Secrecy is only human nature?

Sex, money, politics - three of the easiest subjects to cause offence to almost anyone. How much do you earn? How’s the sex life? Who are you voting for in the next election? Ask five strangers this question, and if you manage to get one answer out of any of them, I applaud you. Heck, ask a friend these three questions and you will still come away none the wiser.

In reality, it’s peculiar to say the least just why such subjects are shrouded in an immovable mist. If you ask someone what their favourite football team is, or make of car, or brand name, they’d happily tell you at the drop of a coin. Yet, if you ask someone what their favourite political party is, they’ll go off you faster than Sol Campbell*, but why?
It seems that most people can only confide in one person: themselves. For some reason, I share the same mentality to most. I haven’t revealed who I’m voting for this May to anyone besides a select few, whilst I only openly speak about my sex life with a small handful of people – why should anyone really care what I get up to in the bedroom?

It’s with this mentality that most people adopt the same attitude. If, in another world, sex was openly talked about, people would be more than happy to tell anyone who’ll listen what they got up to the night before. The same goes with politics and money. If I were to walk into university right now and create a spot poll to find out which political party they’ll put their faith in for the next five years, I’ll be hard pushed to find more than ten people willing to answer my question in a day.

I remember one of our first assignments for our course, where we had to interview a professional journalist to find out what made a good reporter. Along with this, any additional information such as marital status, age and wage would provide extra marks. I remember asking Hugh Muir (the Guardian’s diary editor) these three questions, and the answers I got were, well, obscure to say the least. The first two answers escape me now, but I vividly remember Hugh chuckling down the phone when I asked for his wage. It’s almost like revealing your wage is as bad as shouting out your pin number in public.

An article earlier this week on Buzz (our University-ran website where us trainee hacks can publish our news pieces, like an online portfolio en-masse) revealed that one of the big dogs at Bournemouth University was to leave for a life in the smoke, taking a lead role at City University, London. The female journalist writing the article managed to get hold of his wage, and it was this that formed the foundations of her article. It seems as if acquiring somebody else’s wage is cause for celebration. It shouldn’t be – it’s just a number, right?

In the same way, so what if you’re a Tory. So what if you think Brown is the man to take us out of this prolonged recession. At the end of the day, we’re all entitled to our own opinions – freedom of speech and all that – so why should it matter what people think? Go ahead, be bold, reveal all. I dare you.

*Tests published by The Sun revealed that the 30-something beast of a defender is the second fastest player in the Premier League. Seriously.

Climb every mountain...

I fear I won't be able to complete it. Not as much because I've never enjoyed climbing, nor have gone out of my way to go forward in any other incline than 0%, but because I feel I have lost my fitness levels. The days of half-marathons feel like a distant memory to me now, and it will take some serious commitment for me to regain the physical fitness I once possessed.

To you, you may as well have read hieroglyphics than that babbling mess. However, hopefully by the end of this blog it will make sense.

Rewind your minds back around 6 months if you can. For me, this meant the end of summer, and the end of living in London as far as I was concerned as University was just around the corner. The only unfinished business I had was stickign out like a sore thumb. Stuck bang-right in the middle of my Fresher's Fortnight at University was my half-marathon I signed up to earlier last Summer (Fresher's Fortnight, in a nutshell, is a chance to acceptably get completely rat-arsed along with a ton of fellow first-years, with most friends made whilst hammered. A huge reliance on your mobile phone is required to then remember who your new friends are).

I won't bore with the details, but I successfully ran the half-marathon with a friend in just over two hours. I fear though that my fitness levels since then have dropped severely. As mentioned previously in an older post, I ran along the beach today, clocking up around 5 miles in the process. Down in Bournemouth, I go for beach runs realistically around once a month, clocking up 5 miles to my ever-increasing tally each time. I come back physically drained and starving, beads of sweat lining my top meaning another £2.20 lost to my awful washing machines where I live to clean my kit.

In my seemingly-parellel 'former life', I consistently ran 6 miles every few days, meaning I could easily manage to eat up a total of 20-30 miles of road every week. Back then, I still came home tired, though the hunger pains and unattractive sweat patches never struck me.

I need to get in shape, fast. Plagued with illness over the winter, alongside the typical Christmas-time binge, my body has suffered pretty badly. I've put on weight in the wrong places, whilst losing muscle in others that didn't want to be changed. It's safe to say, this need for change has become increasingly important progressively.

A friend of mine mentioned the 'Three Peaks Challenge' recently, and I looked into it for a bit today. For those that don't know, the Three Peaks Challenge is an event whereupon participants climb up three mountains (Ben Nevis, Skagness and Snowdon if my memory serves me correctly) in the space of a measly 24 hours. This includes driving time, and time to sleep in between. I know of a few students from a different University doing it for charity, with one slight change - they're giving themselves three days to complete this challenge.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, this blog will act as written (well, typed) proof that I WILL complete the Three Peaks Challenge in 24 hours. As of yet, there is no date set for the challenge, since participants can choose when they do it - it's not a formal race as such. What I do know however, is that I will undertake the challenge in September - after my exam resits and before University recommences.

To accomplish this feat, I realise the amount of work I need to put in will be by no means small. In fact, getting an elephant to run faster than Mr. Usain Bolt* is probably an easier mission than getting me up and down these molehills in a day.

Regular gym visits, with resistance and cardio-vascular exercise in mind, is just the start. My diet will need to drastically change too. Hopefully I will use this blog as a diary of some sort to keep my training up, a bit like my running logs around this time last year (which, I know, failed after a while).

All that remains now is to polish off the Jaffa Cakes I'm devouring at an alarming pace, so I can replace these with apples, bananas and the such during my next Asda visit. I'm hitting the gym tomorrow for the fourth time this week, and with a little perseverance I can make it up these mountains and back with ease. Provided I can get over my fear, I'll have no problems.

*Usain Bolt, Olympic gold medallist and 100m World-Record holder for (quite possibly) the next century at least, can run just over 24mph. So good luck training your elephants.

Britain: "It's Summer!"

It's officially no longer Winter. As March arrives, us excitable Brits don our coats and cups of hot cocoa for beach balls and sunglasses. Most of the time, we'll freeze half to death just to catch a ray a sun before the wind takes over and sends shivers down our spines. But we don't care - we're British, and as far as we're concerned, it's Spring Summer!

The definition of working on a tan for us stands somewhere along the lines of taking our shoes and tops off for a few golden moments to bathe in glorious, yet still incredibly cold sunlight before putting them all quickly back on as we realise we're going to catch frostbite before a speck of our pale, white bodies turn a little chargrilled.

Hypocritically, today I went for a beach run down by Bournemouth beach for around an hour. Most of the time, I ran in a vest. Inevitably, after half an hour or so, I put a jumper back on to finish my run back to my halls, and although (for a short while) a run in the sun felt fantastic, I won't be doing it again in a hurry.

However much we will deny it, us Brits just love to get out in the sun.
For us, there is no such thing as Spring. Spring is simply the turnover period between Winter and Summer. Us Brits hate Spring; as soon as Winter has come and gone, it is safe to say we only have one thing to look forward to - the Almighty Sun.

It is only a matter of time before holidays are booked, vests are fashioned and the gym becomes a haven for sweat and fat blokes trying for that iconic beach body (which, even if obtained, will soon be destroyed with a shed load of beer and ice-cream in the sun anyway).

For now, let's not ruin the dream. The sun is shining, the beach is only a stones throw away, and as far as I'm concerned, Summer has arrived.

Tinchy Strydes on after electric display at Bournemouth's O2 Academy

Urban grime superstar Tinchy Stryder delighted a buzzing crowd at the O2 Academy in Boscombe, Bournemouth last month, with supporting act Example warming the crowd up in no small way for a huge night of musical mayhem.


The night kicked off with Example’s flawless rendition of recent hits Won’t Go Quietly and Watch The Sun Come Up - both going down a storm with a packed crowd crammed into the small arena on a cold February night on the south-coast. Always the showman, the Hammersmith-born rapper involved the crowd in every song, provoking chants and choruses sang by fans whilst energetically bunny-hopping to the music seemingly at every occasion.

Half way through his performance, Example (arguably) congratulated his crowd for being “the loudest and possibly oldest crowd ever”, which was somehow amazingly received with ruptures of approval from the Bournemouth faithful. 

The crowd went wild regardless as lyrics streamed virtually endlessly during Example’s electrifying set - and with a vast array of styles and rhythms, Example ensured the crowd were always on their feet, mimicking his over-exaggerated bunny-hopping to his heavy beats.

Of course, the 27-year-old was only to be a warm up for a crowd ultimately only there for his 23-year-old counterpart. Under the pseudonym ‘Star In The Hood’ and donning all-black, Tinchy Stryder appeared on stage behind a white curtain. Screaming fans deafened the arena, as Tinchy soaked up the love before returning it as the curtain dropped with superbly performed recitals of his biggest hits. Appropriately chosen, Tinchy led with album favourite I’m Landing before laying down an even better performance of Warning. Tinchy’s unique prowess was clear for all to see, majestically laying down bars of rap accompanied by a pulsating backing beat that could be felt on the streets outside. Tinchy controlled the crowd effortlessly – at one point, he mockingly walked off stage as a sea of teenagers chanted his name, begging for more before the rapper returned to thrill his crowd with smash hit Number One.

Hands covered the air as hundreds of mobile phones lit up the East Londoner’s adoring fans’ faces, desperately trying to get footage of the superstar on stage, and with support on the night in the form of fellow rappers Maverick Rap and Rapid Rick, music continuously flowed through every crevice of the O2 Academy until the night’s end. Simply put by 2nd Year BU Law Student Sarah Maverick, “the gig was amazing”, with not one person looking unimpressed by the night’s show as fans headed for the exits.

There’s no doubt that both men are well on their way up in a competitive music business, and if screams and satisfied faces were anything to go by, both performances were superb, with fans begging for more as both rappers  respectively left the stage. The only dampener on the night - if there had to be one - was Tinchy’s performance time, which perhaps didn’t quite justify a £14 ticket price for just over an hour on stage. 

More on both performers can be found at www.trythisforexample.com and www.starinthehood.net.

Odeon take stand against Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Odeon have taken the bold move to stand up to movie giants Disney after the film studio revealed plans to release the film on DVD no sooner than the end of May.

It is normal for films to stay on cinematic release for up to 17 weeks. However with Disney’s new plans in effect, this would mean downsizing the screen time – and consequently box office profit – to just 12 weeks.

Although the UK premiere of Alice in Wonderland has still been given the green light this Thursday at Odeon’s branch in Leicester Square, London, the firm will not make the film part of their plans in the future.

Both Vue and Cineworld have both struck deals with Disney to show the film however, and it will be shown in most branches nationwide.

Disney say that by making the film available on DVD so soon it will help combat piracy, allowing people to own a legal copy of the film within very little time of it being released on the big screen.

However, Odeon’s stance is that a change in the amount of time a film is on theatrical release will damage the industry, especially small-time cinemas that will not make as much profit due to a small time-frame for audiences to watch the film.

And it is not only Odeon that oppose Disney’s new plans – some companies in Belgium and the US also agree with Odeon, and will not show the film as a result.

Disney’s animated box office hit Up was also planned for a shorter release time, yet stiff opposition from cinemas nationwide meant that plans were reversed to protect any future dispute over the release of the studio’s productions. Similarly, Night at the Museum was pulled off-screen within weeks in 2005 after producers 20th Century Fox revealed plans to reduce the film’s screen-time.

So where can I watch the film?

Since Odeon have pulled the plug on Burton’s new creation, the nearest Cineworld is in Southampton, whilst Eastleigh has the closest Vue. In a nutshell, for us Bournemouth folk, perhaps 17 weeks will have to do…

The latest trailer for Alice in Wonderland can be seen below. The film is due for theatrical release on 5th March 2010.

A 21-hour working week?

The New Economics Foundation, a left-wing think tank, has called for cuts in the working week from the current average of 37 hours to just 21 hours a week. The policy institute believes that with less time working, employees can benefit in other matters of personal importance such as parenting and socialising.

A report released by the firm states that a reduction in hours would steady unemployment, by being able to offer more workers jobs with less hours, as well as relieving stress by constant over-time shifts, causing divides in society and over-consumption. Although the NEF realise that they would face hard competition, especially from employers, they argue that it is “inevitable” that a shorter working week will be introduced in the future to counter-act the current state of the economy and unemployment – currently set at just under 2.5 million. Presently, with so many workers carrying out full-time shifts, the population of over-worked employees and unemployed individuals are both on the rise – a fact, say the NEF, that is creating a “broken Britain”.

During the recession, working hours fell in several major companies such as Ford, British Airways and BT. A reduction of hours has led to an increase in part-time work – encouraging a larger workforce, yet destroying the full-time job role.

However, the first thing that may come to many people’s minds is that alongside a reduction of hours comes a reduction of wages. The NEF believe that with more free time however, employees can enjoy the finer things in life, as well as having more time to carry out tasks otherwise impossible during longer working weeks.

Anne Coote, joint writer of the report, states that “(people) will have more time to be better parents, better citizens, better carers and better neighbours” by spending more time out of the workplace. Coote also firmly believes that with less time spent working, employees will spend their time working happier, with a severe lack of stress as a result of over-working.

 

The policy’s director, Andrew Simms, stands by Coote’s remarks, stating that “this could be a massive benefit to our economy, our quality of life, and our planet.”

Similar schemes have been introduced in the past in France and Utah, USA, with mixed results. In 2000, France put a limit on the maximum working week to 35 hours, yet in 2008 this limit was lifted to allow employers to enforce longer hours. However, a four-day working week was imposed in Utah with positive results, cutting carbon emissions and creating a more effective, stress-free work force.

Italy's Euro 2016 bid rocked by racism struggle?

Racism has always been a damaging aspect of football on a global scale, yet the racist activity in Italy is putting the sport into increasingly serious disrespect.

With the bidding for the Euro 2016 competition only a few months away, Italy face fierce competition from France, Turkey and a joint bid from Sweden and Norway. However, Italy's hopes are being damaged by the racial divides increasingly being made in Italian football - this is in no way down to the clubs themselves but for the 'supporters', who's torrential abuse of certain players are damaging one of Italian's most prestigious and popular sports.

The attitudes of most Italians against racial minorities can be backed up by their now-infamous yet incredibly simple chant heard in the stands, "there are no black Italians". One glance at Inter Milan's wonderkid Mario Balotelli tells a small yet powerful message of the attitude of Italian football fans. Donned 'Super Mario' by Internazionale's fans, Balotelli is constantly being bombarded with messages of racism by rival fans.

Bluntly put by Cristina Balotelli, Mario's sister, "those racists should be sent home" in the aftermath of a recent match against under-performing Juventus, whereupon Balotelli was targetted so viciously with racist chants that Juventus were not only fined, but forced to play their following Serie A football match with no outside support allowed in the stands.

For a team bidding for the Euro 2016 competition to be held in their country, racism is a matter that must be stamped out. Yet in a country seemingly torn by a racial divide, this is no small problem - not exactly bolstered by a Prime Minister (Silvio Berlusconi) who famously referred to US President Barack Obama as "tanned".

In Italy, citizenship is based on having Italian blood, regardless of origin of birth. Yet, it is incredibly difficult for Italian-born individuals with non-Italian parents to gain citizenship. At 18, those unable to gain citizenship at birth must undergo a long and complex process to request this right. Even so, still not everyone is granted citizenship. Although born in Italy to Nigerian parents, 25-year-old amateur footballer Emeka - playing for- is still awaited citizenship seven years after applying.

Problems arise from a divide in attitudes to race in Italy regularly. During one of Casteltodino's league matches in small-town Terni, Italy, Emeka was subject to racial abuse by an opponent, being called a "dirty Negro" during the game. In reply, the whole team walked off the pitch, taking a firm stand against the racist nature currently overshadowing Italian football. Casteltodino's players' actions made national headlines, and calls for this type of stand are inevitably going to be made. However, Casteltodino player Francesco Ribeca remarked the "money factories" of Serie A would not allow a 'walk-off' to occur in professional football, and it would take much, much more than one amateur team to make a stand for a nation to listen.

Change needs to be made - not only in Italy, but on a global scale. With several government drives already put in place in several countries, one can only hope that such behaviour will soon become non-existent.

Q&A: Google Buzz - Just another Facebook replica?

Earlier this week, Internet superpower Google launched Buzz, a social networking site set to rival the likes of Facebook and Twitter. Like Facebook, users can post status updates, upload photos and videos, comment on friends’ posts and more. Buzz is incorporated into Gmail, meaning users’ friends are automatically added into their Buzz friends list, allowing instant and easy communication with those they know best.

So what does Google Buzz offer?

Google Buzz is arguably a replica of Facebook in the way that users can post status updates, upload and view photos and videos as well as offering a chat feature to communicate to your peers. Like Facebook, users can also ‘like’ posts, with notifications appearing in users’ inboxes every time a friend comments on their posts.

So basically, Google Buzz IS Facebook?

Not quite. Google Buzz has several features that distinguish it from the hugely-competitive social networking crowd. Posts can be recommended to a friend at the click of a button – so, for example, if a friends’ friend was selling tickets to a football match to the team you support, the friend could recommend the post to you to buy the tickets.

I have quite an active lifestyle, and don’t have much time for accessing a computer. Is there a way around this?

You’re in luck. Google Buzz has been designed with the mobile community in mind, meaning the application – and all aforementioned features – can be accessed anywhere, anytime. Google Buzz uses the GPS signal of your mobile phone to detect your current location, meaning that status updates or posts – yours or your friend’s – can be tracked to where you currently are. A breach of privacy perhaps, yet handy when you’re out and about socialising.

So you’re saying I can be tracked 24/7?

Not necessarily. Mobile users can choose to tag their current locations whilst posting – a feature that can be turned on and off. This can also then be published publicly (globally) or privately (between you and your peers). There’s also an option to view public posts nearby to your current location so, theoretically, you could enter a coffee shop and read a stranger’s Buzz status update reviewing the coffee they had just bought.

I’m getting the impression my privacy is going to be destroyed by Buzz. How can I control this?

Simply put, don’t post anything you feel is personal, causing uncomfort if a stranger were to read it. Google Buzz offers a feature whereupon users can choose who they post their status updates to though, meaning that user posts can be seen by either friends or anyone. Sure, Facebook does this too, yet the process is far more complicated for the average computer user.

I’ve never really been a fan of constant interaction – I prefer Twitter. Is there a way to simply ‘tweet’?

Tweets in essence are simply status updates, with Twitter arguably a simplified version of Facebook and Buzz. Luckily, the guys at Buzz have created a way to integrate your Twitter activity into your Buzz account. Using Gmail, anything users ‘tweet’ on Twitter will automatically be published onto Buzz too. Furthermore, the same applies for any activity on Picasa, Flickr and Google Reader – enabling both text and image uploads with minimal fuss.

Haven’t Google already tried, and failed, to break into the social networking scene?

Yep. In 2004, Google released an application called Orkut – a similar concept to the earlier versions of Facebook, with the same aims as Buzz currently. However, the program only stirred a craze in Brazil and India, and has since become virtually non-existant compared to the dominant status of the mighty Facebook.

Surely, therefore, Google doesn’t stand a chance in such a competitve and dominant market?

Maybe so. Yahoo! launched a social networking site similar to Google Buzz over a year ago with limited success, whilst Microsoft have also claimed that there is no need for anymore social networking sites. The incorporation of applications such as Picasa (owned by Google) and Twitter onto Google Buzz will no doubt benefit both initial attraction and company success, and with Google constantly coming up with new ideas in an ever-changing virtual world – including Google Maps and the newly launched Android and Google Chrome operating systems – the only way seems to be up for the super-powerful internet-based company.

Controversial anti-abortion advert to air to millions during Superbowl XLIV

A 30-second spot for adverts during the coverage of this year’s Superbowl is estimated at around $2.5m - $2.8m. Usually, only elite companies such as Coca-cola, McDonalds or Budweiser would be able to afford such a spot. However this year, Focus on the Family will run a 30-second clip focusing on anti-abortion. 


With the aid of private, charitable donators supporting the anti-abortion evangelical Christian group, former champion quarterback for the University of Florida football team Tim Tebow will front the advert shown during the event. Known for his outspoken beliefs, Tebow always went into his matches with bible quotations painted below his eyes, and is seen as the ideal celebrity to front the campaign.


The advert will feature Tim and his mother Pam and, according to the group, will re-tell an inspiring story of Pam’s life. Media analysts have predicted this will be her unplanned 1987 pregnancy where, ignoring medical advice to have an abortion, went ahead with the procedure, eventually giving birth to Tim.


An estimated 100m Americans are due to tune into the Superbowl later today, with almost as many viewers watching the adverts as they would the match. Often this advertisement space is dominated by soft drink and alcohol companies, car manufacturers and internet companies airing comical yet corny adverts to attract their audiences. It is uncommon for such an unconventional and advocate advert such as this to run – mainly due to lack of funds by such companies.  Focus on the Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger says, “We’re not trying to sell the American people a car or a soft drink, we’re celebrating families”. 

The Superbowl last year, where the Pittburgh Steelers overcame the Arizona Cardinals, generated $213m in advertising revenue, with the same figures being projected for this year’s match-up.

Superbowl XLIV (Preview)

The 44th American Superbowl is due to kick off in less than 12 hours time (6:30PM EST/11:30PM GMT), where two of NFL/AFLs biggest teams will fight it out in an adrenalin-pumped, sweat-dripping, muscle-bolstering climax to the NFL/AFL seasons.

This year, the final sees the New Orleans Saints pitted against the Indianapolis Colts. As of late, the New England Patriots have dominated the Superbowl throughout the noughties, winning five of a possible nine times. One of the only teams to have overcome these giants were the New Orleans Saints who won the competition just four years ago, defeating the New England Patriots in dramatic style.

On a broadcasting scale, the Superbowl is one of the most watched television programmes of the year. Huge in America and Canada – with the day of the match often referred to as ‘Superbowl Sunday’ to emphasis its dominance - it is watched in countries all over the world, with a staggering 92% of American and 78% of worldwide viewers tuning in to watch some part of the match. In comparison, this is more viewers than the football World Cup.

Many commercial companies target the Superbowl for advertisements. With an estimated 3.5billion viewers tuning in to the coverage at some point throughout the match, advertisers see the superbowl as one of the best opportunities to advertise. As such, prices for a 30-second advert can be as much as $3million, meaning only the richest companies will have such a privilege of airing their voice. In the past, names like Coca-cola, Mcdonalds, Budweiser and Disneyworld have frequently had TV spots during coverage.

Last season, both the Saints and Colts topped their respective NFC or AFC division, with the Indianapolis Colts’ 14-2 win/loss ratio almost perfectly matched by the New Orleans Saints’ 13-3 record. Both won their divisional championships and conference championships in the 2009 season, and field seven pro-bowlers in both squads.


It could be argued that the Colts are the more in-form team, with the Saints - despite finishing top of their league - notching up three straight losses at season’s close. The Colts’ appearance in this year’s Superbowl is their second in four years, whilst the Saints make their Superbowl debut – their first appearance in their 43-year history. The match-up between the two is the first to feature both conference No. 1 seeds since Superbowl XVIII and only the third in Superbowl history.