Oxford City Council has begun an online hall-of-shame for residents to submit their photographs of local graffiti and abandoned cars in the latest effort to clean up the city.Residents are being urged to take digital photographs of the damage, and then post it online, where they will be able to track the progress of the clean-up. Officers for the council believe that, with enough participation, increased awareness and information, the reporting will help them to tackle the clean-ups more efficiently.If the trial is successful, the scope will widen from graffiti and cars to include other issues.The scheme has already been tried in Lewisham, London, where the success of the project has led to three times as much graffiti removed in half the amount of time, moving the council's position from one of the worst in the country to among the best.The scheme will be piloted in Oxford for one month. To send in your photos, e-mail [email protected] along with the location of the incident and the postcode. For further information, see www.oxford.gov.uk/photoreporting
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 Such was my lack of faith in restaurant reviews that I was prompted to try the tapas restaurant La Tasca at the Oxford Castle, despite its measly two out of five stars in the Oxford Handbook.  Actually, the 40% off voucher was quite an incentive too. Toast and tea does get dull.

Having rounded up some friends at short notice, we searched through the maze that is the Oxford Castle and eventually found La Tasca. The waitress managed that almost impossible combination of being friendly but unobtrusive and the menu was very extensive, although many dishes were so similar that it seemed unnecessary to put them all on.  Obviously being spoilt for choice in a restaurant is no bad thing, but students on a tight budget be warned.  It is all too easy to get carried away. As the table next to us belatedly realised, ordering three dishes per person is more than sufficient.    

After a jug of slightly watery Sangria, we kicked off with some delicious, although somewhat unseasoned, calamari. Most of us ordered typical chorizo and potato dishes, although one friend sampled the vegetarian section. Perhaps the chorizo lacked its usual fiery flavour, but the sauces and seasonings more than made up for that. The vegetables in particular were very well prepared.  All restaurants should take heed of the fact that simple dishes are an essential staple and should not be overlooked. 

Without our discount, we would have paid around £60, which would be £15 each. So perhaps not the cheapest of restaurants, but definitely good fun.   La Tasca serves up far more generous portions and a generally more authentic approach to Mediterranean cuisine than most Tapas restaurants.  They do not go for the ‘one-bite-and-it’s-gone’ style dishes, merely for the sake of presentation.

If La Tasca still doesn’t appeal, then don’t rule out the Oxford Castle as a place to find good restaurants. Rather similar to the Duke of York Square on the Kings Road, it is very nicely laid out and all the restaurants have large outdoor seating areas. It would definitely be worth looking at the divine Carluccio’s, or the up and coming pizza chain Prezzo, to name but two.

Today, the government was accused by Association of British Insurers for failing to give homeowners and businesses enough money for flood defences.The insurers warned that insufficient funding would mean that homeowners could face similar problems to those seen over the summer, with flooding taking over large parts of Oxford.Stephen Haddrill, Director General for the firm, said that government spending for the next three years had dropped below the amount they had been asking for, even before the flood disaster. He said that the government had "completely failed to grasp the importance of improving Britain's flood defences in the wake of the devastating floods across the UK this summer."

‘Personals’ is a musical comedy about the numerous problems and perils of searching for love through personal ads. It follows the whole process, from the reducing yourself to fifteen words, to finding a compatible advert, to the date itself.  The play features six characters, all in different situations, some divorced and one even married. These characters are predominantly kept separate, for the most part having independent sketches that don’t intertwine.  Intermixed with these are numerous brief sketches from a host of other singles, including a desperate high school teen and several singing about controlling mothers. All of the characters are played by the small cast of six, but the effective use of simplistic costumes means there is hardly ever confusion.

Though funny in themselves, the additional characters interrupt the show rather than enhance it; their presence impedes involvement with the main six characters, making their occasional appeals for empathy from the audience ineffective.  This, combined with the separate plot lines of each main character, means that not enough time is spent on each to drum up interest in their character or plot. The performance drags slightly because of this, and forms a two-hour musical sketch show rather than a cohesive musical play.

               The sketches and songs vary a lot in both quality and humour. They are often intelligent and witty, but do occasionally just sink into the crude.   A highlight is the man learning from a tape the ‘tips of dating’. It’s a whole relationship on a cassette, in easy bite sized lessons.  Antony Gibson is superb in this role; thankfully, it is one of the main characters that is returned to.  Undermining this high point are uncomfortable jokes about bestiality and transvestite dwarfs, fully complemented with words and actions.
               Though there are a few problems with the play itself, the cast is talented.   They bring out the comedy of the pieces effectively, and are musically impressive.  Philly Lopez frequently outshines the others vocally, but this is due to her proficiency rather than their insufficiency.  Altogether, ‘Personals’ combines catchy tunes, a very able cast, moments of brilliant comedy (both from the writing and performance), and makes for an enjoyable enough evening – you just have to, occasionally, wait a little too long between laughs.
Personals, OFS 9^th –13^th October 

Welcome to Michelmas 2007! Calendars are funny things. As most of my readers say goodbye to summer, I am fully into winter, bundled up in my house, guarding against New England frost and planning research for final term papers. But since it's the beginning of a new year in Oxford time, let me re-introduce this blog. Once a week, I'll be posting my thoughts on web 2.0 and generation Y, and trying to identify how technology defines our lifestyles, our politics and the culture around us. To begin the term, however, I need to update you all on some changes in my personal encounter with web 2.0. Just before the end of last term. Facebook opened its doors to everyone, and suddenly I was friends with my mother, my former boss and my 15-year old sister. I also found that companies were writing applications inviting me to play zombie and food fight. As a summer intern at BusinessWeek Magazine, I wrote about this new and "improved" social network and how it could mean big bucks for Facebook and smart application developers.But towards the end of the summer, I realized that one important group was losing out: us, the original student users.Frankly, I'm fed up with this new Facebook, with the frantic chaos of the News Feed and the applications, with the random friend requests from middle aged strangers who want to take me out for drinks. I'm confused that Slate magazine, a mainstream, grown-up publication is proscribing Facebook etiquette that matches what i wrote on this blog over the summer (see "my cyber-friends have manners too"). Why should my parents and I have the same social behaviors?I can already forsee that once I graduate in May, I won't be using Facebook to keep in touch with classmates. This year at Brown, my friends and I are using cell phones and emails instead and waiting for the next young people-only venue to resume our social media lives. I wrote a column about my changing perspective for the newspaper here at Brown and sent some comments into BusinessWeek. There's a teaser of my thoughts on my editor's blog , and an article due out soon. The response I've had to the column suggests I'm right about student sentiment here in the States, but I'm putting it to my Oxonian readers: is there a parallel shift away from Facebook on your side of the pond?

Former Balliol student Oliver Smithies will receive the 2007 Nobel Prize for Medicine, it was revealed yesterday.He, along with Martin J Evans and Mario R Capecchi, has been awarded after developing a technology for manipulating genes in mice, which is now used in nearly all areas of biomedicine. The techniques have led to new insights into conditions including heart disease and cancer, as well as aiding the development of new therapies.Smithies, who began his BA in Chemistry in 1946, is the Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. He is also an Honourary Fellow of Balliol.The announcement of the Medicine Award marks the start of the 2007 cycle of Nobel Prize winners, with the final awards revealed on October 15. Historically, Science is dominated by the Americans, but with two Britons winning the accolade for Medicine, the UK has had a good start.

Germany's favourite war of words is back. Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has never taking a liking to compatriot Oliver Kahn, who's been competing with him for the no. 1 spot in the German national team for years. Now Lehmann tells the German magazine Der Spiegel that his nemesis "likes making himself look important" and that he doesn't like it when people talk themselves up. Judging by both keepers' form (Kahn's injured, Lehmann's suffered a crisis of errors this season), I suggest the two of them stop the chat and get back to what they're paid to do.Cherwell 24 is not responsible for the content of external sites

The University has received a £2.5 million boost for studies of Modern Japan.
Oxford has been chosen as one of 13 UK Universities to receive the funding from The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and The Nippon Foundation, a Tokyo-based private grant making body.
The cash will be used to create a Career Development Fellowship, the Sasakawa Lectureship, which will be held jointly between the Department of Sociology and the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies.
Dr Ian Neary, Director of the Nissan Institute, said, "This generous support from the Sasakawa Foundation will fill an important gap in the teaching of social sciences at Oxford by enabling us to appoint someone able to work on key issues troubling Japanese society."
The Earl of St Andrews, Chairman of the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, said, "Japan remains the world’s second largest economy and one of the UK’s most important partners for both trade and investment. Expertise in Japanese language and in the country’s economy, culture, history and politics will remain essential if the British-Japanese relationship is to prosper and British interests in relation to Japan are to be safeguarded."

Zoologists at Oxford University are using newly developed video devices to record crows in the wild.
Scientists have developed miniaturised video cameras, each weighing about 14 grams, which can be attached to two tail feathers using adhesive tape.
The device is allowing researchers to track 18 crows in their natural habitat, allowing them to make surprising and intimate observations about their undisturbed behaviour. This technique has been described as helping scientists to break "one of the final frontiers of ornithological field research."
Dr Christian Rutz from the Behavioural Ecology Research Group at the Zoology Department said "Whilst video footage has been taken before using tame, trained birds, it is only now that we have been able to design cameras that are small and light enough to travel with wild birds and let them behave naturally.
"Potentially, this new video technology could help us to answer some long-standing questions about the ecology and behaviour of many other bird species that are otherwise difficult to study."To learn more, visit http://www.newcaledoniancrow.com.
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Police in Oxford have been cutting down on cyclists riding through pedestrianised areas of the city this week.
In the second crackdown in three weeks, 71 people were caught ignoring the bans on Cornmarket and Queen Street, with 25 receiving £30 fines in Cornmarket, and a further 46 fined in Queen Street.
While many cyclists are against the ban, stating that signposting and boundaries are not obvious, many others believe that the bans are necessary to make cyclists more aware of the danger they put themselves and others in to when ignoring the rules of the road.
Local police report that "This will now be a routine operation" and that cyclists should expect regular surveillance of the area.