For 0th week, a selection of photos from different Vacation experiences this Easter…
Boulders Beach, Cape Town – Katie Leithead
Masks for sale at a shop in Barri Gótic, Barecelona – Jaani Riordan
Una Kim – Female only Parking in Seoul, Korea
Andrew McCormack – Restaurant Tissemlal Casa Hassan, Marocco
Roses are Red, Marocco – Rachel Chew
Berlin Museum Man – Niina Tamura
Glass dome, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan – Michelle Tan
I think I should probably state this up front: there are few people to whom I prefer listening than Laura Marling. As far as I’m concerned, she’s one of the best artists around at the moment, in one of the most interesting music collectives that London has seen in a good while.
Now that my bias has been fully established, I can proceed with less guilt.
I Speak Because I Can is one of life’s small joys.
Not small because it isn’t a truly great album, but because it is so completely understated and unpretentious. The follow-up to Alas I Cannot Swim shows Laura Marling on her way to becoming one of the great songwriters working today.
At first listen you could be forgiven for thinking that this was a different artist. The shyness that always characterised Marling’s live performances is gone, and in its place is a vocal style that is more muscular, displaying a far greater range of emotions.
The sense of growing maturity can be seen lyrically, in songs that explore womanhood, loss and the pain of growing up. The cryptic wordplay that characterised her debut has been scrapped in favour of songs that are small stories in themselves. I love this album mainly for its lyrics, for the precise way in which Marling captures feelings, imagining her way into situations in a way which is haunting.
The standout track What He Wrote displays this. Addressed to the longest suffering wife in mythology, Hera, it was inspired by wartime letters between a soldier and his girl at home, and poignantly captures the difficulties of long-distance love. Listening to her sing ‘He had to leave, though I begged him to stay’, their pain becomes very present.
Musically, Marling has also changed, and the songs show a great diversity of sound. Overall the album is darker, from the banjo led stomp of Devil’s Spoke to the pared back simplicity of Made By Maid. It is also mercifully nothing like as overproduced as its predecessor. Ethan Jones’ production is unobtrusive, while also giving the album a “sound” as a whole.
If you are someone who will be put off by the label “folk”, then let this album be your opportunity to reconsider the genre. There is nothing beardy or vegan here, just a collection of beautiful songs which will stay with you long after the music stops.
five stars
All students and staff who lose their University card from the 1st August 2010 will be charged a replacement fee of £10.
Charges for replacement University cards are not new, but the University Card Office is intending on becoming “more robust in its charging policy”.
A spokesperson from the University said, “It is standard practice in universities to charge a fee to cover the costs of replacing cards”.
The replacement fees are to cover administration costs. Each year, approximately 2,300 replacement cards are produced.
Payment will be made through the University of Oxford Online Store. Cardholders who provide evidence that their card has been stolen will not be required to pay for a replacement card, but they will need to present a police incident number.
Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has pledged $US 5 million to fund a new economics institute at Oxford.
This amount was put forward by Soros’ think-tank, The Institute for New Economic Thinking (Inet). It will be part of the James Martin 21st Century School for graduate level study of Economics. The school’s founder, Dr James Martin, has matched Inet’s figure.
Together, they aim to develop a five-year programme of research that will address recent failures in economic theory and practice.
The centre at Oxford is the first of many that Mr. Soros hopes to set up at leading universities across the world, including Princeton and Columbia in the USA.
Inet’s director, Mr Robert Johnson, said, “The economic crisis and the failure of economists to predict it and protect society illustrate that economics as a profession needs to re-earn its reputation and regain its mantle of expertise.”
The new institute, as yet unnamed, will take a broad and interdisciplinary approach to economic theory, utilising history, psychology and natural science as well as traditional mathematical modeling.
Current students have welcomed news of the new institute. Emma King, a first-year Economics and Management student, said, “You can’t help but be excited by the prospect of a lot of funding for a new Economics school in Oxford. The fact that the new institute will attempt to challenge existing economic theory has to be a good thing as most recent funding has been rooted in researching existing economic thought.”
OUSU Academic Affairs Officer, Jonny Medland, praised the philanthropic nature of the funding. He commented, “Donations play an increasingly important role in Oxford’s development and George Soros’ generosity will help ensure that Oxford stays on the cutting edge of economic thinking… This sort of research is only possible as a result of donations.”
This was a view echoed by Dr Ian Goldin, director of the James Martin 21st Century School, who commented, “This new institute will benefit from linking up with some of the best minds at Oxford. I am excited that, due to the vision and generosity of George Soros and James Martin, we will be developing an interdisciplinary team of world-class academics.”
The new institute will be led by Professor Sir David Hendry, Professorial Fellow at Nuffield College and former head of the Department of Economics. More details and information about the new institute will be announced by the James Martin 21st Century School on 28 April 2010.
The Balliol Speakeasy Ball has been cancelled as a result of “underwhelming” ticket sales.
An online statement issued by the Balliol Ball Committee explained that it was “economically impossible” to go ahead with the ball, as ticket sales outside of the College were not strong enough.
The decision to cancel the ball was taken by College authorities, after increased attempts at raising the publicity of the ball had failed to boost demand for tickets.
The Committee said they were “incredibly disappointed and frustrated that this has happened”.
The Ball Secretary explained, “Few sales were made outside of the college. Almost all tickets that were purchased outside of the battel system were bought by close friends of college members, or alumni. We were unable to sell enough tickets to even approach breaking even.”
The negative press which followed Balliol’s last summer ball has been cited to as a factor contributing to a lack of interest in this year’s event. Last year’s Midsummer Night’s Dream Ball was followed by complaints relating to the availability of food and drink, as well as the quality of entertainment on offer.
In a letter to Balliol JCR, the Ball Committee referred directly to the damage caused to the reputation of Balliol stating such negativity had subsequently “spiraled”.
Of the ball’s cancellation, a fourth year Balliol student commented, “In a large part it was due to the bad publicity that they were burdened with from last year. I heard that a large part of the budget was spent on securing DJ Yoda’s appearance, which could have been a mistake.
“Most people at Balliol are upset that it has been cancelled. Our balls may not be as glamorous as other Colleges but they are always fun if you’re at Balliol”.
The Ball Committee has confirmed that all those who purchased tickets for this year’s ball will be refunded. In a statement addressed to attendees the Committee said, “We can only express our great unhappiness about this unfortunate situation, and apologise to all JCR members that such events have transpired”.
The Speakeasy Ball was scheduled to take place on the same night as six other College balls. It faced competition from St Hugh’s Secret Garden Party, which has sold over 2000 tickets, and The Keble Ball, which recently increased its proposed attendance to over 1000 people.
The ball was due to be held on Saturday of second week. It promised to transport guest “to a secret world of recklessness and elegance” and was set to feature the hip-hop artist DJ Yoda.
The terms of the cancellation will be discussed in detail at the first Balliol JCR general meeting of next term when a Ball Committee report will be delivered to JCR members.
Erasing David follows David Bond as he decides to go on the run. Leaving behind his daughter and pregnant wife, he attempts to uncover the truth about the nature and lack of personal information in our country today. This is done through a series of meetings with victims and enforcers of information collection, interviews with privacy experts and David Bond’s ongoing attempts to evade two hired private investigators.
All of which makes this film sound less like the small British documentary that it is and more like a Hollywood thriller. And it does bare some resemblances to that particular genre. The eerie music composed by the Golden Globe winning Michael Nyman, jittery camera shots and the rising sense of paranoia ensure that the film is far more entertaining than the average anti-surveillance documentary. Having said that, this film is certainly about more than quick thrills – it is a perturbing exposé of the rapid loss of privacy in Britain.
Often, the film isn’t telling us anything we don’t already know. Most British people are probably aware that their details and web browsing history are stored, that their thrown out mail is easy to get to and that information databases are prone to error. What Erasing David does is give viewers an insight into the sheer magnitude of stored information in these databases on every single British citizen and how revealing this personal information can be when put together.
This is demonstrated in one of the film’s most unsettling scenes, when David Bond visits a private investigator’s office in which he sees hundreds of documents, pictures and maps pinned to the wall which collectively seem to expose everything about him. Things like his daughter’s date of birth, a photo of his mother, the name of his secondary school; information which on its own is not threatening and information which any of us could have given up to databases in the past without a second thought.
The truly impressive thing about Erasing David is that it manages to be deeply affecting without becoming uncomfortably dramatic. By the end of the film, it’s very easy to feel quite frightened. But what of? There are no tangible villains at all. We meet a perfectly polite woman who has installed fingerprinting devices in a school to take the register and even the private investigators never seem sinister, mainly because most of their tricks are carried out with such ease. Any of us could type a name into a social networking site or use a birthday to find out the time and date of a hospital appointment. There isn’t even a sense of some malevolent forces at work. We have little to pin our anxiety to, other than the general sense that as a country we’ve taken a step too far in the direction of security at the cost of our privacy.
For most of its 80 minute running time, Erasing David is a skilfully balanced film. Politically minded without straying into polemic and personal without losing its objectiveness, it will certainly make you think twice about the information you share every day.
Star rating – four stars
Erasing David will be shown at Picturehouses across the country on the 29th of April followed by a live streamed Q&A with Will Self, Michael Nyman, Shami Chakrabarti and David Davis
http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Phoenix_Picturehouse/
Walking into the brilliantly white reception of the New Statesman’s Blackfriars office was like entering a scene from Stanley Kubrick’s Space Odyssey. An entire wall was covered by TV and computer monitors, displaying an array of news channels. New media technology is definitely upon us. Jon Bernstein, former Multimedia Editor at Channel 4 News and deputy editor of New Statesman, agrees.
With the onset of the political leaders’ TV debates in the UK, I wondered if all this ‘new media’ lark really mattered in politics. Will the televised debates simply be like watching another inconsequential episode of X-Factor where, to extend the comparison, each leader is singing the same old uninspired tune?
“It’s entirely possible”, says Jon. “There’s always the danger that after about half an hour of the first one, people will literally switch off, never to switch back on. In fact, the only time they do switch back on is if someone alerts them to an enormous gaffe.”
He explains that because the politicians are acutely aware that it’s just as likely that a gaffe will be the main headline as some winning argument around a piece of policy, it engenders a sense of conservatism about what the politicians say. “What starts out as something that is potentially quite heavy going and turgid turns into something that is incredibly turgid and boring because no one wants to make a mistake.”
The 2008 US presidential TV debates: ‘The low point of the whole year’
Jon argues that the debates between John McCain and Barak Obama in 2008 are an example of this. “The low point of the whole year was those debates. There was a bit of churlishness from McCain, and plenty of wonkery from Obama, but it wasn’t a great watch for anybody but the really political aficionados.”
So is there something fundamentally wrong with TV as a podium for political debate? As Jon sees it, “there’s nothing inherent in TV that makes it a dull platform. If you witness some of the best TV interviews that Jon Snow does on Channel 4 News or Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight – that is really compelling politics on the TV. Why? Because it is confrontational in nature; that makes interesting TV, and that makes politicians honest”.
The problem with these debates is that there are incredibly complex guide lines which foster very little real interaction between the politicians. “Whether it’s Alistair Stuart for ITV, Adam Boulton for Sky, or David Dimbleby for the BBC – these guys aren’t going to be really confrontational as they could be”.
“TV can do it”, Jon reassures me. It’s just the setup of the leaders debates is not the way to go about it.
Even so, in an age of ‘freedom of speech’, the selective coverage of only the three main parties doesn’t really seem fair. However, Jon highlights the counter-argument. “Maybe it should just be between David Cameron and Gordon Brown because Nick Clegg doesn’t stand a chance of becoming the leader. You could say, actually, it should be less, not more.”
‘A lot of what happens on Twitter and Facebook is preaching to the converted’
I asked Jon whether he thinks that the internet is, instead, the main platform for providing marginal parties with exposure. “The mistake people make about new media”, he clarifies, “is seeing it in mass broadcasting terms; the one-to-many communication. In fact, the internet is about many-to-many conversations between like minded people. So a lot of what happens on Twitter and Facebook is, if you like, preaching to the converted.”
As I learn, most people get their politics mediated through the telly and newspapers. “The internet isn’t going to harm the electoral chances of these smaller parties. But I’m not convinced it’s going to increase their chances either.”
‘Politicians absolutely should bother with the internet’
Jon also thinks that the “people who use new media more creatively are the insurgents: the people that don’t have the power.” In the Bush years, it was the left that led the way in new media with sites like MoveOn.org. “The people first to the blogosphere in UK politics”, such as Paul Stains and Tim Montgomery, “were all right-of-centre – in a sense, they were the insurgents”.
An interesting twist on this, however, is that the broader left has now got its act together. This is because, having been behind in the polls, “now they feel like the underdog.”
E-petitions, pioneered by Number 10 a few years ago, were an “interesting experiment”, Jon tells me. “But the stuff that really caught light was things like Jeremy Clarkson for PM. It’s fun, but doesn’t necessarily deliver on engagement and transparency.”
As for the promised data deluge of online government statistics: “are they going to pick and choose what they make available? Of course they are.” While Jon recognises that the direction of travel is positive, and that politicians “absolutely should bother with the internet”, he’s not convinced it’s a revolution in the way politics works.
In Space Odyssey, Dr. Bowman bravely pulls the plug on ship’s defective on-board computer HAL 9000. Fanaticising a little, I wondered what difference it would make to the election if you pulled the plug on the internet. Referring back to his previous point, Jon tells me that it would be political organisation, rather than broadcasting, that would suffer. “But then again, in the 2014 election we’ll probably look back and think people were getting excited about some pretty trivial things.”
The televised debates are 90 minutes each, aired on ITV, SKY and the BBC, at 8.30pm – 10.00pm on Thursdays April 15 and 22, and Wednesday April 29. They are themed: covering domestic, foreign, and economic policy respectively.
Two Oxford professors have received Canada Gairdner Awards in recognition of their achievements in the field of medical science.
The grants are among the most prestigious grants given for medical research. Since the awards were first presented in 1957, over a quarter of recipients have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.
Peter Ratcliffe, the Nuffield Professor of Clinical Medicine, was recognised for his work researching how cells in the body monitor their levels of oxygen. Oxygen deficiency is a critical feature of a wide range of illnesses including heart disease, cancer and anaemia.
The Gairdner Foundation also rewarded Nick White, who specialises in tropical medicine. Professor White’s work with the drug artemisinin has shown it to be the single most effective and fast acting treatment for malaria.
Artemisinin had been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than a millennium. It was rediscovered during the Vietnam War by scientists working at Ho Chi Minh’s behest.
The drug is now deployed widely in first-line treatments for malaria.
Professor White intends to donate a portion of his grant to Medical Action Myanmar. The Dutch charity is working to improve access to healthcare for some of Burma’s poorest people.
Each of the scientists will receive $100,000 in funding.
The Bodleian Library has unveiled plans for a five million pound project, designed to upgrade space within the ancient central Bodleian site.
Plans aim to enable greater direct access to books, improved services and access for library readers and visitors with limited mobility.
Dr Sarah Thomas, Bodley’s Librarian, said that part of the project is to “open up the famous tunnel” which “generations of Oxford students have heard about but to which they have never had access.” The tunnel, called the Gladstone Link, will connect the Radcliffe Camera to the Old Bodleian main building.
A spokesperson from the Bodleian Libraries stated, “the tunnel and conveyor have had an important role in the mythology of Oxford over the last sixty years – many people believe there is a maze of tunnels underneath the libraries.”
The tunnel was previously used for transporting books on a 1940s conveyor from the New Bodleian to the Old Bodleian and for transporting books by trolley to the Radcliffe Camera. However, the tunnel will now be refurbished for reader use.
The Gladstone Link also contains the Underground Bookstore, which will be transformed into two floors of open-stack library space. There will be space for 240,000 books, as well as informal study areas for readers.
A new storage book facility will be located on a 15-acre site in South Marston, and will provide storage for 8 million volumes.
Other plans include adjusting the paving level in the Old Schools Quadrangle. It is assumed that at some time in the past, the Quad was “dropped” to accommodate a new drainage system, so that there are now one or two steps up to each door. The intention is to repave the Quad at the same level as the four lowest doorways. This will enable better disabled access to most of the doors and book delivery.
Dr Thomas commented, “These are exciting initiatives, developed as part of a coordinated estates programme. They will help to equip our most venerable and treasured Grade 1 buildings for the 21st century.”
Platform lifts are to be installed in both the Radcliffe Camera and the Old Bodleian main building. These will enable readers with limited mobility to access the Radcliffe Camera for the first time. A new staircase will wrap around the platform lift providing safe access to the Gladstone Link and replacing a very steep staircase that was put in during the installation of the Underground Bookstore.
The changes aim to improve services, increase direct access to books and facilitate access for library visitors with limited mobility.
OUSU have welcomed the plans to improve disabled access. Danielle Fraser Solomon, Students with Disabilities Officer, praised improvements made by the University so far.
She said, “At the moment, the more recently built libraries (such as the Radcliffe Science Library) have reasonable levels of disabled access, but the older libraries do not, which creates an unreasonable disadvantage for those students with limited mobility whose courses mean that they rely on libraries such as the Bodleian.”
She added, “Hopefully this type of project will soon extend to the many departments and faculties across the university that also lack accessibility for students with physical and sensory disabilities.”
Some are worried that the upgrade could detract from the aesthetics of the buildings. Sarah Reder, a second-year student at St. Hilda’s said, “I think the upgrade sounds great but you need to be careful not to interfere with the character of the buildings, especially as they are Grade 1 listed.”
If Planning Permission approval is received, the work will begin at the end of Trinity Term 2010 and is due to be completed by Spring 2011. The work is scheduled to begin in June to avoid as much disruption to students and readers as possible.
The project is led by Purcell Miller Tritton, which has previously worked on other Grade 1 buildings including St Paul’s Cathedral, Kew Palace and the British Museum. The Radcliffe Camera is Grade 1 listed and was the first rotunda library built in England in the mid-eighteenth century.
It took Cambridge 17 minutes 35 seconds to see off Oxford’s challenge, in what was a heavily contested race in light of recent years.
Cherwell’s photographers were out in force to capture the moments that decided who would win a battle that began months before in the early mornings, in the gym and on the water.
In the early afternoon the crowds begin to gather at the Putney boat houses.
Oxford’s Chief Coach Sean Bowden and President Sjoerd Hamburger exchange a few words on the balcony of the Westminster boat house.
Dark Blue cox Adam Barhamand soaking up the buzzing atmosphere and getting in the zone.
Hamburger inspects the Penny Farthing that will be used to decide what side each university will start from.
And is joined by Cambridge President Deaglan McEachern of the USA.
Isis is Oxford’s much forgotten reserve boat, who race Cambridge’s Goldie before the Blues take on one another. They win their toss and choose the more favoured Surrey station.
Amongst the crowds are many Old Boys, including Olympic champion Matthew Pinsent who rowed in the Dark Blue boat in the early 1990s.
Both crews line up for the press.
Isis boat first and head off in the direction of Putney bridge to warm up. Stroke man Alec Dent is one of two returning members of Oxford’s 2009 squad.
16:00 Isis explode off the start against Cambridge’s Goldie and infront of growing crowds.
Goldie finish just over a length ahead of Isis. Photo: Shaun Thein
Attention now draws to the Blue boats, who rower emerging from their respective boat house one by one. Above: Oxford’s 2 man Martin Walsh of Green Templeton College.
Spectators on Putney Bridge, look down on the start line. Gloomy clouds make way for light blue skies, but will the rivers run Dark Blue?
Crews settle on the start line. Coxes raise their hands to signal they are not ready for the ‘Go.’
The first half of the race and there is little to separate the two crews.
Umpire issues a warning for Cambridge to stay on their station.
By Hammersmith Bridge Oxford have a slight advantage.
And are cheered on by supporters who have found all manner of viewing spots. Photo: Sonali Campion
Cambridge begin to close the gap in the second half of the Surrey bend, keeping the stroke rate high they extend to a gap of a length as the river bends to their advantage.
Delighted Old Boy Tabs cheer on from the following launches.
As Cambridge cross the finish line first, Tab cox Ted Randolph kneels up in celebration.
The hurting of the Oxford boat is plain for all to see, as the cheers from the Cambridge boat echo in the arches of Chiswick Bridge.
The Cambridge victory was no easy feat. Tactical chunder Mr. President?
The day comes to a close as Cambridge lift the trophy. Photo: Shaun Thein
And their cox gets a soaking. Photo: Shaun Thein
The result brings the overall statistics to 80 victories to Cambridge and 75 to Oxford. So whilst the Dark Blues went away with no victories this year, we’re certain that the crowds will gather again next year to see the clash of these intellectual Titans.
Cherwell is Oxford’s oldest independent newspaper, established in 1920. We are entirely student-run. By supporting us, you will contribute to keeping our paper in print and online. Every donation makes a difference.
Oxford Student Publications Limited
© 2025 - All Rights Reserved
| Privacy Policy