http://felixonline.co.uk/archive/IC_2001/2001_1195_A by Ravi Pall

I 5SU

Monday

2 2nd

Janua

E n t s @ i c . a c u k IIMPLRIAL COLLLCit UNION

Tuesday 23rd S T A B a r T r i v i a - Davincis 8pm. Win £50 CASH! Free to enter. Wednesday 24 C h e e s y W o t s i t s - icu 8-1 total cheese in dBs, cocktails in room 2 Thursday 25th

C o c k t a i l N i g h t - oavinci's 5-11 S a l s a N i g h t - dBs 8pm free dance to salsa, merengue and latin jazz Friday 26th C o m m o n People the best in guitar tunes and alt dance live music from jazz and rock plus UDH cocktail bar £ 1 . 5 0

£ 2

w i t h o u t

i c u

c a r d

f r e e

w i t h

e n t s c a r d

S Smertr

Geology

on the

rocks

pears over teaching quality as lecturers go to balance books

The ers

rdfin-

a n d t h e r e s u l t i n g e x t r a b u r d e n on t h e i r t i m e . N o

|tOM A N D E R S O N

r e p l a c e m e n t s will be found for the s e v e n and thus I

ast Tuesday lunchtime over 100 Geology students

existin g a c a d e m i c staff will have to be involved in

L—.filled a lecture theatre in order to voice their con-

teaching. Whether they want to or not, or, of greater

cerns about the offer of early retirement to seven key

concern to students, are capable s e e m s to be of no

academic staff and the resulting ramifications on the

importance.

course and department. S p e a k i n g to them was first

T.H Huxley School was formed during 1998 with the

Stephanie Dawson ( R S M U President), Emily Procter

f u s i o n of the d e p a r t m e n t s of G e o l o g y a n d E a r t h

(Geology Dept Rep) and Eleanor Clifford (RSMU V i c e

Resource

President), and later Professor Beddington, head of the

Environmental Technology. The two departments had

T.H. Huxley School, and other academic staff.

over the years accumulated a deficit that was written

The seven staff were offered early retirement not only

off with the formation of the S c h o o l , though s i n c e

Engineering

and

the

Centre

for

in an effort to cut costs but also to achieve a higher rat-

1998, a £1.5 million loss has accumulated. A c t i o n to

ing in an impending R e s e a r c h A s s es s m en t Exercise,

correct this has been forced by College's Management

which is critical to the amount of money that flows into

and Planning G r o u p with the loss of a c a d e m i c staff

the department. The e x e r c i s e begins on the 1st of

(staff being the greatest expenditure of the College) in

April, and not surprisingly the staff have to leave by

addition to the previous reductions in clerical and support staff and space saving measures.

at the end of last year with the leaking of the informa-

L a t e r in t h e d a y , Imperial C o l l e g e U n i o n C o u n c i l 1

course, especially with regard to the lack of contin gency plans. The most concerning issue is that the

gig;

most important paper in y e a r s . " The d e b a t e

was marked by concerns that this would happen to other loss-making departments, especially after

tion, as that a number of departments are in deficit.

fele to get advice during the exam perilorho^e^mTwouid^eVdjudicated

Following this C o u n c i l mandated its '

Z ^ n t

Ince the staff setting the e x a m s and ping the courses may not be marking the papers.

wi» b ^ n e x T

a v e n u e s to f i g h t f o r t h e

students

pere are several final y e a r s t u d e n t s with projects

studying Geology to ensure their education is not damaged in any way.

ping supervised by one of the seven and these stu-

The overall impression given to students is that their

fcits have been particularly worried. Dr. Worthington,

degrees are being jeopardised due to financial misman-

Iformer head of department for Geology (in pre-T.H.

agement, which is not in their control. The situation in

Pxley days), corrected Professor Beddingto" over his

Geology highlights discrepancies in the funding of uni-

Ingestion of new projects being initiated, to inform

versities by the Government. Essentially if a depart-

("dents that another supervisor would be found. A n

ment receives a high grading in a Research Evaluation

Plitional worry is the loss of fieldwork supervisors.

A s s e s s m e n t it r e c e i v e s a l a r g e f i n a n c i a l r e w a r d .

second year students have a seven-week mapping

However the quality of teaching does not provide any

P°ject during the S u m m e r vacation and the reduction

extra financial rewards. Thus inactive research staff

possible

j | | be covered.

I Ppears though that even if the lecturers do leave, Intents may still see some of them next term and next ar

f -

This is due to a 'buy back' scheme where the

lower the grade of the research assessment which in

This

I Neatly reduced salaries, a m o v e which Professor

across the country, where Government funding meth-

ngton admitted "was the oldest trick in the book."

a r t

from low student morale, staff also are being

c t e

rts. but k e e p ' e m

" r e s e a r c h inactive" lecturers , d e s p i t e m a y b e being excellent teachers are the first to be sacrificed.

d e s c r i p a n c y highlights the s i t u a t i o n in U n i v e r s i t i e s

ana

turn affects the finances of the departments. Therefore

P'ired" staff will return to teach for two days a week

and

questioned whether this would be a regular solu-

Students were unsure w h e t h e r they would be

•

• x j t h e Medical School redundancies last year. It was

;

is in the middle of an a c a d e m i c year

•

the School with one member describing the issue as ^^"the

staff involved are being coerced to leave by the |1st March 2001, particularly untimely, since

f'staff win

•

entered into a long debate about what was occurring in

The students gathered voiced concerns regarding the

idvmonic

•

31st of March. A letter was sent to the seven lecturers tion to the student body soon after.

ff gets d r y ilk, M P » l s the attention • p i in one night

ods indisputably s h o w that r e s e a r c h has b e c o m e a

oui new syndicated

financial priority above undergraduate studies.

d , with many unhappy about losing colleagues Felix 1195 Cover photograph: Jonas Lindsay

Felix • 22nd January 2001

News

O n

t h e

h e a d

An Imperial researcher could soon have big news for the world's beer drinkers N2 mixture is used.

RIK E D W A R D S

he most important research to c o m e out of

N i t r o g e n is s u b s t a n -

Imperial since the pyramid teabag could be

tially less solubl e than

on its w a y if a C h e m i c a l Engineering P h D stu-

carbon dioxide, however,

dent's work is s u c c e s s f u l .

s o m e still dissolves in the

Neil H e p w o r t h has received funding Brewing

Research International

from

and the

liquid,

forming

these

microbubbles.

B i o t e c h n o l o g y R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l in o r d e r to

Mr Hepworth

noted

look at the factors which determine how long it

that the c o m p o s i t i o n of

takes a pint of beer to settle. B e e r c a n often

the g a s does not s e e m to

appear cloudy when poured from a keg due to

affect the "haze dura-

the formation of nitrogen microbubbles, a high

t i o n " d u r i n g w h i c h bub-

proportion of which c a n be stable, meaning that

b l e s a r e f o r m e d . T h e s e a p p e a r to be d e t e r -

the beer remains c l o u d y and u n a p p e a l i n g .

mined by the liquid flow rate into the glass, and

The r e s e a r c h is n e c e s s a r y because industry!

According to M r H e p w o r t h , the " g a s liquid dis-

the use of a "sparkler", which is where the tap

methods to determine the behaviour of bubbles!

persion c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s " a r e little u n d e r s t o o d ,

narrows in order to create more bubbles.

are c a s e - s p e c i f i c , due to the empirical natureol

iour to be predicted in "any given conditions"

and his project i n v o l v e s " u n d e r s t a n d i n g w h y

The work involves using a purpose-built labo-

p r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h . H e a d d e d "I am trying to

bubble haze is formed and predicting its pres-

ratory scale beer tap, together with a synthetic

explain the phenomenon using the fundamental

beer which mimics the properties of c o m m e r -

scientific principals behind it."

ence or a b s e n c e " . P r e s s u r i s e d g a s is u s e d t o d e l i v e r s o m e

cially-available beer. M r Hepworth is hoping to

beers to the tap, and carbon dioxide w a s used

use this equipment to construct a comprehen-

in the past. However, for s o m e ales, a C O g and

sive model of bubble haze, allowing its behav-

A s Felix went to p r e s s , our own expert beers w a s temporarily available for comment.

ACK RAILTRACK IS RESTRUCTURING THE WEST COAST MAINLINE FROM GLASGOW TO LONDON TOTAKE TILTINGTRAINSTHAT RUN AT SPEEDS UPTOI40MPH. 1 FACT

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WE OWN AND MANAGETHEWHOLE OF THE RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE INTHE UK-TRACK, SIGNALLING, BRIDGES.VIADUCTS, LEVEL CROSSINGS,STATIONS - EVERYTHINGTHATTRAINSTRAVEL ON, OVER.THROUGH AND ACROSS. OUR VISION ISTO CREATE THE WORLD'S BEST RAILWAY. TO DOTHISWE NEED AMBITIOUS AND INNOVATIVE ENGINEERING GRADUATESTO MANAGE SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING ENGINEERING PROJECTS BEING CARRIED OUT IN BRITAIN TODAY.

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22nd January 2001 • Felix •

S o u t h s i d e

project

off-

a g a i n

Lack of money and worries over space forces freshers into crumbling hails for another year J WILLIAM FOSTER

ack of money is unofficially being blamed for College's d e c i s i o n t o k e e p t h e d e c r e p i t

Southside Halls open for another year. College House Committee, meeting last week,

would only get permission for a four-storey build-

span." However, the development was put back

ing in future, s e r i o u s l y limiting the number of

to this O c t o b e r to allow " a greater planning time". College at the time denied rumours that that deci-

rooms. U n i o n s o u r c e s d e s c r i b e d the d e c i s i o n w a s

sion was down to a lack of funds.

" u n f o r t u n a t e but n e c e s s a r y " , w i t h P r e s i d e n t

Southside residents described as "nasty" and

Hamish C o m m o n adding that C o l l e g e "had no

"falling apart" when contacted by Felix. College

took the decision to put the proposed reno-

are r u m o u r e d to be h a v i n g health a n d s a f e t y

vation back until "mid 2 0 0 2 " , citing the pos-

issues with some of the kitchens, and next year's

sibility of a shortage of hall places if the

residents are likely to be hoping that they are the

! building were to be c l o s e d in O c t o b e r as

last before the project. A substantial amount of

| planned. With Willis J a c k s o n Hall due to be

maintainance work and network wiring has been

j closed as part of the rolling refurbishment in

delayed over the past year as the hall was due to close.

Evelyn Gardens, and Beit Hall due to reopen this Summer following its troubled refurbish-

College Catering are also believed to be hoping

ment, there was a very real possibility that

to refurbish Southside Bar as a separate project from the refurbishment, although whether this will

there would not be enough hall space next

I t

year to go round. The p r o b l e m w a s only

be allowed to go ahead depends on the position of

solved this year by keeping Willis J a c k s o n

the Bar in the new Southside, and whether it will

open for another y e a r a n d s h a r i n g t h e

be able to remain open during the main project..

remaining first years between Wilson House

C o l l e g e ' s l o n g - t e r m s t r a t e g y is to s e l l off

in Notting Hill and Clayponds Village, Ealing

G a r d e n H a l l a n d all of N o r t h s i d e ( e x c l u d i n g

Southside Hall: Still fit for human habitation

W e e k s H a l l ) . P a s t a n d p r e s e n t r e s i d e n t s of

(Felix 1182). However, s e n i o r C o l l e g e s o u r c e s p r i v a t e l y

other choice due to their financial situation". Stef

Garden and the Union have expressed concerns

admitted that the decision was also heavily influ-

Evans, Deputy President (Education & Welfare)

t h a t r e s i d e n c e s a r e b e i n g p u s h e d by

enced by lack of money for the project. The rede-

agreed that Southside "does need extensive reno-

C o n f e r e n c e Office to concentrate on providing

velopment's price, estimated as "tens of millions"

vation, but they can't risk losing bedspaces."

the

high-quality single rooms with en-suite bathrooms, while students looking for more affordable double

is heavily increased by the fact that Southside is a

The decision to refurbish Southside was first

grade 2 listed building, and a n y d e v e l o p m e n t

announced in January 2000 to start last October,

rooms will be pushed further afield by the sales of

would have to fit in with surrounding buildings.

at which time the hall was described by the then

Garden and Montpelier Halls.

This ruled out complete demolition, as the College

D e p u t y P r e s i d e n t Ian C l i f f o r d as " p a s t its life

brief

STRATEGIC

MOVE

Dr Christopher T o w l e r has b e e n n a m e d as College's

new

Director

Strategy

Development, a n d w i l l w o r k d i r e c t l y

under

Teacher

on the s c a l e of the other three p o r c h e s have

i n v e s t i g a t e a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d s t e a c h i n g as a

been

career.

set

back.

comes after

English

the F r e n c h m a n u f a c t u r e r s . E n g l i s h H e r i t a g e

areas.

graduate

T r a i n i n g A g e n c y a n d t h e D f E E to

H e r i t a g e w e r e critical of s a m p l e s s u p p l i e d by

are a n x i o u s to a v o i d a r e p e a t of the B r i t i s h

Towler

the

are carrying

n e w p o r c h on the s a m e s i d e of the building

the Rector in c o n t r o l l i n g s t r a t e g y in c e r t a i n Dr

o u t w o r k o n b e h a l f of

on s c h e d u l e in M a y , the plans to c o n s t r u c t a

DOME TROUBLE, PART

9,000

Biochemistry at A b e r d e e n U n i v e r s i t y , a n d

M u s e u m f i a s c o , w h e r e the s t o n e u s e d failed

until recently held a s e n i o r p o s t in s t r a t e g y

to m a t c h the P o r t l a n d s t o n e of the s u r r o u n d -

Millennium

co-ordination at G l a x o W e l l c o m e .

ing building.

a p p e a r s to be in trouble a f t e r it a c c u s e d the

The

£125m

Legacy

Dome

bid

turn

into a b u s i n e s s

the park

G o v e r n m e n t of not s t i c k i n g by its o r i g i n a l HALL HELD U P B Y

a g r e e m e n t . Imperial o f f e r s " i n t e l l e c t u a l s u p -

MARK-IT

STONES

p o r t " to t h e b i d , w h i c h h a s f a c e d

trouble

the

unde r p r e s s u r e f r o m t h e m e d i a , p a r t i c u l a r l y

has been delayed by a y e a r d u e to c o n c e r n s

next f e w w e e k s by p e o p l e claiming to be mar-

a f t e r it w a s r e v e a l e d that R o b e r t B o u r n e , the

over finding the right t y p e of s t o n e . A l t h o u g h

ket r e s e a r c h e r s o u t s i d e the S h e r f i e l d D i n i n g

l e a d e r of t h e b i d , d o n a t e d £ 3 3 , 0 0 0 to t h e

the South S t e p s , w h i c h c o n n e c t t h e hall to

Hall are a d v i s e d not to c o n t a c t S e c u r i t y - t h e y

Labour Party shortly before Legacy were

Prince Consort R o a d , are e x p e c t e d to r e o p e n

have p e r m i s s i o n to be t h e r e . The r e s e a r c h e r s

awarded "preferred bidder status".

S t u d e n t s who are approached over

The Albert Hall' s S o u t h P o r c h r e d e v l o p m e n t

• Felix • 22nd January 2001

•

News

E a

N _ __ S h o c k MARIAM

o v e r

Iranian

GHORBANNEJAD

n S a t u r d a y 13th of J a n u a r y , harsh s e n -

p r i s o n

s e n t e n c e s

s t a t e television w e r e trying to c r e a t e c o n d i -

t r e a t m e n t by t h e j u d i c i a r y w a s wholly fac-

tions making it i m p o s s i b l e f o r t h e n e w parlia-

t i o n a l a n d p o l i t i c a l l y m o t i v a t e d . ' Germany's

ment to do its work.

r e a c t i o n w a s o n e of d e e p c o n c e r n and the Akbar Ganji,

Iranian a m b a s s a d o r t o B e r l i n w a s summoned

received t h e most s e v e r e s e n t e n c e ; 10 y e a r s

to t h e G e r m a n F o r e i g n M i n i s t r y , a day after

ruling is a major s e t - b a c k f o r t h e Iranian

imprisonment f ollowe d by five y e a r s internal

the

reformist

exile at B a s h a r g a d , a r e m o t e d e s e r t a r e a .

Meanwhile

P r e s i d e n t , M o h a m m a d K h a t a m i . H e is n o w

During the c o u r s e of his i n v e s t i g a t i o n , he un-

s p o k e s m a n , H a m i d - R e z a A s e f i , disagreed.

r e c o n s i d e r i n g a d e c i s i o n he a n n o u n c e d b a c k

c o v e r e d h i g h - l e v e l i n v o l v e m e n t in t h e mur-

He s a i d ,

in t h e s u m m e r to s t a n d f o r re-election in t h e

ders of d i s s i d e n t Iranian i n t e l l e c t u a l s , going

Iranian c i t i z e n s a n d r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n Iran

forthcoming J u n e e l e c t i o n s .

so f a r a s to n a m e s o m e of t h e a l l e g e d cul-

and G e r m a n y is u n a c c e p t a b l e a n d unreason-

These pro-reformists, leading supporters

prits in court. S o he had many powerful ene-,

able'. S o m e r e p o r t s t h o u g h a r e speculating

of K h a t a m i , travelled from T e h r a n t o partici-

mies in Iran, A similar s e n t e n c e w a s dealt t o

that C h a n c e l l o r G e r h a r d S c h r o e d e r ' s planned

p a t e in t h e B e r l i n C o n f e r e n c e l a s t A p r i l ,

S a e e d S a d r , a t r a n s l a t o r at t h e G e r m a n

visit t o T e h r a n in t h e s p r i n g has been called

w h i c h w a s s p o n s o r e d by a f o u n d a t i o n c o n -

e m b a s s y in Tehran on c h a r g e s of ' m o h a r e b e h

off. T h e c o u r t ' s ruling m a y d a m g e bilateral

Campaigning journalist,

t e n c e s w e r e h a n d e d out to s e v e n promi-

nent j o u r n a l i s t s a n d intellectuals in Iran. T h e movement

and the

liberal

sentences

had been

Iranian

announced,

Foreign

Ministry

a n y l i n k b e t w e e n t h i s trial of

nected with the G e r m a r

r e l a t i o n s

Green

b e t w e e n

party.

It w a s

G e r m a n y and

v i e w e d a s a c h a n c e tc gauge t h e political anc

Iran a s well as

social situation in Iran; tc

compounding

there

I r a n ' s interna-

had b e e n a n y s i g n i f i c a n

tional isolation.

discover whether

las

Moderate

February's general elec

P r e s i d e n t

tions,

Mohammad

changes

since

which

wide-scale

had seer

victory

Khatami

However

a group

had

b e e n t r y i n g to

Iranian r e f o r m i s t s .

loosen

strict

Iranian exiles, believe d t(

the Islamic

be from a radical c o m m u

l a w s and social

nist f a c t i o n , i n t e r r u p t e d

restrictions

President Khatami, left, and right, Ayatollah Khamenei

the p r o c e e d i n g s . They were

allowed

w h i c h have been imposed

time to

since

the Islamic revolution of 1979 w h i c h saw the

noise a n d c a u s i n g g e n e r a l d i s r u p t i o n , w h i c h

( making war a g a i n s t t h e Islamic s y s t e m ). Fellow t r a n s l a t o r , K h a l i l R o s t a m k h a n i , w a s

led to the c o n f e r e n c e b e i n g b r o k e n up.

g i v e n nine y e a r s , e i g h t of w h i c h w e r e o n

f r e e d o m h a s b e e n i m p r o v e d , s o m e newspa-

c h a r g e s of ' m o h a r e b e h ' . A l s o r e c e i v i n g a

pers e x p r e s s i n g o p p o s i t i o n t o hardliners have

lengthy prison term w a s A l i A f s h a r i , l e a d e r of

been shut down by c o n s e r v a t i v e clerics. But

give their opinio n but p e r s i s t e d in m a k i n g a

Two d a y s later, Iranian s t a t e television broadcast the hecklers' speeches,

which

S h i i t e c l e r g y c o m e t o p o w e r . Although press

a t t a c k e d the Islamic s y s t e m . This c a u s e d

the biggest student o r g a n i z a t i o n in Iran ( t h e

the r e s t r i c t i v e p r e s s l a w r e m a i n s unchanged.

outrage with m o r e than 140 m e m b e r s of the

T h e d i f f i c u l t y t h e P r e s i d e n t f a c e s in his

Iranian parliament labelling t h e c o n f e r e n c e as

Unity C o n s o l i d a t i o n B u r e a u ) w h o g o t five years. Just six of the s e v e n t e e n people tried

' c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n a r y ' a n d i n s u l t i n g to the

were a c q u i t t e d , w h i l e t h o s e c o n v i c t e d h a v e

although the r e f o r m i s t s hold a majority in the

20 clays to a p p e a l .

Iranian P a r l i a m e n t , t h e S u p r e m e Leader

Iranian n a t i o n . T h e y c a l l e d

on the Iranian

attempts

to reform

t h e c o u n t r y is that

j u d i c i a r y t o p u n i s h t h e I r a n i a n s who had

The p r i s o n s e n t e n c e s w e r e m u c h w o r s e

M o h a m m a d K h a m e n e i h a s t h e power to veto

a t t e n d e d the c o n f e r e n c e in B e r l i n . R i g h t - w i n g

than expected and have put the internal divi-

any laws being p a s s e d . H e is a conservative

n e w s p a p e r s w e r e quick to a d d their own con-

sion present in Iran in t h e s p o t l i g h t a g a i n .

cleric w h o has a l r e a d y m a n a g e d t o minimize

d e m n a t i o n , s a y i n g they had c o m m i t t e d t r e a -

D e p u t y s p e a k e r of p a r l i a m e n t , M o h a m m a d

m a n y h o p e d - f o r c h a n g e s . It is f e a r e d that

s o n by c o n s o r t i n g w i t h t h e e n e m i e s of the

Reza

K h a t a m i m a y not have t h e p o w e r to make his

regime. R e f o r m i s t s t o o w e r e a n g e r e d by the

M o h a m m a d Khatami ) c o m m e n t e d , 'Those

b r o a d c a s t , claiming the c o n s e r v a t i v e run

people... did not c o m m i t a c r i m e , a n d their

l^Tp

News

Khatami

( brother

President

idea of a new, liberal Iran a reality.

â&#x20AC;˘ 22nd January 2001 â&#x20AC;˘ Felix â&#x20AC;˘

e d i l o r / u l 1

W h y

d o a n y t h i n g

w h e n

y o u c a nf o r g e t

s anyone

Editor

toda

nhapt>y-

l t < s

up, i t ' s about now that y o u ' l l have to d e c i d e o

o r i e

t h i n

1 3

u s t

h a n

:::if y o u : w a h f t o

, thought oi e

talking to a l a r g e g r o u p of p e o p l e . O r the thought o f h a v i n g a f a i r l y h u g e

b e c o m e a n Imperial C o l l e g e

overdraft

(m avrrfanrie'r of s p e a k i n g ) , t h e o p p o r t u n i t y !

Arts Books

you couldn't do anything about). S o . as

broke for Shothei -

Pascale Taylor

Andrew Wheeler Jonathan Matthews

Business

Bashari Bakari

Current Affairs

Nina D e Roy I

e v e r y e d i t s ! ; h a s s a i d at this t i m e of y e a r

for that matter. I f i p s t e v e r y t h i n g a b o u t ; c o u l d y o u d o m y j o b ? Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s ; m o o d y s time of y e a r is f u n d a m e n t a l l y unpleas-

c o m m u n i s t i n s o m n i a c with lots: of o p i n i o n s

t, and t h e r e ' s s t i l l a g e s to go u n t i l

Of course, it didn't help that last week's issue h a d , urn, i s s u e s . T o i d

& M a r i a m Ghorbannejad Film

D r e w Nienhuis

Music

Andy Houldsworth &

basic computer skills and aversion to your

Easter..;

Science

that? N o , thought

Sport & C a r t o o n s

not- y o u ' d have to be

srne,

for tt to arrive on W e d r i e s d a ;

Matt Kaplan j

Editorial assistant

lain A n g u s Alisdair Wren

Graphic D e s i g n . J u s t i n van d e r Toorn

S o i a n y o n i e out therei:aspiring to be the

Mope. A n y w a y , i t ' s n o w 3g

Tom Bailess

course and organised religion. Y o u ' u p for mildly; i n s a n e o r pretty naive to want t o be:

(College t h a i i t w o u l d a r r i v e on

Photography

J o n a s Lindsay I

n e w Hamish:, S t e f , S a m , E t i e n n e , L o m e , o r

morning, and I've c u r l e d up ir

i help yjlu, J o h n ? W e l l , t o d a y ' s the d a y

computer y#fth a huge b o t t l e o

to d e c i d e . G o o d luck t o a l l of y o u , and I look

can't fafei©ifiinishing t h e

Writers

forward to interview

issue sober, J thought I'd

ing y o u in a fortnight.

see what h a p p e n s if !

Assistant Editor

to d o l o t s of g o o d for your feiiow s t u d e n t s (and-fp be genuinely hated for a mistake;

th the p r o m i s e o f b e i n g a b s o l u t e l y fiat

large

J o h n Clifford

Deputy Editor....Katherine D y e r - P e r r y

..Union s a b b a t i c a l . T h i n k of t h e perks;, s a l a r y

g over m e . like Felix failing to a r r i v e , 01

drink

Editorial Staff

e v e r y t h i n g ?

J u s t a s a .'ittle p s to

amounts;

irst. Not helping s o far?;

William Foster, Rik E d w a r d s , M a t t K a p l a n , Tom Bailess ,

my r a m b l i n g s . I just

Jonathan Matthews, Mariam

r e c e i v e d proof that m y

Ghorbannejad, Alisdair W r e n ,

world's gone insane

S t e f Evans, lain A n g u s

article in Pulse is a little

J u s t h e a d e d d o w n to

Katherine D y e r - P e r r y , P a s c a l e Taylor

appropriate!;;as I'm s i n e

Lords

I think Dav i d A l i m a n ' s

m not t h s j o n l y

person

itttng u n d e r

huge

lack

the

cloud

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& J o h n Clifford

food at i;30arn. a n d was

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mmute (although i

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about. I knew putting

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i f a c k e t a n d blue jeans. It w a s t h e line " C a n

'-nink I used to g o out; with t w o a s w e l l . A n d n

London, S W 7 2 B B

Apparently

s o m e o n e o f my d e s c r i p t i o n j u s t c o m m i t t e d a

"Story by a p r e t t y I

: l 8

Prince C o n s o r t R d ,

on t h e w a y past Brompton Oratory, let g o 'again:; then s t o p p e d a g a i n .

stories on mental health. P u l s e contains

;

| | p | l p u : t your hands a g a i n s t t hessid e

just d e p r e s s i o n arid m a n i c d e p r e s s

Internal tel: 5 8 0 7 2 External tel & fax: 020 7594 8072 E-mail: felix@ic.ac.uk

llllll

v e h i c l e that h a d m e a little s t u n n e d . A n d a s

i , there's a lot m o r e d i s o r d e r s w h i c h a r e '

Felix, T h e Portacabins,

Promptly got Stopped

P e s s i n g , w e ' r e g o i n g t o halgiqurte a

Jonas, John & Gareth

it w a ;

Felix is produced for and on behalf of

m y e x p l a n a t i o n f c ' r b e i n g out:Jt;his t i m e o f

Imperial C o l l e g e Union M e d i a G r o u p

night (I'm the E d i t o r o f t h e s t u d e n t n e w s p a

and is printed at M C P Litho Limited,

,per, r p , c o l d , T r e d | a n d f i u n g r y l a n d I don't

Units B 2 & B 3 , Hatton S q u a r e ,

•' f"i6ingty common a m o n g our a g e g r o u p "V're not people locked up in s o m e vlcto-

, a n

asylum or w o n d e r i n g u p a n d d o w n t h e

a l k v v

a y yelling a t p a s s e r s - b y . T h e y ' r e ordi-

finish

till n i n e " ) w a s u n u s u a l . I w a s s e a r c h e d

t © r y t h o r o u g h l y by a P C | W r t g # w i t h . v e r y ]

•y people tike you o r m e Who h a v e "a p r o b - ; c o l d h a n d s . T h e s t r a n g e t h i n g w a s , h e or two if y o u ' v e s e a r c h e d through a l f m y ' p o c k e t s a n d r a n a • Problem gotng t o s e e : a d o c t o r ' a b o u t":.)%j w h

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y the huge s t i g m a B b b u t a d M i t t i n g I

e depressed. It's not a s i n g o f w e a k '

nothing t o be a s h a m e d of. it c a n

16 - 16a Baldwins G a r d e n s , London E C 1 N 7 R J

Felix is a registered newspaper:

P N C C h e c k , leading t o a f e w h e a r t - s t o p p i n i

I S S N 1040 - 0711

s e c o n d s b e f o r e th;ejfe:radioed b a c k C l l i p s s t

C o p y r i g h t © Felix 2 0 0 1 .

bles, n o deftnites) b e f o r e letting m e g o a n d following

22nd January 2001

m e for a while. A n d y e | they ditto

News

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IC C o u n s e l l o r s . !

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W i n t e r blues '.

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not w a n t i n g to let a n y o n e k n o w a b o u t

DAVID A L L M A N

t's w i n t e r and the w e a t h e r is c o l d and w e t .

L o r e t t o O'Callaghan.

it.

C o l l e g e might not s e e m to be a p l a c e w h e r e

m.m.thomson@

it f e e l s O K to admit to not c o p i n g .

ic.ac.uk

C h r i s t m a s and N e w Year are over, and

there's a lot of work to do in this long spring

It's useful to c o n s i d e r the b r o a d e r c o n t e x t

t e r m . It's n a t u r a l t o s o m e t i m e s f e e l d o w n -

in o r d e r to u n d e r s t a n d s o m e people' s e x p e r i -

h e a r t e d unde r t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s . A n d it's

e n c e of d e p r e s s i o n . L i f e for s o m e s t u d e n t s

u n d e r s t a n d a b l e not to want to get out of bed

has b e c o m e s ignif ic ant l y more s t r e s s f u l o v e r

' ' H ' 3 - < ^ W : . ! i - v V ; v !• I V/:->-<!•;•:"., :';p;vi":i ;/ ;t,:";. .: ::r '

some mornings! (Recognise yourself here?)

the past f e w y e a r s ; you might have to work

>.••-.'•• .•'..'> '•':•;•:.}!-r''

M o s t p e o p l e feel like this from t i m e to time.

to s u p p o r t y o u r s e l f through C o l l e g e and the

H o w e v e r , if you've b e e n feeling m i s e r a b l e for

c o s t of a c c o m m o d a t i o n is high. H e n c e this is

s e v e r a l w e e k s , if you don't s e e m to be able to

the context w i t h i n w h i c h y o u have to n a v i g a t e

enjoy anything and have lost interest in y o u r

the d e m a n d i n g w o r k l o a d . Y o u might be f e e l -

HkjhliiiV , :

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London Lesbian and \C Health C e n t r e

i l i a y Switchboard

c o u r s e and y o u r s o c i a l life, a n d if this f e e l i n g

ing d i s a p p o i n t e d t h a t y o u r e x p e r i e n c e at

doesn't s e e m to b e s h i f t i n g , it's p o s s i b l e t h a t

C o l l e g e isn't turning out to be what y o u had

you might be d e p r e s s e d . D e p r e s s i o n is c o m -

h o p e d for and e x p e c t e d . Y o u might a l s o be

t e l e p h o n e 0 2 0 7 5 9 4 9 4 1 9 (internal extension

m o n w i t h i n the s t u d e n t p o p u l a t i o n , as it is

feeling h o m e s i c k ; p e r h a p s you're a long w a y

4 9 4 1 9 ) , e - m a i l s a r a h . c o o k e @ ic.ac.uk-

within the p o p u l a t i o n in g e n e r a l . A n d it's p o s -

from

sible - and i m p o r t a n t - to do s o m e t h i n g about

c o u n t r y . If you're a m a t u r e student you might

it.

h a v e to j u g g l e t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s of c h i l d -

V i c k y is b a s e d at Imperial C o l l e g e at Wye,

c a r e and d o m e s t i c t a s k s a l o n g with p e r h a p s

t e l e p h o n e 0 2 0 7 5 9 4 2 7 1 5 (internal extension

home which might

b e in a

different

M o n d a y s a n d W e d n e s d a y s a l l d a y , and Thursday mornings.

S o m e more q u e s t i o n s . A r e y o u eating much

the a c a d e m i c c h a l l e n g e of returning to e d u -

4 2 7 1 5 ) , e-mail v . j e s s u p @ i c . a c . u k - Tuesdays

less or m u c h m o r e t h a n u s u a l ? D o y o u feel

cation after a period in e m p l o y m e n t . If you're

and T h u r s d a y s .

t i r e d f o r m u c h of t h e t i m e ? A r e y o u h a v i n g

slippin g behind with c o u r s e work and m i s s i n g

difficulty g e t t i n g off to s l e e p , or do you w a k e

an i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r of l e c t u r e s , it's impor-

T h e r e are a l s o c o u n s e l l o r s and psychother-

up s e v e r a l t i m e s during the night, or u n u s u a l -

t a n t to a c k n o w l e d g e t h i s . D o n ' t b u r y y o u r

a p i s t s in the H e a l t h C e n t r e w h o can be con-

ly early, feeling tired and w o r r y i n g ? A r e y o u

head in the s a n d . Talk to y o u r p e r s o n a l tutor,

s u l t e d a f t e r referral via a d o c t o r or practice

having difficulty c o n c e n t r a t i n g in l e c t u r e s , or

s e n i o r tutor, p o s t g r a d u a t e tutor, or s o m e o n e

nurse.

when you're studying? A r e you wanting

e l s e y o u f e e l y o u c a n a p p r o a c h in y o u r

avoid c o n t a c t with y o u r f r i e n d s ? A r e you f e e l -

d e p a r t m e n t . If y o u h a v e s l i p p e d a long w a y

N i g h t l i n e - t h e c o n f i d e n t i a l listening and

ing p a r t i c u l a r l y c r i t i c a l of y o u r s e l f ? Is it a

behind, talk to s o m e o n e a n y w a y so that you

information s e r v i c e - is a v a i l a b l e 6pm to 8am

s t r u g g l e to a c t u a l l y think, to w o r k out

what

you have to d o , or to m a k e d e c i s i o n s ?

c a n work out a c o u r s e of a c t i o n to a t t e n d to

during t e r m t i m e , t e l e p h o n e 0 2 0 7631 0101.

your s i t u a t i o n .

Y o u c a n now c o n t a c t N i g h t l i n e via e-mail as w e l l a s v i a t h e t e l e p h o n e on Iistening@lon-

If you're e x p e r i e n c i n g s o m e of t h e s e diffic u l t i e s , it's i m p o r t a n t

t o t a l k to s o m e o n e

W h o e l s e c a n y o u c o n t a c t if you're feeling

don-nightline.org.uk.

l o w ? Y o u c o u l d c o n t a c t o n e of t h e C o l l e g e

about it: d e p r e s s i o n c a n be a d o w n w a r d s p i -

s t u d e n t c o u n s e l l o r s , or a p r a c t i c e n u r s e or

ral involving - for s o m e - f e e l i n g t h a t it's not

d o c t o r in the H e a l t h C e n t r e .

w o r t h c a r r y i n g on with the c o u r s e , or i n d e e d (for a s m a l l p r o p o r t i o n of p e o p l e ) with y o u r

The C o l l e g e C o u n s e l l o r s are D a v i d A l l m a n ,

life. S o m e t i m e s d e p r e s s e d p e o p l e feel suici-

S a r a h C o o k e and V i c k y J e s s u p . David and

d a l , a n d s o m e t i m e s d e p r e s s e d p e o p l e kill

S a r a h a r e b a s e d on t h e S o u t h K e n s i n g t o n

t h e m s e l v e s . C l e a r l y , it's vital to interrupt this

c a m p u s . T o a r r a n g e an a p p o i n t m e n t ,

pattern. A l t h o u g h the last thing y o u

c a n be c o n t a c t e d as follows:

they :

might

•

want to do is to talk to s o m e o n e about how you're f e e l i n g , it's i m p o r t a n t that y o u do . Y o u

D a v i d - 15 P r i n c e ' s G a r d e n s , t e l e -

might b e imagining t h a t y ou' r e t h e only per-

p h o n e 0 2 0 7 5 9 4 9 4 3 0 (internal e x t e n -

son in the w o r l d feeling like this, and not c o p -

sion 49430), e-mail d.allman@ic.ac.uk -

ing, but t h e r e a r e c e r t a i n l y o t h e r

M o n d a y to F r i d a y .

students

around w h o will be feeling the s a m e w a y , yet

Pulse

S a r a h - R o o m G 3 0 , R o y a l S c h o o l of M i n e s ,

• 22nd January 2001

• Felix •

Why m e ? M a n i c Losing my mind

Depression

thing h a p p e n i n g , a n d I w o u l d a s s u m e it had

first, meant I couldn't drink and m a d e me

gone away. I w a s always wrong. I just kept two

embarrassingly c l u m s y for a few w e e k s . I w a s

ou may not k n o w how c o m m o n it is, or how

tapes in my b a g ; " H a p p y a l b u m " a n d " S a d

on the v e r g e of giving up w h e n I first felt what

many p e o p l e o u r a g e s u f f e r from it, but

songs" and wallowed in a m o o d w h e n n e c e s -

should have been a horrible w a v e of depressio n

Bipolar Disorder is d a m n serious and can take

sary.

on holiday, but s o m e h o w it w a s more gentle.

over e v e r y m i n u t e o f y o u r life, w r e c k your

It w a s only w h e n I g o t to u n i v e r s i t y that

A f t e r a f e w months of upping the d o s e I w a s

degree, friendships, relationships, and even kill

things got more interesting. I had w h a t ' s known

still getting d e p r e s s e d , and eventually they put

you. I'm telling you my story in the hope some

as "mixed manias". Think of it this w a y ; y o u ' v e

m e on an a n t i d e p r e s s a n t , which s e e m s to be

of you are going to

got two dials " m o o d " and " m o o d energy" . Y o u

k i c k i n g in n o w . I still h a v e to g o for t h e r a p y

can have high mood and high energy (a high),

e v e r y w e e k , which is a bit e m b a r r a s s i n g , but

recognise it and get help

before it's too late. I can't really say w h e n it s t a r t e d , but I'd go

low m o o d and low e n e r g y ( d e p r e s s e d ) , low

i t ' s n i c e to b e a b l e to s o u n d off a b o u t m y

for s o m e t i m e a r o u n d t h e a g e of 14. I was

energy (mood c e a s e s to exist- y o u get with-

stresses once a week.

bright at school, and I s u p p o s e I still am, so I

drawn, this is one mixed mania) and high ener-

hardly noticed w h e n I got "high" . I'd just gradu-

gy and low m o o d . This is p r o b a b l y the m o s t

ally get more and m o r e energy and slowly work

dangerous one a n d y o u c a n s t a r t d o i n g a n d

(or bipolar disorder as d o c t o r s call it). It mostly

myself into a f r e n z y . It w a s u s u a l l y during

saying absolutely crazy things. W i t h m e I dis-

affects the most talented and intelligent peo-

I'd

H e r e ' s the facts; about 1 % of the population are believed to suffer from manic d e p r e s s i o n

homework, or while doing s o m e kind of exer-

covered a f o n d n e s s for h u r t i n g m y s e l f .

cise. I'd just fling m y s e l f into w o r k and rush

either start punching or flinging myself at solid

e x a m p l e , I w a s at a V a n G o g h e x h i b i t i o n

through it all l i k e I w a s k i n g of t h e world.

objects or people in clubs, or sit at home and

r e c e n t l y , a n d it w a s f a s c i n a t i n g to s e e his

Sometimes it w a s useful, but being that hyper

dig sharp objects into my arm. It w a s only by

m o o d s . W e had his painting " m a n i a s " w h e r e

meant I was prone to making s o m e incredibly

cutting that I could really calm myself down and

he'd churn out a d o z e n bright yellow pictures in

stupid m i s t a k e s . R u n n i n g w a s a pretty good

get some sleep, and I spent an eternity w a s h -

a month, and his d e p r e s s i o n s , w h e r e he'd pro-

way of getting rid of all that surplus energy, but

ing blood out of my sheets!

ple, and has done throughout

history. For

duce one s a d , brown and red introspective self

I also had a tendency to m a k e stupid mistakes-

By the second y ea r my mood swings w e r e s o

portrait in a year. The tragedy is, it's relatively

not noticing loose paving s t o n e s and cars until

frequent I w a s having s e r i o u s t r o u b l e g o i n g

e a s y to treat- there w a s no need for his life to

the last possible moment- I'm pretty surprised I

about my daily life. I'd get o b s e s s e d with s o m e

b e d e s t r o y e d by his b l e a k m o o d s , s e l f - h a r m

rarely got hurt.

idea- going running, going to the pub, cleaning

and eventual death if h e ' d been alive today.

I said bipolar, but I didn't call it that for years.

out the fridge- but by the time I got ready to go

Of course it had a d o w n s i d e , and it was deep

I'd just suddenly crash again, and just sit in my

exactly compos

down, and it w a s fast. I'd just be slowing from a

room and cry. I don't even want to think about

All I c a n r e m e m b e r about a lot things that hap-

high, when I'd think about something bad, and

how my C o l l e g e work went down the pan.

p e n e d in m y life involve l o a d s of t i m e s p e n t

I think y o u could argue that I haven't been for about the last four y e a r s .

get hooked on it. It could be something I'd said,

I only really r e a l i s e d I n e e d e d help w h e n I

g o i n g up a n d d o w n all t h e t i m e - I think I

done, or even a s h o e l a c e undone (I'm not kid-

went out with s o m e friends and had a serious

w r e c k e d a lot of my t e e n s b e c a u s e of it. I can't

ding). S u d d e n l y this w a v e w o u l d just come

attack of the crazies. Fuelled by (some) alco-

help but w o n d e r what m y life would be like if I'd

over me, and just t ake o v e r all my thoughts. It's

hol, I w a s a l t e r n a t i n g b e t w e e n c r y i n g , w i t h -

got help y e a r s a g o . I'm pretty certain of one

Pretty difficult to explain a serious depression

drawn, e n t h u s i a s t i c a n d h e a d b u t t i n g w a l l s

thing though, if I hadn't got help w h e n I did, I

someone w h o hasn't had one, but you can't

every five minutes. It didn't help that it w a s

wouldn't be around to write this.

pull yourself out of it", it's like quicksand. It takes you over; you s u d d e n l y feel the world's

exam time- G o d k n o w s h o w I p a s s e d . S o o n

I'll leave you with this thought. If 1% of the

after the exams I went to s e e a psychiatrist at

country have this, that m e a n s 100 people are

the Health C e n t r e . I couldn't believe I w a s s e e -

thinking v e r y d e e p l y right n o w . It's p r o b a b l y

y° room with the curtains drawn- you're just

ing a p s y c h i a t r i s t , but g i v e n w h a t I'd

been

even more, b e c a u s e Imperial s t u d e n t s are

Paralysed by this horrible black w a v e . I didn't

through in the past months I s t o p p e d caring.

more intelligent and creative, s o more prone to

f suicidal, but I w a s a l w a y s terrified I would, Pecai e I knew there w a s very little I could do about -1 went on like this until I got to univer% . It a s one of those things I took for grantd, lik h a v i n g a h e a d a c h e or s o m e t h i n g . Nothi 9 I could do, just lie d o w n , go for a walk and ' Ion ^ y f P P' passed. Periods of time would pass without any-

He told me to read a book called An

9° g to end, listen to d e p r e s s i n g music, stay in

u s

Unquiet

Mind by K a y Redfield J a m i s o n . A l t h o u g h the timescales vary (they can be anything from 4

it. But you don't have to go through all this any more. Y o u c a n get your life back. Ed's

note:

All

articles

in this series

mood swings per year to four per day), it w a s

just like a page out of my life. S o there it w a s ,

through Felix. If you wish to contribute

in black and white; " B ipola r Affective Disorder

me- all enquires

type II with ultra-rapid cycling).He put m e on a

confidence.

mood stabiliser.which m a d e me really tired at

disorders

anonymous,

but you

can contact

the

are author

S t a

r o r n

e o

u n t i

it:

N i x • 22nd January 2001 •

will be treated in the

information

can be found at

Pulse

contact strictest psychiatric

www.mind.org

detection was rather simple.

Tremor Terror No More E a r t h q u a k e s kill t h o u s a n d s every y e a r and we continue

onward

from

the

devastation

S o m e time

before a q u a k e o c c u r s , redistribution of pres-

D e n s i t i e s more than 2 time, h i g h e r t h a n t h o s e p r e v i o u s l y produced a ,

sure t ak es place just below the Earth's crust.

t e m p e r a t u r e s of o v e r 1 trillion d e g r e e s create!

A s a result, in the a r e a w h e r e redistribution is

as the gold

happening s u r p l u s c h a r g e s a p p e a r and the

m a d e by m a n .

a t o m s w e r e blasted together.

geo-electric field shifts.

r e m o r s e f u l at the l o s s of life but m a i n t a i n a

S c i e n t i s t s believe that d e n s e matter likethaik

s e n s e that such things are out of our control.

being f o r m e d in the collider existed a few mil'

C e r t a i n l y when my house fell to pieces during

lionths of a s e c o n d after the B i g Bang and are';

the Northridge C a l i f o r n i a e a r t h q u a k e of 1994 I

thus useful

c a m e away from the e x p e r i e n c e with a feeling of r e s i g n e d a c c e p t a n c e .

in d e v e l o p i n g an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of our Jj

A f t e r a l l , w e can't

v e r s e ' s formation.

p r e d i c t this w r a t h of g o d sort of stuff... c a n we?

They are also hopeful that

t h e v i o l e n t c o l l i s i o n s will b r e a k protons andl

W e l l , p h y s i c s r e s e a r c h e r s at M o s c o w

neutrons into their s u b c o m p o n e n t s , quarks and"

S t a t e University are proposing that earth-

gluons, further revealing the mysterious inter!

q u a k e s do not have to be u n p r e d i c t a b l e any

nal structure of nuclei.

longer. In the 19th c e n t u r y an a s t r o n o m e r

named

D o m e n i c A r a g o e identified the polarization of

;

solar light reflecting off the s u r f a c e of s e v e r a l p l a n e t s in our s o l a r s y s t e m .

Stardust

interesting

find to be sure, but particularly fascinating w a s the discover y by s c i e n t i s t s in M o s c o w that the

Last M o n d a y , soaring 3 , 7 0 0 miles above the

polarization of solar light reflecting off our very

southeastern

o w n planet c a n tell us about the g e o - e l e c t r i c

S t a r d u s t s p a c e c r a f t took it's c l o s e s t flyby of'

field generated by the earth's plastic interior.

coast

Africa,

NASA'sj

Earth. The spacecraft "did it just near perfect, ly" s a i d S t a r d u s t

' R o l l

project

m a n a g e r Tonf

Duxbury, The S a n A n d r e a s

Fault

"we're on our w a y past the moon right now." | If all g o e s well S t a r d u s t will round the sup. again and reach c o m e t W i l d - 2 in January of J

P h y s i c s r e s e a r c h e r s s t a r t e d by s u g g e s t i n g that to predict e a r t h q u a k e s it w a s enough to p l a c e a n u m b e r of m o n i t o r s in q u a k e p r o n e areas which detect c h a n g e s in the Earth's geoelectric field. In theory this would work, but unfortunately costly.

it is t e c h n i c a l l y difficult a n d

H o w e v e r , m e a s u r i n g c h a n g e s in the

g e o - e l e c t r i c field c a n be d o n e by m e a s u r i n g c h a n g e s in the p o l a r i z a t i o n of the s o l a r light reflected from the s u r f a c e of the E a r t h .

The

polarization a l w a y s c h a n g e s in the a r e a s where intensity of the electric field i n c r e a s e s . S o , if you can monitor the c h a n g i n g polarization of the light reflected from different parts of the Earth and find the locations where it is shifting rapidly you can predict e a r t h q u a k e s . H o u s e D e s t r o y e d in Northridge,

1994

California s

2 0 0 4 . T h e s p a c e c r a f t has the unusual mis "'''j

Earthquake.

Dense

Stuff

of c o l l e c t i n g c o m e t d u s t .

While

see^K

unimportant, this dust is thought to be p l a n e t o c c u r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y in a r e a s w h e r e

4.5 billion y e a r s old a n d its collection could'*

The field fluctuates as movement within the S m a s h i n g gold a t o m s together and looking at

s c i e n t i s t s much about the early solar sys ^ 0

" W e ' r e g o i n g f or war d in s p a c e explora*' "

e a r t h q u a k e s a r e i m m i n e n t , a n d s c i e n t i s t s in

the results is the activity which the s c i e n t i s t s

M o s c o w believed further analysis of the geo-

at the B r o o k h a v e n H e a v y Ion C o l l i d e r h a v e

go b a c k w a r d in time" D u x b u r y said.

e l e c t r i c field would eventually allow e a r t h -

been involved in lately.

The

t a s k is e s s e n t i a l l y to verify the theories

quake prediction.

c r e a t i o n of t h e h i g h e s t d e n s i t y m a t t e r e v e r

c o m e t s are thought to have brought m°

The theory behind

Science

the

A n d the results?

S t a p j

22nd January 2001 • Felix •

,1,6 water and c h e m i c a l building blocks to the

a c r e s of forest from i n d u s t r y a n d d e v e l o p -

Earth.

ment. Republicans are very upset over what they c o n s i d e r an outright a b u s e of t h e e x e c u t i v e

Clinton's Eleventh Hour

office (my heart is breaking). However, B u s h has remained silent.

T h e only c o m m e n t a r y

from his camp on these issues has c o m e from Clinton's final d a y s have c o m e to a close,

his s p o k e s m a n S c o t t M c C l e l l a n , " W e a r e

but they w e r e hardly d a y s that he spent twid-

reviewing all eleventh-hour executive orders,

dling his thumbs.

In the period of the presi-

rules and regulations and will make decisions

dency t e r m e d "the e l e v e n t h hour" C l i n t o n ,

a f t e r P r e s i d e n t - e l e c t B u s h is s w o r n i n t o

much to t h e c h a g r i n of h i s c o n s e r v a t i v e

office.

rivals, blasted into environmental action.

a n c e d a p p r o a c h to our e n v i r o n m e n t that is

his final w e e k of o f f i c e he created six new

based on working closely with s t a t e s a n d

national m o n u m e n t s .

local communities."

W h i l e technically not

the most heavily p r o t e c t e d

The president-elect believes in a bal-

lands in the USA

(national p a r k s ) , n a t i o n a l m o n u m e n t s are heavily c o v e r e d by environmental safeguards

automatic docking d o e s not go a s planned. In

A Mir six weeks

and perhaps most importantly can be created

M a r c h , the s t a t i o n ' s t h r u s t e r s will b e fired in

through t h e s i m p l e p r o c e s s of p r e s i d e n t i a l decree. It is for this reason that more

order to t ake it down into the t hicker a t m o s -

than

phere, where it is e x p e c t e d to break up. M o s t

I million acres of federal land in the west has

The R u s s i a n G o v e r n m e n t has s e t a d a t e of

suddenly been t h r o w n off limits to industry

M a r c h 6th for the destruction of t h e v e t e r a n

p h e r e , with the larger o n e s e x p e c t e d to

and developers.

M i r s p a c e station. It follows an eventful fif-

splas h down in the P a c i f i c O c e a n .

of t h e p i e c e s s h o u l d burn up in t h e a t m o s -

teen y e a r s , including a variety of fires, c r a s h -

H o w e v e r , there a r e f e w g u a r a n t e e s that the

es and computer failiures, a n d most recently

operation will go as p l a n n e d . R u s s i a n scien-

a l l c o n t a c t w i t h t h e s t a t i o n w a s l o s t on

t i s t s s a y t h a t t h e y a r e c o n f i d e n t it will g o

C h r i s t m a s D a y . In recent y e a r s the R u s s i a n s

ahead without any faults, but the only c o m -

have c o m e under i n c r e a s i n g p r e s s u r e f r o m

p a r a b l e o p e r a t i o n in S p a c e h i s t o r y is t h e

N a s a to s c u t t l e t h e c r a f t a n d c o n c e n t r a t e

d e o r b i t i n g of S k y l a b in t h e 1 9 7 0 s , w h i c h

their thin r e s o u r c e s on t h e

r e s u l t e d in a n e x h i l a r a t i n g f e w h o u r s f o r

International

Space Station, Alpha.

m u c h of t h e S o u t h e r n H e m i s p h e r e , b e f o r e t h e S t a t i o n finally hit part of t h e A u s t r a l i a n

A n unmanned supply ship is due to dock with

outback. W i t h the C h r i s t m a s D a y incident

the s t a t i o n

fresh in their minds, f e w peopl e a r e d i s m i s s -

t o d a y in o r d e r t o r e f u e l

it,

although M o s c o w are believed to have an

ing t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t M i r h a s o n e o r t w o

e m e r g e n c y c r e w s t a n d i n g b y in c a s e t h e

surprises left for the w o r l d .

C U T These national m o n u m e n t s a r e only the final

B L O W D R V

ONLY B Y E X P E R I E N C E D ST YUST SJ * 0 . £ 2 0 L A D I E S \ *>">% &

n i 0 V e s

i n

a s e r i e s of e l e v e n t h hour environ-

mental d e c i s i o n s w h i c h C l i n t o n has b e e n ^

a k i n

He has c r e a t e d the U . S . Virgin

ar|

d Coral Reef N a t i o n a l Monument, which 'iclud es m o r e t h a n 1 2 , 0 0 0 a c r e s of s u b mer

AIR salO

the

cheapest

student

° > including H u r r i c a n e H o l e and a r e a s

j" 'ne e c o s y s t e m . 'ssouri R i e V

the

best

around!'

X5:i Harrington Road

n t a n a

South Kerssingum

P r o t e c t e d the U p p e r

B r e a k s , 3 7 7 , 0 0 0 acres along

" l i l e s o f t h e r i v e r in

London SWT j K s

north-central

il Mitutte' tratk from

t h e o n l y m a j o r p o r t i o n of t h e

South K?w;itH>lxuf

fre s

" W i n

6 g m

Hist

3 e

r e s e r v e c

i n

r a i

lube}

i t s

' P l natural, 9 s t a t e . It a l s o is the p r e m i e r e °

offer

but

h and south of S t . J o h n . T h e area c o n -

ms all the e l e m e n t s of a C a r i b b e a n tropical

M E N

L 'Not

9 e d lands within a three-mile belt off S t .

n o r t

£11

National A n d s h i e l d e d nearly 67 million

N i x . 22nd January 2001 •

Telephone

02 0 7823

8968

Science

ft)

B r e a t h e

Felix's travel writers recently Philipines.

Jon

Enoch

d e e p l y

left the bright lights of Hong Kong for the blue seas of th$

goes under. mother w o u l d have w a n t e d me to rake

I l i l H

up the past of e v e r y instructor, s e a r c h ing for long f o r g o t t e n

misdemeanours

but at the e n d of the d a y , w h e n it c a m e to it, I t r u s t e d my gut instinct. I figured that if I w a s g o i n g to pay s o m e o n e to w a t c h me d r o w n , I m i g h t a s w e l l like them! The p r a c t i c a l e l e m e n t s of s c u b a diving are taught to y o u during five c o n fined w a t e r s e s s i o n s that s o m e t i m e s

J o n E n o c h and Liz W i g g

take p l a c e in a s w i m m i n g p o o l , but in my

c a s e in the s e a , w h e r e y o u are taught

skills

e h a d a r r i v e d in t h e P h i l i p p i n e s f r o m

y o u w o u l d n e e d in t h e u n l i k e l y e v e n t

that

Hong Kong knowing

anything went w r o n g .

little about

the

7 0 0 0 o r s o islands that m a k e up the a r c h i p e l a -

W i t h i n m i n u t e s of s t a r t i n g my t r a i n i n g , I found myself sitting on the s e a floor, n e r v o u s

h e a d e d for the c l o s e s t b e a c h in our inevitable

a s h e l l , t r y i n g to f o l l o w t h e s k i l l s m y d i v e

style,

vulture and

a r r i v e d in

thus

m •

Puerto

Galera. We

If I w a s going to pay

•

were

a m a z e d at how m a n y c l o t h e s a n d s h o e s h o p s m a n a g e d to

s o m e o n e to w a t c h me d r o w n , I may as w e l l like them

instructor

this many to m a k e - e n d s - m e e t there had to be beneath those crystal waters there

The

lurking must

h a v e b e e n s o m e s i g h t s w o r t h my s c r u t i n y . I e v e n t u a l l y s e l e c t e d an i n s t r u c t o r and dive s h o p for my o p e n w a t e r c o u r s e . I'm s u r e my

could go w r o n g a n d p l a y e d out e n d l e s s disaster s c e n a r i o s in my h e a d . M y i n s t r u c t o r a n d I did the c l a s s i c backw a r d roll off the d i v e boat into the crystalc l e a r S o u t h C h i n a S e a , and o n e more childh o o d a m b i t i o n w a s c o m p l e t e d . T h e previous

f i r s t

b r e a t h s

y o u

t a k e

under water are

5J 9

quite

n i g h t s w o r r i e s w e r e s o o n f o r g o t t e n as we d e s c e n d e d to the s e a floor. A l l around me the

and

even

though

array of dive s h o p s that b e g g a r e d belief. F o r s o m e t h i n g to t h i s s c u b a l a r k a n d

Darren was

demonstrating.

s u r v i v e in H o n g K o n g , but on a r r i v a l in P u e r t o G a l e r a , it w a s t h e e n d l e s s

p r o s p e c t of t h i s r e a s s u r i n g c o m f o r t being t a k e n a w a y w a s w o r r y i n g . I imagined all that

g o . H a v i n g s p e n t a f e w d a y s in M a n i l a , w e culture

w a t e r , t h e s u r f a c e w i t h i n e a s y r e a c h . The

c o r a l reef t e a m e d with life. F ish of fantastic' c o l o u r s s w a m n e x t to me o b l i v i o u s of my

w a s just looking at my feet it w a s an e x p e r i -

p r e s e n c e a n d a s w e d r i f t e d along on the cur

e n c e I shall long r e m e m b e r .

rent, I d i s c o v e r e d a c o m p l e t e l y new breath-

In addition to the c o n f i n e d w a t e r l e s s o n s , I

taking w o r l d . T h e P h i l i p p i n e s has some of the

a l s o had to c o m p l e t e f o u r real d i v e s d u r i n g

best marine c o r a l in A s i a and I felt privileged

which you repeat

to w i t n e s s it. I s a w things I had never imag-

the

skills y o u have a l r e a d y learnt. The first dive was

a depth

the half an hour dive vanished in a seeming instant

ined e x i s t e d . I floatH

blue

over coral

shaped like j v a s e s and

s w a m o v e r h u n d r e d s of s e a w o r m s that

t w e l v e metres the

and

ping their hungry m o u t h s at p a s s i n g objects

T h e r e w a s no t i m e to w o r r y about potential

before spent

the

The time flew by a n d the half an hour dive |

e v e n i n g looking

rented

beach

hut

trying to figure

out

head

how

tall

was

it and

thus how far down

I was

g o i n g to b e ! Until now all the

practice

sessions

had

done

had

taken

place in rela-

C o m i n g up for air

Travel Feature

p r o b l e m s , a s my mind w a s far to busy taking in what it s a w .

w h o l e

our

p o k e d t h e i r h e a d s up f r o m the s e a floor snap-1

night

v a n i s h e d in a s e e m i n g instant. A s weascende d a n d b r o k e t h e s u r f a c e , I w a s already, b u r s t i n g to tell L i z all that I had s e e n . Liz h a d d e c i d e d not no lear n to dive and boy did I let her k n o w what she had missed

A f t e r t h r e e m o r e d i v e s had been comP' ' e d , I w a s h a n d e d m y d i v i n g licence- The | the. l i c e n c e e n t i t l e s me to d i v e anywher e m of ^ worl d a n d l a s t s for life. T h e completion d i v e c o u r s e s i g n a l l e d the end of our stay ackP o r t o G a l e r a . C o n s t a n t p a c k i n g and unp ;

ing and d a y s s p e n t on b u s e s g e t s warri"9 lace w a s g r e a t to h a v e s t a y e d put in one P flashing longer than a f e w d a y s but with time by w e wil h a v e to m a k e s o m e tracks if *^ a r e to s e e a f r a c t i o n of w h a t this div c o u n t r y h a s to offer.

tively s h a l l o w

22nd January 2001 • Felix •

Buffet

F e b r ua r y

Dinner,

Cultural

Show

& After-Show

Party

2001

Full Tickets: £14 OSC Members: £12

Reception: 6pm Venue: Sheffield Building Tickets Available From Union Front Desk

All complaints should be addressed to the Editor. If no satisfactory reply is received, contact ICU Exec via the Union President

the bill is put off until later, guess

Please remind your students of the

who will be paying it? That's plen-

v a r i e t y of c o u r s e s now available

ty enough reason for today's s t u -

for

d e n t s to be c o n c e r n e d about cli-

D e p a r t m e n t . F o l l o w i n g t h e sue.

mate change now.

c e s s of "English for scientists" and

Warming?", Felix 1192) as a prob-

Theodore Hong

n o w p l e a s e d t o a n n o u n c e the

lem not worth getting w o r k e d up

Computing

l a u n c h of " S e n s e of humour f

D e a r Felix,

I w o u l d like to c o u n t e r M . A l i C h o u d r y ' s c h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n of climate change ("Praise be to Global

01, C I N E M A , N O !

over.

Dear Felix,

with even B P and Shell, who now support carbon-reduction efforts.

ma theft (Felix N e w s , 17th J a n ) -

T h o u g h M r . C h o u d r y p l a y s up

at the moment it looks as though

uncertainties over whether or not

C A N S O M E O N E WRITE S O M E

K e e p 'em p e e l e d for next term's "Accounting

D e p a r t m e n t h e a d s " and "Writing

D e a r Felix,

warming has occurred in the past

stolen safe will be covered by our

century, the important question is

T h a n k s very much to last w e e k ' s

insurance (though this has not yet

whether

correspondent who s u g g e s t e d the

your columns on time for sabbati-

been confirmed).

next.

H o w e v e r , if the i n s u r a n c e p o l i c y

g e s t s that

w a r m i n g s h o u l d not

restaurant on top of the Q u e e n ' s

hadn't c o v e r e d t h e f t s of m o n e y

yet be detectable, but will acceler-

T o w e r . H e r e in the E s t a t e s d e v i -

t h e n t h e U n i o n w o u l d not

ate in the

sion we are always on the lookout

have

Humanity

for Felix E d i t o r s " . courses,

t h e m o n e y t h a t w a s in c i n e m a ' s

M o s t evidence in fact sug-

the

U n i o n h a c k s " and " S t a y i n g happy

D E C E N T LETTERS?

warming will occur in the

" M a t h e m a t i c s for m e d i c s " , we are

In this he p a r t s c o m p a n y

J u s t a quick correction on the cine-

free

r e v o l u t i o n a r y idea of a r e v o l v i n g

cals".

Bueno asthente J a n e Bradfield, Humanities

refunded the loss - this is bec aus e

coming d e c a d e s .

for new and original ideas for how

I D O N ' T C A R E IF Y O U W A N T MY

the money should have been put in

M r . C h o u d r y a l s o c o n t e n d s that

to i m p r o v e the C o l l e g e e n v i r o n -

H E A D O N A P L A T E , J U S T SEND

the bank the morning after the all-

warming predictions have been

m e n t . In f a c t , I a m p l e a s e d to

nighter, but was instead left in the

declining with better

announce that the

safe over the entire

Christmas

implying that d o u b t l e s s the prob-

will now go a h e a d , after C o l l e g e

vacation. This is a serious breach

lem will all go away when we know

s e c u r e d a donation from D a m i e n

of f i n a n c i a l p r o c e d u r e s a n d is

more.

being dealt with accordingly.

only one a s p e c t --

models,

Unfortunately, warming is for e x a m p l e ,

SOMETHING!!

development D e a r M r J o h n Clifford,

H i r s t , the well k n o w n r e s t a u r a n -

I saw your picture on your page 3

teaur, w h o is looking to o p e n up

few months ago and I have really

C a n I therefore take this opportu-

s o m e m o d e l s s h o w less w a r m i n g

another

nity to remind everyone who han-

yet predict greater effects

"Pharmacy"

dles

money

another dimension such as rainfall,

C o l l e g e architects, F o s t e r and

really like reading y o u r editorials

membership sub-

which might be equally catastroph-

Partners,

the

and your news stories. I am sorry to hear that you don't get to sleep

club

(whether it be

society

franchise

his

wanted to talk to you ever since. I

restaurant.

The

think you talk a lot of sense and I

a s s u r e us t h a t

scriptions or other sorts of income)

ic.

scheme is viable, and have insisted

that all c a s h should be d e p o s i t e d

M o s t w o r r y i n g , h o w e v e r , is M r .

that there is no need to call in a

much, and I would like to do your

in the bank as soon as

C h o u d r y ' s p e r v e r s e e q u a t i n g of

structural engineer to check.

job for a night s o you can go and

the

positive effects of clubbing in

The restaurant, due for completion

s l e e p . O r if y o u are having prob-

Finance Office can follow along

Torquay with the negative effects

in 2010, will also house B a s i c s dur-

lems s l e e p i n g I would sing you to

l a t e r , but to s a v e y o u r s e l f

of m a s s f a m i n e and f l o o d i n g in

ing the S o u t h s i d e redevelopment.

s l e e p . I have d e c o r a t e d my room

H o w e v e r , the a r c h i t e c t s

have

with lots of pictures of you. I wish I w a s t h a t p e n . Y o u h a v e a nice

possible - the income form for the the

e m b a r a s s m e n t of having all y o u r

Bangladesh.

His rosy economic

club's m e m b e r s h i p s u b s c r i p t i o n s

picture of lower housing and cloth-

asked us to ensure that all queues

s t o l e n (naming no n a m e s . . . ) just

ing bills a l s o fails to include the

for f o o d in t h e a r e a of d e v e l o p -

smile I bet you are dead clever. I

g e t t h e c a s h o u t of y o u r s o c k

c o s t s of

m e n t a r e f o r m e d in c i r c l e s f r o m

s o m e t i m e s s e e you passing with a

drawer and into the

tropical

crop pests

through

Europe,

NatWest

bank.

malaria, c h o l e r a , and spreading

i n c r e a s e s in

now onwards, and that no swaying

trolley on a M o n d a y and I noticed

motions are allowed to occur.

you like to buy spring rolls around 3 a m on T h u r s d a y . D r Lamb tells |

s e v e r e storms (which c a u s e d 250 Thank you!

Etienne pollard

billion pounds of damage over the

Regards

me I a m bad to w a t c h you, but I

past decade), and heat w a v e s and

Ian C a u l d w e l l , Possibly

really really really want to talk to y o u . P l e a s e c a l l me, and p l

Finally, limiting c a r b o n e m i s s i o n s

don't run away when I talk to y°

Deputy President

need not damage the economy.

(Finance & Services)

U.S.

Imperial C o l l e g e Union

s h o w e d that s i m p l y e n c o u r a g i n g

Dept.

greater Thanks,

looks

that £12,000

like I'd better I've

got

bank stashed

away- Ed

DELUGE & SLIDING M U D

e a s e

water shortages.

Energy

study

It m a k e s me s a d .

10,000 O F Y O U , I P R E F E R T O C H U C K THESE OUT

I'm your biggest fan.

e n e r g y efficiency could

cut emissions by a third while also saving

I MEAN, SERIOUSLY, THERE'S

Dear Felix,

Eric S h e p h e r d

billions on energy expens-

es. The E c o n o m i s t a g r e e s that

The deadline for letters intended for publication is W e d n e s d a y 12"°°

action must be taken now as the

- drop into the office or email f e l i x @ i c . a c . u k . L e t t e r s may be edited f°

cost will only increase later. And if

length but not grammar or spelling.

• 22nd January 2001

• Felix •

done it b e f o r e . O u r v a l u a b l e t i m e N

LOOK'ERE!

|MMA

S L

was

wasted on c o u r s e w o r k c o n t a i n i n g

WALKER

mass

w o r d s to s a y to

post

s u p p o s e d to h a v e l e c t u r e s 9 to

were

12, an

balances no h a r d e r t h a n a j u n i o r l o g i c p u z -

e x a m (not t e s t )

zle b e c a u s e the M S c s w e r e c o n f u s e d . O u r

f i v e . O u r T h u r s d a y a f t e r n o o n t h i s w e e k is

timetable is c h a n g e d w i t h l e s s t h a n

a c t u a l l y f r e e , but it d o e s n ' t fit in w i t h w h a t

twenty

four hour s n o t i c e s o t h e M S c s t u d e n t s c a n Firstly. I

9 to 5 l e c t u r e s ? T h i s T u e s d a y w e

have p r e l i m i n a r y l e c t u r e s . I d o n ' t w a n t

the M S c s are doing.

graduates c o m p l a i n i n g a b o u t b e i n g f i n a n -

really s t a r t

cially i m p o v e r i s h e d -

just s a y w e did not h a v e a t h i r d y e a r c o -

point. W e have a staff student

ordinator until the last d a y of t e r m .

and dedicated year reps who attend meet-

W e do t e c h n i c a l l y h a v e a n o p t i o n . W e a r e

these m e e t i n g s . The only s y s t e m that gave

ah d i d d u m s .

undergraduates y o u h a d g r a n t s , didn't tuition f e e s a n d d i d n ' t

As pay

on t h e l a c k of s t a f f , but

12 to 2 a n d l e c t u r e s 2 to

lets

g r a d u a t e w i t h an

average of £ 1 0 , 0 0 0 d e b t . Y e s , t h e r e halls of r e s i d e n c e f o r y o u , a n d y o u

are

aren't

W h y rant to u s y o u s a y . T h a t is m y t h i r d committee

i n g s . N o t h i n g c o m e s of o u r c o n t r i b u t i o n r e q u i r e d to d o ( o n t o p o f a

twenty-five

us n o t a b l e r e s p o n s e s f r o m l e c t u r e s w a s

forced to p a y p r i v a t e s e c t o r L o n d o n r e n t s

hour l e c t u r e s c h e d u l e a n d t w e n t y

for two or t h r e e y e a r s if y o u c o u l d n ' t

minimum of a s s e s s e d c o u r s e w o r k a w e e k )

T h e s e n o w h a v e b e e n r e p l a c e d w i t h an

one of a b o u t t w e n t y r e - a p p l i c a n t p o s i t i o n s ,

to do a h u m a n i t i e s o p t i o n . W e c a n c h o o s e

unsuccessful internet

lam a w a r e t h a t n o t a l l P G c o u r s e s a r e

which h u m a n i t i e s o p t i o n .

not i n c l u d e o u r d e p a r t m e n t .

get

However

funded, but y o u a r e s u p p o s e d l y o l d e r a n d

aren't g i v e n t i m e to a t t e n d

wiser than u s . S o t h e n w h y d i d y o u c h o s e

Last t e r m w e c h o s e o u r o p t i o n a n d

to c o m e t o i m p e r i a l

found

fucking

college. I

wouldn't.

had

hours

five/six

the old pink

lecturer

feedback

forms.

version which does

the c o u r s e . then

hours

S o that's why you're getting this.

timetable l e c t u r e s at l u n c h t i m e e a c h w e e k

F i n a l l y , o n a d i f f e r e n t s u b j e c t , w h a t is t h e

our c l a s s e s h a d to b e o n o b s c u r e d a y s o r

o b s e s s i o n w i t h w e a r i n g s h o e s in t h e s h o w -

Secondly ( a n d t h i s is w h y I d i s l i k e p o s t -

times. The l e c t u r e s w e c o u l d a t t e n d

ers and around the s w i m m i n g pool? Y o u

graduates) m y c o u r s e s y l l a b u s l i e d .

on F r i d a y l u n c h t i m e s . N o w a f t e r

were

commit-

tests

a r e a b o u t to s w a l l o w X a m o u n t of

claimed w e h a v e a v a r i e t y of c o u r s e s A M D

ting to the ' o p t i o n , s t u d y i n g f o r t h e

have o p t i o n s in t h e t h i r d a n d f o u r t h y e a r .

and a g o n i s i n g o v e r t h e e x t r a c o u r s e w o r k ,

underestimate)

Actually, w h a t h a p p e n s is t h a t a s w e a r e a

this term w e h a v e t i m e t a b l e d l e c t u r e s o n a

hygiene really that important?

small y e a r g r o u p ( n o w n u m b e r i n g e l e v e n ) ,

Friday l u n c h t i m e . S t i l l o n t h e

has

issue, I h a v e a q u e s t i o n for y o u a l l . D o y o u think t h a t l e c t u r e s f r o m 9 t o 5 ( w i t h n o lunchbreak) is r e a s o n a b l e for f i r s t y e a r s let

Thankyou

low a g r o u p of M S c s t u d e n t s a r o u n d

the

alone t h i r d y e a r s w i t h b i g p r o j e c t s ,

everywhere.

building. O u r ' v a r i e d ' c o u s e s i n c l u d e d

the

pieces of a s s e s s e d c o u r s e w o r k a w e e k a n d

4-5

same c h e m i s t r y c o u r s e f o r t h e t h i r d y e a r in

TOWN V

printed ment

The

haven't

h a v e p i s s e d i n . Is

an foot

P S I really like y o u r editiorials.

of its q u a l i t y t e a c h i n g s t a f f w e s i m p l y f o l -

a row b e c a u s e t h e M S c s t u d e n t s

diluted

10 p e o p l e (at

timetabling

sacked or is in t h e p r o c e s s of s a c k i n g m o s t

and t h e R S M ( T H H u x l e y S c h o o l )

b e a c h w h i c h at l e a s t

Summa,

flattery

In future

if they contain

will

get

you

articles

will only

at least

one

compli-

-Ed

lix

COUNTRY?

traditional

s o u r c e s of i n c o m e e v a p o r a t e ,

for o n e r e a s o n or a n o t h e r , a n d w h o d e p e n d IAIN A N G U S

ists is that t h e y p l a c e t h e w e l f a r e of a n i -

in m a n y a r e a s o n t h e l u c r a t i v e

mals a b o v e the w e l f a r e of p e o p l e . T o m e ,

sports industry. Without

country

this, they'd have

Animal rights p e o p l e s e e m to b e o n e of the

people s h o u l d b e i n t r i n s i c a l l y m o r e i m p o r -

n o t h i n g left a n d b e c o m e a f u r t h e r

f e

« groups of p e o p l e t h a t I c a n h o n e s t l y

tant to o t h e r p e o p l e t h a n a n i m a l s . A c t s of

on our bloated welfare system.

s a

y that I h a v e n o t h i n g

violence a g a i n s t p e o p l e o r d e s t r o y i n g t h e i r

in c o m m o n w i t h

whatsoever. I s e e m to b e in t h e

burden

extreme

ways of life is a far m o r e h e i n o u s o f f e n c e

W h a t w o r r i e s m e m o s t of all, e v e n more

minority a r o u n d h e r e but I'm f r o m a s m a l l

than a n y t h i n g y o u c o u l d d o to a n a n i m a l .

t h a n t h e b r u t a l a t t a c k s o n p e o p l e , is t h a t

village in the Y o r k s h i r e c o u n t r y s i d e , e n j o y

I'm not s a y i n g t h a t u n n e c e s s a r y a b u s e of

t h e s e g r o u p s of v i o l e n t

stJ

animals is right, its j u s t a q u e s t i o n of prior-

s t o p . T h e y w o n ' t s t o p unt il n o b o d y in this

ch hobbies a s f i s h i n g a n d s h o o t i n g a n d I

eel obliged to s t a n d up f o r t h e r i g h t s of the People that t h e s e city dwelling activists t a r g e t .

(I don't k n o w h o w t h e v o t e in p a r l i a m e n t on f o x

hunting

has gone yet

but

ity.

won't

c o u n t r y is a l l o w e d t o e a t m e a t . T h e i r i d e a l s o c i e t y is o n e in w h i c h m e a t d o e s n ' t f e a -

In trying to b a n fox h u n t i n g , t h e e x t r e m i s t s

t u r e , t hey ' l l h a v e a g o at s t a g

have p i c k e d an e a s y t a r g e t . F o x h u n t i n g is

rough shooting, driven shooting,

a c o u n t r y s p o r t , w h i c h it h a s l o n g

(the m o s t p a r t i c i p a t e d in s p o r t in t h e c o u n -

been

I would

perceived to be m a i n l y d o n e b y " r i c h , u p p e r

majority

class s n o b s " . T h e n e v e r e n d i n g c l a s s w a r in

sume that M P s p e r c e i v e t h a t a

nutcases

hunting, fishing

try) a n d t h e n f i n a l l y m e a t .

o f

the voting p o p u l a t i o n w a n t rid of it a n d

this h i e r a r c h y - m a r r e d c o u n t r y m e a n s t h a t

You may support

w i

" vote in a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h a t , r o g a r d -

it is an e a s y t a s k to d r u m up p u b l i c s u p p o r t

h u n t i n g , f a i r e n o u g h - i t s y o u r d e c i s i o n , but

' ss of their o w n o p i n i o n s a n d of t h e i r o w n

in the a p p a r e n t l y d o w n t r o d d e n , " h o l i e r t h a n

b e a w a r e of w h a t t h e s e p e o p l e

L a m e n t a b o u t w h a t ' s r i g h t or w r o n g ) ,

thou" u r b a n p o p u l a t i o n . N e v e r m i n d

w a n t a n d a s k y o u r s e l f if t h i s is w h a t

he one m a i n t h i n g t h a t I l o a t h e t h e s

about

e animal r i g h t s , l e t s c a l l t h e m , e x t r e m -

c o u n t r y c o u s i n s of t h e s e

the

downtrodden

these people over

want too before you back them

fox

ultimately you

further.

peoples, t h e p e o p l e w h o h a v e s e e n t h e i r

Got something to rant about? Send it to felix@ic.ac.uk. R a n t s must be a m a x i m u m of 7 0 0 w o r d s a n d a r e p r i n t e d at t h e E d i t o r ' s d i s c r e t i o n .

* elix • 22nd January

2001

Letters

R PUT

M o n d a y 5pm

DaVinci's:

Y IT

T H E R E

22.1.2001 Alternative Music Society

12-2 Civ Eng 301: Christian Identity: Jesus- fact or fiction 19:30-21:00 Southside Gym: Shotokan Karate BEGINNERS WELCOME

Tuesday

23.1.2001

12-2 Civ Eng 301: Christian Identity: What does God think about sex? 6-8pm Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu: Wilson House Rec Centre BEGINNERS WELCOME 8:15-11 ish Community Action Group Soup Run: Weeks Hall Kitchen No Commitment, just turn up^ 8pm Davinci's: Bar Trivia

W e d n e s d a y

24.1.2001

12-2 Civ Eng 301: Christian Identity: The Problem the Pain 5pm Reynolds Bar: Magnificent seven (drinking contest) 6-8 Wilson House: Shorinji Kempo 9-1 Union: Cheesy Wotsits. Total cheese in dBs

T h u r s d a y

25.1.2001

12:30pm Southside (Upper Lounge) Motorbike Club 12-2 Civ Eng 301: Christian Identity: The arrogance of Christianity 5:45 Wilson House Rec Centre Self Defence Class 6:45-8:45pm Wilson House Rec Centre Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu BEGINNERS WELCOME 8:15-11ish Weeks Hall Kitchen Community Action Group Soup Run: No Commitment, just turn up 18:30-22:30 Southside Gym: Shotokan Karate BEGINNERS WELCOME 5-11 Davincis: Cocktail Night 8pm dBs: Salsa Night

Diary

• 22nd January 2001 • Felix •

Friday

26.1.2001

•Ipm Southside (Upper Lounge) Photosoc ^2-2 dBs: Christian Identity- Grill-a-Christian 8pm dBs: Common People 7pm UDH: So who's right? College's religious societies battle it out to decide who has the one true religion by holding an illegal dogfight. Fighting dogs supplied by Wye Beagles.

Saturday

27.1.2001

10-12 Southside Gym: Shotokan Karate BEGINNERS WELCOME

Sunday

28.1.2001

Interhall Football 2-4 UDH: Shorinji Kempo 3- 5 Southside Gym: Shotokan Karate BEGINNERS WELCOME

G e t

y o u r

d i a r y

I N

e n t r i e s

B Y

W e d n e s d a y

9 p m

c t o

g e t

1 1

y o u r

E V E N T

P U B L I C I S E D

0 R

F R E E

ESQUIRES C O F F E E

* N i x • 22nd January 2001 •

H O U S E S

OPPOSITE WAITROSE ! . > t I f#SS * * If *

Diary

f r e q u e n c y

Competition Time!

Ministry of Sound Clubbers

Guide

2001

(Ministry of Sound)

y now your juices should be in'

here aren't many d a n c e c o m p i lation

series that

over

years are consistently

the

full f l o w d u e to the anticipa-

tion c a u s e d by the coming of the

innovative

and up to d a t e . O b v i o u s e x a m p l e s

N M E C a r l i n g A w a r d s Shows. Why |

Gatecrasher

s h o u l d y o u c a r e ? W e l l for onei

Global

week only, the N M E invites down'

O n e of t h e

i t ' s f a v o u r i t e b a n d s a n d Carling:

however albums

are

the

and

Underground

the

Albums.

most hotly a w a i t e d d a n c e C D s this

b r i n g s d o w n 12 t r u c k s of lager.

y e a r has b e e n the Clubbers

T o g e t h e r , t h e y a r e t h e perfect

to 2001

Guide

c om pilat io n and w i t h a c o l -

And You Will Know Us by the

For the last w e e k , J J 7 2 , Amen, the

lection of s u c c e s s f u l o l d e r siblings ( 2 0 0 0 , '99, e t c ) , t h e quality of mix-

Trail of Dead ...

stupidly g o o d A l f i e and Starsailor

Live @ ULU

country. Ending up at the penulti-

h a v e b e e n t r a v e l l i n g round the

ing and range of t r a c k s w a s a l w a y s bound to be g o o d . T h e

theme

remains the s a m e with a look

mate night of the London Astoria

t h e y e a r s up a n d c o m i n g t u n e s .

our g e e k s d r e s s e d in b l a c k ,

s i n g e r J a s o n R e e s e a s s u r e s us

s h o w s . O t h e r b a n d s on display

with a dumb band name and

that " there is nothing left to say

include...Trail of D e a d (see left),

A l t h o u g h s e v e r a l of the t r a c k s will

i m m e d i a t e l y b e familiar to the r e g -

s o n g t i t l e s like Children

u l a r c l u b b e r ' s e a r , m a n y of

Hydra's

the

Teeth.

the

Not exactly a

Red S n a p p e r and A t The Drive-In,

grin stupidly, and pogo harder

E a c h night b e t w e e n J a n 29th and Feb 5th, features 4 acts for a ten-

/ that has not been

tunes are as yet unreleased and

r e c i p e f o r m u s i c a l c o o l , is it?

than before.

s u g g e s t an i n t e r e s t i n g

W e l l , fuck your musical cool.

Y o u t h ' s Daydream

F r o m the moment these g e e k s

flooding back.

predictable

if a l i t t l e

n e a r f u t u r e of

match.

the

M e m o r i e s of S o n i c Nation

A s the

thudding

ner. Tickets are selling quick, and I s o m e of t h e d a t e s have sold out already. This is probably the most

House music s c e n e . The first C D

walk out on s t a g e , the audience

Sign

a r e u t t e r l y in t h e i r t h r a l l .

grin s t u p i d l y (again) a n d

t i o n of b e a t s i n c l u d i n g

Rui D a

tonight, w e are about to experi-

t h i n g s at the b a n d .

Camels,

ence The Most Punk Rock Gig In

and throw things back.

The World ...

themselves, J a s o n surfing around

M e r c u r y R e v , T h e B e t a Band and

the

the a u d i e n c e like D a v i d Y o w

M u s e turned supernova after play-

pure

( J e s u s Lizard) at his most ener-

ing these s h o w s .

getic.

S o the c o m p e t i t i o n ; w e have one J

S i l v e r Touch

me, S a n t o s

Pistol

the p o p u l a r J o s h u a R y a n Whip,

and some sure future clas-

s i c s l i k e C l e p t o m a n i a c s All and the Schiller

very

dark

but

I do

clever

Glockenspiel.

Ever!

The guitars drumming Texan

are loud,

is b r u t a l , a n d

sweat

spatters

the

Children

come

c o n t a i n s a funky, intelligent c o l l e c -

For

Your

said".

k i c k s in, w e throw

They grin,

Then c o m e the

First

instru-

upturned faces of the lucky front-

ments, some torn and tangled.

row punters.

have to wrestle a sweating behe-

f r a n t i c a n d m e s s y w e e k of the I y e a r . O v e r t h e l a s t t w o years fledgling

first

acts

prize

likes

Mogwai,

a N M E Carling

beat melodic tunes played at ear-

moth of a man to grab a g u i t a r

A w a r d s L e a t h e r jacket , which b e e n i n f o r m e d is v e r y nice Then

bleeding volume.

strap. Is it just me, or is this turn-

five runners up will reciece a

Beat

But this is no mere Foo Fighters

ing into Fight Club?

wallets and a bag. The question:

pastiche, and it avoids the whiny

itors and lighting rigs c o m e tum-

W h o w a s the N M E s album of the

crap that m a k e s P l a c e b o such a

b l i n g into t h e pit of p e o p l e , at

year 2000:

revolting prospect these days.

which point the power is cut. The

a) Q u e e n s of the S t o n e A g e

I n s t e a d , w e get furious

ranting,

band leap into the audience, to be

b) Slipknot

the t u n e s f l o w t o g e t h e r s e a m l e s s -

s a r c a s t i c p u t - d o w n s and a d a s h

surrounded by people wanting to

c) S u p e r Furry A n i m a l s

ly a n d p r o v i d e a n o t h e r M u s t B u y

of worldly wise nihilism.

shake their hands, thank them for

Email answers to

the best show of their lives, offer

music.felix@ic.ac.uk

T h e s e c o n d C D is more

upbeat

Storm

Animal

Darude

traditionally

with

tracks

a n d Feel and

sounding, teeth W i t n e s s 7 colours.

the

futuristic

gnashing

Lost

Despite

the

stark v a r i a t i o n s in the m u s i c s t y l e ,

for t h e y e a r 2 0 0 1 . Dom

Mistakes

the

Y o u really can't W i t h shouting.

monster

and

Regrets

riff

tears

a r o u n d the p a c k e d v e n u e , lead

Frequency

Finally, mon-

up their immortal souls ...

Entries by Friday, usual rules Norm

apply, the Editor's decision is

• 22nd January 2001

final-

• Felix •

Singles

A l b u m

by Dave Edwards and A n d y Ash

jason Morphew

Various Artists Shining Light

Badass With a Heart

It's A Shifty Disco Thing...Volume 4 (Infectious)

of Cold

(Shifty Disco)

A s h a r e b a c k on f o r m , a f t e r

the

Nu-Clear

Shifty Disco are better known for discover-

g r o w n up n o n s e n s e of

, g what is best about the Oxford music

Sounds.

scence, or the alt rock scence in the US.

y e a r s s i n c e the last m a t e r i a l , Tim

tions of what music can be? W h o ' s going to move you to tears with a

y t this is their voyage into Southern

W h e e l e r has grown a Billy C o r g a n

single plucked G-string (ahem)?

flavoured US country.

The basic idea is

esque snarl. The subject is standard

Hank Williams with a small dash of Beck.

A s h fair, you know the sort of the

It sounds strange, is chirpy and uplifting,

things, chemical reactions caused

of stairs falling down a set of stairs just for the s a k e of it, then you

vet is exceeding uncool. What the hell, lis-

by lovely ladies. A s h are having a

aren't going to impress anyone. S o m e of the bands on this compilation

ten to this in secret, no one will know.

second adolesence and long may it

have that special something that will always set them apart, whilst the

last.

rest have just added bibbling noises over the top.

St Etienne

In t h e i n t e r v e n i n g

two

Fatboy Slim Macy

ou've got to love grassroots record labels. W h e r e the hell else are

you going to find music that challenges your ingrained preconcep-

O f course, I am being a muso twat. If you are going to sound like a set

S o m e history first. Initially aimed at documenting the surprisingly fertile Oxford indie scene, Shifty D i s c o soon c a s t a wider net once the

Boy Is Crying

Gray

Demons

local reserves of pop-punk and over-earnest indie had been exhausted, by attracting bands from above the M 2 5 and in the U S to their

(Mantra)

(Skint)

roster and monthly Singles C l u b . This album compiles the twelve A sides from that club's fourth year, and like most compilations, there is

Having b e e n a r o u n d f o r n i n e y e a r s

D e m o n s represents a significant

now, St E t i e n n e return o n c e a g a i n ,

change in style for Fatboy Slim. It's

some gack to wade through before you unearth the g e m s .

this time with the r e l a x e d , c o n t e m -

far more laid-back than usual, with

I guess I just have a problem with indie-schmindie songs with stupid

plative style of B o y Is C r y i n g . Taking

a distinctive piano sample. A l s o ,

titles and bad singing. But Locomotiv's "Next Time 'Round" is e s s e n -

elements from s e v e r a l g e n r e s , this

r a t h e r than using s a m p l e d v o c a l s

tially a man and his acoustic, which would have been perfectly pleas-

falls s o m e w h e r e b e t w e e n p o p a n d

f r o m o t h e r p e o p l e ' s m a t e r i a l , this

ant if he hadn't let s o m e o n e dribble over s o m e d e c k s in the back-

garage. It's fairly p l e a s a n t and e a s y

track has a c o m p l e t e l y

ground. The Burt Lump O r c h e s t r a are about as inspiring as their

to listen to, but unremarkable .

v o c a l line, performed

Liquido Play Some

original by M a c y

your cranium. A f t e r a few tracks like that, Black M o s e s appear like a

to be s u c c e s s f u l .

life-saving breath of fresh air simply by being a bit loud.

Semisonic

Chemistry

(MCA)

This starts off well enough as guitar, ]

your eye out with a rusty spoon. Pluto M o n k e y are either the best or worst thing you've ever heard, what with their utterly deranged cutprice Pet S h o p B o y s effort. Vigilance B l a c k S p e c i a l sound genuinely heartfelt for a change, even with a trombone, and P a n d a G a n g are

This is the latest release from the

tass, drums a n d p i a n o c o m b i n e to

band who brought

beautiful

produce a d e c e n t r o c k i n t r o d u c t i o n .

S e c r e t S m i l e and the

anthemic

0 u r

Closing

lead singer then tells a story for a

But there are highlights. Formula 1 step out of Stereolab's shadow and make "indie-rock" a genre that doesn't make you want to gouge

Rock;

(Virgin)

name, and others drag and meander without planting a decent tune in

G r a y . A bit different, but still sure

Time

two

years

ago.

hit, which is all p e r f e c t l y a g r e e a b l e .

Though not as instantly memorable

And then, just as I'm preparing to give

as either of t hose, C h e m i s t r y con-

faux-soul without being an offensive piss-take.

It's a mixed bag, both quality- and style-wise, s o the chances are you'll find something you'll love along with something you'll detest. That's what I found anyway.

''3/5, in comes the chorus, sung by...

tains many of the hallmarks found in

P S - Shifty D i s c o have also released stuff by B e u l a h , C r e e p e r Lagoon

'Â°ad of k i d s . T h i s d o e s s e e m to

other S e m i s o n i c releases, and s o it

and Nought among others. All are a c e , particularly B e u l a h . C h e c k

e r the standard considerably, but

s h o u l d do w e l l . A n e w a l b u m f o l -

them out too.

P t from that this is O K .

lows.

* elix â&#x20AC;˘ 22nd January

Kunal

2001

Frequency

s c r e e n

Vertical Limit

Cast Away to stand out to the academy.

Director: Robert Z e m e c k i s Starring: Tom Hanks and Helen

T h e direction is very workmanlike

Hunt

Vertical

imaginable, and t a k e s banality on

Paxton and Robin Tunney

to a whole new plane. If that was-

his is a film truly for the lowest

chauvinism, possibly the most infu-

c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r ; a film

riating characteristic of big modem

F e d E x s y s t e m s engineer w h o

is R o b e r t Z e m e c k i s , r e s p o n s i b l e

takes his job very seriously - much

for such warm and imaginative

t h a t t h e s t u p i d e s t p e o p l e in t h e

to the chagrin of his girlfriend Kelly

classics as B a c k to the Future and

world will enjoy whilst those with

ing, given that the man at the helm

h a s e v e r y cliche

n't enough, it s m a c k s of American

and u n e m o t i o n a l . This is s u r p r i s huck Noland (Tom Hanks) is a

Limit

Director: Martin C a m p b e l l Starring: C h r i s O ' D o n n e l l , Bill

Hollywood films.

(Helen Hunt). O n one of his trips

F o r e s t G u m p . It s e e m s t h a t in

an o u n c e of i n t e l l i g e n c e will d i s -

In a d d i t i o n , t h e r e are astonishing

his plane c r a s h e s , killing everyone

splitting his attention between this

m i s s w i t h i n t e n s e c o n d s of t h e

errors. The climbers are at 26,000

else on board and stranding him on

and W h a t Lies B e n e a t h (which he

opening credits ending.

and

shot while T o m H a n k s was losing

s t r i p p e d of all e v e r y d a y c o n v e n -

weight for the s e c o n d half of the

The storyline is based on a group

iences he must first s u r v i v e , and

film). S u b s e q u e n t l y hasn't put his

of climbers who becom e stranded

reacts with light whilst in it's metal

then find a way to get back home.

heart into either.

whilst scaling the mountain K 2 .

c o n t a i n e r . T h i s f i l m , in parts, is

The team is led by a businessman

embarrasingly laughable.

remote

island.

Alone

feet yet their breath doesn't condense. The nitroglycerine explosive is luminous green! N o t forgetting it

Obviously much of the s u c c e s s of

T h e plot a n d c h a r a c t e r d e v e l o p -

who is doing it as a publicity stunt

the film lies on Tom H a n k s shoul-

ment is also poor. The relationship

for his c o m p a n y . Y o u k n o w t h e y

G r a n t e d , the locations on the film

ders. H e r e he confirms that he can

between Hanks and Helen Hunt is

are going to fail b e f o r e they put

are unbelievably beautiful and con-

effortlessly carry a film. H e gives a

i n t r o d u c e d t o o q u i c k l y a n d in a

their big furry s o c k s o n . A n y w a y ,

stitute its only redeeming quality-

h e a v y - h a n d e d w a y . T h e r e is no

the brother of one of the stranded

The

giving the audience the impression

effort

(William

decides to launch a rescue mission

m e d i o c r e , whilst M a r t i n Campbell

that he is trying too hard. W h i l e on

B r o y l e s Jr.) to develop any char-

"for the s a k e of my sister and my

the director, has lost the plot (p

the island he m a n a g e s to s u s t a i n

a c t e r o t h e r t h a n H a n k s . T h i s is

d a d " . Y e s , it really is that cliched.

intended) since his previous offer-

surprising given that

he a l s o

B u t g e t - t h i s , t h e y d e c i d e to use

ings of G o l d e n E y e and Mask of

very little happens. H e also s h o w s

penned the excellent A p o l l o 13 in

s o m e s u p e r d u p e r f o r m of n i t r o -

Zorro. B y the end of the film, how-

a light comic touch reminiscent of

which all the main characters were

glycerine to blow them out of the

ever, w h e n the characters are i

three-dimensional. If not for Hanks'

c a v e r n t h e y are t r a p p e d in! F o r

coming

endearing performance C a s t A w a y

G o d ' s s a k e , it d o e s n ' t t a k e a

o e d e m a , you would be forgiven

would be a v e r a g e at best. If only

chemist (which I am) to realise this

thinking that your in the local

the whole film packed his emotion-

isn't a good idea. But the film con-

nose and throat hospital, a

O s c a r . H e has achieved the weight

al punch, then it would have been

tinues plodding along, sincerely

which wou Id probably be more

l o s s / g a i n , which is always a good

very special.

believing it could pull the wool over

than watching Vertical

very subtle performance, never

interest o v e r long p e r i o d s w h e r e

his earlier films (e.g. Big)

The

big

question

though

w h e t h e r he'll w i n t h e b e s t a c t o r

by the

writer

think

his performance is s h o w y enough

are

down

with

b e t t e r than un

pulmonary for e a r

v l S , t t

Â°

Limit.

the audience's e y e s with this, pos-

sign and s e e m s to be an a c a d e m y f a v o u r i t e . H o w e v e r , I don't

cast

Castaway

is in cinemas now. Aamar

sibly the most ridiculous p r o p o s i tion in movie history.

Vertical

Limit is in cinemas n o * Ore"

22nd January 2001

â&#x20AC;˘ Felix â&#x20AC;˘

Quills

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Director: Philip Kaufmann

revolves around Rush and his por-

Director: A n g L e e

Starring: G e o f f r e y R u s h , M i c h a e l

trayal

Starring: Yun-Fat C h o w , Michelle

played to a full house of hardened

Caine and K a t e W i n s l e t

overblown and exuberant interpre-

Y e o h and Ziyi Z h a n g

film fans at the recent London Film

the

Marquis.

His

tation is d e l i c i o u s l y extrovert

The first screening that I attended

but

Festival, and after a rooftop chase

Quills,

never over-the-top. The vivacious-

'm tempted to just fill this review

s e q u e n c e t e n m i n u t e s into

I knew I was going to be in for

ness and raucousness he gives the

with the following line r e p e a t e d

movie , e v e r y p e r s o n literally got

a treat. It takes no further than the

part, essentially turns every other

over and over again: " G o watch

up a n d

cast list to s e e this film must be

c h a r a c t e r into a bit p a r t . C a i n e

this movie right now!" But s o m e -

m i n u t e , s o thrilled w e r e they by

something slightly s p e c i a l . Firstly,

a l s o p l a y s his role s u p e r b l y ; his

how I don't think that constitutes a

this e x t r a o r d i n a r y s e q u e n c e . A n d

we have Geoffrey Rush, one of the

cold, calculated bad guy perfectly

review. But maybe that's just the

that's just one of the sequences!

most acclaimed a c t o r s of current.

complimenting

w a y to s e e t h i s m o v i e ,

His d e p i c t i o n

flawed

s soon as I heard about

Sir

Francis

Rush's

genius. and

volatile

Nonetheless,

Winslet

a p p l a u d e d for

the

half

without

knowing anything about it, so that

The acting is spot on, but 19-year-

Walsingham in Elizabeth w a s mas-

Phoenix

not

it c r e e p s up on y o u a n d s l o w l y

o l d Z h a n g Z i y i s t e a l s all

terful, whilst w e must not

forget

b e c o m e totally o v e r s h a d o w e d by

t a k e s hold o v e r y o u r s e n s e s . In

scenes as the feisty and stubborn

Shine, the story of a piano player,

t h e s e t w o c h a r a c t e r s , but a l l o w

fact, stop reading this review and

J e n Y u . N o t only is she beautiful,

which e a r n e d h i m a n A c a d e m y

t h e m to s h i n e w i t h o u t

"Go watch this movie right now!"

Award. T h e n w e h a v e J o a q u i n

themselves totally insignificant.

rendering

Phoenix, Kate W i n s l e t , and finally, Michael Caine. N e e d I say more?

her

but she also c o n v e y s this aura of haughtiness about her, that makes

The plot is simple; it involves the

her e v e n more

U n f o r t u n a t e l y , the film falls short

t h e f t of a n a n c i e n t s w o r d , t h e

attractive to L o . Praise has to duly

understandably

solely b e c a u s e of its ending. Until

G r e e n D e s t i n y , a n d the i n t e r a c -

b e s h o w e r e d on d i r e c t o r

L e e . Y u e n W o Ping's (The Matrix)

Ang

^ush plays the M a r q u i s de S a d e ,

then, the film's nature is based on

tions between two couples; Li M u

"ho is detained in a mental asylum

its b a w d i n e s s and s e x u a l o v e r -

Bai ( C h o w Y u n Fat), the legendary

fight choreography has raised the

' Post revolution F r a n c e . U s i n g a

tones. This element of fun is taken

warrior and the previous owner of

s t a n d a r d for fight s e q u e n c e s and

"^'d ( W i n s l e t ) he m a n a g e s to

u n e x p e c t e d l y from the film in the

the

married with A n g Lee's direction,

Smu

last half hour and it becomes much

(Michelle Y e o h ) , the woman whom

s w o r d , and Yu S h u

Lien

is nothing short of breathtaking.

99le out his titillating stories to the General puDlic, unbeknownst to

d a r k e r . H o w e v e r , t h e e n d i n g is

he secretly loves. The other couple

â&#x20AC;˘he head of the institute, C o u l m i e r

r a t h e r t o o long w i n d e d and ulti-

are played by J e n Y u (Zhang Ziyi),

hoenix). However, on the orders

mately all the little parts of the film

the headstrong daughter of a min-

about this film that cannot be stat-

that made it so intricate are tried

ister, and the desert bandit Lo

ed in just a few words. For anyone

" Napolean, D r . R o y e l - C o l l a r d (Ca|

T h e r e is s o m u c h m o r e to s a y

ne) is ordered into the institute

to tie up in a way that is not neces-

( C h e n C h a n g ) . E s s e n t i a l l y the

w a r y of s u b t i t l e s , don't be. T h i s

top the M a r q u i s from produc-

sary and essentially makes a silly,

story

film is a certainty for Best Foreign

es his novels, by any m e a n s nec-

disappointing ending. Otherwise,

repressed feelings between Li M u

L a n g u a g e P i c t u r e , but in r e a l i t y

this would have been a five out of

B a i a n d S h u L i e n , and the illicit

the a c c o l a d e it truly d e s e r v e s is

love a f f a i r b e t w e e n J e n and L o .

B e s t Picture.

tary.

five film. u

% enjoyable. T h e e n t i r e film

around

the

O h , and did I mention the martial

^ '" > for the most part, is immin e r

revolves

Quills is in cinemas now.

* Felix â&#x20AC;˘ 22nd January

2001

Drew

arts?

CT, HD is in c inem a s now.

Screen

Imran

s c r e e n

Kensington Competitions!!

BFI IMAX ticket giveaway S c r e e n has managed to pull a few

memory

S o now y o u ' v e read the reviews ,

strings and has got hold of a pair

C o n f i d e n t i a l s t a r s Kim B a s i n g e r ,

now it's time to win the chance to

of t i c k e t s

Russell

go and s e e one of the films w e ' v e

to go and s e e

refreshing, Crowe

and

James

Geoffrey Rush played Philip, H e n s l o w e in which 1 998 romantic comedy?

Confidential at the BFI I M A X cine-

S p a c e y . The plot s u r r o u n d s a

cast our b e a d y e y e s o v e r

ma in W a t e r l o o on S a t u r d a y 27th

shooting at an all night diner and

week. Is it C a s t A w a y you're pin-

January.

the ensuing investigation by three

ing to w a t c h . O r perhaps you want

L A policemen.

to get hot u n d e r the c o l l a r w i t h

The K e n s i n g t o n O d e o n is located

Quills?

just on the c o r n e r of Earls Court

L A Confidential is being shown as

this

Y e a r , by answering this question:

R o a d and High S t r e e t Kensington.

part of the A f t e r D a r k s e r i e s , a

The film when it w a s released was

collection of s o m e modern classic

critically acclaimed, so here is your

R e g a r d l e s s , o u r f r i e n d s at

films S c r e e n r e v i e w e d last y e a r .

c h a n c e to s e e it on t h e l a r g e s t

Odeon, High.Street

A s you probably remember, it got

screen in Britain. J u s t answer the

h a v e k i n d l y g i v e n us 2 p a i r s o f

students.

a big thumbs up although the films

following question:

themselves are not I M A X .

F o r t h o s e of y o u w h o n e e d their

Which Ex-Neighbour appears in LA Confidential?

of t h e union b u i l d i n g . T h i s w e e k t w o films are s h o w i n g at the fol-

the

Kensington

R e m e m b e r t h e s p e c i a l student rates t h e y offer Imperial College

tickets for one of t h e s e t w o films.

A s usual send a n s w e r s to all ques-

Y o u and a friend could be rushing

tions

d o w n t o s e e o n e of t h e

film.felix@ic.ac.uk

most

widely acclaimed films of the N e w

More Chopper!

these

pages by

noon

Wednesday.

S c r e e n has m a n a g e d to get hold of s o m e b i t s a n d p i e c e s from the highly a c c l a i m e d film Chopper and

lowing t i m e s :

being such a kind hearted person I'm g o i n g to g i v e them all away!

T u e s d a y 23rd

For your chance to get a poster and 18:00 W o n d e r B o y s

C D s o u n d t r a c k j u s t answer this

20:45 What Lies Beneath

simple question:

T h e p r i c e is p i t t a n c e a n d t h e r e -

W h a t is name?

Chopper's

real

C I N E M A

f o r e an a b s o l u t e b a r g a i n to s e e

For t h o s e of y o u w h o

time around in the c i n e m a s .

O h , now c o m e on, it can't get

realised, Imperial C o l l e g e has its

Wonderboys

easier than this! G e t your hands*

own c i n e m a located in the U n i o n

Douglas,

C o n c e r t Hall on the s e c o n d floor

B e n e a t h , surely you know by now!

Screen

haven't

any films you m i s s e d the first stars

while

Michael

What

Lies

a c o p y of i s s u e 1189 and simP^ read the review or article.

22nd January 2001

â&#x20AC;˘ Felix J

b o o k s Enigma's Computing

Reviews Core W e b 3 D Aaron E. Walsh

S a m s Teach yourself J a v a 2 in 21 days Laura Lemay Well another book in S a m s range, this time on J a v a 2 . I g a v e it a shot o v e r Christmas to do a bit every day to try and test the 1 -hour tutorials,

This wonderfully book designed for professionals or the everyday hobby helps advance your web pages in the best 3 D way possible. This is the most detailed and c o n c i s e overview of 3 D technolog i e s in o n e b o o k . T o s o m e t h i s w i l l probably be a Bible.

to the m a x i m u m . T o my s u r p r i s e I found that this wasn't a very difficult thing to do; In fact quite an obtainable goal. The book w a s well laid out into its chapters; It had some nice sections on S w i n g and some really interesting examples , with everything well set out and easy to read. But I wasn't particularly i m p r e s s e d with the c o n tent. It d o e s s o m e b a s i c Java c o d e working up to some more complicated examples, a lot of the time not even explaining how every line of the c o d e works. (Very s h o c k e d to find s o m e of the sample code from the website not working!)

coi»e

WEB3D

The book ranges over histories, techn o l o g i e s and their a p p l i c a t i o n s in the world, providing a fantastic foundation f o r 3 D c o m p u t e r g r a p h i c s . It t a l k s about the main 3 D technologies in u s e i t o d a y : V R M L , J a v a 3 D , M P E G - 4 , andf the f o r t h c o m i n g X 3 D . But w a t c h out...There is a lot of c o d e here, it is) amazing stuff. If you are interesting in this area of computing then B U Y THIS B O O K . It cannot be faulted for what it has to offer.

Buy it, but buy it with another J a v a Book. This will only teach you the basics and you should have more from this at £22. "Sams stop drawing pretty pictures or convincing us we can learn this in 21 days and concentrate a little more on some content . Remember: Its Quality not Quantity that matters."

Enigma Rating: 8/10 Difficulty: 7/10 Prior Knowledge: H T M L , J a v a .

Maybe a little harsh... Enigma Rating: 5/10 Difficulty: 5/10 Prior Knowledge: Javascript might help

B O O K S

The following books are available from: B o o k s Etc, 26 J a m e s Street Covent Garden London

Competition Winners In the first issue after the festive period we ran a competition to win 3 s e t s of 10 books on a short introduction to Philosophy, kindly given to us by the Publishers, Oxford University Press. The answer to the question " W h a t was the famous work of Karl M a r x ? " w a s " D a s K a p i t a l " . D u e to the overwhelming amount of entries I decided to also allow the answer "The C o m m u n i s t M a n i f e s t o " (although that was a joint work with Friedrich Engels). The first three correct winners drawn out of the hat were: Oliver S c o t t - S i m o n s (Mat hs 3), A l W a r m a n (Civ Eng 4) and S t e v e Bell ( P G ) . C o u l d the winners Ptease come and collect their prizes from the Felix office behind the nitrogen tank and Physics Department. Hopefully next month a similar competition will be run to win a different set of books in the V e r y Short Introduction range from Oxford University P r e s s .

mm®

Fear and Loathing in America by hunter S . Thompson Hunter S . Thompson has vowed never to write an autobiography, so these letters are the closest w e will get to his account of a life that stands as a testament to hard living and great journalism. A l o n g with Ken K e s e y and the late William Burroughs, he takes a brickbat to the romantic notion of 'live fast, die young'. This, the second monster volume of letters, covers the juiciest of years. 1970: Thompson runs for Sheriff of A s p e n on a platform that includes the Sheriff's right to take mescaline 'whenever it's Right' - and loses narrowly. 1971: the Mint 400 motorcycle race that became the lurid, unforgettable Fear and Loathing in Las V e g a s . 1972: the NixonM c G o v e r n Presidential election. S o the letters - to friends, enemies, editors and agents - fill in the gaps not just of 'Las Vegas', but also 'Fear and Loathing on t h e C a m p a i g n Trail' and the 'Great Shark Hunt collection - Thompson's three stone-classic books. A s well as showing the birth of alter-ego Raoul D u k e , and the germination of the G o n z o style, they detail every tortured detour in Thompson's search for the Death of the A m e r i c a n D r e a m . H e eventually concludes that Richard Nixon himself is the Death of the American D r e a m , though personally the revelation that the L a s V e g a s trip w a s | d o n e entirely straight and sober c o m e s pretty close. The more one reads, the more it b e c o m e s clear that, far from a cartoon figure, Thompson is likely to be seen as a major literary figure of the 20th century. O u t r a g e o u s and egomaniacal, sure, but a committed and astute political observer. I put him somewhere between T h o m a s de Q uincey and S a m u e l J o h n s o n , w h o s e quote stands of c o u r s e a s the epigraph to Fear and Loathing in L a s V e g a s : 'He w h o gets rid of the pain of being a man'. I'd say Thompson is more man than most. 1

• N i x • 22nd January 2001

Books

a r t s A r t s

g o e s

G a l l e r y

C r a w l i n g

m a o y ; * ^ * ® ? ^ ^ u s ..the galieiies sr;d rnusaumsl rf/oy' 'gbrioii& #pfc3!;]

should like to take this opportunity of the first A r t s of the new year to reintroduce you to some old friends • a by-no-means comprehensive selectioim >•< & ' a : c & ^ ? cf ::;- ijfig con'sicisrvtfbers A e y ara, what they have, nm STB

m^BjgfX

London Si

•

5: >J1«: Hyde

Park

*•

^ «v

Gtaen <»»

.** ^

CWS&fuft Walk. uarders

ARE

•

HERE%

1: Serpentine Gallery

2: The Royal Academy

In terms of going to see it howev-

and

er, the R A is only ever as good as

w h e r e , and it all got put in here.

p i l l a g e d h a d t o go some-

Originally built as a t e a r o o m , the

Set in Burlington House in Piccadilly,

its present exhibition - and to s e e

Its inclusion in a piece on galleries

Serpentine has also acted as a

the R A does have a small permanent

if it'll float your boat or wilt your

might be questionable, but there is

g a l l e r y s i n c e t h e 6 0 ' s . It has no

collection - mainly comprising of the

f l o w e r s , r e a d t h e a r t s p a g e s of

much here of artistic, rather than

p e r m a n e n t c o l l e c t i o n of its o w n ,

w o r k s of its original s t u d e n t s , eg

your trusty mag, Felix.

strictly historical, value; a gallery I

but serves an exhibition centre for

Turner and Constable - but it is not

modern and contemporary stuff. It

for this that people go here.

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk

of which rotate regularly; and also

a l s o a c t s as an o v e r f l o w for t h e

T h e R A plays host to a s e r i e s of

Hayward on o c c a s i o n .

exhibitions, albeit of often fluctuat-

The Serpentine is free, and just up

ing quality - the recent years have

drawings and prints, the contents many of the antiquities, such as any number of friezes and columns).

3: The British Museum

You couldn't visit everywhere here in a day if y o u jogged. Casual vis-

t h e r o a d f r o m c o l l e g e in H y d e

both seen s o m e very good exhibi-

Park; making it more than suitable

tions (eg the oh-so-popular M o n e t

E x c u s i n g p e r h a p s t h a t t h i n g in

tors might be put off by its seals

for a W e d n e s d a y afternoon excur-

and Sensation) and some very bad

G r e e n w i c h , the B r i t i s h M u s e u m

but within its looming galleries are

sion in the s u m m e r (or any time of

ones (last y e a r ' s A p o l c a l y p s e

is s a i d to be B r i t a i n ' s most p o p u -

more art t h a n y o u could shake

year, given that).

springs to mind). The usual s t a n -

lar t o u r i s t a t t r a c t i o n ( s e c o n d to

t r e e a t , a n d if all this crumbles

B l a c k p o o l B e a c h ) w i t h s o m e six

y o u r biscuit then there is a 9°

I'm a l s o informed that t h e y do a

dard however is very strong.

very good series of talks, if that's

The R A has a certain cheerfully

million v i s i t o r s a y e a r . It h o u s e s

your cup of tea.

pretentious c h a r m , and adds a

o v e r four million exhibits and the

series of regular tours which s e ^ eve" to m a k e t h e w h o l e thing

c e r t a i n c e r e m o n y to going to an

world's greatest collection

more approachable.

www.serpentinegallery.org/

art g a l l e r y ; w i t h the g r a n d i o s e

antiquities. It has a colourful his-

c o u r t y a r d , m a r b l e s t a i r c a s e and

tory - in the d a y s of E m p i r e , all

light, airy galleries.

the colonial stuff that w a s looted

Arts

www.thebritishmuseum.ac.

uk/

. 22nd January 2001 • Felix*

4: National Portrait Gallery of a gallery of

the 21st century. The

it's older sister is still worth a visit.

personal audio guides, which are of

T h e T a t e B r i t a i n is t h e n a t i o n a l

a very high standard, and don't just

gallery of British art from 1500 to

Of all the galleries listed here, the

repeat what it says by the paintings

the present day, "the Tudors to the

National Portrait G a l l e r y has per-

(like in the Tate Modern and other

Turner Prize" - its collection pass-

places I could mention).

ing through such heavyweights as

haps the most instant appeal; lying it d o e s , not w i t h t h e actual

A fine piece of innovation is also

Blake, Constable, Gainsborough

works or painters themselves, but

the Sainsbury W i n g , which features

and Turner (the Blake, Hogarth and Turner areas being especially worth

a S

rather the subject matter.

a unique "micro gallery". Here you

The appeal of the place is essen-

can locat e y o u r favourite p i e c e s ,

visiting - see, for free, most of the

tially that it is like a 2 D Madame

and even plan and print out your

works from two of last year's most

Tussaud's, with every famous his-

own personal tour - by no means

popular exhibitions, aha).

torical figure y o u ' d c a r e to name

necessary on a first visit, but a nice

The T a t e

staring down at y o u f r o m across

feature nonetheless.

T a t e ' s modern art c o l l e c t i o n , but

scratches

the Tate Britain still plays home to

your itch then it is w e l l worth a

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk

the annual Turner prize - a compe-

the c e n t u r i e s . If t h i s

Modern houses

the

visit, to see all the famous figures

t i t i o n of B r i t i s h a r t i s t s , a n d a

m their varied historical settings.

another good reason to come here.

A good site to c h e c k out prior to

6: Tate Modern

It allow s one to s e e what is currently going on in the world of art;

going is t h e U n u s u a l F a c t s and Figures site on the website, so as

This art b e h e m o t h on the S o u t h

you don't miss the gallery's more

B a n k , in the s h a d o w of S t Paul's

esoteric paintings - s u c h as one

and opposite That Bridge, opened

the size of your thumbnail, a por-

relatively recently to great public

trait of 4 0 0 p e o p l e a n d a wide,

a c c l a i m . C o n v e r t e d f r o m an old

and whether you like it or not.

Alternatively...

here are many more places out

there that for reasons of space

couldn't be included. C h e c k out a listings magazine such as Time Out

www.tate.org.uk/britain/default

for details.

8: The V&A

The Last Word...

squat p a i n t i n g d e s i g n e d to be

power station, it houses a massive

viewed as you walk towards it up

collection of modern art by artists

a corridor - very clever.

such as Dali, Picasso, M a t i s s e , and

The world's largest museum of "dec-

The 20th century is also well repre-

Warhol, has a wide range of people

orative art", the V & A is a museum-

sented, although in recent times the

coming to see it and the added dis-

cum-gallery featuring 145 galleries

bonny L o n d o n . N o w , this decision

focus has shifted less from great

tinction of being free.

packed full of paintings, sculptures,

has brought with it certain negative

thinkers and politicians and shifted

You don't have to be into art (what-

tapestries and all manner of decora-

points... the expense of such basic

more toward pop and film stars.

ever that means) to enjoy the Tate

t i v e t i t b i t s a n d o b j e t s d'art. T h e

commodities as accommodation

M o d e r n , as it d o e s , and probably

exhibits from all across the world in

and beer, the g e n e r a l dirt and

w w . n p g . org.uk

has b e e n d e s i g n e d to, a p p e a l to

the seven miles and four floors of

grime, and the feeling of alienation that c o m e s of Irving in a big city.

or whatever reason, you decid-

ed to c o m e and study here, in

everyone on some level. Those with

galleries make for several repeat vis-

a keen interest in art, and t h o s e

its, and being just up the road from

But there are also certain compen-

5: National Gallery

who just enjoy being continually sur-

college it is suitable for both taking it

sations. London also has so many

prised and shocked by the pieces on

all in, or just wandering around.

things out there w o r t h s e e i n g and

A visit to the National involves brav-

display will be both leave happy.

T h e V & A is v e r y p l e a s a n t a n d

d o i n g , a n d m a n y of t h e m w i l l not

9 the tourists of Trafalgar Square

Having been greeted by the "Half-

u n c h a l l e n g i n g , c o m p a r e d to t h e

cost a penny piece to visit for a stu-

"d flocks of those bloody pigeons -

L i f e S p i d e r " in t h e G r e a t H a l l ,

c l a s s i c a l p o m p and c i r u m s t a n c e

dent such as yourself - including all

it is always steams up my win-

make your way upstairs to the gal-

o n e is m o r e likely to find in s a y ,

but o n e of the ph

d o w

s . A big big big gallery that has

leries where to paraphrase slightly,

the British M u s e u m .

A n d s o forget science and do some-

9uably t h e b e s t c o l l e c t i o n in

there is great art you do know and

One

Canon

thing a r t y w i t h y o u r W e d n e s d a y

great art you don't.

Photography Gallery. The museum

afternoons and weekends. You

I'm told the cafe is quite good too.

has always had a large collection of

know it makes sense.

^ ar

"ain, with a very good permanent

exn|

bition and a variety of tempo-

ones in the Sainsbury wing. rac

t i c a l l y no g r e a t m a s t e r you could name is unrepresented, and collect-'on reads like a Who'st h e

O o

i n

0 n a l

watch

www.

tate.org.uk/modern/default

National is also a fine example

the

for s o m e interesting exhibitions in

Andrew

time to come - it is certainly a better

7: Tate Britain

v e n u e than the p r e v i o u s , in-thebasement-outside-the-cafe anyway.

does e x t r e m e l y well for

photos, and this gallery should make

a r t . C o n s e q u e n t l y the

° ' 'Ye seen that before" kinda Pieces. 6

iwl The Tate Britain in Pimlico seems to get forgotten these days with all the buzz around the Tate M o d e r n , but

• N i x • 22nd January 2001

•

www.vam.ac.uk

C L

ABOUT

Star W a r s : (Pugwash

Public Discussion

8/12/00)

Reviving

- Summarised

by Maurice Pigaht

the

nuclear a r m s

meeting, Dr. Alexander Konovalov (President of the Institute for A s s e s s m e n t s , M o s c o w ) pointed out

During the cold war, the U S horrified the world with it's dabbling in anti-

race Strategic

that the real threats to the United

States are not addressed by N M D . These are nuclear but also (and profc,. a

nuclear missile technology, through the infamous SDI programme also known as S t a r W a r s . These defence systems were designed to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. Recently the U S has revived these ambitions, officially aimed at defending against so-called 'rogue states'. Such a system, however, would be catastrophic for international relations, particularly with Russia. It would also force Chin a to increase its nuclear weapons stockpiles, so that they remain a deterrent. This in turn would trigger a response from India - wary of C h i n a - to respond by increasing its own nuclear arsenal.

bly more likely) biological weapons being delivered by: Smuggling a warhead, short-range cruise missiles, civilian aircraft, small ships and finally Inter-Continental Ballistic

Missiles. Only the last of these could be inter,

cepted by the suggested N M D system. Clearly this is a major draw-back}

it is to be used against 'rogue' or terrorist attacks. Even Air Marshall Sir Timothy Garden, also speaking at the meeting, considered the project 'pouring money down the drain', pointing out the potential of far more effective projects in furtherance of international security through diplomacy. He also stat-

Pakistan would then feel that it has no choice but to follow suit. Although

ed that, as N M D would be ineffective against Russia's huge arsenal or

the U S has temporarily put its current National Missile Defence ( N M D )

'rogue' and terrorist attacks, it can only be seen as targeted against China.

project on hold due to technological difficulties, it is far from being aban-

This, he pointed out, w a s far from helpful to international relations and secu-

doned.

rity, or indeed to the regional situation between China, India and Pakistan.

There was a fear in the 1970s that an American N M D system would render

The ineffectiveness of N M D w a s further underlined by Richard Garwin

Russia's nuclear deterrent useless. This would spell out catastrophe for the

(Formerly Prof of Public Policy, Harvard University). He described simple

dogma of nuclear deterrence (I don't destroy you because otherwise you'll

countermeasures, such as deploying recoils (a simple balloon will do) and/or

destroy me). The only option for Russia

multiple warheads would undermine the system. Furthermore, N M D would

under these circumstances would

appear to have been to attack the United S t a t e s before this defence system

not be useful against biological weapons as they can be delivered in small

was completed. This is why the A B M treaty, signed in 1972 and a corner

bomb droplets.

stone of nuclear relations, limits N M D systems on both sides.

The c o n s e q u e n c e s of N M D are clearly far from trivial. The dangers of

O f course, as usual there is a loophole. Both sides were permitted to cancel

Nuclear Weapons, although part of a topic going out of fashion, entail the

the treaty, giving 6 months notice. The U S has not done this yet and does

death of millions of innocent people, and environmental contamination on an

not even seem convinced of the necessity to do so before violating its treaty

unrivalled scale.

commitments, although it would seriously threaten U S - R u s s i a n relations.

For more information or to be kept informed about future Student Pugwash

O n the 8th December British Pugwash (Conferences on Science and World

(Science,

Affairs) held a Public Discussion Meeting on American N M D plans. At this

Pugwash@ic.ac.uk or Maurice.Pigaht® ic.ac.uk

Ethics

World

Affairs)

events

contact

Student-

i http://www.download.com:

A more intellectual site (yes, there are intellectuals among us • n°

Y o u will find everything you need to download from utilities to games, whether for a M a c or a P C (and yes, you can download winzip in case a modern institution such as IC does not provide your computer with powerzip).

offence), yet it can be highly useful. This is a major site where you can find something like 250 different n e w s p a p e r s online from all over the world Especially recommended to all of you international students to keep y<" inform about your country. A l s o , it is a good way to save money (you

http://vourwallpaper.com/index.html:

0311

read The Times, Independent, The Guardian...).

A nice website featuring a good selection of wallpa-

pers (movies, pop culture, sport...). Yet, the best about

http://www.diaimask.com/sp_fset.htrnj:

this site is their link section - be sure not to miss it. S o

G e t 2 pretty pictures of you (that is the hardest

P L E A S E , get rid of this awful greenish-bluish desktop

iweh a r b r l

wep S I G H !

of yours!

bit), a n d the D i g i m a s k s y s t e m creates a 360-1 degree model of a person's head, which will a " * a fully animatable 3 D replica of the your face to I

http://www.monpa.com:

displayed on a computer or TV-screen. For eg"

Ever fancied dancing with cats, wandered why cats

centric, narcissi or p a s s i o n a t e lovers wiW 9

paint or admired bird art? C h e c k this out: the museum of non-primate art.

have their girl/boyfriend's face on their screen!

W h y not sending a "splat!" to your best friend (see bird art, and click on splat!)? O h by the way... no need to send me one.

Y o u k n o w a c o o l w e b s i t e ? F e e l f r e e to e m a i l m e the addf (angelie.baral@ic.ac.uk)

http://people.ne.mediaone.net/speter1/worldnewspapers.html:

Clubs & Societies

Felix • 22nd January 2001

0 LL

ABOUT

T he ^ 5j„fon/'a 2 / / a z z up Imperial y

YOU!

bird sings

College

3n(

its

fingers

E t je Reverai cette Ville Etrange

might have seen one of the posters or even been to their concerts

before, but some of you will be wonder in g exactly who Sinfonia 21 are,

with

J what kind of freaked-out g e n e t i c a l l y m o d i f i e d

bird are they on

9th F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 1 ,

7.30

Great Hall, Sherfield Building

i,. about? Conductor: Marfyn Brabbins v Sinfonia 21 are Imperial's orchestra in residence. This means that you,

•fie average culturally starved IC student, can watch some of the best con-

Julian Anderson

•emporary music p l a y e d by o n e of the country's leading orchestras

Beethoven

Symphony N o . 8

ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Keith Johnson

Honesty

Copland

Short Symphony

it-

The Bird Sings with it's fingers

Ihe first concert this Friday features music by C l a u d e Vivier, a C a n a d i a n

influenced by M i d d l e Eastern a n d A s i a n cultures, and the Danish compos-

Tickets £ 1 0 / £ 5

er Hans A b r a h a m s e n . Richard Causton has taken work by the fourteenth

E-mail Tom@Sinfonia2 1 .co.uk or ring 0 2 0 7 5 8 9 8 3 1 6 to reserve tickets,

Free with student ID

century Guilllaume de M a c h a u t a n d written two new arrangements in an

or just turn up on the night.

i. artistic collaboration spanning 6 0 0 years. The second concert is on Friday 9th February. Sinfonia 21 will give the

y .vorld premiere of Julian A n d e r s o n ' s The Bird Sings With It's Fingers,

Jazz Workshop T h u r s d a y 8th F e b r u a r y ,

6.15

8.15,

Great Hall

j inspired by a line from the Jean C o c t e a u film O r p h e e . Keith Johnson's Honesty is joined by the more familiar Symphony N o 8 by Beethoven jl and Copland's energetic Short Symphony.

O p e n to everyone, talent not necessary. E-mail James on info@Sinfonia21 .co.uk to join the J a z z W o r k s h o p .

e 1 And there's m o r e . . . together with the U n i o n ' s Art a n d

Entertainment

board, S2 1 are putting on a FREE J a z z W o r k s h o p for you beautiful peo(, pie. This will take p l a c e in the G r e a t H a l l on Thursday 8th Feb between

Workshop Performance F r i d a y 9th F e b r u a r y , 1 2 - 2 p m , Junior C o m m o n R o o m

. 6.15 - 8 . 1 5 p m a n d will be followed by a performance on Friday 9th Feb in the JCR between 1 2 - 2 . If you're thinking "but I've never played

J a z z up your lunchtime!

lozz before", just stop right there, c o w b o y ! This here workshop is for any-

Free performance featuring the unky workshoppers.

one who's got an open mind a n d d a n c i n ' feet. S o book your FREE place 'ighl now by emailing info@sinfonia2 1 .co.uk, or phone James on 7 5 8 4 2759.

There':s something o l d , something n e w , a n d , »meth »mething a little bit different in what Sinfonia 21 are dc oing, a n d it's all right on the doorstep your department for you to e x p e r i e n c e . . . J

6th J a n u a r y 2 0 0 1 ,

7.30

Great H a l l , S h e r f i e l d B u i l d i n g Conductor: Martyn Brabbins Soloist: Eileen Hulse Claude Vi\ v ivier T

'ois Airs pour un O p e r a Imaginaire Mad aut a n . Causton "Vie from 'Messe d e Notre D a m e ' H a

" s Abrahamsen

''^chenbilder M t J n

s Abrahamsen

nternacht

^ c h a u t a r r . Causton l

a n c , u

aude Vivier

s from 'Messe d e Notre D a m e '

• N i x • 2 2 n d January 2001

Clubs & Societies

The Felix Crossword 1 195, by Wailer Ned. Across:

Down:

A witch, perhaps, throws insults in bad rap s e s s i o n . (5, 10)

S o u n d s like I stitched tardily to exclude. (7)

(8) 4.

Short c h e e s y pop group

Tutors sound like erst-

helps you get along. (4)

12. A mail car crashes into

while pilots! (10)

14. Half days are bad on seafront. (10)

15. Hunk of ice, perhaps, in

slumber, gets missed. (4) 17. Your favourite mixed-up

Explaining situation to make your surroundings

(4)

w a k e you up on time. (7, 3, 5) 13. A G e r m a n backs into nun-

22. C h o p i n , extra quiet, hit G by hacking. (8)

nery - how useful! (10) 16. G y m n a s t i c manoeuvre

23. Small boats hold Union drinks without danger. (6)

turns over your spine! (8) 18. N i c e employment and a task well performed! (4,

25. Advertisement referee to

make decision. (7)

C r o s s w o r d 1 1 9 4 : Across: Podium, Intrigue, Backdoor, U n d o n e , Folded, Premiere, Lemming, Bullock, Stiletto, S u p e r b , Review, Perturbs, R e h e a r s e , Icarus. Down: C o m a t o s e , Picked, E m b o l d e n , Disrupt, Attune, Windmill, Runner, Milliner, Unstrain, C e r e b r u m , Topples, Teeter, Tawdry, Plural.

Impress or weave badly.

headless Guru is weedy!

be too extravagant. (10)

C r o s s w o r d 1 1 9 3 : Across: S q u e a m i s h , S p e e d , A n a g r a m , N e a t e s t , Flimsy, Eyeliner, C o m m o n r o o m , Blue, N e r d , L a m b hotpot, Lamp post, S t o r m s , D i a b o lo, Polenta, Deter, Disparage. Down: Scarf, Uranium, A b r a s i o n , lamb, Honeycomb, S t a b l e , Eternal, Deterrent, B r o a d s w o r d , C o n c l u d e d , Tortilla, Rampant, Piranha, Uproar, S l a t e , A p e s

Point ointment to yell. (6)

(7)

19. Halve visor vigorously to

Solutions:

S o u n d s like the ocean's uninterested at the coast

ten hundredths! (7)

squid jewellery. (8)

B l e m i s h ignited to be highlighted. (7)

10. Percy? N o question but

I I . Eskimo toilets. (6)

S e r i o u s praise comes to good shows. (8, 7)

26. Double-pointed big one can only get bigger! (7)

20. D i s c o blaze. (7) 21. D o a lap dance footless! (6)

28. Emollient P h o e b e mixes can ring everywhere. (6,

24. H e has two fifties and will end up in a bad place! (4)

Ladies, gentlemen and any androgenous creatures the Biotechnology department produced in the past few d a y s , here is a new crossword for you to complete. I have modelled the colour scheme this week on a motor-racing finishing flag for all yo»

E l i m i n a t i o n 1 1 9 4 : The word pairs for the clues in order were: "Electricity supply", " S h a d o w boxing", "Table tennis", "Dirty laundry", "Writing p a p e r " , " M a s k e d ball", "Electoral c o l l e g e " , " S a n d w i c h board", " G u t t e r p r e s s " , " M i n t Imperial", " M i n o r royal", " W h i t e C h r i s t m a s " , "Football club", " M o r r i s d a n c i n g " , "Filing cabinet". This should have left " S n o w " as the remaining word.

sports enthusiasts. In my infinite generosity, I have also placed a bumper set ol a n s w e r s on the left for your reference, for your enjoyment and for your use as emergency toilet paper. Unfortunately 1193 w a s a bit of a farce, but my lesson has been learned: I shall no longer rely on technology to transmit my

say

crosswords lest they are garbled into the m e s s you saw before y o u a couple of w e e k s ago. Instead, I shall in future use a qui'

hello.to/doingsomegood

and parchment. I've got somebody chasing after a peacock as v»

speak. However, despite the total disregard for accuracy and litCommunity

eracy that 1193 represented, many still managed to decipher the puzzle. O f

those

people, very

few actually submitted their

answers, s o an item from the E d i t o r ' s C h r i s t m a s stocking goesB Simon C o u l s o n and J a n Patchett, who have to fight over son* posters. I know who'll win. G r o u p

W e m e e t Tuesdays St Thursdays at 8:15pm in the basement kitchen of W e e k s Hal l. We then trave l to the Strand w h e r e we hand out f o o d and hot drinks to the homeless (just turn up, there's no commitment)

The prize for this week is again something from the Felix go * ie bag which I know will excite you all immensely. If it doesn

then I suppos e your time would be better spent darning socks ' fine solving fourteenth order differential equations, whichever you the harder. O f c o u r s e , you could also consult Guru Gi guidance on how to use your spare time, or indeed a copy o f * if P ' Radio Times which is bound to provide better film reviews, cdfc haps a solution for your boredom that isn't altogether go ef

;

iccag@ic.ac.uk

•3

Crossword

your eyesight. I am the weakest link. G o o d b y e . Wailer

Ned

• 22nd January 2001 • Felix •

by Guru Gingagal

Libra

Gemini

Aquarius 21st January-19th February

24th September-23rd October

22nd May-21st June This week you could find yourself taking part in a channel four reality programme if you're not

B e w a r e . . . this w e e k may bring a c h a n c e

hen your flat is invaded by flesh eating glow-

careful, so just take care when applying for your

meeting with the twin you never knew.... and

worms intent on d e v a s t a t i o n . . .

summer internship....

they may not be happy to s e e y o u . . . .

Enlightenment brings its own danger this week w

Cancer

Pisces

Scorpio

22nd June-21st July

20th February-20th March

24th October-22nd November A m a z i n g l y low rent on the side of quite a

Spooky f i g u r e s in the h a l l w a y are s e e n this

Living with alien parents has never been easy, but

week, but in the middle of the night, past the

y o u can' t help but f i n d y o u r s e l f a little u n e a s y

large hill with a funny s h a p e d dip at t h e

witching hour, with your friends all fast a s l e e p ,

about the imminent family reunion...

s u m m i t w i t h a HI' bit of s t e a m c o m i n g

will you venture out to turn off the

out...should have aroused your suspi-

forgotten

cions...

oven?

Leo

Aries

24th July-23rd August

21st March-20th April

JJ^j^Sagittarius 23rd November-21st December

Mouldy fingertips should be the final warning

This week you finally realise how powerful eye-

C a u t i o n is required this w e e k w h e n s e a r c h i n g

that s o m e h o w w a s h i n g has b e e n left out of

brows actually a r e . . . h o w powerless you would

d o w n the back of the s o f a for money, all that

your daily ritual.

be without them.

has been a b a n d o n e d there may form the ingredients of life...

Capricorn

Taurus 24th August-23rd September

21st April-21st May Y o u

22nd December-20th January

r habit of sweeping things under the carpet

Although most of the public are perfectly inno-

Life might s e e m bad now, but it'll p a s s . . . and

y result in life being slightly lumpy underfoot thi is week.

c e n t , y o u do have a right to run a w a y , quite

w h e n it d o e s . . . y o u m a y r e g r e t t h e

fast, from b a l a c l a v a w e a r i n g men in s h a d o w y

lifestyle,

m a

graveyards...

â&#x20AC;˘ Felix â&#x20AC;˘ 22nd January

2001

Horoscopes

hermit

2 n d s

Football

- S t a r t

a s w e

m e a n

g o

o n

but at least w e got a second from|

our l e t h a r g y . ( A s o m e w h a t h u n -

O n e - nil it s t a y e d until half

gover) lain s a w a gap and made a

time, neither s i d e doing anything

burst into the box but w a s cynical-

of s i g n i f i c a n c e in a c l o s e a n d

match to test us. A f t e r a lengthy

ly f l o o r e d

by the o p p o s i t i o n ' s

tetchy period of play with only a

break a n d only a friendly with the

d e f e n s e . C o n t r o v e r s i a l l y , the ref-

c o u p l e of half c h a n c e s at e a c h

firsts, from which it w a s difficult to

eree adjudged that the original

end. B r a d c a m e off for D a v e and

draw conclusions, to whip us into

foul h a d b e e n c o m m i t t e d on the

M a r k c a m e on to bolster the mid-

shape , this w a s a solid a n d reas-

edge of the area and awarded us a

field.

suring victory.

free kick rather than the blatant

Things continued the w a y they

h e a d e d it b a c k into the danger]

University C o l l e g e had the

penalty (even though I landed far

had left off for t h e ear l y part of

a r e a and t h e ball w a s bundled in

upper hand in the early e x c h a n g e s ,

beyond the penalty spot!). This

the

by J .

a fast c e n t r e f o r w a r d a n d a well

w a s all a c a d e m i c h o w e v e r a s

became more and more desper-

A f t e r this, w e had everything

ate, they pushed forward increas-

thrown at us but they only man-

ICII2-1 UCLII A crunch match, six pointer, a

d r i l l e d m i d f i e l d h a d a lot of t h e

"...curled the ball into the far bottom

play a s w e found it difficult to g e l as a unit. F o r all their early pressure, U C L had nothing to s h o w for it a s t h e I C s e c o n d s b e g a n t o realise that t h e y h a d a g a m e on and got into g e a r . W e s t a r t e d a

corner.

f e w p r o m i s i n g a t t a c k s , using t h e wings to bypass their strong cen-

a c o r n e r . It w e n t long but Dave,

second

half

but as U C L

ingly a n d c h a n c e s c a m e in hard

a g e d t o s c o r e d e e p into injury

and fast at both e n d s . Last ditch

time, direct

tackling from "Bruce" L e e Barry

M a g i c w a s unlucky that it was a

and Fumex and s o m e s e n s a t i o n a l

little t o o high f o r him at hte fai

saves from J P ("What a save J P i " )

post a n d it went in off his head. However, it w a s too little too late

people as far afield as C o r n w a l l

a n d t h e I C b o y s h a d the hard'

knew that it was his ball.

fought for win.

M a g i c took the kick and curled the

move together.

ball into the far bottom corner and

Eniola really should have done

under the flailing keeper's body.

b e t t e r w i t h a c o u p l e of c h a n c e s

L a d i e s

Imperial - 3 6

W e won ! W e won ! W e won ! V i c t o r y is s o sweet. T h e D r e a m Team of Lucina, Judit, C h r i s t i n a , A s p a , J o y , Sandrine, Inga, X a n a , A d a and of course our legendary coach C h r i s t o s , beat Q M W submission. Eventually it all c a m e together - right to the end. A s p a started it all with three smashing baskets in a row, Lucina w a s zooming in shots from outside the key and from there on nothing was stopping us. W e fought well and although our defense w a s perhaps not as s e c u r e as usual, we held in until the final whistle. Let's hope w e carry on this winning streak throughout the N e w Year. i n t 0

ICVirgins 7 0 S t G e o r g e s M e d i c a l S c h o o l 15 There had been a frost over S a t u r d a y night and it really was cold. W e a s s e m b l e d at Harlington at an o b s c e n e time in the morning and with the added bonus of only 11 players. W e were a little worried whether we would be able to play with only 11 players. G e o r g e s turned up with 1 3, had they turned up with 1 5 players, things could have been a little tricky! The tries c a m e thick and fast. Blondish C l a i r e was our top try scorer with 4 tries, which is 20 points, no less. O u r other try scorers were Kerrianne, 3; Kryzi, 2: A n n e - L a u r e , 2; J e s s a m y , 1; Hui-

- lain

R u g b y

Lmg, 1; K a t e , 1.

Q M W - 29

Sport

At the other end, Dave and

B a s k e t b a l l

Women's Basketball

f r o m a free kick.

kept us in it. L e e made sure that

tre but couldn't s t r i n g a s c o r i n g

The first goal w a s a tonic for

"What a save JP!!!"

The opposition were very inexperienced, apparently they only have two players from last year, and they are two leagues below us. The ref let them get away with a tot. It w a s good practice for us, however, the back line w a s working well and they managed to pull off some set moves a miracle! The forwards held the scrums, even though there were 5 people in the scrum, and put in a generally good performance. S o w e have won our first match of the s e a s o n , and are now in the B U S A cup and U L U league. Hopefully, this is the morale booster that we've been looking for!

Job offer:

"Assistant Sports Editor", if you have a intrest in sport and fancy seing your work] reaching thousands of people them email iain.angus@ic.ac.uk

All candidates must be sober for at lest twenty minutes per week and must be able to, at least, speak English.

16th January 2001 â&#x20AC;˘ Felix â&#x20AC;˘

U s e r

F r i e n d l y

USER FRIENDLY by Illiad &R6M

M e W 5 . F E O A S . A S YOUR J M A W A 6 5 R . m LIKE U S T P TAKE T I M E TO 09 S O M S . T E A M B f J f L D I W f i . S O I T A L K E D - TO t h e cm? a m d « e s A&Reei> w e a w w e s o w e Twe o f f t o 6 0 0 A M P I M 6 TOOETHeR/

USER FRIENDLY by Iltiad

KJ* m M

mam.

mm urnmm m Ts U € TEOWS flWER J O K E S

USER FRIENDLY by Illiad MBtflXSTR APwecotje. e e r n ?

User Friendly is a popular cartoon on the internet about the lives of a group of people who work the computer industry. It appears in Felix courtesy of www.userfriendly.org

• Felix • 22nd January 2001

Cartoon

Our ten week summer internship programme is a vital tool in our recruitment process. So as you'd expect, it's a structured and demanding programme. You'll work alongside the brightest and the best, learning about the Bank, the business area you're in and the products and clients with which we deal. Throughout the ten weeks there'll be events which Positions are available within the following areas: Corporate Finance, Sales, Trading, Research, ensure your experience is packed with learning, training and networking opportunities. Evaluation will IT, Operations & Human Resources. be a serious element of your programme. To find out more, please visit our website at www.ubswarburg.com. Our online application form It's a tough process-we'll push you, test you and evaluate you; but we'll also train you, guide you and can also be accessed from this site. The closing date for listen to you. Because we really want you to succeed. applications is 28 February 2001. UBS is an equal opportunity employer. We respect each individual. Our competitive strength lies in leveraging a global diversity of cultures, perspectives, skills and experiences to achieve our common goals. We believe that professional and personal balance enriches our performance. Progression within the Bank depends on various factors such as capability, performance and contribution to the firm's success.