Michael Jackson - A True Icon

Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) - The King of Pop - without a shadow of a doubt.

I felt it was about time that i wrote a blog on the man because without being too cliche, his music has really had an impact on my life. No matter how bad or sad a mood i get in, as soon as i hear a record of his, my mood is instantly transformed into happiness (so much so i believe i can sing , much to the annoyance of those who are normally around me albeit on the tube or at home!!)

His countless number ones, go a long way to showing his dominance of popular music, but perhaps the most telling feature of his career was sadly, his death. The news was dominated by the great man's demise for weeks. He had been on the verge of a sell out come-back tours and despite rumour about his apparent poor health, the since released movie "This Is It" has put to be questions surrounding his health showing the great man at his best albeit drugged up to the eyeballs!!

Theres no doubt Jackson was a troubled man, and we will never know the truth about his apparent skin condition, the amount of plastic surgery he had, but do you know what, that doesn't matter, we lost a true great in 2009 , a God who walked amongst mere mortal men. Now some may say that is a over exagerration but i genuinely believe it to be the truth.

Jackson had a talent, a natural gift, of song and dance, that most of the current music industry today could only begin to dream about.

Now obviously being born in 1989, i missed out on a large chunk of his career but i've done my research and it seems that no matter how hard i look there is no real explanation for his sudden transformation from a young good looking black male, to a middle aged, troubled, white male accused of pedophilia.

Undoubtedly, Jackson's fame from a young age affected him mentally and that telling interview with Martin Bashir was compelling television and answered lots of questions, but i for one, do not believe Jackson was a paedophile, just merely a man who missed out on his childhood and who was suffering for it later in life. Its funny how, i find myself being a journalism student, yet i hate the very thought of journalists who hassle people, especiallly some celebrities, so much so that they have their lives ruined.

Michael was a victim of bad press, its funny however, the millions of dollars he earnt that he gave away to charity, the visits he made to sick children all over the world, the concerts in aid of all kinds of charitable causes, go unmentioned, yet the mans desire to have the perfect face or skin colour made the front page of every paper and dominated his life as a celebrity.

Jackson, clearly did make some strange choices in his life regarding his surgery and particularly odd yet sad comments likening himself to Peter Pan, but don't we all have weaknesses and things about ourselves we would love to change.

No matter the incidents or events in his personal life, the man was a musical genious, and i don't think any of us will experience another musical prodigy such as him whilst we live.

That is what I will remember him as....

Togo - Don't Give In!

After last night's shocking events, in which Togo's national football team's coach was ambushed by terrorists brandishing machine guns, resulting in the death of three men, including the assistant coach, the bus driver and the team spokesman, Togo today have announced they are considering boycotting the tournament and are attempting to get the other nations to join them.

For me, this is completley and utterly the wrong decision/movement.
Yes, the event is an attrocity and one that should never have been allowed to happen, (the security must be tightened at such events) but what one must understand is that terrorists can't be stopped. We can only combat terrorism by attempting to prevent it from happening, there will always be terrorists, their aim is to cause terror and spread fear. They have caused terror, in the result of 3 deaths and other injuries to players and members of staff, however, by boycotting the tournament, Togo are sending out the wrong message, they are letting the terrorists win and spreading fear across the continent.

The only way to tackle terrorists is to oppose them, be unfazed by their disgusting actions however hard that may be. Many people may not agree with me , however Margaret Thatcher was one of the best PM's this country has ever had, yes thats right , a woman. She had the perfect response for a journalist when the Argentinians were invading the Falklands, she simply replied "We will not negotiate with terrorists".

Thus in my opinion it is essential that Togo compete in the African Cup of Nations and that the tournament goes ahead as planned and let the authorities find the culprits and punish them accordingly......

The Big Freeze/Failure

As i'm sure you are all aware (unless you are one of those Briton's lucky enough to be on holiday or just completely unaware of the arctic conditions outside your home) the weather in Britain has been disastrous these past few weeks. Record amounts of snow has fallen and some places in the UK even had the nostalgic much sought after "White Christmas".

However, as per usual, the country has come to a grinding halt. Schools and Shops have shut for days on end , putting GCSE exams in doubt and harming the attempted regrowth of the economy accordingly. And what has the government done about it, reduced salt/grit supplies by 25% in an attempt to preserve ever dominishing supplies.

The government was warned by the MET office , weeks in advance of this "Freeze" that temperatures and conditions would be hectic, so instead of doing the intelligent thing in warning local authorities and providing counsils with extra grit , they sat back and let the snow hit us.

Now, i'm far from an expert on politics neither of weather predictions, but surely, just surely, common sense would have kicked in, and Brown and his delirious cabinet members should have been more prepared than they are, but i suppose that would be too much to ask. Given that the MP's are dropping like flies around him, this was Browns chance to maybe just maybe show some initiative that could go someway (not far at all) in the way of showing just how on earth he is the leader of this country that is going faster downhill than holiday makers in Les Arcs and The Alps alike.

Maybe Clarkson had it right when he describe Brown as a "one eyed scottish idiot".

Iceland (The Country) - As Cheap As The Supermarket?

So today, not only did i wake to what one could mistake for Icelandic weather conditions but also to the news that Iceland's president has refused to sign a bill to repay $5bn to the UK and the Netherlands.

President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson has instead opted to hold a referendum on the bill, following public large protests and outcry. On 2nd January, the president even received a petition calling for the bill to be vetoed, signed by almost a quarter of the country's population such is the disapproval from the public.

President Grimsson says the referendum will happen ASAP, now i admire the fact he is listening to the public and giving them the chance to have their say for their country, however, we are all suffering in these economic conditions and that money is owed to the UK and can't simply be written off because of a vote.

It will be interesting to see what Gordon Brown has to say about this.......

P.S Happy New Year fellow bloggers and Winchester Students!!

Grapes of Wrath

So , i finally have got round to doing my blog on Steinbeck's work...!

The first thing to notice is that the novel is set in the great depression and thus instantly the reader can identify with character in the novel what with these harsh economic times at present!!

The novel is centered around a family of sharecroppers (The Joads) who are forced out of their homes in Oklahoma by a water drought and changes in the agriculture industry. They are in an extremely desperate situation and face an uphill struggle in their attempts to find jobs when they set out for Salinas Valley in California.

The novel at the time of its publishing was immediately banned and was extremely controversial.

Bryan Cordyack (author of 20th century american bestsellers) writes, "Steinbeck was attacked as a propagandist and a socialist from both the left and the right of the political spectrum. The most fervent of these attacks came from the Associated Farmers of California; they were displeased with the book's depiction of California farmers' attitudes and conduct toward the migrants. They denounced the book as a 'pack of lies' and labeled it 'communist propaganda'."

Steinbeck's emotion's are evident throughout the novel and i felt he connected well with the reader. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, as if i'm totally honest i wasn't aware of the details of the great depression and have found watching the film and reading the novel a benefiting experience.

I now look forward to next term's studies..

Giggs Wins Sports Personality Of The Year

Well, that was a shock..... or was it?

Giggs becomes only the 5th footballer to have won the prestigious award, and to be fair those who have seen his performances in the last two seasons could hardly deny him the award.

At the age of 36, Giggs is the most successful premiership footballer holding 11 Premier League winners and countless domestic cup and champions league awards. Giggs also won the PFA Player of the year award this year for his constant high level performances and contribution to the sport!

Being a huge football fan I'm glad his contribution to the sport has been recognised and although there were other strong candidates for the prize, namely Jenson Button and Andrew Strauss, overall Giggs' obvious and outstanding devotion to the sport and high level performances swung the decision his way, for which he deserves huge congratulations!

Lets just hope John Terry gets it next year having lead England to glory over the summer, what? A guy can dream can't he? 

I Never Thought I'd Say This......

The title of this post says it all. Im embarassed to admit it , but, yes, i agree with Tony Blair.

Well at least regarding his latest comments on Saddam Hussain, saying he would have gone to war with Iraq even if he had known before whether they had nuclear weapons or not. The man was a tyrannical leader and a horrible human being.

Now don't get me wrong , Tony Blair is by no means and never will be a decent politician in my eyes as whilst his original poilicies that got him to power and made him so popular had decent theoretical ideas, he failed to deliver , however, he is spot on regarding Iraq.

I don't understand the criticism hes receiving, if he had sat back and done nothing we were at threat and he would have been criticised, he makes a move and hes criticised. Now im not saying the way the Iraq war has been handled is anything short of a disgrace however, it was a necessary move, and one which Blair cannot be blamed for!

WINOL - Week 6 Critical Reflection

Another week of WINOL down , and we definitely saved our best till last.

This weeks bulletin was absolutely brilliant, it looked extremely professional and was excellenty presented by both Cara and Tom, but also the content was very strong and this helped the bulletin immensely. There were no technical problems (the auto que!!) and the bulletin ran smoothly and went live at five on the website.

Myself and Grant managed to get some brilliant footage of the Winchester FC game that made for great viewing during the sports bulletin and the rest of the team also got some good interviews which aided the sports side of things.

The third years have done very well this semester running the news production and editing side of things and can be proud of what they have achieved and as they leave us to go and finish their degree's and FYP's we wish them well.

However, i think credit needs to be given to the 2nd years too , as the majority of the content within WINOL is found and captured by us and thats what makes WINOL what it is!!

Im thoroughly looking forward to meeting the new 1st years and working on WINOL next semester!

City Players Contract Swine Flu

This morning it was confirmed by Manchester City that both Craig Bellamy and Vladimir Weiss had contracted Swine flu.

Both players have been suffering from the H1N1 virus, while a number of other backroom staff members have reported flu-like symptoms and have had samples taken and told to stay away from Eastlands in order to minimize the chances of the spread of infection. A Manchester City spokesman (according to an unofficial site) compared the situation to that of Middlesborough a few seasons back when they had to postpone a fixture and forfeit three points due to player illness.

This flu just doesn't want to go away does it ? Mind you, if theres one thing good thats come from it , its that Bellamy caught it (not a bitter West Ham fan here at all......!)

Student Loan Company - What A Shambles!

We have all been there (well us student's anyway) you get that letter through the post , and you realise theres something wrong, your loan isn't enough, or isn't correct , or the bank account is wrong. They honestly are useless, no other words can describe them!

Many students applied for their loans weeks before the deadline but find themselves without a loan and in financial trouble.

A report found only 5% of phone calls to the loan comapny were answered at the peak of delays, and many students are still without their loans after several key administrative errors.

Some students have had an awful start to uni having to get by on either their overdrafts or parents money or in the worse case scenario next to no money for 13 weeks, and many feel their University experience has been ruined, and i for one agree with them and have the deepest sympathy for them.

The Student Loan company need to get their act together, and quickly....