Arms

Fun, Life

And the odd theme for the day is…arms.

Why, you ask? Well, I went to the gym this morning, and decided that as I’ve focused primarily on doing a mix of general cardiovascular stuff, and then abdominal stuff, I should probably do some arm stuff. This may be partly inspired by my having read this article yesterday…while I’m in no danger of somehow growing a ridiculo-arm, it did make me think more about my arms.

So anyway, I went to the gym, and I did some arm stuff which revolved mostly around kettle-bells (which I understand why they are popular in general, but they are not popular with me). So now my arms really ache, which is rubbish, but does lead me onto my next topic.

While at work, I had a short discussion about the American “right to bear arms” and it got me thinking. Essentially I believe (as should most sane-minded human beings) that guns and etc should not be allowed on the streets. It constantly perplexes me that friends from the US, many of whom I have the greatest respect for, insist that their right to carry a weapon is vital to their social freedom. Is it? Really? This is one thing I’d love explained to me, because as far as I’m concerned just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD, and if most people are too stupid to abide by that basic principle, maybe it’d just be better to change it so that you CAN’T do it (and then idiots can’t hurt people/themselves).

Just saying.

Selfies, New Media, and why they are ruining charity

Life

I did not do a “no-makeup selfie” and contrary to popular belief, it’s not because I’m a cancer superfan.

I chose not to join in because I have a very specific view (which I mentioned in this post) on the notion of going to new media as a platform for fundraising. While I am in strong support of website like JustGiving, who have created a fantastic way for anyone to get involved in both giving and fundraising at the click of a button, I do still have an issue with viral campaigns to collect donations, which I really feel trivialise the issues which they are meant to be in support of. A friend of mine, and fantastic human rights activist, posted something to this effect on the Facebooks earlier, and I was amazed by some of the responses…

cancerThis, to me, is representative of the conversations more of us should be having in regard to the outbreak of  social media based fundraising. I don’t think the “no-makeup selfie” campaign – which incidentally was started completely by the public – portrays a negative image of the cancer sufferers it was supporting, but the connotations which come from a “no-makeup selfie” being some kind of a big deal, bother me. I don’t think we should be abusing good causes as an excuse to take part in a viral phenomenon.

When I was about 12 years old, LiveStrong wristbands came into vogue at my school. I never had one, but loads of people did, and loads of people had no idea that buying them meant supporting a cause and buying knockoffs did not. A schoolfriend who was catholic vehemently (for a 12 year old) decried the whole thing, saying that giving to charity was a duty that shouldn’t be used as a status symbol. I still think that holds true. I support every penny raised by Cancer Research via selfies, but if it’s only done for a few more likes, then I think that is a devaluation of the caring nature of humanity. Similarly, and as highlighted in the conversation above, campaigns which are poorly constructed to target a certain market without thinking of the ramifications should be shut down. Doing a good thing is good, but it’s so important to do it in the right way.

Made in Chelsea

Fun

Ok, let’s talk about Made in Chelsea, my guilty pleasure. Yes, it’s terrible MTV generation drivel aimed at entertaining the dumb masses while capitalizing on the imperfections of the London upper classes, with horribly scripted scenes and some of the most bizarre relationship polygons I’ve ever seen.

So really, what’s not to love?

I am completely addicted to it. I think there is something about it which makes it even easier to watch than other reality TV because I just simply can’t believe anyone lives like that.

My comments on this series so far…

  • I am so disappointed that Stevie is no longer just sweet and nice. I liked having at least one person not involved in some silly love triangle.
  • I want to give Mark-Francis beer battered fish and chips, because he can sniff at it all he likes, he’s missing out on some of the best food out there.
  • Lucy needs to stop being ridiculous. There has been too much of this:
lucy watson
Courtesy of news.beamly.com/

 

 

PS.

Life

So I just published that last post, then realised all I do is rant about things nowadays(/always for my whole life. I’m one big pile of sarcasm, cynicism and bile).

Anyways. Sorry about that. I’ll try to rant less and talk about more fun things.

Things I think about people: In the Gym

Life, Rant

Those avid readers among you (which I am well aware is 1< person weekly, never fear, I’m under no illusions) will know that I now go to the gym. I don’t think it’s fair to say I go on a “regular” basis, but I probably go at least once a week, which is an improvement on not-once a week, so there’s that.

Anyway, I’m not the only person in the gym, unfortunately.  And I have some very clear views on other people in the gym.

1) Don’t make weird noises. I know exercise is different for everyone, and you’re probably working way harder than me, but it’s so distracting and often scary when you make noises like your lung just collapsed.
2) Don’t try to break the machines, or make the machines break you. If you have to keep pressing the emergency stop on the treadmill, you may be running too fast. I understand the concept of interval training and trust me, you’re doing it wrong.  Also, pumping the cross-trainer madly on level 1 so that it looks like it’s going to tip over is doing no-one any favours.
3) Don’t stare at me. I know I go bright red, it’s not attractive, but aside from the colour of my face I’m clearly fine. Don’t stare at me. Stop staring. Now.
4) Please God, stop turning up fully made up. It’s 7am. No-one is here for that, we are all here to work out and then get on with our lives. If you’re going to try and pick people up at the gym maybe come back at lunch time when the place is populated by people under 50 who don’t have real jobs. They will be interested. We are not.

Cold-Blooded

Language, Life

I think it’s amazing how quickly our brains associate certain phrases, or rhythms, or just sounds with certain images. Titling this post “cold-blooded” probably instantly conjured images of lizards and snakes in the heads of most readers, even though that’s not what I’m writing about. I’m actually writing about word association and the fact that I am bloomin’ cold all of the time.

Following the association thread, as I was thinking of this post a song lyric caught my attention, because it was saying the same thing I was essentially thinking. Taken from Eminem’s “Not Afraid”, the line is

I shouldn’t have to rhyme these words in the rhythm for you to know it’s a rap

This fascinated me, because at the same time that I was thinking about how clever our brains are for doing this linguistic cross-association, Eminem chose to lyrically contradict me. I completely disagree with his line (respectfully, of course), because I think that his skilled use of rhyme and rhythm is exactly what makes his work so brilliant, and it’s what immediately alerts me to the fact that I’m listening to an Eminem rap.

This is all very similar to the research I’m currently doing into crossover in metre between North Africa and southern Spain. One of my most vital points is that it’s difficult to claim there’s no interchange between these two cultures when you can hear it in the poetry they were each constructing. The beauty of our minds is practically their simplicity. Nine times out of ten we work on the basis of “I liked that, I’ll do it like that”, and thus themes, rhythms, phrases get passed around, and meanings get changed until something like “cold-blooded” immediately creates the image of a lizard, and three bars is enough to distinguish the creative prowess of Eminem.

It’s pretty fantastic.

Horses, and carriages

Life

All my friends are getting married.

In fairness, this isn’t a new thing – I went to my first “friend-wedding” when I was about 17 (they were older than me, but not by much), and the general marrying hasn’t stopped since then. But this year seems to be the big one. A close friend told me that everyone hits one summer where all their friends get married, and apparently this is mine.

Now is the time to state that I am not bitter in the slightest about how few of the weddings I’ve actually been invited to.

What I am bitter about, however, is that I don’t have the opportunity to doll myself up in a beautiful white dress, eat delicious food, and have people cry tears of general happiness at me. Which is not to say I specifically want to get married (I do, but not right now. This is a discussion which has been had, decided upon, and then left). I just want the white-dress experience.

Anyhow, that not being forthcoming for a little while, it simply remains for me to wish congratulations and general mabruks aplenty to all of my recently married and soon to be married friends. I hope you are all tremendously happy for a really long time.

Priorities

Life, Rant

Far be it from me to judge (though that’s exactly what I intend on doing), but it seems to me that if you turn up to an exam fully made-up with exquisitely coiffed hair, and then pester your friend outside because you’ve forgotten a pen, your priorities in life are all wrong.

Let’s expand on this. I’m not saying that it’s wrong to take care of your appearance, or take pride in your hair. I’m not jumping on the bandwagon of make-up haters who have been all over social media recently.  I’m also not insisting that the only thing of merit is a good quality education and exemplary exam grades.

However

If you make the decision to go to university then you are
a) quite clever
b) interested in furthering your knowledge

so you shouldn’t be wasting time on an exam morning plastering yourself with make-up when literally no-one but the invigilators will take a second look at you.

Of course, if you just came to university because they have low expectations and are accepting below-average students in order to fill their already gold-lined pockets, and because you were in FE and the system failed you by not suggesting you had other reasonable options than to sink yourself into a pit of debt while not really achieving anything except a 3rd in a course everyone agrees is not a real subject, then go ahead with your make-up and lack of pens. Someone should have explained a long time ago that you are wasting your time at university anyway.

Well, that escalated quickly. Rant over.

 

Oh, and good luck to anyone taking exams!