Wednesday 30th July 2025
Blog Page 381

O Cypris

O Cypris!

I must rank among those who seek your nectar.

You were risen from these very seas to affect her-

            and I too-

your whispers surround me even today.

Perched under the sun,

upon a step of this worn amphitheatre,

a sweet feline at my feet, suddenly lost in the

            mountains:

green, rolling landscape, rolling hills, fixed mosaics.

I climb clockwise,

up a medieval stairway, up to the battlement,

the song of this castle leaves me breathless, baffled and bent

            over the parapets.

Gazing down, gazing out, over the Mediterranean.

Ampitheatre

With each cautious step I take, dust rises off the floor;

my mind lingers on those armour-clad types who walked here long before.

In my absent musings, I realise we do not rhyme-

but some intrinsic, crucial bit remains unchanged through time.

Among these muted smiling remains I dutifully ponder,

what is it that lies ruined? I’m inspired by my wonder –

O Cypris!

The love in your lap makes worthwhile the thunder.

Image Credits to the author.

The Mandalorian, The Boys and the Battle for Second Place in the Streaming World

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This past year saw the completion of the second seasons of two flagship streaming shows – Disney+’s The Mandalorian, and Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys. On the surface these two don’t seem to have a whole lot in common, beyond the main villain of both being played by Giancarlo Esposito, and both being highly expensive series from streaming services eye-ing up Netflix’s crown. But this second factor really is enough to make their comparison intriguing – Netflix proved the way forward for streaming services was quality original content with unprecedented production values. Their dominating position now is in no small part thanks to flagship series’ such as their House of Cards remake and The Crown. To challenge this position, the pretenders are trying to beat Netflix at their own game, and will hope that The Boys and The Mandalorian respectively will bring in new, loyal subscribers.

The Boys displays a level of violent gore and bloodlust perhaps unmatched even by fatalities in Mortal Kombat. This is not a show that children should be watching – not that that is exactly going to stop them. And although The Mandalorian is clearly more friendly for younger audiences, its references to previous material in the Star Wars universe, a habit which notably ramps up with this second season, seem to target the show more at seasoned fans of the franchise. After all, this is Star Wars. There are an awful lot of these fans – and its shown in the impressive streaming figures, with many speculating that it is almost single-handedly keeping Disney+ subscriber counts up. After all, Disney has little else on the platform in terms of brand-new content and are even conspicuously lacking the streaming availability of much of 20th Century Fox’s backlog, which Disney of course now has the rights to. Well, at least they have The Simpsons.

Enough of this meta-bickering, then. It’s time to get down to brass tacks – which is the better show? Well, let’s start with The Boys. The greatest thing about this show is its setting. It has a fantastic, high-concept premise. ‘What if superheroes existed, but they were mostly evil assholes who worked for a shadowy American mega-corporation’. It uses this premise to give us some great entertainment in its depictions of hypocrisy and caricatures of American culture – the first season scenes at the megachurch convention particularly come to mind. And although its attempts to comment on the contemporary political climate can sometimes be hit and miss, and straight up ham-fisted in the case of some latter parts of season 2, the show must be praised for taking risks, and when they pay off they pay off well. The second key win for The Boys is the viewing experience. The writers and directors of the series have a clear mastery of tension, and ratchet it up well, keeping the show in high gear throughout its two seasons. The cast must also be praised – I for one am not distracted by Karl Urban’s accent as I know some are, and Anthony Starr’s performance as ‘Homelander’ is show-stealing. Despite our main character, Huey, being rather bland and useless in a world of evil psychopaths and indestructible superheroes, the show does a great job of making us care about him and most other characters who serve as our leads in various subplots. It might be basic in places, and even a little soap-y, but we can’t help but be glued to our seats and ‘next episode’ buttons to see if our heroes prevail.

It is all the more perplexing, then, that this show was mostly released on a weekly basis. Far from feeling like an episodic series, The Boys is like a never-ending movie, a perpetually repeating second act that miraculously manages to fixate the audience’s attention. It is absolutely perfect for binging – episodes don’t have a distinct story of their own beyond their place in the larger plot, and their only structural requirement appears to be the setup of a cliffhanger for the next. Luckily, I only got into the show after its second season had finished – I watched the whole thing in under 4 days. I cannot imagine the infuriation of those who tried to catch the episodes as they came out. As much as I liked the show, I cannot pull from my brain a single distinctive episode I remember.

The Mandalorian, on the other hand, thrives off its episodic nature. Although each of its chapters are generally shorter, and the whole series does have an overarching story and objective, there is a clear, unique story to every episode. I have no will to go back and re-watch any individual episode of The Boys. I have no such reservations about The Mandalorian, which, much like the serialized Westerns of old whose influence it wears on its sleeve, has episodes enjoyable unto themselves. The Mandalorian is clearly trying to once again reconcile Lucasfilm’s relations with its fans, which have been left in disarray following the divisive choices made in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. In this respect it appears to be a resounding success. Unlike the sequel trilogy, which largely treated the original trilogy of Star Wars films as its only source material, and as such felt like they had a relationship to those movies similar to the Wolfenstein game series’ relationship to World War 2 (i.e. fan fiction), The Mandalorian returned to some of the key influences that inspired Star Wars in the first place, most importantly the works of Akira Kurosawa and Westerns.

And yet despite all these ‘good choices’, we feel there is something deeply missing in The Mandalorian. As I watch the episodes, I fail to properly get attached to the main character. I don’t feel an emotional desire for him to succeed as I feel for the main characters of The Boys. We end up caring more about ‘Baby Yoda’, a small green puppet that only makes googoo gaga noises, than about Mando himself. Perhaps it is because we barely ever see his face – people love Baby Yoda because he has big soppy eyes and looks cute. All we get from Mando is a gruff tone, an intimidating appearance, and a commitment to his creed.

So, in spite of the ground-breaking technology that went into this series (looking at the impressive real-time rendered virtual set here, and definitely not the horrendous CGI face we are treated to), well-made action, and general lack of serious errors at any turn, the show is hard to really engage with because you aren’t very emotionally invested. Perhaps it is the writing, or maybe for all the quality execution, this show’s premise never held a huge amount of potential. Maybe reaction to The Last Jedi pushed them a little too far away from trying to subvert our expectations. In the end, then, I’d have to favor the decent execution of a brilliant concept over a flawless execution of a mediocre concept, so in deciding a flat contest of the better show, The Boys edges it. Unless you consider yourself a big Star Wars fan, The Mandalorian could not be recommended over it. Whilst neither are going to be challenging The Wire or Breaking Bad for the title of greatest tv series of all time, they are both well-made and entertaining. Still, it looks as though neither are enough to challenge the Netflix’s throne – both are beaten hands down by The Queen’s Gambit.

Rhodes statue acts as a ‘barrier’ in Oriel outreach efforts, Admissions Director suggests

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CW: Racism, discrimination.

Dr. Samina Khan, Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach at the University, has suggested that the Rhodes statue may act as a barrier to Oriel’s participation in outreach programs in a recording of a public Commission of Inquiry session from December focused on Diversity & Inclusion Policies at Oxford. 

When questioned by a committee member about the impact of the Rhodes statue on outreach efforts targeted towards prospective Black students, Dr. Khan said: “From my experience, we find it difficult to encourage students to go to Oriel.”

“Oriel is one of the colleges they’ll say, ‘Oh, that’s where the statue is,’ and then when they’re asked which colleges they’d like to go and see, it’s rare that Oriel gets selected. We put it down to the fact that they do have those discussions.”

“I don’t have any hard facts, but I believe it is a barrier for certain outreach programs, then, to be delivered in Oriel as a result of that.”

Dr. Rebecca Surender, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Advocate for Equality and Diversity at the University of Oxford, also spoke at the commission. In her presentation, she highlighted that “the various focus groups and surveys we run annually consistently indicate that many of our BME students feel marginalised, and that Oxford is not as inclusive as they’d like it to be.”

“Undergraduates emphasise overt and more insidious forms of racism… [such as] repeatedly being asked to prove that they’re a member of the college.”

Some of the challenges highlighted by Dr. Surender include the collegiate system of the university and the low turnover of associate professors, which means that change can be slow to happen. Dr. Surender also suggested that the data that the University collects suggests that “we’re not recruiting from the local community for positions that we ought to be.”

The most recent data, from July 2020, suggests that 19% of undergraduate students admitted to the University from the UK are BME, and 8% of academic staff. There are no BME Heads of Department in the University. Dr. Surender also reported a persistent ethnicity gap of 8% in those receiving Firsts at the end of their degree.

The outcome of the Rhodes commission, set up in July last year, has been delayed until the early spring. A spokesperson for the College said: “The Commission has received a considerable volume of submissions, which together with the limitations imposed by operating during a pandemic, means the report will likely be published in early Spring 2021 in order to ensure that all input is given careful and due consideration.” 

“There are no further updates on the work of the Commission, although some of the public sessions were recorded and have been made available for members of the public to view.”

“Dr Khan’s input will be considered alongside all other submissions and evidence received by the Commission.”

Image Credit: Steve Daniels. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

University announces record low 5 cases this week

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The University has confirmed a record low 5 cases of Covid-19 amongst staff and students from Early Alert Service tests for the 30th of January to the 5th of February, with a positivity rate of 6.4% and 78 tests administered in total. This marks a slight decrease from last week’s 12 cases reported, as well as a decrease in the number of tests taken through the Early Alert Service.

Despite a spike in 0th week of 45 cases, positive tests have remained relatively low during term so far. Cases are also decreasing in Oxfordshire as a whole, while Oxford City Council has reminded residents to continue adhering to lockdown rules, as cases as a whole remain significantly higher than in December. 

283 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Oxford between the 1st and the 7th of February according to UK government data, with 24 testing positive in the city on the 7th of February. A recently released study by Oxford’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science has estimated over 60,000 excess deaths in England and Wales during the course of the pandemic

Creating theatre in a pandemic: Spoon River Anthology

Spoon River Anthology is an audio adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters’ poetry anthology of the same name. The audio will be accompanied by an art journal and music. Due to the pandemic the performance is being created remotely with a large team:over 20 actors, crew and artists. 

Amy Evans (Marketing): Getting involved in student theatre for the first time during a pandemic, where everything is remote, is a strange experience. Spoon River Anthology is really unique in its multimedia nature, bringing together art, audio and music, and this is what drew me to want to be part of it. 

I like how collaborative being on a crew is, especially as there is such a big group of people working on this production and it is such an ambitious project. Working with other people on Spoon River is definitely a welcome distraction from the monotony of being stuck in lockdown at home. It is truly inspiring to get to witness so many creatives coming together for this production. 

Marketing as a role is not as affected by the pandemic as other aspects of theatre. It is also less hands-on because you’re not involved in creating the performance itself. This makes it quite a good role for someone reasonably new to the world of Oxford drama. With creating the social media feed there is a lot of scope to be creative, my fellow Marketing Manager (Rosie Robinson) has created a wonderful theme for our Instagram. Although I’m in marketing, a highlight so far was definitely the first read-through with the full-cast, it gave us an idea of what the final product might be like. 

During such difficult times, I think it is extremely important to keep creative projects going, as they bring people together and provide some much needed entertainment and escapism in such an uncertain period. 

James Newbery (Assistant Director): I was so excited when I found out that I would be assisting Georgie Dettmer on her production of Spoon River Anthology. As a fresher, I am new to the drama scene in Oxford. My role as assistant director began by helping Georgie edit her brilliant script. While we’re not changing the text of any of Masters’ poems, there is added prose where the characters interact, helping to create a sense of narrative and tie together characters’ arcs—I like to think of Spoon River as one giant early 20th century American version of Love Actually!

Prior to the auditions, we held a workshop on audition technique. As I am mainly involved in the sound element of the production, I explored how you can experiment with creating a sense of character through voice alone with the workshop participants. We wanted the show to be as accessible as possible, so we were delighted when over 90 people auditioned! The standard of all the auditions were high, and it was difficult to whittle down the numbers for callbacks. 

In the callbacks, we mainly looked at how well actors responded to redirection. The process lasted three days with back-to-back auditions, but were equipped with several cups of tea to ensure we had enough caffeine to get through. The cast is made up of actors with varying experience, from freshers and post-grads who have never acted before to seasoned performers in the Oxford Playhouse. The read-through was extremely exciting, finally having the opportunity to see these wonderful characters come to life. 

Much of what we’ve been thinking about so far are the bigger questions surrounding each character and monologue. We spent an hour with Eugenie Nevin, our lead, thinking about her character Minerva’s objectives. What does she want in each scene, and the play as a whole, as she guides us through Spoon River? How does her persecution and victimisation in the past influence her actions in the present? Although in Masters’ poems, all these characters are dead and narrating from gravestones, we wanted to imagine the characters as if they were still alive in order to keep it as engaging as possible for our audience. 

At the time of writing, I’ve just come away from a rehearsal with actors Gregor Roach and Phoebe Telby-Watson on their characters Mr and Mrs Purkapile. We thought a lot about overlapping dialogue and physicalising the performance (even though it is voice-only) to create a spark in their interactions with each other. I was impressed with how they managed to convey both a sense of pathos and wit about the deteriorating marriage—something that is very challenging to do given that the majority of the monologues do not last for much longer than a minute. I can’t wait to listen to the finished product and see how it marries into the journal for a magical evening on the 13th of March.

Tickets can be bought here.

Ticket sales close on 24th February.

Image Credit: kenrossalex / CC BY-SA 3.0.

BREAKING: University announces further information about this year’s exams

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The University has announced the launch of its new exams platform in collaboration with Inspera Assessment, a European e-assessment provider, which will be available to demo from late February. More detailed information about this term’s academic provision has also been released, including the announcement that those taking exams this term will be expected to take the same number of papers and assessments as usual, unless this was previously confirmed to change (as is the case with Classics Moderations).

The exams platform will be available for use from Trinity, while all exams scheduled to take place this term will happen in Weblearn. The new platform, which has been in use by the Medical Sciences Division since 2018, will feature 3 specific modes for typed, handwritten, and mixed exams. Students completing handwritten or mixed mode exams will be given 30 minutes of technical time to scan and upload their exam material. 

Students normally entitled to 25% extra time for exams will be given an additional hour to complete their exams in Inspera, and any students entitled to more than 25% extra time will by default be given an exam duration of 8 hours. Courses that already have longer online exams, such as some English exams, will not generally be giving additional time. Further details for international students will be released later in February, but the university has announced that students in different time zones should be able to complete their exams in daytime hours.

The new academic provisions information summarises some of the details previously released by the university, including encouraging students to keep a record of disruption faced if they wish to apply for Mitigating Circumstances. The provisions also confirm that most students can expect entirely online teaching for the start of Hilary term, with the exception of some research students. All exams scheduled to take place in Hilary will be online, with the exception of one medical exam. 

Dissertations and project work will be adapted for the context so that they maintain “the same intellectual rigour,” and the university has acknowledged that some projects may have to be designed, or redesigned, in order to account for the inaccessibility of some resources. Placements and year abroad projects will continue to go ahead with increased consideration of risk, although the university has noted that students “will not be required to take up a year abroad or other placement against their wishes.”

Charity choir performs for Oxford care home

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Marston Court, an Oxford care home, has received a performance of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ from Sweet Charity Choir and a £250 donation from the organisation’s supporters. 

The performance, in a pre-recorded video which opens with members singing and communicating in sign-language, was dedicated to Marston Care Home and Deaf-SELF, a London-based charity.

Members of the Sweet Charity Choir choose causes to support every month, with a mission to boost community spirit through their music. This performance was nominated by singer Kym Mason, sister of the home’s Activities Coordinator, Penny Jenner. 

Jenner, writing on the care home’s website, believes recordings such as this are “invaluable to keep spirits up in such difficult times” and said that the “donation will enable us to book some of our regular entertainers to perform via zoom for residents, keeping them in work and us entertained. It’s a win, win!”

The performance had a profound emotional effect on residents of the care home, with manager Sharon Fenn reporting that “there wasn’t a dry eye in the house” following the video. The charity aimed to anticipate “bright and cheerful years to come” through the song, originally written in 1939 and sung by Judy Garland.

The choir’s moving video provided entertainment to a care home that would usually be attended by local performers. However, due to coronavirus restrictions such events are currently impossible. 

Care homes across the UK have been badly hit by the Covid-19 crisis, experiencing deadly outbreaks of the virus. The government has tried to tackle this by aiming to offer all older residents a coronavirus vaccine by 15th February, in an attempt to restore future normality to care homes. It is hoped they will one day once again be able to receive performances, like that of Sweet Charity Choir’s, in-person.

A video of the performance can be found on YouTube and the choir’s Facebook page. 

Sweet Charity Choir was approached for comment.

Image: stevepb via pixabay.com

Oxford research shows ancient bonds between dogs and humans

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New research has revealed that dogs travelled alongside the first humans who journeyed to the Americas. A team of international geneticists and archaeologists, which includes Oxford University’s Professor Greger Larson, have discovered that dogs arrived with the first European settlers around 23,000 years ago. These dogs developed over generations to become genetically distinct from their European counterparts.  

The study concluded that “the first people to enter the Americas likely did so with their dogs. The subsequent geographic dispersal and genetic divergences within each population suggest that where people went, dogs went too.”

“The convergence of the early genetic histories of people and dogs in Siberia and Beringia suggests that this may be the region where humans and wolves first entered into a domestic relationship.” 

Researchers have also found that the bond between humans and dogs goes back much further than previously thought. The study concluded that the partnership began somewhere between 26,000 and 19,000 years ago – around 11,000 years earlier than previous archaeological evidence had suggested.  

The study went on to note the possibilities for future research: “since their emergence from wolves, dogs have played a wide variety of roles within human societies, many of which are specifically tied to the lifeways of cultures worldwide. Future archaeological research combined with numerous scientific techniques, will no doubt reveal how the emerging mutual relationship between people and dogs led to their successful dispersal across the globe.” 

Speaking to the Oxford Arts Blog, Professor Larson, the Oxford researcher involved in the project, said: “we knew dogs were the oldest domesticated species, and these findings now suggest that the initial process of domestication began around 23,000 years ago in north-east Siberia. From there, people and dogs moved together east into the Americas, south towards east Asia, and west towards Europe and Africa.” 

He also pointed to the biological links between the ancient European and American dogs: “we found a very strong correlation between the pattern of ancient dogs’ genetic diversification and the genetic signatures of early Americans. The similarities between the two species is striking and suggests the shared pattern is not a coincidence.” 

Today, few traces of the ancient American dogs remain. When later waves of Europeans arrived with their own canines, the indigenous dogs were almost completely wiped out. This means researchers are reliant on a variety of scientific techniques to reconstruct the biology of these ancient creatures. 

Professor Larson has been involved in previous projects investigating prehistoric pooches, including the existence of the ancient dire wolves, which featured in the popular TV series Game of Thrones. Asked about this preoccupation, he responded: “I grew up with dogs, and I always interact with them when they walk by.”

“Dogs were the first species to enter into a mutualistic relationship with us. It was a key shift in the evolution of our species…It is amazing how much everything began to change after that. 

“For the vast majority of our species’ history we travelled alone and made a tiny impression on the earth’s ecology. Now there are eight billion of us and we depend on a range of domestic plants and animals for the maintenance of our huge global population. Imagine what society would be like if we had not formed mutually interdependent relationships with so many other domestic plants and animals. And it all started with dogs.”

Oxford residents reminded not to let their guard down as COVID cases remain high

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Despite a slight decline in the spread of COVID-19 within Oxfordshire, infection rates are still higher than they were in December.

According to figures published by Oxford City Council, for the week ending 22 January, 294.7 cases per 100,000 people were identified in Oxfordshire. This is a decline from 399.5 the previous week. However, this still exceeds the figure of 83.7 per 100,000 on 4 December by more than three times.

“The latest covid figures for Oxford are reducing, but are still higher than when we went into lockdown. It’s really important that everyone, even those who have had the vaccine, sticks to the lockdown rules to keep figures falling,” Councillor Louise Upton, Cabinet Member for Safer, Healthy Oxford said in a press release on the Oxford City Council website. 

While acknowledging the progress of the vaccination programme, Val Messenger, the Deputy Director for Public Health of Oxfordshire County Council, reiterated the importance of abiding by the lockdown restrictions, including for those who have been vaccinated. 

“The vaccination programme continues to make excellent progress in Oxfordshire, and we are on track on schedule [sic] to achieve the government target of the top four priority groups being vaccinated by mid-February.

“However, we must remember that those who have been vaccinated will not have full protection until at least three weeks after they have received their second dose. Moreover, those who have received the vaccine could still pass on the virus to others. So we can’t afford to let our guard down,” Messenger said in a statement published on the Oxford City Council website.

As an additional measure in the fight against COVID-19, community testing will also be introduced in Oxfordshire in early February. “It will allow us to better identify asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19, and so help us more effectively control the virus and stop the spread,” Messenger added.

In the 7 days leading up to 26 January, 229.2 per 100,000 people in Oxfordshire tested positive for coronavirus, according to official UK government data. This is slightly below the national rate of 273.3 within the same period.

Axe-throwing bar to open in Oxford despite safety concerns

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Axe-throwing will be on the menu at a bar granted license to open in Oxford, despite concerns from police. 

Oxford City Council unanimously granted Boom: Battle Bar’s application to open a branch in Oxford’s Castle Quarter permission, despite concerns over safety.

Thames Valley Police have also suggested the bar could increase alcohol-related crime and disorder to the area. Inspector James Sullivan asked for the council to turn down the licence application, or to approve firmer safety restrictions on the bar.

Oxford City Councillor Michael Gotch said he had been “rather horrified” on reading police evidence that suggested customers might be searched when leaving to prevent people smuggling blades out of the premises.

However, CEO and founder of Boom: Battle Bar Elliot Shuttleworth said that customers would be escorted at all times, and that weapons would be locked away afterwards. The Boom: Battle Bar website also suggests that each 45 minute session will be led by a “specialised instructor”.

Axe-throwing will be just one of many activities available at the 250-capacity bar. Crazy golf, electric darts and shuffle ball are among other activities offered at existing Boom: Battle Bar sites. Hammerschlaagen, a Bavarian game involving knocking nails into a tree stump with a hammer will also be served up. With axes, darts and hammers involved, some have raised concerns over alcohol consumption at this site.

Despite the beer-pong inspired activity the bar also offers, as well as the pints and cocktails it sells, representatives of the company emphasised that selling alcohol was a ‘secondary element’ of the business, and that it was not a “drinks-led business”. 

For participation in axe-throwing the Boom: Battle Bar’s website also asks customers that “no alcohol… be consumed beforehand please”, and alcohol during the axe-throwing session is prohibited. 

Alan Cook, UK head of operations at Boom: Battle Bar has also said that the bar’s target audience spends most of their money on games instead of alcohol, and that the bar attracts “the under 35s” who “don’t drink anymore”.

The council will insist on high-visibility jackets and body-worn cameras for security staff.

Norfolk Police told Cherwell that no incidents had been reported at Boom: Battle Bar’s Norwich branch because the bar was given licence to open on March 26th 2020, after the first national lockdown was imposed. “Due to COVID-19, the bar has not been able to operate properly and there have been no reported incidents relating to the Axe.

“A safety concern was raised by our Licensing Team and was assured a risk assessment would be in place. Once the bar is able to re-open, the Licensing Officer will be contacting the Norwich City Council Health & Safety Team to follow this up.”

Boom: Battle Bar, and South Wales Police have been approached for comment.

Image: Kurt Kaiser/CC0 1.0 via Wikimedia Commons