Unfold Those Tears: May 2007

Thursday 10 May 2007

The Last Post

PLAY GARY OLDMAN
VIDEO TO THE RIGHT

."Bad to the bone!"

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Well that's all folks!

We've come to the last post . It has been fun writing this blog and reading other peoples blogs. It has taken far more time than I have had , everything else has gone on the back burner cause I've really enjoyed writing it and creating links - adding pics , music files , videos - i'm very pleased with the layout - yes inc the pink! - i know my spelling and grammar are poor but hopefully you can see through that - the spell check on this is as primitive as my ability to spell! - now I've got to go back to reality and write boring one dimensional essays! - its been without a shadow of doubt the best part of semester two and I will be writing more & more blogs from now onwards .

Here are some quick links to the posts on my blog below :

1)Alcohol 2Drugs 3)Field Trip 4)Gambling 5)Health 6)Infidelity 7)Last Post 8)Masturbation 9)Money 10)NEWSFLASH 11)Penultimate Post 12)Prostitution 13 )Religion 14) Smoking15)Stalking16)Stealing 17)Tattoos 18) Telling Lies 19) Transport20)White Collar Crime

Here's a quick link to ALL the Blogs I have read & made comments on : Click me!

Here's my questionnaire ( scroll to the bottom - formatting went adrift!) : click me too !

NEWSFLASH

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I wake to hear the BBC announce that .... shock horror Tony Blair has 'resigned' .... surely this can't be true !? - not after 10 years - resigning on the 10th May from no.10 drowning ( purposeful error btw ! ) street ! could it all be just a coincidence and that there will be a press conference at 10 o' clock for ten minutes ? We now have 7 or 8 weeks while the nations awaits with baited breath - who will be crowned our new Prime Minister ( like we get any choice in the matter! ) - who will Tony name as his successor .....fast forward to 1st July 2007 - its Gordon Brown and he cannot even light up a cigar to celebrate for fear of being the first person to be prosecuted up the new smoking ban - wow we are all in shock again ...how did that happen - how DID that happen!?

I so look forward to hearing Mark Steel's take on the whole thing.

Wednesday 9 May 2007

Penultimate Post

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This is my penultimate post , everybody seems to have done a questionnaire so i did one too, I'm sorry but its not positive , trying to work out a way of putting it in a separate file - I gave up but you find it at the bottom of bthe page - it didnt come out very well lost all my formatting! Have a look at the video for 'Bad to the bone' there's a great one of Gary Oldman - just click on the pic or any of the hyperlinks throughout my blog . I have also listed all the Blogs I've read and commented on together with my suggestion for a field trip below

Tuesday 8 May 2007

Drugs

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Once upon a time the use of drugs was socially acceptable in the UK , EU and USA . It amuses me sometimes that people in the 'west' look at other countries in the world and sneer at them for banning alcohol like there is something wrong with them . Alcohol can be just as dangerous and addictive as some drugs but still alcohol is readily available. (I'm not complaining I'm quite happy it is I'm just commenting on the hypocrisy) Originally drugs were not banned for the obvious reasons and those reasons namely that they would not be ordinarily legalised today .It as much support from former slave owners who were concerned about the productivity of their workers than it did for any health implications at the time of its prohibition in the US.
Today drug use is synonymous with crime , be it those supplying or in allot of cases those taking it . Banning or legalising drugs will not get rid of the related problems that it causes .Society itself needs to solve those problems- undoubtedly the world be a better place without any stimulant that causes people to commit serious or other crime .

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I looked at a very frank blog ( there's a pun in that ) Cat has shown a link through to website that shows what happens to you if you use crystal - truly awful - some strong views there Cat - I couldn't argue with them.

Monday 7 May 2007

Gambling

This is me ( gonabeatmark on pokerstars ) playing poker yet again ( yes that's right I'm the one who had to leave in the middle of a game of poker to go to Dennis's gambling lecture and was hoping to get back in time to finish the game ! ) its almost 2am my battery is about to run out , both metaphorically and as you see on the icon on the bottom rhs of my laptop ( if you can't just click on the pic to enlarge ) , Hurray - I've won but will this win be enough ? have I procrastinated enough yet and will I now finally get round to starting that essay! ...oh just one more game ..addictive isn't it & guess what I lost the next game - so now I'm going to have to play again to get that money back - wow its daylight outside - I haven't even slept yet , now where did I put that number for GA ? HELP !!! .. this has NOT been a party political broadcast on behalf of Manchester City Council home of the UK's first super casino !

Sunday 6 May 2007

Health

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Health is an important issue. Its cost the NHS ?? £bn to look after the nation . As we all live longer its going to cost more and more to keep us alive , me personally I've done my pension planning with a view to not being here in 25 years time ( work that one out! ) so its scares me if I suddenly became really healthy ; how am I going to afford to survive ? so ironically & bizarrely I'm better off as unhealthy as I am ! ( if that doesn't get a comment I duno what will !? ) Now where's that burger?
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I read with increased saliva Nathan's story of the man ordering the unhealthy burger and now I'm hungry! But not wanting to join that elite sumo club ( although I probably would qualify! ) but I'll be good and I'll go for the healthy option. Did you ever find out why he was on a get fat diet?

Saturday 5 May 2007

Infidelity

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I don't think anyone likes being cheated on so why do people cheat on their partners? - if you live to the maxim 'do unto other as you wish to be done unto you' - its true we're not swans - its takes hard work to make a relationship last - temptation is all around.

I cannot believe the morality of websites like this that encourage married people to cheat - I can understand swingers to an extent but I know its not for me - i'm too much of the jealous type . I think I'd rather be alone than be in a relationship I'm not happy in and cheat.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire 1) Age? How dare you ask !? …ok I’m an old f@rt ..42 !! 2) Sex? Don’t give a silly answer here …….ok sensible one coming up ….no ..still fighting the urge to give a silly answer Ok .. ready .. Male ( now that wasn’t so difficult was it !? ) 3) What is your degree subject (both if joint)? Creative Professional Writing and Film Studies ( ok I’m being sensible now ! ) 4) Does ‘Being Bad’ relate well to the other modules you are taking? Only partially 5) (a)If so, how? Some of the assignments are film & creative writing orientated (b)And if not, why not? With such a low word count on the essays there is no real opportunity to be creative 6) Have you found ‘Being Bad’ too demanding, too easy, or at an appropriate level? Far too easy , I think the only difficult part is trying to decipher out of the 300 options which essay you are supposed to do for assignment 2 and 3 7) Do you think the list of topics covered on the module was appropriate? Yes. There are others that could be included that I notice some people have put on their blogs … ooops I have started answering the next question 8) Are there any topics not included in the module that you would like to see included? ( click on links through to other peoples blogs ) Ok here’s a few that are not on the weekly program on wolf e.g. Terrorism , Drugs , Murder , Domestic Violence , Rape , Sex with lecturers – these are just some of the topics I have seen on other blogs that weren’t included . 9) Do you think that the format for classes has worked well? No , definitely not . I think the idea of a having a different lecturer each week is counter productive . On the one hand I can see the point that you are bringing in expertise from different fields but I think it just added to the disruptive nature of the lectures. 10) What did you think of the module team? I hope this does not affect my mark too much ! – I am being honest here and trying to be diplomatic. I think it was extremely variable . 11) Do you think it would have been better to have had more: (a) Small group discussions? Yes , undoubtedly (b) Discussion and debate among the class as a whole? No , I think with a room of 250 people baked at oven mark 7 with poorly designed AV equipment it was always going to be a difficult one . I have always thought it was rude for students to (a) arrive late ( I can be just as guilty of all of these too ! ) ( b) leave during the middle of a lecture (c) talk continually during a lecture ( d ) not turn up without an apology. But somehow the subject ‘being bad’ seems to have been misunderstood as the pre-requisite to take the module! – but hey I’m just a grumpy old man! ( c) Information and talk from lecturers? Occasionally inaudible, quite often exceedingly boring. I know am going to get a bad mark at this rate now . Everyone else’s questionnaire has been so positive! Maybe I’m not being diplomatic, certainly in discussions with other students the term ‘being boring’ has been branded about. (12) The approach taken in the module is interdisciplinary (drawing on perspectives from English Literature, Film Studies, Creative Writing, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies and Politics): do you think this a useful way of approaching the topics covered in the module? Yes, I think the idea is good but I don’t think it worked. (13) Do you think that interdisciplinary modules are a good idea? Yes definitely, if it can be made to work. (14) Do you think you have benefited from the interdisciplinary approach taken in the module? Yes. I have interests in all subjects so it was nice to have that opportunity to engage in other areas of the HLSS arena. (15)Would you like to see more modules that cover this kind of subject matter? No. (16) Are you planning to take the follow-up module PH2004 ‘It Shouldn’t Be Allowed’ at level 2? No. Think I might be banned after you read this questionnaire! Plus I want to concentrate on my core subjects of Film and Creative Writing but would look to add either pure War Studies or Politics in as an elective so maybe it has opened my eyes up to other opportunities. (17) Would you recommend ‘Being Bad’ to a friend? No. It was however recommended to me! That’s the last time I listen to that person’s advice (only kidding). Actually to be honest it’s not been that bad (to use a pun) but it’s been more of a disappointment, I guess with the subject matter I thought it would be really good and it’s only been okay. Sometimes in life its better to have high hopes low expectations because when you have high expectations you rarely are satisfied. Wow there’s some philosophy for you! Also I think the whole of semester 2 has been less ‘fun’ than the first semester I loved the craft of writing so much and used to look forward to that lecture like my children look forward to Christmas but sadly nothing has come close since. I know im not alone in thinking this way others have said it too. (18) Do you think that the blogs (web logs) were a good idea? Yes. Without a doubt the best part of the module for me. I will continually write blogs from now on – only wish id kept up with mine and I’d made some entries during April – running out of days now! (19) What did you think of the other assessments (e.g. would it be better to have one longer assessment rather than two shorter ones?)? Far too complicated and confusing, too many choices – maybe a flow chart would help!? If you’ve done this essay and you are doing this course you need to do …help – which one!? – So you could end up doing the wrong essay and effectively get a fail for misunderstanding the system! Also the word counts are too small to give the opportunity to write anything creative (repeating myself here! ) you end up having to edit it down so much that your dialogue and characterisation disappears. The turn around time for marking needs to be addressed too – some people haven’t got their marks for the first essay yet and there’s only 24 hours left till they have to hand in the next essay with nothing on e-vision. I think I have definitely made my own noose now! On a positive note – I like the idea of the freedom to be able to explore other avenues that give people the opportunity to make a short 5 minute video on masturbation (okay I’m making that bit up!) but there are videos, posters etc that you can do as assignments – I think that is an excellent idea to give people the opportunity to be creative in other medium apart from the written document. (20) What have you learned from the module? How to do a blog. (21) What parts of the module have you found most useful and why? How to do a blog. I will be writing blogs on all sorts of subjects now – it been very interesting to read other peoples blogs too – I don’t envy you having to read and mark 250 of them! (22) What parts do you think were a waste of time and why? Kids. The film was appalling, I can’t think of any film I have walked out of before but that film was just awful! (23 ) Are there any other comments you wish to make regarding ‘Being Bad’? I think I’ve said enough! Pad_a 09/05/07

Unfold Those Tears