There and back again...

Normally I'd be whooping for joy at the end of a term at Oxford but alas, due to my stupid dissertation*, I could only go back for Father's Day and then a day of joyous vegetation in front of the TV (Wimbledon!) until I had to come back to Oxford to research my new dissertation. Due to constraints on time, space and money, my new dissertation will be on the Internet and virtual communities with specific questions asked about identities or empowerment of the young 'digital natives'....haven't done enough research yet to decide what to focus on!

Also, I need to find a supervisor - any clever folk want to be mine?



*luckily, I didn't post when I first found out that my Chinese school placement got closed due to swine flu (which resulted in me losing my dissertation location as well) as it'd have been a major rant and many expletives I'm sure.

Procrastination strikes again

ARGH! I was plodding along, reading some e-journals for my coming climate essay (inevitable all-nighter) when I came across a word I wasn't sure of. Now, you know how frustrating this is to me...I had to look it up but then somehow I ended up on the Guardian and BBC News as I always do and then onto youtube. Then on 'videos being watched now', I saw a BNP video...

Now, I usually avoid things like this like a rabid dog* as I don't like the thought of adding to their 'view count' but I thought, I should "know thy enemy' to counter such views but it turned out to be a video against the BNP. I couldn't have put it better myself; have a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpcKqU0hTBc


*I recently found out that I forgot to ask about rabies injections (among other vaccinations) and now believe I'm doomed in China...too late to stock up on my body's various antibodies :( oh well, got my hep A booster at least....

So Gordan Brown remains...

In what was billed as the 'make or break' parliamentary labour party, it seems as if the coup is over. The majority of MPs support Gordan Brown and some previous critics have been convinced...for now.

Gordan Brown simply *HAS* to follow through on his promises to listen more and change his style of leadership. Involve his colleagues and communicate more effectively to the electorate because I still believe that at the end of the day, the choice will be clear. If only the policies were communicated across more effectively to the electorate, I'm sure that there is still time to turn around Labour's fortunes.

Here's to hoping that a return to real politics is imminent. Back to tackling the economic crisis, clearing up MP expenses and pushing through reform concerning Parliament and its day-to-day governing. Furthermore, let's return and talk about housing, jobs, health care, pensions, international security, climate change and more. As politically charged these last few weeks have been, I hope the rebels, media and the public give Brown the benefit of the doubt (as will I) as right now, he is in a position of great opportunity. He's been internationally acclaimed now let's see what he can do on the national stage. I hope for everyone's sake that he can do an encore.

Sidenote: Ha ha, the Apprentice has obviously been sidelined (though good ol' Sugar's come in as an adviser) but was v. happy when Yasmina won! Kate was far too robotic...

A protest vote or a reality check?

There's no doubt about it, it's been a bad night for Labour. I've stayed up watching the results come in with things worse than predicted. Not winning Wales for the first time since 1918 and in the North West, losing 240,000 votes from the last European elections in 2004. This allowed the unspeakable to happen, the BNP got their leader in the European Parliament (one of two from the UK).

The scary thing about this is that I'm not sure whether it really is simply an anti-labour vote or indeed an anti-mainstream party vote; indeed this is what most of the media seem to purport. However, is this simply a denial of reality? The sad truth is, the vote for the BNP might well have been in the full knowledge of all they stand for. If it is the latter, the mainstream parties can no longer skirt around or ignore the BNP but tackle them head on. If they do not, I fear that worse is to come.

I guess the only solace to be gained is that their vote didn't actually increase but it was only through the failure of the other parties, particularly the precipitous fall of Labour, that allowed the BNP to have this foot in the door.

Now people say that you cannot translate directly the votes from European Elections to that of a general election. However, I would not underestimate the significance of these European results. Not only does this win give them more media coverage but also gives them the infrastructure and financial means (as MEPs can hire party members as secretaries etc) to spread propaganda and so forth.

It's certainly a worryingly symbolic turn and a sad day for British politics. I feel ashamed that we're sending such MEPs to the European Parliament but still live in hope that there can be some renewal to be had out of these disastrous results. I must admit, my previous belief that continuing under Gordan Brown has been shaken - I suppose the events that will unfold later on today and the next few days will answer such doubts...I shall have to wait.

A bad day for labour...

...but not unrecoverable.

In the broader political landscape, I guess the only good that's come out of all the recent scandals is that everyone's talking about politics again. Furthermore, à la Naomi Klein, crises allow reform to emerge from the ashes. I just hope that after these disastrous few weeks for the government, the actual business of *governing* the country can start.

Although I've lost faith in the government, MPs and politics in generally recently, I still went back to London to vote yesterday and very glad I did. Although I could've voted in Oxford, there's something about going to your local polling station that makes you realise just how precious our democracy is. That's why I believe that not voting as all is almost as bad as protest votes.

Speaking of which, I'm disappointed at the internal implosion of the Labour party. Granted, the rebels (both backbenchers and cabinet ministers) are entitled to their own opinions but if they truly had the party at heart, the rebels would not have chosen to do what they did when they did. Despite their belief that with Gordon Brown at the helm, electoral whitewashing will occur in May next year, a leadership contest now would most assuredly bring forward that general election and most assuredly result in greater losses than are predicted in a year's time.

The soothsayers of Labour's demise don't seem to realise that if Labour really is at the lowest point it can go, surely the only way is up from here? The alternative 'caretaker parliament' that the rebels propose would not last till May and would *not* get the 'breathing space' required to stabilise the government. The reason for this is because it will be seen by the media and the wider public as a repetition of Brown's fatal flaw; that is, of never having a direct mandate via a general election.

Thus with the local elections showing the worst results for Labour on record, the response should not be fragmentation but unity. With all the faults and flaws of the labour party, the Conservatives have not been duly critiqued by the media or the public. I do not believe that I am entrenched in my political views but I simply cannot see anyone else putting forward the progressive policies that Labour has done and is doing (albeit the message is getting lost nowadays). Indeed, if the opposition parties had better policies, people would find that I am certainly no die-hard supporter of the government. However, I sincerely believe that after the furore of recent scandals such as the MP expenses, the dust will settle and in the light of day, people will see clearly which party has the integrity, guts and progressive vision to take us all through this global recession whilst championing the values of that we, the British people, embody.

Edit (06/07/09): Oops, how presumptious of me. I don't actually claim to 'speak' for the British public...how idiotic of me. I think I was just particularly riled then!

GOLDEN SUN 3!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAHHHHHHH!
I CANNOT BELIIIIIIIIIIIEVE IT! I'm SOOOOOOOOOO ECSTATIC by this news! Regardless of what else was announced at E3 by Nintendo, Golden Sun 3 on the DS has MADE MY DAY! I simply cannot believe it! I'm already thinking about using this game as motivation for finals!!

Here's what Nintendo had to say:

“Golden Sun™ DS: After going dark six years ago, 2010 will see a new dawn. Golden Sun DS updates the popular portable Golden Sun role-playing series with an impressive graphical style. This installment follows the story of the previous heroes’ descendants and immerses players into the magic of its adventure by pushing the boundaries of intuitive touch-screen controls. Golden Sun DS is playable on the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi systems.”

Check out the artwork and the trailer!



WAHHOOO!

Summer Eights: A review :)

Saturday heralded not only the end of Britain's got Talent but of course Summer Eights too! This of course subsequently meant the end of early morning training sessions, erging and various other fitness practices. Strangely enough, I kind of miss rowing already despite the fact that I'm sure I'll benefit from the extra time I will gain for the last 3 weeks of term.

Summer Eights dominated fifth week which was particularly chaotic as a result (fittingly, chaos was my essay topic...) though on the upside, I didn't have time for introspection and the traditional "5th week Blues" which everyone gets.

Anyhow, Wednesday was our first race. In this first test for the Jesus Men's IV (though we were technically the IIIs), we had a hard draw. We basically had to bump Somerville II before we got bumped by Green Templeton I (unfair that they're in our division as they include 3 OLYMPIANS?!?). Anyhow, it was a tall order but our tactic was to go out hard and fast...which we did and it *worked*! We slammed into Somerville II and then a split second later, Green Templeton rammed into us! Phew..what a close one! The graduates of Green Templeton weren't amused at being beaten by a men's IV crew! As we bumped, we had to race another time literally straight after as we were now promoted to the division above so no one chasing us though we were chasing St Hilda's I. Oh dear...within a few strokes, I caught a crab!! It was horrendous...if you don't know what this is...well, let's just say it slows down the boat a lot! Luckily, I recovered quickly but I still felt soooooo guilty as I've never caught a crab in all our training sessions before! Though feedback from others suggested we weren't going to catch them anyway but still... :( I apologised profusely.

Thursday's racing again had two races. The first one, we simply had to 'row on' as we didn't have anyone to chase but were being chased. We did this successfully. However, I got the biggest leg cramp EVER straight after so had to do a lot of painful stretching out...my calf was positively quivering. Regardless though, I didn't want to let the team down so set my mind on the second race. With this, we knew we had to bump otherwise we would once again face Green Templeton who were climbing up the divisions after us. However, this time bow's seat broke so we were an unbalanced 7 man crew for most of the time! No chance of a bump here either. OH CRAP. I'm glad it was an equipment problem and not something that I did...I was properly scared that I was going to catch another crab; especially as I had only 3 hours of sleep as I had finished my essay at 6am :(

Friday was kind of inevitable. With no one to bump, we would have had to row over the whole 1.5km without getting bumped by Green Templeton though unfortunately this didn't happen (would have been a miracle if it did!). We did scrap the bank which made their bump even more easier!

Saturday was the final day and although we were now chasing Green Templeton, our aim really was to 'row over' and not get bumped by Lincoln III. However, what happened nobody could have anticipated! The start gun went around 10 seconds faster than everyone expected but we reacted quickly and got a quick bump on Green Templeton who looked as if they had steered into the bank in an unexpected start! WOOPEE! However, the calls of bow meant that our celebrations were short lived as a second later, we had steered into the bank with me (number 2) and bow getting scratched by a bush of nettles and bow hit his head on the stone bank! My rigger was bent and crushed and the oar had been sanded down. The bow had to be sent to hospital though luckily he returned later in good condition. As for the bump, Green Templeton (sore losers) appealed and their appeal stood!?! Not sure why as EVERYONE was unprepared by the unexpected start gun! Despite the protests (even by Jesus's head of law tutor), our counter-appeals weren't listened to. ARH! Annoying and a very anticlimatic end to our Summer Eights campaign though overall, we did ourselves proud as Jesus's Men's IV crew.

I'm definitely pleased I took up rowing for a whole year as I tried new things and met new people so all good in my book!

P.S. Phew. What a long post! Back to my essay :)

EDIT: Changed the picture to a *REAL* one of our first race (found on facebook!) - look how close Green Templeton were to bumping us! We're the 'middle' boat!