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Friday 08.06.12 Volume 60
Issue
Reading rises in Green League What’s inside? Interview
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Vice Chancellor: Sir David Bell
Comment
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Long Live the Queen
Photograph of the lake on Whitenight’s Campus. Photograph from www.geograph.org.uk chayya syal
The University of Reading has been awarded an Upper Second Class Award, and has been ranked 59 out of 145 in the People & Planet Green League 2012. The People & Planet Green League assesses the environmental and ethical performance of all universities annually, awarding a degree class status: First Class and Upper Second to the greenest, then down to Lower Second, Third and Fail.
Ranked 59 out of 145 in the People & Planet Green League 2012 Sir David Bell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: “I am delighted that the Green League Table has recognised the measures we have been taking to reduce our carbon footprint and improve our environmental performance. Our Carbon Management Plan commits the University to reducing its carbon footprint by 35% by 2015/16 and in the past 12
months we have cut our carbon usage by 10% in absolute terms.” Denise Shearman, Head of Campus Services at the University of Reading, said: “We have invested over £850,000 in projects to reduce our carbon footprint in the last year.” The investment has gone into making the university greener using a variety of methods. These include: making heating and lighting more responsive to building usage, insulation, installing 200 Photo Voltaic cells, improving lighting, upgrading electricity substations, improving ventilation, improving measurement of energy consumption, energy awareness initiatives and developing a University travel plan.
“We have invested over £850,000 in projects to reduce our carbon footprint” The University has seen its carbon emissions reduced by 10% in 2010/11, in comparison to 2008/9 and seen an overall reduction of energy consumption by 16%. The
University also recycles 42% of all waste and was recently voted the fourth best green space in the UK in the Green Flag Awards. University of Reading was awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for reducing carbon dioxide. It also achieved a Silver EcoCampus award for work towards environmental sustainability.
reduce carbon footprint by 21,900 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year. The cells are designed to caputre and utilise solar energy.
It has achieved a Silver EcoCampus award for work towards environmental sustainability
The university is also part of a car share scheme, which is internationally recognised. This scheme not ony supports students and staff sharing lifts into the university, but also using other means of transport, including walking or cycling. Another campaign that the university is part of is the Student Switch Off campaign. This campaign runs energy saving competitions in university halls. With flyers frequently appearing throughout the halls of residents, prizes such as chocolate have been rewarded for successful reycling. For more information about the University’s environmental performance and initiatives, visit: http:// www.reading.ac.uk/cleanandgreen/ image from www.geograph. org.uk
These awards are partly due to an increase of 27% of the total amount of glass recycled on campus. Also, the improvements to the bus service linking the University with Reading town centre, in conjunction with Reading Buses. These buses emit a third of the amount of carbon than standard diesel buses. The university have installed over 200 Photo Voltaic cells, otherwise known as solar cells, on the Whiteknights Campus. This is to
The university have installed over 200 Photo Voltaic cells
Fashion Raceday fashion and Summer wish list
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Technology Politics vs the Internet
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2 News
Friday 8 May 2012 Spark*
news.spark@reading.ac.uk
Kids go Nutts for chemistry Reading Film and Theatre second-years’ two-day festival in Minghella Building at Reading University
Chayya Syal
As part of the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry, the University of Reading played host to over 120 pupils from schools across the region on 9 and 16 May. The pupils put their chemistry, team-work and problem-solving skills to the test. The Salters’ Festival of Chemistry, hosted by the University’s Department of Chemistry, aims to promote the appreciation of chemistry and related sciences among the young. The event at the University is one of a series of 54 Festivals which are taking place at Universities throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland between March and June 2012.
David Nutt is known for his opposition to the government concerning drug legislation Teams of four from each school, made up of pupils from Years 7 and 8, were set two chemistry challenges to solve while the clock ticked down. The first challenge involved identifying the main suspect in a murder case using chemical tests on samples taken from the crime scene and suspects. In the afternoon ‘University Star Trek Challenge’ samples taken
from the crime scene and suspects. In the afternoon ‘University Star Trek Challenge’ teams worked against the clock to stop the Starship Enterprise’s crystals from overheating.
The event at Reading was one of the 54 Salters’ chemistry festivals across the UK Emma Gaster from Newbury said: “We all had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the whole experience.” Carolyn MacDonald from Laynesborough School in Guildford added: “ The activities made them think hard and draw on all their chemistry knowledge and practical skills.” The days were rounded off with a demonstration lecture on “Hot and Cold” by Dr. David Nutt from the Chemistry Department. Dr Nutt commented: “It’s great to see pupils enjoying doing chemistry. They really engaged with the challenges and had great fun too. The Festivals highlight the important part that Chemistry plays in our every day lives, and hopefully encourages youngsters to study the subject in further education to inspire the next generation of chemists and scientists.
A still from ‘Three’s a Crowd’, written by student Viki Mokrzycki Calum mcintyre rogers
On 6-7 June, the second year Film and Theatre students occupied the cinema and theatre in the Minghella Building between 1130 and 1945. The performances were assessed work, so the pressure was very much on during the theatrical performances. Instead of performing entire plays, the directors took an excerpt from an already written play and direct it as they see fit. These plays included ‘Our Class’, a Polish
play about the childhoods of three Poles during the Soviet and Nazi occupations.
There were eight films and nine performances daily ‘The Ghost Sonata’ is about the secret and rotten interior world of a glitzy Stockholm apartment. The plays were all performed in the new Bob Kaley Theatre. The
schedule alternated between theatre and cinema; there were a total of eight short films including the brilliant ‘Three’s a Crowd’ by Viki Mokrzycki (pictured), which is also on Youtube. Attendance from non F&T students was not nearly as high as it ought to have been. Since it was £4 for access to all the performances of the day I can only attribute the small audiences to less awareness of the event. Hopefully next year’s festival will be more publicised.
Prof presents award to King Lord Puttnam opens Minghella Building
Chayya Syal
Stephen Nortcliff, Emeritus Professor of Soil Science at the University of Reading, travelled to Bangkok to present the King of Thailand with an award marking his contribution to soil science - the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) Humanitarian Soil Scientist Medal. As well as his international role, Professor Nortcliff, 64, is a former head of Soil Science in Reading. He first joined the University in 1978.
The visit was given national attention. Professor Nortcliff was invited to present the medal in his capacity as former Secretary General of the IUSS to King Bhumibol Adulyadej - a champion of soil conservation and improvement in his native Thailand. The visit was given national attention. The king, who is revered by the public and media in Thailand, made a rare public appearance to receive the award after an extended period of ill health.
Zoe Crook
Prof. Nortcliff presenting the award. Image: www.reading.ac.uk The king is the longest-serving head of state in the world, having acceded to the throne in 1946 - a full six years before our own Elizabeth II. Professor Nortcliff said: "I read a citation to the king and then went forward and on my knees presented him with the medal. The king asked me to get up, shook my hand then asked me to sit next to him. "The king asked me a couple of questions then we enjoyed 40 minutes of chat about soil science,
soils in Thailand and soils globally." The short presentation ended up leading the national TV news, and pictures of Professor Nortcliff and the king appearing on the front page of several of the following morning's newspapers and other Thai media.The professor then took part in a documentary about the king's involvement in soil science on Thai television.
Acclaimed Oscar and BAFTA winning film producer, Lord David Puttnam officially opened the Minghella Building in June. The building, which initially opened in April 2011, is now used as the new centre for the Department of Film, Theatre and Television. The £11 million building was named after Anthony Minghella CBE, who was awarded an honourary doctorate from the University of Reading.
The £11 million building was named after Anthony Minghella The building contains a performance space, two studio theatres, a television studio, post-production suites, a costume workshop, a digital cinema, and more. Although Minghella passed away in 2008, Lord Puttnam made sure
to mention Minghella within his speech, noting him as “a very special person”. The producer, director and wirter’s mother also attended the event, claiming that “nothing would have pleased him more”. Gloria Minghella also noted that “with the right encouragement and enterprise, he reached for the stars, and so can you, the students”. Lord Puttnam was provided with a tour of the building, whilst accompanied by Minghella’s relatives. This was followed by a workshop held by Lord Puttnam for several students.
Lord Puttnam is known mostly for producing The Killing Fields and Chariots of Fire Lord Puttnam is known mostly for producing The Killing Fields and Chariots of Fire, with Chariots of Fire winning ten awards alone.
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
news.spark@reading.ac.uk
News 3
RUSU flies the LGBT flag for global UoR ranked 25th in Guardian University Guide gay rights day, IDAHO Sophie Elliott
Chayya Syal
To mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), staff and students from the University and Reading University Students’ Union (RUSU) gathered to raise a rainbow flag on the Whiteknights campus on Thursday May 17. Over 35 people gathered to listen to a speech by Vice-Chancellor Sir David Bell and the University’s LGBT President Kenneth Smailes.
Strong focus on equality and diversity IDAHO is always held on May 17th, to commemorate the World Health Organisation’s decision to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders and is a globally recognised day with nearly 100 countries participating in it every year. The movement was created in Canada in the Quebec province in 2003 by French professor Louis Georges Tin and launched August 2004. Vice-Chancellor, Sir David Bell, said: “The University of Reading has a proud history in promoting an equal and tolerant society and remains an enlightened place to work and study with a strong focus on equality and diversity.”
Flying the flag: image from www.reading.ac.uk President of the University’s LGBT society and third year History student Kenneth Smailes said: “It was really good to see the flag raised on campus. It set the right tone for the occasion and sends out a message of equality to Reading University.”
Nearly 100 countries take part in IDAHO In 1957, the University of Reading, through its then Vice-Chancellor, Lord Wolfenden, played a significant part towards creating a fairer society in Britain, with the publication of the historic Wolfenden Report. The report recommended
that “homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence”. A decade later, these recommendations were finally enshrined in law, changing British society for ever. The Vice-Chancellor also said: “The fact that around the globe the International Day Against Homophobia remains an important focal point for establishing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people, shows how important it is that we all play our own part in supporting equality in our communities and the wider world.”
The University of Reading has, once again, climbed placed in league tables as it was ranked 25th in the 2013 Guardian University Guide. Ranked according to several criteria, such as spending per student, student to staff ratio and graduate career prospects, the ranking is positive news for ViceChancellor, Sir David Bell. He stated '"The University of Reading continues to rank among the leading research-intensive universities in the UK. It is pleasing to feature so well in the Guardian league table, this represents just one window into the life and work of our University.”
The Guardian’s report observes information including staff-student ratios and graduate prospects The University had climbed up seven places from last year’s report, overtaking Nottingham, Manchester and Kings College London. Reading excelled in several areas of academia; Reading is the top ranked institute for food and agriculture, and in the top three for edcation, earth and marine sciences and design.
Photo from: reading.ac.uk The Vice-Chancellor also said: "While league tables are useful tools, prospective students should gauge which university is right for them by visiting their shortlist of universities, meeting current students, viewing the facilities and talking to staff."
The university performed strongly and is up 7 places from the previous year He added: “It is gratifying to see how this ranking reaffirms the high regard in which our students hold the quality of teaching, as well as the overall student experience. It also reflects the strong employability record of our graduates in recent years.”
Greenlands Campus will host royal tea party Chayya Syal
The University of Reading’s Henley Business School has been chosen as the venue for the Queen’s three counties Diamond Jubilee garden party on Monday 25 June. Around 4,000 guests will join the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh for the event on the lawns of the historic Greenlands campus.
4,000 guests will join the Queen on the Reading University property in Henley-onThames The Thames-side setting is close to the point where the three counties meet. University vice chancellor Sir David Bell, who will greet the Queen on her arrival, said: “I am sure Her Majesty, the Duke of Edinburgh and their guests will enjoy visiting the stunning grounds.” The event will begin with a river pageant marking the role and the impact of the River Thames on the Thames Valley region for more than 1,000 years. Around 30 boats,
The Greenlands campus. Image from thenationalstudent.com including a Viking vessel crewed by the university’s rowers, will take part. The event is part of the Queen’s national Diamond Jubilee tour. The Greenlands building has a long history; it was built by the descendants of the Norman conqueror Robert D’Oyley in the early 1800s, and has since been owned by the son of WH Smith. It became the property of the Uni-
versity in 2008 after the merger with Henley Management College. It is mentioned unflatteringly in Jerome K Jermome’s ‘Three Men in a Boat’ as “the rather uninteresting-looking river residence of my newsagent”. The party will also form part of a major fundraising appeal for the four Thames Valley Community charities. The charities cover Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Ox-
fordshire and Milton Keynes. The event will be hosted by the Lords Lieutenant of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. who are delighted to be playing host for the Queen. The Queen is currently patron to more than 600 charities and organisations. About 1.5 million people have attended garden parties at Buckingham Palace or
the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Scotland since Elizabeth has been on the throne. Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Mary Bayliss, said: “We are delighted to be working with the University and the Henley Business School and believe the Greenlands campus is the perfect venue for what will be a wonderful event to mark this astonishing anniversary.”
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Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
interview.spark@reading.ac.uk
INTERVIEW 5
interview
Vice Chancellor: Sir David Bell
Ellis Wheatley
Interview meets Reading University’s new Vice Chancellor, Sir David Bell, for a much anticipated chat, earlier this week. Interview covered topics such as admissions for 2012, accomodation, and even Her Majesty! How are you feeling about University admissions for 2012? We are still at the application phase, but if you take UK and European Union applications, we are up 5% from last year. The key issue is translating those applications into students who finally decide to come here, and we are not going to know that, ultimately of course, until October, but we will have a better idea of that from June onwards.
The good news: Reading has continued to be an attractive place for students to apply for, let’s just hope they all come!
[UK and European Union applications] are up 5% from last year What attracted you to the role of Vice Chancellor at Reading? The job was advertised and I thought, ‘hmm’; the University is well-known for its quality of research and is very popular. Beyond that, I confess, I didn’t really know very much!
I started to research Reading and the more I read about it I thought, ‘this looks really interesting’. Then, last August, when I knew that I was going into the selection process against other candidates, I thought now this is the time to
have a look around the campus. My wife and I skulked around the campus and as soon as we turned off Shinfield Road into Whiteknights we thought, ‘this looks nice’. The other attraction of arriving from the Shinfield Road entrance was the Sportspark! We then came to Dolche Vita and the staff were really welcoming – I remember saying to them, after I got the job, just how important that was!
a good thing; if you do not get nervous then you just become complacent and careless. So nerves, providing they are not dehabilitating, are a good thing; be nervous!
To complete the story, I have absolutely no regrets because I am loving it.
If you were applying to university, now, what would you be looking for? First and foremost, I would look for a university where the course was something that I was going to be interested in because, despite all the other things you do at university, primarily you are here to study a subject. Study a subject that interests you, simulates you and excites you. Alongside that, then, you will be thinking about other features: how does the campus look and feel? What’s the accommodation like? How friendly are people? I think that I would look for that and that would matter quite a lot to me, coming to university.
Could you explain the role of UPP at Reading? Apparently a number of years ago Reading’s student accommodation was criticized – quite a lot – by students, who were saying it looks quite tired and not very attractive.
The university authorities decided that they really must do something to improve the university accommodation – it’s quite right that students were becoming more demanding about the quality of their accomodation. Consequently, over the past few years you’ve seen that improvement, culminating, of course, in the opening of the new townhouses and other accommodation this October. At that time the University then started to talk to the private provider of University accommodation (UPP) and transfered the ownership of the accommodation over to UPP. The University gets money back, is able to pay off some of its debts and invest more in the buildings. Crucially, it is really important to us, and UPP, that the student experience doesn’t change, we want people to feel, still, part of the University and I do not think that there is any evidence that, because UPP are (formally) owners, there is or will be any difference. One of the decisions, made by the University, was to bring the University accommodation closer, so – by the time we close Bulmershe – the furthest away will be Wantage! We now, essentially, have three stunning campuses: Whiteknights, London Road and Greenlands. You are to greet Her Majesty at the Garden Party at the Henley Business School on the Greenlands Campus, are you nervous?! Ohh yes! I mean, you think to yourself: this is a Royal Garden Party, it is the Diamond Jubilee, it is going to be very prominent – of course I get nervous! I always think, that being nervous is quite
Nerves, providing they are not dehabilitating, are a good thing; be nervous!
What aspects of the University of Reading would make you reconsider applying, as a student? Apart from the possibility that we may not provide a suitable course for a prospective student, I haven’t heard any major issues. The student’s Union has pressed hard on issues such as library facilities and better banking facilities. I get the sense that students and the students union will make legitimate points and will press hard, but I never get the sense, talking to the Students’ Union, that Reading is ‘a complete no-no’ when it comes to ‘this or that’.
We have a beautiful campus, accommodation, great transport links, active student’s union providing events, there is a reasonable selection of food and services on campus, we’ve got the gym quite close by... it is quite hard to think… I suppose one thing that we could be better at is the arts. Some music goes on, on campus, but I think it would be lovely to, perhaps, have an arts festival of some sort. How is the univerisity received in Reading, in your opinion? The public can walk through, the university is part of the local community and this is quite an important aspect for me. Economically the university is estimated
to contribute £650 million a year to the local economy; we are a big contributor to the community, so I think that the benefit is mutual. I, personally, place a great stress on good neighbourliness. Could you explain your viewpoint on ‘backdoor university sdmissions’?
If we set entry standards for students I think that it is really important that we stick to those entry standards. I also believe that to assume that students that have attended state schools are not capable of archiving those entry standards is actually patronizing and, I think, insulting. I went to a comprehensive school in Glasgow and I wouldn’t want to have entered into university if I had thought that, somehow, a ‘special case’ had been made for me. I wanted to go there on merit. I think that we, and the education system more generally, needs to do all that it can to ensure that background people’s background isn’t an inhibitor, this may be through offering summer school opportunities, I just do not think that it should be ‘ah, you have gone to a state school, so we are going to let you in with lower grades than everybody else’, I think that that is wrong. You want to know that you are here on merit. The University of Reading has one of the highest state school admissions, does this, actually, promote ‘backdoor admissions’?
I think, in the end, it is for every individual university to decide upon its own admission arrangements and that’s one of the virtues of the system – that universities can decide for themselves. My own view, and it is very much the view that I have picked up from people who I have talked to at the university, is that we stand for certain academic standards. Universities should be open to all young people of talent and ability. There are things that we can do to encourage young people who are just on the cusp through summer schools etc, I just do not think that changing the admissions criteria is the way to do it. I hope that the vast majority of students in Reading would appreciate the fact that every one of them is here on merit. If we all know that we are here on merit I believe that this creates a great starting point for students here.
I hope that Reading
students appreciate that they are here on merit What areas of the university require funding?
I would like to think that the departments which we have at the moment offer a good and wide range of subjects. I can walk around the university and think ‘I wish we could spend more on that’ but it is not my style to make airy promises, actually people do not trust you when you do that. We have spent a lot of money recently, the business school, the Mingella building, the Carrington building. I think if we look to the university accommodation as a reminder that the university is spending money and meeting needs. As a university we cannot afford to stand still.
[Reading students] are part of a team that is going places, a winning team What is your five year plan?
We want to continue to attract as many able students as we can, we want to strengthen the research that we do because a great university, like this, combines great teaching with great research - that is a big priority – and, alongside that, we have a desire to also attract great postgraduate students so that is a priority. What, I suppose, I would also like to highlight is our international strategy. We have a new campus to open in Malaysia in 2015 in Johor Bahru, right in the south. We are optimistic and we are ambitious. Students want to feel like they are part of a place that is going places, they are part of a winning team. Could you describe your leadership strategy?
I am friendly but decisive. I treat everyone equally and with respect, I do not have one face for the students and one for staff.
Many thanks to Sir David Bell for this interview and to Ann Symonds for helping to organise this interview.
6 DEBATE
Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
Debate
Should former cheats have the chance to compete in the Olympic Games? No Yes
Eliora Shahrabani
Cheating has been part of the Olympics from its beginning in Olympia. There were athletes who could be bribed to take another city as their own so as to give the glory to others. A boxer, Eupolus, bribed all three of his opponents into letting him win in the early Olympic games. There is a video of a swimming competition in which the German contestant waited until all the other countries competing had swum two laps before jumping in the pool, executing a lovely belly flop, and winning the race. This win is celebrated, cheered and given the sign of approval by the German president before cheerleaders start dancing around. While this video inspires laughter, actual cheating is not looked upon kindly at athletic competitions because cheating is not funny. Cheating is a ‘slap in the face’ to all the contestants who worked as hard as they could to win, whilst also playing by the rules. Drug usage can enhance athletic abilities; steroids being the most common choice for sports related drug usage. However, one contestant in 1968, HansGunnar Liljenwall, was disqualified for having drunk beer before the competition. While it hardly inspires confidence that Liljenwall would imbibe before partaking in a shooting competition this instance, were it repeated, should not result in his being banned. He had been sabotaging his own chances for winning and could accidently fire into the audience – a better reason to disqualify him than for drug use. Alcohol hinders all athletic abilities, no matter what you want to believe when you’ve drunk too much yourself. Liljenwall’s ridiculousness aside, this is an incidence of ‘cheating’ that he should not have been held accountable for. Another way in which a contestant can be disqualified for cheating is for a false start in a race. Usain Bolt was disqualified for the hundred metre world championships for a false start, instead of being given the opportunity to redo this action as he would have
been able to pre 2001. Whilst this rule could have led to the race being restarted numerous times it seems fairer to give the athletes a second chance. It’s only normal to be jittery before the start of a race and if they accidently start early, as Bolt did, then it could seem unfair to disqualify them and label them as cheaters for an involuntary reaction to their situation. There are many different ways that one can cheat in an athletic competition but one thing that all these cheaters have in common is talent. Their original, raw talent at their sport is what got them to the competition in the first place because it can’t be faked, it has to be worked for and for all this talent to be permanently banned would be a waste. We must look at the motives behind cheating and for a lot of the cases; the participants will be motivated by a desire to do well. The pressure and stress that these athletes are under is unfathomable. Who can understand pressure like university students can? We know the feeling of our degrees and our futures riding on one essay or one exam - the stress of that thought… it’s unpleasant to say the least. Therefore when it’s not just yourself that you’re thinking of, but those who are depending on you for their own chances and millions who will be watching you, some hoping you’ll fail and some praying that you’ll succeed – that pressure is beyond our comprehension and that sort of stress can make people act in foolish ways. There should not be a permanent punishment for momentary weakness done when under enormous amounts of stress. Ultimately, I believe that everyone deserves a second chance. None of us is perfect and we all make mistakes, some are bigger than others, especially when what’s at stake is bigger. The athletes should simply be more closely monitored by their own coaches and the competition officials, however, cheating is still a mistake that can be forgiven and made up for with dedication to the sport and a promise that this will not be a recurring event.
Patrick Gaughran
None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes
Cheats undermine the basic ideals of the games
For all this talent to be permanently banned would be a waste
It seems prudent to first address the specifics of the question. The initially interesting part for me is the description of cheats as “former”. We have no way of knowing who are truly former cheats and those who are cheats, who formerly simply used another method to deceive us, until that method was supplanted by a new one. It seems that there must be a break in the road somewhere where the world has to decide which camp we favour – those who have done wrong (and who would probably have continued to do so had they not been caught) or those who have not. I personally find it alarming that currently we seem in point of fact to favour those who have been proven to have acted against the rules and principles of a competition that they agreed to, tacitly or otherwise. I consider it an affront to “clean” athletes the world over. This is not to say that I do not recognise and feel a great deal of sadness for the fact that a great many truly talented and exceptional people will have been seduced by the allure of easy progress. The training staff and the culture they may have fostered in their athletes may have provided a particular breed of innocuous coercion that young men and women find hard to escape. I do not feel that the issue is as black and white as many would have it presented, but when all is said and done, I find myself opposed to the idea that just because somebody says they have stopped cheating, that they deserve the same amount of respect and to be presented with the same opportunities as athletes who never have. Even if we consider, for the sake of argument, that all “former” cheats who say they are reformed are indeed reformed – a notion that is a fairy-tale at best – this does not mean that this will be OK. It would be impossible to tell which cheats are still cheating. More importantly, it would be impossible to tell what long-term advantages their cheating has gained them. Well documented
are the physical advantages offered by steroids. Cheats who are shown to be cheats simply introduce an element of uncertainty that undermines the basic ideals of the games. These athletes use performance enhancing drugs they believe are undetectable and as such seek actively to circumvent laws that prohibit that. They do so in full knowledge of the consequences and they do so selfishly. These are - in as much as they can be - facts. However, those athletes who found themselves on the wrong side of the line that I maintain it is important for us to draw still have opportunities to be positive role models within the sport if they are truly reformed. The more robust our defence regarding the basic principles of fairness in competition, the more robust the teachers and trainers of tomorrow will have to be in upholding those principles – a job for which former cheats (who are truly reformed and have paid the price for their actions) are uniquely qualified. In this Olympic year, it is more important than ever that attention is drawn to the positive role models within sport, rather tham focussing on just the cheats. The argument, in conclusion, is far less about attacking those athletes who have made mistakes than about protecting the integrity of competition as a whole and ensuring that athletes who don’t cheat are the ones who are celebrated for their well-earned achievements. There is no moral case to be made by the affirmative camp that forgiveness trumps fairness, there is simply the misleading, nescient position promoted by some that would have us look the other way and in essence ignore it hoping simply that the problem will fix itself. It won’t. I have plenty of respect for people who make mistakes and admit they are wrong but I have more respect for those people who didn’t need to be caught doing something wrong because the fact it was wrong was reason enough not to do it in the first place.
7 COMMENT
Friday 8 June 2011 Spark*
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
comment
“Long Live The Queen!” argument is apparently based on the idea that 15-20 percent of people polled by the Guardian are able to overrule the 80+ percent who wish to keep the monarchy. As well as some curious argument suggesting that they know what year it is, therefore we should emulate the French. A bunch of former CBBC presenters do not have the right level of gravitas for such an occassion
Tom Puddy
The Diamond Jubilee weekend was glorious; utterly and wonderfully glorious. I’m aware that that a term like glorious is often hyperbole, but in this case it’s entirely fitting. How else can you describe an event of that much pomp and grandeur? Sunday alone saw 1.5 million people, 1,000 boats, 1 reigning monarch, 8 bells (one of which weighed ½ a ton), 1 iconic bridge raised in salute, a huge number of live musicians and more flags than anyone would have thought possible. The other days as well were utterly fantastic. Legendary musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Sir Elton John performed at the concert, which kept millions of viewers entertained. This combined with an excellent and well delivered speech from the Prince of Wales and a stunning fireworks display
made Monday a wonderful day of entertainment. Sunday saw 1.5 million people, 1000 boats, 1 reigning monarch, 1 iconic bridge raised in salute and more flags than anyone would have thought possible
Perhaps the most fitting day however was Tuesday, this was the day that truly had the mark of the monarchy on it. The sheer elation and joy of the crowd when they caught a glimpse of Her Majesty can best be summed up by the explosions cheers and mass bursts of song. The flyover by the Red Arrows, Lancaster bomber, Hawker Hurricane, Spitfires, a Dakota and two King Air aircraft, and an intricate and well performed feu de joie from the Queen’s Guard were nothing short of awe inspiring.
It was clear that Her Majesty was touched, and the fact that she was moved enough to make a speech of thanks ought to fill all those involved with overwhelming pride. There were sadly a few blips. The most unfortunate one being that the Duke of Edinburgh was taken to hospital following Sunday’s event. It would seem that the entire country is in agreement in wishing him the best and as well as a speedy and full recovery. The biggest mistakes however came from the BBC. The national broadcaster should have done a lot better
Then there were the republican protesters, a couple of hundred morbid individuals intent on casting themselves as Vincent Price style Disney villains. Their incoherent
The biggest mistakes however came from the BBC. The national broadcaster should have and needed to have done a lot better. A bunch of former CBBC presenters and a woman whose name I don’t remember (Tess something?) do not have the right level of gravitas for such an occasion. Who on earth also were some of these D list celebrities (I’m being charitable) who were being flaunted around
as if their opinions mattered. People tend to tune in to these events to see the magnificent splendour, and most of them could not give a damn what John Barrowman thinks. And while we’re at it, if you work for the BBC you ought to know when to call it the Union Flag and when to call it the Union Jack, have a better grasp of titles than “HRH the Queen” and preferably set a bit of an example by wearing a tie. No wonder they lost 40 per cent of the viewership. But these issues were not enough to impede upon what was a once in a lifetime experience. For me the event truly peaked on the banks of the Thames with a group of us leading shouts of “long live the Queen!” and it will remain an unforgettable day. But for almost everyone throughout the entire country the jubilee weekend was a fitting celebration of an outstanding monarch; and long may she reign!
Spark* Friday 8 June 2011
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
COMMENT 8
The weightlifting area of the Reading Sportspark needs to be female-friendly Calum mintyre rogers
I’ve talked to three female students at Reading about the University Sportspark; all of them have said they don’t use the downstairs ‘weights’ area of the Sportspark due to the male-heavy vibe. Being a weightlifter myself, I’ve only seen a girl in that part of the building no more than once this year. The area is for the most part unsupervised; consequently plates, dumbbells and bars are left all over the floor area as lines of clueless men finish their ninth set of bicep isolation exercises (‘gonna get my swole on brah, curls for the girls!’).
Women typically take refuge in the upstairs ‘lady weights’ section - a miserable stand of small dumb bells and a few mats where at least they needn’t fear being stared at by the Conan-wannabes in the room below. It’s clear to me that girls really do want to use the equipment downstairs, and no wonder; free-weight squatting, dead lifting and other compound weightlifting exercises are probably the best ways of getting stronger
and shedding body fat known to science, but the unpleasant atmosphere is so off-putting it deters the fairer sex from visiting the place altogether. It’s a great pity, because the Reading Sportspark is one of the better gyms I’ve been to; there are bumper plates and an Olympic mat (which means trainers can practice Olympic style moves like the snatch and clean and jerk without damaging the floor), and a squat rack. It’s not right that the stereotype of ‘women shouldn’t lift weights’ is perpetuated in the University’s gym. The myth that ‘women shouldn’t do weightlifting’ is, for lack of nicer English, a great big load of shit. It likely has its origins in two things; a carry-over from the days when women were excluded from everywhere else; golf and tennis clubs, high-flying careers, the ballot boxes. The gym is apparently one of the last bastions of male exclusivity, a societal relic from ancient Greece.
Oddly this problem seems unique to Western Europe; check out the medal tables for 2008 Olympic womens’ weightlifting, it’s completely dominated by Asian and Eastern European athletes. The idea of ‘weightlifting will turn me into a grossly muscular beast’ is also sadly prevalent. Thanks to the likes of Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Ronnie Coleman, weightlifting is easily mistaken with bodybuilding; bodybuilders spend hours at a time in the gym doing isolation exercises to increase the mass of individual muscle groups for the sake of appearance. Bodybuilders also consume 2-3 times more calories each day than an ordinary person. You’re not going to get ‘accidentally huge’ - don’t you think you’d notice a lot more henched up men walking around? An entry level weightlifting programme such as Mark Rippetoe’s ‘starting strength’ involves no more than three workouts about 45 mins in
length each week. The process of muscular hypertrophy (the tearing and repairing of muscle tissue through exercise) means your body burns up body fat during rest, as energy is required to knit muscle tissue together. Weightlifting (when done properly) will also decrease the likelihood of joint problems in later life, increase bone density and improved cholesterol. So, how can the weights area be made more female friendly? For one, there needs to be actual supervision in the place. Instead of being a chaotic jungle of sweaty dudes there needs to be someone who actually makes sure the sign saying ‘don’t leave everything all over the place’ is kept to. Secondly, the weight area in the far corner (with the mirrors) needs to be expanded towards the entrance - it’s cramped enough as it is, and it’s understandable that women would be reluctant to move in on the area con-
gested with sweaty curlbros. Space could be made quite easily by moving the cable machines to the sides of the gym, or better yet, getting rid of the sodding contraptions altogether and adding more squat racks. Thirdly, the Sportspark could do more to make free weight training more popular amongst girls - an information campaign to show the benefits of compound weightlifting really wouldn’t cost a lot. A coaching service in weightlifting form (for a fee) would probably be popular amongst both men and women, although that would require hiring someone who actually knows what they’re doing, preferably with competition weightlifting credentials. Hopefully this rant will have done something to help women at Reading begin strength training - or at the least remind dudes that the squat rack is for squatting(!)...
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
film&TV
Topcat: now where did I put the box set... Directed By: Alberto Mar Starring: Jason Harris, Chris Edgerly, Melissa Disney Running Time: 90mins Genre: Animation
The 3D helps this environment to feel real but the low budget reveals itself
Jonathan Edney
Many a childhood has included the adventures of Top Cat and his gang in the 1960s TV series from Hanna-Barbera, which is iconic due to its creators and its catchy title song. I was immensely surprised to discover a few months ago that this movie existed and had already been released. Having seen the movie, I can understand why there wasn’t as much fanfare as there was for other Hanna-Barbera movie adaptations in recent years (Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo).
The animation style is unusual This film sees the gang up to their usual tricks before a new police chief, Strickland, is brought in to clamp down on crime in the city.
The creators of this film are clearly fans of the series, as they maintain the dynamics of the characters well and there are a few nods to particular episodes, as well as some jokes regarding the upgrade to modern technology. Some of the jokes fall flat however, even by children’s standards.
Strickland is obsessed with using technology and eventually uses it to imprison the city in a dictatorship so the cats and Dibble must seek a way to end his tyrannical reign. Such apocalyptic plots are an extreme development from television to the big screen but it does underline something important regarding this film: the new can’t beat the old. The animation style is unusual, with the original designs for the
characters kept intact but placed in a 3D environment that resembles that which you would find in an old video game. The 3D helps this environment to feel real while making the 2D characters stand out from it and occasionally, the low budget reveals itself when the sides of characters seem to walk through a wall or pile of money. The voices of Top Cat and Benny were fairly close to the originals.
the new can’t beat the old The film has its moments and there is a pleasant nostalgic feel while watching it but rather than watch it again, it will more likely have you wanting to rediscover the original episodes, which is not such a bad thing.
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What To Expect When You’re Expecting: perfect film with the perfect cast Director: Kirk Jones Starring: Carmen Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock, Chace Crawford, Elizabeth Banks Running Time: 110mins
can happen through different people differently. The story is touching (a tear or two wear shed at the end) and the direction of the last few scenes of the movie captures the awe-inspiring miracle of child birth and development.
Wandy Michelle Badipe
Conflicts that arise in the movie are easily resolved
Babies are soft delicate miracles of nature, miracles that create a painful journey, but who also generate euphoria once the journey has been done. What To Expect When You’re Expecting details the trials and triumphs of five couples in Atlanta as they explore the miracles of bringing a child into the world, and also as they trudge through the trials of parenting and relationships.
The movie effectively balances serious stories with a comedic tone Each couple explores different aspects of becoming a parent. One couple experiences the hard journey of adoption whilst another welcomes a child they’ve been trying for for two years.
Despite certain gaps in the movie’s characters, they are still loveable and relatable Although this film explores serious elements of this natural journey, it also brings a comedic atmosphere through scenes like the daddy bonding pack (Amir Talai, Chris
rock, Rob Huebel and Thomas Lenon) who bond over taking their kids out for strolls, highlighting the clumsiness and carelessness of fathers who love their children (at the end of the movie they use their beer cooler as a changing table. This is beyond awesome). The movie effectively balances serious stories with a comedic tone, and also develops the notion that bringing a child into a world
However despite these strong factors, the movie has issues with the development of characters and relationships. Conflicts that arise in the movie are easily resolved by the presence of the couples’ newborn baby, or they are just simply forgotten. However despite certain gaps in the movie’s characters, they are still loveable and relatable, and the babies are still entirely adorable. If you’re looking for a nice lighthearted film that may or may not make you broody, whether you be male or female, then What To Expect When You’re Expecting is for you.
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FILM&TV 9
Top ten anticipated films for summer Tom Hill
10. Dredd – Sept 7th
Hopefully we will finally get a good Judge Dredd film with this. All it needs is faceless police officer taking down crime like a badass!
9. The Campaign – Sept 28th
Looks to be another Will Ferrell comedy obsessed with competition and hair, but the trailer is funny and Zach Galifianakis is always excellent.
8. Lawless – Est. Sept
A period-western-crime-thriller from the director of The Road. The action scenes look crazy and Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy are always welcome.
7. The Words – Est. Sept
Nothing particularly special looking about this film but the trailer is decent. If you’re sick of action films this summer than this is worth looking forward to.
6. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter – June 20th
Hopefully, future generations will mistake this for a documentary. From the director of Wanted, it suggests Abraham Lincoln actually stopped a vampire invasion of the USA.
5. Looper – Sept 28th
A unique concept of for an action film where a man assassinates people for a company, only to have to come up against his future self.
4. The Amazing Spiderman – July 3rd
Either this will be good, and Sony is forgiven for Spiderman 3; or it’s bad and they return the movie rights to Marvel, meaning Spiderman can be in Avengers Assemble 2!
3. Ted – Aug 1st
Seth Macfarlane is finally making a film! I’m not a fan of the recent Family Guy episodes but the trailer for this was hilarious, recommend a watch!
2. Brave – Aug 17th
Pixar have only made one bad film in the past (Cars 2), so chances are this film is as good as the trailers make out.
1. The Dark Knight Rises – July 20th
Will Christopher Nolan manage to make a fabled, perfect Superhero trilogy?
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - US network MTV has decided to reboot the Scream movie franchise as a TV series - apparently there’s life in ol’ ghost face yet!
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Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
The Raid: a simple plot but lots and lots of action Director: Gareth Evans Starring: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy Running time: 101mins Genre: Action/Crime Tom Hill
The Raid is a police action film based solely around showcasing the Indonesian martial art Pencak Silat, which involves quick elbow and knee jabs in combination with weapon strikes. The story is
unimportant, just a set up for the action, but concerns a team of police SWAT officers trying to scale a tower block in Indonesia to bring down the drug lord at the top. After it’s discovered that the drug lord has fortified the tower and the police are trapped by its criminal inhabitants it quickly becomes a fight for survival as they try to escape. The important thing to take away is that this is one of the best action films released this year. If you’re looking forward to The Expendables 2 or Dredd, make sure you see this film, it won’t let you down. Unlike The Expendables the film isn’t afraid to show you the gore involved with someone getting shot, and even has people being torn in half by machinegun fire. The main draw is definitely the Pencak Silat fights, which left me gob smacked. They are extremely well choreographed, extremely brutal and impossibly fun to watch. The film has many, many of the clichéd moments you’d expect to find in a martial arts film, but these don’t matter when you’re having this much fun watching the film. The slow moments of the film, between the several intense and amazing action sequences, help develop not only the surviving police officers, but also the drug lord and his accomplices. This makes the film a lot more interesting to watch
as you become invested in not only the heroes, but the villains as well. When it comes down to it, and the police finally face the drug lord and his henchmen, instead of it feeling like any other fight, it feels like a boss fight, something not many films can get right.
This is one of the best action films released this year
RFT Review: Trishna
For the first time, Spark* Film & TV brings you an exclusive review from the Reading Film Theatre Directed By: Michael Winterbottom Starring: Freida Pinto, Riz Ahmed, Anurag Kashyap Running Time: 117 Mins Genre: Drama, Romance Jonathan Edney
The idea of taking a famous novel and relocating it to the present day isn’t a new one and Michael Winterbottom transfers Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles to modern-day India. Trishna (Freida Pinto) is the eldest daughter of a large, poor Indian family. A young man, Jay (Riz Ahmed), employs her to work in a hotel and soon they are drawn to each other. The change of location suits the story, as India is a beautiful backdrop and the hotels and cities are an exotic alternative to the more traditional British homes. Trishna has essentially the same attributes as Tess Durbeyfield: beautiful,
hopelessly loyal and unfortunately doomed. One of the most significant changes is having the characters of Angel Clare and Alec D’Urberville embodied in one male protagonist, Jay. Initially, this works, for his relationship with Trishna starts tenuously before they begin their romance. The reason for his lengthy departure is not dissimilar from the novel and once he returns his new attitude
towards Tess seems to come out of nowhere. The ending of the film is also rather abrupt, seemingly instigated by little other than Trishna’s guilt. The adaptation leaves out significant aspects of Hardy’s novel, such as the family history theme that adds a potent irony to Tess’s misfortunes. The ending’s abruptness leads to the tragedy being muted compared so it is not as affecting as it could have been. Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire, Immortals) is very impressive as Trishna, often meek but also responsible and determined. Riz Ahmed also carries the turbulent nature of Jay, bearing the brunt of the audience’s frustration and anger. Ultimately, the film looks beautiful and the cast are impressive but the updated story has its positive and negative points, which leads to the tragedy that the film isn’t as tragic as its source material.
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The music isn’t half bad either, written by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, it feels like a fusion of drum ‘n’ bass, dub step and Hindustani tribal beats. The songs are filthier than a council house kitchen with drops heavier than Johnny Vegas (I spent about 20 minutes thinking of those). Even though the entire film is subtitled and in Indonesian, don’t let this put you off, the action is intense, insanely well-choreo-
graphed, the story is just cheesy enough to make you laugh and the actors pull it together so well. If you love the Rambo films, Martial arts films like Hero or even cheesy action films like Shoot ‘em Up, I definitely recommend this film. 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes can’t be wrong either.
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This month at the RFT...
This month the RFT is showing Carnage: a comedy drama starring Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet in which four parents attempt to discuss a fight between their children. Whilst critics suggest it’s not as good in the screen as it is the stage, Polanski’s smooth directing is said to more than make up for it. Then there is Delicacy: a romantic comedy starring Audrey Tautou about a woman who loses her husband and becomes a recluse until, much to her own surprise, she takes the first step into a new relationship. Tickets are only £4 for students
Tuesday 12 June (20:00): Carnage (15) Thursday 14 June (20:00): Delicacy (La delicatesse) (12A)
Prices: Students/Members £4.00 Non-members £5.50 Annual Membership £9.00
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - a trailer for Les Miserables is out, featuring Anne Hathaway doing her take of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ - who knew she could sing?!
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
FILM&TV 11
film&TV
The Dictator: if easily offended, look away now! Director: Larry Charles Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Megan Fox, Anna Faris Running Time: 83mins Genre: Comedy Emma Dawson
The first laugh comes before the film has even started. "In loving memory of Kim Jong-il" reads the dedication title. It pretty much sets the tone for The Dictator, a broad, hit-and-miss satire about an Arab tyrant's indulgence of his
capricious – and murderous – will. While Kim Jong-il may get the opening nod, Sacha Baron Cohen's lavishly bearded despot, General Aladeen, is more obviously inspired by Gaddafi and Saddam, who cosied up to the West even while they were torturing and killing their own people. The film marks a change from Baron Cohen's previous incarnations Borat and Brüno in ditching the guerilla stunts – ambushing real people, and so on – for a conventional scripted feature. But it reprises the fish-out-of-water trick by sending its anti-hero (sub-
hero?) to America. Aladeen, the "mad dog" of a North African state, Wadiya, has provoked the Western powers by announcing that he's months away from enriching weapons-grade uranium – to be used "for peaceful purposes", he says, before giggling uncontrollably.
“In loving memory of Kim Jong-il” reads the dedication title His determination to have nuclear capability isn't matched, however, by any understanding of warheads: he just wants the rocket to be huge and pointy, and he'll dispose of his leading nuclear scientist if he doesn't get his way.
Baron Cohen has mastered a style of provocation The scriptwriters seem to work on the principle that offence is the best form of attack, and to the casual racism and misogyny you can also add jokes about torture, child pornography, rape and murder. "You're wanted for war crimes," someone tells Aladeen. "That stuff never sticks," he replies, and you could say the same for Baron Co-
hen's comedy. It's just too crude, too off-the-wall tasteless, for anyone to be genuinely offended. As a turn it's much funnier than Brüno, though the comedy is less inventive than Borat. Only at the end, when Aladeen gets to make his speech at the UN, does he take out the satirical broadsword. The US, he says, should adopt dictatorship as its model. Where he comes from, the top one per cent controls all the wealth, torture is routinely practised, war is waged on the wrong countries – on and on it goes, this advert that's really an indictment. It more than
Dark Shadows: fantasy and Depp go hand in hand... Director: Tim Burton Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham-Carter Running Time: 113mins Genre: Fantasy Charlotte Coster
This has to be one of the weirdest films that I have seen to date, but then I suppose that is to be expected considering that it is a Tim Burton film.
As always, the acting from Johnny Depp was brilliant The basic premise of the story is that a 200 year old vampire called Barnabas (played by the ever brilliant Johnny Depp) is acci-
dentally freed and let loose into 1970s America. And with a very odd family behind him (including ghosts and a werewolf), he moves against a seemingly invincible (but actually remarkably fragile) witch, played by Eva Green, to reclaim the money that has been lost to an opposing business. As the title might suggest Dark Shadows is a little lacking in general light, with most scenes being eerily deficient in colour. But not only that, Dark shadows was also lacking in many other areas mainly in plot and character development.
The main character was a curious mix of good and evil at alternating moments
The main character was a curious mix of good and evil at alternating moments, which meant you weren’t totally sure whether you empathised with him or not. This was the same for his arch enemy who he was fighting throughout the movie and, at times you did feel sorry for her which was a little unsettling considering the havoc she wreaked throughout the remainder of the film. Within this film, it literally includes a little of every single genre – romance, comedy, historical drama, horror, mystery and fantasy. Normally I would say this is a good thing, so it can please a lot of people. However, in this case, it actually has the opposite effect. The amount of time in which each genre appears, isn’t enough to satisfy any of the very different groups of fans. Despite the movie not being to my taste at all, it wasn’t wholly
unenjoyable. As always, the acting from Johnny Depp and Eva Green in particular, but also Helena Bonham-Carter, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Bella Heathcote; was brilliant.
there were some funny moments and a reasonably cute ending Between them, the solidness of their performances managed to convince the audience that the whacky world the film portrayed, could be slightly realistic. Furthermore, there were some funny moments and a reasonably cute ending that made up for the lack of affection and friendship, which didn’t seem to exist between any of the characters at all.
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tickled the audience; it created a kind of hysteria, as did most of the movie. Baron Cohen has mastered a style of provocation that regards taboos simply as fodder for his gag-machine. It's been observed that a tyrannical regime can stand anything but ridicule, the ultimate respect-destroyer. Still, if a comedy is meant to make you laugh, mission accomplished.
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If you would like to write and review for Spark* Film&TV next term, then get in touch at film.spark@ reading. ac.uk
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - A Rise of the Planet Apes sequel is set for 2014, titled Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Like we did not see that one coming!
12 FILM&TV
Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
Men in Black 3: it will let you remember... Director: Barry Sonnenfield Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin Running Time: 103mins Genre: Action/Sci Fi
in itself considering that he’s 44). But, on top of that, his manner and voice are so skilfully accurate, that it is believable that he is a younger version of the actor.
the focus is shifted so their friendship is explored in much deeper ways
Charlotte Coster
There is one word for this film – amazing! I don’t think I have ever come out of the cinema, feeling quite as satisfied as I did after this one. Flawlessly acted and brilliantly written, with the right amounts of suspense, comedy and sentimentality, this is the perfect definition of a blockbuster.
there is an awesome mixture of action, comic dialogue and poignant moments This Men in Black film sees Agent Jay (Will Smith) travelling back in time to the 1960s to save Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones/Josh Brolin) from Boris the Animal (or just Boris as he tries to insist throughout the film). He is told very firmly, that he should not, under any circumstances, talk to or look for the younger Agent Kay. So, of course, they spend the rest of the film working together to track down the alien assassin, with
Kay needing surprisingly little persuasion. I could easily spend this whole review talking about the utter genius of Will Smith who again plays the comedic, smooth talking action hero to perfection. Josh Brolin must also get a mention for his extremely credible performance as Tommy Lee Jones’ 29 year old character, (which is quite a feat
The banter between these two actors was absolutely excellent and the fact that Kay is, during the 1960s, a lot more communicative, allows a really interesting character development between the two agents that has not been explored before. There is an awesome mixture of action, comic dialogue and poignant moments, all of which are dealt with in equal measure, so none are dwealt on for too long. Furthermore, there are less aliens than in previous movies, and, although the element of sci fi is still present, the focus is shifted so their friendship is explored in much deeper ways, allowing a lot of things to be explained. This does mean, however, you do have to pay close attention all the way through. But you won’t find this hard! And if you are anything like me, you will be totally gripped until the very end.
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Prometheus: Ridley repeats Alien but this time it’s in 3D Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron Running Time: 124mins Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller
It is a very visually impressive film. Beautiful landscape shots, impressively detailed alien monsters (and humanoids) and not a small bit of awesome gore all stand as positive qualities for the film. However, as far as I’m concerned, a series of pretty pictures does not constitute a feature film.
Nathan Taylor
Two days before this review was written, I watched Alien. Two days later, I saw it again, except this time it was in 3D, and not as good. Perhaps I should elaborate? Both films are about the crew of a spaceship with a quasi-meaningful name and their discovery of an alien structure. They investigate at first and then attempt to flee after things slowly but surely hit the fan. All the while, their efforts are impeded by members of the crew with ulterior motives. I can’t go into more detail without risking spoilers, so just take my word for it that the films have the same plot. This in itself is not inherently unforgivable, if not for the fact that the two films are barely related. Yes, Weyland-Yutani has its role and, yes, there are “synthetics” (robots) but I can’t help but get
Rapace produced an emotional performance
the feeling that these details were inserted solely so that Ridley Scott could get away with releasing the same film twice by calling it a “prequel” the second time around. But I digress. As far as the film stands on its own, it is entirely passable. The acting is of an acceptable quality; playing a emotionless robot, Fassbender didn’t exactly stretch his acting abilities but the little details (a cold-smile, a deferrent
posture towards his creator) sold the performance well. Rapace, by contrast, produced an emotional performance in keeping with the frightened determination Sigourney Weaver portrayed all those decades ago. The plot is not difficult to follow and the 3D effects do a great job of being unobtrusive when they aren’t needed and visually impressive when they are. Therein lies the film’s greatest flaw.
The deaths do not upset you, the twists do not surprise you and the finale does not thrill you. The crew of the Prometheus spend the best part of a week expositing to each other, getting themselves
killed and accomplishing basically nothing. But, obviously, some people don’t care for the story as much as I do. If the film still sounds good after reading this review, I advise you to go see Final Destination; I hear the death scenes are spectacular. To conclude: A textbook story, Prometheus spends half-an-hour failing to get the viewer invested in the characters before killing them in as “shocking” a manner it can think of, all while revealing the answers to questions nobody asked.
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FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - Alien invasion blockbuster Indpendence Day is set to be released on July 13 2013 in 3D! The queue to that premiere begins now...
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
music.spark@reading.ac.uk
MUSIC
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music
FEATURE
Spark* previews the essential summer festival that’s on our own doorstep mances are more similar to a punk gig than a hip-hop show, complete with stage dives, mosh pits, and stage invasions (for proof, see the youtube videos of their set at last years Camden Crawl).
SBTRKT
Simran Lotay Once again it’s that time of year. The sun has finally arrived (in what we hope to be more than a quick pit stop), exams are over and sunburns are being worn with pride. The festival season is finally in sight. In the absence of Glastonbury, the Reading weekend looks to be a top contender to usurp the festival throne this year. The headline acts; The Cure, Kasabian and the Foo Fighters provide the line up with convincing rock and roll credentials, whilst the likes of SBTRKT, Zinc and Jaguar Skills (who is coincidentally performing at our very own summer ball) offer revellers a serious chance to party.
With so much going at Reading Fest this year, we thought we’d offer you a list of the acts that we feel should definitely not be missed.
The Cure The Cure are one of the most successful and influential bands of the last thirty years. Since their formation in the early seventies, they have produced a substantial catalogue of commercially successful albums, and an even greater fan base. Their brand of alternative rock, combined with pop sensibilities and an ear for catchy melodies has produced classic singles such as Boys Don’t Cry and Just Like Heaven, and their performance is sure to follow suit in terms of
INTERVIEW
Jamie Milton
OFWGKTA OFWGKTA, more commonly know as Odd Future, are a hip-hip collective from Los Angeles. Led by rapper Tyler, the Creator, they have shot into fame over the last two years, and have been surrounded by hype and controversy throughout. The group are crude, rude and offensive. But most of all they are entertaining. A high energy performance style and a reckless attitude, ensure their set to be everything but boring. Their perfor-
Less Than Jake are a ska-influenced pop punk outfit, offering catchy melodies and recapturing the apathy of your youth in their angst-ridden lyrics. Nothing screams summer like up beat, fast paced, horn infused skapunk. Less Than Jake provide the perfect opportunity to let go and dance, safe in the knowledge that everyone else will be looking just as ridiculous as you. With a mix of memorable anthems like The Science of Selling Yourself Short and up beat punk tracks such as History of a Boring Town in their catalogue, their set is sure to be a lively one. Reading Festival takes place on the 24th-26th of August at Richfield Avenue.
Justice The electro-rock stars Justice return to Reading Festival after the release of their second album, Audio, Video, Disco. Their new release shows a progression away from the electronic elements of their debut album, and towards a more rock-influenced sound. The epic intros to tracks like Civilization are sure to be accompanied by a dazzling performance, with a luminous cross of gigantic proportions being a staple of their live show. My only hope is that classic anthems such as Phantom and D.A.N.C.E are not forgotten about.
We interview the fascinating California duo Peaking Lights
Records imprint Weird World. Our music editor spoke to the band,
It might not seem like your conventional summer record, but Spark* seriously recommends you invest in Peaking Lights’ new album Lucifer when it’s released later this month, through Domino
atmosphere and emotion. They last played at Reading Festival in 1979, and their return is not one to be missed. Expect Robert Smith and co. to draw the biggest crowd of the entire festival.
SBTRKT (pictured) has been one of the most talked about producers of the last year, with his self-titled album reaching critical acclaim and breaking through into mainstream success. His blend of dubstep, garage, UK funky and two-step, fused with the soulful vocals of frequent collaborator Sampha, creates songs that are atmospheric, danceable and catchy all at once. His famous live show consists of himself and Sampha performing live percussion, synths and vocals, creating a truly organic live performance.
Less Than Jake
who’ve had to ride the challenge of raising a new child this past year, all while recording an excellent, experimental record ; a mixture of dub, tribal chants and escapist pop.
How much of the album was Mikko involved in? Did he always watch you record and play around with instruments? Aaron: Yeah, I mean he was there for pretty much the whole time. If he wasn’t in the room, because the room was too loud, he was in another room. He was always there. Indra: We were always trying to get some good sounds out of him. We were constantly trying to record with him. But you can’t really make a baby make cool or cute sounds, on demand. So every time we started talking, we had to pull out the recorder. Aaron: Yeah, I constantly had the recorder on my phone.A lot of our recordings came from our phones, actually.
Does Mikko give any indication of whether he likes your songs or not? Do you ever drop a song because he’ll dislike it? Indra: Well, you know, we joked about how he’s like our producer now because we definitely gauge his reaction - we watch his reaction to gauge how good the song is a lot of the time (laughs). So if he starts bobbing his little head along to it we know we’ve got a good tune. A lot of your songs seem to go beyond the six, seven minute mark. Is that because you just end them when it feels natural? Indra: Yeah basically - we just play the songs until we feel like we’re done with it. It always ends up being around that length! It’s funny
how they always end up around that time. It must be a time that we can relate to. We kinda prefer to feel it out, rather than stay with a normal parameter. There’s no reason why a song can’t be a little longer, don’t you think? You’re definitely keeping yourself busy by the sounds of it? Definitely. It’s a little different with a child, we’re not going to be playing quite as many gigs in a row - although we’re touring until the end of November - we’ll just be taking more days off, just trying to keep it mellow. Lucifer is released on 19th June.
14 MUSIC
Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
music.spark@reading.ac.uk
ALBUMS
Magic Hour Scissor Sisters Polydor
George Reed
“I’m very critical of our own stuff” says Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters. “But song for song, this is our best album.” It’s a bold statement to make, especially to criticise three albums that have turned this US band from quirky NewYorkers to international Popstars. But at the same time, Jake may have a point, with many critics believing the Scissor Sisters are still yet to recreate the initial pizzazz seen on their self titled debut album. So, they return with their 4th LP, Magic Hour, aiming to bring the fun back to the Top 40. Baby Come Home bounds in as the first track on the album, and the second single to be released from it. Piano chords bounce brilliantly along towards a chorus with
Best Coast The Only Place Wichita
Jamie Milton
Best Coast’s Crazy For You debut read like a lengthy, gushing love letter to home state California. The sun is out, the guys are fun, and the waves are high. Turns out this letter had a second side, with more hyperbole and compliments to boot. Bethany Cosentino’s music has always been derivative and virtually every listener confronted with her scuzzy garage rock has been aware of the fact. So whether The Only Place succeeds, as a suitable follow-up is a stupid question if
Scissor Sisters bring the magic to pop and Best Coast still adores California
one of the best hooks heard from the Scissor Sisters since I Don’t Feel Like Dancing. Best described as retro pop, it does exactly what a first track should do: open the album and entice the listener. Keep Your Shoes On follows and is clearly inspired by Pet Shop Boys and balances between the funky and the annoyance. On first impressions it’s easy to reach for the skip button and jump past this club track, but if you give it time, you will be rewarded. Sear’s high pitched style of singing will always get comparisons to the Bee Gees, especially on tracks such as Inevitable. This beautiful ballad builds into a melodramatic crescendo and is a much needed break before lead single Only the Horses. Featuring the Midas touch of DJ and producer Calvin Harris, Sear’s vocals soars over stabbing synths to make one of the best tracks on the album.
They use styles that they would do well to steer clear of Ana Matronic, the only female member of Scissor Sisters and one the most understated women in pop introduces Let’s Have a Kiki, explaining a “Kiki is a party, for calming all your nerves”. This peculiar track mixes catwalk style beats with spoken verses you consider that it contains all the elements of an adrenaline-fuelled first record which turned heads with its ‘don’t-give-a-f**k’ temperament and charming attitude. On the last record, Cosentino was in love with a few boys and the only refuge she found from love troubles came from her home state. Now, she writes about touring, seeing every sight there is to see before harking back to those glory days of staying indoors and playing video games. Erring on the side of repetitive it might be, but like Califor-ni-a, The Only Place is not without its charms. The title track steers straight from the route of the last album, right up to the very depths of her somewhat limited imagination. Personal but restricted in its ability to actually say anything, you can both relate to the content on the album or ignore it on a whim. This is a record somewhat lacking in new ideas. Not that it’s a particular issue. Best Coast’s charm has always stemmed from their immediacy; their ability to produce something dumb but ohso-sweet on first listen. Strangely, The Only Place plays a few curveballs on early plays, with its glossy production giving it all almost off-putting sheen, where Bethany’s
to create a song that is bizarrely highly infectious. But as odd as this is, it’s nothing compared to the pop-rap-esque combo of Shady Love. This track mixes styles and artists, namely Azealia Banks (Of 212 fame) to create a song that isn’t like any other Scissor Sisters track. But that is something that Magic Hour shows about the Scissor Sisters. They can use styles that they would be advised to steer well clear of, and yet still manage to make a hit. The Secret Life of Letters shows their vulnerable and slow side, with a backing piano spiralling up and down the scales accompanying the almost poetic lyrics. It makes for a beautiful track, that arguably should be released as a single. But not all tracks could be, with Self Control being littered with sexual undertones, while F**k Yeah is much more obvious with its message! But that is, and always has been the Scissor Sisters way: Cheeky; quirky and fun. Whether this is the best album made by the New-Yorkers is still undecided. But what this fab four piece band has done has brought their unique style back to UK. A much needed return from a group that clearly enjoys making musical magic.
HHHH signatory scruffy image can be washed off in a millisecond. Fortunately it grows into a more capable being, with undeniably repetitive hooks embedding themselves in the corners of your conscience. Perhaps the most insightful access capable of being gained from The Only Place is Bethany’s claim of “I don’t want to be who they want me to be”; initially released last summer in the midst of recording, it’s a telling reminder of the bratty-ness and confidence that the singer’s managed to sport from very the start of her career. Record label pressures or even passive aggressive letters from fans won’t stop her from writing catchy pop songs, regardless of their simplicity. The tailend of the album explores a more inventive output, with Let’s Go Home battling out with the sedated closer Up All Night in terms of providing a fitting swansong. Best Coast will never win over the cynics who like their music to sport a more assured style of intelligence and invention, but for those who fell in love with the sunburnt stoner of old, there’s plenty more to revel in, here.
HHH
Ellen and the Escapades All the Crooked Scenes Branch Out
Bethan Morgan
Since winning Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent competition in 2010, Leeds five-piece Ellen and the Escapades - who first met as students - have grabbed a healthy amount of attention, and have since gone on to support Josh T Pearson and First Aid Kit. Their oaky style fits less with the cold, urban surroundings of their native Yorkshire, and more with the vast North American plains. This tantalising trace of countrytinged Americana adds a welcome extra dimension to some tracks and the album as a whole. The Leeds-based band offers a gentle, sweeping, agreeable collection of cinematic swirls and genuine reproduction atmosphere, setting a serene, sympathetic pace for the most part. The opening song, Run, encapsulates the ethos of wary, weary selfassurance and coaxed, cajoled entreaties to get up and go. Further on, the sharp twang of the LP’s title track pierces at a horses pace, whilst the only slow ballad, Can’t Make It So, starts to sag a little.
Songs like Stone Bird are to be appreciated on the laziest of days; while the opening of final track Cast offers an attractive counterpoint to some of its precursors. All the Crooked Scenes often returns to folk’s tried and tested themes of love and loss which is where it’s most stirring moments lie. On the Bon Iver type track, I’ll Keep You Warm, vocalist Ellen Smith longs for loving companionship as she sings: “You want to know how fast the feeling grow / Never felt so cold / I’ll keep you warm.” Her stunning, coarse voice is key to the album’s character. All the Crooked Scenes is a consistently pretty collection, packed with pop strength and deserves acclaim for this. It is an accomplished debut LP, which makes its influences well known, but crafts a cliché-free and enchanting sound that is very much Ellen and the Escapades’ own. It’s charming enough to make it into the collections of those Radio One listeners who’ve played Mumford & Sons to death, but will still appeal to those looking further left-field.
HHHH
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
music.spark@reading.ac.uk
SINGLES
AlunaGeorge You Know You Like It EP Tri-Angle
Richard petty
London based record label Tri-Angle has gained a reputation on the mysterious and hazy atmosphere its artists tend to create, so the signing of UK duo AlunaGeorge is something of a surprise. Whilst its other artists usually sport a murky sound, often with fractured and haunting vocals, AlunaGeorge create what is effectively bubblegum pop enthused with R&B stylings, but passed through a filter of UK Bass production and with similarities to fellow Brits SBTKRT and Jamie XX. In contrast to other contemporaries who recycle old
The Subways Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Self-released
Rachel Pilcher
It would be an understatement to simply say you’ve been ‘missing out’ if you haven’t heard of The Subways by now. I would also wonder where you’ve been hiding all thie time. YouTube My Rock ‘n’ Roll Queen and I guarantee you’ll know who I’m talking about. Now on their third album, Money and Celebrity, The Subways are ready to release latest single Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Despite being old hands in the music business, The Subways are always evolving and improving,
MUSIC
15
London’s AlunaGeorge impress on their debut EP.
Aaliyah and Cassie acapellas to get their point across, here the vocals come courtesy of the Aluna of AlunaGeorge, and her personable and quite clearly British vocals provide a welcome counterpoint to the icy delivery of her American counterpart Cassie. Opener You Know You Like It rides on a gurgling bassline and arpeggiated beeps with Aluna’s voice fluttering with a childlike playfulness, refusing to conform to what others expect whilst adopting a carefree outlook on life. Just a Touch is a clear nod to the UK bass scene, with pitched tomtoms and snaking synthetic organ stabs backed by handclaps and a muffled kick, whilst Aluna’s vocals delicately layer and overlap each other. Here Aluna is clearly play-
never in fear of boring their fans with a lack of new ideas. The latest single continues in the same vein, mixing the vocals of Billy Lunn and Charlotte Cooper with another impeccable and contagious melody. Written by Lunn about a ‘fiery relationship,’ the track holds a chorus full of energy, and a hook of “kiss kiss bang bang,” that is nigh on impossible to sing-along to. The Subways never fail to impress, with their lyrics and musical abilities getting better and better with every track and every album throughout their career. I defy you not to dance along to this fantastic song.
HHHH
ing hard to get, whilst defending her stance due to the protection it affords from the antagonists actions. Put Up Your Hands is probably the weakest of the trio, staring with the frankly odd lyrics of “I’ve got a million emails, in a box, unread, from you” and relying on a more laidback groove until the upbeat and catchy (although overused) chorus refrain of “just put up your hands” kicks in, where George distorts and twists Aluna’s vocals. It still manages to sound more vital than a lot of the current music out there though, which says a lot about the sustained quality of the songwriting and production on show here. Once the EP is over you’re left realising how well the duo have combined a multitude of genres whilst still keeping things memorable and fresh, an impressive achievement considering the relative newness of the project and their relatively tender ages (both are still only 24). There’s a great deal of potential on show here, and this EP suggests the label may have a group capable of challenging the Top 40 on their hands. Whether this happens or not it’ll certainly be interesting to see if Aluna and George can spread the sugary rush of these 3 songs over a full album without it getting sickly or repetitive.
HHHH
Savages Husbands/ Flying To Berlin Pop Noire
Jamie Milton
Savages are almost unique in that they lodged themselves in every new music lovers’ conscience before even releasing a single song. Exciting footage of one of their very first shows at London’s Shacklewell Arms emerged in January of this year; lead singer Jehn Beth hyperactively circuited the small stage, positively wowing those in attendance. Lasting a mere couple of minutes, the video still managed to raise expectations beyond healthy levels and as the band took to grander venues, supporting
Justice
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
On ‘N’ On
Daylight Robbery
Ed Banger
Cooking Vinyl
Emma Takle
Rachel Pilcher
On ‘N’ On is Justice’s newest single
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, other-
taken from the duo’s second album
wise known as Sam Duckworth,
Audio, Vision, Disco. If you’re
has come a long way since being
expecting something similar to
signed in 2006. Now on his fifth
Justice’s earlier singles from their
LP, Duckworth has even grown to
first album, another repetitive
include a live band behind him, far
D.A.N.C.E perhaps, then prepare
removed from the days of just him
to be pleasantly surprised. On ‘N’
and his computer. Latest single
On is definitely a song more suited
Daylight Robbery is taken from
to being played in a garden on a
recent album Maps.
sunny afternoon, than in a sweaty
Listen closely to this track, and
club.
you find the arrangement is light
The single not only marks Justice’s
and upbeat, and the lyrics are hon-
movement towards a more psy-
est but charming, as has come to
chedelic type of electronic music,
be a feature of Duckworth’s music.
but also shows clear influences
There’s no doubting how much this
from classic rock to 80s disco. The
track will grow with a live band
mixture of harsh synths, strings,
behind it on stage.
the drums and Morgan Phalen’s
The only danger with this bigger
whining vocals makes for an un-
sound is the fear that Duckworth
forgettable song which will have
may begin to sound like any
everyone tapping their feet. If
generic ‘indie’ band. For the time
the catchy lyrics, deep groove and
being however, Get Cape. Wear
great melodies aren’t enough to
Cape. Fly are safe in the knowl-
make you want to buy the album,
edge that they’re still unique, and
then nothing will.
still on form.
HHHH the Vaccines and playing showcase festivals such as The Great Escape, up went the anti on what could be expected from Savages. Two tracks have finally emerged, dispelling the myth that here existed a band only capable of impressing in the flesh: Husbands and Flying to Berlin express all the ferocity and style of an intimate gig; the former delivering an energy almost non-existent in current contemporaries’ songs; the latter being a well-grounded counterpart, showcasing a more calculated sound in comparison to Husbands’ hard-hitting welcome note. Each makes the listener feel tetchy, uncomfortable within their own skin. Both are examples of music of a challenging ethos; rarely settlted; never resting on its laurels. Most importantly, both live up to the word-of-mouth hype which spread with such intensity in 2012’s early months. To have conquered such a challenge already suggests that this band are here to exceed expectations, not just match them.
HHHH
HHH Emeli Sande My Kind Of Love Virgin
Siobhan Maguire
Emili Sande releases her fourth single from her platinum selling album, Our Version of Events this week. The Scottish singer-songwriter adheres to a more sombre tone with My Kind Of Love as she reflects on her time as a medical student and the bonds which are made between staff and patient. The songs’ opening melody played by simply a piano, compliments Sande’s voice beautifully and establishes a sense of reflection which continues through the single. As it gains momentum, the powerful beats kick in and the magnitude of Sande’s voice is showcased to its best. With such emotional lyrics, you can feel the passion which has gone into creating such a song and it is refreshing to hear something original created by the artist to move its audience. Such a poignant song can only make it big, and I truly hope it will hit the number one spot.
HHHHH
marketing@rusu.co.uk
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Straight talking from KPMG.
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16 ADVERTISEMENT Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
ARTS&BOOKS
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
arts.spark@reading.ac.uk
17
Arts&BOOKS Murder on the West Country Express Murder on the West Country Express Creative Writing Claire Hirst
The train, as always, provides far too much time with which to contemplate my naval. I take my antibiotics for the second time today and lean back in my seat, pulling my hat over my poorly ears. I think about: Living in a council house, working in a scrapyard, making a garden, Iranian nuclear scientists being killed, how little I know of the world, Alias, (which is a TV show starring Jennifer Garner), being a spy, how it feel to get shot, paying my rent, bad crime drama plots, how there should be more snow for me to look at out of the window, miniature ponies, wanting a cat, making a house out
car. It’s different in a car. You choose the stops; you are in control of the wheel. Looking out of a train window provides you with more and more things for quiet contemplation.
The train, as always, provides far too much time with which to contemplate my naval This is a list of things I see from the window: A woman shouting out of second story window at a man in the garden, she is gesticulating wildly, what is she so angry about? A dog, sniffing around a shed, pawing at the walls and the door, what has he found? A scrapyard full of crush and empty cars, alone and done
There are stories everywhere you look from a train window. Those cows, who owns them? What’s their life like? Are they happy as a farmer? Did they want to do something else when they were small? Do they have a wife, a daughter named Sally who has plans of her own, outside the scope of her small farmy life, who meets with a boy from school outside the cow sheds at night, where they plan their escape to a shining urban metropolis? I like these questions. And there. There is the snow. Everything is very bright, the snow makes things brighter, makes other things stand out in sharp relief. Animals stand silhouetted, Trees show off their wintery skeletons. Which is why I notice the man. He is a stark blot of red and black on the crisp white snow of the field. He is lying on his back, his
there is no way I am going to raise my voice to the required speaking level necessary on a train, and say out loud that I have just seen a dead man in a field that I have just whipped past at 95 miles an hour. I cannot do it. Everyone will look at me. I cannot bear to be looked at. I am the one that does the looking! I observe, I make up lives for them, I do the noticing! This is the worst train journey I have ever taken. But what if it was me, lying in the middle of that field surrounded by snowy blood?
I’m in a bad crime novel, and we have gone past that dead man in that big open field, and I crane my neck to look back...
of the trees in a wood and living there. (It was on Grand Designs last night, Kevin’s favourite, and mine too), and whether the woman in front of me could get any louder when talking about her mother’s bowel movements at the top of her lungs. I think about all of these things, all the time, but the train, going so fast itself, slows life down to the point where I can separate it all out and examine at leisure. Everything slowing down in my head makes it easier to see the things going past my window with quite a bit more detail than in a
with their purpose. Who used to drive them? What family holidays were journeyed to in them? How many unions on their now crushed and useless back seats?
Looking out of a train window provides you with more and more things for quiet contemplation
arms spread-eagled. He is quite clearly dead. Remember those bad crime plots I think about? I think I’m in one. I think I’m in a bad crime novel, and we have gone past that dead man in that big open field, and I crane my neck to look back, but we have been whisked away at 95 miles an hour. What on earth am I supposed to do now? I have quite clearly seen a man lying on his back in the middle of a field surrounded by snowy blood. There is no way I can call the police on a train. Practically, I have no signal, but more personally,
I would probably want someone to come and find my body, though it would be very embarrassing to be a murder victim. But what if it’s some sort of mob killing, I’ll need police protection, I will fear someone coming to do me in for the rest of my life. I will have to be looked at in a courtroom and give evidence saying I saw the dead man in the field. This is an unequivocal disaster! How would I even know how to show the police where the body is? I don’t know where we are in the journey right now! We don’t stop again ‘til Reading, that’s Exeter to Reading, they would have to have a train full of police looking out of the window constantly for two hours trying to spot a man in a field surrounded by blood. And what if the snow melts? They won’t be able to see him then, the only reason I did was because of the big splash of red on the white. Oh dear.
18 arts.spark@reading.ac.uk ARTS&BOOKS
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
Photograms Everything is coming up roses Creative Art Work
Roxana Tohaneanu-Sheilds
These two images are photograms, (a photogram is a photograph without a camera and I enjoy spendPhotography ing long hours in the darkroom creating such imag- Lucy Snow es). The top image is called “Icarus” and the bottom image is called “On Fire.”
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
fashion.spark@reading.ac.uk
FASHION Summer wish list
Raceday fashion Poppy nowicka
With Ascot fast approaching (19th -23rd June) it is time to start thinking about what to wear to ensure your look is first out of the gate. Attracting attention each year for the clothes worn by spectators and infamous for the hats, Ascot’s reputation demands effort in appearance. At an event where the Queen is regarded as the bestdressed attendee, try and remain elegant at all times!
Ascot’s reputation demands effort Steer clear of stilettoes though; being hauled out of the grass is not a glamorous look. Sunglasses on the other hand are a must; they cover a multitude of sins (espe-
cially if you had a few too many the night before) and you certainly don’t want to be squinting from the grandstand. Although, it is important to remember that racing does have a strict dress code. At Ascot one risks the wrath of Her Majesty’s Representative by daring to sport a strap of less than one inch across, and a gentleman may only “remove his top hat within a restaurant, a private box, a private club or that facility’s terrace, balcony or garden”. Newbury, however, is far more relaxed. Smart denim is acceptable, as are long tailored shorts in summer, and in the picnic enclosure you can wear whatever you like, as long as it’s “non offensive”. The polyvore below is an example of perfect race-day attire to ensure you stand out in the crowds.
Stephanie weekes
Since the hot weather is reluctantly making sporadic appearances, it seems only right to offer up a collection of my top five summer essentials. 1. Oversized sunglasses. Useful for both hiding tequila-sunriseinduced-hangover eyes, as well as, you know, being able to see in the sun. ASOS have an amazing selection of the currently-popular round style frames. My favourite being the ‘oversized retro’ in tortoiseshell. Just remember not to fall asleep sunbathing. You will wake up with a reverse panda situation. 2. Printed Swimwear. Prints are huge this season, and is there a better way to wear them than poolside? My favourite is the ‘Tiger print one shoulder swimsuit’ from River Island. It has a gorgeous cutout side detail. It’s fierce. In the literal sense.
3. Tie Dye. That’s right, the 90s revival has brought back everyone’s favourite DIY. It’s not to all tastes, but I’m a big fan. Think tees and dresses especially. Topshop has the best variety. There’s no way to pick a favourite. So to quote MC Hammer- “It’s all good”. 4. Wedges. Whether you’re a supporter of the controversial flatform, or keeping it classic with the original, wedges are THE summer go-to shoe for glamour. I’ve fallen for these Burberry Prorsum-alikes from Matalan. Tribal print AND ankle embellishment? Where do I sign?! 5. Statement jewellery. Chunky jewellery can easily transform any outfit. In my opinion, the more obnoxious, the better, especially if you’re accessorising a simple ensemble. New Look is great for this essential. The ‘limited gold drape necklace’ will look amazing with a black maxi dress.
What to wear to a wedding Jubilee erin harding
One of the exciting things about receiving a wedding invite is that naturally it equals a brand new outfit. If it’s a summer wedding, then even better! The highstreet boasts a range of wow factor wedding-esque clothing just waiting to be flaunted in the sunshine. For those who want to achieve a classic yet versatile look, the maxi dress is an obvious choice yet not one to be underestimated. Visit H&M or New Look for a bohemian maxi and accessorise with chunky bangles and gladiator sandals. For a more high-brow wedding, Ted Baker and Coast offer some beautiful, refined maxis which radiate pure class. Tired of the classic maxi dress? Turn to asos.com and try the asymmetric or see through
maxi for an edgier look. If you want to show off your tanned pins however, visit Zara and go for the the 1920’s flapper. Sophisticated yet quirky, it is sure to steal the show without outshining the bride. A simpler option would be a peplum dress with a frill at the waist – Holly Willoughby has sported these on The Voice recently. Worn with some delicate jewellery and an elegant up doo this outfit oozes effortless glamour. However, a wedding doesn’t have to mean dresses and more dresses. Co-ords are everywhere this summer. A pair of patterned tailored shorts with a matching blazer and plain shirt achieves a girly look with a boyish edge, and is sure to turn heads with a pair of chunky heels or flats. We are simply spoilt for choice!
style
FASHION 19
Look pretty in paisley francesca farrow
Paisley patterns are a prominent feature in this year’s Spring/Summer collection of 2012. You might either love it or hate it but I personally think it can look stylish and classy when worn correctly. Many high street shops have been inspired by the catwalk trends such as Stella McCartney, Jill Sander or Paul Smith. There are some rather bold paisley patterns out there in the shops but there are also some more subtle patterns if you are not too keen on the more garish ones. Topshop has some nice silk paisley shorts priced at £50 which can be worn with a plain vest top, wedges and a light smart jacket for a nice casual day time look. They also have silk paisley joggers, vest top and shift dress in this same pattern which comes in either a bright red or black; which is ideal if you want more than one item in the same print. New Look is the shop to go to if you want a nice summer maxi dress in a bright paisley pattern. The average price for one is around £20 which is very affordable. Oasis has a delightful white evening dress with a beautifully crafted pink and orange paisley pattern priced at £65, which is a little bit more expensive but worth paying the money for. Team it with a clutch and black heels and you have yourself a nice evening outfit, ideal for the upcoming summer ball too!
20 FASHION
fashion.spark@reading.ac.uk
Going for gold in the fashion stakes Sabina Rouse
This year will definitely be one to remember. Not just for its exceptional show in sports, but also because of the sporting outfits on show. With countries enlisting the brightest and best designers to create their national sports kits, the spotlight is sure to be on the outfits more than the sport itself… Team GB have had their kits designed by the exclusive leading designer Stella McCartney. The sports kits have had a contemporary and modern twist put on them, with McCartney describing it as ‘combining style with performance.’ The kit, inspired by the Union flag, combing many different hues of blues and greens based on a solid background of white, with only the smallest hint of red. However, this lack of red has come under criticism for making the outfits look more Scottish than British. Yet whatever the colours, this inspiring kit undoubtedly combines style with innovation, which will allow athletes to compete to the best of
their performance. Nevertheless, other countries are also in the running with their leading fashion designers. Italy for example, have employed abilities of one of their best national fashion houses and most celebrated designers, Giorgio Armani.
this inspiring kit undoubtedly combines style with innovation With traditional colours of black and white dominating the team’s kits, there was only a suggestion of red and green – the colours of the Italian Flag – on the outfits. However, once again Armani has surpassed expectations, with the Team Italia’s kits exuding traditional Italian elegance and grace. This year at the 2012 Olympics the fashion is set to play as much of a part as the sport. With some of the world’s leading designers in the running, this is going to be a never seen before exclusive catwalk.
Pomellato Vintage fair fundraiser Fiona king
Katey watkins
Unique and glamorous pieces by high-class Italian jewellers, Pomellato, can now be found in their shiny, new online boutique. Pomellato is one of Europe’s largest jewellers and treads a thin line between elegant simplicity and big, bright wow-factor. In dazzling colours and shapes, Pomellato jewellery is not to be missed this summer when loud, primary coloured accessories are embellishing the shops and catwalks alike. If you’re not into the colour craze we’re being thrown into now it’s ‘officially’ summer, Pomellato’s simpler pieces include dainty drop earrings and delicate bracelets with hints of colour instead of the boldness in their other pieces. Their signature rose-coloured gold is sure to call out to the girlish side in all of us, and is scattered throughout the collection, appealing to another of the summer’s biggest trends. As exciting as the website and overall collection might be, the new availability online doesn’t, unfortunately, make it any more affordable. Anything short of saving a whole term’s loans and grants and wages and you’re probably not going to buy so much as the box it comes in – which, needless to add, is also gorgeous! But we can all dream, and if anyone ever said that label lust is a bad thing, they’ve obviously never even tried to work out exactly how many months worth of saving would buy them that Chanel bag or those Alexander McQueen shoes...
Looking for a way to fill your time after the stress of exams? Make your way down to the Abbot Cook where a Vintage Fair Fundraiser is being hosted on 10 June to raise money for a Reading-based theatre company. Blue Bandit Theatre is a new company formed by University of Reading students who are hoping to take their play Wild Turkey, by Joe Penhall, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012. This is set to be a great day for all vintage fashion lovers! So far confirmed as stall holders are Reading-based Frock & Roll,
The perfect summer jacket Fiona king
After the brief period of sunshine, it seems as though it’s time to wrap up warm and get your jacket back out again, or how about treating yourself to a new one, you know, just for finishing exams? Denim jackets are always great for summer as they’re so versatile; throw one on with shorts on the beach or over a dress for a night out. While denim is always a safe choice for a great summer jacket, this season, denim’s getting a little more playful. Tie-dye, acid wash, coloured, studded, printed, cropped, frayed, lace-trimmed; if you can modify your denim jacket to look that little bit different, do it! Or buy one – the high street is
looking particularly creative with denim right now so make sure you have a good scout about and see which trends you prefer. Floral prints are a massive hit throughout, and River Island have some great choices, including this floral denim waistcoat. While this is a lot of fun and great for really sunny days, if you’re looking for something really wearable, something like this acid-wash jacket from River Island is perfect. Simple enough to wear with almost anything, long-sleeves to keep you warm – let’s face it, that’s necessary, even in June! But interesting enough to be well worth £59 – and don’t forget student discount! Little gold studs embellish the
Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
front and back, putting this jacket bang on trend, making it, I think, the perfect summer jacket.
Out of Time Vintage, and Hello Margaret. There will be something for everything at this fun day out, with vintage hair, fashion, make-up and accessory stalls sharing space with face paints, competitions, cakes and other little treats! Donations will be collected on the door, which will all go towards making the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012 happen for Blue Bandit Theatre. For more information please visit the Facebook event page by searching “Vintage Fair Edinburgh Fundraiser”. Follow the theatre company on Twitter @BanditTheatre
Suitcase packing Hannah merican
It’s that time of the year that you’ve been counting down days for! If you are worrying about what to pack, here are a few of our favourites! No matter if it’s a weekend getaway to Paris or a beach holiday in Spain or Thailand comfort is key. The best tip is to stick to fashionable and accessible basics that you mix with as many pieces as possible. Make sure you have plenty of floaty skirts and dresses if you are going somewhere that will be hot and humid! They look great teamed with simple sandals, or for an evening look, add some cute wedges! Sunglasses are always a must, and can hide any tired looking eyes after a long flight.
I would always recommend taking a light jacket for all eventualities! The weather may be a little more trust-worthy than England’s but it’s not worth catching a cold on holiday!
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
fashion.spark@reading.ac.uk
BEAUTY Whip out your Summer pout Georgina Belcher
With the summer fast approaching- and the warm days already here it is prime time to leave behind those dry, chapped lips and start preparing for a fabulous summer look! Before finding a perfect shade it is important to follow these steps to maintain healthy looking lips: Exfoliate daily to ensure your lips maintain a healthy appearance. If your lips are dry it is a good idea to invest in some exfoliator. For student budgets this may
not seem an essential and so for something as equally effective try using a little brown sugar with olive oil and gently massage it into the lips. Keep lips moisturised throughout the summer. It is also important to find a lip balm with an SPF in order to prevent split, sunburnt lips. Using a lip gloss is another good way of moisturising and gives a fresh look to your summer smile! Invest in a good lip liner. This will keep your lip colour in place and stop it running in the hot
weather! It will also give your lips a great shape and definition – it’s always fun to try something new if you haven’t before. For the perfect summer pout why not add a bold and exciting shade to your lips? If you’re looking for an on-trend look, the brighter the better. You can never go wrong with a classic red and with so many different shades available there is something for everyone! We love Kate Moss’s brand at Rimmel in number 22 and at Superdrug you can buy it for only £5.49. It can be a key
part to a patriotic look so make sure you wear it this summer and celebrate the Jubilee year in style!
We try out...Topshop Eclipse nail polish SOPHIE WOOLLAN
Topshop’s Eclipse nail polish has become my new go-to shade. I love everything about it. After a few weeks of debating whether this colour would actually look good on my nails, which I tend to keep fairly short, I took the plunge and bought it. And I haven’t looked back. Or, for that matter, worn another colour on my nails since. When in its bottle, Eclipse looks like a mixture of green, gold and turquoise. It attracted me because I’d never seen anything like it before. After reading the mixed
reviews on topshop.com I was slightly doubtful about whether this effect of the varying colours would look as good on my nails as it did on the box, but I was pleasantly surprised. After the first coat the polish looks pale green with a gold tinge to it, but it’s when you apply the second coat that you get the look that you’re expecting from the bottle. If you hold your nails under direct light they shine a pale greeny-gold, but when you tilt your hand the colour changes to a darker turquoise colour which is really pretty, and again slightly sparkly. Seeing as it is very
similar to the Chanel nail varnish Peridot, it’s also a bargain. Where Peridotsells for £17.50, Eclipse is a mere £6 in comparison. Always a plus! The other great thing about the Topshop nail varnishes is the brush. They’re a great size, meaning that the colour spreads well and goes on easily without too much trouble. The bristles are also slightly rounded at the end, so it’s super easy to get the colour right up to your cuticles. The only downside is that it leaves a trace of glitter when you first remove it – but hey, who would ever mind? Overall, a great nail varnish.
BEAUTY 21
Top ten tips for Summer
Follow these ten top tips for a beautiful summer! 1. Eat lots of strawberries as they are a natural tooth whitener. 2. Keep on top of your feet by investing in a pumice stone to buff away dead skin whilst you’re in the shower. 3. Add a pop of colour to your lip for a statement summer look. 4.Moisurise, moisturise, moisturise! 5. Keep your favourite fragance in your bag, to keep you feeling fresh and summery this season. 6. Combat pesky spots by crushing an aspirin, mixing it into a paste with water and dabbing on the blemish. 7. Revitalise your nails with a cuticle creme such as Burt’s Bees, for healthy looking hands. 8. To create beachy summer waves without making your hair crispy, try a salt spray such as bumble and bumble hairspray. 9. Counter streaky tans by applying lemon juice to the darker areas, gently evening out your skin. 10. Have an incredible fun-filled summer! Love from the Beauty Team xo
Essential Jubilee fragrances - the best of Britain SABINA ROUSE
First up is the perfume Sublime Vanille from one of London’s most long-standing perfume houses, Creed. It’s presented in a gorgeous texturized glass bottle which exudes elegance through the simple combination of the vanilla colour against the glass. To offset the sweetness of the perfume, notes of lemon flowers and white Bergamot are introduced to give the scent a warm and summery infusion.
One of the most traditionally English scents of rose is best captured in Crabtree and Evelyn’s Evelyn Rose. It is a delicate yet longstanding scent, capturing the uniqueness of the English Rose in an understated yet classy bottle. The fragrance also introduces more fruity notes of peach accord and peony, in contrast to the sweetness of the rose.
Jo Malone is most famous for their exquisite collection of perfumes, and their Grapefruit Cologne is no exception. This fragrance captures the fresh and citrus side of summer, opposed to the sweet and floral scents. The refreshing scent contains Rosemary and Peppermint to highlight the zingy tang of the grapefruit, making it an uplifting must-have summer scent.
With their traditional scents representing England, it’s no wonder that Burberry’s perfume Burberry Brit Summer Edition is such a popular choice. With the classic Burberry Check in a summery peach colour, the scent portrays vibrant spring freshness. With top notes of green almond, crisp pear and green tea all offset by a hint of white musk, this zesty scent is one of the essentials for summer.
Finally, Penhaligons of London scent Jubilee Bouquet represents everything that we want in a perfume: it’s summery, traditionally English and smells divinely floral. With top notes of Chamomile, Clove and Bergamot it has a citrus feel to it, with base notes of Amber, Moss and Sandalwood giving it a more earthly feel. This is the perfume to have this summer to truly represent the best of British perfumes.
22 HEALTH&FOOD
Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
health.spark@reading.ac.uk
HEALTH Body Gossip comes to Reading sarah lienard
On May 30th, self-confidence campaign Body Gossip came to Reading in a performance devised and performed by the students themselves. The performance consisted of five short pieces portraying the students’ experiences with their own body image, from insecurities and fears, to acceptance, friendship and hope. The performance was organized by Anja Nielsen, who hoped that
the production would help to raise awareness and understanding of these sensitive issues. She said, “I think that there is still too much stigma surrounding eating disorders and mental health in general, so I thought a performance by students focused on our interpretations of body image would help the discussion on campus.” “University students are one of the most at-risk students for eating disorders, but hopefully by organizing this event we can help
Health swap Sarah Lienard
Simple tweaks can help keep you healthy, and you don’t have to give up the foods that you love! As the weather heats up, we’re looking at ice cream bars to find the best picks to cool you down in the heat, and the ones that are best avoided. Fruit lollies are a great choice too, especially if they’re made with real fruit juice, but we looked at some chocolate and icecream combinations for a really indulgent treat.
Eat this... Asda Smart Price Choc Ice - 92 calories, 7.4g sugar, 6.2g fat, 5.4g sat fat
With under 100 calories and a respectable sugar and fat content, this cheap treat will be good for your waistline and your wallet.
Or this…
Cornetto Enigma Vanilla Almond - 180 calories, 14g sugar, 10g fat, 7g sat fat
More exciting than an original cornetto, the Enigma is more of an indulgence than the choc ice, but, in moderation, it’s still a decent chocolate fix.
Not that! Magnum Infinity Chocolate and Caramel - 270 calories, 22g sugar, 18g fat, 13g sat fat
Yes, they’re delicious, but given the sugar and fat content, it’s best to keep Magnums as an occasional treat!
students realize they aren’t alone and have lots of people to turn to.” The transition from home to university can be stressful, bringing a variety of pressures and anxieties, and a whole new peer group to try and fit into. Some students may use food to regulate their emotional difficulties, which can in turn lead to eating disorders. The fear of being rejected or judged can mean that students find it hard to confide in anyone at their new university, so it’s important that students know that there are plenty of people that they can trust. Body Gossip is a campaign that aims to challenge common perceptions of body image, promoting the recognition and acceptance of natural beauty. Through thinking more and talking openly about their bodies, Body Gossip aims to help students worry less about their body image in the future. Body Gossip on Tour involves running a writing competition to gather a truthful picture of how students at the university view themselves and their bodies, then developing this material into a the script for a theatre production.
The performance was held in the Van Emden Theatre from 7.30-8, with live music from 7pm from musician Jamie Strand. The performance was engaging and insightful, offering a glimpse into the private thoughts of the students on beauty, the media, and themselves. Anja thanked everyone involved with the event, “We’ve had a number of students throughout the year work with
us, plus loads of help from Student Run Self Help members, Women’s Campaign members, and other awesome students who are willing to share their experience.” The Student Run Self Help is a group on campus that helps students who are struggling with eating disorders, creating a confidential environment to talk. Drop into the Carrington Building for more information and support.
volved standing on exercise resistance bands and gripping them in our hands, then waddling around the room like penguins. For such a ridiculous looking exercise, this really but really burned the glutes (bum!) after a while. My initial image of Pilates as a relaxing exercise wasn’t altogether wrong, though. I walked out of the class feeling a lot more calm than I had walked in feeling, and this was during exams! Obviously being in a group really helps to ensure that you’re doing the movements correctly and
getting the most out of your workout, but for anyone that doesn’t have a gym membership, there’s a ton of great books and free Youtube videos that you could try, such as ‘Pop Pilates’. If you’re doing it on your own though, be sure to pay close attention to your posture and breathing, following the instructions given , in order to avoid injury. Overall, I’d recommend Pilates to anyone who wants to build some strength and stability, or as a great complimentary class to a cardio routine.
Class review: Pilates Sarah Lienard
Pilates is often cited by the rich and famous as the reason for long, toned limbs, so I was excited to give it a go at Reading’s Sportspark. The class I decided to go for was at 12pm on a Tuesday, as I couldn’t face any of the early morning starts! I wasn’t too worried, as I thought Pilates was meant to be relaxing and gentle - barely a workout at all. I was wrong. At first glance the moves look easy, but as the instructor, Jean, explained, it’s all about isolating different muscle groups to work specific areas individually. As you’re working the muscles that aren’t usually used, some of the moves that look simple are actually very difficult, provided that you are using the correct form. The movements themselves are slow and sustained, and require a lot of core strength, so it’s great for your stomach and stability. Jean was brilliant at explaining each technique, and after identifying me as a newbie, came over several times during the class to explain which muscles we were working and generally help me out. The best part of the class in-
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
health.spark@reading.ac.uk
HEALTH&FOOD 23
Food
Five tips from the kitchen frontline Renate Cumming-Benson
In no other room in a shared house or halls do we learn more about our friends than the kitchen. Bear in mind the following and you are sure to spend your uni days in domestic bliss.
Eating other people’s food without asking is unacceptable… It’s all too tempting to use a bit
of coffee here, a bit of margarine there, but eating away at your housemate’s food is annoying, and doesn’t go unnoticed. If you are really out of food, then ask nicely, if they won’t oblige and you like the coffee they buy that much, buy your own.
gauge how much is in there is just a little ridiculous. Being anal is as bad as being a food thief, after all, who likes sharing a kitchen with a friend who doesn’t trust them?
…But there is such thing as being too miserly
Food rotting in the fridge, or in your baking dish on the sideboard for two weeks won’t kill anyone, but it is gross and will undoubtedly cause arguments between housemates. Clean your dishes as you go along, likewise the shelf in your fridge, and feel the hostile kitchen atmosphere disappear.
Labelling your food is one thing, but marking your bottles of milk to
Perishables are called perishables for a reason
..But taking matters into your own hands can backfire I once had a housemate who went on and on about people not washing up their dishes and went as far as to throw away my friend’s £80 Le Creuset pot because it had mould in it (well, she got as far as the bin before I stopped her citing the value of the kitchenware she was about to place in the garbage). Yeah, so you think your housemates are slobs, but you can’t control their behaviour. Throwing away people’s pots and pans is a step too far. Just slip this article
Easy and healthy: quiche recipe Rebecca Lord
Ingredients For the pastry 175g plain flour 100g cold butter , cut into pieces 1 egg yolk
For the filling 200g pack smoked bacon 50g grated cheese 200ml crème fraîche 200ml greek style yoghurt 3 eggs 1 medium onion
Method
To make the pastry, mix the flour, butter and egg yolk with four tablespoons of cold water into a food processor. Place mixture on a floured surface, rolling the dough out until it fits the size of your dish. Grease the edges of the tin, and carefully press the pastry into the tin. Prick the pastry and place in the fridge for ten to fifteen minutes. Heat the oven to around 200 degrees. Cut out some silver foil into the size of the base of the tin, and place dried baking beans on top. Bake in the oven for fifteen minutes, remove the foil and beans and cook for a further five minutes. While the pastry case cools, fry the chopped onion and bacon on a low heat, making sure not to crisp the bacon. In a bowl, mix the crème fraîche, and fold in the yoghurt. Carefully add the eggs, whisking until well mixed. Combine the onion and bacon with the mixture and pour into the pastry case, topping it with the cheese. Serve with a fresh mixed salad.
under their nose and they might take the hint.
Your housemate is a veggie? So what? You love meat pies, she prefers tofu, you’re a vegan, he’s carnivore of the century. However your housemates eat, it’s their business and as long as they aren’t hurting anyone they are entitled to eat how they want free from annoying comments. And for the record, your veggie friend has probably
been eating Quorn for about 10 years and does not wish to “just eat a big, juicy steak”, or answer nightly questions about how she gets her nutrients (met anyone protein deficient? No, neither have I).
And finally, the obvious... Don’t leave dirty washing up for weeks on the side, use other people’s things without asking or worse, break them. Follow basic common sense and you’ll be fine!
Berry good Sarah Lienard
Here’s an easy smoothie recipe to try for a fruity summer treat.
Ingredients 1 cup berries of any type 1 small banana (6”) 1 cup vanilla or plain yogurt 1/2 cup skim milk or more if needed + 1/2 cup ice cubes
Whizz all the ingredients together in a blender, adding more milk if necessary to get it to the desired consistency.
Other ideas to try...
Try substituting the berries for mango or orange for a tropical flavour, coconut milk for an exotic treat, or try adding grated ginger for a kick start in the morning.
24 ADVERTISEMENT
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Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
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Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
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GAMING 23
GAMING
Max Payne 3: Mad Max is back
Paul Owen
If Max Payne 2 was The Fall of Max Payne, then Max Payne 3 is Max at rock bottom. He starts the game in a purgatorial funk, bodyguard to a Brazilian industrialist and his family of rich playboys and politicians, drinking his way through the days - the end of chapter one sees him lurching around his apartment, throwing up in the kitchen sink and then crying himself to sleep - while we listen along to his internal monologue.
For a while though, it seems as though time has been surprisingly kind to Max Payne, the thirdperson shooter with Bullet Time that first graced our screens in 2001. It hasn’t changed much since then, even with the transition from Remedy to new developer Rockstar Vancouver, and when paramilitaries start violently abducting Max’s employers that turns out to be just fine. Max may have piled on the pounds and lost his self-respect, but his iconic Shoot Dodge hasn’t aged badly at all. Tooled up with a pair of pistols or Uzis and faced with a room full of enemies, Max can throw himself out of cover in slow motion, diving through the air and nailing his adversaries one by one. When life snaps back to normal speed, they all fall down. (And if for some reason they haven’t, Max can lie there on the floor, twisting around as you swivel your gun-sights, firing away until you drag him back to his feet.)
Max may have piled on the pounds and lost his self-respect, but his iconic Shoot Dodge hasn’t aged badly at all Max Payne 3 is at its best when Rockstar contrives interesting Shoot Dodge scenarios, which usually involve jumping off something, like a balcony or a ramp, so that Max can hang in the air longer and puncture more enemies. My favourite is the sequence early on where Max is downing scotch in a nightclub VIP lounge when paramilitaries appear out of nowhere and snatch his boss’s wife. With no hesitation, Max bulls the nearest guy backwards through the glass
wall overlooking the dance floor, and then soars through the smoky air, firing all the way down and using the bad guy to cushion his landing.
Max can also slow down time without diving around, using up his rechargeable Bullet Time meter in the process, and the health system is also familiar - a grey silhouette of Max that fills up with blood until you pop some painkillers. One change is that Max can now snap to cover, and this becomes more important later in the game as you move through car parks, offices, docks, hotels and alleyways swimming with enemies who won’t go down easily. The biggest difference from previous entries in the series is that now we’re in more expensively assembled car parks, offices, docks, hotels and alleyways, infused with the sort of fine-grain environmental detail we’ve come to expect from Rockstar’s worlds. A slow walk through a Sao Paolo favela halfway through the game is almost on a par with Uncharted 2’s stroll through a Tibetan village; as Max prowls the alleys in a bad Hawaiian shirt, street kids play football on a rundown basketball court, startled mothers rush to close wooden shutters, and gang members stalk the player’s shadows with AK-47s. But all this polish can only sustain your enjoyment for so long when it’s punctuated by such repetitive and increasingly frustrating combat. Even on the regular difficulty setting, using Shoot Dodge - the most entertaining thing about being Max Payne - soon becomes impractical due to the weight of enemy numbers and their pinpoint accuracy. We’ve learned to cope with the occasional balancing issue in a vast Grand Theft Auto game, but the difficulty spikes and checkpointing mistakes in Max Payne 3 betray Rockstar’s lack of experience in pure thirdperson shooters. After a few respawns, the game gives you some extra painkillers, suggesting even Rockstar realised its game wasn’t perfectly weighted. Little niggles quickly start to pile up, too. When cut-scenes finish, the game switches you
back to a single pistol, forcing you to fumble with the inventory every time you retake control. Enemies hurl grenades in your direction to force you out of cover, but you don’t get grenades of your own. And enemies take far too many bullets to go down. You can understand them getting back to their feet in body armour - however annoying it is - but when they’re wearing shorts and a T-shirt?
Little niggles quickly start to pile up One success is Rockstar’s decision to stop telling the story using graphic novel panels and bring in cut-scenes and interactive sequences instead. You can understand why: the developers now have the technology and budget to do aerial shots of Sao Paolo from a helicopter, or to let you stumble after your partner Passos through the guts of a football stadium while you nurse a gunshot wound and he beats up and disarms your enemies. It’s more immersive, more spectacular and, of course, more Rockstar, although the overuse of split-screen can be slightly grating, just admit you were trying to be man on fire and be done with it.
And, whether they admit to it or not, it wouldn’t be a Rockstar game without some gratuitous violence. For them we have super slow-motion deaths that come at the end of a sequence of
enemies, or whenever you take a critical hit. These allow you to fire repeatedly at a stricken adversary and watch in gory close-up as your bullets cut through their eyes, cheeks, nose and mouth. Elsewhere, multiplayer has a bunch of decent ideas, like a Gang Wars mode that feeds back into the campaign to some extent, and the way Shoot Dodge is implemented so that it traps you and your line-of-sight target in a brief window of slow motion, but otherwise it’s all fairly predictable: perks, XP, custom loadouts, revenge kills, and tweaked versions of capture-and-hold, deathmatch, capture-the-flag and other common modes. Console players can regulate the difficulty level by choosing between Hard and Soft Lock for aiming, or going for completely free aim. Various achievements are blocked off for people who take the Hard Lock (easy) route. It’s also possible to play the game in Arcade mode, as a score-attack, and New York Minute, where you start with 60 seconds on the clock and get extra time for every enemy you kill.
it wouldn’t be a Rockstar game without some gratuitous violence
Max’s new shirt was the talk of the town
Max unfortunately is not as well-served by the game around him as he used to be. At one point you’re in a New Jersey flashback and Max is fleeing the mob when he’s interrupted by a neighbour, a bearded anarchist in his underwear, who joins in on your side. It’s a little burst of the unexpected, a glimpse of the world going on outside of your crosshairs, and as you pick through his apartment afterwards, sifting through newspaper clippings and half-built bombs, you’re reminded that Max Payne used to have a lot of that. Max Payne 3 has flashes of it - a football player gunned down in a nightclub pops up in a memorial a few levels later - but not really enough.
all this polish can only sustain your enjoyment for so long What it has in abundance, though, is expensive-looking environments for Max to dive around in and then talk to himself, and that’s just about enough to keep you going for as long as it takes to settle the score. All the same, you can’t escape the feeling that Rockstar just isn’t as good at a pure thirdperson shooter as it is with the open worlds of Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption, although they can only improve.
7.5/10
26 SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY scitech.spark@reading.ac.uk
Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY
Stem cells could restore vision Source: Aarizav [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons Laura Brierley
Stem cells are an important field of medical research. They may hold the promise to cure many diseases but they are fiercely debated for moral and ethical reasons. The first eye stem cell transplant in the UK was recently completed, demonstrating a potentially life changing use of this technique. The treatment was developed and performed as part of a clinical trial in Edinburgh, the home of stem cell research in the UK.
“It is vital that we continue to invest in innovative projects such as this one”, said Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon The trial involved transplanting cells from a deceased donor
onto the cornea of the patient. The recipient was a woman who suffers corneal blindness, a genetic condition. The condition is degenerative, eventually resulting in complete loss of sight. The aim of the treatment was to restore her sight and if successful could provide hope for millions of others suffering with this disease. “It is vital that we continue to invest in innovative projects such as this one”, said Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon.
Stem cells are described as immature cells that have yet develop the characteristics or functions of a particular cell. The process by which these cells mature is called differentiation.
The results of the transplant will not be known for a few months. However this research demonstrates the potential for the use of stem cells in medicine. This research is pioneering and stem cells like these can hold a promise to cure many diseases facing the human race.
The immature cells, so-called pluripotent cells, can be manipulated to develop into any cell for any part of the body. Therefore it may be possible to replace diseased cells with healthy ones that have the same make up as a persons’ own cells. This in turn would reduce tissue rejection from the transplanted tissue.
Stem cells often receive mixed reviews in the press and encounter negative reactions despite the promise of potentially groundbreaking new treatments.
Everyone has seen the picture of the mouse with the human ear growing from its back
Despite the promise, stem cell research is a moral, religious and ethical ‘can of worms’. Even
scientists are divided in their research and potential uses. The idea of stem cells can seem a bit Frankenstein. Everyone has seen the picture of the mouse with the human ear growing from its back. In some ways it can appear that scientists are playing God in creating chimeras such as these and one could ask whether this right.
Legislation exists to preventing the science from going too far Stem cells are now mostly grown in a ‘test tube’ in a laboratory environment and incubating human tissue in animals is becoming rarer. Pluripotent cells can be obtained from various sources. Embryos is one and human bone marrow is another, or as in the case of this recent corneal stem cell transplant, the cells were retrieved from a deceased donor. Stem cells derived from fertilised embryos have been controversial, spurring debate into when exactly life actually begins and whether is it right to fertilise human eggs just for the purpose of advancing medical science. It is an argument that has many sides and each
individual will have their own opinion. The stem cells from these
sources are each suited to use for different conditions so we should not rely solely on one source. Despite the arguments against stem cell research, there is a large amount of government legislation surrounding what scientists can do. This goes some way to preventing the science from going what could be considered too far. There is no doubting that stem cells are an important area of research in the medical field. The advantages to their use are phenomenal. One day they could even provide treatments to terminal conditions such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
With the potential of stem cells is the moral argument negligible? The development of the corneal stem cell transplant is the just the tip of the iceberg of the uses for this technique worldwide. There are obvious concerns with stem cells. The division exists between scientists, religious leaders and the general public alike but with the potential of stem cells is the moral argument negligible?
Tastier tomatoes through genome sequencing This will allow cultivation of new varieties of tomato possessing desirable improved traits such as improved fruit size, quality and pest resistance, without the need for specialised films, plant growth hormones or using GM technologies as seen in the USA.
Image source: fir0002 [CC-BYSA-3.0 (www.creativecommons. org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Tom Hill
The recent sequencing of the genome of the domestic tomato plant has given growers the ability to identify the specific genes that control flavour, fruit quality other beneficial traits.
Farmers had to make a choice between fruit size and fruit quality Previously, when growing fruits, farmers had to make a choice between fruit size and fruit quality; two forms of films are used in polytunnels (commercial greenhouses): to either blocks UV light or promote UV light. The first increases fruit size, reduces the need for pesticides and improves shelf life at the cost of nutritional quality (fewer
flavonoids, anti-oxidants etc). UV enhancing films on the other hand, have the opposite effect, improving fruit taste and quality but sacrificing shelf life and fruit size.
It should be possible to have tomatoes that last a long time and are much tastier GM technologies have been rejected in the EU since the 1990s, due to the negative public reaction, and the simple selective breeding of modern fruit is too clumsy to bring together the hundreds of genes involved with flavouring and crop quality. Fruit has previously been selected for fruit size, with little knowledge about how flavours and side products (such as
cancer preventing anti-oxidants, like anthocyanins) are actually produced in the fruits. The sequencing of the tomato genome will also help with preparations for the future. Isolating genes relatng to environmental resistance can help protect plants from rising global temperatures, floods and droughts which are increasing annually.
Simple selective breeding of modern fruit is too clumsy These improvements are calculated to save the tomato industry over $30 billion annually and could lead to an improvement in consumer lifestyle. Professor Graham Seymour, a scientist on the project, stated: “Now that we have the genome it will be possible
to actually target the genes that control flavour separately from those that control shelf life. So it should be possible in the very near future to have tomatoes that last a long time but develop a very dark red colour, are full of phytochemicals and are much tastier.”
Spark*
SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY scitech.spark@reading.ac.uk 27
Friday 8 June 2012
Spark* looks at tech tantrums In other Vinay Chauhan
The digital age has ushered in a new era of tantrums where strange toys are being thrown out of prams the world over. What am I on about? Well software patents is one lively area. There has been rapid escalation in the amount litigation over software patents, and on a scale that has now officially (declared by me) become ridiculous.
It was very much like the age old metaphor of trying to kill a fly with a bazooka Companies are throwing law suits at each other all over the place for the smallest, alleged, infringement of code. Or in most cases vague notions of accomplishing something with an equally vague concept on how to do it. The battlegrounds are courts around the world, although the USA is seeing most of the fighting mostly because of its large market share, but also because of its shoddy patent application system that allows for such ridiculousness. This has meant an arms race has been initiated, a cold war of the software industry. It seems every week there is a new story about a big name company acquiring patents from smaller companies to add to its arsenal. All the big names are culprits, Microsoft, Google etc. Of course they say that they are doing it for defence against litigation not to start them but that doesn’t mean their actions are any less destructive. The patent system, once idealistically created to protect ideas enough to encourage people to have more of them, is starting to backfire - evidenced by a recent ruling by a German court that allows Motorola to get an injunction on the import or sale of Xbox 360s in Germany. The system needs changing, that is for certain, otherwise these tantrums will completely kill innovation in what is the fastest growing industrial sector, not to mention the impact it has on our everyday lives. Too many will be too scared to step on the toes of a giant and be crushed in return: they simply won’t bother creating. Whilst existing law may be a detriment to the technology world it’s not exactly safe from proposed ones either.
news
ACTA is another way the way the media industry in America is having its tantrum felt The tantrum space is also occupied by the media industry, notably the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Although an American organisation their tantrums have real repercussions to us here in Europe and even as far out to New Zealand, as the recent Megaupload debacle shows. They have tried to combat digital piracy with some serious lobbying and dollar spending. They introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act to the US house of representatives and senate respectively. The major criticisms of these Acts were the sheer amount of control and censorship they afforded to those who felt their IP was being infringed. Free speech was under attack and that it was so wide ranging many legitimate entities like libraries were in fear of being caught out. The rules considered in the bill are seen as too draconian, with it needing only a single infringing file, on a largely innocent site, to allow the authority to take down the entire site. The new law would also bypass the current ‘safe harbour’ rule that allows most of the internet to currently continue to run within US law. It was very much like the age old metaphor of trying to kill a fly with a bazooka. Too much collateral was in danger. The internet rallied against this in a huge way. Significant protests by Google and Wikipedia helped highlight the issue enough for the American public to make some noise to their politicians. Commercial entities that signed their name in support, like GoDaddy, backtracked when mass boycotts of its services occurred.
Civil liberty groups have been left out of draft discussions ACTA is another way the way the media industry in America is having its tantrum felt. It is seen as a sneak attack to get these incredibly biased and dubious laws into force. The backhanded nature of the ACTA agreement
Transit of Venus
Observers all around the world during 5-6 June to watch the planet Venus move across the face of the Sun, as viewed from Earth. Transits helped 17th and 18th century astronomers work out fundamental facts about the solar system. Such planetary transits are important even today, as they aid the discovery of worlds orbiting distant stars. The next transit of Venus will not be for another 105 years.
An ACTA from God? has attracted much criticism and protest within EU countries. The main objection is the complete monopoly of those who have a say. Civil liberty groups have been left out of draft discussions and various other entities that would overall provide for a balanced drafting process.
That piracy creates poverty, crime, child labour and the loss of is simply a lot of scaremongering Kader Arif, chief rapporteur of ACTA for the EU parliament, added more weight to its impending destruction by resigning due to lack of transparency of the process. ACTA isn’t quite on the extreme end of the spectrum (although within it is the criminalising of generic medicine by encompassing them as counterfeit), but it does represent one more step towards
the slippery slope, and we are getting awfully close. The recent pressure against ACTA in Europe seems to be working, as three committees so far have rejected adopting the treaty. A full vote of the EU parliament is penned in for July, and that’s where is really counts. The tantrums the US media industry are throwing have some validity, however they are massively overplaying the harm that digital piracy can do. Their message that piracy creates poverty, crime, child labour and the loss of the beloved ‘American jobs’ is simply a lot of scaremongering and disinformation. The UK may seem safe for now from draconian copyright laws making their way in, but the pressure from America and the growing pressure from our own media industry is gaining momentum. Even if some of these laws are only passed in America, our surfing habits will definitely be affected in a big way, and not for the better.
Want to write for Spark* Science & Technology in 2012/2013? We’d love to hear from you! Get in touch: scitech.spark@reading.ac.uk
IPv6 is here
As part of World IPv6 Launch Day on 6 June several companies switched to IPv6 at 00:01 GMT. The new standard replaces IPv4 and makes available trillions of new IP addresses. Experts say that users should not notice any difference.
Help for Trypanophobes
A new magnetic jet injection device could mean needle-free injections. Reminiscent of Star Trek “hyposprays”, the device injects a high pressure jet of medicine painlessly through the skin. It is also safer, as it means fewer injuries as a result of accidental pricking.
28 TRAVEL
Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
travel.spark@reading.ac.uk
trAvel Students’ 2,000-mile charity hitch-hike Susan Farrell
Last month, three first year University of Reading students returned from a mammoth charity trip across Europe, which involved hitch hiking 40 lifts through eight countries and covering just under an epic 2,000 miles. Ruth Triggs (19), Tom Moore (20) and Susan Farrell (20) are one group of many students who took part in the Croatia/Morocco hitch to raise money for Link Community Development; an organisation which works with all levels of the education system in African countries to improve local communities and lives. They commented, “The hitchhike to Croatia was certainly challenging but the rewards outweighed any negatives by miles. Waiting for a lift could be quite gruelling- it could take up to five hours and we weren’t always in the safest location.
Waiting for a lift could be quite gruelling - but the rewards outweighed any negatives by miles “At one point we were actually picked up by a couple of narked French authorities because we were desperately trying to get to a service station by crossing a dangerous busy road after a particularly tough day” “But we experienced so much in those 20 days; indulging in the best
cafés Paris has to offer, socialising with the locals over a game of petanque in Belgium, enjoying the beautiful architecture of Amsterdam, casually attending an Easter cocktail party in a German penthouse apartment and also rafting, swimming and rowing in the stunning and rather understated area of Bled in Slovenia.”
“It’s an incredibly liberating experience, you meet so many people from all walks of life.” “I’d recommend the hitch to anyone because it’s for such a great cause and it’s an incredibly liberating experience, you meet so many people from all walks of life and learn to relax even when you have no idea which country you’re going to be sleeping in that night. Despite what people think hitch-hiking is actually very safe, as long as you use your common sense and don’t do something silly like getting into the back of a fish van.” 2012 marks the 20th year of the Hitch, which has seen an incredible 7,500 people taking part in what is now the UK’s largest hitch event, raising over a whooping £3,500,000 for Link. Furthermore, there have been no serious incidents since its introduction thanks to a strict safety framework and a dedicated team at the LCD office.
Each hitcher had to raise a minimum of £375 for the charity and it really is a cheaper, more flexible and much more exciting alternative to interrailing. Additionally, you don’t have to go for as long as this group did - most go for 10 days and still have many stories to share. One of the biggest draws is that there are a wide range of fun ways to raise the money needed, as this group found when they started their journey in Reading city centre dressed as a banana and a penguin..! “Link remains a leading organisation in the field of school partnerships. Our Link Schools Programme supports partnerships between schools in England/Wales and schools in Africa. By bringing a global dimension to teaching and learning, linking can enrich the curriculum.” “Our support for schools includes communication between schools, themed curriculum resources, reciprocal visits and opportunities for structured fundraising.” (LCD 2012) If you could spare a few pounds for this great cause then you can donate by Susan’s fundraising page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving. com/SusanFarrell1 before the 15th June. Alternatively, if you’d like to donate directly to the charity or if this challenge appeals to you then please feel free to visit the following website for more information: http://www.lcdinternational.org/
ABOVE: Right to left, Tom, Ruth and I hitch-hiking in Croatia. (WE came across another group here who took this Photo for us)
ABOVE: Croatia: Zadar to Zagreb - stuck here for many hours before realising the motorway here towards Zagreb was closed!
ABOVE: HitCh-hiking from THE outskirts of Paris. WE had to camp at this petrol station as we got stuck!
It’s summer!
DONNING THE BANANA SUIT TO GET TO HOLLAND...
Bled, Slovenia- A TRULY beautiful place but SADLY rubbish weather at the time! After two weeks OF SOLID hitching, this was our first proper break as we stayed here for two nights. Also WE learnt that OUR tent wasn’t waterprooF...
Thank you to all of our contributors during the year, and to our readers. We hope that you’ve enjoyed finding out about the highs and lows of travelling and volunteering on a budget, recounted by our own students! Happy holidays, from Simon, Travel Editor.
travel.spark@reading.ac.uk
Spark* Friday 11 May 2012
editor.spark@reading.ac.uk
LETTERS 29
Letters & Events
A letter from SEECC: you can still get careers support after you’ve graduated Looking for a job or need help with your career decision-making? SEECC offers a new service to Reading graduates. The Student Employment, Experience and Careers Centre (SEECC) is launching a new, dedicated service for graduates. If you are a graduating student, this will bring you the careers and vacancy resources, help and information that you need. SEECC is encouraging all graduating students to contact them as soon as possible at graduatecareers@reading.ac.uk in order to book in for a one-to-one careers session with a Careers Adviser. The one-to-one service is only available for six months after graduation – so it’s vital that you take up this opportunity as soon as possible. Permanent careers provision for graduates includes skills presentations and workshops, with many sessions delivered through webinars – providing easier access for those graduates that can’t make it back onto campus. There will also be a range of online resources, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – as well as a regular e-bulletin to promote vacancies that employers want to advertise
directly to Reading graduates. Details of all the vacancies can be found on the jobs vacancies board, but to access this once you have graduated you will need to register first: www.reading.ac.uk/seecc/ graduate/register/. SEECC will be open for most of the summer – if you are staying in Reading come across to the 1st Floor of the Carrington Building. Just call on 0118 378 8359 to check appointment times and the opening hours. Help on a huge variety of issues is offered - whether you have an interest in a job sector but don’t know where to start, need help with your applications, can’t decide between different options or have an interview coming up and feel a little nervous. Come in to the Carrington Building and get help from a member of the team – there is even a dedicated Careers Adviser for graduating students. In the meantime, a few key pointers for graduating students. Don’t forget that you will be a graduate from the University of Reading – which is a valuable asset in the current economic climate. The University of Reading is targeted by employers, with thousands of adverts a year placed on the SEECC jobs board - showing that
employers are specifically choosing Reading students and graduates as their future recruits. However, it’s crucial that you tailor your CV when making applications – blanket applications do not work. Employers want to feel that you want them too! Look at the job profile and the person specification and address all the key points. Make sure your CV is professional, succinct and clear – recruiters will often only skim read applications – so you need to make an excellent first impression. Look for jobs that will make the most of your relevant experience and include this in your applications. If you are interested in a job that you don’t have relevant experience for, then make sure you get it! If you’re not sure how, contact SEECC to ask for help. Finally - whatever you do, don’t panic. Although there is a lot in the press about graduate unemployment, there is also a significant number of jobs out there – especially if you have broadened your experience through work experience, sports, society activities or volunteering. Contact SEECC for help in finding the career you are looking for – graduatecareers@reading.ac.uk.
Graduate careers provision from SEECC
SEECC is here to help you take the next steps into a career or further study once you have graduated. We offer friendly and professional graduate support, including:
• •
Access to hundreds of immediate job vacancies from employers targeting Reading graduates Practical workshops to help you succeed with applications and develop your interview performance – delivered on campus and via webinars • An open invitation to attend employer workshops – as well as our largest recruitment event of the year – the Careers and Placements Fair, 1 November 2012 • A dedicated Graduate Careers Adviser to ensure that graduates receive well-researched and tailored information that is relevant to their needs and interests • One to one support for six months after graduation - whether in person, on the phone or via email Visit our website for full details and latest updates: www.reading.ac.uk/seecc/graduate/ and register for access to services and updates on graduate opportunities and vacancies www.reading.ac.uk/seecc/graduate/ register/ Need specific help? Contact us with your queries, comments or suggestions: Call us: 0118 378 8359 Email: graduatecareers@reading.ac.uk
Reading University Alumni: Graduation isn’t goodbye As the end of term approaches, we hope you are all looking forward to a well-deserved summer break. For those of you who are due to graduate in July – here is an advanced ‘congratulations’! Leaving the university often conjures mixed feelings. But did you know that graduation doesn’t have to mean goodbye? Once you leave, you become part of a network of over 100,000 Reading graduates – aka ‘alumni’ - worldwide who are in touch with the university. You may no longer be studying here, but you still matter to us, and our team in the
Development and Alumni Relations Office will ensure that you can still enjoy the benefits of being part of the University of Reading community. Every September, we will send you Connected Magazine, which is packed with the latest news and a range of stories which will make you feel proud to be a Reading grad. The magazine is complimented by the email newsletter, Connected Online, four times a year too, so you will never feel out of touch. Until then, why not join in the conversations on Facebook (search ‘University of Reading
Alumni’) and Twitter (@UniRdg_ Alumni)? We regularly post details of events, headline stories from the university and pictures of campus. We always love hearing your stories, so please do tell us your news and we will publish it in our media! And if you are not graduating this summer, just let us know if you want to be added to the magazine and newsletter mailing list Have a fantastic summer. Laura Garman Alumni Communications Officer
Does Spark* talk to you? If not, talk to us! Email: editor.spark@reading.ac.uk
Any praises, comments, suggestions or complaints are always welcome
P.O. Box 230, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AZ Vol 60. Issue 3
Editorial Staff
Editor:
Sophie Elliott editor.spark@reading.ac.uk
Deputy Editor:
Calum Rogers deped.spark@reading.ac.uk
News Editor:
Chayya Syal news.spark@reading.ac.uk
News Sub-Editor:
Zoe Crook news.spark@reading.ac.uk
Comment Editors:
Jess Croppper and Sophie Harrison
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
Political Comment
Adam Roberts
Editor:
politics.spark@reading.ac.uk
Interview Editor:
Ellis Wheatley interview.spark@reading.ac.uk
Film, DVD & TV
Ellie Holland and Jack Marshall
Editors:
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
Music Editor:
Jamie Milton music.spark@reading.ac.uk
Music Sub-Editor:
Nia Thomas music.spark@reading.ac.uk
Science & Tech
David Thai and Vinay Chauhan
Editor:
scitech.spark@reading.ac.uk
Gaming Editor:
Tom Wood gaming.spark@reading.ac.uk
Arts&Books Editor:
Lucy Snow arts.spark@reading.ac.uk
Fashion Editors:
Katey Watkins and Poppy Nowicka
fashion.spark@reading.ac.uk
Beauty Editor:
Elle Turner
fashion.spark@reading.ac.uk
Travel Editor:
Simon Truscott travel.spark@reading.ac.uk
Health Editor:
Sarah Lienard health.spark@reading.ac.uk
Fun&Games Editor:
Paroma Guha
fun.spark@reading.ac.uk
Sport Editor:
Cameron Humphries
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
Head of PR:
Charlie Allenby pr.spark@reading.ac.uk
Art Director:
Piers Rudgard-Redsell
Spark* is written, designed & typeset by students at the University of Reading. Printed by Newbury News Limited, Newspaper House, Faraday Road, Newbury, Berkshire. RG14 2DW. Published and funded by Reading University Students’ Union - vp.studentactivites@rusu.co.uk. Spark* is completely editorially independent. Complaints should be made to the Editor, in the first instance, and thereafter to RUSU. All complaints should be made in writing. All articles, letters etc. must include a name, address, and contact number/e-mail address. These may be withheld from publication at specific request. Spark* or RUSU can take no responsibility for products or services advertised herein. Spark* reserves the right to reject or edit any submissions. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the Editor. The views expressed in Spark* do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, particularly those expressed in the comments pages, which are often the opinions of the specific authors. Photographs in Spark* are copyright to the photographer concerned.
30 FUN&GAMES
fun.spark@reading.
Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
fun&games
Spot the Difference 01
Can you spot the five differences between these two photographs?
Hello!
I’m the new Fun and Games editor for Spark*. A massive thank you to Chris Ryder who has handed over the section to me, three years and thirty-eight crosswords later. I hope I can live up to the legacy. Have fun! Paroma
Answers to last edition’s puzzles (11 May)
Bird Search Try to find this list of unusual birds in the wordsearch below.
One Flew Over Speaking of birds, can you lead the cuckoo back to its clock?
F F A H C F F I H C N O M M O C Y H N B V S P
D Z U M E A S T E R N M E A D O W L A R K Q F
T X V B S P E C K L E D M O U S E B I R D M D
M B U S T N X R E V A E W D E L C A T C E P S
T L E Q L B Q U Q R R K J U M F H C K C B H F
O R Y M R R J M K W J F H B B L A C K C A P T
K R E N B L F L U Z X Z I B M K D T S T I J K
R E K R A B Y S S I N I A N N I G H T J A R X
Abyssinian Nightjar Grey Wagtail Blackcap Guillemot Blue Manakin Kea Common Chiffchaff Limpkin Cut-throat Finch Little Auk
H L C W E L I A T G A W Y E R G P G C W H V I
C O A B I H L M G B L U E M A N A K I N P X G
N I L P W H T X A O T K D P C W X N S L I Q L
I R B E F T I A B D L D L E O X S D A L W A U
F O N S H U U B G G X D S I V R X D F I H K K
T N I M G S P J Y A P O C Z H T V H F B O Q O
A E A K K R Q K L Y D F C R X L J I R Y X X O
O D T R O Z P R O F Q O X Z E O E N O R E U X
R L N O O P Y Z P G E M O R P S W O N W N K H
H O U D L X U Z C N Y D B W C S T F F Z R V N
T G O G W K U A E L T T I L E O V C I U A I V
K E M L X R S C E R X G U K E R Z L N H E S S
T I W O R R A P S A E S D A E D I J C N K X Q
U J L L N G V I S C T P V M R Z D F H Q F Z C
C K Z N G U I L L E M O T T L I M P K I N T H
Dead Sea Sparrow Mountain Blackeye Eastern Meadowlark Saffron Finch Firewood-gatherer Speckled Mousebird Goldcrest Spectacled Weaver Golden Oriole Wrybill
Spark* Friday 8 June 2012
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
SPORT 31
European Championships
Definitive preview of the Euro championships in Poland and Ukraine Cameron Humphries
The 14th European Championships gets underway in Poland this evening as Poland face Greece in Warsaw.
The 14th European Championships gets underway in Poland this evening
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain making the decision to not travel to the tournament due to fears.
the star man while other European heavyweights France and Italy will be keen to impress after suffering a dreadful World Cup in South Africa. Following England’s disastrous qualification campaign for Euro 2008 and a disappointing World Cup two years ago the country will be keen for an improved performance this time out.
Expectation is at its lowest in many a year and it is hoped England will thrive on this
Spain are defending
lence, an issue raised in a recent BBC documentary. The situation has been hotly debated in recent weeks with the families of both Theo Walcott and
These fears have been played down by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who recently stated, “We have a list of people who behaved aggressively at football matches. Their numbers are tiny, they are known to us and preventive measures will be taken” Hopefully at the end of the tournament we will be talking about a brilliant Championship’s and not one marred by racism and violence. It would take a brave man to bet against one of Spain, Holland or Germany winning the Euro’s but you never know, maybe England
Group B Denmark (80/1)
Group C Croatia (50/1)
Group D England (12/1)
It would be a huge upset if they were to get out of Group A, a shame for a side that has contained so much talent in the past, yet with Petr Cech in goal they have the potential for the miraculous.
A side that qualifies above Portugal cannot be underestimated however Denmark will do well to get out of this year’s proverbial group of death.
Disappointing qualifying campaign but it is still feasible that they scramble through the group stage, Spurs man Luka Modric will be the one to watch.
Germany (3/1)
Italy (16/1)
Greece (80/1)
Beaten by Spain in the semi finals in South Africa this German side has only improved, full of talent and grit this side will expect to go all the way.
As another scandal engulfs Italian football their preparation has been far from perfect, yet they may well offer a threat, the enigmatic Mario Balotelli could shine.
Netherlands (6/1)
Rep. of Ireland (80/1)
European and World
With 31 games across Poland and Ukraine over the next 23 days fans of football across Europe are in for a treat, with 16 sides vying to reach the final in Kiev on July 1. Spain are defending European and World Champions and are looking to become the first European side in history to win three major tournaments on the bounce. Joining them amongst the favourites are defeated World Cup finalists Holland and a vibrant Germany side. Portugal will hope for a strong showing, with Cristiano Ronaldo
However, expectation is at its lowest in many a year and it is hoped England will thrive on this. It has been a turbulent few months surrounding the top of English football, with John Terry being stripped of the England captaincy, Fabio Capello’s resignation, the media circus surrounding the manager’s job and now a series of injuries weakening new manager Roy Hodgson’s squad.
Group A Czech Republic (80/1)
The nation that ripped up the form book to win Euro 2004 should never be written off but it is hard to see the Greeks making much of an impact.
Poland (40/1) Impressive in friendlies, as cohosts they will expect to get out of the group and once that happens, with the firepower of Robert Lewandowski, anything could happen in a quarter final.
Russia (20/1) Semi finalists four years ago, this Russian side will expect to get out of the group, anything more than that will be a shock however.
Champions
Roy Hodgson: the man set to lead England into the championships Away from the pitch co-hosts Poland and Ukraine will be keen to impress and will hope to avoid any controversy, notably in the form of potential racism and hooligan vio-
Scoring goals for fun, and with the likes of Van Persie, Huntelaar, Robben and Sneijder the Dutch may well go one better than at the World Cup two years ago.
In their first major finals appearance the Republic of Ireland should not be written off, tough to beat the Irish rarely lose under manager Giovanni Trapattoni.
Portugal (18/1) They may not be favourites to progress yet no one will look forward to playing them. With players’ from a host of Europe’s top club, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo, it is hard to predict how far the Portuguese will go.
Spain (11/4)
Spain Captain Iker Casillas celebrates at Euro 2008
Euro 2012 Quiz 1. Which two teams finished their qualifying campaigns with 100% records? 2. Who is the most capped Czech international? 3. What was the former name of the European Championships? 4. True or False? In Euro 2004, Spain, Germany and Italy all got knocked out in the group stage. 5. In which year did Scotland appear in the European Championships for the first time?
Perhaps past their peak, even so must still be considered the best side on the planet with their mesmeric passing game. Loss of Villa is huge and the likes of Torres and Lorrente will be expected to step up.
With Wayne Rooney’s ban, injuries to Lampard, Barry and Cahill and a manager with only two games in the job, England will feel that anything more than the quarter finals is a resounding success.
France (9/1) Unbeaten in qualification the French have revitalised under Laurent Blanc following an awful World Cup. If the likes of Benzema, Ribery, Nasri and M’vila shine the French will go far.
Ukraine (50/1) Co-hosts with an array of talent this Ukrainian side will fight for every ball in an attempt to escape Group D, with a potentially crucial final group match against England.
Sweden (66/1) Still unbeaten against England in competitive international football the Swedes will fancy themselves to creep through the group stage, with the unpredictable Zlatan Ibrahimovic anything is possible.
6. In 1992 Denmark replaced which nation to compete in the Championships? 7. Which country failed to score a point and only scored one goal at Euro 2008? 8. At which European Championship was Alan Shearer top goal scorer? His five goals helping England reach the semi-finals. 9. What were the pre-tournament odds for Greece to win the European Championships in 2004? 10. What is the name of the trophy won at the European Championships?
Answers on bottom of back page
32 SPORT
Friday 8 June 2012 Spark*
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
SPORT Round 6: Monaco Grand Prix Inside...
European Championships Preview
Including predictions and Euro quiz
Webber wins as Ferrari’s Alonso leads pack Cameron Humphries
Championship standings After round 6 1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) 76 2. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) 73 3. Mark Webber (Aus) 73 4. Lewis Hamilton (Eng) 63 5. Nico Rosberg (Ger) 59 6. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) 51 7. Jenson Button (Eng) 45 8. Roman Grosjean (Fra) 35 9. Pasor Maldonado (Ven) 29 10. Sergio Perez (Mex) 22
Red Bull’s Mark Webber won the Monaco Grand Prix to make history in Formula One with six winners in the opening six races of the season for the first time.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber won the Monaco Grand Prix to make history The Aussie driver led from pole and controlled the race throughout, late rain threatened his position however Webber was assured in finishing marginally ahead of Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso. Sebastian Vettel came home in fourth while Lewis Hamilton finished 5th, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa rounding off the top six who were covered by a mere 6.1 seconds.
Felipe Massa rounded off the top six who were covered by a mere 6.1 seconds Jenson Button had a disappointing race, enduring a poor start which left him down the field before a late spin led to his retirement.
to the Spaniards ability inside a Formula One car. Next up is Canada, where Jenson Button pulled off that extraordinary victory in the rain twelve months ago.
It is a testament to the Spaniards ability inside a Formula One car Mark Webber celebrates two victories in three years in Monaco The street circuit is notoriously difficult to navigate at the best of times let alone when the rain comes down, and after threatening all afternoon light rain spat for the final laps of the race. Unfortunately for those hoping for late drama there was none, as the six drivers at the front of
the pack negotiated the course perfectly. In what has been a sensational opening to this Formula One season each race remains entirely unpredictable. Somehow, considering the car he has performed in, Fernando Alonso leads the championship after six races. It is a testament
If Formula One can deliver that sort of drama once again then fans are in for another brilliant weekend. Who knows, is it even possible that Formula One will continue to surpass itself and we will see a seventh different winner in seven races? It would come a no surprise.
Spark* round up: all the sport news in brief Cameron Humphries
Football Ferdinand snub shocks foot-
latest omission has left many, including Ferdinand stunned. Ferdinand went to his Twitter account to express his frustration, tweeting, ‘What reasons?????!!!’.
balling public The decision to omit Rio Ferdinand from the England squad once more has provoked outrage from many football commentators. Following the injury sustained by Gary Cahill in last Saturday’s friendly against Belgium Liverpool’s Martin Kelly was called up, a player with relatively no international experience compared to Ferdinand. Ferdinand has originally been left out of the squad for what manager Roy Hodgson labelled ‘footballing reasons’ however this
Hazard signs for Chelsea while Kagawa completes move to United Chelsea and Manchester United have ended two of the early summer transfer sagas by signing Eden Hazard and Shinji Kagawa. Hazard’s transfer fee is rumoured to be in the region of £32 million and the young Belgian will carry a lot of expectation into next season’s Premier League. The double French Player of the Year had strongly been linked with Manchester City and Manchester
United but eventually chose Chelsea following their Champions League win. Kagawa transfers from Borussia Dortmund following a sensation season in which the attacking midfielder scored 13 Bundesliga goals and led Dortmund to the title. The fee is said to be around £12 million although that could rise to £17 dependent on clauses, Kagawa will be the first Japanese player to play for United and should have a strong impact on the clubs support base in Japan.
Nicklaus’s record of 73 PGA Tour Titles. The former world number one ended up on nine under following a final round 67 to claim victory, yet it was his magic at the 16th that left most breathless. Woods chipped in at the 16th from deep rough, with a sloping green and water to contend with. Nicklaus described the shot as “one of the best I’ve ever seen”. Woods will now look to end a four year major drought at this months US Open.
Golf
Cricket
Is Tiger Woods back? Tiger Woods played an extraordinary shot on the 16th to win the Memorial Tournament and tie Jack
Keving Pieterson retires from ODI Cricket Last week Kevin Pieterson announced his retirement from
international limited overs cricket with immediate effect. The batsman is England’s sixth highest ODI run scorer in history and will be a big loss to the national side. Pieterson stated, “I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the World Cup in 2015,”. It now remains to be seen whether more players will follow suit with the growing demands of a packed calendar that includes Test, ODI and Twenty20 cricket. With the lucrative Indian Premier League in play and family concerns, it would come as no surprise if player’s begin to consider earlier retirement from certain forms of the game.
1. Germany and Spain 2. Karel Poborsky 3. European Nations Cup 4. True 5. Yugoslavia 6. 1992 7. France 8. 1996 9. 150-1 10. The Henri Delaunay Trophy