Probably, by the 3.30pm, last Friday, everyone in Year 12 had been asked about their start to Sixth Form.
"What difference is there between Year 11 and Year 12?" - You will have produced automatic answers by about the third time; "I like not wearing uniform but I don't like stressing over clothes and I like the freedom but I miss my old friends and I like the new subjects but everything is harder and this but that and this but that..." Stop.
So here are some honest thoughts about Year 12.
Firstly, lessons have gotten about fifty times more interesting than last year. Suddenly, we are being pushed and challenged, and are engaged in subjects of our own choosing and interest. Teachers are far less patronising and take a genuine interest in your opinion, as you do in theirs. Everyone turns up to a lesson to work and learn something; this is in stark contrast to G.C.S.E. where, given half the chance, you would do nothing.
For this reason, the biggest lesson I've learned is thus: if you see someone in your class whom you have preconceptions about - forget them. That was in secondary school; we've moved on.
--
WORD COUNT: 199
Monday, September 19, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
chain-smoking orang-utan moved from zoo
Prepare yourself because, by the end of the next paragraph, you may well feel it necessary to re-read the paragraph.
A chain-smoking orang-utan has been rescued from a life of downbeat decadence at a zoo in Johor, Malaysia. The orang-utan had started to chain-smoke and ingest beer, fizzy drinks and fast food.
“Smoking is not normal behaviour for orang-utans,” said Ahmad Azhar Mohammed, head of a zoo in the city of Malacca and winner of Mr. No-S**t-Sherlock 2011.
The orang-utan apparently suffered from serious mood swings and withdrawal symptoms, if not supplied with cigarettes. She also looked drowsy, sometimes - as if drugged - because she had begun to use the cigarettes, beer, fast food and other waste that punters had thrown into her enclosure.
Shirley, as she is known, will now go to the zoo in Malacca, where the phenomenally well-informed worker whose quote we used works, to be weened off cigarettes and her smoking habit before being sent to an endangered-species compound in the Malaysian part of Borneo.
TWOL says: If you are an orang-utan, avoid Malaysia.
--
WORD COUNT: 179
A chain-smoking orang-utan has been rescued from a life of downbeat decadence at a zoo in Johor, Malaysia. The orang-utan had started to chain-smoke and ingest beer, fizzy drinks and fast food.
“Smoking is not normal behaviour for orang-utans,” said Ahmad Azhar Mohammed, head of a zoo in the city of Malacca and winner of Mr. No-S**t-Sherlock 2011.
The orang-utan apparently suffered from serious mood swings and withdrawal symptoms, if not supplied with cigarettes. She also looked drowsy, sometimes - as if drugged - because she had begun to use the cigarettes, beer, fast food and other waste that punters had thrown into her enclosure.
Shirley, as she is known, will now go to the zoo in Malacca, where the phenomenally well-informed worker whose quote we used works, to be weened off cigarettes and her smoking habit before being sent to an endangered-species compound in the Malaysian part of Borneo.
TWOL says: If you are an orang-utan, avoid Malaysia.
--
WORD COUNT: 179
Sunday, September 11, 2011
thoughts on 9/11
TWOL faces something of a dilemma today.
The date is Sunday, September the 11th, 2011. Because of events in New York, Washington and Shanksville, PN, ten years to the day, there is only one topic to be discussed in today's entry. However, there has been masses of prose, across the internet and printed media, written about these events, and today's anniversary, so TWOL must write something unique.
Although TWOL was just six year's old at the time, TWOL still holds vague memories of the day. Genuine breaking news programmes, reserved for such events as the 9/11 bombing attempts, are extremely rare and TWOL was most disappointed, that day, that CBBC had been cancelled for the afternoon.
Of course, TWOL must extend its sympathies to those whom have lost a loved one or were killed. Fortunately, the only effect 9/11 has had on TWOL are the increasingly strenuous and lengthy airport security checks of the 21st century.
Finally, TWOL would like to put an immediate halt to insinuations that America somehow 'deserved' to be attacked as a result of their foreign policy. This horrific event has been the subject of much paranoia and speculation but this is ignorant, insulting and, in most cases, xenophobic.
--
WORD COUNT: 200
The date is Sunday, September the 11th, 2011. Because of events in New York, Washington and Shanksville, PN, ten years to the day, there is only one topic to be discussed in today's entry. However, there has been masses of prose, across the internet and printed media, written about these events, and today's anniversary, so TWOL must write something unique.
Although TWOL was just six year's old at the time, TWOL still holds vague memories of the day. Genuine breaking news programmes, reserved for such events as the 9/11 bombing attempts, are extremely rare and TWOL was most disappointed, that day, that CBBC had been cancelled for the afternoon.
Of course, TWOL must extend its sympathies to those whom have lost a loved one or were killed. Fortunately, the only effect 9/11 has had on TWOL are the increasingly strenuous and lengthy airport security checks of the 21st century.
Finally, TWOL would like to put an immediate halt to insinuations that America somehow 'deserved' to be attacked as a result of their foreign policy. This horrific event has been the subject of much paranoia and speculation but this is ignorant, insulting and, in most cases, xenophobic.
--
WORD COUNT: 200
Saturday, September 10, 2011
more continental madness
Britain may prosper by loosening its ties with Brussels, says William Hague, the Foreign Secretary. He says being bound to other countries by closer tax and spending rules was "always a giant mistake."
He blames the Liberal Democrats for hemming in the Conservatives with regards to repatriating power from Brussels and says, "That’s the area we had to compromise on in return for other compromises.”
TWOL feels inclined to agree. Repatriating power from Brussels is extremely necessary.
That free trade between the UK and Europe should ensue is clearly a good thing. Not only does the UK gain most of its income from Europe but good trade maintains good relations.
That Britain is doing things such as giving up its legal sovereignty (as it did yesterday) in return for a European extradition treaty is simply absurd. This treaty will give European courts the chance to demand the arrest and handover of British citizens for 'crimes' that Britain doesn't even fully recognise as crimes, such as 'corruption' and 'xenophobia'. They may be summoned even as mere 'suspects', which contradicts the historic principle that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
For reasons like that, we need to tone down EU control.
--
WORD COUNT: 200
He blames the Liberal Democrats for hemming in the Conservatives with regards to repatriating power from Brussels and says, "That’s the area we had to compromise on in return for other compromises.”
TWOL feels inclined to agree. Repatriating power from Brussels is extremely necessary.
That free trade between the UK and Europe should ensue is clearly a good thing. Not only does the UK gain most of its income from Europe but good trade maintains good relations.
That Britain is doing things such as giving up its legal sovereignty (as it did yesterday) in return for a European extradition treaty is simply absurd. This treaty will give European courts the chance to demand the arrest and handover of British citizens for 'crimes' that Britain doesn't even fully recognise as crimes, such as 'corruption' and 'xenophobia'. They may be summoned even as mere 'suspects', which contradicts the historic principle that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
For reasons like that, we need to tone down EU control.
--
WORD COUNT: 200
Thursday, September 8, 2011
tw-istaken identity
On Tuesday night, P.J. Harvey won the Mercury Prize and her fans were quick to shower @PJHarvey with praise on micro-blogging site, Twitter. Unfortunately, the music artist, P.J. Harvey, has the twitter name '@PJHarveyUK'. So who received over 2000 messages in two hours that night?
The unfortunate bearer of all the well wishes was Philip John Harvey, a software developer from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. His first tweet after the onslaught spelled out the situation perfectly: "well, this is awkward."
This isn't the first time Harvey has had a load of messages come through. When P.J. Harvey - the musician, that is - appeared on Late Night with Jools Holland, earlier in the year, the software developer received a reasonable number of messages too.
This happens to many other people too. Joe Hart, an 18 year-old computer science student receives a lot of messages when his namesake plays for Manchester City and England. The student says he once finished an essay: "I checked my Twitter and saw a tonne of ‘Well done, Joe Hart!’ tweets, and for a second I thought, ‘How did they know I finished the essay?’
This has also happened with @BP, @theashes, @SarahPalin and @DavidCameron!
--
WORD COUNT: 198
The unfortunate bearer of all the well wishes was Philip John Harvey, a software developer from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. His first tweet after the onslaught spelled out the situation perfectly: "well, this is awkward."
This isn't the first time Harvey has had a load of messages come through. When P.J. Harvey - the musician, that is - appeared on Late Night with Jools Holland, earlier in the year, the software developer received a reasonable number of messages too.
This happens to many other people too. Joe Hart, an 18 year-old computer science student receives a lot of messages when his namesake plays for Manchester City and England. The student says he once finished an essay: "I checked my Twitter and saw a tonne of ‘Well done, Joe Hart!’ tweets, and for a second I thought, ‘How did they know I finished the essay?’
This has also happened with @BP, @theashes, @SarahPalin and @DavidCameron!
--
WORD COUNT: 198
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
socialism, twinned with dictators and slobs
Benito Mussolini. Josef Stalin. Muammar Gaddafi. Pol Pot. Adolf Hitler. You knew that all five of these men were dictators. But did you know another thing about these five dictators? All five loathed capitalism and started their political journeys in socialism.
Before you dismiss this entry as a sensationalist attack on socialism because I have named five disillusioned dictators, consider what makes a dictatorship; totalitarian or authoritarian. No pluralism or democracy. No capitalism or competition in markets. Pure governmental control.
What relevance does this have? A fair bit, TWOL would suggest. Socialism in Britain has created a social under-class. These people are disillusioned, politically inarticulate and very open to suggestion. Because of the strength of capitalism and democracy in the UK, there is virtually no chance that Britain could become a dictatorship in the near future. However, flirting with socialism is flirting with serious potential consequences.
With the recession, people want a scapegoat. People want to blame their hardship on other people. Socialism only encourages this. The short-sighted view that capitalism has failed this underclass is ridiculous. With a little help from the level of socialism of New Labour, these lazy people have failed themselves.
--
WORD COUNT: 195
Before you dismiss this entry as a sensationalist attack on socialism because I have named five disillusioned dictators, consider what makes a dictatorship; totalitarian or authoritarian. No pluralism or democracy. No capitalism or competition in markets. Pure governmental control.
What relevance does this have? A fair bit, TWOL would suggest. Socialism in Britain has created a social under-class. These people are disillusioned, politically inarticulate and very open to suggestion. Because of the strength of capitalism and democracy in the UK, there is virtually no chance that Britain could become a dictatorship in the near future. However, flirting with socialism is flirting with serious potential consequences.
With the recession, people want a scapegoat. People want to blame their hardship on other people. Socialism only encourages this. The short-sighted view that capitalism has failed this underclass is ridiculous. With a little help from the level of socialism of New Labour, these lazy people have failed themselves.
--
WORD COUNT: 195
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
america coolest nation in world, apparently
A poll, by social networking site Badoo.com, has established American as being the "coolest nationality" in the world. The site asked 30,000 people across 15 countries which nationality they thought was the coolest and American got the most votes, with Spanish being the coolest Europeans, Brazilian being the coolest Latin-Americans and Belgian being the least cool nationality.
American was followed by Brazilian, Spanish, Italian, French, British (sixth!), Dutch, Mexican, Argentinian and then Russian, respectively. Belgian, Polish, Turkish, Canadian and German were the five least cool nationalities.
TWOL would just like to confirm its illegitimacy in terms of being able to judge coolness. TWOL enjoys reading classic literature, quoting Latin and Shakespeare, and the odd game of dice cricket. TWOL also enjoys politics, debates and being as opinionated as is reasonably possible.
So, now follows some unparalleled xenophobia/ignorance.
TWOL must admit some surprise when looking at that list. TWOL thought Germans were cool. They're efficient, hard-working and famous for beer, sausages and well-endowed ladies. TWOL also thought Argentina and France were un-cool. Argentina is famous for a fat man who plays football with his hands and France is famous for surrendering.
There's no future at the U.N. for TWOL, unfortunately.
--
WORD COUNT: 200
Monday, September 5, 2011
COMMENT: back to school
Draining. Boring. Numerous. Time-consuming. Pointless.
Those are five words that, at various times in the past two years, TWOL has used to describe GCSEs and school, in general. TWOL took about 12/13 subjects at GCSE level; all of which requiring revision and a bit - however small - of genuine effort.
As everyone heads back to school, TWOL would like to take a moment to reflect on all of its "back-to-school" moments in the last 11 years. From Year 1 to Year 11, going back to school has been outwardly dreaded and inwardly enjoyed. If you'll allow TWOL an elderly moment, secondary school truly is one of the best periods of your life. You hate it constantly whilst your there and then, in a Stockholm Syndrome-esque about-turn, you really miss all of the friendships and routines you've indulged in.
This year, especially in GCSE-land, you actually might find yourself a passion or strike up a friendship with a teacher. The majority of teachers are young, easy-going and just as up for taking the p*ss as you are.
And, when you get to the stage, as TWOL is, of starting sixth form next week, you'll realise there genuinely is nothing like secondary school.
--
WORD COUNT: 199
Those are five words that, at various times in the past two years, TWOL has used to describe GCSEs and school, in general. TWOL took about 12/13 subjects at GCSE level; all of which requiring revision and a bit - however small - of genuine effort.
As everyone heads back to school, TWOL would like to take a moment to reflect on all of its "back-to-school" moments in the last 11 years. From Year 1 to Year 11, going back to school has been outwardly dreaded and inwardly enjoyed. If you'll allow TWOL an elderly moment, secondary school truly is one of the best periods of your life. You hate it constantly whilst your there and then, in a Stockholm Syndrome-esque about-turn, you really miss all of the friendships and routines you've indulged in.
This year, especially in GCSE-land, you actually might find yourself a passion or strike up a friendship with a teacher. The majority of teachers are young, easy-going and just as up for taking the p*ss as you are.
And, when you get to the stage, as TWOL is, of starting sixth form next week, you'll realise there genuinely is nothing like secondary school.
--
WORD COUNT: 199
Sunday, September 4, 2011
McDonald's keeps calory count
From this week, McDonald's will start displaying clearer information about the calories in its products. The fast-food giant will display the calorie count on each of its products and will even mention that women need 2000 calories; men 2500. Greggs, Subway, Starbucks and Burger King are expected to follow in the next year, with Harvester and Wimpy already displaying such information.
This is all part of a deal between the government and the food industry to tackle obesity. These will help consumers to make "an informed choice" about their meals. Calorific information is already shown, clearly, on supermarket items and this is the next step in the government's war on obesity.
TWOL thinks that the last place you'd want to consider what you're eating is in a fast-food restaurant. Information on supermarket foods is necessary because probably 90% of what TWOL eats comes from a supermarket but, when TWOL goes to McDonald's, TWOL doesn't care what's in the food. It's a treat and it's pretty damn tasty.
Of course, it could be argued that fast food has no place in a healthy diet but self-discipline, like that, is quite a rare sight. And, of all things, McDonald's and self-discipline don't mix.
--
WORD COUNT: 198
This is all part of a deal between the government and the food industry to tackle obesity. These will help consumers to make "an informed choice" about their meals. Calorific information is already shown, clearly, on supermarket items and this is the next step in the government's war on obesity.
TWOL thinks that the last place you'd want to consider what you're eating is in a fast-food restaurant. Information on supermarket foods is necessary because probably 90% of what TWOL eats comes from a supermarket but, when TWOL goes to McDonald's, TWOL doesn't care what's in the food. It's a treat and it's pretty damn tasty.
Of course, it could be argued that fast food has no place in a healthy diet but self-discipline, like that, is quite a rare sight. And, of all things, McDonald's and self-discipline don't mix.
--
WORD COUNT: 198
Saturday, September 3, 2011
EDL problem will sort itself
The English Defence League clashed, today, with riot police, following a 'static' protest in London. Fire-crackers and bottles were thrown at the police by the right-wing nuts as Stephen Lennon, their founder, bragged about having broken the conditions of his bail to a 1000-strong crowd.
Theresa May, the Home Secretary, had prohibited the EDL from marching through Tower Hamlets and four other London boroughs, earlier this week, following August's Riots. This was the first such ban, called by Scotland Yard, since the Brixton Riots, nearly 30 years ago.
Ironically, the far-right group's protest sparked a counter-protest by the anti-fascist group, Unite Against Fascism, which outnumbered the EDL's rally.
Now that the Riots have happened, we can expect a lot of attention heading towards the Far Right. The Riots have clearly fuelled the ignorance and bigotry of people and the English Defence League now gets a lot more publicity because people enjoy its message. TWOL believes the EDL are a problem - NOT the main problem though.
The main problems are liberal policing, ridiculous human rights laws and too much socialism; the result of which are the rioters. Once that is sorted, the EDL problem will take care of itself.
--
WORD COUNT: 198
Theresa May, the Home Secretary, had prohibited the EDL from marching through Tower Hamlets and four other London boroughs, earlier this week, following August's Riots. This was the first such ban, called by Scotland Yard, since the Brixton Riots, nearly 30 years ago.
Ironically, the far-right group's protest sparked a counter-protest by the anti-fascist group, Unite Against Fascism, which outnumbered the EDL's rally.
Now that the Riots have happened, we can expect a lot of attention heading towards the Far Right. The Riots have clearly fuelled the ignorance and bigotry of people and the English Defence League now gets a lot more publicity because people enjoy its message. TWOL believes the EDL are a problem - NOT the main problem though.
The main problems are liberal policing, ridiculous human rights laws and too much socialism; the result of which are the rioters. Once that is sorted, the EDL problem will take care of itself.
--
WORD COUNT: 198
Friday, September 2, 2011
dirty tax
Prostitutes in the German city of Bonn must carry a ticket, purchased from a meter-like machine, while working the streets or they will be prosecuted for tax avoidance after a scheme was launched at the start of the week.
While prostitution is legal in Germany, prostitutes must pay income tax - the level of which varies from state to state. However, this has been hard to enforce as these women of the night ply their trade on the streets in what is something of a cash-in-hand (or other places) job.
There are around 200 prostitutes working in Bonn and the council have special wooden parking garages in certain areas of the city where men can retire to with their investment.
The women will be charged 6€ (£5.31) a night to work.
It'll be interesting to see how well that works. Clearly, prostitution is regarded as a genuine occupation in Germany and TWOL supposes that this form of income tax goes at least some way to making up for the fact that Germany carries the European Union.
--
WORD COUNT: 173
While prostitution is legal in Germany, prostitutes must pay income tax - the level of which varies from state to state. However, this has been hard to enforce as these women of the night ply their trade on the streets in what is something of a cash-in-hand (or other places) job.
There are around 200 prostitutes working in Bonn and the council have special wooden parking garages in certain areas of the city where men can retire to with their investment.
The women will be charged 6€ (£5.31) a night to work.
It'll be interesting to see how well that works. Clearly, prostitution is regarded as a genuine occupation in Germany and TWOL supposes that this form of income tax goes at least some way to making up for the fact that Germany carries the European Union.
--
WORD COUNT: 173
Thursday, September 1, 2011
regain the classroom, regain the streets
Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, today announced that teachers are to be given greater encouragement to use physical force on pupils where necessary, in order to maintain authority and discipline in the classroom.
Gove said that lapses in discipline and school attendance have fuelled an "educational underclass" who populate gangs and fuel crime and social breakdown.
This is the first move to tackle the causes of August's looting by England's "social underclass".
TWOL thinks this is a brilliant idea. Obviously, violence is never the answer but teenagers must face reasonable levels of discipline. If you eat too much chocolate, you feel sick. Similarly, if a teenager has too much freedom, chaos ensues. The reason that teenagers don't get to vote is because their judgment is not yet fully developed. Ill-discipline causes inefficiency and it was one of the reasons for the riots.
Of course, there are many other causes of the looting. Socialism and the resultant inflated self-worth is one. TWOL is firmly against both. Much more needs doing - and the Tories won't do it all. It won't be fully done until Britain is out of the E.U. However, TWOL thinks that this is a good start.
--
WORD COUNT: 198
Gove said that lapses in discipline and school attendance have fuelled an "educational underclass" who populate gangs and fuel crime and social breakdown.
This is the first move to tackle the causes of August's looting by England's "social underclass".
TWOL thinks this is a brilliant idea. Obviously, violence is never the answer but teenagers must face reasonable levels of discipline. If you eat too much chocolate, you feel sick. Similarly, if a teenager has too much freedom, chaos ensues. The reason that teenagers don't get to vote is because their judgment is not yet fully developed. Ill-discipline causes inefficiency and it was one of the reasons for the riots.
Of course, there are many other causes of the looting. Socialism and the resultant inflated self-worth is one. TWOL is firmly against both. Much more needs doing - and the Tories won't do it all. It won't be fully done until Britain is out of the E.U. However, TWOL thinks that this is a good start.
--
WORD COUNT: 198
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
weather worry
summer's lease hath all too short a date
...wrote William Shakespeare, in Sonnet 18, Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Whilst the line exists as part of a larger piece of exquisitely composed flattery, the quote rings true at face value too. Summer does not last long enough.
TWOL supposes we all look back on the summers of our childhood with rose-tinted glasses; imagining scenes of sunny days spent on beaches, ice creams, and all of the other cliches. In comparison to these scenes, reality seems disappointing. That is why the daily newspapers feel it necessary to print a story, around this time, each year, about how awful the weather has been during the last three months.
Needless to say, a selection of quotes were quite easy to find:
Scotland Evening Times: "Scotland’s gloomy summer has been the coolest in the UK for nearly 20 years."
The Independent: "This summer has been the UK's coolest since 1993."
The Times: "[This summer has been] ..So cold that Starbucks frappuccino is now sold with an extra caramel de-icer shot. So cold that crack dealers have switched to selling sachets of Lemsip."
Still, there's always next summer...
--
WORD COUNT: 194
...wrote William Shakespeare, in Sonnet 18, Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Whilst the line exists as part of a larger piece of exquisitely composed flattery, the quote rings true at face value too. Summer does not last long enough.
TWOL supposes we all look back on the summers of our childhood with rose-tinted glasses; imagining scenes of sunny days spent on beaches, ice creams, and all of the other cliches. In comparison to these scenes, reality seems disappointing. That is why the daily newspapers feel it necessary to print a story, around this time, each year, about how awful the weather has been during the last three months.
Needless to say, a selection of quotes were quite easy to find:
Scotland Evening Times: "Scotland’s gloomy summer has been the coolest in the UK for nearly 20 years."
The Independent: "This summer has been the UK's coolest since 1993."
The Times: "[This summer has been] ..So cold that Starbucks frappuccino is now sold with an extra caramel de-icer shot. So cold that crack dealers have switched to selling sachets of Lemsip."
Still, there's always next summer...
--
WORD COUNT: 194
deadline day
So, today is Transfer Deadline Day™ and the machine that is football is going into over-drive. As football clubs try to thrash out last-minute deals and players try to escape the rumour mill, pandemonium ensues on Twitter. It would appear that every Twitter account related to football (and a fair few who aren't) have a source at a "major international airport", watching as Sergio Ronaldo, the £150 million, 100-goals-a-season super striker who endorses his own line of flashing boots and £1000 aftershave, comes striding through Manchester Airport, to sign for Citeh.
How did rumour spread before Twitter, TWOL asks?
Sky Sports News, who for the past 40 days has had a countdown to 11pm this evening which confused anyone who isn't British, are now showing a seconds column on said countdown! They have a work experience reporter outside every football ground in the country, ready to inform us that "Sky Sources have told us that" Sheikh Mansour wipes his arse with £50 notes.
Of course the Deadline™ means extraordinarily little because, from personal memory, United's signing of Berbatov and Citeh's signing of Robinho in 2008 were both finished after the Deadline™. Still, SSN has to appear exciting somehow, TWOL guesses.
--
WORD COUNT: 195
How did rumour spread before Twitter, TWOL asks?
Sky Sports News, who for the past 40 days has had a countdown to 11pm this evening which confused anyone who isn't British, are now showing a seconds column on said countdown! They have a work experience reporter outside every football ground in the country, ready to inform us that "Sky Sources have told us that" Sheikh Mansour wipes his arse with £50 notes.
Of course the Deadline™ means extraordinarily little because, from personal memory, United's signing of Berbatov and Citeh's signing of Robinho in 2008 were both finished after the Deadline™. Still, SSN has to appear exciting somehow, TWOL guesses.
--
WORD COUNT: 195
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
iron flight to iceland
Following Hurricane Irene, one of the first flights to leave New York will be piloted by the Iron Maiden front man, Bruce Dickinson. He will be flying passengers from New York to Reykjavik, in Iceland, on budget airline, Iceland Express.
Dickinson holds an airline transport pilot's license and, when not singing for one of the most popular bands of all time, works for Astraeus Airlines. He has previously flown Rangers F.C. and Liverpool F.C. to European away games, as well as saving hundreds of stranded people during the Israel/Hezbollah conflicts and the collapse of XL Airways. In 2008, he chartered an aeroplane from Astraeus to be used by Iron Maiden to fly around the world for their Somewhere Back In Time World Tour. The plane was dubbed "Ed Force One" and a DVD was made charting the tour.
Having just finished Iron Maiden's massive "Final Frontier" tour, Dickinson clearly isn't one to take a break. He says that Maiden will be releasing "at least one more" album before they retire and, in the foreseeable future at least, there appears to be no chance of Maiden slowing up.
Atlantic hurricane names are recycled every six years, according to QIkipedia.
--
WORD COUNT: 200
Dickinson holds an airline transport pilot's license and, when not singing for one of the most popular bands of all time, works for Astraeus Airlines. He has previously flown Rangers F.C. and Liverpool F.C. to European away games, as well as saving hundreds of stranded people during the Israel/Hezbollah conflicts and the collapse of XL Airways. In 2008, he chartered an aeroplane from Astraeus to be used by Iron Maiden to fly around the world for their Somewhere Back In Time World Tour. The plane was dubbed "Ed Force One" and a DVD was made charting the tour.
Having just finished Iron Maiden's massive "Final Frontier" tour, Dickinson clearly isn't one to take a break. He says that Maiden will be releasing "at least one more" album before they retire and, in the foreseeable future at least, there appears to be no chance of Maiden slowing up.
Atlantic hurricane names are recycled every six years, according to QIkipedia.
--
WORD COUNT: 200
COMMENT: reading festival 2011
Holy smokes.
What a weekend. From the first explosions of the Architects' drum kit to the last firework of the Muse spectacle, Reading Festival 2011 was an experience that TWOL is likely to never forget. TWOL would require more than 200 words to do even the slightest bit of justice to the magnificence of the 2011 Reading Festival; so here is a list of 10 things which blew TWOL's mind at Reading.
- Muse's spectacular 2-hour set, stage production and light show.
- MCR's encore with, as Gerard Way informed us, "Brian FUCKIN' May".
- The best part of 30,000 people singing "Happy Birthday" to Elbow's bassist, Pete Turner.
- The mosh pit during Your Demise's set which covered 2/3 of the Lock-Up Stage tent.
- Jared Leto dressing up as a tiger during 30 Seconds to Mars' farewell performance.
- TWOL getting on TV, dressed as a banana, during Friendly Fires' set!
- The fact that the campsite resembled something of a landfill site on Monday morning.
- The mass sing-alongs between sets.
- The sea of dancing people during Madness' performance of "Baggy Trousers", "Our House" and "Welcome to the House of Fun".
- Everything about Bring Me The Horizon.
--
WORD COUNT: 200
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
vatican leery of latino left
Wikileaks today released a cable which documented the internal affairs chief of the Vatican's "concerns about Chavez and other leftist leaders in Latin America." He discussed the "danger Chavez poses to governments around him."
The internal affairs chief, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, is seen as the "number three" in the Vatican, after the Secretary of State and the Pope. Sandri is Argentinian and used to be a "nuncio" (papal ambassador) to Venezuela, stationed in the capital, Caracas.
Personally, I don't follow Vatican politics or anything but the fact that they have their many fingers stuck in so many pies all seems slightly Renaissance-period to me.
Of course, the vast majority of religious people in South America are Christian (and Catholic at that) and this inevitably has something to do with the Vatican's interest in South America.
Once again, this demonstrates the penetrative power of Wikileaks and, with such a sensitive document as this being openly available, you can understand the wary position that most governments take with regards to Mr. Assange and Wikileaks.
--
WORD COUNT: 172
windows turns 16!
Today marks 16 years since the release, in 1995, of Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system. When released, it was the first Windows product to have the current desktop style home page and was the first Windows 32-bit system that Windows produced.
Since then, Windows have succeeded the product with Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, with Windows 8 set to be released next year.
If you own a computer and are not an IT student, the likelihood is that you own either a Windows computer or an Apple Mac. What we think of, when we think of the word "computer", is mostly Windows technology and, as a child, TWOL has grown up using Windows software. TWOL has never owned a Mac (although TWOL would be interested to compare the two) and is typing this entry from a laptop which runs Windows Vista.
Happy birthday Windows 95! Funnily enough, it's only 10 months younger than my good self.
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WORD COUNT: 155
toilet trouble
Last Friday, a Finnish ferry ran aground after the captain was stuck in the toilet. A jammed lock meant that, despite the best efforts of the staff, the ferry slammed into a rock, near the capital, Helsinki.
A couple of passengers were hurt and some tableware was broken but, other than that, no harm was caused.
The leader of the investigation into the crash, Jan Sundell, said, "He was stuck in the toilet. As soon as the staff member got the door open, it was too late."
There not much of a comment I can make here. "LOL" pretty much does it.
As for the coming days, my next entries after today will come on Monday/Tuesday next week as Reading Festival beckons! :)
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WORD COUNT: 123
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
required reading
A recent survey has shown that 1 in 6 teenagers fail to read a single book in a month. The poll of over 18,000 kids, aged 8-17, showed that less than half of those asked choose to read a single book outside of school each month.
This really isn't a problem. From personal experience, teenagers go through many phases. I barely read anything until I was about 14 and then I just started reading magazines which became wordier magazines which became short novels and I just finished The Shining on holiday (recommended, by the way).
But still, prepare for the onslaught of tired cliches: "Keats, King and Carroll are being replaced by Twitter, Facebook and MySpace!" and the like.
Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, said that children aged 11 "should read 50 books a year". This shows how out of touch both he and the mass media (I found this story on Reuters UK) are with kids.
Sure, as you get older, the feeling of relaxing with a paperback becomes more tempting but, with 11 year-olds, only by using eBooks could the Government ever hope to achieve such targets.
How often do you read/did you read when you were 11?
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WORD COUNT: 194
martyrs' map
View Larger Map
Over the past few days, Green Square in Tripoli, Libya, has been taken over by people who are fighting Colonel Gaddafi's dictatorship and oppression. The freedom fighters have renamed it Martyrs' Square (presumably because they see their dead companions as martyrs) and the good people at Google have clearly been quick to catch on.
Today, they renamed "Green Square" to "Martyrs' Square" on Google Maps and Google Earth. Should they be taking sides? I guess it's up to you to decide. TWOL says it is largely inconsequential that they appear to be on the side of freedom because everyone else (TWOL included) is too.
It would be nice, however, if they would officially recognise South Sudan as a country too..
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WORD COUNT: 120
geordie sense
Following a month of quoting George Orwell and Friedrich Nietzsche and fighting with Lord Sugar (@lord_sugar), has Joey Barton (@Joey7Barton) finally started talking some sense on Twitter?
He is so often the laughing stock of everything because he is immediately cast aside, labelled as an aggressive, thuggish criminal and his opinion is therefore instantly devalued. So, in what can only be described as an attempt to save some face, he has recently started tweeting intelligent things (or ideas which are dressed up to be intelligent).
And credit where credit is due, the above idea of reducing socialism and government control/encouraging private independence is a good idea in TWOL's book.
What do you think, readership?
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WORD COUNT: 117
And credit where credit is due, the above idea of reducing socialism and government control/encouraging private independence is a good idea in TWOL's book.
What do you think, readership?
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WORD COUNT: 117
welcome
It has been a while since I last posted a blog and this is for a few reasons. Holidays and a lack of motivation are prominent among them and I have no desire to keep pumping out 1000-word essays which keep changing in language style and character. So, I have decided to try out a new concept.
Basically, every post I publish will be 200 words or less, in length, which will allow them to be succinct, easier to read and more to-the-point. I'll have more of a chance to source the information (and a greater desire to do so) because I don't need to think about writing 1000 words each time.
I'm going to post either "Comment" posts or "News" posts; although some of the news may be slightly objective for the sake of entertainment. I'll also post some other columns and see how popular they become.
But anyway, that's "200 words or less". Enjoy, repost, comment about it on Facebook, follow it on Twitter (TBC)..
Welcome to "200 words or less" :)
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WORD COUNT: 170 (not including "Word" and "Count")
Basically, every post I publish will be 200 words or less, in length, which will allow them to be succinct, easier to read and more to-the-point. I'll have more of a chance to source the information (and a greater desire to do so) because I don't need to think about writing 1000 words each time.
I'm going to post either "Comment" posts or "News" posts; although some of the news may be slightly objective for the sake of entertainment. I'll also post some other columns and see how popular they become.
But anyway, that's "200 words or less". Enjoy, repost, comment about it on Facebook, follow it on Twitter (TBC)..
Welcome to "200 words or less" :)
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WORD COUNT: 170 (not including "Word" and "Count")
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