Stupidest Charity Ever

Reading an article on the BBC website [1] about a woman in the UK bitten by a rabid dog, I was dumbfounded after the first line:

"A social worker who runs a charity that brings street dogs from Sri Lanka into the UK was one of three people bitten by a puppy infected with rabies."

A charity that brings street dogs from Sri Lanka into the UK? Is this woman totally stark-raving mad? Don't get me wrong, I'm not against animal charities: RSCPA, Battersea Dogs Home and the like all do a sterling job of looking after animals that have been subjected to cruelty and provide assistance in the prosecution of the idiots responsible.

It transpires that Kim Cooling, the lady in question, runs a charity that rescues street dogs from Sri Lanka and brings them back here for rehoming. Now call me harsh, but isn't this a bloody awful waste of money? Why can't she just rehome them in Sri Lanka? The money spent on airfreight combined with the cost of facilities and wages for carers in the UK must be enough to pay for a Sri Lankan mansion for the little rascals!

People don't often realise that the effects of charity can be doubled if the money raised in the UK is used fully in the country of destination. In this particular instance, I think it is an absolute joke that people would dare to run such a charity in a country torn apart by a brutal 25 year civil war that has killed 70,000 people [2]. What about the orphans that these resources could feed/house/educate? What about the hospitals that these resources could fill with medicines?

Kim Cooling, congratulations on Animal SOS Sri Lanka receiving my vote for the stupidest charity ever.

Sources
[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7368808.stm
[2] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7369516.stm

Exhumation of Padre Pio

The body of Padre Pio, the famous 20th Century Italian priest who became St. Pio of Pietrelcina in 2002, has been exhumed and put on display on the fortieth anniversary of his death.

I am no longer a practising Catholic (I would probably describe my beliefs as agnostic leaning towards theistic) but it must be said I find the whole affair thoroughly distasteful and, dare I say it, irreverent. By digging up his body and placing it on public display, it seems to me as if the Church wants to make money from pilgrims or stir up publicity. Cynical as that is, I can't help but feel disgusted by the public display of a famous corpse on an anniversary, it just seems to me as such a disrespectful act. When I've conked out and am six feet under I want to be bloody well left there!

From Erol Alkan's MySpace profile

The beat breaks down so we pick it up
The floor shakes down but it’s not enough
The beam is up and the kids are high
I’ve seen them move and it blows my eyes
The floor’s an ocean and this wave is breaking
Your head is gone and your body’s shaking
There is nothing you can do because there is no solution
You gotta get down to the noise and confusion

The sound goes round and we start to climb
The lips curl up and it kills my line
The beat is steal and the scene is sown
I see her eyes and her eyes are blown
The floor’s an ocean and this wave is breaking
Your head is gone and your body’s shaking
There is nothing you can do because there is no solution
You gotta get down to the noise and confusion

Out of our minds on the stage

"There is nothing you can do because there is no solution
You gotta get down to the noise and confusion"

’Sons Of The Stage’ written by Tony Ogden and Gordon King

Imagining the Tenth Dimension

Here is a simple (albeit very hand-waving) explanation of how to imagine the 10th dimension.

lele [SPEAKS]
The Mentalist Daily
●●●○○

The first mixtape from this witty young pipsqueak, 18 year old rapper lele [SPEAKS], boasts tracks that are not only amusing and scarily catchy, but is available free for legal download from her MySpace page!

Her childish voice and portrayal of themes relevant to teenage girls, complemented by the simple yet effective production and guest appearances from her Croydon clique the Sick Kids, makes this brand of kid-hop a naive yet original listen. It’s a bit like the shock of catching your little sister and her mates in the garage at midnight smoking weed and rapping to each other and then suddenly realising they are actually pretty good.

myspace.com/leleisbanging

oops error!

Take Aim Fire's myspace is actually:

www.myspace.com/takeaimfiremusic

Shut Up And Listen: Live Session!

dear all,

tonight I'll be playing my last set on www. icradio. com and to ensure I go out with a bang, I've got a veritable treat for you! From 7pm-10pm we will have two bands playing live sets for us with a short interview after:

Spectrum 7 (myspace. com/spectrum7)
Take Aim Fire (myspace. com/takeaimfire)

plus special guest DJ set from Dan Browne!


tune in and wig out!!!

:D

Shut Up And Listen 23/02/08 Playlist

1. ZPU - Yo Soy Un Soldado

2. Example - Diamond Days

3. Wiley - Get Along Gang (instrumental)

4. Pharoahe Monch - Simon Says

5. The Purple Pixels - Ready, Steady, Go!

6. Maniac - Wiley Freestyle

7. Tinchy Stryder ft. Goldielocks - Stereotype

8. Xzibit - Saturday Night Live

9. Jay-Z - Izzo (H.O.V.A.)

10. The Cribs - Hey Scenesters!

11. Idlewild - Little Discourage

12. Fenech-Soler - The Fight

13. Not Idea - Worthless Treasure

14. Imajim - Single Crumb

15. Hello Saferide - San Francisco

16. Robyn - Who's That Girl

17. The Cranberries - I Can't Be With You

18. Tripwires - Kings And Queens

19. Arty Karate - Ammunition

20. Foo Fighters - Generator

21. Spectrum 7 - The Last Great Train Robbery

22. Garbage - Vow

23. The Knife - Heartbeats

24. Hadouken! - Love, Sweat & Beer

25. Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U

26. Kano - P's & Q's

27. Papa Vito - Drill It (Lillica Libertine remix)

28. Roni Size & Reprazent - Snapshot

Troops to Teachers in the UK

Once again the BBC website of which I am so fond (and arguably over-dependent on) has covered an excellent story and raised a proposal that I consider to be an excellent idea.

The Centre for Policy Studies, a British government think tank, has suggested that the UK should model an American scheme called Troops to Teachers, known as T3 [1]. This scheme retrains experienced ex-members of the armed forces to become teachers.

This is expected to bring back respect to the classroom, as the servicemen and women would bring with them self-discipline and act as role models for them. Their experience in maintaining discipline is anticipated to work wonders in inner-city schools, where children look up to physical strength as a key quality.

I must say this would also be mutually beneficial to former servicemen and women, as it is often very hard to reintegrate into "Civvy Street" (i.e. the real world). Some ex-soldiers, sailors and airmen struggle with the lack of a rigid hierarchical structure, absence of strict discipline and no longer having the feeling of serving society, their country and the greater good in general. Some can also lack qualifications that will help them compete in the commercial job market. This scheme would allow them to train for another job and bring a very useful set of skills to our education system in addition to bringing a vast wealth of life experience into the classroom.

The scheme on paper sounds like a fantastic idea and indeed the US scheme has proven to be highly successful (88% retention rate of T3 participants as opposed to the national average of 50% as one example). However, I think that it will need to be handled very carefully and the right candidates will need to be vetted thoroughly. Also, could it be possible that the scheme would further the romantic idealism of violence in modern culture and continue to ingrain the notion of aggression being directly linked to respect, power and authority?

It may be that some of these ex-servicemen/women will also struggle to cope with the lack of respect in the classroom: after all, working in the forces is voluntary but school is compulsory (to paraphrase the comment of "Voice of the Voyager" below the article in question.

A British analogue of the T3 scheme has the potential to have a positive impact on our education system provided it is handled well, with the recruits being correctly selected and given the right training.

Sources
[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7245122.stm

BBC iPlayer: amazing

The TV is officially dying and internet TV is rising from its ashes. The new iPlayer from the BBC allows UK viewers to watch any missed programs for up to 7 days after they have been broadcast. I have recently used it for the first time to catch up on games from the first weekend of the Six Nations rugby tournament, and I am very impressed. I am a child of the internet generation: in my student flat we don't even have a telly (although one of the girls has a TV card for her laptop which is also impressive technology).

Hopefully the England rugby team can put together some decent performances to make the most of it!

Six Nations Excitement

So it's nearly the start of the 2008 Six Nations and I'm not the only rugby fan who's excited. Here's the thoughts of The Manic Street Preachers' cross-dressing bassist Nicky Wire on the BBC website [1]:

"I'm just a huge sports fan and the start of the Six Nations is just one of the most exciting times of the year - close the curtains, get a sausage sandwich on and have a shandy."

Sounds like one hell of a party! What a fruitcake!!!


Source
[1]http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/welsh/7221292.stm

Just For A Giggle

Here's a little footage from the Harry Enfield/Fast Show archives. Classic, if a little naughty...

Shut Up And Listen 26/01/08 Playlist

Guest DJ: Sean Williams

1. Tiny Masters of Today – K.I.D.S.
2. Does It Offend You Yeah? – Battle Royale
3. Peter Bjorn & John – Young Folks (Punks Jump Up Remix)
4. Tapedeck – Falcon
5. Justice – Phantom
6. Friendly Fires – Your Love
7. Vampire Weekend – A Punk
8. Filthy Youth – Boys Don’t Smoke
9. High Contrast – White Stripes Blue Orchid Remix
10. Blood Red Shoes – It’s Getting Boring By The Sea (Blamma Blamma Mix)
11. Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip – A Letter from God to Man
12. Skream – Smiley Face
13. Example – Vile
14. Whitey – Stay on the Outside
15. Radiohead – Bodysnatchers
16. Late of the Pier – Bathroom Gurgle
17. Babyshambles – The Man Who Came to Stay
18. Lightspeed Champion – Devil Tricks for a Bitch
19. Danger Mouse – Public Service Announcement
20. Plan B – Missing Links feat. Radiohead
21. Maps – You Don’t Know her Name
22. Trash Fashion – Mom & Daddy (Jet Storm’s Ear Cleaner Mix)

Considering Erasmus? My advice: DO IT!

May I start by confirming the fact that choosing to do Erasmus is probably one of the best decisions you will ever make, so put aside any fears about language barrier or the distance from home! After a year you will have loads of friends from every corner of Europe, speak another language with confidence, be ludicrously employable and have had some unforgettable experiences.

In pretty much every university the Erasmus students form a very tight community, so any problems with language barrier are instantly removed by the fact that everybody else is in the same boat! I personally found the mixture of people from all different nations absolutely mind-blowing. I wasn’t very well travelled before Erasmus and thought it was going to be a problem: on the contrary, I think that’s why I enjoyed it more!

Conversations consisting of more than 3 languages at once will become the norm and you will not cease to be amazed by the cultural and linguistic peculiarities of our neighbours. Exploring the language and culture of the host country with your new Erasmus mates makes it so much less scary and a hell of a lot more fun. I met some incredible people whilst in Santander and if it wasn’t for Erasmus I would have never met anyone like them in a million years!

During the first month living in another country everything is pretty daunting, but at the same time massively exciting! The language learning curve is incredibly rapid and after 4 weeks, your confidence is sky high and you will wonder why the hell you were ever worried in the first place! And if that still isn’t enough, may I remind you that 47% of the EU speak English as a second language, so you have nothing to worry about!

It is probable that many of your fellow Erasmus students may be doing the year for little or even no credits, so keep this in mind towards the end of the year when deadlines are approaching, especially if you want to do well. If you are writing a thesis or project out there, remember to see your supervisor as much as humanly possible and continuously ask members of the group questions.

I would advise you to try and organise a language buddy with a native speaker as soon as possible, because it is tempting to only hang around with Erasmus guys which linguistically is a bad move! Also try to join a local gym, sports team or some form of club as this will allow you to widen your social network and get some good local chat on the go!

Make sure you get a Skype account for a free or very cheap way to call back to the UK and most importantly: go on a road trip with your new mates early on in the year when the work has not started to build up. I went on a 10 day road trip of 30 people to Andalucía in November and words cannot express how awesome that was!

The Meaning of Life... via text message

Last week I received a text from a company called Texperts offering me a free text message as a trial of their service. They apparently have a panel of experts that quickly answer any question that you text them for the sum of £1.

Seeing as I am studying a Philosophy module this year I used my free SMS to ask the eternal question "What is the meaning of life?", hoping to get some sort of humorous reply from a bamboozled "expert". About two minutes later I received the following answer:

"No inherent meaning to life other than to create meaning. The more one values life the more valuable it is. Each individual defines their own meaning."

Of course the first thing that came to mind was the sweet irony of receiving the answer to the eternal question of existence via a mobile telephone. Oh how technology enhances and enriches our modern lives! I wondered if it was a quote from some revered 20th Century thinker. It seemed a fair statement, albeit staunchly from the perspective of a modern atheist. But as I looked at it more and more, I started to doubt its credibility. It seems more probable that it is just some pseudo-profound waffle from the office's self-appointed "thinker".

The first part is very bleak indeed and anybody religious would be exceptionally liable to disagree. It plainly contradicts the Aristotlean idea of every life having a telos (Greek: specific end, goal or purpose) and the theistic idea of us existing due to God's grand scheme, the divine purpose.

I find the second part equally disagreeable. Can someone's life be worth more because they consider it to be? Is the life of a depression sufferer worth less than that of a happy newly-wed just because they value their life less? I find this hard to agree with; in my opinion every life has an equal and unwavering value, regardless of their state of mind.

The final part has its feet firmly embedded in the relativism that seems to be prevalent in a lot of moral thinking today. It also elevates man above God and says that our will is central to defining our own meaning. I don't like the sound of this: what happens if I believe my life's meaning is that I was put on this Earth to be an axe murderer?

Whoever wrote the text message has given an answer that ignores that we may have a specific telos or reason to exist. By suggesting that our life gains meaning depending on what we believe seems to be reminiscent of Anselm's ontological argument. Just because I believe that my life meaning is to eat muffins does not necessarily correlate with the truth. It's like saying that because I can imagine a pineapple with legs that can run as fast as an ostrich, that it must exist in reality.

I'm tempted to write Texperts an email and get them to update their answer to something a bit less bleak! What if someone in a fragile state of mind asks the same question and gets this reply? I hope that there's nobody out there vulnerable enough to take an answer to the meaning of life via text message as gospel.

Shut Up And Listen 19/01/08 Playlist

1	Akala	Electro Livin'
2	We Smoke Fags	Photo Fitness
3	Take Aim Fire	A Barren Spell
4	Bombay Bicycle Club	Open House
5	Kasha ft Composure	Hustling
6	Edan	Emcees Smoke Crack
7	Yila ft Scroobius Pip	Astronaut
8	Sway	Black Stars
9	Spank Rock and Benny Blanco ft Amanda Blank	LOOSE
10	Roots Manuva	Seat Yourself (Miami Mix)
11	The Mitchell Brothers	Don't Try This At Home
12	Timbalana ft Dr Dre, Justin Timberlake and Missy Elliot	Bounce
13	Illastate Mixtape	What You Doing
14	Tinchy Stryder	Xtra
15	Faith SFX	Oh My
16	Lady Sovereign	Chi Ching (Cheque 1 2)
17	M.I.A.	XR2
18	Bolt Action Five	Stand By Your Lover
19	The Cleft Palettes	Seasnake (Yes Sir Idol remix)
20	Simian Mobile Disco	Sleep Deprivation
21	Lillica Libertine	Diamonds
22	Yes Sir Idol	Idol vs Bul!m!atron!
23	Bloc Party	Banquet (Phones Disco Edit)
24	Hadouken!	Leap of Faith (Chase and Status Vocal Remix)

China: a nation of dichotomy

I've just finished reading two articles about China on the BBC website and I can't help but be totally flabbergasted at the difference between them. It transpires that China, the world's oldest political entity (at approximately 2,000 years old), executes more people than the rest of the world put together [1]. According to the article, Amnesty International estimates 1,010 people were executed there in 2006, amounting to 60% of global executions for that year. China does not actually release official figures on the topic, so worse still it could be "just the tip of the iceberg".

In complete contrast, there has been a recent boom in people reading the works of Confucius, with new nursery schools entirely dedicated to his teachings and a recent publication of his main sayings reaching the best-sellers list [2]. His teachings "extol the virtues of harmony, humility and courtesy to others" [2] and he has been described as "one of the most humane thinkers of all time" [3]. The discrepancy between the morals of the government and morals of he people would appear to be as divergent as one would be inclined to expect from a communist society!

Sources
[1]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7169122.stm
[2]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7169814.stm
[3]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Analects-Classics-Confucius/dp/0140443487/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1X2T99HPQIZQ4&colid=2V0GOPK79A8NQ

SHUT UP AND LISTEN: radio pilot

So I presented a pilot of my radio show live on icradio.com last Monday. It was all a bit hectic; I only knew I had a time slot about 3 hours before the set so I just had to run home, grab my laptop and run back! Did it solo as well which wasn't ideal at all! Definitely room for improvement but the initial feedback was encouraging and I had listeners in more than 3 countries which boosted the ego.

The show should normally be available online but the site is being a bit dodgy this weekend. When it does come back, it should be available here: http://www.icradio.com/show.php?id=500. The Facebook group can be found here: http://imperial.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15237950470. Download and enjoy!

Here's the playlist so you can pursue these fine artists in your own time:
1. We Smoke Fags - Lust Puppet
2. Late Of The Pier - Space And The Woods
3. Goldielocks - Dolla Dolla
4. Lillica Libertine - Loose Lips Sink Ships
5. Bolt Action Five - Think Fast (Think Trash remix)
6. Duchess Says - Cut Up
7. We Are Wolves - Fight And Kiss
8. Lincoln Smith vs The Black Prince - Satellites Are Falling From The Sky
9. Scanners - Bombs (Young Americans Terrible Fuss mix)
10. Yelle - A Cause Des Garcons (Techno mix)
11. The Klaxons - Golden Skans
12. Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Fixed
13. Hadouken! - Tuning In
14. Plan B - Where You From
15. Faithless - Insomnia
16. Wiley - Slippin'
17. Saïan Supa Crew - Blow
18. Mark B & Blade ft Rodney P - We Stay Rough
19. Diplo - Diplo Rhythm
20. Boy 8Bit - Jolene
21. Hadouken! - Leap Of Faith

Supporting the Hollywood Writer's Strike

Music Festival #3- Sziget

I knew this festival was going to be huge and was likely to be messy but I really could not imagine the scale of it until I was actually there! Immense!

Along with my travelling buddy of the summer, I flew into Bratislava, Slovakia from where we caught the 2 and a half hour train to Budapest, Hungary. We met some girls from Glasgow on the way and got a few beers in (obviously). There had just been quite a severe heatwave in this part of the world a couple of weeks before we got there and the heat was still pretty intense but thankfully we had missed the worst of it.

We cheated and got a taxi from the station to the festival, as we just wanted to put up the tents pronto and check out the bands. Cheeky sod charged us 40€ though!! That's probably a month's rent in Budapest!!! We paid it, silly tourists that we were.

Upon arriving at the island it was immediately obvious that this was one hell of an event. The entrance to the island was absolutely teeming with people. Previous years had seen over 400,000 attend the festival over the 7 days and it was beginning to sink in how many people that meant.

In contrast to the standard English festival consisting of one flat open field for the stages and another for the tents, this was unique. The island is forested with various footpaths and roads spreading throughout it, the effect being a wooded labyrinth. Every now and again there would be a clearing with a stage or two in it, or a road with a selection of food stalls at the side. Otherwise, wherever there was a big enough gap between two trees, people would pitch their tent.

The line-up boasted some big names and I ended up seeing some acts that I would normally have not even thought twice about seeing, which I imagine was quite good for my personal music development. We managed to catch Manu Chao and I didn't expect it but the crowd went absolutely bananas! Chemical Brothers were absolutely immense and their visuals were pretty spectacular. Faithless played an infinitely better set than their attempt at Global Gathering (I think they have a bit of a soft spot for Sziget crowds).

I saw !!! (pronounced "Tchuk Tchuk Tchuk", apparently) for one song as I was on the hunt for some grub, but they weren't my thing and I was pretty hungover so I gave them a miss. Other acts who I would never normally see include Nine Inch Nails and Tool, both not really my cup of tea but no harm done in watching them from the bar. Also saw Pink whilst sunbathing early on in the afternoon and probably could have done without that, really. Madness turned up as well, which was a bit of a turn up for the books!

Had a big of a mad night in the dance tent on the Tuesday to Annie Nightingale (Radio 1) and Plump DJs, who did the business. One of the most full-on rave-ups I've been to in a long time. Lots of crazy backpackers in there, some of which had attended the Fete de Bayonne in France which is a bit of a badge of honour, it must be said. The Killers closed the festival and everybody was too knackered to enjoy them, unfortunately!

Made a nice little trip to Bratislava to wind down for a couple of days after the madness of Sziget. Ate a 3 course meal in one of the best restaurants there for about £15 each. Sorted! Place is a bit of a toytown though, like something out of a Disney film!