856. Born into a matriarchal society, his theories tended to blame a lot of psychological problems on the mother and demean woman overall.<br /><br />People's problems in adult life could be always be linked back to childhood and the restrictions that had been placed on them during this time. His Psychosexual analysis of childhood incorporates five stages. If a person was not allowed to complete one of these stages succesfully, they would become fixated in later life and therefore could be attributed to certain dysfunctions. These stages were as follows.<br />The Oral Stage: Children have a need, during the weaning process, to put things in their mouth. At this age it's how they explore the world and understand new things. If a child is prevented from doing this, it's believed that in his adult life, he will often have addictions like smoking, drinking, or even habits such as nail biting or chewing pens.<br />The next stage is the Anal Phase. Toilet training and learning to control yourself is obviously a vital element of growing up. Positive feedback potentially means a well adjusted adult, if the child recieves negative feedback, he runs the risk of being anal retentive; in which the child becomes overly tidy or organised, or anal expulsive; when the child becomes destructive or disgustingly messy.<br />Next is the phallic stage. This is where the child begins to differentiate between males and females, as well as being focused on the genitals. This ties in which the Oedipus complex where the male child wants to own and have a relationship with the mother; while holding a deep resentment towards the father. This jelousy eventually turns to a fear that the father will discover his sons intentions and castrate him. After this realisation, the son instead sides with the father and rejects the mother. He learns from the father and creates his male identity. <br />On the other hand, girls suffer from penis envy. She will also resent the mother for not giving her a penis and will try and identify with the father. In time, she will come to replace her penis envy with the acceptance of having a womb. However; since she has already identified with the father, she creates two seperate identities, both male and female. This, according to Freud means woman are sexually weaker and genetically all bisexual. <br />Next was the Latency stage. This stage was a period of calm, before puberty the child represses his sexual desires and does not think about them. But then finally there is the genital stage in which the desire for relationships kicks in. If all has already gone well in previous stages than the teenager in this stage has a far better chance of gaining a normal and steady relationship.<br /><br />Freud also focused on the Id, the Ego and the Superego. Three aspects of a persons subconscious which controlled how you acted in social situations. The Id was your pleasure principle. It works off of instincts and it's main concern is you and your wants. Regardless of other people. The Ego is there to control the Id, the Ego deals with common sense and rationale. Okay you may be hungry enough to eat everything you see in the supermarket (your Id), but you know that that would be wrong thanks to your Ego. Lastly, the Superego will actively punish you for misbehavior with features such as guilt. Your Superego is more like your conscience, and acts as a moral guide as opposed to just common sense and instinct.<br /><br />Freud linked everything he could back to parenthood and theories such as Oedipus. Even though he only ever based his theories upon one person and therefore just one case study. In the case of phobias, he studied a boy called Little Hans who had a fear of horses. Even though Freud discovered Hans had; when he was younger, seen a horse collapse and die of exhaustion one day in the street, Freud decided that Hans' phobia was due to his father. He managed to theorize that at one point during Hans' childhood, his father had, like so many do, got down on all fours and carried Hans around like an animal. As Hans would have been young enough at this point to be going through Freuds' Oedipus complex, Hans of course associated a fear of his father, into a fear of horses and therefore just displaced his phobia. Of course to Freud this proved two of his theories beyond belief. <br /><br />Freud truly believed that everybody had repressed feelings of anxiety or desire and that this showed itself in your everyday life through various means. His theory was that your mind was like an iceberg. Only the tip of it was showing above the water, but beneath, remaining unseen, was an incredible amount of hidden material which he believed he could get to, if you just agreed to lie on his couch.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-78074222569388380492010-11-03T05:31:00.000-07:002010-11-03T06:11:11.444-07:00WINOL WINOL WINOLSat in the newsroom on the morning of a bulletin, which is what I'm doing now. There is an element of panic. Although everything always ends up running smoothly in the end, and our viewers see the calm veneer of what we produce; we let ourselves fall victim to the frenzy of a Wednesday morning.<br /><br />This comes about by factors such as not enough news packages. One Wednesday saw WINOL have a total of only two news packages, as three pm rolled around, we had a total of three. On the verge of calling off the bulletin we eventually pulled it together and scrounged a news show out of what we had. Practice makes perfect and we have certainly had enough practice running around like headless chickens.<br /><br />As fresh little second years, being added to the news team is almost like being chucked into the deep end-I wouldn't say it's filled with sharks because the third years have been more than helpful in helping us get started but there is always an element of learning on the job. Learning by mistakes and taking on constructive criticism.<br /><br />Debriefs every Wednesday afternoon after the bulletin has aired show mistakes that, as the year progresses, we learn to spot and avoid ourselves. Mistakes such as where to place interviewees for appropriate backgrounds and audio. I'm not a news reporter myself, my role is Sub Editor, but watching the points made about the reporters news packages is still helpful for taking on board what not to do in a real job.<br /><br />As Sub Editor my role is to take the reporters news, sports and fashion pieces and check them. Check them for spelling mistakes or even legal problems which could potentially create a law suit against the university. No pressure then! To say our WINOL roles strain friendships could be argued as very true, as people chase each other up and get increasingly stressed as we all depend on one another to keep the programme running. The director needs the script, the script writer needs information from the reporters, the reporters need the computers to keep working! My extra job is also to run around on bulletin day and get times from the news reporters, cut the time by three seconds and put it on the script so the director knows when to cue the presenters during the show. As much as it runs like clockwork, it's all we can do to not bite each others head off as we all try and focus on our own role in the bigger picture. <br /><br />But we manage to keep each other sweet and it's still not enough to keep us meeting up in the pub later (or even holding impromptu dance parties on a Tuesday evening). Small problems that we encounter can be fixed with the smallest thing, for instance better communication between the hierarchy. Audio problems and green screen problems will be found anywhere and instances such as that set us up for the real world, and a real job.<br /><br />We do often sit down and wonder what it would be like to do a normal uni course, just merely have lectures and classes to attend rather than a nine to five job. Yet the feeling after the bulletin goes out and Cooper has had his post WINOL Galaxy Ripple, you realise how worth it it all is.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-76900906047920029172010-10-21T07:19:00.000-07:002010-11-03T05:31:29.786-07:00Thus Spoke Zarathustra<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TNAliYuLj2I/AAAAAAAAANo/zGXthVPIqIE/s1600/triking_zarathustra.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TNAliYuLj2I/AAAAAAAAANo/zGXthVPIqIE/s200/triking_zarathustra.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534965214720266082" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Thus Spoke Zarathustra</span> is in essence, an anti-bible. His disbelief in the Christian faith led to his writings opposing most of the Christian values. Like for instance Zarathustra's favorite animal is the snake. A creature that in Christian terms, is the reason for Adam and Eve being led astray. Yet this to Zarathustra is what he wants from humanity; individuality from the herd.<br /><br />The aim of Zarathustra is to explain to mankind about the "ubermensch" or overman. Mankind as it is now is simply a bridge between apes and the overman that he speaks of. He explains that humans will eventually become bland, unthinking and without chaos since; "one must have chaos within one to give birth to a dancing star". Mankind will eventually fail to reproduce anything worthwhile unless they at least try to become the overman.<br /><br />A common theme within the text is the concept of the abyss. The abyss and the bridge that crosses it is the idea that the road to becoming the overman is dangerous. Filled with obstacles, it should be hesitant and faulting. Like a tightrope walker-coincidentally this is exactly what Zarathustra sees when he first enters the village. When the tightrope walker falls and dies, Zarathustra tells him that he didn't die failing as it would appear; but he died trying. Therefore he is set apart from all the other people who do nothing toward their future.<br /><br />Laughter and childhood innocence is also a factor which Zarathustra praises. His three metamorphoses' include, the camel; taking on burdens and working hard. The lion; strength, and courage of conviction to take control, and then the child. The child's innocence beats the lions strength in Zarathustra's values. These three stages will help you on your way to becoming the overman. The overman can laugh at anything he wants and does so, because he has risen above all others.<br /><br />"God is dead" is a famous saying from Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Taken out of context this may seem like a blatant refusal of the Christian faith, but in reality Zarathustra was acknowledging that at one point God may have been alive, but there is the possibility that he died a long time ago. The fact that humans still revere and worship him is an example of their inability to think for themselves.<br /><br />Zarathustra had strong beliefs that people should think for themselves and be individual. By his teachings he hoped people would eventually achieve this.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-10359715056447490902010-10-20T19:26:00.000-07:002010-10-20T19:31:28.958-07:00Kate Nash v. Example. The Big Debate<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TL-lId1fOtI/AAAAAAAAANg/0XZI7-Gk0bE/s1600/untitled.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TL-lId1fOtI/AAAAAAAAANg/0XZI7-Gk0bE/s320/untitled.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530320432300767954" /></a><br />After reading my close friend Gareth Messenger's blog on the large debate between Kate Nash and Example, I have been spurred into action to retaliate.<br />Gareth admits he has taste in dance and electro-pop. What he means by this, and after thorough inspection of his ipod, is a mix of chart hits, and album tracks from chart hits. Where was the Belle & Sebastian? Where was the Death Cab For Cutie? The Cardigans? And more importantly, where was the Kate Nash? Mr Messenger claims to have a varied taste in music, yet his music taste merely ranges from 1-40 according to this weeks releases. I myself range from Lady Gaga, to Coheed and Cambria. From Adam and the Ants, to Joan Jett and still further to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Although not calling myself a music mogul, I believe I have more to say on this matter than the boy who has John and Edward on his ipod.<br />Yes, admittedly Kate Nash did not have many chart hits. To Mr Messenger who’s bible is the UK top 40, this would be an issue. But to the average music appreciator it is generally a small if not ignorable fact. Kate Nash is to me, my young teenage years. On the day her first album was released I was 16 and in Blackpool with my two best friends. Our first holiday alone without parents. A time of messy relationships, crushes and angst. Made Of Bricks captured this perfectly. With lyrics such as “<em>I’m sitting with my friends getting drunk again on wine and I think about you”, </em>and further lyrics which capture conversations such as <em>“I heard she’s easy and if your guys with someone that’s sleazy then he isn’t worth your time ‘cos you deserve a real nice guy”. </em>It captured the essence of what we ourselves were going through. What we figured was important at that point in our lives, and to this day they provide a welcome bopping and singing session whilst making a cup of tea in the kitchen. Her second album “My Best Friend Is You”, is more angry. A lot more heavy and with deeper subject matters, a main factor of her second album is sex. Now 19 years old, it’s still relateable, still with the same incredible beats and certain songs such as “Mansion Song” give you an excuse to jump around the house, shaking your hair and shouting the lyrics. Standard afternoon!<br />Songs such as “I’ve Got A Secret” and “Skeleton Song” also deal with issues such as homophobia and anorexia without being to down your throat about it.<br />Now, Example as an artist is pure annoyance. I have on many an occasion listened to Gareth blaring his songs out of the computer (or MY ipod speakers). I have a very leniant taste in music, but I cannot stand, and emphasis on <strong>cannot stand</strong> rap. Example used to rap in his songs. I would rest my case there but I won’t. Rap isn’t music. It’s words. Spoken to a beat. A skill I could do if I switched on one of the pre-recorded beats on a keyboard and talked over it. Now this <em>wonderfully talented </em>artist has gone more Calvin Harris, doing more dance and synth tunes. Gary Numan did this in the eighties-and I can only just about, very mildly, tolerate him. Calvin Harris has one song that I like. Example can’t hack it. There is nothing to his songs other than a need to be in the charts. One might argue that one of my favourite artists Lady Gaga does the same; yet when she performs, or sings, she has a depth and emotion in her songs. Same as Kate Nash. Same as Ellie Lawson or A Fine Frenzy. If someone can find me one moving or talented song of Examples, I’ll eat my gilet. Fact!<br />Artists like Taio Cruz, Roll Deep or Jason Derulo are also just as plain generic and yes I have them on playlists, but only because they are good dance tunes and they remind me of many a night of drunken debauchery. Example isn’t even good to dance to. And <em>I</em> will dance to anything. Another fact! I suggest he goes back to pre-recording tracks for keyboards and just lets me do the talking.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-34106647008997849212010-10-20T11:58:00.001-07:002010-10-20T11:58:09.830-07:00HCJ: Modernism<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TL4l4TK4IYI/AAAAAAAAANM/ZpNSowMyrKQ/s1600/100_1184.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TL4l4TK4IYI/AAAAAAAAANM/ZpNSowMyrKQ/s320/100_1184.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529899041606345090" /></a><br />Although Modernism was a concept thought up long ago during the late 19th century, effects of it's reign can still be seen today in the form of buildings such as the Chrysler building in New York City. Architect William Van Halen designed the building after being inspired by machine technology. For this reason, the building contains details such as hubcaps and images of cars along it's stainless steel surface.<br />Modernism relished the idea of thinking outside the box. Modernists celebrated buildings that were scientifically designed; standard structure was no longer in vogue. <br /><br />Questioning and exploring were also parts of this new culture. One of the more famous modernists Nietzsche, once stated: "God is dead". Although this may come across as a blatant refusal to believe in a universal creator, it wasn't. Modernism merely questions his current existence, yet understanding that at one point God may have been alive. <br /><br />Modernism came about after Romanticism had had it's time in the lime light. A paradigm shift is the term used to describe this as it is a cultural change, often in reaction to the one before it. For example the French Revolution overthrew the monarchy in favor of a more free way of thinking. The next paradigm shift came in the form of Romanticism changing to Modernism. Modernists believe that there are never any `absolutes` in life. No absolute evil and no absolute good. There are also no fixed points to speak of and nothing has a centre. De-Centralization was the term used to describe this belief. Europe in particular was no longer a central part of the world. Those roles had been handed to countries like America and continents such as Asia. The highly modernistic view was that Europe had been eclipsed. <br /><br />Other elements of Modernism were aspects such as psycho analysis, which meant Sigmund Freud played a role in this new culture. There was also the train of thought that everything was made of nothing if you broke it apart; especially with todays technology of being able to split atoms, everything eventually comes down to nothing.<br /><br />Modernism eventually met its end during World War I, and in particular during the holocaust. After Modernism came postmodernism, which was a basic rejection of all that had come before it. It was a rejection of reason and the rejection of truth. This seemingly anti-modern stance during the late 21st Century was the next paradigm shift,and marked the end of Modernism.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-57355968186057436332010-10-20T11:38:00.000-07:002011-01-13T00:14:27.041-08:00Starbucks To Barbucks<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TL85c4NmcMI/AAAAAAAAANU/tvM5BoDQQ6Q/s1600/starbucks.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 196px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TL85c4NmcMI/AAAAAAAAANU/tvM5BoDQQ6Q/s200/starbucks.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530202035722809538" /></a><br />After purchasing your morning coffee at your local Starbucks store, you could now also return there in the evening for a pint or a glass of your favourite wine.<br />A Starbucks store in Seattle is testing their new business idea of selling alcohol in the evenings, as well as their famous coffee. A move planned to see their customers through from the morning, right till the end of the day.<br />The idea came about after the realisation that a majority of their sales are during the morning as people come in before their day begins. The executives over at Starbucks have decided they'd also like to cash in during the evenings.<br />If the idea takes off in Seattle stores, the alcohol will be available after four in the afternoon, and could be hitting stores worldwide.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-69542668595384329562010-10-14T12:06:00.000-07:002010-10-14T12:10:41.913-07:00HCJ: Tabloid NationThe Daily Mirror is hailed by Tabloid Nation as being the beginning of the modern day “Red Top” we see today-with the likes of The Sun being the epitome of just that in modern terms. To want to succeed in the tabloid industry, you essentially have to assume that the public are simpletons. Placate them and entice them in with pictures as opposed to text, make headlines big and eye catching so the regular member of the public doesn’t have to work hard to read it, and offer enticing prizes for questions impossible to answer. Such as “£1 a week for the rest of your life if you can accurately guess the sum of all the gold within the Bank of England”. Competitions like these were bound to send circulation through the roof, and the people behind the press (such as Alfred Harmsworth) knew just that, as at the age of 21 he created his first magazine called Answers. By offering cash prize competitions and giveaways which would attract up to 700,000 entries. When Harmsworth eventually created the Daily Mirror, it was described as being something “…of easy absorption by the most ordinary intelligence”, “something to look at on the way to work” and something to “prevent them [the people] from thinking”. <br /><br />As well as Alfred Harmsworth as the so called “Chief” of the Daily Mirror, the team of journalists also included Hannen Swaffer who was responsible for the pictures which would embellish the front page of every edition. With more than an air of similarity to William Randolph Hearst and The Examiner, the front page was often adorned with photos that no other paper had. For example, Daily Mirror reporters were the first people to climb inside the mouth of Mount Vesuvius, and also the first people, despite the crew, to fly inside a Zeppelin airship. When the Titanic sunk on April 14th, by April 15th, the Mirror had obtained photos from a shop on Edgeware Road that no other paper had managed to get hold of and printed them the morning after. Amongst other ground breaking achievements, Swaffer is also responsible for setting up the relationship between the royal family and the tabloids, as on April 2 1904, he printed a groveling but profitable family photo of the royals within the paper. Circulation boomed to 71,000 and the Royals have since become detrimental to the Tabloid industry even to this day. <br />However, this relationship was almost threatened when the Mirror underhandedly obtained photos of the recently deceased King Edward laid on his death bed looking nothing short of skeletal, and then pasted it on their front page. Although circulation soared far past the 1 million mark, the paper waited with bated breath for retribution from the Royal family. Yet Queen Alexandra eventually spoke and stated she had in fact chosen the Mirror to print the photos because the newspaper was a personal favorite of hers. No doubt embarrassed to admit that the lowly little penny paper had so slyly got past her and her royal empire. Although a blessing to the normal eye, within the Tabloid world, this must have come has something of a disappointment, as a trip to the tower would have done wonders for circulation. Showing how little has changed with the old mantra of “any publicity is good publicity”. <br /><br />When it comes to photographs for newspapers, both William Randolph Hearst, The Daily Mirror and even papers today understand that the more cute, pretty or eye catching the photo. The more readers will, sympathize, read or be interested in what you have to say. For example Hearst’s campaign to stop the Spaniards sending innocent people into concentration camps, was focused on Evangelina Cisneros, the so called “most beautiful woman in Spain”. She was the perfect candidate for a sympathetic story and a good front page.<br />In the same league, the Daily Mirror, albeit years later started a campaign of its own. Since no one in 20th century London cared or could do much about the plight of children and poverty stricken slums. The Mirror set up a campaign to save a poor little pit pony, which looked better in photos and as a bonus, the Lord Mayoress of London offered to buy the pony off their hands and look after it. Paving the way for future tabloids was the idea that most pictures contained either accidents, disasters, crime, royalty or sports. <br /><br /><br />Although Hearst was the first to start Investigative Journalism with his reporter Nellie Bly who would often do things like pretend to be insane and then report on the inside of an asylum-The Mirror would send their reporters to report on such things as the conditions of immigration travel between Liverpool and New York City. Continuing the trend of first-hand experience articles.<br /><br />Even though nowadays female readers are seen as no different to male readers-(with the Daily Mail nowadays catering solely to a female audience with their woman section) in Harmsworth’s time, female readers were not so profitable since they didn’t have the vote, therefore trying to use the paper as a propaganda tool wasn’t so effective. In terms of political interest, Baldwin, the prime minister during World War I, complained about just that when he stated that the paper was no longer just a paper but “engines of propaganda”. This was brought about due to the fact that Harmsworth had sold off the Daily Mirror to his younger brother, Lord Rothermere. Rothermere was a fascist and had attempted to set up the Right Wing United Empire Party with his partner Oswald Mosley, who in turn was the leader of a right wing party called the “New Party”. At one point during 1931 they even tried to suppress Gandhi and his efforts for peace, stating <br />“Put Petter (their candidate) in and you put Gandhi out!”<br />Allied together they would promote their fascist beliefs in both the Mirror and in turn the Daily Mail. After falling out over a business agreement, the promotion for Mosley stopped and his supporters fell from 40,000, to just 5,000. Further emphasizing the power of the press.<br /><br />Just after the First World War, the papers created a war themselves, albeit on a smaller scale. The Free Gift war. In 1922 The Herald started giving massive free prize giveaways to anyone who would buy their paper. By employing ex serviceman they also had a veritable army of people to promote the paper on the streets. Rival papers began to match or better every offer made by the Herald, including tea sets, mangles, books, kettles, coats, shoes and cameras. Lord Beaverbrook, owner of the Daily Express stated, in something reminiscent of the famous Churchill speech “I shall fight them to the bitter end”. War of any kind is a blessing to anyone within the tabloid or indeed newspaper in general, industry. As William Randolph Hearst so infamously but apparently said “You furnish the pictures, and I’ll furnish the war”. When war broke out after the USS Maine sunk, Hearst celebrated and asked readers to send in ideas for war strategies for the chance to win $1000. The Journal beat the 1million circulation mark the day of the sinking. <br /><br />Peoples dependencies upon the Tabloids and newspapers was summed up during World War I, when The Mirror was arranged to be distributed amongst trenches as well as to the regular public. The public of course enjoyed reading about what their soldiers were going through out on the firing line, and the soldiers in turn enjoyed reading about what was going on in the regular world at home. <br /><br />In terms of groundbreaking achievement during the time of Hearst, Northcliffe and Rothermere, Hearst created the template for every Tabloid with big headlines and pictures over riding text, with catchy headlines and hooks to suck readers in. A front page technique still being used today. Years later, another definitive moment came in the form of Harry Guy Bartholomew. Whilst working at The Mirror, he invented the Bartlane system. A machine that enabled pictures to be sent in a matter of minutes or hours as opposed to the days it took before, Soon enough the Daily Mirror and the New York Daily News were trading pictures daily. <br />These accomplishments in the world of press are the framework of the tabloid industry we see today.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3279735829742709674.post-35012980201527602232010-10-04T10:18:00.000-07:002011-01-13T00:17:51.323-08:00Cara's Life Lessons, And The Case Of The Missing Cheese Grater.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TKoXED_CBLI/AAAAAAAAAM0/95hDAXQacWY/s1600/canstock0795178.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 205px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xgFl2V8caO8/TKoXED_CBLI/AAAAAAAAAM0/95hDAXQacWY/s400/canstock0795178.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524253251479930034" /></a><br />With a lack of newspapers, fashion exhausted, and HCJ finally done, I'm willing to blog about myself for lack of a better subject.<br /><br />After just over a month of living in Orchard House, I have learnt a number of things which I am happy to share in case anyone else is blissfully oblivious to these complications in life:<br />-The large noisy fan above the oven is in fact called an extractor fan, not an exfoliator fan.<br />-No matter how much I tidy, the place seems to collect toast crumbs, sock fluff and make up stains within a day.<br />-Fish don't like it when you play loud music right next to their tank.<br />-My laundry doesn't do itself and fold itself neatly across my bed like it used to.<br />-Plus it needs ironing.<br />-I'm not allowed to leave my clothes, belts or shoes around the kitchen because Karen trips over them.<br />-Some microwaves have a button which needs to be pushed to get it to open, and no amount of pulling will change that.<br />-Microwave cheeseburgers definitely need to be microwaved, don't even attempt to put them in the oven<br />-Life without Sky+ HD isn't fun. Where on earth is E!News!?<br />And Justina tends to sleep talk when you sneak into her room late at night to get the nail varnish.<br /><br />Yet I still haven't learnt how to cook, and I've lost my cheese grater. Which I never thought I would do considering it's bright pink. But there you have it.<br /><br />This first week back at University has in itself taught me a fair few things, including how to use Joomla. The system responsible for our Winchester News Online Site. The revision sessions on camera and the editing equipment were much needed and appreciated it has to be said. Plus helping my friends Keegan and Justina on their feature filming every so often is handy. But none of it has of yet helped to find my cheese grater. Priorities, priorities.Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17309673297270161837noreply@blogger.com0