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Monday 05.03.12 Volume 59
Issue
Victory for Fletcher in What’s record-breaking elections Inside? Interview
8
Singer Benjamin Francis Leftwich
Debate
9
Can we really trust the Internet?
Beauty James Fletcher and Hannah Hayes as the presidency was announced. Photograph by RU:ON Rosi Hirst
The results of this year’s RUSU elections were announced last week on Friday 2 March, with James Fletcher closely defeating Hannah Hayes to take the role of President. Over 2000 votes were cast for this role, with both candidates receiving over a thousand each. The final count for Fletcher was 1050, and for Hayes 1010, with only 40 votes deciding the winner. This year saw several records broken, including the highest number of candidates ever to run for the role, and also the highest number of votes ever cast. Live coverage of the event was hosted by RU:ON with great success, and over 150 viewers tuned in from 7:30 to 10pm to watch the results. Spark* also covered the
event live via Twitter, with many people tweeting us their thoughts on the results as they were announced. First announced was the NUS delegates, with current VP for Welfare and Representation Ben Haines voted in as Student Officer delegate, and Hannah Hayes and Adam Hartley voted as the student representatives. Next up was the part-time role of Student Trustees, for which there were four candidates running for three positions available. These were gained by Alex Butler, Tom Rye and Joseph Lynes, with Scott Compton unfortunately just missing out on the job. After this, the announcement of the winners of the student officer roles began. VP for Democracy and Campaigns went first, which will be a particularly important
role next year due to the inclusion of the new responsibility over the student media introduced to the position. There were three candidates hoping to be elected in this category, and the job went to Ceri Jones. VP for Welfare and Representation came next, with six candidates running in this category. The winner of this was revealed to be Sophie Davies. This was followed by one of this year’s most highly-contested positions, VP for Student Activities. A total of eight candidates were nominated, meaning competition was fierce and voting went into the seventh round. However, one candidate was finally voted in, and Nick Cook was announced as next year’s VP. The last of the VP roles, VP for Academic Affairs, came next.
With 10 people standing, this role had the highest number of candidates for any one role of all time, another broken record. The voting for this position went on for an astonishing eight rounds, but Kara Swift was eventually declared the victor. Finally the role of President was announced. Tensions mounted as the revelation was delayed by a few minutes, and the declaration of James Fletcher as the new RUSU president for the coming year was met with cheers and applause all round. Spark* would like to congratulate all the new student officers and wishes them the best of luck for their new jobs. We are sure they are all great choices for the jobs, and will ensure that the next year for RUSU will be a successful and memorable one.
How to get Van der Ham inspired eyes
Health
Avoid the flu with a fruit and veg rainbow
18
34
2 News
Monday 5 March Spark*
news.spark@reading.ac.uk
Elections results: who won what President
James Fletcher VP for Academic Affairs
Kara Swift VP for Student Activities
Nick Cook
VP for Welfare and NUS Delegates (continued) Representation
Sophie Davies VP for Democracy and Campaigns
Ceri Jones NUS Delegates
Ben Haines
Adam Hartley Hannah Hayes Student Trustees
Tom Rye Joseph Lynes Alex Butler
(photograph unavailable)
Above: the RU:ON panel hears the news of James Fletcher’s victory. From left to right: Toby Rinkoff, head of RU:ON, Rosi Hirst, Spark* editor, Emily, RU:ON presenter, Karl Hobley, RUSU current president. Photograph by RU:ON
To see the full election footage for yourself, go to
http://www.rusumedia.co.uk
Volunteering Week: not just to bulk out your CV Bethany Lunn
From 20-26 February it was Student Volunteering Week. RUSU are always keen for students to “escape the student bubble and immerse yourself in the culture you live in”, and celebrated the Volunteering Week with many different events. On Monday and Wednesday students were invited to get involved with building an ecofriendly greenhouse on campus in the Little Learners Nursery. The first rehearsal of the ‘Voices of Reading’ community choir took place in George Palmer Junior School on Monday evening which was inspired by the success of Gareth Malone and his Military Wives choir at Christmas. This is an exciting project intended to be a fun way to draw the community together on a regular basis while making music. Tuesday offered students different opportunities to volunteer in sport like KEEN - ‘Kids Enjoy Exercise Now’- is on it’s way to Reading and needs volunteers to help provide recreational activities for kids with physical and mental disabilities. There was a talk on this scheme on Thursday evening highlighting all the benefits of such a project. On Wednesday the Volunteering Fayre was held in 3Sixty. Organizations present promoted
opportunities on campus, in the local community and abroad. Also on Wednesday students were able to spend a relaxing afternoon helping the Grounds Team to plant wild flowers on campus. On Thursday at 1pm Reading Voluntary Action gave a talk entitled “Why Volunteer?” which explained that not only does volunteering look good on your CV but gives you a range of transferable skills that can be used throughout life. On Friday students took a walking tour of Lakeside Care Home where 42 elderly people live. There are opportunities to volunteer with a weekly craft at the care home, or exercise classes, or simply pop in to speak to the residents as some used to work at the university and all would be happy to meet you. The week ended in the RUSU Boardroom with a drop in for people to voice final questions or sign up for any programmes.
summer, volunteering and travelling. The trip to India runs from 9 July - 5 August and includes treks through the Western Himalayas before working in a community devastated by floods in 2010. They will also visit the Taj Mahal in the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. The trip in Romania runs from 14 July - 11 August and will be based in rural Transylvania spending a month supporting disadvantaged
children. Two weeks are spent renovating a children’s home and two weeks running summer activities for the children. The trip will combine practical building skills and running activities, before exploring the country through horseriding, hiking, camping, paragliding and going to music festivals. There are various one-off opportunities to volunteer if you feel you cannot make a regular commitment but would still like to be
RUSU are working with “Future Sense” to send students to India or Romania this summer RUSU are working with the ethical company “Future Sense” to send students to India or Romania this
The Volunteer Fair. Photographs by Rosi Hirst
involved like Lakeside Care Home (which is 15 minutes from campus) who need someone with a couple of spare hours to help them with their new computer. The volunteering society at Reading are committed to serving the local community through utilizing new and creative ideas. The society has various roles and anyone is welcome to become involved by contacting volunteer@reading. ac.uk.
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
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News 3
Grab yourself some culture at The Culture Show II Chayya Syal
Following up from its incredible success last year, the University of Reading’s Culture Show was back with a bang on Monday 20 February for one night only. 3sixty opened its doors to approximately 250 people, who took their seats for a night of song, dance and stunning performances from over 13 university societies. Throughout the evening, the atmosphere was truly electrifying as the audience were awed, entertained and riveted by spectacular performances that included circus performance tricks, a Chinese lion, belly dance, singing and many more.
The atmosphere was truly electrifing as the audience were awed
and ethnicities. Committee member and one of the organisers for the show, Jaimal Patel said: “The culture show is about celebrating the diverse and cosmopolitan community that we have in our university.” He added: “I couldn’t have done it without the help of Anish Patel, Aneesa Chaudri and Luke Elliot who were an amazing committee to work with.” The committee were extremely happy with the smooth running of the show, turnout and audience reaction. “I really enjoyed the show. I think that even in just one year the show seems to have really come a long way.” He added: “I hope that next year’s show build even further on the night and brings us even closer together.”
Sophia Reghu dancing in the Show for the Hindu Society.
Each year the show takes a theme and this year’s was “A Bundle of Sticks”. The idea behind the theme represents the importance of strength when united. The bright colours of the neon sticks represent different races, languages, ethnicities and people. The message of being together as one group not only means equality but the idea that humans can achieve anything when working together regardless of race, creed
A range of acts from the show. Photographs from Jaimal Patel
The future of the library Chayya Syal
An emergency Student Voice meeting took place on Tuesday 21 February in Café Mondial, to address the issue of the University’s library. Approximately 50 people attended the meeting.
Approximately 50 people attended the meeting The meeting, chaired by RUSU President Karl Hobley, gave students the chance to put their ideas forward and give feedback about the current library and its resources to a panel. The panel included librarian Julia Manro, deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Tony Downes and the President of Queen Mary, London University Students’ Union (QMUSU) Sophie Richardson. Feedback on the current library included a lack of group study space areas, not enough computers at peak times (such as ) as they are all taken. Other comments were the lack of plug sockets, poor air conditioning in the computer
room, not enough bike space and the possibility of extending library hours at the weekend. Sophie Richardson, President of QMUSU, said: “Many of the suggestions put forward here today were the same things our students said two and a half years ago.” She added that the students saw the library more as a learning hub than a place of academic study. In response to the feedback, Professor Tony Downes said: “From this meeting we have an evolving sense of what the library is. It is an interesting reflection as to what students want from the library.”
“I share many of the frustrations and concerns that the students have voiced today.” Librarian Julia Manro said: “I share many of the frustrations and concerns that the students have voiced today.” She added that from early March, the library was looking at plans to try and extend the library’s opening hours at the weekend.
No secrets from NUS Kate Delaney
Reading University Students’ Union (RUSU) called an emergency Student Voice on Tuesday to discuss the issue of reforming Higher Education without public debate and parliamentary reform. A recent White Paper, a government report that offers information on an issue, has highlighted a range if areas that Government are seeking to legislate on in the upcoming Bill for Higher Education.
The Government are intending to pass reforms without debate of parliamentary vote Government has shelved this Bill but are still intending to pass reforms outlines in it without a parliamentary vote. Both RUSU and the NUS are in support of a full debate on the issues before any legislation is passed. Both institutions be-
lieve that the issue should not be resolved behind closed doors but that it should made public and debated. One of the main issues that students and RUSU are unhappy with is that they will not be able to scrutinise funding in Higher Education.
The NUS has called for a national day of action on 14 March to campaign against this secretive legislating Some of the issues in the Bill that the NUS are trying to lobby against include; the role of private providers in Higher Education and access to Higher Education. The NUS has called for a national day of action on 14 March to campaign against this secretive legislating. They have proposed a nation wide walk-out of all lectures and seminars but students in attendance at the Student Voice
meeting were not in support of this idea. Instead the Union have decided to lobby the University of Reading Senate and apply pressure for them to publicly denounce the Government’s plans of reform without debate and parliamentary vote. RUSU also plans to lobby local MPs including Reading East MP Rob Wilson, Reading West MP Alok Sharma, and now, as a direct result of input from students, Wokingham MP John Redwood.
As a result of student input, Wokingham Borough MP Redwood will also be lobbied RUSU will also be holding a rally outside the Senate to show support on this issue. The Student Voice meeting attracted more than the usual crowd to discuss the issues of the day of action. With attendance usually around 30 students, Tuesday saw it increase to around 50 students.
4 NEWS
news.spark@reading.ac.uk
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
Yoga Stops Traffick: Bending over backwards to help Sarah Lienard
On Saturday 10 March, the University of Reading’s SportsPark is taking part in a worldwide attempt to finally put a stop to human trafficking in India, for the third year in a row. The event, Yoga Stops Traffick, will see participants attempt to complete as many sun salutations, a flowing set of yoga poses, as is comfortable for them. The traditional number to aim for at the event is 108 – a sacred number in Hindu, Buddhist and many other belief systems. The event aims to raise awareness and funds for a pioneering anti-trafficking trust in India.
Yoga Stops Traffick brought together 3000 people across 38 countries The Odanadi Seva Trust has been working tirelessly for the past 20 years to provide a safe haven for survivors of human trafficking, who have often suffered sexual exploitation, slavery and domestic abuse. Based in Mysore, South India, the charity works to rescue, rehabilitate and reintegrate trafficked women and children into the community, giving them a second chance at life. Providing food,
shelter, counselling and education, as well as theraputic yoga and meditation, the trust goes a long way towards helping rebuild self-confidence and dignity in the victims of trafficking.
The event aims to raise awareness and funds for a pioneering antitrafficking trust Last year, Yoga Stops Traffick brought together 3000 people across 38 countries in yoga studios, parks, homes, beaches and mountaintops across the globe. The event was a huge success, managing to raise an amazing sum of over £30,000 for the Odanadi Seva Trust. Miss Cleere, a yoga instructor from Reading, whose brother Sean works for the Trust, visited two of the trust’s orphanages last year. She said: “It was really harrowing to hear what they had been through, but very humbling to see how they've turned their lives around and now have a positive attitude to life.” Yoga Stops Traffick will take place on Saturday 10 March, from 12-2pm at Reading University SportsPark. People of all ages and abilities are welcome. The event page can be found on Facebook by searching ‘Yoga Stops Traffick / / 10 March 2012’.
The Yoga Stops Traffick event in 2010. Photograph from www.insideout_moonfruit.com
Typography receives top award from the Queen Calum Mcintyre Rogers
The University of Reading’s Department of Typography and Graphic Communication was given the much coveted biennial Queen’s Anniversary Prize (QAP) in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on February 24. The prizes are the most prestigious accolades currently available in British academia; this is the fourth of the QAPs awarded to Reading since the Prize’s institution in 1993. Reading was last awarded a QAP in 2009, when the Department of Archaeology was acclaimed for its research and teaching methods. Further back, the Department of Meteorology was given the award in 2005, and the University was also given the award for research into Shakespearean theatre in 1998.
This is the fourth time Reading has been awarded the QAP The prize itself is a silver-gilted medal, and a certificate signed by the ruling Monarch herself.
The Department’s work has had a world-spanning effect; the BBC adopted a typeface developed by the Department for its Arabic and Farsi websites, and Department work has produced a typeface now used for mobile phones in India. The Department was also praised for its astonishingly high graduate satisfaction statistics; 100% of surveyed graduates in 2011 were quoted as satisfied with their course.
The prizes are the most prestigious accolades currently available in British academia Professor Paul Luna said “We are very proud to have won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize. Our submission, ‘Design for reading: teaching and research in typography and graphic communication’, was awarded the Prize in recognition of the excellence and world-wide reputation of our research and teaching and learning. The Design and Print Studio’s unique work with students was also part of our submission.”
From left to right: Professor Sue Walker, Unversity Vice-Chancellor Sir David Bell and University Chancellor Sir John Madejski. Photograph from University of Reading press office
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
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FE courses slashed: up to 47% to go Vinjeru Mkandawire
Recent reports show that over a quarter of degree courses at universities have been abandoned in the last six years. Forgoing a string of traditional academic disciplines such as science, foreign languages and the humanities due to widespread budget cuts, universities are opting for the less traditional subjects like media studies, performing arts and photography.
Researchers fear the creation of “academic deserts” in some subjects This spectacular reduction in the number of courses offered at English universities has led to what the British media are dubbing “The Tuition Paradox”, where students are required to pay higher tuition fees despite having less subject choice. Coinciding with the sharp hike in tuition fees to £9,000 a year, many academics fear that this decline in interest shown in the traditional disciplines will only get worse as universities are forced to prioritise the profit-making courses as well as the subjects cheapest to offer. A study by the University and College Union has revealed a 27% decline in the number of full-time undergraduate courses in Britain between 2006 and 2012.
The number of degree subjects has fallen by nearly a third in England, where students are facing the biggest increase in tuition fees. Scottish universities which offer free tuition to Scottish students, in comparison, have seen only a 3% reduction in its courses. With the number of degree subjects down to 51,116 to 70,052, some regions are experiencing bigger reductions than others. Researchers in various fields are becoming increasingly worried about what they’re describing as “academic deserts” in some subject areas as entire regions in England, described as “languagesfree zones”, fail to offer subjects like French and German. Suffering the biggest course reductions is the South-west with a 47% drop, followed by Eastern England and the North-west, both down by approximate 40% and then London and the West Midlands, both of which are down by 33%.
The UK academic reputation is built on the freedom of academics Nobel Laureate for medicine and physiology, Sir Richard Roberts, spoke of British institutions’ accelerated movement towards a restricting “technical colleges” status rather than covering the
“broad and balanced education” for its students. He said: “I notice that some universities have been closing chemistry departments where one of the key areas for understanding biology is taught. That just makes no sense. others close humanities departments presumably because they are not viewed as profitable.
The English universities have taken a marked hit in contrast to those in Scotland Writing in the UCU study, Sir Richard insisted, “One of the hallmarks of a British education in my earlier years was the very breadth of subject matter that could be studied and that our policies are now seeking to restrict. He added: “While this may make economic sense, it is almost guaranteed to lead to the deterioration of the human mind and its opportunities for innovation.” One of the goals of the UCU was to show the impact of “principal” degree courses within the social sciences, arts, humanities and the “STEM”, comprising of subjects such as science, technology, engineering and maths. The study revealed a sharp overall decline in all these degree courses, particularly the STEM subjects which are the most expensive to offer. The reductions in some of
Student Community Awards Zoe Crook
The University of Reading’s Student Community Awards nominations have begun. With the nomination date not closing until Sunday 25 March, there is still plenty of time to nominate someone. The awards aim to reward students who offer their time to assist the community. These selfless students offer support to others, offering acts of consideration.
Nominations can be made by students, local residents, or university staff Nominations can be made by students, local residents, or university staff, and are dominantly done without informing the nominee. Local residents, the Chaplaincy, the Reading University Students’ Union representatives and the University form the Award Committee. In May 2012, an awards ceremony will be held, where the winner will be announced. All nominees will also receive recognition of their efforts, and all
nominees and nominators will receive invitations. Nominees often contribute in areas, such as organising fund raising events in aid of charities, assisting locals who are in need of support, and supporting youth groups. The award consists of money, totalling up to £250 for an individual student, or groups of students. This is funded by donations, given by Reading Alumni, to Annual Fund. The Alumni Relations team provide an opportunity for previous students of the university to maintain contact with each other, but also allow them to support the university. The Annual Fund has received approximately £3 million from around 6,000 donors, within the past eight years. In 2010, Siobhan Burke, a second year student, was nominated for co-ordinating the Student’s Union entry into the Reading Half Marathon, whilst raising over £5,000 in the process for local Reading charities, including Reading Single Homeless Project. She received a joint award with another applicant. In 2011, the award was won by Neil Cummins, Stacey Telford and Jessica Scott, following their nomination from the Ridgeline Trust.
They volunteered at the Trust’s Therapeutic Garden for medically and physically disabled people. Gill Grainger, from the Ridgeline Trust, stated in 2011, that “The input of all three students has been appreciated and enjoyed by the team. Neil has been a faithful supporter of the Community Gardening Sessions which provide background support to the work of the garden’s clients and help in developing the garden, so much so that in the prolonged absence of the main leader of this group, he has taken responsibility for cohosting the sessions. We are most appreciative of his help and commitment.” She also went on later to praise the other winners. Each of the three winners were presented with a cheque of £50 and a certificate, by Professor Steven Mitchen, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation and External Engagement. Nine other students at the event also received certificates. Nomination forms may be found on the University of Reading website, where a form within a PDF file may be downloaded. Alternatively, you may call Ann Westgarth on 0118 378 4479, to receive a print.
Britain’s most traditional subjects have emerged despite the government’s bid to maintain their value and the economic competitiveness they provide. Sally Hunt, UCU General Secretary said: “While successive governments have been dreaming up new ways to increase the cost of going to university, the range of subjects available to students has fallen massively.” She concluded that “The UK’s global academic reputation is built on the broad range of subjects available and on the freedom of academics to push at the boundaries and create new areas of study. This report shows that, while government rhetoric is all about students as consumers, the curriculum has actually narrowed significantly.” Hunt had this to say about Scottish universities: “Scotland is to be congratulated on not only maintaining free education but also choice, in contrast to the rest of the UK”. While the surge in tuition fees means that students are more likely to opt for subjects which will give them the best chance of getting a job afterwards, the traditional disciplines prepare themselves for periods of intellectual draught. In addition to this, couple with tougher immigration rules, the clamping down of 25% of courses will certainly have a negative impact of the UK’s share in the market for global education services.
News 5
RUCU offers Bible study session Bethany Lunn
The activities of Reading University Christian Union Events Week which happened during Week 5 saw some very interesting topics addressed. The turn out was incredible and due to the interest in learning about the Bible that sprang up through this, RUCU are running a follow up event called See for Yourself. It will be a meal and discussion on Wednesdays at 7pm in The Lounge (behind the RUSU building).
The turn out was incredible, so RUCU are running a follow up event This is an open Bible study for anyone who wants to find out more about Jesus, and you don’t need to be a Christian or part of RUCU to come along. It is organised by Lydia Burnhams, who is part of RUCU, and who told Spark* that “It’s very relaxed, only 10 of us in total last time, and it doesn’t matter if you just want to come to one week to see what its like. If you can‘t make a Wednesday then we could probably do something on a different day for you. Just get into contact with me.”
Way off (Chicken) Base Kate Delaney
Last week, third year Economics student Hussein Dhanji was shocked to find his chicken wrap pink. Mr Dhanji was dissappointed to report that popular student fast food chain, Chicken Base, had served him food that was undercooked and, as such, inedible. After complaining to the staff, Mr Dhanji was brushed off and neglected. Although the company did offer a replacement wrap after
he had made the complaint, Mr Dhanji felt that the service was not up to standard and his issue was not suitably addressed. He told Spark* “I don’t feel I was treated appropriately considering it was their mistake. I was made to feel like I was the problem”. In response to the incident, a member of staff from Chicken Base told Spark* “If the customer had contacted management we’d have taken the complaint very seriously. We’d be very happy to fully address the problem”.
The offending article. Photograph by Dave King
6 NEWS
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
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University of Reading does Take Me Out Rosi Hirst
On Friday 24 February the University hosted its very own version of the popular TV dating show, Take Me Out. The event was organised by Reading RAG member Rebecca Digby in aid of the society’s summer trip to Mount Kilamanjaro in aid of ChildReach International. It was skillfully presented with great gusto by third-year Ronan Handcock.
The show was a huge success, with over four hundred students turning up to watch the ten female and six male contestants (all students at the University). Five lucky couples were made by the end of the evening, but unfortunately one of the male contestants suffered the humiliation of going home alone. After several female contestants went off with their partners, volunteers from the audience were picked to replace them, one of whom even ended up on a date.
what’s going on? what
where
5th
Cabaret, by RUDS 7.30
3sixty
9th
Fairtrade Fashion Show 7.00
3sixty
13th
Comedy night 7.30
3sixty
14th
Flirt! 9.00
3sixty
15th
Society and Volunteer
3sixty
when March
No likey, no lighty!
March
March
March
March
next issue of Spark* out:
Friday 2011
across the students’ union Take Me Out. Photographs by Angus Griffin
7 POLITICAL COMMENT
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
politics.spark@reading.ac.uk
POLITICAL COMMENT The politics of journalism
Yellow Brick road to Parliament
Adam Roberts
Chris Hobden
Over the past eight months the British media, particularly the printed press, have been subjected to the most rigorous scrutiny of its long, colourful history. Revelations surrounding the ethics of journalists, from harassment to phone hacking, tarnished the reputation of some of the Britain’s most influential publications. Of them all, the standing of the countries two most popular papers, The Sun and the now defunct News of the World. The scandal has also claimed the careers of a number of high-profile individuals, from the Andy Coulson, the Director of Communications at 10 Downing Street to the CEO of News International, Rebecca Brooks and, for that matter, the entire 200 strong staff of the News of the World. One could easily get the sense, given the overt anger of both the public, commentators and politicians regarding the culture surrounding elements of the tabloid press, especially considering the mood of the Leveson enquiry, that the days when the popular press could operate within the realm of light, self-regulation have gone, and the industry will face a similar style of regulation to our broadcasters in a comparable form to Ofcom.
The reputations of many publications have been tarnished by phone hacking To do so, however, would be to underestimate the resolve and commitment of our ‘red-top’ publication’s proprietors, none more so than 80 year old media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whom after
arriving in Britain last week, announced the birth of a new Sunday paper, The Sun on Sunday - an attempt to recapture the considerable number of former News of the World readers lost to their competitors. What is so significant about the timing of the launch of the first new national paper in Britain for over 20 years, is that it puts to bed the idea of Murdoch’s media empire being on the retreat. To set the context, the week that Murdoch announced to the world that the Sun was to print on Sunday was at a time when 5 Sun journalists were arrested on charges surrounding the corruption of public officials.
We may well see less salacious journalism during the ongoing Leveson inquiry Take, for example, the wider newspaper coverage of the events surrounding press corruption last Monday, the day after the launch of News International’s new publication. The editor of the Guardian, Nick Davies described the revelations about Police taking bribes from Sun journalists as “a rare moment when a cynical press was stopped in its tracks”, whilst the Daily Telegraph cartoonist ‘Matt’ depicts the scene of a Police officer observing a fight in a nightclub and remarking “Hold the Front Page - I mean, request for backup”, with the Independent focussing on the ordeal of singer Charlotte Church, settling to the tune of £600,000 with The Sun’s owners after her phone was hacked. The Sun, conversely, focuses on the launch of their new Sunday edition, with Rupert Murdoch tweeting “Amazing! Thanks all
readers and advertisers. Sorry if sold out — more next time.” It was indeed a success, selling 3.26 million copies and out performing any other British Sunday paper.
The scandal has also claimed the careers of a number of high-profile individuals So what does this mean for the future of our popular press? Is the Leveson inquiry going to lead to a change in the culture and practise of tabloid journalists and pave the way for a new dawn of responsibility and appropriate selfregulation? In reality, it’s highly unlikely. Over the coming weeks more revelations will surface about the actions of Murdoch’s journalists and we may well continue to see a period of less salacious journalism, at least whilst the Leveson inquiry continues.
The Sun, conversely, focuses on the launch of their new Sunday edition Ultimately, however, little will change in the style of journalism heavily associated with the tabloid press, as unlike their broadsheet counterparts, the tabloids continue to make money. In fact, with print media concerned about the longevity of its existence, with annual declines in circulation as more people choose to get their news through other mediums, it is inconceivable that remaining profitable elements of the newspaper industry will alter practises
With Europe seemingly obsessed with historical nicknames, I get the feeling it’s about time we got in on the game. There’s been the Iron Chancellor in Germany, The Man of Steel in Russia and now it seems England is ready to join the fray with our Aluminium Exchequer, the flexible, weak tin-man, carelessly used and easily recyclable. In fact, watching the farcical spectacle of not-quite-so-cunning punning and party political pointscoring that passes for a commons debate today one can find a whole cast of thoroughly outdated characters. Poor Dorothy Cameron, very much not in Kansas anymore, flanked by his Tin-Man Chancellor and the Cowardly Lion Deputy, his loud roars on the Bonus system and our tuition waylaid with a perennially nervous expression, likely having as much to do his lack of discernable strength or talent as the chance of being eaten by the neighbouring Eric Pickles.
Poor Dorothy Cameron, flanked by his TinMan Chancellor and Cowardly Lion Deputy Our Scarecrow is of course the beleaguered Foreign Secretary, the wisest man in all the lands still seeking his brains amidst the rabble of fairies and gnomes that inhabit our Parliament of Oz. And so it’s startling to see our Dorothy stride purposely into Prime Ministers Questions, and as I begin to wonder what exactly I had expected when I helped vote these poor personifications into power, I
cast my gaze to the jeering hordes on the opposite benches and their jeerer-in-chief, Mr Miliband. It is entirely possibly he can talk the talk, a skill one does not get far in politics without, but he just doesn’t seem to get into the spirit of the thing.
Poor old Ed, he’ll never make it to the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Westminster He rises, Red Ed befitting his purple completion as much his postal ties, and you ready yourself for a steaming accusation, or at the very least a bad pun and a put down. And he asks his question, the expected jibe on the strained coalition, okay he’s a little glaring, but where’s the passion? There’s none of Blair’s antagonism, Ball’s fury or even Brown’s dour wit (such as it was), the idea is there but his hearts not in the right place! This is commons, PMQ’s now less a report on the issues of today as it is a political theatre at its best. Cameron rises to respond, and preprepared as it likely was, delivers perfectly. “Let me reassure him he shouldn’t believe everything he reads in the papers. It’s not that bad. It’s not like we’re brothers or anything.” The fairies jeer, and the gnomes cringe, he’s followed the yellow brick road straight into that one. Poor old Ed’s had a good run of late, seen to be leading the charge against the old city enemy, but until he learns his way around the podium he’ll never make it to the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Westminster.
And the new Political Comment Editor is...
8 INTERVIEW
interview.spark@reading.ac.uk
Monday 5 March 2012
Spark*
interview
Benjamin Francis Leftwich: the world at his fingertips because it’s always so manic, but I tend to just be quiet and be really calm before stage time.
I think that most people write from personal experience Do you write all your lyrics from personal experiences? What else inspires you to write?
Yeah of course, but I think that most people write from personal experience you know. I guess I just have my own way of interpreting stuff just like all artists. I’m open to any inspiration - there’s no real rule as to where it can or can’t come from.
Interview courtesy of Reading University Singer Songwriters society
Following the rise in popularity of his beautiful debut album, Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm, Reading University Singer Songwriters sent Benjamin Francis Leftwich a few questions, in order to uncover, amongst other things, his influences and to ask for advice to pass on to emerging musicians. What was the first record you ever purchased and the first record you truly loved? One of the first albums I ever bought was White Ladder by David Gray. It is such an amazing album and I still listen to it now. Every song on it is awesome and the vocal performance is so intense and heartfelt. For me, it kind of feels like a culmination of all his experiences touring, recording and writing, before White Ladder, came together to create a real masterpiece.
Bruce Springsteen is my inspiration, there isalways real humanity in his music Another album, which I remember buying and really falling in love with, is Nebraska by Bruce
Springsteen. This album is pretty much just an acoustic guitar and vocals and has a really lo-fi and chilled feel to it. It has some of the most amazing songs I’ve ever heard on it. Atlantic City is one of my favourite songs ever.
David Gray’s White Ladder was the first albums I ever bought, I still listen to it now Who are your musical influences and inspirations? Bruce Springsteen is my main inspiration. I love his attitude towards recording and releasing music, and how he is very much about the “song”, you know? Whether it’s one of the rockier songs like The Rising or a more chilled song like Reno, there always seems to be this real humanity and honesty to his music; I’m a big fan, maybe the biggest! Do you have any routines or things you like to do before you go up on stage? Before I go on stage I like to be by myself and kind of get in my own zone a bit. Sometimes I like to have a shower like 30 minutes before I go on and then sing and play a bit of guitar just before I go on. It kind of depends, you know. At festivals it’s kind of harder to have your own time
Is there anyone who has not quite made a name for themselves yet, but who you’d really recommend having a listen to? One of my favourite singersongwriters at the moment is The Tallest Man on Earth. He is an amazing guitar player and has some really interesting and evocative lyrics. He has already made a name for himself, I guess, but still more people should hear it! Also, I’ve loved a guy called Foy Vance for a long time. He has an amazing album called Hope which has a
song called Indiscriminate Act of Kindness which is another one of my favourite songs. What have you learnt from your career as a musician?
I don’t know... never eat a double cheeseburger within four hours of going on stage? If you hadn’t had a career in music, what would you be doing instead?
Haha I’m not sure. I guess a zoo keeper would be cool?
Never eat a double cheeseburger within four hours of going on stage What advice would you give to aspiring musicians at the University who want to ‘make it’ with their music?
My advice would be to always trust your intuition and remember that the song is the most important thing in the world. Don’t worry about fancy website/facebook sites or anything like that - just play guitar and be honest with your music. Also, be careful of who else you let be involved in your music.
Be pro-active, play gigs and share your music with people!
I love performing at festivals, I think that it is where I feel most at home What plans have you got after your tour of the US and Canada? What are you most looking forward to seeing/doing whilst you’re out there? After the US and Canada it will be time for festivals I think, which I’m really looking forward to! I love performing at festivals, I think that it is where I feel most at home. I can’t wait to see New York - I’ve always wanted to go so I’m pretty excited for that. Maybe I will meet a hot American girl who’s really into Bruce Springsteen and making me eggy bread and not going insane at me when I want to play FIFA instead of going for dinner with her! I can dream… Finally, our of our favourite questions at RUSS, what is your favourite type of cheese?
Without a doubt, Pixie Lott! Many thanks to RUSS for this insightful interview!
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
DEBATE 9
Debate
Caught up in the Web
Can you trust the Internet? No Yes Brian hudson
It’s the Information Age. Thanks to the internet, nearly the collective sum of human knowledge is available to anyone who can get online. But, does this freedom of information mean that what one finds online is trustworthy? Absolutely! If you know where to look, that is. Just like any source of information in the physical world, a source of information online must be examined for its accuracy and veracity. And just like any source of information in the physical world, an online source can be little more than a neighbor’s rumour or it could be a scientific journal. Many scientific journals maintain online catalogues of their publications which are identical to the physical copies printed and distributed. These online articles contain the full contents of their articles, complete with citations and sometimes even additional information or suggested further reading, which their physical counterparts lack. The American Medical Association and Journal of the American Chemistry Society are two examples of well-known scientific journals that make their full contents available online. Along this note, the Library of Congress and the Encyclopedia Britannica, two of the largest and well-known repositories of general knowledge, both also maintain online archives which are largely identical to their physical counterparts. Additionally, the Britannica’s online version has the advantage of being updatable with the latest information, while any physical edition doesn’t. Online sources are also vastly more flexible than physical sources, i.e. books. If I were to purchase the latest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, even if it’s up to date now, in five years its information on some topics will begin to become inaccurate or irrelevant, and this will only grow worse as time goes on. This might be good for historical purposes, but is worthless in any other sense. An online source, however, by its very nature can be updated with the latest information and kept
reliable and relevant. Books can also suffer from printing errors, mistakes, or even outright lies. Before the internet, it could be exceptionally difficult to correct these mistakes or learn that an author was being less than forthright with their information. But now, with information so prevalent, being able to double-check a source is easy, and mistakes can be easily corrected. This can readily be seen in contemporary politics as it becomes harder for politicians to control information and higher levels of honesty are required, though this also can apply to local issues as well. Even on a local level, the internet can prove a valuable resource. Local news stations and papers often reprint their articles and reports online for those who miss the evening news, as well as post additional stories that just couldn’t fit in their normal broadcast. And as with the above journals, many sites maintain archives of their stories so that one can look them up in the future for reference, a feature that is difficult at best with newspapers. In social situations the internet can also prove helpful. While there are certainly plenty of stories of people being misled or hurt by others, this isn’t much different from going to a seedy pub or walking through a bad neighborhood at night. As long as you watch where you’re going, don’t add strangers to your friends list, and be careful of what you say, you’ll be fine and even benefit from good friendships. There are plenty of online communities full of good people just looking to socialize and help each other, just like a social club in real life. These can range from local organizations to international communities brought together through a common interest. It can even be a valuable tool for socializing and learning about events going on around you. The internet is simply a tool. Whether used for good or bad is up to the individual. Like most tools, the internet is largely used for our benefit and to make our lives easier. In that sense, I think, you can trust a lot of what you find online, if you know where to look.
mat greenfield
Online sources are vastly more flexible than physical sources
Wikipedia is like trying to build a skyscraper on marzipan: tasty but problematic
The Internet can be a valuable tool for socializing and learning about events
In writing this I make myself a hypocrite as I (like every student) use the Internet as my primary, and usually only, method of gathering information. However, the seemingly self-validating nature of ‘facts’ on the Internet mean that it cannot be trusted as a reliable source. The alluring draw of Wikipedia, a site with all pertinent facts on every conceivable subject (like Rule 34 for librarians) collected in one place, means that for most people it is naturally the first port of call. I don’t regard Wikipedia in as much contempt as most lecturers and journalists do, but feel it should be used only as a bridge to find more credibly-authored information. The Wikipedia apologist will always jump to the defence that the website has an army of vocationally-impaired moderators and editors ready to pounce on any potential misinformation that intrudes on their area of supposed expertise. Also, that practically every sentence is capped off with those trustworthy little blue numbers that indicate that sources exist for this information. But don’t ever follow these citations, don’t question their integrity; just sit back and relax in the sure and certain knowledge that the little blue numbers are infallible. This has lead to what’s cheekily referred to as ‘Citogenesis’, where a careless journalist or blogger picks up on some unsubstantiated misinformation on Wikipedia and proliferates it publicly. Eventually, the error finds it’s way back onto Wikipedia, now as a citation to validate it’s origin, and thus begets more mistakes. An infinite loop occurs, where an interdependent network of fictitious-facts support and propagate misinformation. Jimmy Wales’ ambitious project of trying to collate all the world’s information in one place, with such a notoriously lax policy on sources, is like trying to build a skyscraper on a foundation of marzipan: tasty but problematic. As for Wikipedia editors, even if we grant that they’re sufficiently
knowledgeable in the fields they claim, we’re still left with the problem that they surely can’t be monitoring every tiny change that happens to pages under their wardship at all times. Even the sharpest editors will have erroneous information visible however briefly, certainly long enough for citogenesis to occur. Having multiple editors will help, but it still lacks of objectivity that methodical science can bring forth in the pursuit of knowledge. Don’t think I’m picking on Wikipedia though, at least that website ostensibly has experts to edit it. The rest of the Internet is a no-man’s land of unsubstantiated assertions and bunk information masquerading as facts. I would not for a moment suggest that this is a problem in itself, as freedom of speech thankfully permits people to say whatever they wish, even blatant falsehoods. The onus is on the reader, therefore, to apply skepticism and carefully distinguish for himself the validity of the information being presented in light of the source. What potential bias may the source have? Can you trust, for example, a devoutly religious, antiabortion group to give you statistics on the efficacy of stem-cell research? These are the questions you need to ask. To find credible information online, all you need is a discerning nature, common sense and a willingness to put in the time and effort, so I’ve already lost most of you. Ultimately, the facts exist and are available to you on the Internet, they can be found if you value integrity enough to put the effort in. If you need statistics on climate change, don’t go to the Daily Mail and take their headlines at face value. Instead, go to sources that have a track-record of conducting good science and objective publication. Both these sources can be found on the Internet, but one is undoubtedly more reliable than the other. Should we trust the Internet? No. Should we use the Internet as a tool for research? Absolutely!
10 COMMENT
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
comment
The beginning of the end An atheist by any other name… chris ryder
lizzie pollington
It’s strange to think that this time two years ago, my impending deadlines and exams really meant very little whatsoever. I could spend my time thinking about what else to write for Spark*, how I was going to spend my summer and whether I could afford a new dress for summer ball (how silly of me, of course I couldn’t). This year it’s all very different though.
I thought I had achieved something amazing- I had got through being a fresher First off, what on earth is an idle moment? I haven’t had one of those for... well, for a very long time. If it isn’t general reading, or my dissertation, or my countless extra-curricular duties, it’s doing the laundry or washing the dishes. And of course always in the back of my mind, the dreaded ‘J’ word, job-hunting. At the end of my first year I thought I had achieved something amazing, I had got through being a fresher and had an epic year and everything was awesome. Now first year is glaringly obvious as a doddle. Hindsight, don’t you just hate it? My summer doesn’t seem like a deliciously free opportunity now. It seems like a never ending black hole that will swallow me up and let me disappear into the world of the unemployed and hopeless if I’m not careful. Of course I’m still going to enjoy the one day of sunshine we get (unless we’ve already had it?) and I may even eat an ice cream, but I don’t have the money for a holiday, and I don’t have the promise of structure to keep myself sane. All I have is a vasty
nothingness that only I can fill. No pressure then right? University seems to have gone by in a bit of a blur. People tell you that their university days were the best of their life. Before I started at Reading that made me eager to start for myself. But now I’m surprised people can pick out enough from the three year haze to be able to determine whether or not it actually was so amazing. I don’t mean to sound like a university Scrooge by any means, I have loved it here. I know have. I just can’t tell you why or what made it so good. It makes sense now why people carry on into postgraduate study; the degree went to fast, you haven’t had enough yet! I have to admit, I can’t wait to graduate. This year especially, I have felt like my real life is slightly on hold, waiting for my degree to be over. That might just be me, I know plenty of people who are dreading having to let go. But not me. From May onwards I can live the life I want to lead (successful job applications dependant, but still), I can make my own decisions and not have to fit them in with what Professor So-and-so says. The potential is giddying and heady. I can’t get enough of it.
People tell you that their university days were the best of their life This is the beginning of the end for my university life. I’ll miss the random days off, the nights out looking like and idiot and, dare I admit it, I will miss learning something new every day. But after 16 long years of education, bring on the real world and let me finally live in it!
Last week the University of Oxford hosted a lively debate between Professor Richard Dawkins and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. Before I go any further, I ought to point out that I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, but the focus of this article isn’t really on the debate itself so much as the reaction to Dawkins’ statement about his views on God. Specifically, I’m having a bit of a fume at an article by John Bingham on The Telegraph website the day after the debate, all aquiver because Dawkins had admitted he wasn’t 100% certain of God’s non-existence. Aside from the fact that this is not new information – Dawkins has often described himself as “6.9 out of 7” on his own invented scale of atheism – it once again completely misunderstands the definition of atheism. Can we please set this straight once and for all: an atheist lacks belief in gods. That’s it. In schools we’re taught the terms “atheist”, “theist” and “agnostic” as though they are two extremes and a midpoint on the same scale. They’re not! The atheism/theism scale is concerned with belief; the agnosticism/gnosticism scale (not to be confused with Gnosticism, with a capital G) is concerned with knowledge. Imagine the two
scales intersecting as an x- and y-axis and you have a much better idea of how these terms relate to each other. This shows that, as far as these two criteria go, a person’s views will fit into one of four areas: Gnostic atheism: knowing for certain that god(s) don’t exist and therefore believing it too; Agnostic atheism: not knowing for certain whether or not god(s) exist but believing they don’t; Gnostic theism: knowing for certain that god(s) exist and therefore believing it too; Agnostic theism: not knowing for certain whether or not god(s) exist but believing they do. Obviously your position will depend on the definition of “god” – a Christian, for example, may be a theist in relation to Yahweh, but an atheist in relation to Allah; a Muslim, presumably, vice-versa. Dawkins’ position – and, for what it’s worth, mine, in relation to most gods – is that of the agnostic atheist. So why is it important? Fair enough, all this seems like a tedious bore and isn’t really getting anything important done, such as putting the kettle on. But it’s very difficult to start talking about the important issues – e.g. whether or not a god exists – without first understanding where people are coming from. Too often I’ve seen
televised debates where the two parties are getting wildly impatient with each other, neither side realizing that they have completely the wrong impression about what the other thinks. To assume that atheists and theists can’t also be agnostic is to miss out a whole array of possible standpoints. I understand those who say that giving people labels all the time helps no one, but the problem here is that there already are labels and people are misunderstanding them! If the labels are going to be there we could at least try to get them right. On another (slightly unrelated) note, it’s worth pointing out that Dawkins once again seems to be the theist’s atheist. Not that I know where Bingham stands on the matter, but it’s interesting that Dawkins is often hailed as the figurehead of modern atheism by the world at large, whereas most atheists I know who are especially interested in philosophical discussions tend to prefer others, such as Sam Harris or the sorely-missed Christopher Hitchens. Just another misrepresentation, I suppose.
A degree in procrastination? aleesha sharma
There’s something else I really should be doing right now. How many times has this thought crossed your mind? In today’s technology-driven society, you don’t have to look much further than your own phone for distraction. Sure, what’s the harm in downloading yet another film on your laptop, or playing another ‘quick’ game of minesweeper? Before you know it, you’ve spent hours just laughing at that one really funny university meme. That’s it. Time wasted that you will never get back. So what happens when this distraction-seeking mentality interferes with your academic studies? In today’s competitive climate, getting a good degree has never mattered more. You hear it time and time again: in order to achieve high marks, you have to put in the necessary effort. You have to be focused. You need a strong work ethic. After all, these are the traits that future employers will expect of you. Despite this awareness of
what is expected of you, you just can’t bring yourself to do that piece of work that you’ve had four weeks to do.
If there was a degree in procrastination, we’d all get a first Chores might even become a form of procrastination; yes, a form of work to avoid doing another form of work – whatever next? And then comes the excuses stage: “I’m experiencing a lack of motivation”, “I work well under pressure”, and “I enjoy the challenge”. It’s nothing more than a sub-conscious attempt to justify your actions, when deep down, you are aware that you should have started the assignment a lot earlier. Many of us have been through this or are experiencing it at this moment in time. Procrastination is the unavoidable black hole that so many of us will inevitably succumb to. And why is it that every day, mundane activities actually
become appealing when they are the last thing that you should be doing? Perhaps it is the nature of the university student, or indeed the nature of the human condition itself. After all, we are under a mammoth amount of stress in which having to tackle assignment after assignment (not to mention completing them to the best of our ability) can seem like an unattainable goal. What should get us through this challenging time in our lives is knowing that hard work and discipline pays off. Often the idea of a task that has been presented to us can seem more overwhelming in our heads than it actually is in reality. Learning to balance priorities is a key skill at university. So next time you’re desperately seeking to finish that crossword before your assignment, just think about how much more satisfied you will feel when completing it once that voice in your head muttering “do your work” has disappeared. Nonetheless, I think it is safe to say that if there was a degree in procrastination, we’d all get a first… If only.
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
To heel or not to heel sacha whellams
To the majority of the girl populace, high heels are a good thing, they look good, they make your legs and bum look better and they give you that going ‘out-out’ feeling. Winning so far, however, all girls know that while these positive things exist, these heels of wonder are actually secret weapons of torture. In simple fact, they hurt, they can and will cripple your feet and their best friends are your blisters. They just don’t seem happy without each other. So it is small wonder that most girls will have an on off relationship with them that fluctuates throughout their university lifespan. Starting as a fresher, you are meeting new people, excited in your new environment and you want to make a good impression. Team that with a nonstop party week where you want to look good and the heels come out. For all of one evening only. After that
evening you realise your terrible mistake, that heels are in fact no place for fresher’s week. Fresher’s is the time to be, in all truth, a complete drunken mess, and do the things you wouldn’t normally do. Things that high heels simply don’t allow you to do, all they seem to want to do is make your arse or your face connect with the floor, how lovely.
So the love for the heel is back, until you spoil it by buying a new pair. How foolish you are! So you go through the phase of the ballet pump, the brogue, the boots, even the plimsolls on a night out, and this lasts for a long while after you realise that the next morning you are actually able to walk. Then comes the holiday period, where you are back home and you finally realise because of all
Drunk words, sober thoughts sarah mason
Discussing university life with my tutor, I discovered a titbit of information which I wish I had known about last year but is perhaps better saved for the last year of my time here. She said, ‘the second year is a blip year.’ First and third year, stuff gets done. Essays are typed, lectures are attended. Second year seems to suffer a slump. She expressed that she couldn’t think of why it might be that such high-achieving students seemed to stumble in the middle of the race to the degree. I suggested a few of my own ideas, having noticed (but not appreciated) the decline in work over my second year as well as the second year of most of my peers. We discussed the possibility of the change in house. In first year, the vast majority are placed in halls. Psychologically, you are still at school, at university, on campus and you are there to work. Once you move out to a house, there is so much more freedom and responsibilities. University takes rather a back-seat, at least for a while. Also, you move in with people you barely know. People you have known for about nine months to a year. How can you possibly make a good judgement on who you will get along with in that short time? I have witnessed ‘best buddies’ dissolve into mortal enemies. However, my dominating theory on what causes this slump in work is the habits one is encouraged to develop in the first year. Drink this, go here, drink more, join
this, drink that, offers for Fresher event now, I would barely have time to prepare for my seminars between the drinking and the recovering. Once you are in the habit of drinking a lot, and you are encouraged to drink nearly every day in your first year, it continues into the second year like bad enjambment. The work steps up in second year but the habit of party continues. Bad habits from the first year are packed up with everything else and brought to the start of the new year and I think it might be worth questioning the morality of forcing the funnels of beer down the throats of first years in the name of friendship. If you are drunk the entire time you are friends with someone, how on earth are you meant to make an informed decision about who you live with and who you can trust? It is just another element of university that is fast becoming suspect to my mind.
your drinking how much weight you have put on. Brilliant. This becomes the ‘gym and healthy eating phase’. Which somehow once again manages to include the high heels, maybe it is because, as I have heard many times before, ‘they tone your calves when you wear them’. So you forget all you have learned and the heels are back. They are on, they are toning those legs and you realise how much you have actually missed them. So the love for the heel is back, right until you go and spoil it all by buying, a new pair, how foolish you are indeed! These new shoes are unfamiliar with your feet; so you are now right back to square one with the unfriendly squashed toes, the nervous tottering up and down stairs and the barefooted walk home, where you end up having to balance holding your bag, your heels and the all-important take-away that will ‘’undoubtedly’’ make you feel better. This
stage of your relationship varies all through the rest of first year and into second year. Then comes third year; for most, the final year, the scary dissertation year, the demanding deadlines and the ‘’what you are going to do with your life’’ year.
As we said before they make you feel like you’re going ‘out-out’; essential to third years Sorry to tell you, but your social life becomes, quite often, a memory; ‘’Sakura who? What the hell is Revs? What does the Q in Q Bar even stand for?’’ Going out becomes a big deal. You now want to look nice more often than a weird fancy dress ‘thing’ that is just paint, feathers and legwarmers. This means the heels are back I’m afraid. As we said before they make you feel like you’re going
COMMENT 11
‘out-out’, something essential to third years when every Uni night out is closer to your last. Now because you go out sparingly the high heels are put on a pedestal, they become a symbol of the good times you had, the good times you hope to have once you graduate. They also become your future, the version of yourself you want to be. You imagine yourself being able to afford a pair of beautiful Jimmy Choos or gorgeous Christian Louboutin’s, you become a high flying business women strutting around an office in sharp suits and heels. You are famous, sauntering down a catwalk with everyone watching, you are sophisticated and classy; you can finally walk in heels properly. But until you get there, until you reach that awful ‘grown-up’ stage, you will be fighting a losing battle against the high heel. The heel which you love to hate, but can never walk away from.
Is “lad” culture preventing greatness? alfred brierley
Now, more than ever is the “lad” culture of our society at large and threatening to divert the younger minds of our generation from being the very best to following the crowd and succumbing to a life of averages and mediocre accomplishments. Subsequently, I can say with some certainty, that the majority of teenage boys in this day and age have been faced with the all too familiar scenario…. “Alright mate, you coming out tonight, or are you going to be gay and do your work?” Other alternatives include “flannel” “vagina” “homo” etc. At least, these are the connotations I have experienced associated with completing your work and generally trying to work hard to accomplish your goals and fulfil your dreams. Don’t get me wrong, I am all up for the “lad” culture, in fact I have most definitely been suspect of forcing this scenario on my friends as well. However this is wrong and seems to be a major flaw in our culture.
“All wealth is a product of labour” John Locke, 17th century English philosopher I can assure you that this sort of thinking would be deemed outrageous in a country like Germany, who pride themselves on work ethic and discipline. No signs of trying to be the biggest “lad” there that’s for sure. As soon as this “lad” culture came to power in our society it was an immediate down-
ward spiral. All too often does it get in the way of people’s true potential, a potential that could drastically enrich their future.
Why be content with what you have got when there is a whole world of things to achieve? It’s old news that pretty much every teenage boy wants to be rich and famous, so why don’t they start acting like they want to be? Why aren’t we putting pen to paper, training night and day all in pursuit of being the best and reaching our true goals? Because the current culture across all schools and universities is a potent barrier to success and as soon an individual strong enough to break this barrier they will come out the other side as a bigger success. John Locke, 17th century English philosopher said “all wealth is a product of labour”, and as soon as this philosophy is restored in the male youth of our nation the better. There is a reason why Jonny Wilkinson has played such an important part in my life. His obsessive nature to be the best has been with him since he was a child and has inspired me greatly in my own personal battles of trying to be the best I can be. Now I’m no expert on Wilkinson, but I can make an educated guess as to how many times he conformed to the pathetic peer pressure that is the scenario above, the answer being zero. And look where this has got him: seventy plus caps for his country, two Lions tours and at one point
the label of being the best player in the world. Understandably, not everyone wants to be the best or worker harder to achieve more as they are perfectly suffice with their situation, whether it be social, academic, financial or even personal and this is fine. But why be content with what you have got when there is a whole world other things to achieve in life. Don’t let this moronic culture of being a “lad” lure you into a false sense of contentment. Break free of it and realise your true potential. Don’t be oppressed by it and take pride in overcoming it, being strong enough to say no to your friends and relish in the overtaking of your friends in the pursuit of success. Just because they live their lives by this culture doesn’t mean you have to. So the next time you are faced with the scenario above, I urge you to stay strong and be true to yourself. If they are to respond with something like: “but I have got work due in tomorrow as well, but I’m not going to bother”, then simply reply: “that is precisely why know one will ever remember your name”
The current culture across all schools and universities is a potent barrier to success. It’s wrong that this lad culture gets in the way of people’s potential and oppresses their progress. Break free and be an individual.
12 FILM&TV
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
film&TV
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Uncomfortable yet moving Director: Stephen Daldry Starring: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, Max von Sydow Running Time: 129 Mins Genre: Drama Jonathan Edney
Many people have commented that this is the weakest film in this year’s Best Picture category at the Oscars, with a current rating of 45% on the Rotten Tomatoes critic website (less than half of the voters thought it was good). This is surprising considering that Jonathan Safran Foer’s bestselling novel deals with loss in response to one of the most shocking events in the past eleven years, so it would seem ideal for the cinema. However, some argue that this is the problem and that the film is crying out for awards due to its subject matter rather than its quality. I see the issue but the film remains enjoyable and moving. Oskar Schell is forced to come to terms with the loss of his beloved father (Hanks) in 9/11 and on discovering a key hidden in the house, sets out to find what it unlocks and
whether it harbours a connection to his father. Your enjoyment of the first part of the film depends on your tolerance of Oskar as he begins his search. It is implied that he suffers from Asperger’s disease but he is still extremely annoying, being rude and abrupt to strangers as well as shouting to his mother that he wishes she’d been taken in his father’s place. This becomes more tolerable once the Renter (the Oscar-nominated Max Von Sydow), who cannot speak for an
unknown reason, joins the search, for he endures Oskar’s demanding nature as we do. There are infrequent flashbacks to Oskar’s life with his dad, which serve to underline the tragedy, although I still didn’t fully sympathise with Oskar until the end of the film, which provides a moving coda to the people in Oskar’s life. The acting is excellent all round, with Thomas Horn driving the film as the neurotic Oskar and excelling in a challenging role. Max von Sydow also stands out for expressing every necessary emotion perfectly without saying a word, reduced to using a notepad and his hands to answer with. Hanks carries off the ‘perfect dad’ image with ease and Sandra Bullock is impressive as Oskar’s long-suffering mother. Stephen Daldry handles the scope of the story whilst allowing plenty of focus on Oskar’s personal struggle to bring closure to his dad’s death. The film won’t win Best Picture but it allows you to reflect on what you hold dear and how loss can affect the lives of others.
HHH
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance: trapped in a Cage of hell Directors: Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ciarán Hinds, Idris Elba Running Time: 95 Mins Genre: Action
Johnny also occasionally switches from a normal human being to a neurotic skeleton on fire. And if that won’t have your jaw hit the ground, this skeleton also rides a motorbike and fashions a leather jacket, which makes him appear as some deceased T-birds throwback rather than a terrifying villain.
Ellie Holland
I actually fell asleep for several minutes
I have always had a large amount of respect for Nicolas Cage, and this respect soon dwindled into nothing once I saw the shambolic performance that is Ghost RiderSpirit of Vengeance. To put it in a nutshell, I actually fell asleep for several minutes. And when I woke up to resume watching the film, I thought I was still in a nightmare.
They discard even the simplest conventions of quality film-making The sequel follows a similar plot to the first version of the film, Ghost Rider, where Cage plays Johnny
Blaze (notice the pun) who must make a deal with the devil in order to save his father. Five years later in the second version of the film, the devil now has a son called Danny (Fergus Riordan) with a woman named Nayda (Violante Placido). Danny is then kidnapped by his devil father, and the remaining of the film consists of Johnny attempting to find the young boy in order to protect him. But that’s not all-
Directors Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine really did scrape the barrel with the film’s plot (or lack of it) although the film’s excessive use of action and special effects could appeal to a younger audience. The use of 3D does help to create more of an impact, but even this is wasted on the films amateur and hand-held style of filming. There is no real sense of character development, direction, source material, and overall it should be made a crime that Taylor and Neveldine were allowed to direct this film. They discard even the simplest conventions of quality
film-making, and instead rather hastily put together a film that seems to focus on only satisfying their own interests and sense of humour. The acting is also rather lacklustre, although this may have rendered from the general mood of the actors, perhaps asking themselves the question: what did we do to deserve this? Well, that was the question I asked myself whilst watching, but hey- at least you get a free pair of 3D glasses at the end of it.
H
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - The One Show tried introducing full course meals into cinemas instead of usual popcorn/ nachos. The jury is still out
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
FILM&TV 13
Boardwalk Empire: Buscemi’s the boss in Atlantic City Created by: Terrence Winter Starring: Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald Episode Length: 60 Mins Genre: Period drama
General from Antz, a Federal Prohibition officer who longs to expose just how corrupt Nucky Thompson is. The costumes do not disappoint, from the sequinned gowns of dancer Lucy (Paz de la Huerta) to the perfectly tailored suits that the vast array of gangsters sport. Nucky in particular has an impressive wardrobe; if you’ve never considered wearing a peach coloured shirt with a burgundy checkered suit before, you will now.
Saskia Whelan
The first season of HBO’s multipleEmmy-Award-winning drama Boardwalk Empire is currently out on DVD, and if you buy just one box set to last through this snowy season, it should definitely be this. Set in Atlantic City during the 1920s, part politician, part gangster overlord Enoch “Nucky” Thompson is attempting to line his pockets by keeping his city awash with forbidden liquor in light of Prohibition.
The violence contrasts well with the subtle dangers of the political world Nucky (believe me, the name will grow on you) is portrayed by the absolutely fantastic Steve Buscemi, king of multiple Coen brother and Tarantino films, and Michael Pitt, who resembles a
The costumes do not disappoint, with sequinned gowns and perfectly tailored suits
sort of squishy, sleepy Leonardo DiCaprio, takes a turn as rookie gangster James “Jimmy” Darmudy. The all-star cast also features Kelly Macdonald (Trainspotting) and Stephen Graham (This is England), the latter appearing as notable historical gangster Al Capone. The roaring 20s is by far my favourite decade because of the music, the clothes, the atmosphere
and a society that is glamorous and grimey in equal parts. This is certainly true of Boardwalk Empire, with Nucky Thompson hiding his vast crime empire behind the role of trustworthy Treasurer.
Buscemi us fantastic And, as you’d expect of a drama revolving around gangsters, there
are copious amounts of violence that contrast well with the subtle dangers of the political world that Nucky also inhabits. Therefore, it’s probably not for the faint of heart, but the violence never seems overly gratuitous or unnecessary and never detracts from the plot. There is also a constant tension provided by Nelson Van Eldon, played by Micheal Shannon who looks a little like the mean
The pilot is directed by Martin Scorsese, and the series itself is created by the don of television dramas, Terence Winters, who wrote The Sopranos, so each and every episode has the quality of a film. It’s a challenge not to devour the entire 12 episode series in one sitting. So, if you think your workload can handle it, shine up your brogues, pour a glass of bootlegged whisky and settle down to one of the best TV dramas currently out there.
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The 12A Rating in Black: Part 1 Sam Burgess
Recently, your humble scribe watched The Woman in Black not one, not twice, but thrice over, and each time emerged from the cinema shaking like a leaf and swearing blind that it was the greatest ghost movie since The Haunting. Hardly a popular opinion, and sadly not one the Spark* reviewer shared, but no matter; if the proof of the pudding is in the box office, then The Woman in Black has proved itself a fine sharp shock to all kinds of audiences, including infants, apparently.
In two of the three screenings this writer attended, parents had come along with children as young as four years of age. Fans have reported similar across the country over the social networks; one gentleman observed a six-monthold being brought in, mercifully asleep. Consider that idea for a second. Toddlers and pre-schoolers are being taken into a movie explicitly advertised as a horror (a Hammer Horror no less); from a novel by the modern ghost-story writer, Susan Hill, and directed by James Watkins, of Eden Lake’s grisly fame. Why is this allowed to happen? Well, if we’re casting blame, then it must heaviest upon (of all people) Spiderman. Upon the release of the first Spidey movie in 2002, the British Board of Film Classification bowed to industry pressure and converted the 12 certificate into the 12A, allowing any child under that age to see a 12-rated movie in the company of an adult.That Spider-Man’s director Sam Raimi once had his masterful fright-fest The Evil Dead banned and unrated in the UK perhaps proves that irony is thicker than blood. More importantly, however, was that
the converted rating marked a hitherto-unheard-of concession made by the British board to allow viewers younger than the certification to witness the movies. The comparable rating in the American studio system, disturbingly, is the R-ratings; under which, anyone under 17 may see a movie the BBFC
might term an 18 in Britain. Be glad at least that Britain has a ratings board with some semblance of proportion; if you’re going to create a chasm between what you tell people they can see and what you let them see, there is at least less chance of falling into it with the BBFC.
For the sake of getting backsides onto seats, the industry forced the change through, and now we have The Woman in Black as the latest example of the idiocy that can result from such a concession. Don’t miss the next issue of Spark* for Part 2 of my rating rant.
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - There are plans to reboot the Vacation film that originally starred Chevy Chase, with a cameo from Chevy on the cards
14 FILM&TV
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
film&Tv
Melancholia: The end is nigh! Director: Lars Von Trier Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Alexander Skarsgard, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Gainsbourg Running Time: 136 Minutes Genre: Sci-Fi/Drama Hayley Garwood
Melancholia was actually premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2011. Kirsten Dunst received the award for Best Actress despite Lars Von Trier creating considerable amounts of bad press, declaring himself as a “Nazi” and saying that he “understands” Adolf Hitler (great idea Lars). The terrible opening pressconference to the film left little impact on its critical success, however. Released here in September 2011, the film was mainly screened in Picture House cinemas and, like Tree of Life or Another Earth, Melancholia's success in the UK Box Office was limited. I remember being unable to find a screening of the film in the summer, having been enticed by the Ophelia-esque
poster of Kirsten Dunst, who I could only previously associate with the (wonderful) Bring It On or Spiderman films. Needless to say, thanks to Reading Film Theatre, I have watched it and it lives up to the hype. The film's opening cosmological, operatic sequence resembles Tree of Life in such a way that I was ready to run for the hills. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the relevance and omnipotence of these stunning opening images to the remainder of the film. The extreme slow motion, deep-focus shots of mystical situations, Justine (Dunst) struggling against the grasp of tree roots in her wedding dress for instance, are justified within the wholeness of this transcendental film about the end of the Earth. The first half of the film, entitled 'Justine' is a gentle and intimate depiction of Justine's wedding day and her struggle with depression which renders the marriage to Alexander Skarsgard over before it has begun. Justine's dark and cynical vision of existence prepares her well for the slow arrival of Melancholia, an earth-like planet hurtling straight for Earth. The latter half of the
Top Ten Superhero Movies
film explores the life of Justine's rational and often frustratingly unsympathetic sister, Claire, and her villainous, astronomer husband (Kiefer Sutherland). The distinction between the two sisters acts as a comparison between the dignified acceptance of nihilism and the frantic grasp for meaning in the face of onrushing disaster. Von Trier's gentle motion-camera and vivid, cinematography becomes just as mesmerizing as the characters find Melancholia itself. The concluding scene is visually stunning and Dunst's performance consistently impresses until the tragic end. Ultimately there is a sense that Von Trier, unlike Terrence Malick's Tree of Life, is trying to communicate with us, not by enforcing a religious or philosophical doctrine but by presenting us, through the sisters, two extreme dispositions with the same fate. It is a shame that the cinematic release of Melancholia did not receive the same public acclaim as it had done in the U.S. The DVD, however, is sure to become a timeless classic for all film-lovers' archives.
Kate Holman
10. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Bruce Banner is transformed into a raging green giant after an experiment goes wrong. With incredible visual effects and jampacked action scenes, what more could you ask for?
9. Spiderman (2002)
Tobey Maguire won our hearts as the awkwardly shy Peter Parker. The original left everyone slightly nervous after they’ve been bitten by a spider, or rather, slightly hopeful!
8. X-Men (2008)
An academy is set up to train ‘mutants’ with superpowers. Plenty of amazing visuals and conflicts with the mutant world, it’s like Hogwarts…but for superheroes.
7. Batman Begins (2005)
The genius of the self-made hero is accurately portrayed in the blockbuster flick, fighting the crime of Gotham whilst keeping the coolness of his character alive.
6. Iron Man (2008)
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George Lucas: The defence strikes back! Jonathan Edney
Roger Ebert stated this in his review of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999): ‘the stories of the Star Wars movies have always been space operas, and the importance of the movies comes from their energy, their sense of fun, their colorful inventions and their state-of-theart special effects’. If one of the most respected film critics of all time can appreciate the Star Wars Prequels, why do so many pretend they don’t exist? The original trilogy (1977-83) was remembered primarily for its ground-breaking visual effects that changed cinema forever. Developments in CGI both helped and hindered the prequels, for while the worlds on screen were amazing, they couldn’t have the same impact when challenged by The Matrix (1999) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03). As far as the acting goes, only Liam Neeson, Ian McDiarmid, Christopher Lee and Samuel L. Jackson really rise above the dialogue woes. The actors who play Anakin can be fairly wooden
and irritating, but the transition between Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen is at least believable. Christensen has some of the worst lines, but in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), he is able to give a better, if still uncomfortable, performance as he turns to the Dark Side. Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman, while not at their best, do try, with McGregor showing his true metal in the final duel in Sith. The under-par performances and lines are lifted by John Williams’s incredible scores and as for Jar-Jar Binks, at least we can say he was partly responsible for Palpatine’s rise to power in Clones.
George Lucas ‘raped our childhoods’ The lightsaber fights, particularly Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon v. Darth Maul in Menace and Anakin versus Obi-Wan in Sith, are infinitely exciting, as is Menace’s pod-race and the Clone Wars battles. Many complain that the plots are too complicated (taxation, politics etc.) but they try to be more inno-
vative than the relative simplicity of the original trilogy and it is intriguing to see Senator Palpatine’s rise to power over the trilogy. Sith brings everything full circle and provides some powerful moments. Whilst setting up the original trilogy, it also comes the closest to rivalling it. There are many who appreciate the prequels but there are also many who have nothing better to do but claim that George Lucas ‘raped their childhoods’ by making them. The prequels were part of my childhood more than the original trilogy and I’m sure that is the same for many born in the 90s. The so-called ‘fans’ should refrain from making personal comments about the man who created the universe they are apparently devoted to and learn to appreciate the prequels as part of the saga. Lucas may be retiring from making blockbusters but his legacy will last forever in these SIX films. I am looking forward to my first big screen experiences of Episodes IV-VI but having already enjoyed Episode I in 3D, that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to Episodes II and III any less.
Iron Man is undeniably one of the coolest self made superheroes. This blockbuster hit revived Robert Downey Junior and who could argue with the awesome suit?
5. Superman (1978)
This list wouldn’t be complete without THE original comic book adaptation, the brilliant Superman, the first definitive superhero. Christopher Reeve was and always will be Superman.
4. Spiderman 2 (2004)
It’s not often a sequel takes over its original, yet this is when the real story begins! Doctor Octopus as the perfect latest villain, this was a sure box office hit.
3. Kick-Ass (2010)
Dave Lizewski lives out every teenage boy’s dream by becoming a DIY superhero. Brilliantly funny and with some amazing fight scenes with 11-year-old Hit Girl kicking some serious ass.
2. The Incredibles (2004)
Everyone’s guilty pleasure. One of Pixar’s greatest successes won the hearts of all ages as we all wished our families were secretly harbouring superpowers…there’s still hope?
1. The Dark Knight (2008)
Ultimately the best super villain, Heath ledger put on the performance of his career as The Joker in, undoubtedly, one of the greatest films of all time.
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - Adam Sandler has set a record for Razzie nominations this year, having been nominated for Best Actor and Actress for Jack and Jill
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
FILM&TV 15
Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury: Toothless returns in dragon short Director: Tom Owens Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson Running Time: 22 Minutes Genre: Animation, Short Film
watch, but I am told it gives a good insight to those who are fascinated by the dragons in the movie, and is an enjoyable watch on its own.
I think that 22 minutes was ample time for the film to unfold and
Hui Chow
present its message
There is something strangely fascinating about movies that involve dragons. Especially ones that involve a dragon as loveable as Toothless the Night Fury, and a village full of Vikings that have dragons for pets. It definitely makes one envious.
The graphics of the short film proves to be just as impressive as the original movie This short-film sequel to DreamWorks’ spectacular How to Train Your Dragon movie proves to be just as beautifully heartwarming as its predecessor. The Viking village of Berk is preparing to celebrate the winter festival Snoggle-
tog (which suspiciously resembles Christmas) with their dragon pets, but inexplicably, mid-way through the preparations, the dragons take off en masse – leaving behind their bewildered owners and a desolate village without any festive spirit. Meanwhile, Hiccup realizes just how restricted Toothless is, unable to fly on his own with a crippled tail and constructs a self-operated replacement for him, only to have Toothless fly off as well. Hiccup sets off on a small adventure to
recover the lost dragons, while discovering the depth of the bond between Toothless and himself. The graphics of the short film proves to be just as impressive as the original movie, with beautiful settings and an array of fascinating dragons – each carefully and uniquely designed with functionality and personality in mind. The soundtrack, modified from John Powell’s compositions in How to Train Your Dragon, was uplifting and impressive (it is one of those
The Oscars: results Hollywood’s finest were out in force on Sunday night to celebrate the 84th Oscars ceremony. If you don’t want to know the results, thow down the paper and flee now!
Best Actress: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Best Picture: The Artist
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
soundtracks that you just have to put on repeat). Although several reviewers have expressed discontent over the length of the film, I think that 22 minutes was ample time for the short adventure to unfold and present its message – it was definitely an appropriate teaser for the second movie (due to be released on 20 June 2014). The DVD release comes with another short film (approximately 23 minutes long) entitled The Book of Dragons, which I have yet to
Both films can be watched on their own, however, I strongly recommend that anyone who has yet to watch the original How to Train Your Dragon movie should watch that first, to be able to truly appreciate the depth of the message presented in Gift of the Night Fury (and to really understand why everyone who has ever watched the movie wants a Night Fury for a pet). While the short-film releases are enjoyable to watch, they may only appeal as collectibles for diehard fans who can’t get enough of the dragons. Now, to re-watch How to Train Your Dragon.
HHH
This Fortnight at the RFT... Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Student Tickets: £4.50
This week the RFT presents Weekend which follows gay men in Nottingham as they spend 48 hours soul-searching with the help of drink, drugs and sex after a casual hook-up. Also, the RFT’s History in Film Season continues with Milk starring Sean Penn as the first openly gay elected official in America who went on to campaign for the rights of the LGBT community. The film is preceded by a Q&A session led by Dr Jonathon Bell.
Tuesday 6 March (20.00): Weekend (18) Wednesday 7 March (19.00): Milk (15) Thursday 8 March (20:00): We Have a Pope (PG) Tuesday 13 March (20:00): A Dangerous Method (15) Thursday 14 March (19.15): Robinson in Ruin (U)
Prices: Members £4.50 Other Winners: Best Animated Feature: Rango Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Non-members £6.00 Annual Membership £10.00
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - Skyfall is set to be the first Bond movie to be shown in IMAX 3D when it premieres in October, can’t wait for that opening sequence!
16 MUSIC
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
music.spark@reading.ac.uk
music
LIVE
Spark* gets blown away by two intense live experiences from Mastodon and Justice
Mastodon w/ Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang 11th February 2012 Brixton Academy, London Thomas Donno
Being the most exciting metal band to emerge in the last ten years, it is only fitting that the bearded behemoths that are Mastodon would finish their biggest ever headlining tour of the UK at
London’s Brixton Academy. Right off the back of the hugely successful fifth studio album, The Hunter, Mastodon were able to remind their audience of why exactly they are even better on the live scene. The concert began with an extremely impressive support slot from The American Heavy Metal Band, and close comrades of Mastodon, Red Fang. After a slow start, Red Fang unleashed an impressive onslaught of heavy
riffs in a short set that climaxed with the energetic Prehistoric Dog, which has already become a huge crowd favourite. It is fair to say that by the end, Red Fang had won over a huge portion of the Brixton crowd and had certainly gained a few more fans. Next up were the vigorous and elaborate support slot from The Dillinger Escape Plan. Sandwiched in between two bands of very similar styles, the usually impressive live outfit
struggled to win over any new fans, but they certainly had their own lively following down the front who were able to anticipate every single intricate drop and change of pace. Up next were the main event for the evening as Mastodon hit the stage with the epic Dry Bone Valley which helps truly emphasise the awesome talent of Brann Dailor, who as well as providing a thunderous rhythm section to kick off proceedings is able to deliver a perfect vocal performance at the same time. The next songs follow with no break, and pretty much set the tone for the rest of the gig as the four-piece rip into Black Tongue and crowd favourite Crystal Skull. It is clear right from the off that this is a band well on form with vocalist and bassist Troy Sanders delivering a brutal performance alongside guitarists Bill Kelliher (who day by day is looking more and more like James Hetfield) as well as the ever maniacal Brent Hinds. The band’s set is slightly let down at points with a dodgy sound set up
but these problems soon subsided and Mastodon were not holding back on continuing with the riffage onslaught. The transition of the new songs onto the live stage is flawless, especially the huge sing along created by All The Heavy Lifting as well as the incredibly infectious Curl Of The Burl which in a few short months has already become a huge hit and now seems a must for any future Mastodon set list. The trio of Iron Tusk, March of the Fire Ants and Blood and Thunder expectedly conclude the show before the encore and stirs the crowd up in to a complete whirl wind of mosh pits and pumping fists. The encore consists only of one song but getting the two support bands back on stage to sing along to Creature Lives is a nice touch as the booming crowd are showered in red balloons. This gig at Brixton Academy is perhaps a testament to how far Mastodon have actually come since the release of their first studio album ten long years ago. Sheer riffing brilliance.
of amplifiers, some non-descript panels of lights, buttons and knobs, and the iconic cross.
the song. It made an interesting diversification in the performance, giving it a more personal feel; not something you’d usually expect from the duo. In a back catalogue devoid of conventional ‘ballads’, each song kept the audience energetic whollyentranced and responsive. Songs were mixed into one huge medley, which worked extremely well, as elements of their best songs were often present throughout, and the melodies flowed seamlessly over consistent beats. Highlights included some of Justice’s biggest hits, DVNO, D.A.N.C.E., Audio, Video, Disco, and We Are Your Friends, the latter being perhaps their biggest breakthrough song, on which they collaborated with Simian. Justice’s live performance lived up to my ridiculously high expectations, and displayed their understanding of what an audience so clearly requires, even when no guitars, drums, violins or doublebasses are in sight. Their ironic, non-controversial and iconic use of religious imagery sets them apart from, rather than grouping them with, artists like Minaj and Lady Gaga; Justice aren’t exploiting the imagery of Christianity, but merely referencing and being playful with it. What’s more, they delivered something close to what I imagine a religious experience to be.
They delivered what I imagine a religious experience to be
Justice 9th February 2012 Academy, Bristol Alex Hoskins
Nicki Minaj was criticised by Christian groups this week after appearing at the Grammys dressed as a nun, with a pope lookalike in tow. She is not the first to use religious imagery in her performances, with the likes of Madonna’s controversial Like a Prayer video, and Judas by Lady Gaga preceding Nicki Minaj’s oddly derivative performance.
These examples seem like vulgar shock-tactics when compared with the classy evocation of religion provided by Justice’s live show. Justice’s first album was entitled purely Cross (denoted by a cross symbol), a theme which has transferred to their live performances in the shape of a large brightly-lit white cross, which sits slap bang in the middle of the stage. Their song titles ran with the theme, including Genesis, Let there be Light and Waters of Nazareth. Justice were, and are, clearly a band who equate music with reli-
gion, and who strive to provide a religious musical experience. The prospect of seeing Justice live was one which had been exciting me for months, if not years, since first hearing their album in 2007, and their new album Audio, Video, Disco. There is always the grave possibility of being hugely disappointed when piling that much pressure on to a band’s performance. Fortunately, they managed to deliver a performance worthy of such anticipation. The initial stage set up looked very average: two huge stacks
When Gaspard and Xavier, the brains behind the music, emerged on stage dressed in black leather jackets and jeans, the show could certainly have coasted along on the strength of the music the audience was so eager to hear. Justice were not complacent, however, and the visuals proved just as spectacular as the music itself. The stacks of amps which had seemed so innocuous suddenly lit up like screens, flashing in combinations of colours, and at their most spectacular, giving the illusion of flying through space (a bit like that screen saver which used to be on Windows computers, only a thousand times more exciting). The set Justice played was not conventional, in the sense that the music was not being played live with instruments. The only exception came as the stage set suddenly began to move apart in the middle, revealing a keyboard, with pipes reminiscent of church organ pipes rising above it. At this point, one of the members of Justice sat at the keyboard and played part of
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
music.spark@reading.ac.uk
FEATURE
Jamie Milton
“Now we’re painted so colourfully” is an observation that Simon Balthazar makes in the opening third of his band Fanfarlo’s new album, Rooms Filled With Light. Indeed, whereas 2009’s Reservoir might have stood its ground in offering its listeners uplifting folk songs with an anthemic quality, this new release sees the band branching out and acquiring a new, brighter pallette. Fanfarlo have spent the best part of the past three years up in the air, disassociated with home and disconnected with time zones and routine. Rooms Filled With Light is mostly tied in with this idea of location, or lack of it; it’s reflected in the gorgeous blend of string instruments and synth effects; the cut-up and re-configured style of the album’s artwork. Spark* spoke to the band about their time on the road and their immediate desire to get back in the studio to write this
We interview Fanfarlo ahead of their excellent new album
album, once they drew a line on touring. You’ve just come back from touring Korea? What was that like? Cathy: Pretty amazing. It’s a strange and wonderful place. We even went to the border with the North and peered over. Simon: North Korea does exist! All we saw of North Korea was a propaganda village - it’s a fake village where no-one lives. The songs on this album, Rooms Filled With Light, are of a notably different sound to the stuff on Reservoir - were you a little bit apprehensive at all? C: No, not really. It was a big learning curve, definitely, just because some of the things we did in the studio we were doing for the first time and by the time we came out of the studio, we needed to learn how to play everything live. We’ve been spending a lot of time working on the performance side
ALBUMS
RCA
Laurence Green
Ever since Dry The River began making tentative movements within the industry, people were quick to liken them with Mumford and Sons. While it’s true they bear much in common, Dry The
of things in the last few months, which is why we’ve been touring a bit - you don’t wanna go out there cold. The sound itself though - you’ve made a definite change, a real progression. Did that come naturally or was it something that you purposefully intended to do from the outset? C: It wasn’t particularly conscious - I think that’s just what happens when there’s so much time between records and also, we’ve spent so much time together, touring and figuring out what we were going for. We were listening to different music, gaining new influences. A lot of it comes from the same instruments: we’ve always used keyboards and violins and trumpets and clarinets but this time, we’re using them in a slightly different way. So it wasn’t a purposeful move to edge away from the folk sound? C: Yes and no. It was sort of obvious to us [that we were moving away from it] but at the same time we were just following our instincts as to what we liked at that moment. We just enjoyed plugging certain things into other things and playing notes. It feels a lot more tied up as a record, conceptually and visually. You’ve spoken about adding a lot more of a visual element to what you do? C: That was definitely more conscious. As soon as we’d made the record - during recording as
well - we were asking ourselves what images could convey the music. We worked with Allison Diaz on the artwork. We’d seen some of her stuff - she has this series called ‘Haunted Mirrors’ which are a series of portraits that are all cut up into these diamond shapes and re-arranged - and we loved those and so we asked her if we could use it and she insisted on making something new for the album. In the same vein, she did band portraits which will be on the album artwork. The video for Shiny Things as well, that was quite a bold concept. C: That came out of a meeting we had with the director - he happened to be in New York at the same time as us - and we met up with him and as always with these things, it’s often about personality, you either click with someone or you don’t. And I think we felt that he was someone who was really receptive to the music, to our ideas. He created this strange allegory in video form. A lot of people are asking whether it’s metaphorical... S: Apparently when a civilisation went over to South America, the Aztecs would capture Spanish invaders and make them drink melted gold! I think they were just fascinated, trying to figure out why the hell these people were so desperate and interested in their gold. I think the Romans did something similar but that was probably just out of sadistic
impulse rather than curiosity (laughs). On your website you’re selling a deluxe version of the album and it comes with a compass - could you tell me more about why you’re giving each listener one of these? S: We were looking around for art to use, for ideas to use. And we ended up with this theme that tied in with geography and directions and landscapes. The relationship between nature and modernity is something that runs through the record. We ended up looking at these pictures that came from Google Maps, glitches from Street View. We were looking at these bizarre pictures and we ended up with this theme of distorted landscapes, the idea of losing direction. Cathy was talking about Allison Diaz’s art and that’s kind of related to this; the idea of cutting things up and reassembling them; losing track of where it came from. Did you pick up this idea of big landscapes and loss of direction from touring so much? S: Possibly - it’s certainly something that has been a huge part of our lives. It’s always hard to say where these ideas come from but certainly that sentiment has had an impact. Our lives have been broken up, we’ve spent the last three years constantly on the road, constantly in different time zones, not really knowing what time of day or day of the week it is. Fanfarlos’s new album Rooms Filled With Light is out now via Atlantic.
We check out Dry The River’s debut and the return of The Shins
River offer a far richer palate of sounds, deftly coupled with a keen knowledge of great pop hooks. Their tracks feel looser, freer, and more spacious. It’s like the gates to England’s green pastures have been opened wide and the band given liberty to sow and reap their sustenance.
Dry The River Shallow Bed
MUSIC 17
There’s a feathered elegance to Dry The River’s message And what wonders they have grown. As an album, Shallow Bed is the richest of broths, a hearty concoction of good honest songwriting, guitar lines that shine out like the brightest of stars and string sections that swell and rise like the pulse of a living body. If that body be England’s own spirit, then Dry The River are the coursing sweep of its energies leaping
out to all corners of its dimensions, and in the tapestry of material presented on the band’s debut, it welcomes all to its fold. You don’t get pop more sweetly rounded than the likes of History Book and New Ceremony (two of the best tracks on the album) – all sugared harmonies and arts-n’-crafts jaunty cheer. Bible Belt is equally charming, beautiful too – a lover’s ballad of uncomplicated romance and emotion. Dry The River’s music goes beyond twee upkeepings of appearance and quaint gifts, it’s the stuff at the heart of what love really is – that gut feeling that sweeps you up in its arms and tugs you down a path you can’t resist. Lead single The Chambers & The Valves plays like the band’s calling card – a neatly composed three minute presentation of everything the rest of the album then goes on to explore. Big, rough-handed percussion give the songs an earthiness, and those everyman vocals
that seem like more than just a singular individual, but instead an amassed collective of spirited yearning. Yearning for what? For life. The essence of life itself. And a profusely natural, organic depiction of life at that. The lush minimalism of Demons is Dry The River at their most pastoral – a word that seems inescapable when summarising what the band’s sound encompasses, but the only one that really does it full justice. The track, like so many of Dry The River’s best moments, builds from small, almost village-like beginnings to an impassioned, forceful crescendo that breaks over the soul like a wash of birds’ beating wings. There’s a feathered elegance to Dry The River’s message, a moral capacity for empathy that strikes across all audiences – varied enough to appease the indie crowd, but with the precision and com-
posure to sweeten the tooth of the pop lover. There are moments when every part of the band’s sound comes to bear – guitar, strings, brass, vocals – all slamming home at once. You’re knocked to your knees, not in submission – for Shallow Bed is never overpowering – but in the awe of raw adulation. In its near seven-minute glory, Lion’s Den is the apotheosis of this side to the band – a grandiose epic of truly baroque scales. The soaring guitar solos that underpin this track’s sprawling outro are the stuff that heaven itself is stitched from. It takes skill to craft a good album, but it takes craftsmanship of artisan-like levels to go beyond that and create a debut record worthy of proper, acknowledging respect. Shallow Bed is one such album.
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18 MUSIC
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
music.spark@reading.ac.uk
ALBUMS
The Shins Port Of Morrow Sony
Charlie Allenby
For those of you unfamiliar with The Shins’ work, before you even think about listening to this album, go a find a copy of their amazing Grammy nominated third record Wincing The Night Away. If you do like their blend of indie-popfuzzy-rock, then you really are in for a treat with this latest
effort from James Mercer, who continues to contribute to most of what you hear on the album, amongst an ever-changing line up of musicians. If you were not a fan of the previous work from the American collective, regardless, give this record a go. Its warm, fluffy melodies are complimented by Mercer’s lullaby-esque vocals, making it the perfect album for a lazy Sunday afternoon. One could even describe this latest record from The Shins as ‘easy-listening,’ but I feel like this would be taking something away from the album, almost rendering it boring, which it is certainly not. It is a complete record full of some catchy songs, such as the psychedelic Bait and Switch, and the lovely Simple Song. Although I cannot see it being up there amongst the best at the end of the year, definitely give this album a spin, because if you don’t, you’ll be missing out an exemplary work of indie-pop.
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Katie Melua Secret Symphony Dramitco Records
George Reed
Katie Melua is a instantly recognisable British Singer-Songwriter, gaining in popularity ever since she debut back in 2003. Now from the singer who told us how many bicycles are in Beijing (nine million apparently) comes her latest album Secret Symphony. Released
on the 5 March, it is Katie’s latest album since her UK No. 4 The House, released back in 2010. Gold In Them Hills starts the album with the familiar raspy tones that we have come to expect from Katie. Admittedly the lyrics do remind the listener of an old prospector, but it is still a lovely song. In fact, the album is full of lovely songs, with Better Than a Dream, the first single to be released from the album, and All Over The World continuing this theme. But all is not as happy in Melua’s world. The Bit I Don’t Get details the sudden break up of a long-term relationship. The lyrics are so emotive and powerful that you can almost feel the pain and confusion in Katie’s voice as she explains how she “Didn’t see the writing on the wall”. Moonshine sees Katie change her style, with the song having a distinct country and western feel to it. This American feel carries over into Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out. The smooth sounding trumpets allow Katie
to wander into the New Orleans Jazz Scene, creating a beautifully intimate feel. So much so that the listener can easily picture Katie strewn across a large black grandpiano in a small and smoke-filled jazz bar. All this put together makes it one of the best tracks on the album. It is an album that can play in the background, with Melua’s vocals floating from melody to melody, song to song. It’s not a bad thing, but several songs drift past with no memorable lines or noticeable tunes. Melua herself explained how “There is a simplicity to the album that I love” which is very true, with each song showcasing Katie’s unique vocal style perfectly. Yet the simple and beautiful sounds of Melua’s voice and lyrics aren’t for everyone. But Melua fans will love it, and the varying styles and emotions may gain her a few more this time round.
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SINGLES Have The Enemy come back as a rejuvinated force? The Enemy Gimme The Sign
Estelle Thank You
The Black Keys Gold On The Ceiling
Self-released
Atlantic
Nonesuch
Laurence Green
Siobahn Maguire
Laurence Green
It’s been a while. Three years to be precise, since the Enemy released their sophomore effort Music For The People. And these days, three years is a long time in the music business, especially if you’re a young guitar band. Just stop for a moment and think about the fact that the band’s debut sold 600,000 copies. The Enemy, of all their contemporaries, felt like a band really going places, the kind of group that might one day take up the mantle from the likes of Kasabian. But if Gimme The Sign is designed to further their cause, it’s a rather belated affair. Sure, it packs all the raucous punk revivalism that made their debut such an exhilarating affair, but the maturity of No Time For Tears is gone, and the hooks the band previously crafted so well now feel diluted. It’s sort of like The Enemy coming up with a track based on themselves – and thus, aside from being a bit rougher round the edges, it does little to push the envelope. For a band that in many ways now stand as outsiders, there’s the general feeling that pushing the envelope is very much what’s needed.
Thank You is Estelle’s third single, taken from her third album, All of Me. The Grammy award winning singer, songwriter and rapper has not been on the scene of late, but does not fail to surprise with this new single. The ballad, Thank You takes a different direction to Estelle’s previous releases, with its more mellow sound. The song is centred upon heartbreak and being able to learn and move on post trauma. You can gain a sense of real reflection, something which is heightened by the chiming bells at the opening, giving an almost haunting tone. You can undoubtedly sense Estelle’s R&B roots what with the low bass undercutting the song, making it all the more soulful. I am uncertain that this single has the same capacity to be as huge as Estelle’s previous releases, like American Boy for example. However, I am sure that it will be popular, especially among her fans as it really demonstrates a new side to her which is refreshing. The chilled vibe enables Thank You to suit any mood, and the easy listening tone makes it one of my favourites by Estelle.
The Black Keys’ latest album El Camino ended up walking away towards the end of last year with the kind of reviews a genuine future classic is built on. What it offered was a new take on something old; choppy, bluesy riffs pulled down an alley of keen contemporary rock hooks – it was a recordsteeped in the past but one with its eyes faced resolutely on making a splash in the here and now. With its fuzzy guitar riffs new single Gold On The Ceiling hits like a dollop of Aladdin Sane era Bowie,processed through the quirk-penetrated filters of something like the Dandy Warhols. It’s rock at its most earthy and truthful to its roots. For a band that have been going as long as the Black Keys, it’s enervating to see them finally hitting the big time, and with tracks as raucously fun as this, they do it with fine aplomb.
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BEST OF THE REST Crystal Castles Suffocation (HEALTH Remix) How better to celebrate an album announcement than by getting one of the world’s most exciting bands to remix one of your songs? Crystal Castles and HEALTH share a few things in common: abrasiveness, experimental edge and a knack for making great t-shirts. This remix of Suffocation is a plausible extension from such shared characteristics - the kind of evolving, warped edit that you’d expect from kindred spirits. Indeed, it might teeter on the brink of predictability, but when something sounds as refreshing and uplifting as this, there’s not much room for dismissal. (JM)
Robin Pecknold Olivia, in a Separate Bed Potentially, Olivia... could end up as the centrepiece of Fleet Foxes’ third record (who knows how far they’ve gone in so much as thinking about it, let along commencing recording). Its final destination is trivial for now; in its current form, it works perfectly as a mellow extension from Helplessness Blues, under Robin Pecknold’s solo alias. Vocals suit the sparse surroundings, as guitar chords shoot off in various directions, rarely landing
at a consistent melody. It’s a progressive, showing-off of promising new ideas. (JM)
Flo Rida Wild Ones
Rapper, singer and songwriter, Flo Rida releases his second single from his upcoming fourth album, Only One Rida this week. Wild Ones features Australian singer, Sia who accompanies Flo Rida perfectly, and makes the tune all the more catchy. Though a little more subdued than his previous number one single Good Feeling, Wild Ones is still dancefloor ready and suits the party environment completely. It’s hard to tell if it will be a big hit in the charts, but with Flo Rida’s previous experience I’m sure it will do well. (SM)
Eux Autres Home Tonight
Eux Autres reads as French for “Them Others”. Here’s hoping the San Francisco band don’t consider themselves insignificant nonentities; certainly, on the basis of Home Tonight, their driven garage pop is enough to stand out in a crowd of thousands. Taken from their Sun Is Sunk EP, it’s a slice of pristine guitar-led melody that’ll stick in your head until summer arrives, and beyond. Wrap it up in your beach towel alongside the sun cream and the boxes of Pringles. (JM)
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20 ARTS&BOOKS
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
arts.spark@reading.ac.uk
Arts&BOOKS
“You’re just not looking at it from the right place” Play review for Art Written by Yasmina Reza Directed by Glynn Oram The Progress Theatre Chris Grove
First things first, ignore the title. Yes, a piece of art is central to the plot but Art is not some pretentious piece of theatre designed to fly over the heads of everyone in the audience with that faint swishing sound that tends to make ‘people in the know’ feel a bit smug and superior. Apart from anything else, this play shows that Yasmina Reza has a sense of humour: it is incredibly funny in places and witty throughout; there were few moments in the play where someone in the audience wasn’t smiling to themselves or chuckling at some new event as it unfolded.
It is incredibly funny in places and witty throughout Whilst the play acknowledges the long standing question ‘what is art?’ Art largely skirts around this topic to pursue the relation-
ship between three friends, Marc, Serge, and Yvan, more specifically, the antagonism that ensues when Serge decides to buy a 200,000 franc piece of modern art. The abstract piece, described as a white canvas with white lines painted across a white background, or alternatively a piece of white ***t, is emotive, powerful, and NOT WHITE if you’re ‘modern’ like Serge. Marc however, is not of quite the same opinion. I’ll let you guess what he thinks of it.
Well-directed, the play benefits from the intimate nature of the Progress Theatre And whilst the confrontation between these two characters gets underway, the poor limpet of the group, Yvan is thrown desperately between the two in an attempt to keep them mollified as the scene grows increasingly farcical. Well-directed, the play benefits from the intimate nature of the Progress Theatre and develops the identities of the three men into sympathetic characters by the play’s end without losing the
humour which characterises Art from the start.
Art is endearing, frank with its characters, and always sharp
Having seen a few plays at the Progress Theatre now, I can say it’s always worthwhile to see something, even if you’ve not heard of the play before. I have not been disappointed yet.
Art really is an endearing play. It is totally frank with its characters, it is always sharp, and if you don’t like it, then I’m afraid you’re just not looking at it from the right place.
Richard Tripp (Yvan) particularly manages to grow more child-like and petty as he is placed under increasing stress, interrupting the more serious dialogue with inane commentaries; his vacuous selfobsession underpins a lot of the humour that goes on here. Nigel Willetts as Marc on the other hand, is bull-headed from the beginning yet as he tries to talk through the rift that art has caused, the depth and extent of his thoughts are often felt as much through his body language as the words he left unsaid. All three actors use their facial expressions admirably to show their real feelings and the often deadpan observations in the monologues which punctuate the play add light touches to otherwise serious scenes. Art’s ending is satisfying though more philosophical than you might expect, threatening to turn the play back in on itself in a repeat of the conflict found within it.
To read or not to read? Utter treasure! Play review for Hamlet Written by William Shakespeare Natalie Taylor
To read or not to read that is the question. And here’s the answer READ! Perhaps one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays Hamlet is not a play to be snuffed at. No it is not too boring, un-relatable or old fashioned for you and here are the reasons why. 1. What’s boring about ghosts, Murder, incest, suicide and sexual politics? If you can honestly tell me that this list did not just make your blood curdle you are one sick puppy! Or you need to start reading, watching and enjoying this magnificently intense play. 2. Un-relatable, really? This is perhaps one of Hamlet’s most
relatable plays for our generation. I’m guessing the chances are your parents might be divorced? Got remarried? Perhaps tragically one of your parents has passed away.
I know how old Hammy boy feels! I know that I know all of these feelings, and Hamlet defiantly portrays the world-wind of emotions these kinds of issues make you ride! And oh, Ophelia, that beautiful tragedy waiting to happen. If she’s not a reason to delve into the play I don’t know what is. If you’ve ever known someone with depression or dealt with depression in your life, you will get this play and thoroughly enjoy it trust me! Hamlet is a fantastic and intrigu-
ing play that startles and shocks me in new ways each time I reread it and especially if I watch a new performance of it. Every time I read one of the intense soliloquies I get completely sucked into Hamlet’s mind. For an over thinker like me who analyses every mundane detail of life, I know how old Hammy boy feels! One of the most tragic but engrossing plays ever, this is not a play to miss!
Creative Writing Short Story, Finders Keepers Adam Knowles
For just shy of thirteen years, that treasure had dazzled the Duskhand’s eyes. The creature’s desire to possess burned like hellfire in its heart. Its need to hold gnawed like frostbite at its dead fingers. And its envy of the treasure-keepers seethed like poison in its rotting stomach. The Duskhand waited in the standing water of the drain, its eyes up into the dark room yet seeing nothing but the bright treasure. It hated the people who owned it, loathed them for taking it for granted, despised them for neglecting that which it held so dear. But that would be their downfall. The old magic, bought long ago with pomegranate seeds,
ensured all that Day forgot belonged to the Duskhands. But as the Duskhand waited, something terrible reached its watery ears. The keepers of the treasure were coming for what was theirs: what was still—barely— theirs! As the owner drew near, the Duskhand clambered from its shelter. As the footsteps drew closer, it lurched across the floor. And as, finally, it closed its grimy hand over the thing it had coveted for so long, it knew it had won its right to the prize. Screeching with silent delight, it plunged back into the scummy pool. And yet it lingered. For however much the Duskhands love to claim what is theirs by right, they love even more to hear the lamentation of those who have lost it. “Mabel!” came the wailing cry. “I can’t find the sewing scissors!”
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
arts.spark@reading.ac.uk
ARTS&BOOKS 21
The Joker! Comedy Review for The Joker Written and performed by Daniel Sloss Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury Charlotte Coster
Dubbed by the Sunday Express as ‘nothing short of hysterical’, this show had a lot to live up to, but, despite the height of the claim, it was! The crazily young Daniel Sloss has been on a number of television shows over the past three years including The Rob Brydon Show, The Paul O’Grady Show, Michael McIntyres Comedy Roadshow and Mock the Week to name a few.
Dubbed by the Sunday Express as ‘nothing short of hysterical’ And if this isn’t enough to persuade you he’s good, his actual show will. Straight away his professionalism was shown, by his choice to start the show with observational comedy about the audience. I always think this is where the real comics shine! Anyone can remember a few jokes but only the seriously talented ones are able to make normal situations seem funny and pull jokes out of the air.
I can guarantee you will enter with a smile on your face that will stay until you leave. He continued to do this throughout his show, combining it with written material, giving the overall impression that this was a one off
gig rather than a long tour with 50 dates and venues throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. His warm-up act, Kai Humphries must also get a mention. Being a good seven years older than Sloss (which is something he referred to in his comedy), he might find it a little hard to be the supporting act rather than it being the other way round.
Maybe the best bit of the show, was meeting them afterwards! But if this was the case, it didn’t show and their close friendship was obvious. He too was extremely funny in a similarly self-deprecating way to Sloss and I was sincerely impressed when he was able to finish his routine while completing a Rubik’s cube at the same time. Maybe the best bit of the show, was meeting them afterwards! They were very friendly and were more than happy to sign autographs or for the audience to have pictures taken with them.
I always think this is where the real comics shine! They were extremely genuine and it was definitely a show I enjoyed from the very start through to the end. He still has a small amount of his tour left, and if you get a chance to see this talented comic, then you really must. Especially before everyone else cottons on how to how brilliant he is and he becomes far too expensive. I can guarantee you will enter with a smile on your face that will stay until you leave.
It’s Bed Time Creative Writing Bed Time Charlotte Coster
I love my son, I really do but when he’s gone the whole day through, I think it’s time to go to sleep and for the night hear not a peep “Close your eyes and squeeze them tight, protect them from the long dark night. Think great thoughts you can only dream: Candy, fast cars and cold ice cream.”
But being mine he’s slightly oddand guards against that land of nod. He’ll never close those bright blue eyes and looks instead at starry skies. Nothing I say will change his mind, he’s so determined not to find that peaceful state which we call sleep, so around the house he will creep. If I think he’s tucked in bed, Snuggled up warm with his Ted, suddenly he leaps out again, racing round the house ‘til ten.
It’s then that his eyes start to close “Not long now ‘til bed he goes” It seems as if he’s heard that line for they snap open and he’s fine. Sometimes it’s an hour or more until he drops to the floor. I pick him up and tuck him in now he’s finally ceased his din. I go to bed as quick as poss Already shattered from sleep loss. Not long ‘til again he’ll wake And what a racket he will make!!
Hello potential writer! If you are interested in writing reviews of: • Books • Theatre performances • Comedy Gigs
• Galleries • Art Exhibitions or if you would like to submit a short story, poem or other creative work, then write for Arts and Books. Please contact Lucy Snow, Arts and Books editor at: arts.spark@reading.ac.uk
22 FASHION
fashion.spark@reading.ac.uk
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
FASHION
Blogspot
How bloggers have changed fashion pui-man leung
Roberta sarll
thedaybookblog.com/ Sydey blogs about all things; husband Tyson and their new baby, Everett; friends, fashion and interiors but all accompanied by beautiful photos and well-styled and creative outfits. Her posts meanwhile, are funny and self-deprecating and regulalry introduce her readers to new bloggers. She also comments on the latest highstreet collections of note and posts her own make-up video tutorials.
We revolve daily around the Internet; checking our Facebook updates, Twitter feeds and our favourite Youtubers for instant updates. The Internet has certainly changed the world and when it comes to the world of fashion, bloggers have definitely influenced it in such a way that was not possible in the past. With the rise of street style blogs such as The Sartorialist and Jak and Jil along with the Bryanboys and Tavis out there, fashion has become much more approachable and accessible and is no longer just for the elite. Once upon a time, magazines were the pretty much only way of being able to connect with the fashion industry. Editorials with the latest trends from the catwalk were professionally styled in such a way that was unrelatable with outfits that you would never be able to pull off in public. But since
Peplum: Yay or Nay?
Michelle Williams in a peplum dress at the Oscars 2012 Emma ward
Never has the fashion world been so divided as it is over the peplum skirt. I’ll be the first to admit that my wardrobe is peplum free, mainly because I think they do a great disservice to a woman’s figure. In my opinion, nothing shortens the leg and widens the hips more
Tweetbox “The 11-year-old girl from The Descendants is wearing Valentino couture, which is the most
than the peplum. It is a great ‘nono’ for pear-shaped women, merely drawing attention to the area they most wish to avoid; and it makes top-heavy women look heavy all over. I began to feel slightly less disheartened however, when I learned that bloggers have recently even reacted badly to peplum skirts on models, and if they can’t even look good with them on, the rest of us stand no chance. It was also a great disappointment to hear that the peplum has had a huge revival during London Fashion Week, with designers at PPQ at the forefront of this trend. Insiders are hailing it as the ‘silhouette of 2012’ with the design now being added to tops and dresses. Tweed peplum jackets and velvet peplum skirts were seen in abundance on the Burberry Prorsum catwalk. Peplums are also featured heavily on the website NetA-Porter, under the headline ‘Get Your Frills,’ and include peplum designs from a handful of heavyweights in the fashion world. This is not good news for me and I can safely say that I will be running as far away from the peplum as my already-little legs can carry me.
follow us! @fashspark amazing and ridiculous thing I’ve heard all day.” -@DerekBlasberg
the explosion of social media, we can look to blogs for inspiration when we have nothing in our wardrobes to wear. We can look to the Susie Bubbles and Rumi Neelys, who both mix high-street stores such as Topshop and Zara with higher end labels like Philip Lim and Celine for ideas in which to style ourselves. We can also look to those with similar student pockets as ourselves such as wishwishwish’s Carrie with her vintage yet modern take on dressing to inspire us to escape to the 60s, or Lily from Llymrs who mixes her nearest Primark finds with a trusty ASOS blouse. It’s these blogs who show us that fashion can be experimental and inventive. It is not only us poor students who are looking for inspiration from bloggers; it’s also the fashion designers! With the help of bloggers, fashion houses are now able to stream their live fashion shows through blogs, letting almost
Tavi Gevinson founder of The Style Rookie blog with Karl Largefeld
everyone see shows that were once simply by invitation only. Since the explosion of social media, bloggers have a lot of power in their hands when it comes to the fashion industry. Fashion houses can offer a lot of money for advertising space on a blog and with just one recommendation from a blogger, an item can sell out in minutes. This shows just how bloggers are increasingly becoming more and more influential as players that are clearly worthy of fashion’s attentions. Without a doubt, bloggers have changed the world of fashion through their ability to open up the once very clique-y environment; and in the words of Scott Schuman from The Sartorialist, have been able to “broaden the landscape of fashion” to incorporate almost everyone. It is for this reason I think they will continue to push the barriers of fashion and do so for a very long time.
Re-introducing... Nike Vandals hi tops
matt andrews
Simple and modest but utterly awesome, Nike’s Vandal hi tops (seen here in black with white detailing, a patented Nike swoosh and a single removable velcro
strap) have been around since the time of The Terminator (1986), in which Kyle Reese - timetraveler, hero and overall Badass - opts for the 1984 version of the pair shown here, to battle Arnold Schwartzenegger’s Terminator. I absolutely love these shoes and am glad that Nike decided to reproduce these beautiful and iconic trainers. The simplicity of these hi tops makes them perfect for any outfit. During the winter months pair your Vandals with jeans and a trench coat to really give off the
Kyle Reese vibe, or in the warmer months wear them with denim shorts, Wayfarers and a t-shirt. The monotone palette means they really do compliment any colour or pattern. However if you do feel like being adventurous then these hi tops are also available in an array of different colours. Either way you will look ready for any cyborg invasion in these Nike trainers. With their retro look, comfortable feel and reasonable price tag at around £50 you will not want to say ‘hasta la vista’ to these babies!
New York Fashion Week in a nutshell Flo MaAts And petrina de gouttes
Designers in New York flooded the runways with beautiful trends and amazing shows. Diane von Furstenberg, the unofficial host of the week presented a dramatic show with bold statement pieces with prints that looked like puzzle pieces. Alexander Wang brought the audience a great surprise when beautiful, internationally renowned super model Gisele Bundchen walked his runway. Another highly anticipated show was that of Mrs. Beckham, and she did not disappoint. Introducing the Harper Bag, named after her
baby daughter, Victoria’s runway was a homage to chic sportswear. Most surprisingly from the queen of heels were the grungy boots that completed most looks. A big hit on this years Autumn/ Winter 2012 runway was the printed trouser seen at Helmut Lang, and at Rag & Bone in the form of harem pants. Although the majority of collections stayed away from the bright colours associated with Spring/Summer, design duo Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi at Preen showed a collection full of botantical imagery; flowers neighboured brightly coloured butterflies on printed cream dresses.
Returning to the norm, Michael Kors offered darker wintery tones in his collection and paired heritage furs and tartans together as well as lady-like lace with grungy leather, which was well received. Downton Abbey fashions made a rare appearance at New York Fashion Week with Ralph Lauren showing a collection clearly influenced by the British drama. The first of the main four fashion weeks, New York, demonstrated to the world that a look can embody more than one trend; be it in terms of colour, shape or fabric. The designers mixed a variety of styles in their collections, so don’t be afraid to mix it up too!
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
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FASHION 23
London Fashion Weekend: An unmissable event Sabina rouse
London Fashion Weekend: an unmissable event on the calendar
of any fashionista and one of the most prestigious fashion shows in London. It presents a twice-yearly opportunity to gain access to
exclusive shopping and the newest trends for this season revealed on the catwalk, all in the grounds of Somerset House. Taking place from the 23 to 26 February, LFW showcases the best of British designers and their extraordinary talent, presented by lovely ladies Zoe Hardman and Caroline Flack.
Geometric shapes in striking colours give an Aztec and almost tribal vibe One of the most outstanding shows was that of dynamic designer Holly Fulton, who after four successful seasons still manages to produce an inspired range of clothing. Fulton’s collection impatiently awaits the heat of the summer and is more for the holidaying at home
lady, as even though she’s dressed for Vegas – she hits Margate. Most noticeable about her collection is the wide range of colour used. Beautiful prints in block colours dominate the catwalk in a range of natural shades of reds, greens and blacks. Geometric shapes in striking colours contrasted with a nude background give an Aztec and almost tribal vibe, a theme that is consistent throughout the collection. There is absolutely no doubt that through her multitude of energetic and lively designs Fulton is trying to tell us all something; colour is back. Other trends on the catwalk also looked very promising for SS12. The scene ‘Prim Rose’ begs to differ from the designs of Fulton by introducing a lighter palette of pastel colours, a trend that will undoubtedly appeal to the more girlie. Prim and lady-like has
The time I sneaked into LFW poppy nowicka
I went to London fashion week with my friend to see the Francesca Marotta “Amore della mia vita” show which I was lucky enough to be given tickets for. It showcased a collection based on the concept of mourning; consisting of a lot of black lace, leather, wool and silk fabrics juxtaposed with neon jewellery by Milko Boyarov.
Casually mingled with Jameela Jamil, Pandemonia, Lisa Snowdon & Pixie Lott! Afterwards, despite not having tickets for any other shows that
afternoon I decided to head over to Somerset House regardless, in the hope of getting some on the door. When we arrived it was immediately apparent that security was very high and they were checking tickets as people went in. However, possessed with what can only be described as ‘fashion fever’ I decided to just strut past the bouncers and security, as we’d seen celebrities doing, and hope that they didn’t challenge us. Despite my delusions of grandeur it actually worked and we somehow managed to get into the screening of Ada Zanditon’s A/W12 collection, even though we were the only ones without passes! Spurred on by our success, I decided to try and sneak into the Courtyard show space, where
the PPQ show was taking place. We waited until the bouncer was distracted with someone else and slipped past. Very aware that we were the only people without VIP passes we tried our best to act as though we were meant to be there, and casually mingled with Jameela Jamil (picture on the right), Pandemonia, Lisa Snowdon, Pixie Lott and Jo Wood! Unfortunately we couldn’t actually get in to see the PPQ catwalk as the queue was ridiculously long and they were double checking everyone’s tickets, but by hanging around the backstage door we certainly still managed to experience the atmosphere and saw the models wheeling out the Rule bikes, the posh bike brand that PPQ has done a collaboration with.
Matthew Williamson for Sport Relief at Sainsbury’s Roberta sarll
British designer Matthew Williason, beloved by such style icons as Sienna Miller, has collaborated with Sainsbury’s to create limited edition shopper bags in order to raise money for Sport Relief. The stylish shoppers, availble in the three different colour combinations of rose pink and berry, turquoise and indigo and mint and chocolate, cost just £5, with £1.50 of the price going directly to Comic Relief. Matthew Williamson comments: “Sport Relief supports projects which are very dear to my heart and I consider it an honour that I’m able to join forces with Sainsbury’s to help raise money for Sport Relief with these stylish shoppers”.
Available in 397 stores nationwide since February, these bags really are a steal.
It’s unlikley you’ll ever again find a Matthew Williamson bag at such a price I’m now the proud owner of the turquoise and indigo version, after it caught my eye whilst I was standing at the Sainsbury’s checkout. It’s unlikley you’ll ever again find a Matthew Williamson bag at such an every-day price and help a charity in the process! Since buying mine, I’ve used it to carry everything from books, to clothes, to food. Buy yours while they’re still around!
returned, with the fabric of choice being lace in hues of sweet sorbets and candies. Indeed, ‘Prim Rose’ is a nod to the 50’s and 60’s vintage fashion, with the return of the matching cardigan and skirt set, updated by the richly embellished peter pan collars and two-toned patterned skirts. In addition, the fashion world is welcoming the 2012 Olympics with open arms as the ‘Game On’ trend takes first place on the catwalk. Combining splashes of neon and techno colours with sheer fabrics is all about having fun in supporting the games. Cropped jumpers and jeans were also a popular choice, with jumpers being tied at the waist, giving the silhouette a quirky and unbalanced look. Layering a cropped tee over a bold vest top for instance, immediately adds that sports luxe look to an outfit, inspired by athletic sportswear.
24 BEAUTY
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
beauty.spark@reading.ac.uk
BEAUTY
Michael van der Ham at LFW SABINA ROUSE
London Fashion Week was awash with innovative new trends for AW11 and SS12, being showcased through an array of creative catwalk shows. However, for one designer the emphasis was not all about the clothes. Michael van der Ham went one step further in his AW12 collection from the classic hairstyle usually seen on models the centre parted, shoulder length mousy head of hair that is every designer’s staple hairstyle- and transformed it into making as much of a statement as the clothes. Van der Ham’s inspiration derived from the 1950’s Veronica Lake waves, yet with a modern twist. Michael fashioned the hair into one mass of flowing locks, instead of individual curls and waves, recreating the glamorous image of the 1950’s bombshell pin-up girls. Attention to detail was the order of the day, as hair stylists ensured each model’s hair was coiffed to perfection. Not to be outdone by anyone else, van der Ham also paid particular
attention to the beauty and make up side of his collection. With a minimalistic pale face, and nude lips, the emphasis was all about the eyes, which definitely singled out Michael van der Ham’s AW11 collection from everyone else’s. Gold leaf was appliquéd onto each of the models eyelids, highlighted by a heavy swish of black eyeliner onto the outside corner of the lid, creating a wonderfully unique and modern look, complimenting the already beautiful and immaculate hairstyles.
Van der Ham’s hair and make-up trends took a complete life of their own in his AW11 collection mimicking the designs and textures seen in his clothes. Of course, when imitating this eye-catching look, real gold leaf would set you
look, real gold leaf would set you back quite a bit. However, investing in good quality metallic eye shadow is sure to give results as glamorously retro as the appliqued look. ‘Pigment’ by MAC in the shade ‘Old Gold’ promises to deliver a ‘high frosted tarnished gold’ to eyelids, to create that intense bronzed effect that Michael van der Ham seems to have fashioned so perfectly. Be sure to watch the catwalk next season, as I’m positive we shall be seeing more of this dazzlingly arty look soon.
expectations that they put in place for those watching them. Celebrities even as beautiful as Twiggy and Julia Roberts have been airbrushed in adverts for beauty products in the past. This will raise expectations for those watching, who feel as though they can’t compete with the level of perfection that they see in the media. It is not always the choice
of the star to have their images enhanced; as we recently discovered when L’Oreal’s new magazine advertisement for Revitalift Repair 10 was banned for the overuse of airbrushing on star Rachel Weisz. The actress has been known to encourage natural beauty and has spoken out against cosmetic surgery, meaning that she may have been unaware of the postproduction on the advert. When will advertisers realise that audiences do not want to see unrealistic images selling products? I, for one, would much rather see a real image of beauty, one untainted by the use of technology and computers, advertising the products that I buy.
Van der Ham’s inspiration is derived from the 1950’s yet with a modern twist
Unrealistic advertisements LILY BROWN
Following on from the debate on natural beauty, another topic recently highlighted in the media is the role of advertising. We are so used to seeing adverts with the words ‘filmed with lash inserts’ or ‘enhanced in postproduction’ that we no longer know whether or not a product will actually fulfil the purpose for which we are purchasing it. Not only does this mean that companies are effectively lying to their audience about what a product will do, it also means that we are wasting our money on potentially substandard products. However, the real issue behind these advertisements is the unrealistic
Introducing: St. Moritz fake tan ROBYN SWEENEY
Looking for a great, streak-free, no hassle tan on a budget? St. Moritz is your answer! At just £3 a pop, this stuff is magic and practically faultless. It’s a budget take on the world famous St. Tropez range and can be easily applied with a tan mitt. The tan goes on smoothly, and is coloured, making even application a doddle and washes off the next morning to leave you with flawless colour. Available at Morrisons or Savers as well as
a host of other retailers, you can pick it up in spray or mousse form. As well as a choice of applications there’s also a choice of tones, so if you’re looking for that sun-kissed glow rather than the Essex tangoed look you’ve found the perfect tan.
At around £3 a pop, this stuff is magic Available in medium or dark this tan really is a bargain find (take
it from someone who has tried every tan on the market). We all like a healthy glow yet fake tan can seriously break the bank. Do it properly abd do it cheaply- use St Moritz and tell me if you don’t agree. Remember: Always exfoliate and moisturise before you plan to apply your tan to ensure your skin is in great condition and the tan looks flawless. Avoid heavy application on knees, elbows, fingers and toes, and remember to wear a mitt to avoid tango hands!
Blogging: Who’s in the know? ELLE TURNER
With the internet becoming such a fundamental way to reach out and share your views, blogging has begun to take the fashion and beauty world by storm. Internet communities such as YouTube and BlogSpot are taking the place of advertising as the leading way to access and influence great masses of beauty crazy fashionista’s. Heading this trend, are two of my favourite bloggers: Sammi, (better known as Beauty Crush), a 22 year old fashion styling graduate, is adored within the YouTube and blogging community for her down to earth warmth and savvy high street style, providing make-up tutorials, lookbooks, vlogs and hauls, as well as her general opinion on the best current beauty trends. Whilst Tanya Burr (also known as Pixi2Woo) is making a name for herself as an advocate of high end fashion and beauty, favouring the slightly pricier brands, she represents the luxe, designer side of the style world. Trained as a make-up artist, she provides
incredible makeup tutorials as well as an in depth knowledge of the secrets of the trade as well as oncoming trends. Both Sammi and Tanya have worked their way up from ordinary girls with a passion for fashion to the go-to gurus for the latest style and beauty tips with 278,617 and 232,560 YouTube subscribers respectively. So monumental is their impact, that mega fashion houses such as Mulberry and Burberry are recognising them as highly respected and influential figures within fashion and beauty circles by sending them free items to endorse and inviting them to launches, fashion shows and behind-the-scenes access, in the hope that these bloggers will bring their products to the forefront. So if you too are excited by all things fashion and beauty related then check them out on: http://www.youtube.com/user/beautycrush http://beauty-crush.blogspot.com/ http://tanyaburr.co.uk/ http://www.youtube.com/user/pixi2woo
French fancies KATE ALLEN
French beauty products are the supreme choice for no-fuss formulas with maximum benefits. After visiting many a Parisian pharmacy, I felt compelled to share my favourite beauty finds which are slowly but surely becoming available in the UK. 1) Bioderma Crealine H20 Cleansing Solution (pictured) This neutral pH makeup remover is one of the worst kept beauty secrets in the business, as you are guaranteed to see a bottle of this in the kit of every makeup artist the world over. It’s gentle enough to use on even the most sensitive of skin types but effectively removes the most stubborn makeup products with no irritation. 2) Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse – Multiusage Dry Oil Spray (pictured) For anyone wanting to cut down the number of products taking up space in their cosmetics case, look no further than this multitasking dry oil. Use it to moisturise both your face and body, comb it through washed hair to ensure a sleek finish, or add a drop to your
foundation to create a dewy glow. 3) Embryolisse Lait Crème Concentre (pictured) Another does-it-all product is this skincare triple threat which can be used as a cleanser, moisturiser and primer. Suitable for all skin types, this solves all facial woes as it reduces redness, nourishes dry skin, and can even be used as a calming after-shave treatment. 4) Klorane Oat Milk Dry Shampoo If you find typical dry shampoos a little harsh on your scalp, try this gentle alternative. Not only does this absorb excess oil at the roots, the natural soothing properties of oat milk leave hair looking clean as well as silky. The scent is subtle and provides just enough texture to give limp hair some volume. 5) Vichy Thermal Spa Water Spray Recognised by the French Academy of Medicine for its supreme hydrating properties, Vichy’s Thermal Spa Water Spray is a certified skincare must-have. Lightly mist onto skin both before and after applying moisturiser for an extra hit of hydration, or even spritz on top of makeup for a shower-fresh effect.
No bull.
Straight talking from KPMG.
Graduate Programmes All degree disciplines
We close for applications once we are full. To secure a place at KPMG, be sure to apply early. To find out more head straight to: www.kpmg.co.uk/careers
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© 2011 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. The KPMG name, logo and “cutting through complexity” are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International.
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
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26 HEALTH&FOOD
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
health.spark@reading.ac.uk
HEALTH Bone Health 101
Flu fighters
Sarah Lienard
We’ve all been there, and it’s not a good look – blotchy eyes, red nose, and a cough that makes you sound like a car engine. The average adult catches three to four colds a year, but there are steps you can take to make sure that you don’t get sick this flu season.
Taste the rainbow
Sarah Lienard
If you thought you stopped growing once you stopped getting taller, think again – your body keeps developing until your mid to late twenties, including your bone mass. After your twenties, your body can’t replenish this tissue and bone mass slowly decreases, so the bones you build now need to last you a lifetime. A major problem caused by low bone density is osteoporosis. This is when the bones become brittle, resulting in frequent fractures that are slow to mend. Those most at risk are caucasians, females, those who are underweight or physically inactive, and those that lack calcium in their diets. As there is no cure for osteoporosis, preventing the condition is key – by building up bone mass well before you hit 30. Lifestyle factors such as stress, binge drinking, smoking, excessive dieting, a lack of exercise and poor nutrition age the bones by disrupting certain hormone levels. Alcohol increases levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), which reduces the body’s calcium reserves. Men tend to produce less testosterone, while women’s
menstrual cycles can be disrupted, reducing oestrogen. As both hormones are vital to a good rate of bone formation, it’s a good idea to limit alcohol to 2 or 3 days a week, and avoid binge drinking altogether.
Although osteoporosis may not be affecting you at the moment it’s worth acting now With our cultural emphasis on fad diets and thinness, more and more young people are also following low-carb, high-protein diets like the Atkins, but dieters may be losing more than just weight. Although protein is essential for the body, too much protein can increase calcium excretion, meaning that even an increased intake of calcium-rich foods is ineffective to protect bones. The kidneys also have to work overtime to process the calcium as it is excreted, creating painful kidney stones. One thing that is proven to strengthen bones is good oldfashioned exercise. Countless studies have shown that weight-
bearing activities, such as jogging, dancing, stair climbing, weight lifting, and sports such as tennis and basketball, stimulate your body to produce more bone mass. A varied diet is also key, including sources of calcium like protein and as well as nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables, which can aid calcium absorption. In particular, vitamin K has been linked with lower rates of osteoporosis - good sources include green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, sprouts, cabbage, green beans, asparagus, and broccoli. However, certain foods can block absorption of the nutrient. A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women who drink four or more cola beverages per week have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis, as cola contains phosphoric acid, which may increase calcium excretion. So although osteoporosis may not be directly affecting you for quite some time, it’s worth keeping your future health in mind and acting now while it’s still easy to build up bone density. As students it’s easy to feel invincible, but it’s worth thinking about these habits now, as students, or the effects might just be staying with us for a lifetime.
The Babraham Institute in Cambridge reports that eating plenty of leafy green vegetables can boost your immune system by helping white blood cells fight off infection. But it’s important to eat a range of colours, too, as a wide variety of vitamins are needed to fight infection. In general, the brighter the colour, the more antioxidants the food contains – but that doesn’t include Haribo!
More than seven hours of sleep can lower your risk of catching a cold by three times
Wash your hands regularly “The number one thing you can do to protect yourself from a cold or flu is to wash your hands thoroughly and frequently,” says microbiologist Dr Andrew Pekosz, of Johns Hopkins University. Lather up your hands with warm water and soap and scrub for at least 20 seconds, making sure to clean in between your fingers as well, whenever you use a bathroom and before you cook or prepare food.
Don’t down it, Fresher According to research, alcohol lowers your immune system by
impairing your white blood cells’ ability to combat viruses for up to 24 hours. Although the occasional drink is fine, regular drinkers may find themselves with a constantly suppressed immune system, leaving them much more vulnerable to sickness.
The brighter the colour, the more antioxidants
Sleep more If you still find yourself under the weather, you might not be getting enough shut eye. When sleepdeprived, your body may produce too many cytokines, the proteins that trigger cold symptoms when you’re sick. Getting more than seven hours sleep on a regular basis can lower your risk of catching a cold by three times.
Get some sun Research from the University of Copenhagen has discovered that Vitamin D activates certain cells in the immune system, called T cells, that help fight off serious infections. As the body needs sunlight to synthesize the vitamin, levels tend to drop during winter, potentially putting us at risk of more illness. Vitamin D can also be found in fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, or taken as a dietary supplement.
Stress less A study from the Univeristy of Pittsburgh found that those who had chronic stress, especially emotional problems with loved ones, were more than twice as likely to succumb to a virus. It’s easier said than done, but trying to keep stress under control could have a big impact on whether you catch a cold or not.
health.spark@reading.ac.uk
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
Food Comfort Food
HEALTH&FOOD 27
Foodie Dates Hannah Ford
March - National frozen food month It’s time to forage into the deepest and darkest depths of your freezer and whip out a fantastic meal. Don’t be afraid to reveal those sometimes ancient leftovers all hidden away in various shaped tupperware boxes. The curry that blew your head off, so you decided to freeze and forget about it has finally had its calling! You never know it may be a better food experience than you first thought. If however at any stage you are uncertain of what this frozen mass once resembled, it’s often sometimes best to abandon it. For us student’s frozen food is close to our hearts, it has saved us from many a cooking disaster and above all time (valuable napping time). You may surprise yourself and cook up a meal with more frozen components than you ever thought possible. All that is left to say is get defrosting and pinging!
Aove: Spicey lentil and tomato soup Sarah Lienard
Spicey lentil and tomato soup Ingredients: 150g dried red lentils One onion One or two cloves garlic Half a fresh red chili Two packets of chopped tomatoes, about 400g each Two large carrots, about 100g each 1/2 tsp ground coriander or parsley 600ml vegetable stock Salt and pepper Method: 1. Put the lentils and stock in a pan and boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes. 2. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, chopped tomatoes, ground coriander or parsley, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until everything in tender. 3. If you like chunky soups, serve it like that, or whizz it up in a blender if you prefer it smooth.
200g mushrooms One clove of garlic Salt and pepper Grated parmesan Method: 1. Boil the pasta for 10-12 minutes. 2. Chop the mushrooms and saute them in a few sprays of cooking spray or a little oil, with the garlic, until cooked through. 3. In a bowl, mix together the Below: Salmon pasta bake
salmon and Philadelphia, seasoning to taste. 4. Once the pasta is cooked properly, add the cooked mushrooms and thoroughly stir through the salmon mixture. 5. Transfer to a casserole dish and sprinkle over the parmesan cheese. 6. Pop under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese crisps up on top.
24 March – National chocolate covered raisin day This nutritionally sound but guilty treat has shown to be one of the most popular snacks we choose when munching away in the cinema. They are, after all incredibly addictive so this is the day to indulge! Raisins are a good source of fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, and certain B vitamins and the chocolate is just an added bonus! Forget the new and trendy yoghurt raisins it’s all about the chocolate.
Salmon pasta bake
25 March – International waffle day
Ingredients: 160g dried pasta, whole wheat or white 1 can of salmon 200g light Philadephia cream cheese
This day originated in Sweden where the women would set aside their winter task and begin making waffles. Having carried out some waffle related research there are many more varieties
than I ever thought, these include; American, Belgian, Scandinavian, Liège, Hong Kong, and Dutch stroopwafels, phew! Waffles will always bring a smile to my face, I find it hard to believe anyone can dislike these scrumptious fried sugar doughy delights at breakfast, they are simply delicious! In fact, I’m off to have one now.
2 April - National peanut butter and jelly day Peanut butter lovers’ day is on the 1 March and now we have the adeed delights of sweet and sticky jelly. Whether you’re smooth or crunchy the time has come to honour this humble spread, why not? It’s yummy! Nutritionally, this comfort food has an abundance of qualities that will set you well on your way towards a healthy heart. Well as long as you don’t eat the whole jar, of course. Although it contains some saturated fat and sodium it’s still seen as a rather good-for-you spread. Researchers have proved it should be praised for its role in preventing heart disease and altzeimers due to its high levels of the ‘good salt’ potassium. It also has a higher ratio of unsaturated fat to saturated fat, which will help lower your cholesterol levels. This date may have been created by our wacky American friends but now it is our turn to jazz up that peanut butter sandwich and embrace this wonderfully sticky spread.
28 GAMING
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
gaming.spark@reading.ac.uk
GAMING SSX It’s getting tricky up in here
Abigail Williams
Whether you’re playing the single-player World Tour mode or competing against other players, most of your time in SSX is spent racing or tricking your way down snowy mountain courses. Those courses are set in Alaska, Siberia, the Alps, and nine other regions, and although they’re much more rooted in reality than those seen in many SSX games, these real-world locations have been given the extreme treatment. You won’t leap over congested freeways or speed down the slope of an oversized pinball machine as in previous games, but you will trick off of your helicopter and grind on rails that snake through the cavernous heart of Kilimanjaro. The environments are vast and majestic. Details like sunlight sparkling on the surface or swirling flurries of snow capture the natural beauty, as well as the harsh conditions, of these locales so effectively that you can almost feel the bracing air enter your lungs. These details become all the more impressive when you fly past them; the smooth frame rate and immersive environments come together to create a truly impressive and exhilarating sense of speed. During a good run, the way you flow seamlessly from one thing to the next--from boosting down a slope to grinding along a rail to tricking wildly through the air--can make you feel like a superstar. Tricks are central to SSX even during race events because pulling tricks off is how you fill your boost meter. The controls for tricking are intuitive and feel great, and they allow you to use either the right thumbstick or the face buttons. If you want to grab the left side of your board with your left hand, you simply press the thumbstick left or hit X. If you want to grab the front of your board with your right hand, you quickly tap right or B to indicate your right hand and then up or Y to indicate the front of the board. All the while, you can use the left thumbstick to spin and flip effortlessly. The simplicity of the controls makes doing what you want to do a snap. If you prefer something that more closely resembles the controls of the early SSX games, there’s a “classic” control option as well.
It’s the risk-versus-reward element of tricking that makes it so exciting. When you catch big air, you want to trick as long as you can to maximize your boost (and your points, if it’s a trick event), but if you hold it for just an instant too long, you wipe out when you hit the ground, and all your tricking was for naught. Do you do simple ground tricks to maintain your combo and keep building up your score multiplier? Or do you play it safe and stop tricking to cash in the combo with your current multiplier? It’s a balance you constantly need to maintain to get the best times and highest scores, and it’s so rewarding to stick the landing after pulling off an especially risky trick combination. The eclectic soundtrack includes pop, funky R&B, and pulsating electronica, and when you leap from a mountain to catch big air, the music fades, as if it emanates from the surface down below. When you hit the ground, it kicks back in at full strength. If you’ve tricked enough to fill up your boost meter, the music gets remixed into Run-DMC’s It’s tricky, which reprises its significant role from SSX Tricky in this game. Being in the “tricky” state also means you have unlimited boost while it lasts, and you can do ubertricks, which are worth more points. Score enough points in this mode and you get access to even wilder super ubertricks. The relationship between the game’s adapting music and your actions gives your landings a satisfying sonic impact that complements the physical one. Satellite surveys of the realworld mountain regions in SSX were used in forming the terrain, but clearly the hands of humankind have molded these environments to make them not only traversable but also conducive to high speeds and big trick opportunities. The end results are exceptional; numerous viable routes and intertwining pathways make the environments feel organic, which makes you feel like you’re pioneering your own way down these slopes. It’s a much more challenging game than it’s peers; the environments are more treacherous; and in the single-player World Tour mode, your AI opponents are tough enough to put your skills to the
test. There may be many viable routes through these courses, but there are also numerous pitfalls, and if you fall into a chasm (you will), the game won’t just reset you back on the course. Instead, you must use the rewind feature (similar to the one seen in many auto racing games of late) to roll time backward and find a suitable spot to resume your run from, but this is not without its penalty. In race events, other riders continue on unaffected, and there’s a particular sting to seeing an opponent fly forward past you while you are moving yourself backward out of disaster. In trick events, where the winner is the one who scores the most points, rewinding carries with it a point penalty. And then, there are the deadly descents, the most grueling events in SSX. There’s one in each region; each presents a different sort of challenge and limits your number of rewinds. If you first approach these via the World Tour, there’s a smooth difficulty curve that makes advancing from one to the next easier. Your first is Mount Robson in the Rockies, a course littered with trees. High speeds and huge tricks are unimportant here; it’s all about maneuvering carefully to avoid impact with these natural hazards. Failure here and on subsequent deadly descents is likely, and you may get frustrated, but when you finally master the terrain, there’s a real feeling of triumph. A few deadly descents require you to make active use of new equipment; the coolest example is Patagonia’s Fitz Roy, where you need to employ a wingsuit to glide through the windy air and over some chasms. Some of the deadly
descents work better than others; the freezing cold of the shadows on Antarctica’s Mount Slaughter is a thrilling threat to avoid, while the constant encroachment of tunnel vision brought on by oxygen deprivation on Mt. Everest is more of an annoyance. The World Tour is a good way to familiarize yourself with the environments and mechanics of SSX, but the action really heats up in the robust multiplayer modes. The Explore mode lets you aim for medal targets and compete against times and scores set by friends on any of the dozens of runs around the game’s globe. The performances of your friends here show up as ghosts, and the ghosts leave glowing trails in their wakes, which look cool and are quite useful. If a rival of yours charts a particularly speedy and efficient path through a run, for instance, you can see the route he or she took. Deadly descent events here challenge you and your friends to see who can travel the farthest; when you make it to the bottom of a run, you’re sent right back up to the top via helicopter to continue racking up distance. The other multiplayer option is Global Events, which are competitions that have set time limits; they might last for a day or a week, and tens of thousands of players can compete in them at the same time. Depending on how your performance stacks up against other entrants, you’re placed in a bracket - diamond, platinum, gold, and so on - and the higher your bracket, the more credits you earn when the event comes to a close. SSX constantly keeps you updated on pertinent happenings in both the Explore and Global Events modes,
informing you when a friend shatters your time in a certain race or when your performance no longer qualifies for a certain bracket. And it makes it very easy to jump right back to one of those events to try and improve your performance. Additionally, whether you’re in Explore or Global Events, you can plant geotags in any spot that you can physically reach, and they can be collected by other players. You want to make these as difficult to nab as possible, because the longer a geotag you plant goes uncollected, the more credits you earn. You might even be inspired to approach a run in a completely different way than you otherwise would in the hopes of planting a geotag in a hard-to-reach spot or of grabbing one you can see but can’t immediately figure out how to collect. With so many runs to conquer and so many ways to compete, it can be hard to walk away from SSX. The action is so good that you can lose yourself in the moment, joyously tricking and speeding your way down some of the most majestic mountains in the world. Whether you just want to relax and carve some sweet powder in the Rockies or you prefer a grueling struggle against the terrain and the elements, SSX has you covered. It improves on its storied predecessors in every way, with outstanding tracks, intuitive controls, amazing visuals, a diverse assortment of challenges, and fantastic multiplayer options that may have you competing with your friends or the world for a long time to come. 9/10
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
gaming.spark@reading.ac.uk
GAMING 29
Syndicate Matt Carter
Syndicate is a modern shooter quite clearly stuck in it’s own retro past You’re playing as Kilo, a biochipenhanced agent for the Eurocorp syndicate in a dystopian future where corporate influence has long since overruled outdated notions of nationality. These massive global businesses conduct what appears to be open warfare against each other, kidnapping scientists to get access to the latest cybernetic upgrades, sabotaging rival installations and assassinating key personnel. Those, not coincidentally, are the sort of mission objectives you receive at the start as you go about your business as a good little drone. And business is good, at least where action is concerned. Gunplay is satisfyingly beefy, the enemy AI just smart enough to be reasonably challenging and the environments designed for both civilian form and violent function, channelling the action in enjoyable directions. Syndicate’s defining feature comes from its cyberpunk setting and the fact you have a DART-6 computer chip in your head. A tap on the right bumper activates DART mode for a limited period, during which time moves more slowly, enemies are highlighted, shots hit harder and you become more resilient. Different abilities can also be obtained throughout the story.
brainwash an enemy into fighting on your side. The abilities are fun to use and absolutely vital to your survival. As well as its own cult history, Syndicate is a game standing in the shadow of last year’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Both feature black-clad bionic agents operating in a cyberpunk future ruled by corporations, and both define your journey by the upgrades you choose. The point of difference is that in Syndicate, the choices are always pointing to direct action, which in turn makes the game feel flat and one-note in its construction.
Unfortunately we have seen this all before and better The story doesn’t do much to compensate for the feeling of untapped potential. A standard sci-fi tale, it follows a well-trodden path as your bionic agent discovers that his corporate overlords are not nice
people. Even for such a generic premise, the execution is still thin, hurrying from one predictable plot point to another in a short campaign that only lasts a handful of hours, depending on how good you are at coping with its irritating boss fights. The co-op side of the game however does fare better and is certainly the main draw. You’ll find a wider variety of toys to play with. Basic weapons can be enhanced and upgraded by setting research targets, which fill up during gameplay, unlocking additional perks when you return from the field. The same is true of the DART-6 apps, which now offer shield and health buffs for nearby team-mates and other more communal functions. It also frees you up from any class-based clutter. You can pack a powered-up sniper rifle as your secondary weapon and pick off enemies from afar while your allies tackle mission objectives, then you can get up close and play medic to the wounded, before grabbing a
minigun, boosting your shield and becoming a tank. Wherever you turn in the co-op game, there’s something useful you can be doing to move towards victory, especially as there can be multiple objectives in play at any time. While some players will steam in and steal computer servers, there’s a role for someone to hang back and defend your transport from attackers. Its battles are never as freeform as Battlefield 3’s, but it’s definitely more interesting than most co-op shooters.
Co-op is much stronger and is worth a play through Unlike the relentlessly linear progress of the story mode - where every door is locked except the one you need - there’s more flow to the co-op maps as well. You can push and fall back, fortify the exit route and generally treat it as a dynamic environment rather than
a corridor-style shooting range. Throughout, there’s an instinctive sense of fluid teamwork, and by juggling the right apps with smart use of breaching, the game world becomes more alive, more compelling - and more like the Syndicate of old than the derivative singleplayer story suggests. The co-op section is so strong that it should really be the main thrust of the game, but even with its many strengths there’s a limit to its scope. Scripted enemy encounters make repeat performances on each map more of a memory test than combat challenge, while checkpoints mean you can keep plugging away at a mission until you get through. The upgrades, too, will run dry sooner rather than later, leaving you with fully maxed-out agents and missions you know by heart.
Syndicate is worthy of a rental, but really, just play Deus Ex: Human Revolution instead. 6/10
DART mode adds some different mechanics and play style options ‘Backfire’ causes weapons to backfire, staggering the wielder and making them vulnerable to attack. ‘Suicide’ causes an enemy to explode. ‘Persuade’ - a nod to the Persuadertron of old - lets you
DO YOU WANT TO BE AN EDITOR? As the end of the term approaches we need someone to take over the role of editing the Gaming section of Spark*. The responsibilities include sourcing articles, liaising with writers and other section editors and actually editing the pages. It’s a great experience and looks very impressive on your CV. IF YOU WANT TO BE AN EDITOR FOR THE GAMING SECTION CONTACT: Tom Wood at gaming.spark@reading.ac.uk
30SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGYscitech.spark@reading.ac.uk
Monday 5 March 2011 Spark*
SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY Profiling the Pi Vinay chauhan
It seems unlikely that many people have heard of the Raspberry Pi, developed by the foundation of the same name. It rarely gets much coverage outside of technology blogs, and even the trickle of information doesn’t give much away. In contrast the Raspberry Pi has big hopes.
The foundation dreams to get young kids programming again The little computer, roughly the size of a pack of cards, has plans of being rolled out in schools, offering cheap accessible hardware with which the Foundation dreams to get young kids programming again. Instead of just consuming software content, there is a drive to get them building it too. A similar initiative was pushed by the BBC decades ago with the BBC Micro to huge success.
Hook up the Pi to your TV, plug a hard drive in, and instantly have your own HD media hub The Raspberry Pi will try to recapture that glory, seen with a subtle homage to it with the similar labelling of ‘Model A’ and ‘Model B’. At the moment though, a small initial batch of 10,000 Model Bs will go on general sale from the end of February. A release aimed at
In other news
educational institutions will follow later on in the year. Running off the ARM designed chipset, which in various varieties have found their way into almost every smart-phone and tablet on the market these days, it provides low power consumption (no noisy fans) and relatively good performance. The moderate powerhouse is capable of outputting Full HD video via a HDMI slot, it has USB ports for additional peripherals, (keyboard and mouse a must I imagine) and it will also have an Ethernet port on the higher end model for sweet internet goodness.
A release aimed at educational institutions will follow later on in the year Also available is an audio out jack, but sadly no input for headphones. It ships out in bare bones form, literally only the components on a circuit board, but the necessary accessories (power supply etc.) will be for sale separately through the Foundation’s soon to be stocked web-shop. There’s almost unlimited scope in what you could potentially attach and get working with the Pi; forums are already abuzz with excited glee as people have laid out their intricate plans for when it’s released. Oh did I mention? It’s only £22 (or $35) for the higher end model. Why should you care? While the Raspberry Pi is primarily concerned with boosting
grass roots computer science, it has massive potential for the the everyday consumer too. It will use the lightweight Fedora operating system (that’s Linux for those of you still stuck in the Windows and Mac OS X ways) and so I won’t be surprised to see a plethora of free, communitymade, software thrown into the wild not too long after release.
There’s almost unlimited scope in what you could potentially attach to the Pi Already of worthy note is the ready acceptance by XMBC, a brilliant free and open source media centre. With this bit of software installed, you could hook up the Pi to your huge TV, plug a USB Hard-drive in and you instantly have your very own incredibly cheap (not quite as chips) HD media hub. The Raspberry Pi can be dedicated to this function alone and left hooked up to the TV; no more swapping in and out your laptop.
The low cost of the device really is a reason by itself to get one Other uses, found scouring the forums I mentioned before, include an ingenious solution for in car entertainment by pairing it up with a touch screen and in theory could replace GPS devices such as Tom Tom and Garmin. The possibilities are only limited to the human imagination, give
enough time and we’ll see some truly amazing devices being conjured up. Because after all, this is the idea behind the Raspberry Pi, getting a cheap device into people’s hands and watching them get creative. The low cost of the device really is a reason by itself to get one, and with the things that can be achieved, collecting a small stockpile might not be such a crazy idea. The real potential though, is in the hopeful ability for it refill Britain’s computer science classrooms. Less and less students are choosing the subject and the ones that do seem to lack a true understanding of the nature of programming. The Pi should help to reverse both.
Students seem to lack a true understanding of the nature of programming It seems to have had some effect on the government already, with the announced overhaul of how IT is taught in schools and programming being pushed to the forefront. Instead of being pointed around MS Office children will be given a Pi and taught how something like MS Office works, taking them behind the mouse clicks. The Raspberry Pi definitely has the building blocks to create a new generation of computer programmers, and considering we’re still relying mostly on those who gained their skills on the BBC Micro around 30 years ago, the Pi can’t come a moment too soon. For more release information head towards www. raspberrypi.org.
After hundreds of days of testing and development, the Windows 8 consumer preview is finaly ready for download. Enthusiasts and fans will be able to have a first-hand experience of the new interface, which, for better or worse, has been optimized for tablets. To be honest, I’d be concerned about it. Will Windows 8 be the new king, like Windows XP, or the new queen, like Windows 7? Or, will it be the OS that doesn’t know where it actually stands in an era of ever-increasing convergence between mobile and desktop? It remains to be seen, but I’d bet on the latter.
Scientists claim that flatworms may teach us the secrets to staying young for longer or even to immortality. Researchers from Nottingham University will develop a colony of planarian worms and spend a considerable amount of time and effort observing their marvelous self-replicating capabilities. A planarian worm chopped in half is able to regenerate into two perfectly healthy separate worms. Maybe we will possess the same ability in the future...
Spark*
SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGYscitech.spark@reading.ac.uk31
Monday 5 March 2012
If you could print the future... SHENOL CHAKAR
The beginnings of 3D printing (also called “additive manufacturing”) date back to 1984, when Charles Hull, the executive of 3D Systems, invented a process called stereolithography. This laid the foundation for many improvements that have already begun making a real difference due to the recent decreases in production costs.
The technology should not simply be regarded as the next step in automation The technology should not simply be regarded as the next step in automation. Let me explain how it works. 3D CAD drawings are stored onto a computer linked to the 3D printer. Virtual slices of this model represent actual layers of the desired object. Contemporary machines can work with a vast range of materials such as metals, recycled paper, nylon. A combination of these materials in a powder form is then mixed together and laid down on the previous layer. At this point these materials are mixed with an agent that binds them together, which is usually injected by the printer. Although the basics of the process are shared by most 3D printers, some differences do exist. One example is the way the levels are bound together. Once a layer is laid down, the machine, depending on the make, may apply heat, pressure, a binding agent or a combination of these in order to solidify the con-
structed object. 3D printers also utilize variations of inkjet and laser technology to better accomplish their tasks. There are many advantages to 3D printing, provided it gets cost effective enough to be bought by regular households as well as large companies. Building an object layer by lair is more resource efficient than conventional methods and allows for more complex designs while shortening the time needed to materialise them. A striking advantage can be attributed to the ability to produce a diverse range of objects. There are videos on social media websites about 3D printed chess figures, toys, architectural models and souvenirs. The potential is unlimited and future applications can vary from printing aircraft wings and constructing houses to printing organs and blood vessels.
Schematics would simply be purchased from a web store and sent to your printer With 3D printing, it’s also easier to correct mistakes as it’s about tweaking some settings on a computer rather than dealing with people and/or tuning machines. It would save both time and money in most situations. Let’s take the architectural modelling pipeline as an example. It won’t be long before architecture companies view purchasing a capable 3D printer and a high-quality software package as a viable alternative to employing professionals in the field. Lay erWise, a metal manufacturing
company, created the world’s first artificial jaw implant using titanium powder and bioceramic coating for just a few hours. The design is extremely complex and involves all the features of a real jaw. The operation has been successful and the patient is reported to be doing well. This marvellous success paves the way for further advancements down the line. According to LayerWise, mass-produced implants will decrease the surgery time because the implants can be made to perfectly fit the patients. Now let’s move on to an even more important point. Provided it develops to its full potential, 3D printing technology can prove to be a disruptive influence on many existing business models.
3D printing has the real potential to disrupt contemporary business models Contemporary production involves shipping of raw materials over huge distances, production of goods and then distributing to target markets, often over huge distances again. With 3D printing, this model can be shrunk considerably. Production will occur locally (either at home or at local workshops) and will depend on less than with contemporary production processes - material availability and access to highquality 3D models will be key. There’s a reason 3D printing is called additive manufacturing. This means that there’s no waste
left behind after the process is complete. Output equals input, leading to much greater efficiency. This is what I call beating economies of scale and killing supply chains.
Correcting mistakes is just a matter of tweaking the computer’s setting A specialized business model may well emerge to serve the new era, and it easily comes to mind that online retailers will play a key role in this new industrial revolution. Consumers will be able to shop for high-quality materials and premium 3D
models built by experts around the world online. After that, creating one’s favourite toy/laptop/chocolate cake/house/golden ring/piece of furniture will be just as few clicks away. Enthusiasts and futurologists predict that the technology has huge potential and can change the way we do our shopping. You may not need to go to a bricks-and-mortar store and buy a mobile phone in the near future. You would just purchase the schematics from a web store and send them to your printer. The high-tech device does the rest and in a few hours you have a fully functional, high-quality mobile phone with all the latest features. Now you have to admit that’s pretty cool.
32 TRAVEL
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
travel.spark@reading.ac.uk
travel Classy breaks on a budget: Try Airbnb Petrina de gouttes
Winner of ‘Best Website’ in the Guardian’s 2011 Travel Awards and 26 in Time magazine’s ‘The 50 Best Websites of 2011’, accommodation website Airbnb (airbnb. com) is a site that everyone should bookmark. Since launching three years ago, the website has truly succeeded in its aim to connect property owners with those looking for a place to rent, and with the nickname ‘the eBay of hotels’ the site also attracts us, the student population, and it doesn’t disappoint.
The apartment was a dream - a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower Airbnb boasts over 100,000 listings in more than 19,000 cities and 192 countries. It prides itself on offering authentic reviews from users who have booked or hosted, which appear on your personal profile as well as on the accommodation listing. The best thing about Airbnb is that it offers a wide range of listings; from an igloo to a whole wing of a castle, anything is possible to book. Known as one of the most expensive capitals in Europe, the beautiful city of Paris played host to my first Airbnb experience. After having scoured the internet for
an inexpensive stay in the French capital, I took a friends advice and looked up Airbnb. Little time was spent searching the website for an apartment to rent in Paris as the site is full of wonderful finds.
Since launching, the website has earned the nickname ‘the eBay of hotels’ With 35 positive reviews (since increased to 46), free wireless internet and international calls, a fully equipped kitchen, and satellite television, my friends and I settled on a two-bedroomed apartment a stone’s throw from the world-famous Eiffel Tower, the Seine and the Quai Branly Museum. The apartment was a dream; our host Judith was fully prepared with city guides, a folder full of personal restaurant recommendations and even supplied us with a week’s worth of food! The apartment was so central that a walk to the Champs Elysée (Paris’s answer to London’s Oxford Street) took only fifteen minutes. At a cost of £40 per night each, our stay in Paris was much better value (and more comfortable) than staying in a hostel, or even a hotel. So before you book, have a look on Airbnb. The following are my suggestions for three great cities covered by the company:
Paris: WHAT? Cosy Duplex with Terrace-Marais PRICE: From £69 per night ACCOMMODATES: Four adults NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 62
Berlin: WHAT? Auguststrasse Central PRICE: From £51 per night ACCOMMODATES: Four adults NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 62
Barcelona: WHAT? Super apartment in trendy Born PRICE: From £44 per night ACCOMMODATES: Two adults NUMBER OF REVIEWS: 81 Picture: Airbnb.com, Barcelona Apartment
Gear
Your Hols
TRAVELBAG WEIGHING SCALES
We’ve all packed our bag and then realised that we don’t have the faintest idea if it’s under the airline’s weight limit. This handy gadget allows travellers to check easily without havng to balance anything on the bathroom scales. gapyeartravelstore.com, around
£8.99
MUSTO SEOUL SAILING BLOUSON
FUJIFILM XP-30 WATER-PROOF CAMERA
This tried and tested, classically styled jacket is a firm favourite amongst watersports enthusiasts and is light enough to wear as a daily ‘companion’ that will last as long as you want it to given its quality. Pricey, but worth it.
Apart from its water-proof quality, this compact camera is shock and dust-proof. I took mine on an action-packed trip to Asia, it came back fine. My brother then put it in a pint of beer back in London - it survived that too.
musto.com, around
£110
comet.co.uk, around
£120
Rosi, 20, Third-year, BA English Literature BEST TRIP? Back in school we went on a jazz and choir trip around the lakes and cities of Northern Italy. Although it was technically a school trip, we had a great time performing and exploring the surrounding areas.
EPIC MOMENTS? There were loads - singing in St. Marks cathedral in Venice, going swimming in Lake Tena and drinking the spring water. We also gave an impromptu performance on a beach and even got a standing ovation from some random holidaymakers! AWFUL TIMES? Being worn out due to the heat, getting up early to get ready for further performances, and a lot of travelling between venues. DREAM DESTINATION? America - Having been to New York, I would love to go to New Orleans or Chicago as I’ve heard that they both have very different characters than ‘the Big Apple’ and New Orleans needs the tourism since its devastating hurricane a few years ago. That would be a very sobering but really enjoyable trip.
33 SOCIETY SPOTLIGHT
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
society spotlight
University of Reading Capoeira Club
Collette Naden
I must admit my ignorance. Before I began my society search for this spotlight, I did not know what Capoeira is. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that incorporates music, dance, acrobatics and self defense into one unique art form. It is a combination of mental, spiritual and self-defense elements that is rooted in a unique cultural context and possesses a distinct history. It was first developed by slaves brought to Brazil who had to disguise their fighting as a dance to elude their masters.
Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art The sport is a true workout for body, mind and spirit. Capoeira can be practiced by any age or fitness level. The benefits from this exercise are improved fitness, flexibility, reaction and stamina. It is also a great place to make friends.
The Capoeira club is currently in its third year as a university club. In their classes, as well as learning capoeira moves they learn to play the instruments and to sing (in Portuguese!) to their groups songs. They are taught by Fabio Santos who has been training in Capoeira since he was 13. He makes the classes fun.
The sport is a true workout for body, mind and spirit The Capoeira club trains in 3Sixty every single Wednesday, from 6pm to 7.30pm. Additionally, extra classes are sometimes held on Fridays. Membership for the club costs just ÂŁ10. Every year there are several workshops and Batizados (Baptisms), where experts in Capoeira from all over the world come together to play and show new moves they have developed. It is also where people can grade for new belts.
Spark* PR needs you!
Dear readers, having been Fashion and Beauty Editor for a year and then Head of PR and Distribution, I am extremely sad that it is nearly time for me to say goodbye to Spark*. The end of my degree is drawing closer and I need a replacement. If you are interested in learning more about the PR role at Spark*, please email me at zk009513@reading.ac.uk. As the position requires editing the Society Spotlight feature, you will get all the training that you will need. Being part of Spark* is such an enjoyable experience and you meet some great people. With graduates fighting for jobs, working for your student newspaper will set you apart from other candidates. You can take the PR position as far as you wish. I always wanted to join forces with the bagel man to create a Spark* bagel, but I never did. Maybe you can think of some creative ways to promote the newspaper? With Spark* love, Collette. x
34 LETTERS
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
editor.spark@reading.ac.uk
Letters & Events
Hello, If you enjoy singing, then please give Reading’s new community choir – ‘Voices of Reading’ a go. The choir is open to all ages and all abilities – the more voices the better! Voices of Reading began rehearsing just two weeks ago at George Palmer Primary School. The choir, which is a new community initiative launched by Reading University Students’ Union, meets on Monday evenings from 7 – 8pm. George Palmer are kindly providing use of the hall space and our
choir lead – Nicole Johnson - is undertaking her role voluntarily and so rehearsals are entirely free. The choir aims to bring together students, staff, local school children, their parents, local elderly residents- basically everyone! We are particularly looking for more children, students and men to join, to help strengthen the voices. The choir sings a whole range of pieces from gospel to Broadway and soundtracks to pop. The choir doesn’t use sheet music to help strengthen memory and escape clinging on to lots of sheet of
paper! We have already had invitations to concerts including a performance at the end of June with Angels: a charity which works with musically talented street children. Children are touring from Kenya this summer and we will sing with them at Reading Rugby Club. Please join the voices! Emily Shaw Societies and Volunteering Co-ordinator emily.shaw@reading.ac.uk
0118 378 4111
Hello from the Development and Alumni Relations Office,
I am delighted to report that the University of Reading Annual Fund has this week reached an important milestone, as generous alumni, staff and friends have now donated over £3 million to support students at the University! This landmark has been achieved thanks to the generosity of over 6,000 supporters who have donated to the Annual Fund since it was established in 2004. The Annual Fund raises money to enhance the student experience. The main way that this money is raised is by inviting you, our current students, to contact our
alumni as part of the Annual Fund telephone campaigns. And what a fine job you’ve done! We’ve raised £3 million and the only way is up. Before I sign off, I’d like to say *good luck* on behalf of the Development and Alumni Relations team, to all of you who are standing in the RUSU elections. We’ve been posting about your campaigning on our Facebook page, so do take a look; simply search ‘University of Reading Alumni’. While you’re at it, why not follow us on Twitter too? @UniRdg_Alumni Give us a tweet and we will be sure to give you a shout-out in return! Laura Garman
P.O. Box 230, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AZ Vol 59. Issue 3 Editorial Staff Editor:
Rosi Hirst editor.spark@reading.ac.uk
Deputy Editor:
Lizzie Pollington deped.spark@reading.ac.uk
News Editor:
Kate Delaney with Chayya Syal news.spark@reading.
ac.uk
News Sub-Editor:
Calum Rogers with Zoe Crook news.spark@reading.
ac.uk
Comment Editors:
Lucy Ponder and Kerrie Black
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
Political Comment
Jessica Rees
Editor:
politics.spark@reading.ac.uk
Interview Editor:
Ellis Wheatley interview.spark@reading.ac.uk
Film, DVD & TV
Steven Howse and Thom Dixon with Ellie Holland and
Jack Marshall
Editors:
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
Music Editor:
Laurence Green music.spark@reading.ac.uk
Music Sub-Editor:
Jamie Milton music.spark@reading.ac.uk
Science & Tech
Mat Greenfield and Shenol Chaker
Editor:
scitech.spark@reading.ac.uk
Gaming Editor:
Tom Wood gaming.spark@reading.ac.uk
Arts&Books Editor: Lucy Snow arts.spark@reading.ac.uk Fashion Editors:
Petrina De Gouttes and Roberta Sarll
fashion.spark@reading.ac.uk
Travel Editor:
Simon Truscott travel.spark@reading.ac.uk
Health Editor:
Renate Cumming-Benson health.spark@reading.ac.uk
Fun&Games Editor: Chris Ryder fun.spark@reading.ac.uk Sport Editor:
Sophie Elliot and Cameron Humphries
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
Head of PR:
Collette Naden pr.spark@reading.ac.uk
Proofreaders:
Steven McCauley
Spark* is written, designed & typeset by students at the University of Reading. Printed by Newbury News Limited, Newspaper House, Faraday Road, Newbury, Berkshire. RG14 2DW. Published and funded by Reading University Students’ Union vp.studentactivites@rusu.co.uk. Spark* is completely editorially independent. Complaints should be made to the Editor, in the first instance, and thereafter to RUSU. All complaints should be made in writing. All articles, letters etc. must include a name, address, and contact number/e-mail address. These may be withheld from publication at specific request. Spark* or RUSU can take no responsibility for products or services advertised herein. Spark* reserves the right to reject or edit any submissions. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the Editor. The views expressed in Spark* do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, particularly those expressed in the comments pages, which are often the opinions of the specific authors. Photographs in Spark* are copyright to the photographer concerned.
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
fun.spark@reading.ac.uk
FUN&GAMES 35
fun&games Crossword 035 Indian, say (5) 21. A small environmentallyfriendly permit (5) 22. Opening explosive – keep head down! (5)
by Chris Harris
Straight Clues ACROSS
Cryptic Clues ACROSS 1. Trial of Spaniard speaking out? (6) 5. Stand still on the left (5) 8. At the top, smoke is repulsive? How awful! (6) 9. Prevents former replacing fashionable showcases (8) 10. Stamps on letters, showing where Luke’s gospel comes? (9) 12. It could bail one out! (5) 13. Historic theatre trashing Wicked (5-10) 15. Ancient, like Harry and Benny? (2,3,2,3,5) 18. Man entering church with old woman (5) 20. Medium fog covering to cause one not to appear (9) 23. Evens intimate discourse (32-3) 24. Cold? Track central heating for support (6)
25. Replayed on Sky for a long time (5) 26. Jump back and twist round again (6)
DOWN 1. Couplet rewritten eight times (7) 2. Sketches southward, or in the other direction (5) 3. In principle, I’m over love after a kiss (5) 4. Lucky charms perhaps involved in 9am radio soap opera? (9,6) 5. Queen lets Dotty bite Hazel (9) 6. Psychic Fair regularly includes spaceships (3-2) 7. Tipping on entry (7) 11. Signal disapproval of short skirt (3) 14. Small mammals avoid pigs (9) 15. Stop ship short of extremely velvety fish (7) 16. Sick – thrown up on cellist (3) 17. Unhook latches of bag (7) 19. None can take number from
Dear Aunt Adelaide... Another bit of highly personal information gets callously plastered over Spark* this week as Adelaide Featherstonehaugh responds to another cry for help with enormous disinterest.
Dear Aunt Adelaide, Recently I’ve been having a huge amount of trouble sleeping and it’s starting to drive me mad! I am a student in my final year,
so it’s essential that I’m up early enough in the day to get vital dissertation work completed, but all this term I find I’m getting so little sleep that I can’t get up before noon each day. Is there anything you would recommend to help me sleep? I could seriously do with some of your marvellous advice. Yours, Patricia.
1. Difficult or wearisome task (6) 5. Supporting stand for an artist’s canvas (5) 8. Terrible; catastrophic (6) 9. Individual items in a museum (8) 10. Ink stamps put on letters to show delivery (9) 12. Proof of where a suspect was during a crime (5) 13. Momentous; life-changing (510) 15. Having been around for a long time (2,3,2,3,5) 18. Hag (5) 20. Mind-reader (9) 23. Conversation between two people (3-2-3) 24. Stick used as support for an injured leg (6) 25. Informal word for a long period of time (5) 26. Shrink away in fear (6)
DOWN 1. Eight times bigger (7) 2. Achieves the same score as another in a competition (5) 3. Saying generally accepted as representing the truth (5) 4. Food often eaten for the first meal of the day (9,6) 5. Incumbent British monarch (9) 6. Science fiction (3-2) 7. Of a ship, leaning to one side (7) 11. Short name for a famous Egyptian pharaoh (3) 14. Nocturnal mammals with spines on their backs (9) 15. Fish often used as a pizza topping (7) 16. Under the weather (3) 17. Small bag with a strap (7) 19. Largest body of water (5) 21. Be of the same mind (5) 22. Short word for the first section of an essay (5)
Dear Patricia, Not to worry, your problem is a common one and is often caused by something big in your life that is bothering you. Perhaps you are a Quantity Surveyor? If not, it could be that your dissertation is worrying you so much that you can’t get on with your dissertation. I recommend forgetting all about it. All the best, Adelaide
Have you got what it takes to be the next F&G Editor? Probably, because it doesn’t take very much. The current editor, Yours Truly, is in his final year and therefore needs to hand over his grand task to somebody new and far more youthful. Fancy making puzzles and games? Enjoy writing meaningless drivel designed to take people’s mind off the horrors of degree-level study? Want to find
out what Adelaide looks like in person? If so, this job could be for you! You’ll need to compile all the bits for the page every two weeks, as well as liaising with anybody else who wants to contribute so that they get everything in on time. It’s fun, rewarding and is great experience for your CV! If you’re interested in giving it a go, e-mail me at the address at the top by the page number.
Go to www.sparknewspaper.co.uk to see solutions to all these puzzles, read more brilliant Spark* content, and because I said so.
Sudoku
36 ADVERTISEMENT
marketing@rusu.co.uk
Monday 5 March 2012 Spark*
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
SPORT 37
SPORT England Robbed By Robben
Brave young lions beaten at the death Cameron Humphries
As Huntelaar had scored, a nasty clash of heads had occurred with Chris Smalling and both players were substituted, with Smalling’s United teammate Phil Jones the England replacement.
England 2-3 Holland Cahill 85’ Robben 57’ Young 90’ Huntelaar 58’ Robben 90+1’ A late Arjen Robben strike condemned England to their first Wembley defeat since November 2010 after England’s young side had bravely fought back against Holland. In the first match since Fabio Capello’s resignation, England looked to have rescued a draw with goals from Chelsea defender Gary Cahill and Manchester United forward Ashley Young in the final five minutes having been 2-0 down to Dutch goals from Arjen Robben and Klaas Jan Huntelaar. It was Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben who would have the final say however, the former Chelsea winger who had already scored a superb solo goal to give the Dutch the lead curled a fine finish beyond Joe Hart to give Holland the victory. The late goal took the gloss of an encouraging performance from a young England side, managed by caretaker Stuart Pearce and captained for the first time by Scott Parker, however a new era appears to have dawned for England.
The late goal took the gloss of an encouraging performance from a young England side With stalwarts such as Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole overlooked,
Young’s late equaliser had England in dreamland, and what a goal it was
Klaas Jan Huntelaar headed home a second for the Dutch in a nasty clash of heads with Chris Smalling the likes of Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Chris Smalling and Leighton Baines were given rare opportunities to impress.
Scott Parker was typically busy in the heart of midfield England had very nearly made the perfect start when Cahill headed over Young’s corner at the near post after seven minutes. As captain Scott Parker was typically busy in the heart of the midfield, he further endeared himself to the watching England supporters with fine early defensive work against world class talents such as Robin Van Persie and Wesley Sneijder.
Robben appeared the clear threat for the Dutch, testing Joe Hart with a powerful drive before Adam Johnson went close at the other end with a deflected shot. Indeed Johnson was lively, as was Daniel Sturridge when he replaced Steven Gerrard after 33 minutes. The Liverpool man had played 120 minutes for Liverpool just days earlier although his withdrawal was said to be precautionary more than any indicator of a spell on the sidelines. Indeed, after a goalless first half it was Sturridge who went close to opening the scoring in the 48th minute with keeper Martin Stekelenburg saving well from 12 yards. Yet for all the encouragement this England side offered the ruthless nature of international
football was there for all to see in a two minute double-salvo for the Dutch.
Huntelaar to head home on his 50th appearance in international football Robben opened the scoring after running at pace at the England defence, Hunterlaar’s movement created space and Robben finished powerfully into the corner from 20 yards. A minute later it was two, the visitors worked the ball wide to Dirk Kuyt who delivered a fabulous ball into the centre for Huntelaar to head home on his 50th appearance in international football.
England were down but not out as Stewart Downing, who was Man of the Match at Wembley just days previously, volleyed wide and Daniel Sturridge finished tamely from eight yards. Sunderland’s Fraizer Campbell entered the fray for his international debut with ten minutes remaining before England believed again following Cahill’s fine turn and finish with five minutes remaining. Young’s late equaliser had England in dreamland, and what a goal it was. Stewart Downing found Scott Parker in the area, his pass to Walcott was wayward but Phil Jones played a precise through ball before Young finished with aplomb by clipping the ball over Stekelenburg. Unfortunately, there was still enough time for Robben to break England’s hearts deep into injury time. England will take many positives from a valiant performance against 2010’s World Cup finalists, however it remains to be seen whether we have any real chance of mounting any serious threat in Ukraine and Poland this coming summer.
Where now? England’s managerial options Cameron Humphries
Harry Redknapp is the overwhelming favourite for the England job. Yet will he want to leave a Spurs side that is the best of a generation? However, if the FA come calling Redknapp will surely be unable to say no? The problem the FA now have is if they recruit prior to the European Championships a new manager will have little to no time to stamp his authority on the squad.
England have a difficult group and if England go out early under a new manager it will hardly breed confidence in the new man’s tenure at an early stage. Following the Capello-Terry gate debacle the FA may be best suited to allowing Stuart Pearce to guide the side through this summer’s European Chamionship before hiring their man in the summer. He knows the setup, he knows the players and he believes in youth. If England are to triumph in the future we need to find out the young players who can cut
it sooner rather than later and Pearce’s experimentation against the Dutch has brought more positives than negatives. Lastly, when England do come to hire a permanent successor - we must hire the best man for the job. Ideally we would have an English manager who has managed in the very biggest games ready to walk into the hotseat, unfortunately we don’t. Instead we have Redknapp, a superb motivator of players and brilliant in the transfer market yet he still lacks experience of the big-
gest occasions. Hiring Redknapp is not a sure bet of English success as many seem to believe.
If Mourinho is available we must attempt to hire him. Likewise Guardiola. He is loved by many, myself included, and he is undoubtedly the outstanding English candidate for the job.
However a man whose honours as a manager are one FA Cup, one League Cup and the UEFA Intertoto Cup should not be first choice if others are available. If Jose Mourinho is available we must attempt to hire him. Likewise Pep Guardiola. It remains to be seen which route the FA will eventually take and whether or not they will hire a man before the Euro’s or wait until the summer. Right now Redknapp looks a matter of when not if, let’s hope the FA take a step back first.
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Six Nations: round up of third weekend action Cameron Humphries
Saturday Ireland 42-10 Italy After two weeks of compelling Six Nations action, the two week gap that preceded the third weekend’s action could not pass quick enough. When it did, the round of fixtures was not to disappoint. The first match of the weekend came at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, with Ireland hosting Italy. Having lost their opening match of the tournament a close fought encounter with Wales, and seen their second match against France postponed, Ireland were anxious to pick up their first win of this year’s competition. Indeed, having also lost their previous three home fixtures, Ireland were desperate for a win and a change of fortune.
made seven out of eight kicks for goal, Italy struggled and made just two out of five from their kicks, a factor that would prove decisive. After 15 minutes of early sparring the game exploded into action as Keith Earles scored his 6th try in four games, with Sexton successfully putting away the conversion Ireland led 10-3. Italy did not crumble however, and six minutes before the break they were level, with Sergio Parisse crossing under the posts. All that good Italian work was undone on the cusp of half-time, with Bowe scoring his 21st international try and Sexton making an impressive conversion.
While the first half was endearingly competitive the second was dominated by the Irish, Bowe scored a second on the hour, Tom Court got his first try at this level before Andrew Trimble put the gloss on the performance late on. The Irish finally had that home victory.
England 12-19 Wales Shortly afterwards England were set to host Wales at Twickenham, with both sides having recorded two victories from their first two games. Wales were looking to secure the Triple Crown in England for the
The drama was not over, England could still snatch a draw and almost did
Ireland were anxious to pick up their first win of this year’s competition Italy have improved immeasurably over the last decade, yet they remain short of the quality to pose a serious threat each year and started clear second favourites in Ireland. Fly-half Jonathan Sexton was the undoubted star of the show as Ireland eventually cruised to a 4210 victory. The number 10 kicked 17 points alongside a pair of tries for Tommy Bowe, as well as scores for Keith Earles, Tom Court and Andrew Trimble. Italy showed early swagger and looked a match for Ireland for a period, however while Ireland
first time in history and entered the match as favourites. England were not going to make it easy for the Welsh though and pushed their rivals all the way in a thrilling encounter. After 24 minutes England were ahead, Owen Farrell successfully punishing Wales with a penalty. Yet minutes later Wales were level through a Leigh Halfpenny penalty. England went close to the try line on numerous occasions, most notably through Manu Tuilagi, yet could not get over the line. At half time England led 9-6, three Farrell penalties to Halfpenny’s two. England took a 12-6 lead early in the second half through another Farrell kick and with the Welsh down a man England could smell victory.
Jonathan Sexton was imperious in Ireland’s victory over Italy
Yet Wales would score next and managed to get through the ten minutes unscathed before drawing level at 12-12 in the 71st minute. Scott Williams would prove the hero for Wales, scoring under the posts with just four minutes left, England and Twickenham were devastated. The drama was not over, England could still snatch a draw and almost did. Scott Williams would prove the hero for Wales, scoring under the posts with just four minutes left David Strettle claimed a score in the corner, England waited. No try. Wales had won the Triple Crown on
English soil. Final score England 12-19 Wales. While defeated, England can undoubtedly take positives from a gallant performance, for Wales the Grand Slam remains well and truly on.
The drama was not over, England could still snatch a draw and almost did Sunday Scotland 17-23 France On the Sunday Scotland faced off against France at Murrayfield. The French were expected to record a comfortable victory however the encounter proved far close than many had predicted. Scotland led 10-0 after try by home debutant Stuart Hogg but the French had levelled the scores by half-time. The French soon led 13-10 through Morgan Parra before Lee Jones put the Scots back in front but a try from Maxime Menard and a drop goal from Lionel Beauxis secured a 23-17 victory for the French. All in all it was another pulsating weekend of Six Nations action with the competition intriguingly poised as we head into week four.
Standings Played Won Points 1. Wales 3 3 6 2. France 2 2 4 3. England 3 2 4 4. Ireland 2 1 2 5. Scotland 3 0 0 6. Italy 3 0 0
Premiership: Extraordinary season continues in extraordinary manner Cameron Humphries
At the time of writing, 12 rounds of Premiership action remain and the final three months of the season are upon us, a Premiership season that looks set to be dramatic to the very end. At the top Manchester City and Manchester United remain separated by a mere two points.
Ryan Giggs continued to make history in his 900th appearance for Manchester United At the bottom Wolves, QPR, Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan are separated by the same margin. Purely glancing at the table suggests the season is set for a dramatic crescendo.
Yet let’s be clear, a tight table at this stage of the season does not make for a great Premier League season, however great games do, and we have had many of them. Add Arsenal’s remarkable comeback against Tottenham Hotspur in last Sunday’s North London Derby, 2-0 down after 34 minutes Arsenal recorded a 5-2 victory that will live long in the memory of both sets of fans, for very different reasons. Meanwhile, just over 100 miles North East at Carrow Road, a certain Ryan Giggs continued to make history in his 900th appearance for Manchester United – grabbing a late winner to condemn gutsy Norwich to a 2-1 defeat. A day earlier rivals City had put the pressure on with a 3-0 home victory over 18th place Blackburn Rovers, their 13th successive home victory this season.
Chelsea picked up a much needed victory over 19th place Bolton with a 3-0 victory, Frank Lampard scoring his 150th career league goal in the process.
Stoke City managed to end a depressing run of 5 Premier League games without a win with a 2-0 home win over Swansea City while Fulham picked up a 1-0 win over QPR, a bad day for Mark Hughes who left the Cottagers last summer.
Manchester City and Manchester United
Frank Lampard scored his 150th career league goal in the process
remain separated by a mere two points However, Andre Villas-Boas’ long term future at Stamford Bridge remains to be seen following a run of poor results. Both Wigan and Wolves picked up valuable points in the fight for survival, Wolves coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at 6th place Newcastle while Wigan managed to hold Aston Villa to a 0-0 draw at the DW stadium.
Evergreen: Ryan Giggs reaches 900 appearances for Man United West Brom’s 4-0 demolition of Sunderland was perhaps the shock of the weekend, with Martin O’Neils Black Cats having enjoyed a fine run of recent form.
With Liverpool in the Carling Cup final action, an extraordinary weekend of Premier League football was stripped of a Merseyside derby, now rearranged for 13 March. Liverpool’s dramatic victory on penalties certainly summed up a manic weekend of football and marked the club’s first trophy in six seasons.
Spark* Monday 5 March 2012
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
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Reading University Knights Reading University Knights Athletics David Kirk
This week, RUKA travelled to Bushy Park, London to take part in the final London College’s Cross Country League race. Injuries have been rife in the already small squad however 10 determined runners travelled with the intentions of finishing the League in a top 10 positions for both women and men’s team. The 2.7 mile course appeared to be the quickest all season, how-
ever the deceptive wind and long muddy stretches proved just as challenging as the undulating courses we have raced on. The men completed two laps, with David Kirk finishing first for RUKA in 33rd position, followed by Aaron Simpson and Matt Rozee, who are commended on their performance, as they are primarily track specialists. The lack of depth in the squad has meant all athletes have been racing across a variety of distanc-
es, possibly explaining the injuries the squad has sustained. Naomi Stafford who was making her debut finished first for RUKA women in 29th position quickly followed by Nicky Park and Eve Leay, again a new addition to the squad. Unfortunately the teams did not quite reach their target with the men finishing the season in 11th position and the women in 12th, due to the depleted available point scorers in the final race.
This is unfortunate however it is certainly a huge improvement on last season and a good place to build going forward. These are all really encouraging signs for the growing athletics club. This weekend the track specialists raced at the BUCS National Indoor Competition in Sheffield, led by captain Brian Flatley, results to be announced shortly. David Kirk also represented in the prestigious 2012 English Na-
tionals Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill. Many thanks to Red Bull who provided competitors at Parliament Hill some free energy shots to get them going for their events. The next race for RUKA will be the Hyde Park Relays this coming weekend. The squad will then turn their attention to preparation for the BUCS Outdoor Championships in the London Olympic Stadium in May.
Reading University Knights Canoe Club: St. Patrick’s Stream Louise Gibbins
Reading Knights Canoe Club usually rock-up at the Wokey centre at about 1pm on Saturday afternoons for a fun filled session. However, on Saturday 25 February it was decided to go for a longer paddle. The plan was to take a circular route down to St. Patrick’s stream; this is a stretch of water off of the Thames which by-passes a couple of locks. This means the water moves a lot faster. In total the route is about 14km and should take about four hours, therefore the session started earlier and the group were on the water by 10.30am. On the day the weather conditions were almost perfect with the sun being out for most of the day. The group were in a variety of crafts including kayaks, canoes, and duo kayaks. The group paddled downstream, past Sonning until we reached St. Patrick’s Stream.
This stream was far more exciting than the Thames. This is because the channel is much narrower and the water moves considerably faster. Along the way the group passed a couple of anglers and even some unsettling wild dogs. Stopping for lunch about half way down the stream we enjoyed some bacon sandwiches which were cooked up on a stove. After this the stream widened up and re-joined the Thames. The group then paddled back up the river to the Wokey centre and arrived back at about four in the afternoon. Overall, it was a great success and a lot of very positive feedback came back from the group about the day. Hopefully we will be able to repeat the successful roue again soon. If this takes your fancy drop an email to president@rucc.co.uk and we shall arrange to get you onto the water.
Sporting roundup: football, boxing, cricket and more cameron humphries
Football
Last week Carlos Tevez made his first appearance for Manchester City in five months, playing 45 minutes for the reserve side against Preston. The 28-year-old City striker has endured five months on the sidelines since refusing to warm up as a substitute in City’s defeat to Bayern Munich last September.
Carlos Tevez made his first appearance for Manchester City in five months It remains to be seen whether boss Roberto Mancini will give Tevez a
return to the first team this season, however the Argentinian’s quality could be invaluable as City look to win their first league title since 1968.
Boxing
Boxing was left in shock last week following Derek Chisora’s brave but comprehensive points defeat to Vitali Klitschko, with the post fight
press conference descending into madness.
England’s ranking as the world’s number one Test side was made laughable Former WBA Heavyweight champion David Haye was in attendance following work for a TV station, and following verbal exchanges between Haye, Chisora and Wladimir Klitschko a brawl erupted between Haye and Chisora. Chisora accused Haye of glassing him and threatened to ‘burn him’ while Haye’s manager Adam Booth was left bloodied.
Chisora has since been suspended indefinitely with British boxing clearly left tarnished by the whole affair.
Cricket Last month England’s ranking as the world’s number one Test side was made laughable in their series whitewash defeat to Pakistan. It will take some time to erase the wounds inflicted, however the subsequent 4-0 win in the ODI series and a 2-1 win in the Twenty20 series will have done much to restore some pride in the England side. Still, the Test side will remain acutely aware that a huge improvement will be needed to match Sri Lanka later this month.
Basketball Great Britain’s Luol Deng made NBA history on 26 February in be-
coming the first Briton to take part in the annual All Star game.
Golf
Rory Mcllroy missed the chance to become World Number One when defeated by America’s Hunter Mahan in last Sunday’s WGC Match Play final. The 22 year old Irishman lost 2&1 over a closely fought 18 holes.
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SPORT BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships 2012 BUCS Press Release
England Vs Holland
Reading University Knights
Six Nations round-up
Tickets to the BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships, a London 2012 test event as part of the London Prepares Series, will be available to BUCS members from 8 March 2012. The event will see 1,000 athletes from all over the UK competing for glory across 15 disciplines in four days. Taking place in the Olympic Stadium from 4 to 7 May, the BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships offers students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at the Olympic Stadium. BUCS will offer tickets to BUCS members across all the sessions and these tickets will be available from 8 March on the BUCS website - www.bucs.org.uk. Further information regarding public access to the Olympic Stadium on Saturday 5 May will be released in due course. The BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships is part of Universities Week 2012, which will recogn-
ise and celebrate the contribution that universities make - and have always made - to the Olympics and the sports industry in the UK. The Week is part of a celebration of UK universities’ world-class status, their support for students and the huge contribution they make to society as a whole.
The event will see 1,000 athletes from all over the UK competing for glory Karen Rothery, the CEO of BUCS said, “BUCS is very excited to be part of this final stage of London 2012 testing, and part of the London Prepares series. Higher Education has and will continue to deliver excellent sporting opportunities and for our students, to compete in the Olympic Stadium and play their part in preparing London for the 2012 Olympics is truly thrilling.”
An aerial view of the Olympic Stadium ‘London 2012’ Debbie Jevans, London 2012 Director of Sport, said: “We are now in the home straight and having staged 31 successful test events we are in a good position as we head towards the Games themselves. As with all our test events we will be testing a range of our event operations including field of play and also our workforce. During our programme of six events
in the Olympic Park over a seven day period we will also be able to focus on our overall Park operations outside of the sport venues and this will be invaluable.” For further information on how to apply for tickets to witness the BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships in person, visit www.bucs.org.uk from 8 March 2012.
Women’s eight fastest university rowing crew in the country! A uor press release
The University of Reading’s women’s eight crew confirmed they are the fastest women’s university eight in the country by defending their WIM1 title at this year’s Head of the River race. Over 250 crews took part in Saturday’s event which has been run by the students of Reading University Boat Club (RUBC) since 1935. It is not only the largest studentrun public sporting event in the country but also the fourth oldest and largest head of the river race. The picturesque course follows the river downstream on the six kilometer stretch between Mapledurham and Caversham Locks, one of the best stretches of the middle Thames. This year’s competitors had perfect river conditions while the spectators lining the Thames enjoyed the wonderful sunny weekend weather. The event attracted crews from all levels of the sport, from novices through to intermediate, senior and elite athletes.
Clubs travelled down to the banks of the Thames from as far as Chester and Warwick as well as a number of schools, universities and clubs from London and the Thames Valley. In the annual battle between RUBC and Reading Rowing Club men’s first eight, named the ‘Phoenix Trophy’, the University came out on top. They covered the course nearly 30 seconds faster than their town rivals. RUBC’s men’s Captain Oli Tomalin said: “There is good rivalry between the two local clubs and we are really pleased to claim back the Phoenix trophy in such good style. We’ve been training really hard and it’s great to see it paying off.”
They covered the course nearly 30 seconds faster than their town rivals. Oxford Brookes once again put in a strong performance winning the elite eight category as well as the
The successful Women’s eight crew in action. senior and IM2 eight categories. Kings School Chester won the J18 event, making them the fastest school eight at this year’s race. University of Reading Director of Rowing Will Rand said: “This was one of the best races yet. It was fantastic to attract such a strong crowd of spectators and we look forward to welcoming back all those who took part for next year’s Head of the River Race. “2012 being an Olympic year means this year’s race took on even more significance. Our women’s eight crew are on fantastic form and will hope to uphold their
title at this Saturday’s Women’s Head of the River Race in London, where they are again looking to keep their title of fastest University crew in the country.” RUBC’s Olympic hopefuls will be looking to book their places at London 2012 in just over a week’s time at the final trials that are being held at Dorney lake, the Olympic rowing venue. Anna Watkins, current Mathematics PhD student will be a strong contender for women’s double, which is one of the favoured gold medal boats. Some of the RUBC alumni will also be in action.