Home again

OK, so here's the thing. I've been doing a full time job for 2 months, and now I'm back to being at home, pretending to be a useful member of society and all that.

And, as ever, I've ended up doing stuff on my laptop with the TV on next to me. And it never fails to disappoint. Already I'd enjoyed a Kate Nash video, and her excuse for singing. And then one of those lovely Dulux adverts, which somehow seeks to show that their paint colours match by depicting Exotic Spice's underwear strewn along the floor alongside Red Stallion's tie.

Hmmm, nice one, Dulux.

Get it away!

You know it's not good when you get up and turn on the TV and even the Big Brother housemates are asleep.

I should add very swiftly that I didn't watch them intentionally! - I turned on the TV and it simply came up with the the last Freeview channel that I'd watched. My thumb has never moved so fast to switch channel! I don't think I'll say any more about the horror that is BB, lest I end up contributing to what is no doubt already a huge area of internet debate. All I can say is that I didn't need even my local paper to have the launch in it. Also, I've lived for the past 9 months or so as part of a group that is mostly made up of 10 girls. And, good as uni's been so far, I am slightly amazed that the producers of the show think that 11 women living together is going to be all fun and frolics. It ain't.

As I type this, I do have another TV-related observation to make. (Yes I've had it on a lot but no one's around so I need the company!) My oh-so-clever observation is that it is simply too early in the morning by my standards for the music channels to be playing Rihanna's 'Umbrella'. Oh, wait, no...there is never a time of day when seeing her dance suggestively down an umbrella could be a good thing, tepid romantic lyrics or not.

One music video that I did get excited about when I first saw it the other day was the new Maroon 5 song. I quite liked them last time they were around, so I had high hopes. But I'm not sure about this one. I liked the song and the lead guy's voice, but I wasn't convinced. Not that I know much about putting songs together, but I really felt that his voice was too weak against the music. You don't listen to it and pick up the words, really. In fact, I have no idea what the song's about. Not a great way to get people to sing along to your new song!

Right, time to turn the TV off and do some work, I reckon. Well, maybe after I've eaten. I have been up for 2 hours, after all.

Pseudonyms

So. I'm watching Indian School on BBC 4. It's quite interesting actually - this episode is about the boom in the Indian IT industry and how that's affecting schools and kids. A lot of it is good stuff although there's also cases of children and teenagers already becoming addicted to computer games. Nice one.

I already knew about the huge IT industry there, but one little fact did stop me in my tracks. An Indian guy who works in a call centre was being interviewed at work and answered the phone as 'Derek'. He then explained that they get a lot of American callers so it's been decided that workers there should be given pseudonyms like David and Derek to make it easier for their names to be understood. I do get the logic of this - I can't pretend that I wouldn't find David easier to pronounce - but to actually be given a fake name to use at work? A little harsh, methinks.

On a side note, the narrator has just informed me that 200 new motorcycle licenses are issued in Pune every day. Blimey.

Off you go, kids

Something about Lord of the Flies going live for reality TV weirds me out. I studied the book during my GCSEs, as many people did, and I have mixed feelings towards it. I think it is a very impressive and powerful book, but it really does have a dark side. And I always found that dark side to be quite believeable, to be honest. You can imagine how things could just go crazy.

Now I know that it's going to be filmed and all that, and I can't find out whether there's going to be any level of intervention if anything goes wrong. But really, 40 kids aged 8 to 15, abandoned in a ghost town for 40 days? Maybe I just got taken in by the original book, but the idea scares me. A lot. Who knows what could happen?!

So...it's OUR fault?

You have got to be kidding me.

Reuters seems happy to report Patrick Moore's opinions on TV today: "The trouble is that the BBC now is run by women and it shows: soap operas, cooking, quizzes, kitchen-sink plays. You wouldn't have had that in the golden days." He adds that "I used to watch Doctor Who and Star Trek, but they went PC -- making women commanders, that kind of thing. I stopped watching."

I've got to admit that I don't know who he is. But, to be honest, I don't think I want to. Who comes out with stuff like that these days?! I agree that there is a fair amount of rubbish around on TV, but I hardly believe that that is the fault of women. And there are more educational and intelligent programmes around, because of the increase in sheer number of channels and all that. I say we start a revolution in better TV by getting rid of him and his incredibly sexist views.

Pfffft.

Whatever you say

According to an advert for L'Oreal collagen filler, the product contains "collagen biospheres", along with many other scientific-sounding things.

Call me naive, but until now I thought biospheres were those things at the Eden Project that contain the rainforest plants and everything.

Pffft.

"Shake it!"

So, I've had the house to myself quite a lot over the last few days. I've got into the habit of having all my stuff - phone, coursework etc - in the lounge, with the TV music channels on in the background for most of the time. I like having them on for background noise and to catch good songs that I haven't heard yet. But after quite a lot of hours with them on, the visual aspect is starting to get to me. They're all scantily clad women gyrating and men in baggy jeans grabbing their own crotches. The one thing that both genders have in common is the fact that they're all very very toned.

It's sort of tiring to watch while you're eating breakfast in your pyjamas.

* * * * *

Drinking: Instant coffee
Eating: A banana
About to: Make more notes on gender and language...yeah!

Shoe throwing

I am currently reading Words in Ads by Greg Myers, for my Communication lectures on advertising. It's relatively interesting as I obviously see adverts all the time, and also the author happens to be quite funny at points.

In the chapter I'm currently on, Myers uses the example of a US television advertisement for a company that sells bonds, with the slogan 'Nuveen. The Human Bond.' On this, he comments:

"A viewer may either come to see the financial instrument in terms of their familial links, or throw a shoe at the television to express their disgust that all human relatioships were being reduced to a financial investment. (I threw a shoe.)"

The slogan was an example of a polysemic pun, by the way.

It made me smile to imagine this highly intelligent lecturer throwing a shoe at his TV in disgust :)

And I also had to smile at the thought that I am not the only one that occasionally gets that particular urge. On one particular occasion, when I was at the cinema waiting for a film to start, I witness one of the Remington adverts that contains the slogan It's what's on the outside that counts. Someone on LiveJournal describes the adverts well here. I actually did want to throw things. But as I was wearing boots and have appalling over-arm technique, I decided against it.

Of course, the film I was waiting to see was The Devil Wears Prada so if I wanted to be presented with a message that wasn't "You don't have to be beautiful but it sure helps" then I was admittedly in the wrong place.

Well, on with my reading...* * * * *

Listening to: Come What(ever) May - Stone Sour
Wearing: Pyjamas and a hoodie...yeah!
Daydreaming about: Johnny Depp in Chocolat - was on TV last night.

Tea and daffodils

Ah, the sun is shining. The seagulls are cawing away happily. The clouds are white and suitably fluffy. It's funny how a bit of sunshine cheers everything up. The last 2 days in Cardiff it's been so cold that the skin on my knuckles was starting to crack. In fact, the skin on my hands still hurts slightly. I naively thought that as it had been getting warmer recently I wouldn't need my fleece-lined mittens. Wrong again, obviously. Of course, my happiness may also be due to my newly bought daffodils or the apple and cinnamon hot cross bun that I just ate. Yes, kids, money won't make you happy but what you buy with it in Tesco just might!

Anyways, I thought I'd update about the last few weeks as I keep meaning to do it and I've got half an hour until I need to collect my washing from the tumble drier. It's my fortnightly session of 'what will the university washing facilities do to my clothes this time'. I shrank 3 pairs of trousers before I realise that you should never tumble dry jeans there.

So...I went to be in the audience of Trisha Goddard the other week. It won't be shown for another few weeks yet but I'm hoping I'll be home to see it, as I don't have a TV here. The trip was organised by our Language and Communication society, and about 20 of us went. It's quite nice as the Trisha people put on a free coach from Bristol to Kent, where it's filmed. It was interesting to see who else was on the coach - there were people of all different ages, including couples, groups of girls, and even a family. You get a sheet when you arrive, telling you the stories that are appearing on the show. Then some guy that would have been perfectly suited to being a Red Coat at Butlins (very overenthusiastic and had obviously given the same spiel ten billion times) told us all about what was going on, and gave us strict instructions on the need to clap at any given opportunity and ask any question we could think of. What cracked me up was that during filming, there's a load of the filming crew stood at the side with their hands waving in the air, to politely remind you to ask a question. Having listened to dire threats on the subject of trying to take photos inside the studio, we went on in. My friend and I were directed to seats in the middle of the studio, on the front row. Cue slight panic. Trisha later spent most of the show stood either behind or in front of me. I suddenly became very much aware of the amount of times that I flick my hair back or shift the position I'm sitting in! Ah well.

It was great seeing all the set up and stuff that goes on, and how they move the cameras around and all that. I doubt I'd ever go into filming or something like that, but it's still enjoyable to watch how it works. I should probably mention that I don't think I've ever watched a whole episode of Trisha in my life. I've watched it while eating my breakfast a few times at home, and have always tended to ridicule it. I can't help wondering why, if your problem is that intense and personal, you would go on a public TV programme to bitch about it. In retrospect, I do still hold that view to some extent. But watching it up close does make you see it on a more personal level. I've done counselling training before, albeit at a low level, and much of what Trisha said to the couples was in keeping with the sort of stuff I was taught: encouraging people to state their arguments clearly, to consider their own behaviour, to think about how past events might have influenced their current behaviour. Of course, it's still often a case of taking sides and letting their audience chuck their opinions in. But for 2 of the 3 couples, at least, I felt that maybe they'll go on to get counselling and any other professional help that they need, and the experience will benefit them. Someone I was with said they'd heard that participants are offered free counselling after the show, and suggested that some probably make an appearance for that. And, well, counselling can be very expensive. Sure, there are ways to get it free, but it might just be that some people don't know how to go about it. That ain't so bad!

Having said this, I'm not going to become an avid Trisha fan. Even if I had a TV, I still get the unsettling feeling that some people that go on there are doing it for attention and to give their argument maximum impact. Sure, I'm glad they're gonna get help, but it doesn't mean it doesn't irritate me to watch it.

That's all for now - my washing's done and I want to go to the gym after I've collected it. More updating later.

* * * * *

Hypotheticals: If you were any animal, what would you be?
A black cat. Looking sleek, curling up by the fire, being cuddled all the time...I'd be great at it.

Anything Goes: What animal do you enjoy seeing most at the zoo?
I always love the lemurs. Absolutely no idea why.

No-Brainers: What store is represented most in your wardrobe?
It's probably a tie between H&M and Primark. Affordable, and their clothes don't tend to be cut to favour uber-skinny, flat-chested women.

Personals: What is it about you that people find irresistible?
Pffft, I've never thought about it. In people that know me, maybe the fact that I'm quite WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get, for the non-geeks). Those that don't know me don't tend to get past the stage of figuring out what they're seeing.

* * * * *

Listening to: The Life You Always Wanted - the Bittersweets
Drinking: Green tea and lemon
Eating:Tesco reduced fat rich tea biscuits. I used to brush them off as the fodder of middle aged christians, but now I love them. I must be growing up. (Meant in the nicest possible way...middle aged christians make up at least half of the people I respect most :)

What rubbish?!

According to the BBC government research has shown that it is viable to collect people's rubbish less often than once week, so this is now being encouraged. I get that this will hopefully increase recycling, but it just seems pretty unpleasant to be honest. When our rubbish wasn't collected over Christmas, it ended up taking up a lot of room and didn't smell that great. And yes all the wrapping paper was recycled!

Haven't got much time to write right now - stuff to do and all that - but thought I'd share. Also, I just discovered that the Killers are playing on Comic Relief tonight, and the Mighty Boosh are also making an appearance. Now I realise I don't have a TV to see the adverts or whatever, but how did I miss this? That's actually something worth watching! My memories of previous programmes conjure up hazy images of slightly sketchy celebrities trying to be funny, and not much else. Now to find someone with a TV that will let me watch it, hmm.