smart drug?
+ YA fiction special + Women in comedy + The best brain food
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Kate Wilkinson (dept. Sraddha Venkataraman) - indigo@palatinate.org.uk
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INDIGO
3 F ILM & TV Video games and Hollywood - will video games ever get an adaptation worthy of the source material? 4 & 5 BOOKS We look into the disparity between the critical and commercial reception of Young Adult fiction. 6 & 7 FEATURES Does a ‘smart drug’ really work, or do we just need to study smart? 8
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Painting and pounds: money in the art world. 9 STAGE We look into the changing position of women in comedy. 1 0 FASHION A l l t hings NYFW.
1 1 C R E ATIVE WRITING Some ruminations on ‘Spring’. 1 2 & 13 MUSIC We discover that there’s more to Rusty Barbers than haircuts and catch up with Mike Duce.
1 4 TRAVEL How to make the most of your Easter Break without burning a hole in your pocket. 15 F O O D & DRINK Beat summative stress with the right brain food! For more arts and lifestyle articles please visit www.palatinate.org.uk www.facebook.com/palatindigo @palatindigo Cover photo by Venus Loi and Mariam Hayat
The second term of the academic year is not a good one. We try to keep up with all the new things we signed up for in our first term, but instead we’re confronted with numerous changes that force us to change. Grey clouds gather over Durham as the calm lull at Billy B is drowned by frenzied typing and nervous finger drumming as we begin to battle summative stress and dissertation despair. Friendships are tested as the horrors of house hunting ensue, and suddenly university is no longer the ‘best-days-of-our-lives’ as we thought it would be in the first term, but long periods of frustratingly monotonous stupor. Some of us, new to this monotony, try doing something fresh but end up making rash decisions (i.e- “I think I’ll compare Shakespeare’s sonnets to a song by the Backstreet Boys in my essay”). The smarter ones amongst us try to channel this pursuit into a productive use of time and decide to abide by their New Year’s diet. Unfortunately, all such aspirations are foiled by masterminds Ben & Jerry when Valentine’s Day approaches. Half the term has flown by at this point, so we just wring our hands in exasperation and plod along our humdrum routines, giving up on bringing about any change. However, this term in particular has emphasized the importance of stepping out of this inertia and doing something meaningful. Be it bridging the wealth inequality in Durham (i769), helping victims of sexual violence speak up (i771), or just speaking up about our insecurities in general (Nightline’s Anonymous Student Confession project), winter’s stagnating effect is slowly beginning to wear off as we gear up for change. As the term comes to an end, there’s a voice in the back of our head, telling us to get up and make a difference. In this issue, Indigo celebrates that voice as we deal with the theme of changing ideas. The evolving position of women in comedy gives us insights into the progress drama is making and will continue to make in the future (p. 9), while the trend at the New York Fashion Week reminds us that often change is inspired by our past speaking up for itself (p. 10). There’s a difference between speaking up and just plain whining though, and we try defining this as we debate on the message behind Young Adult literature (p.4). Finally, moving to a more imminent change, we look at what the end of winter and the promise of spring means for students - the arrival of final examinations. For many, this is a game changer, and a month of dedicated smart studying and demolishing brain food (pages 6 & 15 ) can help make up for any slip-ups earlier this year. Like the examination period, spring is a time of renewal, and Indigo eagerly anticipates this. With two weeks to go and persistent grey skies threatening to stay, it’s difficult to imagine spring and motivate ourselves to bring about a change. It will inevitably happen though, and perhaps a bit of Shelley might help speed things along - “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?.” Hope you all have an enjoyable break and see you next term! SV In this issue we investigate the use of study drugs in Durham. It was a recent Guardian article that piqued my curiosity about modafinil and despite the nuances of the piece and its overriding message of caution it did give me the impression that everyone was doing this drug. And this inevitably made me wonder: what if I’m missing out? I can now guarantee that I really wasn’t missing out but this experience did make me consider the role of journalism in the smart drug trend. One of my interviewees told me how they had heard and passed on recommendations and so clearly the word of mouth will spread information with or without the articles reporting on it. Nevertheless, journalism clearly has a responsibility to be informative and avoid exaggeration, especially about a case which could potentially damage the health of many young people. In 2011 an article in an American scientific journal (PLOS) entitled ‘Smart Drugs “As Common As Coffee”: Media Hype about Neuroenhancement’ conducted a study into the media representation of such drugs stating that “News media articles mentioned the possible benefits of using drugs for neuroenhancement more than the potential risks/side effects, and the main source for media claims that neuroenhancement is common and increasingly widespread has been reports from the academic literature that provide weak support for this claim. We urge journalists and researchers to be cautious in their portrayal of the non-medical use of drugs for neuroenhancement.” KW
INDIGO EDITOR Kate Wilkinson
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DEPUTY INDIGO EDITOR Sraddha Venkataraman BOOKS EDITORS Atifa Jiwa Florianne Humphrey CREATIVE WRITING EDITOR Celeste Yeo FASHION EDITORS Jessica Ng Megan Magee FEATURES EDITORS Zosia Eyres Ellen Finch (deputy) FILM & TV EDITORS Jonathan Peters Caroline France (deputy) FOOD & DRINK EDITOR Anisha Mohan MUSIC EDITORS Anastasia Symecko Will Throp (deputy) STAGE EDITOR Amy Price TRAVEL EDITORS Oliver Collard Naoise Murphy (deputy) VISUAL ARTS EDITOR Frances Marsh WRITERS
Hugo Harris Charlotte Cooper Ruth McInerney Kate Wilkinson Ottoline Spearman Holly Bancroft Francesca Dale Charlotte Whistlecroft Megan Magee Jessica Ng Chutian Xiao Cecilla Villacis Yashodhara Trivedi Sofya Grebenkina Alice Diebel Anastasia Symecko Will Thorp Alice Evans Anisha Mohan
PHOTOGRAPHY / ILLUSTRATION Martina K Lara Salam
Francesca Dale Charlotte Gurr Venus Loi Cecilia Villacis Grace Armatage Tom Kirk Luke Stuart-Smith Claudio Vaccaro Anisha Mohan
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Jonathan Peters (Caroline France - deputy) - film@palatinate.org.uk N D I G O
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F I L M & TV
video games and hollywood
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Hugo Harris asks: will video games ever receive an adaptation worthy of the source material?
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n an era devoid of creativity, it is no surprise that Hollywood movie producers have turned to video-games as another source for inspiration. Spin-offs and sequels of comic book films already saturate the market. The unparalleled success of Marvel’s Cinematic Unive r s e, a franchise whose films have grossed $7.1 Billion over the course of ten films, just goes to show the benefits gleaned by exploring other mediums. Yet, for every Avengers Assemble, there is also a Grand Theft Auto that makes $1 Billion in one day. Video games in many respects are leading the way in world entertainment and it would make sense for said Hollywood producers to utilise their success as a platform for future productions. As of 2015, rather than commanding the cinematic sphere, video game adaptations remain a well of untapped potential. It is telling that Rotten Tomatoes, a website which compiles movie reviews, has never in its history designated a videogame adaptation ‘fresh’. Only 60% of acclaimed movie reviewers need to see a film in a positive light for such an accolade to be awarded, but highprofile adaptations like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
and Need for Speed have always fallen short of this irreverent indicator of critical success. A film based on the popular Assassin’s Creed games seeks to break away from this forlorn ‘status quo’. Hiring established actors such as Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, one would think their presence would bring sense of gravitas to proceedings; a presence that also would dispel the sense of cynicism that has always lingered near video game adaptations. It remains to be seen whether this feat can be achieved (the film is scheduled for release in 2016). However, this is unlikely. For as long as adaptions are focused on relatively ‘silly’ escapades in an alternate history, the genre is never going to be perceived seriously. Rather like what Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy did for comics, video games need a trailblazer so that they do enter the big league. For all of the cast’s sublime performances, the films’ most crucial component was that its characters were immersed in a framework where pertinent themes, such as escalation and psychosis, were emphasised in a refined, sophisticated manner not seen previously in the superhero genre. Such was the vociferous outcry when The Dark Knight was then not considered for Best Picture at the 2009 Acad-
emy Awards, it has long been stipulated that the film’s snubbing directly resulted in the Best Picture category expanding to ten nominees. Although a movie built on a zombie survival scenario might not appear the best bet for yielding a similar ‘game-changing’ adaptation for videogames, 2013’s The Last of Us does bear all the hallmarks of a reworking that could garner some real commercial and critical approval. Garnering over 230 Game of Year Awards, this was by far the most celebrated game of all time, with particular praise saved for its nuanced and moving storyline. Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams has been long linked with one of the lead roles, but it is due to The Last of Us’ suitably serious tone that one can assert somewhat confidently that the film will denote a newfound highpoint for videogame adaptations. Nonetheless, the terrifying prospect of Minecraft and Angry Birds movies means The Last of Us won’t totally break video game adaptations’ unfortunate tradition and herald an unbroken glut of high quality productions. The cacophonous cries of cartoon birds aren’t going to provide much emotional depth in anyone’s book, and it is unlikely the importance of a film’s atmosphere will alter whatever medium from which a film is derived.
the troubling ‘romance’ of fifty shades
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Charlotte Cooper on the problem of selling abusive erotica as mainsteam blockbuster
utting Fifty Shades of Grey onscreen was always going to be tricky. Originally published on a fan fiction site, it was never meant for a mainstream audiences and was sold as a trashy, erotic story, aware of its own ridiculousness. The material is not greatly improved on screen – the script is painful, the acting wooden, and the filmmakers do not seem to understand the banality of the material they are dealing with. But by backing away from presenting this material as comical, the film has created a troubling moral ground, through romanticising sexual violence and abusive relationships. The film has been heavily promoted as a serious romance. Numerous posters, interviews and articles have been seen throughout the media over the past few months, as the popularity of the book has ended up verging on the same scale as young adult franchises such as The Hunger Games. In order to sell the film to mainstream audiences, the filmmakers have made the decision to remove the almost exclusive focus on sex and glossed over the book’s trashiness by focusing on the romantic relationship between Ana and Christian. Watching interviews with the film’s leads, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, they sell the story as a ‘romance’, describing it to hold a ‘fairy-tale’ ele-
ment, whilst the promotional features and trailers all contain romantic scenes such of the Ana and Christian, dancing, dining and on whirling around in a helicopter. It was even released on Valentine’s weekend. Yet the issue with selling the film as a romance is that it isn’t romantic. The relationship between Ana and Christian is manipulative, cruel, and far darker than any of the BDSM scenes. Christian Grey is arguably one of the most disturbing romantic characters ever created. He is a power-hungry, psychologically troubled, self-confessed control freak, yet in Ana’s eyes he still remains incredibly desirable. In order for the audience to understand Ana’s character in the film, the filmmakers have attempted to depict Christian’s controlling treatment of her in an attractive manner, romanticising it on the screen. Christian controls every aspect of Ana’s life- what she eats, what she wears, when she can go and visit her family. Yet somehow he is so desirable that Ana struggles to bring herself to leave him. She is essentially stuck in an emotionally abusive relationship yet this relationship is still depicted to be attractive and romantic. Although there is a suggestion of female empowerment at the end of the film, when after Ana has let Christian beat her she decides to leave him, there is still a sense of longing depicted as
she leaves the room. Despite the fact he has physically abused her, he is still supposed to remain desirable, to both Ana and the audience. Whilst I appreciate that the relationship between Christian and Ana is simply an attempt to adapt the relationship depicted in the book, creating a mainstream blockbuster from this material normalises their psychologically abusive relationship and romanticises the violent Christian Grey. He is presented as a romantic character throughout the film and because of this status, his psychotic, violent behaviour is rarely subjected to any criticism. Essentially, the film has found itself on a dangerous middle ground. It is not camp enough to gain a few laughs, nor critical enough of the danger of sexual obsession. Instead, it chooses to sell domestic abuse as romance, promoting a social acceptance of sexual violence and rape culture in our society. No matter how much money this f i l m makes, I’m not sure it will justify the rocky moral ground it finds itself on. Images (top to bottom): Naughty Dog, Ubisoft, EA, Universal Pictures
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Atifa Jiwa and Florianne Humphrey - books@palatinate.org.uk
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teenagers vs. critics: the controversy continues Ruth McInerney questions why critics are so quick to dismiss Young Adult literature
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oung Adult literature has been the fastest growing market for publishers in the past few years and its popularity shows no sign of slowing down. Its profile has exploded recently with the release of hugely successful films such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Perks of being a Wallflower and The Fault in Our Stars, but even outside of these well-known stars of the genre there plenty of other books with dedicated followings. Part of the reason YA literature attracts such a large readership is the variety of sub-genres within it: fantasy, dystopian, horror, romance, coming-of-age and many others. T h e novels within YA may come from disparate sub-categories but what tends to tie them together, and thus classify them as YA, is the fact that usually the protagonist is an adolescent, typically aged from 13 to 21, the age range the genre is marketed to. It is perhaps this fact that makes critics doubt the merits and quality of writing within the genre and attribute its popularity to the ‘mob mentality’ of adolescents. However, this is a simplistic notion that is not only disrespectful to the intelligence of young adults, but also disregards the fact that the genre has a large audience from all age groups. In reality, YA literature deals with a variety of serious topics, which are just as complex and relevant as those found in novels for adults. The genre
Critics dismiss much of YA literature as angst-ridden melodrama doesn’t shy away from issues such as suicide, assault, depression and death, as well as exploring the emotions surrounding your first love, losing your virginity, and finding out who you are as a person. Books such as Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl
delicately and wonderfully express the fear associated with social anxiety, an issue that can affect people throughout their lives, and the fact that the protagonist is an adolescent doesn’t take away the sense of identification readers have found with the book. The same can be said of John Green’s famous book The Fault in Our Stars and its treatment of the painful reality of terminal illness that can strike no matter how old you are. In downgrading the effect of this genre because of the target market, critics are ignoring a
hhthththtyhtyhtyhythyyt large swathe of outstanding literature, with talented authors that are reaching readers’ hearts and minds with honest and hard-hitting writing. They are also ignoring the fact that, although we grow up, we never fully leave our adolescence behind and often carry emotions from that time throughout our life. The fact that the protagonist is an adolescent doesn’t bother the vast majority of readers but for critics it seems to immediately dismiss the credibility of their thoughts and emotions. It is a long-held belief that adolescents are prone to overreaction and thus their feelings in many situations could be scorned as over-the-top. Therefore, critics dismiss much of YA literature as angst-ridden melodrama that surely only an immature audience could enjoy, yet, the widening age range of YA readers immediately refutes this. Personal loss, betrayal, anxiety, depression, loneliness, abandonment, racism; all of
these themes can be found in adult literature and all that determines whether these novels receive a positive critical reaction is how well they are written. Well - the same should be said of YA literature. Of course there are melodramatic characters, of course there are unrealistic scenes and moments where you just want to roll your eyes, but these also exist within adult literature. Critics need to learn to set aside their own immature bias and learn to critique young adult literature on the quality of the writing and not rely on tired and out-dated notions of the genre. Speaking as someone who does not particularly like John Green’s novels, yet who can recognise his skill as a writer, I find it disheartening that there are so many critics who dismiss YA as a serious genre because they have read a few bad books. By the same principle could we not judge the entirety of adult literature based on Fifty Shades of Grey? Downgrading a genre because of the age of its readership and characters is plain snobbery and I believe that the extreme popularity of YA literature adds to this elitist attitude of its critics. A book that brings you to tears, that stays with you for days, that changes your perception of the world or forces you to confront your fears is undeniably a good book, regardless of genre. There are plenty of YA novels capable of doing all these things to readers, if you just leave your preconceived and blinding notions of the genre to one side, and read it simply for what it is - a book. Photograph: Martina K
Word of the Week
Gramograms: Letters that sound like a word. for example, CU would be ‘see you’.
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Atifa Jiwa and Florianne Humphrey - books@palatinate.org.uk
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why we love YA
editors’ choice: our must-read YA novels... Top Three YA Novels
The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Omaha, Nebraska, 1986. Park Sheridan is half Korean, half white; Eleanor Douglas is the wrong weight and has the wrong clothes. When these two misfit teens fall for each other over comic books and mix tapes on the school bus, they can finally face their demons together, as they desperately try and cling onto that doomed but glorious experience of first love. As author John Green writes perfectly of this beautiful book: “Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.”
Photograph: Speak
YA Novels of 2015
Photograph: Orion
This debut YA novel is a powerful story of a transgender teenager’s struggle with identity. Our protagonist, David Piper has a secret. His parents think he’s gay, the kids at school think he’s a freak and his best friends? Well they know the truth. That David wants to be a girl. LGBT themes are suspiciously hard to track down in young-adult literature but are slowly becoming more common with the likes of Lisa Williamson and James Dawson. This is a coming-of-age novel about unlikely friendships and learning that it’s okay to be yourself.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman One moment Mia Hall has everything: a loving and crazy family, a gorgeous boyfriend, and an incredible talent with the cello. Then her and her family are in a car crash that traps Mia in a coma, and she has to struggle with an out of body experience as she watches her friends and family cope with the aftermath of the accident. But Mia, now that all her other choices in her life have been taken away from her, has only one decision to make, and it is the most important one: should she wake up to the devastation of loss and grief and the realisation that she has lost almost everything that makes life worth living, or should she just slip away and die.
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Ravka was once a great nation – now it is the claws of the Shadow Fold, an impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh. Alina Starkov, a refugee, has never been good at anything, but when her regiment is attacked and her best friend brutally injured, Alina awakens a power that saves her life. Whisked away to the royal court, Alina becomes a member of the Grisha, a magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling, where she is trained to tame her powerthat could be the key to save her entire country.
Photograph: David Fickling
Half Wild by Sally Green
Photograph: Penguin
The much anticipated second instalment in the Half Bad Trilogy; this is fantasy with a sharp modern twist. Told with an original narrative voice, and an original perspective on the age-old theme of witches, seventeen-year-old Nathan is the illegitimate son of the world’s most powerful and violent witch. He is being hunted on all sides, constantly on the run but nowhere safe to run to. I’m aware that this sounds cheesy and fairly predictable but Half Wild will surprise you in every way possible.
Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff Sam, a teenage boy tries to understand his best friend’s suicide by listening to the playlist of songs he left behind for him. In this honest and heart-breaking debut novel similar to The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Spectacular Now, Falkoff explores friendship, loss,All anger and was published 6th February Above Things hope in a tale described as part 2014 by Penguin mystery, love story and coming of Photograph by Gunther Hagleitner via Flickr age novel. Photograph: HarperTeen
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Zosia Eyres (Ellen Finch- dept.) - features@palatinate.org.uk
F EAT U R E S
smart drug?
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Kate Wilkinson investigates the ‘false taboo’ of modafinil use in Durham
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ave you heard of modafinil? Until recently I hadn’t heard of the so-called ‘smart drug’ that is apparently in widespread use on campuses worldwide. In the UK it’s prescription-only and used to treat sufferers of ADHD and narcolepsy. The effects are subtle but it is shown to increase wakefulness over extended periods of time, improve concentration, and can make boring tasks seem more interesting because of its effect on dopamine levels in the brain. Unlike other stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin, modafinil isn’t an amphetamine and doesn’t produce the associated negative side effects such as jitters and anxiety. All this makes it popular as a study drug among students. It’s incredibly easy to purchase online through non-UK domains and while it’s illegal to sell it here, it isn’t illegal to possess. However, as there are no controls, you can’t be sure what you’re getting once you’ve clicked ‘buy’, and there are of course side effects. Most notably these include dehydration, loss of appetite, and it can reduce the effectiveness of the contraceptive pills. Long term side effects are uncertain due to a lack of data. The use of drugs to enhance study is a fairly recent phenomenon and widely different from recreational drug use. In America everyday drug culture is huge; people take all kinds of pills and supplements on a regular basis for ordinary problems. Modafinil use is reportedly rife in Ivy League universities where the workload is high and students feel intense pressure to do well. Informal surveys have indicated that in the UK, modafinil is particularly popular in Oxford and Cambridge with up to one in five students admitting to taking it before. However, given the lack of good research it is hard to gauge just how ubiquitous modafinil use is and whether or not it’s on the increase. I wanted to find out how Durham fits into picture. Since I hadn’t heard of the drug before I assumed that either it wasn’t a thing or there was something my friends weren’t telling me. When I started asking around I was surprised at how quickly I came across either direct experiences or anecdotes about friends. Given that it’s meant to be something students take due to work pressure, I was surprised to find freshers at it. One Economics fresher was very enthusiastic; he had been told about it by a postgrad
in his third week at Durham and has been using it weekly during term time ever since. He admits to generally doing ‘no work’ but will be more productive on the weekend when he’s using modafinil. The longest he’s worked without a break is fourteen hours, and it can be useful to do boring tasks like his laundry. It’s important to plan what you’re doing though, last weekend his friend spent eight hours compiling a music playlist. He reckons it’s pretty common, at least among his friends, and he’s heard that it’s especially popular among computer scientists. The drug is meant to improve short term memory and he’s considering taking it during exams; waking up at 3am and cramming for a few hours before a 9:30am exam. When I asked him whether he thought this amounted to cheating he was adamant: ‘Absolutely not. Everyone could use it if they wanted to.’ He was very open, laidback, and eager to discuss the ins and outs of modafinil with me. For him it’s a ‘false taboo’ and he doesn’t think anyone really cares.
Experiences differ. A third year Law student was less comfortable about it as she ‘thought it would undermine [her] credibility’. She told me: ‘I still feel a bit embarrassed that I took it and would probably deny taking it to most people and wouldn’t want most close friends to know.’ False or otherwise, the taboo definitely exists. This student was concerned that people would look down on her and think she was cheating, but she’s also adamant that this perception is wrong. She insists that the effects of modafinil are largely exaggerated and in fact very minor: ‘It’s not some kind of magic pill that makes you automatically more intelligent; you still have to
put in the hours to do well.’ She also compared it to ‘drinking five cups of coffee to keep you awake.’ Ultimately, she doesn’t think it enhances performance and she didn’t find any correlation between her exam results and whether or not she was taking modafinil at the time.
“It seemed as though everyone was achieving so much more than me and I felt inadequate” Why take it then? For her, it seems more an issue of self-perception than just sorting out a pile of laundry at the weekend. She says the reason she started taking the drug was insecurity: ‘It seemed as though everyone was achieving so much more than me and I felt inadequate. I felt slow and stupid and thought that modafinil could be a way in which I could keep up with my colleagues, get better grades and ultimately feel better about myself.’ Interestingly, among the reasons why she decided to stop taking it was the way it affected her attitude to Tinder. She told me that ‘I also tragically started taking it before going on Tinder dates because I thought it would make me more witty/ more intelligent/ more attractive. It didn’t. I felt very naïve for genuinely thinking that taking a pill could make such a difference to me as a person as well as my concentration levels.’ While I don’t think the use of modafinil on dates is particularly common (you never know), the various pressures of university life are certainly interlinked and I can easily see why a drug like modafinil might provide a way of dealing with these pressures. Although his workload is relatively light at the moment, the first year Economics student is looking ahead. When I asked if he would continue taking modafinil after university he said ‘if I work in the city, 100%’ as he feels it would help with the long hours. In a recent article for The Observer entitled ‘Students used to take drugs to get high. Now they
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Zosia Eyres (Ellen Finch - dept.) - features@palatinate.org.uk
F EAT U R E S
how to cope with summative stress
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Ottoline Spearman explains how to alleviate the stress of summative season by giving you some of her tried and tested techniques
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s the days grow longer and the dark Durham nights slowly shorten, we are met with the wonderful season of summatives. This entails an exponential growth in coffee intake, all-nighters in the Billy B, and frantic emails to tutors. We’re all equally as stressed – even those who don’t like to admit it – but read on and I hope to alleviate your stress.
Distraction
If all the above fails, and you’re still not making progress, remember not to panic. That will definitely not help things. If you’re being super unproductive and know that you’re not going to get this essay done anytime soon, take time off and distract yourself. You’ll find yourself refreshed and ready to go back to work afterwards, if all goes to plan. Anything will do – the crazier, the better. Why worry about those essay deadlines you have in a week when you can take a spontaneous day trip to Alnmouth (a lovely town one stop away from Newcastle)? A day distracting yourself by the sea is surely the best way to take your mind off impending deadlines. If you’re brave enough, you could even take a dip in the inviting North Sea (I wouldn’t).
Motivation
It’s already week five of term, and I have yet to start an essay. Panic! How the hell am I supposed to write nearly 15,000 words on a variety of topics that I haven’t even attended the lectures for? I’d better start now: time to head to the Billy B, even though it’s already midnight and my eyes are drooping. This, dear friends, is not the right way to
“How the hell am I supposed to write 15,000 words on a variety of topics that I haven’t even attended the lectures for?” go about it. You’ll be better off getting a good night’s sleep and embarking on the momentous task tomorrow, bright and early. This is a crucial part to motivation. Starting something late in the evening is not going to help you in the long run, as lack of sleep is directly proportional to low motivational levels (in my experience, at least). So, sleep and a realistic goal are extremely important. There’s no point dedicating eight whole hours (that sounds a lot, right?) to complete something; remember that at least two of those hours will be spent procrastinating on Facebook or BuzzFeed – and this is me being optimistic. You’ll be more motivated if you set yourself achievable goals, rewarding yourself with a break when you’ve completed the set task. That way, you’ll feel like you’re making progress (even if you really aren’t).
take them to get higher grades’ Carole Cadwalladr describes study drugs as ‘capitalism’s little helpers’ and just another symptom of ‘a world in which everyone’s looking for an edge.’ We feel like we need to be at our best at all times and this is proving a big factor in the study drug trend. This need, I’m sorry to say, will never be met. Though we might wish otherwise, we will continue having good days and bad days. Modafinil might help you concentrate for a few hours but taking it won’t solve all your problems and it certainly won’t guarantee a first class degree. For most people, modafinil is unnecessary; there are plenty of healthier ways to study better and sometimes using it can
Perspective
Guidance
You can often feel at your lowest when you don’t understand something, causing you to stare listlessly at your screen for several hours. Remember that you’ve only got four weeks to write five essays, so don’t waste time – seek help! This is what your tutors are for; after all, we’re paying £9000 a year for twenty-three teaching weeks. For humanities subjects, with an average of nine hours a week, that’s more than £50 per hour! So, email your tutors and make sure that you get your money’s worth. In fact, pester them as much as you want. That’s what I do. And it works.
increase rather than decrease stress. However, although I would discourage it, I wouldn’t clamp down on it. Concerns about the use of modafinil
“capitalism’s little helpers” as a form of cheating in exams have led to whispers of drug testing, similar to the kind of testing they do on athletes. I believe this would be completely unnecessary; it’s a mild drug and doesn’t replace intelligence. And I should know—I’m on it at the mo-
Finally, it is important to get some perspective on your degree. That summative that you’re stressing about? It’s only worth 25% of one of your modules. That’s 1/24 of what your year overall is worth. And that seems pretty negligible when you consider that one year is worth maximum 60% of your overall degree. I can’t do maths but your essay is worth a tiny amount of your degree. Although it’s great to do well on everything, it really isn’t the end of the world if you do badly on a few things. We all need a life aside from university, and stressing and getting sleepless nights over a few measly marks is just not worth it. That said, don’t completely slack: just do what you can. Even those who emerge from Durham with a 1st may end up working for in a café for years anyway. Optimism is the key, eh? That’s all I have to say, but I hope that I’ll have alleviated your stress (if only while reading this) or spurred you into action. If this isn’t the case, then I sympathise: I’m only writing this article to procrastinate… ment. It’s all very well having an opinion but I didn’t want to write about modafinil without trying it myself. Unfortunately I’m not providing a good case study because it’s incredibly difficult to distinguish between real effects and placebo. I have been quite productive, but then I have a dissertation due soon and my motivation is pretty high anyway. Thinking sharp is great but there are still things outside my control, like technology. My main thought over the past two days has been, if only you could feed modafinil to computers! Or maybe I just need to buy a better laptop. photgraph by mattza via Flickr
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Frances Marsh - visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk
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paintings and pounds: money in the art world Holly Bancroft looks at February’s record-breaking painting sales and asks if the art world has become too money-centric
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hree hundred million dollars. Can you envisage 300 million dollars? Well apparently it looks like ‘When Will You Marry?’ by Paul Gauguin. Sold on the 5th of February it became the world’s most expensive painting, just pipping Cezanne’s ‘The Card Players’, which sold for $274 million raising the question of whether
the issue becomes especially prevalent when the industry becomes stagnated in buying and selling of old works rather than making space for new artists to emerge the art market has become too money-centric. It is to be expected that high-end art should become so highly valued. The pieces are one-off. We are dealing with a pool of work which is severely limited as the majority of the art in the market has been created by artists long dead. Yet precisely because of its unique nature surely this art should be available for all: not just those who can afford it. February was a month for record-breaking art sales as Gerhard Richter’s ‘Abstraktes Bild’ sold for £30.4 million which set a new record for the German painter. In the same night at Sotheby’s, £8.4 million was paid for Lucio Fontana’s canvas which has been slashed by the artist 23 times. For the buyer of this piece, owning a prime example of
Fontana’s Spazialismo movement would be hugely exciting. The piece achieves a unity of science and art as the peeling canvas is projected into the space, creating body out of the negative. For other cynical people, someone has just spent £8.4 million on 23 cuts in a piece of canvas. It is exactly this tension that makes the art market so controversial. The common argument against such unimaginable luxury is that the money could have been used for something else. However proponents of this view need to accept that if this money wasn’t being spent on art it would be spent on other material possessions. It is not a choice between Gauguin’s ‘When Will You Marry?’ or thousands saved through donations to an Ebola appeal. If you type 300 million dollars into Google you get a rather attractive video tour of Andrey Melnichenck’s 394foot mega-yacht. The rich are getting richer and so prices for art will keep going up and up. Whether the art industry becomes categorised by this influx of money is a different issue entirely. The issue becomes especially prevalent when the industry becomes stagnated in buying and selling of old works rather than making space for new artists to emerge. Just because art is being bought by individuals does not mean that it is remains behind closed doors. Gauguin’s painting up until now had been on loan to Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland from Rudolf Staechelin, who has now sold it. For Straechelin, art is a balance between his collection being available for viewing and financial security. He told the Times that he sold the Gauguin piece “mainly because we got a good offer. The market is very high and who knows
what it will be in 10 years. I always tried to keep as much together as I could [but] over ninety percent of our assets are paintings hanging for free in the museum. It’s not a healthy financial risk distribution… For me they are family history and art. But they are also security and investments.” This sums up the problem with private collectors: yes some of them do allow their collections to be available to the public but many don’t. Ultimately
because of its unique nature, surely this art should be available for all: not just those who can afford it the process of buying and selling will always catch up with a piece as people seek financial security or simply get bored with their purchase and sell it on. If we truly appreciated a piece of art we would label it priceless, as too important to lock away in private collections which have no connection to the original artists. People convince themselves that by paying millions of dollars for something, they must love it a lot. But ultimately the most loving thing to do with these pieces is to gift them to foundations and galleries who will look after them - and not, as Steve Wynn did with Picasso’s ‘La Rene’, accidentally put their elbows through it. As we cannot know what dead artists wanted this is the most neutral, generous and caring thing we can do.
feathered fashions
An extract from Francesca Dale’s review of the fancy feathered fashions on display at the Bowes Museum temporary exhibition. Read the full article online.
‘Plumes and Feathers in Fashion at the Bowes Museum focuses on the importance and beauty of plumage used in the fashion industry to create mesmerising artistic masterpieces throughout the ages. Feathered creations have been utilised for both fashionable wardrobe pieces such as dresses and coats, alongside items such as fans and other accessories. In the past feathers have been noticed for their value and have emerged to symbolise liberation and freedom in relation to humankind f o r
the feather is iconic of the unique flight of the bird kingdom. The exhibition sees pieces created from legendary fashion labels in the industry such as Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Prada and many more. The opening piece of the exhibition is immediately captivating and draws the viewer further into the room as you are overwhelmed by a dazzling outstretched pair of wings erupting from a black dress in front of you. With a black velvet bodice, the butterfly pattern on the back cut-out is made from peacock feathers, eagle feathers, rooster feathers and feathers from a bird of paradise; accompanied with a set of silk velvet gloves. The wings are rich in colour, presenting an exotic butterfly on a human body mannequin. The piece is designed by Thierry Mugler as part of his Autumn/ Winter Haute Couture collection in 1997/98. This image of the ‘bird woman’ is reminiscent of the Romantic period when women and birds were paired to portray innocence and fragility. However, this
piece is cont r o versial in u s - ing the same coupling to present empowerment, mystery and seduction. My favourite piece at the exhibition was an Alexander McQueen dress designed by Sarah Burton as part of the Spring/ Summer 2011 collection. The piece’s bodice was made with goose feathers and the skirt in ostrich feathers, thus creating a beautiful pastel coloured dress rich and the thick layering of feathers created a soft, delicate texture. McQueen was said to be fascinated by feathers, trying to ‘transpose the beauty of a bird’ Photographs: Flickr ID: GBoGBo, Francesca Dale
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Amy Price - stage@palatinate.org.uk
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why did the comedienne cross the road? Charlotte Whistlecroft takes a look at the changing position of women in comedy, believing the only way is up from here.
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ackstage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s University ‘sketch off’, in a room full of thirty of the best student comedians in the country, there were five women. Five (four not including myself). Now normally, I’m not one to complain about being stuck in a room with a lot of very funny men but instead I couldn’t help but wonder – is this representative of British comedy? In short, yes. Despite a growing proportion of successful female comics, in the big league comedy remains a stereotypically male dominated profession. We have mostly male construction workers, oil riggers, lumberjacks...and comedians. Where are all the women? Men are not necessarily funnier than women. Gender does not dictate the ability to be funny. Why then, when watching The Cambridge Footlights, did their show consist of fifteen men donning Harry Styles hairstyles and very skinny jeans? There was one female footlight last year, obviously playing all the hugely important roles like ‘wife’, ‘sister’ and ‘dinner guest #2.’ She didn’t even come on to bow at the end! Now that’s just embarrassing. However, whilst my own experiences may paint a harsh picture of the presence of women in comedy, this is not going to last. Although there may have been a poor turnout from female performers at the ‘sketch off’, this is becoming more and more of an anomaly. Many of the notable rising stars of the Fringe were brilliant female comics, on the verge of taking the British comedy scene by storm. At present, most of the headline acts are men, but female comedians are consistently and quietly creeping forward, stepping on the toes of their male counterparts. It’s a quiet revolution, but a significant one. Yes women might still be the clownfish in a vast comedy ocean, with ticket sales to watch female comedy
acts totalling just 14%. However, just five years ago this total was an appallingly low 2%. Statistics don’t lie. Women in comedy are on the way up. At the moment, female comedians are in fashion. Miranda Hart’s triumphant finale was a Christmas TV highlight whilst Sarah Millican’s wonderfully funny stand-up equals or exceeds that any of her male colleagues. Similarly, as presenters, no one can deny that the BBC struck gold with Mel and Sue: the loveable duo at the forefront of The Great British Bake Off. Providing cheeky but harmless humour and unending innuendos, it’s their chemistry, wit, and charm which have made an already good show a great one. However, just because women are becoming more prevalent in comedy is not to say they were never popular in the first place. Some of the all time comedy greats have been women, proving that when they do something, they do it well. Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, and Joan Rivers, amongst others, have created a wonderful legacy for the role of women
Images: Emma Werner, Flickr.
in comedy. Victoria Wood remains the second most influential Victoria of all time (below Queen Victoria but above Victoria Beckham if anyone was interested). I’m not saying that women are funnier than they were before; it’s the fact that we’re getting to see more of them which is so exciting. So if women have always been funny, why is it only now that we’re seeing their popularity increase? Perhaps we’re becoming out of touch with the male comic. Trying not to sound too stereotypical, generally women’s humour tends to be more inclusive, less offensive, and because of this, sometimes just plain funnier. Let’s look at the two contemporary female comics in the big league: Sarah Millican and Miranda Hart. Neither rely on political satire nor offensive humour. Instead, they make jokes about something more re-
liable: themselves. It’s the kind of golden rule of comedy: if don’t make jokes about yourself, what right do you have to make jokes about anyone else? Millican and Hart’s comedy relies on fun and witty humour; without the perpetual grumpiness of Jack Dee, the political agenda of Russell Brand, or the isolating offensiveness of Frankie Boyle. Yes, they talk a lot about men, diets, childbirth, and whatever ‘women’s issues’ you can think of, but this doesn’t necessarily isolate a male audience. As it stands, mainstream female humour isn’t offensive. It’s fun. Female comedians also differ from actors, singers, weathermen, and all most other celebrities in that they don’t seem as absorbed by typical Hollywood lifestyle, often speaking out on issues such as body issues, sexualisation, and discrimination. Over in the states Ellen DeGeneres remains the unofficial spokeswoman for gay rights, whilst closer to home Sarah Millican’s glorious defence against those who criticised her ‘BAFTA dress’ was a triumph. Most recently, this years’ finale of Miranda portrayed a Miranda not hell-bent on getting the man she longed for, but depicted her transformation into a more real, more empowering figure whilst retaining all the humour and fun of the previous series. In all cases, these women aren’t just comedians, but role models. Female comedians aren’t just making us laugh- they’re making us think; a trait which will only increase their popularity and success. If we look across the pond, female comedians are even more successful, with two of the world’s biggest awards ceremonies hosted by funny women. The marvellous Ellen DeGeneres did a stellar job hosting the Oscars whilst Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as hosts of The Golden Globes proved themselves a superb double act, as well as writers and performers. Saturday Night Live continues to churn out successful comedians, but noticeably women, including Fey and Poehler, as well as Kirstin Wiig and Melissa McCarthy. Britain catches everything from America: its music, its culture, its economic recession. Surely its only right we copy their celebration of female comics as well? This year, The Durham Revue, for the first time in as long as I can remember, contains an equal number of men and women.Traditionally a male-heavy group, this year’s gender balance has elicited responses of genuine surprise. “Three men and three women. that’s interesting.” Is it really though? We picked the people who we thought were funny. Half of the population are women. If anything, three women and three men make the Revue statistically dull! It seems the future for female comics appears to be shaping up to be a bright one. Who knows what the face of comedy may look like in a few years? So next August, when I’m back in Edinburgh with The Durham Revue and we perform in yet another student sketch off’, I hope to see more women being hilarious on the stage because they certainly are doing so elsewhere in the comedy sphere.
Jessica Ng & Megan Magee - fashion@palatinate.org.uk
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FASHION
that 70’s show
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Fashion takes on the Seventies at New York Fashion Week. Megan Magee rounds up the collections that did it the best.
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ften a handful of trends define a particular Fashion Week, or even mange to filter through shows in all four major cities on the calendar, yet there seemed to be only one stand out style that epitomised New York: the 70s. Yes, there were other stand out looks (the gothic motif of AlexanderWang for instance, and the intricate embellishment seen at Rodarte and Jenny Packham), but in a peculiar occurrence, most runway staples were an offset of the wider hark back to the Studio 54 styling of the disco decade. Facets of the trend appeared, almost to the point of exhaustion. Narciso Rodriguez featured ‘to-thefloor’ coats – a natural extension of this summer’s duster jacket trend. Another staple that appeared, as a progression from the S/S collections, was culottes. The ‘skort’ has been well and truly overdone these past few seasons, making the resurgence of culottes most welcome. As the skort’s cooler, older sister however, culottes were hardly a surprise to those in the know. The 70s colour palette of strong jewel tones was another firm feature on the catwalk. Garments in punchy oranges and reds clothed the models at Victoria Beckham and Prabal Gurung. On the other hand, the likes of Ralph Lauren chose instead to feature earthy brown hues more heavily in their collections.
The most recognizably 70’s element to grace the runways in the Big Apple? Fringe, of course. Fringe everything – jackets, skirts, dresses and accessories – featured in many collections. This is certainly a trend maintained from last season, however the
Fringe everything - jackets, skirts, dresses and accessories - featured in many collections summery Stevie Nicks vibe has been replaced with an altogether more classic and neater take, as seen at Marchesa. Derek Lam and Michael Kors played with the other major element of the 70s trend - fur. Whether fake or real, they were nonetheless found either draped around the neck in a stole, fixed to a collar, or having provided the material for an entire coat. Elements of fur worked to add a sense of luxurious coziness to numerous collections. The 70s trend overall is essentially a very wearable one, making it rather easy to recreate on a student budget. Pair a floppy hat with a jewel toned dress or skirt to channel 70s glamour in wintery Durham. Alternatively, a simple fringed bag is an easy way of alluding to the 70s vibe.
american beauty
Not all about the fashion, Jessica Ng explores NYFW beauty trends.
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or the past few seasons, fashion week beauty has tended to stray into the realm of predictability, dominated by the perennial ‘no make-up, make-up’ crusade and little else. At NYFW earlier this month however, beauty connoisseurs rejoiced - an exaggerated, graphic liner at DKNY, and a sensual deep matte chocolate red lip at Naeem Khan, were just a couple of the gems that signalled a cosmetic awakening. For a modern take on the ubiquitous cat eye, make up artists this season played with exaggerated lines and unexpected graphic shapes. The result? A modernised, hipster update of a timeless classic. At Suno, for instance, make-up artist, Alice Lance, ‘tagged’ models’ lids with a thick stroke of liner, creating a minimal yet striking look. Perhaps one of the prettiest trends to come out of NYFW was the snow-queen inspired water droplet lashes at Carolina Herrera. Fake lashes, adorned with silicone beads, and dusted silver to mimic water droplets, worked to create an ethereal aesthetic. Alternatively, if you’re looking to channel more
glamour than ‘Frozen’, take the lead from Tadashi Shoji, where loose glitter and lash glue was used to create a glittering, festive look. Pair with a simple glossy lip to avoid looking too ‘done’. Everyone knows that the red lip is a classic, evoking Hollywood glamour and French chic in equal measure. At NYFW, the red lip showcased a third personality – edgy cool. Marchesa gave their models a deep plum pout, adding a gothic edge to the romance of the beaded and laced gowns, and the 1930’s inspired finger wave hairstyles. At Carolina Herrera, lips were painted with a raspberry stain that was all the more striking when set against a canvas of clean skin and slicked back hair. The key to pulling off this look come Autumn? Opt for shades with an inky, burgundy base – think oxblood, Bordeaux and cherry. Finally, remember to keep it matte; the raison d’etre is grunge, not polished princess. Photographs courtesy of Style.com and Fashionising. com.
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Celeste Yeo - creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk
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C R EAT IV E W R IT I N G
Wildflowers on Sandymount By Cecilia Villacis That was the beach where Stephen Dedalus wrote. Stephen ripped up a poem there, the contents of which are unknown, But there stays the beach, with contents built in, The truth before the abstracted truth, and accessible, perhaps! I thought. Wildflowers, those were beautiful. The colours tipped the whitish-green, If not simply white, swaying like they would. Mother, wish you could’ve been there by me, To appreciate the cliff of rocks, and birds, and air. But look at him go, my brother, stomping into the water, twenty-two and bored stiff But for the desire not to be bored. Unlike any picturesque scene, But someone who wanted some water fun, But found the Irish water too cold, And the ends of his jeans stuck to his ankles, And Carol is making fun of him next to me, On the sand, grey sand, Kicking it up with tanned feet in Californian flip flops, Toe-ring glinting, And she insults the breeziness here. These the grey sands of Beckett. These the millet grains, again and again, heap upon little heap, With an ocean to drown a city. This where the dog sniffed at a corpse and the Hamlet hat had brooded, But how with him climbing the rocks can I not take a picture And laugh away the poetry? Happy with Carol, we watch the dogs passing. There are no shitzus in Ulysses, I’ll tell you that. And the wildflowers didn’t seem so beautiful to them, But they don’t get flowers like I do, and the beach will stay for another day, And they aren’t mentioned by Stephen anyway.
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Cemetery By Chutian Xiao I wade across the reeds where winter is bleeding. I am treading over its tender and lively corpse. Where winter died spring’s been erected, like what I have seen in a cemetery. Illustration: Grace Armatage
Photographs: Cecilia Villacis Photographs: Venus Loi
Giving In By Yashodhara Trivedi
Photographs
When you move away, When you move away from home for the first time, It feels a little like learning to swim. The adrenaline kicks in, you find yourself On top of the world for a while But mostly it’s just drowning. Sometimes the days go by in a blur Of friendly faces and one drink too many. Always a drink too many.
Spring By Sofya Grebenkina If I supposed I felt the sunshine glazing the bedroom window, I wouldn’t say I was mistaken, that is, until you were cherry-blossom-eyes, lily-pad-heart, hands the colour of sweet mercy, right beside me - staring out, over the bridge. It wasn’t me you thought you saw in the reflection, yet then again, the river was blushing gently to beguile, my pallid hues none but distraction to its fervor. So there we go; I’d have preferred the parasol to blinding rays of sun, but you always liked to watch us run – or so you said – you did not say enough.
Illustration: Charlotte Gurr
Now. Forgive me, now I cannot bear to hear my knuckles crack over an autumn leaf traipsing by, the spring a darling memory, singing to me, darkly.
It creeps in on you when you least expect it That longing for home you thought you’d banished Three margaritas ago. And when you’re hunched up before your computer, Drowning in music the screams that will not come, You finally give up struggling. The waters swallow you whole And there’s not a damn thing you can do.
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Anastasia Symecko (dept. Will Throp) - music@palatinate.org.uk
MUSIC
Interview: Lower Than Atlantis
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Alice Diebel
Alice Diebel interviewed Mike Duce, singer for Lower Than Atlantis, on the 9th of February. Here are his thoughts on ‘having a sound’, intimate gigs, and the Punk revival...
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wanted to start off by asking you about your latest album release. Why is the new album self-titled? How is it different to your other three albums, which were named after song lyrics? Mike Duce: With all the other albums we had predominantly been touring - if we had a few weeks off we would write music. With the new one we gave ourselves a couple of years off to work really hard on it, it was meticulously planned out. I guess we self-titled because if this was going to be our last album then it would be the one that everyone would check out.
can see everyone’s faces, and at the bigger shows you have all the production and you can’t hide behind that in a small venue. Do you think people filming gigs ruins the experience, or is a great way to capture the moment? I’m not really fussed. It’s good exposure if it ends up online, and it’s cool that the person could look back to when they were at the show. But when I’m in the audience and there are loads of people looking at their phones as opposed to watching, I find that quite annoying. You can’t look back in real time and see it live again.
Which venue are you most looking forward to performing at on your European tour? The one I would say will be the best to see is probably the Paris show. I haven’t been there for a good three or four years so that should be good. The Italian shows are going to be great, and Germany is always amazing. What is your favourite kind of venue to play in general? Do you prefer more intimate smaller gigs, or sell out stadiums? We do a lot of both, but I love it when we get to go to the small, sweaty little venues because it’s a lot more intimate and it’s a lot of fun. Were flying up to Australia in just over a week for soundwave festival and were doing two little warm up venues, which we always do before a big gig for a laugh really. When you’re in a smaller venue you
“...this album is more commercial and acceptable to the masses, but that’s how we sound at the minute. We could do a really hardcore album next year if we fancied it.” home all the time - it was always hard and we lost a lot of people. We’re all LTA now, who ever came in would just be the new guy, we’d probably bully him. But we’ve had the same line up since 2010 and I can’t see it changing.
Would you say that this album represents you as a band? In a way, but it’s kind of stupid because next year it may not represent us at all. We could change our sound up completely y’know? Do you think it’s important for an album to have a mixture of slow and fast paced, light hearted and serious lyrics, etc? Do you think it’s more important to please the largest possible audience, or to include what’s more important to you as a band? It’s a bit of both really, we try to include a song for every occasion. Obviously there are bands that I’ve listened to that have a theme running through the album, like World Record, which is cool but we wanted to do something different.
members? It was at first. It’s hard finding like minded people who wanna give 110%, and be away from
I noticed that you released “English Kids in America” on BBC Radio 1, and were voted album of 2014 in Rock Sound magazine, both of which are considered more ‘old fashioned’ ways of discovering music. Do you think digitalization is taking the fun out of discovering music, or it’s just a new way of doing things? I think the internet is a great platform and is at everyone’s disposal, so why not use it? I don’t really care how people find out about our music as long as they listen to it. The one thing with Spotify
“If I was in this for the money I would be a stockbroker” though is that a couple of our tunes got over a million plays, and we don’t get any money for that. But catch-22 y’know? If I was in this for the money I would be a stockbroker. You have a number of past members who are no longer part of the band; was it hard finding the right mix of
Why do you think punk has had such a successful revival? We haven’t got any plans to change the way we sound, but never once has something been written without someone saying ‘that doesn’t sound like LTA’ It’s never really a conscious decision, this album is more commercial and acceptable to the masses, but that’s how we sound at the minute. We could do a really hardcore album next year if we fancied it. A couple of people on twitter, I mean a couple like we have had very little negativity around this one, but they were saying ‘this isn’t LTA’ and I didn’t even reply. Who are your three biggest inspirations? I’m gonna say blink-182, Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins. We had the same agent as blink-182 and she managed to get us backstage with them in Cardiff, and I gave Mark our album and hung out with him. A couple of months later we got a phone call asking if we wanted to do a tour with them and I just lost it. I rang my mum at three in the morning to tell her. And finally what are you planning on doing for Valentine’s Day? Probably just be in the studio till three in the morning, I Images: AMG Press, Tom Kirk, don’t have any big and Luke Stuart-Smith plans sadly.
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Anastasia Symecko (dept. Will Throp) - music@palatinate.org.uk
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MUSIC
The Big Crunch: Muse ‘Drones’ Special
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Will Throp
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his summer, Muse return with a buzz overhead. Their new album Drones promises to be a welcome renaissance to the heavy-duty sound that saw them ascend to such supermassive, histrionic career heights in the first place, and hard-hitting riffage appears to be the order of the day. Will Throp takes a look at the facts to see what we can expect from the Devon trio’s seventh outing. By the time Drones is released, it will be almost a decade since Black Holes and Revelations hit
It makes sense then, for Muse to be talking up album seven as a return to the ‘rawer’ hell-raising days in which they produced some of the greatest guitar music of the modern age.
hell-raising days in which they produced some of the greatest guitar music of the modern age. Matt Bellamy has been uncharacteristically coy on the subject, but claims that Drones will see the band, “move towards musicianship again and focusing on our own instruments: guitar, bass and drums.” It sounds promising. In Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange (producer of AC/DC’s Back in Black) the band have a man at the helm who can give them more punch, more power, than they have mustered on either of their last two efforts. The band’s festival diary also offers an intriguing prospect. Their booking as headliners at Download may have raised a few eyebrows amongst the heavy metal community, but I wouldn’t bet against Muse conquering the Donnington bash come June. That said, it is unlikely that we shall see Muse drop their gaze from the heavens to focus on
the more everyday humdrum of adjusting to life in one’s thirties. Bellamy has speculated that the new album will cover topics from, “deep ecology” to “the empathy gap and World War III.” It’s grandiose stuff, and there is reason for the band to be wary – pretentiousness is a criticism that is never too far away for messrs Bellamy, Howard and Wolstenholme and the band need to remain vigilant, lest the album be weighed down by its own audacity. In spite of the concern, there is substantial cause for optimism. Muse remain one of the greatest live bands this country has ever produced, and there’s every reason to believe that Drones will rekindle their zest as the rock behemoths that, over the years, have slayed stages the world over. The pressure has never been greater, but then Muse have never been ones to shy away from a challenge. Here’s hoping they can deliver.
our shelves. Since then, Muse have headlined just about every festival on the planet, rightly claiming their throne as the stadium rock behemoths that they always promised to be. But there is a sense in which, for the first time in years, this is a band that has something to prove. 2009’s The Resistance was a misfire; and The 2nd Law, though promising in places, was ultimately patchy. It makes sense then, for Muse to be talking up album seven as a return to the ‘rawer’
The Barbershop Sessions @ Rusty’s Barbers
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’d got the directions to Rusty’s from a friend, and admittedly wasn’t sure I should have trusted him when I turned into the tiny alley off North Road,
but when I walked through the door to see about five guitars scattered about the room I guessed I was in the right place. I was heading to the small Durham barbers after closing-time for ‘The Barbershop Sessions’,
hosted by Gigiti (officially launching this summer), who hope to make accessing live music easier for all; and indeed this was the most chilled, enjoyable evening of music I’ve attended for a long time. With a max capacity of 50, the gig was also wonderfully intimate – the artists mingled amongst us when done with their sets, and were the most vocal supporters throughout. One of the best parts of the evening was how friendly everyone was, the size of the venue meant that the audience could really connect with each of the performers. There was also the benefit of the event being BYOB, so with Tesco down the road and Head of Steam just next door it was possible to get a nice drink without paying more than you did for the ticket! But really, what you’re here to read about is the music. The three performers were all local, and all fabulous. One who stood out particularly was the lovely Harri Endersby and her band, whose folky lyrics, sung by such a raw, emotional voice had (if we’re being honest with each other) this possibly slightly over-empathetic reviewer welling up a little. Both Laura Paul (a harmonic genius with a loop pedal), and Immy Williams (who shocked us all when we discovered she was only 18) were also both fabulous vocalists, and no doubt would have filled the room effortlessly even without the professional
Anastasia Symecko
audio set-up. Overall it was an amazing night with amazing music and amazing company – forget Nova, from now on this will be my go-to night out. Lucky for you if you missed out this time. Gigiti are hoping to host another in early March – and I’d keep an eye out if I were you, with limited ticket numbers I’d hate to miss out on an event whose debut was so promising. Gigiti could be the thing Durham needs to kick-start its somewhat quiet cultural scene, so support them with all you’ve got, it’s worth every penny.
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Oliver Collard (dept. Naoise Murphy) - travel@palatinate.org.uk
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T RAV E L
tips from the trail
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Alice Evans offers her advice on how to travel cheaply over the break 1. Camp. Jaws dropped when people learned that I carried a tent around Europe last summer. Get over it. It is not that uncomfortable and nothing is more satisfying than starting the day by brewing a kettle on a camping stove and drinking Yorkshire tea, whether on a dewy lawn in Ljubljana, a muddy mound in Prague, or a sandy pitch in Split. Camping is usually a third of the price of the cheapest hostels in the same area. 2. Agree a price with taxis before you get in. If you are in a country that uses two currencies make sure you are clear which currency you are dealing in. 10 Nicaraguan córdobas (£0.24) are very different to 10 US dollars (£6.48)! 3. Get an ISIC card. International Student Identity Cards cost £5 to buy on- Photograph by J Aaron Farr line, and allow for good discounts all over the world. Normal student cards are not accepted in many countries. elling in the precious sight-seeing daytime! 4. Travel by bus. Overland travel is much 6. Eat street food. It is so tasty and so cheap. cheaper than flying, and buses are particularly inYou cannot appreciate a culture without appreexpensive. In the UK, Megabuses go from Durham ciating its food, and it is entertaining to sit in a to London for £1. In Peru, you can fly the 1100km night market surrounded by locals advising you from Cuzco to Lima for £200, while the most luxuon which fruit counteracts their spicy kebabs, rious buses are only £30. which psychedelic drinks are most nourishing, 5. Travel overnight. It saves spending money and who might give you free semolina pudding if on accommodation and it prevents you from travyou compliment their noodle dishes. Being able to see your food cooked in front of you is a privilege you will not get in hotels or restaurants. Eat where the locals eat and your belly should be safe and satisfied. 7. Don’t get ill. Be sensible about food, water, and vaccinations. This is far cheaper than getting ill! Being ill prevents you from enjoying your-
holidays from hell
Laura Glenister holidays with some troublesome pets
Illustraion by Lu Yin
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ne of my close friends has an absolutely dogmad Mum and they have two Bichon Frisé called Stitch and Wilma. She cannot stand leaving them at home every year when they go on holiday, so one year she deliberately chose a villa in France that allows pets. Stitch and Wilma had a great week soaking up the French sun and everyone was happy. Until it came to the journey home. Stitch and Wilma both chose the perfect time to get a stomach bug: cue an eight hour journey in a stuffy, cramped car with two dogs vomiting from both ends. Paired with some horrendous traffic, it is safe to say that everybody was happy to be home. Stitch and Wilma have not been invited on holiday since.
Photograph by Claudio Vaccaro
self, so you are wasting the money you spent on getting to the country in the first place. I know someone who spent her entire summer in a hospital in Thailand because she had not had her injections and contracted a disease after being bitten by a monkey. That is an expensive fee for staring at the white walls of the ward for eight weeks! 8. Tape solves all sorts of problems. Wrap a few strips of duct tape around your water bottle. If your tent rips, cover the hole with tape. This is far cheaper than getting it repaired, and also cheaper than buying treatment for diseases that you would have avoided had your tent been in one piece and kept the insects outside… 9. Take a travel sewing kit. A cheaper option than having to buy a new pair of shorts just because your only pair ripped at the crotch! Hotels often have complimentary travel sewing kits alongside the usual array of shampoos and coffee sachets. If your parents travel with work or you ever find yourself in a hotel, make the most of this freebie for future adventures. 10. Split your train ticket. In the UK, you can save a fortune by splitting your ticket every time you travel. Every time I visit home (Sheffield), I buy an off-peak return Durham to York, and an off-peak return from York to Sheffield. The price of these two tickets combined is far less than an off-peak return from Durham to Sheffield, and I do not even have to change trains. splitmyticket. co.uk does this for you, but it is worth playing around with it as the website still is not glitch-free.
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Anisha Mohan - food@palatinate.org.uk
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FOOD & DRINK
Blueberries
Avocados
Eggs
We’ve all heard of blueberries being labeled brain food, so much so that super food writer, Steven Pratt, coined them “Brain berries”. These super fruit are packed with anti oxidants to keep you healthy and the germs at bay, as well as preserving the brains natural powers and slowing down cognitive decline. These little gems are widely available, so there’s no excuse. They have also been shown to protect the brain from stress – what are you waiting for?
These creamy tasting fruits are a rich source of the antioxidant vitamin E, which are great for your memory and have even been associated with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Some claim that Avocados are almost as good as blueberries in promoting brain health. They are also rich in monounsaturated fat, which contributes to healthy blood flow in the brain and help help lower blood pressure keeping you calm and relaxed.
Eggs are a great memory boosting food. More specifically the yolks contain an ingredient called Choline, which helps other chemicals in the brain at remembering facts. Eating protein-rich foods like eggs for breakfast can improve overall cognitive performance. Also, eggs are super versatile and a great student staple to have the in the fridge. You can make a pretty great meal with eggs and just a few other ingredients and its fast to do. Brilliant for exams, summatives and dissertations.
brain food
Anisha Mohan gives you a breakdown of the best brain boosting foods ahead of the end of term summative season
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ith the end of term looming, summative stress piling up, and dare I even say the “D” word, painful to the ears of all those finalists… (dissertation), I think it is safe to say we all need a bit of brain boosting power. Forget the pro plus and the energy drinks, sometimes they can do more harm than good (Will from The Inbetweeners, anyone?!) and turn instead to the natural super powers of food! Don’t be alarmed and think its all going to be super food mumbo jumbo, bee pollen this and chia seed that, in fact, many brain boosting snacks and ingredients are pretty common foods and likely that you already have some knocking about in the depths of your cupboard or your fridge. Nuts
Water
Dark leafy greens
Nuts are a great source of healthy fats and are also packed with vitamin E that is key for brain function and also prevents cognitive decline. Research has found snacking on nuts improves mental performance. Good choices are unsalted peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts.
This one might seem a bit obvious but it is so easy to over look it! Staying hydrated is really important for brain function, once your brain becomes dehydrated, it slows down and you start to feel tired, mentally slower and even irritable. Get into the habit of keeping a refillable water bottle with you. Even if you don’t feel like you need it, you’ll notice a big different just from having a big gulp. If water is not really your thing, try infusing it with sliced lemon, lime or orange overnight. If you’re feeling extra fancy, grab a handful of mint and get drinking.
These guys are classic are a classic brain food group. Kale, spinach, and broccoli are good sources of vitamin E and its super easy to keep topped up. Personally I love buying spinach, as it is really versatile, you can use it as a salad leaf and as an ingredient. It’s brain boosting powers are pretty good too, for example, one cup of raw spinach has 15% of your daily intake of vitamin E, and 1/2 a cup of cooked spinach has 25% of your daily intake. Broccoli, in particular is a great source of vitamin K, which is known to enhance cognitive function and improve brainpower. Go green!
Dried fruits
Oats and Wholegrains
Dried fruit are a perfect snacking food for students. They are really handy as they keep for a long time and are less messy than normal fruits. Full of vitamins and good slow-burning energy, as well as being really portable, they are a great library companion. Try to avoid buying dried fruit that comes with added sugar – the aim is to avoid the sugar high that inevitably ends in an energy slump.
Your body needs energy! And with all that work you’re definitely going to need the ability to concentrate and focus for several hours at a time. Welcome the oats and their steady supply of energy. Eating wholegrains with a low GI releases glucose slowly into the bloodstream, keeping you mentally alert. Opt for ‘brown’ cereals, brown pasta and try out loads of different toppings for your morning porridge to keep things exciting.
Dark chocolate Yes, you can even eat chocolate guilt free! Though, not to everyone’s taste, dark chocolate is one of the healthiest ways to enjoy one of the world’s favorite foods. Treat it as a reward for completing another thousand words and make sure it’s the good quality stuff. It’s been found to increase the flow of blood to the brain, as well as bringing lots of other health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and boosting antioxidants. Bit of a disclaimer here, though it’s kinda good for you, don’t get too carried away… chocolate with a high cacao content is still fairly high in calories and saturated fat, so this is still a pleasure to be indulged little but often!
Photography: Anisha Mohan
comic by Mariam Hayatccomic by Mariam Hayat