THE
V AUGHAN I DENTITY
DEC, 2014 ISSUE THREE
CONTRIBUTORS A BRIEF INTRODUCTION 3 EDITORIAL WORLD REPORTING 4-5 EDITORS - TAKES ON THE WORLD TOM McGRATH - GOOGLE THE CRITICS: ON THE SCREEN(S) 6-7 JEAN FRANCO - PEAKY BLINDERS JOSEPH MELLY - THE HUNGER GAMES THE CRITICS: ART 8 BEDE JOLY - ANSELM KIEFER TEACHER’S THOUGHTS: BOOKS 9 Ms BUGG - BOOKS OF THE YEAR THE CRITICS: GAMES 10 MARK SIMONS - ASSETTO CORSA MONTHLY MADNESS 11 FRANKIE DE SOUZA - BLACK FRIDAY MUSIC 12-13 JEAN FRANCO - THE RETURN OF JAZZ EDITORS - JUNIOR CONCERT REPORTING INDEPENDENT ARTICLES 14-15 KEVIN PAULRAJ - TOWER OF LONDON POPPY INSTALLATION GEORGE WHEAR - RED BULL: GIVES YOU WINGS? OLIVER PRITCHETT - THE MANTIS SHRIMP SPORT 16-17 TOM McGRATH - HAMILTON VICTORIOUS NATHANIEL SEWELL - HAMILTON VICTORY COVERAGE TECH TALK 18 FILIPPO GALDIOLO - AMAZON FIRE PHONE FOOD FOR THOUGHT 19 MR KELLY— QUOTES OF THE MONTH COMIC 20-21 PETER STRZALEK—STANECKI - WORLD’S EDGE
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JACK FRANCO 4NC is the co-editor of the newspaper. He has been writing for Lower School newspapers as the Politics writer for 3 years. 11francoja@cvms.co.uk JEAN FRANCO 4SS is the other editor at The Vaughan Identity . Jean has contributed to “CVMS Today” and “The Vaughan Identity” since 2011. 11francoje@cvms.co.uk TOM McGRATH 4NC is a sub-editor at the Lower School newspaper. Having joined this year, he is now a mainstay feature as the Page 4 politics writer. GEORGE WHEAR 4NC is a sub-editor. A specialist in independent articles and sport, he too is a regular writer this year. FILIPPO GALDIOLO 4NC is the Chief Technology writer. He has often written about upcoming new technologies, from cars to drones. JOSEPH STEWART 4SS is the Politics correspondent for the newspaper. He has also previously contributed as a sub-editor. BEDE JOLY 4SS is a sub-editor. He is also the main Culture & Arts correspondent for The Vaughan Identity. SAM LEAHY 4NC is the cover artist for The Vaughan Identity. He started in the September Issue, designing the Scottish Referendum front page. THE VAUGHAN IDENTITY CONTACT: TheVaughanIdentityOfficial@gmail.com SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS TO THIS EMAIL
Oh, by the way, we’ll soon be EDITORIAL - JACK & be in colour, so expect far more pictures and more elab- online. More news on that JEAN FRANCO By the time you’ll get this issue, it will be nearing Christmas - and The Vaughan Identity wishes you a good one. Although this issue will reach you during exam week, use it as a tool to relax before an exam. It’s far better not to think about an exam just before you enter the room. Good luck! “In other news”: from now on, The Vaughan Identity will
orate front pages. Where pos- soon! sible, we will try and alternate styles in formatting, as well as involving the School’s creative Please come to the library on any Thursday talents. Form period if you would In this issue, there’ll be a few like to contribute, or reviews on music, as well as contact Mr Garfath and coverage of Hamilton’s F1 Jack & Jean Franco. victory. Alongside this, we’ve got a passionate article about our generation’s greatest threat to privacy: Google.
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Our ‘Take’ on the World THE EDITORS 1. LASHES FOR BEING HAPPY In Tehran, Iran, seven citizens were arrested and sentenced to 6 months in jail, along with 91 lashes. All this for dancing along to Pharell Williams’ hit song ‘Happy’. Currently, Iran has a moderate Islamist government, lead by Hassan Rouhani—perhaps signalling a time of change after the previous and controversial president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This arrest was followed up by the imprisonment of another person—a woman—having fun. Ghoncheh Ghavami, a British national, was imprisoned for attending a men’s volleyball match between Italy and Iran.
Starting with satire and perhaps humorous headlines, we’ll try and get up-and-coming stories that have been in the news - stories we find mildly ironic, funny or downright absurd. However, there will always be formal reporting: things that we feel the public should know. For something a little more serious and informative look at our article on Google (just across the page. Go on, you know you want to).
2. UKIP PROVE ONCE AGAIN WHY THEY WON’T WIN THE ELECTION UKIP, as comic as ever, have hit out against the BBC. The Corporation started a poll on Mr Farage’s chances of being PM. Despite the overwhelming ‘No’ vote, the headline concerns the location: the poll was held outside our Westminster Cathedral—otherwise known to the UKIP branch as a ‘Mosque’. 3. ANOTHER UKIP GAFFE: ‘PERHAPS SIT IN A CORNER’ I’m sorry to bore you with more idiocies by our beloved Mr Farage, but this is priceless: according to the supreme leader of the glorious UK Independence Party, breastfeeding women should ‘perhaps sit in a corner’, if they were to do so in Public. The comment was made while on radio station LBC. 4. NAZI WAR CRIMINAL FOUND DEAD IN SYRIA Believe it or not, security forces in Syria have confirmed that a Nazi War Criminal, Alois Brunner, died 4 years ago in the Syrian Capital Damascus. Brunner was one of the keys to the beginning of Hitler’s final solution—the operation to exterminate all Jews and ‘lesser beings’. If he were alive now, Brunner would have been 102. During his time in Syria, Brunner served as an aide to previous President Hafez Al-Assad regarding interrogation mechanisms. 5. KIM JONG-UN ORDERS THOSE WITH SAME NAME TO CHANGE IT Kim Jong-Un, the grandson of the eternal leader of North Korea, Kim Il-Sung, has ordered anyone in the DPRK who shares his name to change it. Recently, Mr. Kim has been out of the public sphere due to a bout of gout. However, he shall continue to live on. 4
Dec, 2014 Issue 3
DOES ‘DON’T BE EVIL’ STILL APPLY TO GOOGLE? TOM McGRATH Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This saying may have come to encapsulate Google, and its increasing ethical ‘flexibility’, more than anyone ever imagined when it started as a humble search engine in 1998. Many, including myself, now argue it is time we saw through Google’s friendly public exterior and considered the implications of having such a monstrously powerful company at the forefront of our lives.
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with everything on the internet, no security system is perfect, and our data’s security is precarious. Google, in effect, enjoy a monopoly of the market. The idea that if you don’t want them knowing everything about you then you shouldn’t use their services is nonsense, and is an argument used by Google’s fans in the company’s defence. Their services are massively superior to their competition, meaning we have little choice but to become Google users. How often do you hear ‘I’ll Yahoo it’ or ‘I’ll Bing it’? The company’s services are so widely used that ‘Google’ has become a verb. Despite their success, they still don’t pay their taxes: they paid the paltry sum of £11.6 million to the UK government last year while making as much as £3.5 billion profit in the same period. Few people are shocked at the idea that a private company would have the resources and the desire to photograph every single road and house in the entire country, as Google have done with Street View. Photos of people’s houses, their cars and their neighbourhoods Google is the global internet company whom, every being planted onto the internet with no consultation or day, millions of people entrust with personal inforagreement speaks volumes about how little value mation. Google knows more about you than you do, Google attaches to individual people. We are simply a achieving this through: the careful logging of your human farm of valuable information. searches; what sites you look at (as well as how long This relaxed attitude to privacy continues with Googyou are on them and how frequently); what you watch le’s own product ‘Google Glass’. These glasses inon YouTube; all the info you enter in a Google accrease our dependency on technology; the wearer is count; trawling through your inbox. Through Android quite literally connected to Google all the time – on your phone, they can even log your location. You providing a potential goldmine of information about cannot prevent them doing this, even using ‘incognito’ or ‘safe’ modes (these only prevent records being kept on your computer - they are still kept by Google), and it all amounts to a scarily high level of intimate knowledge in this private company’s hands. Google get away with this for two reasons. Firstly, it’s all slipped into their ‘Terms and Conditions’ agreement. These ‘agreements’ are a way of getting anyone to sign up to anything, as no one ever has the time to read them. Secondly, Google’s uses for this information are, in themselves, harmless. They sell on this themselves. They create a climate of suspicion: the fear data for advertising revenue – this being how Google of being filmed at any time means it is difficult to talk makes most of its money. Yet, somehow, our data freely with those wearing them or, as they become ends up in many unlikely and disturbing places, as more widespread, anywhere. shown by the recent uncovering of NSA surveillance We end up with an ever-anxious ‘Hunger Games’ programs. Data is very difficult to destroy, so once it style population, all under the influence of a company exists it’s only a matter of time before it is stolen or so powerful it is beyond governments’ control. Permanipulated for something other than its original pur- haps Orwell was right: Big Brother does exist. His name pose. The threat of hacking is a constant concern, and is Google. while Google may see itself as our great protector, as Dec, 2014 Issue 3
The Critics
ON THE SMALL SCREEN PEAKY BLINDERS JEAN FRANCO It has been a long time since I've seen a truly good TV show. Long gone are the days of the great 'True Detective', 'Breaking Bad' or 'Mad Men', but now, we no longer have to wait months wasting our time in front of the Apprentice or I'm a Celebrity, because something truly good has come out. Most of you won’t agree with me, but please: give me a chance to persuade you.
Murphy is countered by another Irishman, Sam Neill, who plays the role of Major Chester Campbell, agent of the crown sent to clean up the streets of Birmingham. The rivalry between the two is nothing short of epic, and will be sure to go down in TV history. To complement these main characters is an intricate plot involving love, gang warfare and treachery, which establishes Peaky Blinders as one of the best British TV shows produced in a while. Peaky Blinders presents the viewer with an accurate gang warfare and its implications, be they social or political. However, don't worry: it’s not another one of those documentaries History teachers tend to show you 'as a treat' on commendation day.
Peaky Blinders is an historical crime drama based in the squalor of Birmingham in the Post-WW1 period; Britain is partially destroyed and so are its people. Known for sewing razor blades to the peaks of their flat caps, this is a gang not be reckoned with. The plot is governed by the Shelby Family, a family to be feared and respected. They control everything, from pubs to Horse-racing; nothing gets in their way. They are spearheaded by the down-to-earth ex-serviceman, and some would say picaresque hero, Thomas Shelby. He provides everything that makes this a great TV show. His character is an echo of Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire: he maintains class and calm while also making himself known as ruthless. He is excellently portrayed by Irish actor Cillian Murphy, mainly known for his role as the scare-crow in Christopher Nolan's batman. The mark of a truly great actor is one who becomes fully immersed in his role, Murphy is a clear example. For 12 consecutive hours of Peaky Blinders, he manages to completely eradicate his thick Irish accent and assume an even thicker brummie one. 6
Dec, 2014 Issue 3
The Critics
CURRENT CINEMA HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 1 JOSEPH MELLY 3.The scene in the bomb shelter where they Francis Lawrence’s third instalment of our are silent as explosions shake the room. favourite Hunger Games franchise is another fun, gripping ride of a movie, still managing to withhold a fair balance of faithfulness to the book and a dark, sadistic inner layer… 4.Everything about District 13. But that’s all it is, and it could be so much more had it given us any closure whatsoever. I feel like there was no need for the final 5.Philip Seymour Hoffman (RIP) & Presibook to be separated, and leaving the cinema dent Coin. I felt amazed but unsatisfied; I was given the bitter impression that Lawrence was now dragging Suzanne Collins’ trilogy out for the 6.Effie Trinket brought the bants. $$$. Despite this, the set-up appears perfect for what comes next (having read the books) and the sets and action scenes looked really good. I think the slower pacing of the characters is very important in this movie, because of all the changes that are happening with every one of them. I like what Lawrence did to fill in the knowledge gaps in the book; in the book, we could only see what Katniss sees, whereas in the movie there are a variety of perspectives. It gives me more to look forward to in each movie. I wonder how much Plutarch will need to change in the last sequel because Philip Seymour Hoffman didn't finish filming his parts before he sadly died. I can't believe we have to wait an entire year to see the final installment! My favorite moments in the movie: 1.Josh Hutcherson is great in this movie, and I found myself enjoying Peeta’s twisted scenes the most. 2.Natalie Dormer.
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The Critics
ART ANSELM KIEFER @ Royal Academy BEDE JOLY Anselm Kiefer is part of what I consider to be the German generation affected psychologically by the reverberations of a totalitarian dictatorship. He was born on March 8th in 1945 in Donaueschingen, Germany. As the son of a local art teacher, his father would have sworn a vow to Hitler. Anselm himself would have spent his first few months in a country that was being invaded, and the rest of his childhood with his surrounding neighbours, family and friends - with the bitter taste of guilt in their mouths. This guilt was never talked about in the family, but as a teenager, Anselm began to find out what his neighbours, family and friends had supported during the Nazi era: the regime's monstrosities. It was not only Anselm but nearly all children born at his time who had to go through his parents’ guilt just as he had. His exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts goes in chronological order, corresponding with the different stages of his art career.
As mentioned, this guilt affected all the youths of that era. This is reflected in his earlier works. In the first room, he paints a picture of Nazi ideals being put underneath great Roman Emperors whose empires had also failed. However, as he ages he begins to change his attitude, and the art works begin to get even more mythical and dark by the second room of the gallery. In a series of paintings of his attic studio, he is said to have used blood to line the objects in the paintings, such as a spear or sword, for example. As he reaches his later years, we see him take an even more radical approach to his art. In his 40s, Kiefer started to use the idea that the 'land' is our master, and that the 'land' is what will take us in the end. He particularly uses diamonds and sunflowers to show us the power of the natural side of the earth, starkly contrasting with his aggressive political views against those in leadership. Throughout the exhibition, even the natural world he celebrated retains the darkness that he is known for.
Anselm Kiefer at the Royal Academy of Arts closes on the 14th December
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Dec, 2014 Issue 3
The Critics
BOOKS OF THE YEAR MISS BUGG The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer
the fuss is about. I can now understand its appeal, as it’s fast-paced, thrilling and fairly Matt is haunted by the death of his older easy to read. The first book in the Cherub brother Simon on a family holiday when they series sets the scene. It tells the story of were children. He is also living with schizoJames, the latest recruit to CHERUB, the phrenia and devises his own form of writing organisation for undercover teenage spies. therapy. Matt rides the waves of his illness, The book takes us though his dysfunctional plunging into episodes of delusion and surfamily background, his recruitment, gruelfacing to write his memoir with caustic and ling training and first mission. I didn’t miss wry humour. This book particularly interestany tubes stops, but I did find it an enjoyable ed me as I used to work for MIND, the menread. tal health charity and Nathan Filer, the author, is himself a psychiatric nurse. Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper
Six Poets: Hardy to Larkin: An Anthology by Alan Bennett
The book tells the story of the lives of two boys. Little Hawk, an 11 year old Native American, embarks on a three month ritual in the wilderness that, should he survive it, will make him a man. John Wakeley, after the death of his father, is taken on as an apprentice cooper. The paths of the two boys cross and in later life become intertwined. The story tells of the changing world of the Native American, and the tolerance shown by the few who refused to stand by and witness the injustices that took place. I read this book as part of the Carnegie Reading Group earlier this year.
In his own down-to-earth style, Alan Bennett takes a look at the lives and poems of six of our best-loved poets: Auden, Betjeman, Hardy, Housman, Larkin, and MacNiece . Bennett provides a brief insight into the lives of the poets including amusing, and not always flattering, anecdotes. He provides an objective view on the poetry itself. The poems he chooses to talk about are accessible and easy to understand. He writes in his usual conversational style and I was fortunate to attend an event where he was reading from the book, to a captivated audience.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt Theo Decker, aged thirteen, loses his mother in a terrorist bomb attack in an art gallery in New York. Before he finds his way out of the wreckage he is handed a painting, The Goldfinch, by a dying man. Theo’s life is a rollercoaster of obsession, love, lies, power and the criminal underworld. Throughout its 880 pages the book changes gear frequently, moving seamlessly from comfort to suspense. It’s a challenging read but one that I couldn’t put down. I missed my tube stop on several occasions! The Recruit (Cherub 1) by Robert Muchamore I decided to read The Recruit, the most popular book in the school library, to see what all 9
Dec, 2014 Issue 3
The Critics
ASSETTO CORSA MARK SIMONS Assetto Corsa is a PC simulator, not a game. It fills a gap on the market between simcades (Shift 2, Grid Autosports and F1 2014) and out and out simulators such as iRacing and RFactor. It has been called the Forza motor sports of PC, or Grand Tourism if you insist.
The simulator is playable on mouse and keys; however, it is a nice addition to have a OS: Windows Vista, 7, 8, gamepad on hand or even a 8.1 Processor: AMD Six-Core full-on racing wheel for CPU, Intel Quad-Core CPU those analogue inputs. It is possible to use a flight stick Memory: 6 GB RAM but for precise throttle inGraphics: DirectX 11 puts, which are required for (AMD Radeon HD 7870, Nvidia GeForce GTX 660) some of the more fiddly cars, a gamepad works better. The After putting around an hour DirectX: Version 11 into the game, I realised that Network: Broadband Inter- game has excellent support for wheels and other controlit did almost everything per- net connection fectly; it is amazingly deHard Drive: 30 GB availa- lers, with pre-sets for all of the major input devices; a tailed, from the subtle detail ble space well-equipped configurator of watching the horizontal Sound Card: Integrated coil over shocks in the KTM A nice feature in the game is is on hand if your device is crossbow compress and rat- the ability to set a max FPS not supported. tle with the vibrations of the setting to enable stable per- The gameplay is good, with engine, to the obvious blind- formance, no matter what many different mods. You ing sunlight effects when hardware you have. This en- can race in practice sessions coming in to the first corner ables you to play on as little to learn the track. There are on Monza, it has it all. Subtle as: also challenges and multidetails like the flames that jet player support. There is a out whilst changing gear, or OS: Windows Vista, 7, 8, career mod and possibly 8.1 the haze that comes off the more to come, as the game is Processor: AMD Athlon engine after running the it still in development. The X2 2.8 GHZ, Intel Core 2 for a while, add to the imgame in its current stage is a Duo 2.4 GHZ mersion. good building block to what, Memory: 2 GB RAM with more content, will beWhat really adds to the im- Graphics: DirectX 10.1 come one or the key racing mersion is the native Oculus (AMD Radeon HD 6450, simulators. Tracks such as Rift support. I have not yet Nvidia GeForce GT 460) the drag strip and the Drift tried this myself, however DirectX: Version 11 arena only hint at what is the support is there. In my Network: Broadband Inter- likely to come out of this tiown experience the simula- net connection tor runs perfectly on triple Hard Drive: 15 GB availa- tle. screens “5760x1080” at The game features hatchble space 60fps on the highest graph- Sound Card: Integrated backs all the way up to F1 ical settings on 2 AMD 7870 cars, from manufacturers GPU’s.
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The development team for the game recommend:
such as: Abarth, BMW, Team Lotus, Lotus, Ferrari, KTM, McLaren, Mercedes, P4/5, Pagani and Tatuus. However, more are still to come. Similarly, the game currently has 15 tracks, but this number is likely to grow. The game is supported by Windows Vista, 7 & 8 and there is no plan to support XP, MAC, Xbox, PS3 and Mobile. This still leaves room to expand into the deadly depths of console gaming. Overall, the simulator is a key gen in the next iteration of graphical performance offered by the PC platform. It will be interesting to see if the developers choose to bring the game to any other platforms. This year is set to be a scorcher in terms of PC simulators; with the anticipated release of Project Cars, and Next car game, it will be interesting to see where Assetto Corsa will fit in.
Monthly Madness
BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING TO DIE FOR? FRANKIE DE SOUZA The Black Friday sales traditionally mark the beginning of the Christmas sales, as stores all over the country start to slash prices in the hope to attract more customers. This of course, certainly happened. The Black Friday sales have been infamous for the inevitable violence and chaos that occur during the day, and with seven deaths and 98 injuries worldwide, this year was no different. But is it really worth it? Visa predicted that shoppers in the UK would spend approximately £518m on the internet alone, with £6,000 being spent every second. This certainly lived up to its expectations, as online shoppers scoured the internet for the best deals, in the process making it the biggest e-commerce day in the UK. Many stores benefited from this. Amazon sold around 5.5 million goods, with 64 items sold per second. However, this also led to the crashing of many stores such as Tesco, John Lewis and Argos due to the sudden increase in usage of their websites.
man was arrested for a public offence. The inevitability of other accidents, such as in Greater Manchester where a TV fell onto a woman’s head, also posed a problem for local ambulance services, who had to battle against the crowds to get to the injured people. After the sales, many heads of police, such as the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, criticised retailers for not having ‘sufficient security staff on duty’ and saying the shopping was “akin to mini-riot”. So were the deals worth fighting for? Many said they stayed at home, but the statistics certainly proved otherwise.
The injury toll was rapid: as people desperately looked for items in the crowds of shoppers, many were trampled, shoved and angered. This left a huge problem for local emergency services, with the police having to deal with many problems and incidents occurring all over the country. One of which was in Middleton, where 200 shoppers refused to leave a Tesco store even though stock had run out. There was also lots of gen-
eral fighting in stores, such as in Hattersley where a 11 Dec, 2014 Issue 3
Music News
SCHOOL MUSIC JUNIOR CONCERT On the 3rd of December, the school held the annual Junior Concert. It began with an excellent selection of Benjamin Britten’s (1923-76), ‘A ceremony of carols’, beautifully sung by our Schola Cantorum. It proceeded with various performances from the school’s bands; the audience enjoyed a variety of music, from Jazz standards to Classical masterpieces. The ensemble performances began with Junior Strings playing G.F Handel’s La Rejouissance and Bourree, conducted by Mr Manoras. Then it moved on to a selection of solos from all across the Lower School: from brass to strings, the concert had it all. However, it must be said that the various CVMS jazz bands are something we should all take pride in, as they show the great ability of soloists, as well as their respective teachers. Also, every ensemble played perfectly as a collective, showing the great co-operative skills that are taught by Mr Price and his department. A new ensemble was introduced into this traditional concert - Mr Meadows’ Tuesday Jazz Improvisation group - which played Sonny Rollins’ Sonny Moon for Two, with Mr Price excellently accompanying the boys with on-thespot improvisation.
Canone from K.406’. The concert then proceeded with the Junior Big Band, directed by Ms Wilby, playing Jazz Classics such as Birdland and Livin’ La Vida Loca. Mr Jackson’s long term enterprise, the Second Orchestra has now developed into a fully fledged amalgam of musicians, and contrary to suggestions from some members of the music department, now play excellently! After the Second Orchestra’s rendition of
La Rejouissance, the concert closed with a flawless performance of What A Wonderful World, and The Incredibles, featuring excellent solos by Logan Stewart.
Mr. Manoras’ String Quintet threw the audience into catatonia, masterful performing Mozart’s Minuetto in
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Nov, 2014 Issue 2
Music News
JAZZ WHAT’S THIS JAZZ ALL ABOUT? JEAN FRANCO Every art form has its own levels of popularity during its 'lifespan'. Be it classical music or surrealist painting, they all die out at a certain point - but not forever. Jazz, as a genre of music, is no different. In the last ten yours or so, its resurgence has begun. As enthusiasts may know, since the death of legends such as Louis Armstrong, Charles Mingus or Dave Brubeck, jazz has fallen into the shadows, becoming a source of interest for a niche group of people, and developed into a more sophisticated 'club' music rather than maintaining its street music origin. However, Jazz has slowly come back, and has become one of the most popular genres of music today; of course, it is still overshadowed by the likes of Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift, but it has grown. The thing with jazz however, is that it never really disappeared, but it was simply hidden. Through the ‘80s, funk took over from hard bop, and in the ‘90s, avant-garde rock, art -rock or early electronica took over from free jazz. It
still had a presence though, cited as being an influence on Amy Winehouse and other popular musicians.
ing from the misfortunes of those turbulent times. Perhaps a key reason for Jazz's resurgence is our discontent with current affairs; people try to protest and vandalise, but to little effect. Perhaps the modern musicians of our day take to the stage with dissonant harmonies to voice our disapproval, and simply change our negative feelings into something that can give us hope and joy - a genre of music that helped so many people live through the tough times of their lives. There are other reasons: maybe ignorant hipsters want to 'get down' with what was cool 60 years ago, or maybe up-and-coming musicians are just tired of coming across the atrocities that so called 'popmusicians' hire people to write. Groups such as our very own Mr Meadows' Engines Orchestra or the Brooklyn-based 'Snarky Puppy' are excellent models of this, they are part of an ensemble of groups that are restarting jazz in the modern era. Believe me, the role that Jazz is playing in the development of contemporary music is no joke. Jazz festivals throughout the globe have nearly doubled in size, making 'Jazz Montreaux' or 'Jazz New Orleans' nearly as large as Pop and Rock concerts on the same global scale. Of course, there have been veterans carrying on the legacy of certain musicians, but without the new generations of jazz ensembles, it would stop developing as an art form. Jazz is the genre that represents the people and their ideals; it breaks musical as well as social boundaries that would have remained intact otherwise—and let's thank God they're not, because if they were, where would be now? Jazz is the big brother of Revolution. Revolution follows it around.- Miles Davis
Had you been walking down a street in New Orleans 50 years ago, your casual strolls would have been dominated by wailing saxophonists improvising to Charlie Parker's own improvisation; it was an art that abused and destroyed the boundaries of music; hot and cold jazz was no more, there were no categories, it was simply a way of expressing sentiments emanat13 Nov, 2014 Issue 2
Independent Articles
LONDON REMEMBERS THE INSTALLATION AT THE TOWER OF LONDON MAKES LONDON REMEMBER KEVIN PAULRAJ
Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red The Tower of London was filled with 888,246 ceramic poppies, each poppy representing a British fatality during the First World War. It takes three days to make one ceramic poppy, which are being sold at £25 each. £8.75 from each poppy sold will go to charities: Cobseo ( maximises the support to the Armed Forces Community); Combat Stress ( a military charity caring for veterans with PTSD, depression and anxiety); Coming Home ( a charity that provides accommodation and catering for disabled servicemen); Help for Heroes (supporting those who have made sacrifices on behalf of us); The Royal British Legion (this is the largest Armed Forces charity, providing care and support to members of the British Armed Forces past and present); SSAFA (they provide lifelong support to anyone who has served in the army). They estimated a net profit of £15 million.
The awe-inspiring view was set up by Tom Piper and Paul Cummins. Tom Piper staged where each poppy was placed; Paul Cummins designed the ceramic poppy itself. Up to 4 million people visited the monument before November 12th. “In a very short space of time it be-
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came a much loved and respected monument” said the Prime Minister about the display. The installation of 888,246 poppies will be dismantled by around 8,000 volunteers. Chancellor George Osborne removed the £1.1 million VAT on the poppies and the government has given £500,000 to store, transport and install the poppies in towns across the UK. Thanks to the demand of the public the installation was kept longer and the tour will last until 2018, showing people the ceramic art in the Imperial War Museum and in Manchester. During the First World War, the Tower of London was used as a training camp. People in the Commonwealth Forces that have died during the First World War were read in the roll of honour. 100 years after the First World War, memories of the war are fading. The Tower of London helps people to remember all those that have died in the war.
Independent Articles RED BULL: DOES NOT GIVE YOU WINGS GEORGE WHEAR
If you have bought a can of Red Bull in the last twelve years, and for some reason you did not grow wings, then you are entitled to a small part of their hefty 13 million pound lawsuit. Red Bull settled a classaction lawsuit for false advertising (a class action is to file suit with one or several named plaintiffs on behalf of a proposed class). The plaintiff took Red Bull to court after he had drank the product but yet had not grown wings, which the company's famous slogan “Red Bull gives you wings”
had promised. He said he had drunk Red Bull since 2002, and accused the firm of being misleading in its claims not only to give wings, but also of its promises to increase concentration and reaction speed, among its other claims. Red Bull agreed to settle to “avoid unpredictability and the high costs of litigation”. Red Bull have 15
agreed to change their marketing campaign and have promised that their advertising will never be misleading again. If you have drunk Red Bull from January 1, 2002 to October 3, 2014 then you can receive either $10 in cash pay-outs or $15 in Red Bull products - and you can still receive your payment without a receipt for proof. In order to claim your $10 in cash or $15 in Red Bull products you must visit their website and fill out a form by March 2nd 2015.If you have bought a can of red bull in the last twelve years, and for some reason you did not grow wings, then you are entitled to a small part of their hefty 13 million pound lawsuit.
THE MANTIS SHRIMP OLIVER PRITCHETT So far, scientists have found over 230,000 different sea creatures from Abalone – zooplankton. Even though many fish look cool, they can be very deadly! Name: The mantis shrimp
Size: 6 – 12cm long This creature is so powerful, it can break out of the tank you put it in! This is only one of many deadly sea creatures in the ocean. Including: Pacu, Giant sawfish, Surgeon fish and Greenland shark.
Sport
IT’S HAMMER TIME LEWIS HAMILTON WINS AGAIN TOM McGRATH After years lost in the Formula 1 wilderness, Lewis Hamilton has delivered on his extraordinary talent by winning the 2014 World Championship and becoming the first British double world champion in over 40 years. Hamilton burst onto the F1 scene in 2007, finishing with nine straight podiums in his first nine races in the sport. Disaster struck in the final race of the season, however, when his car suffered a momentary loss of power and the championship slipped from his fingers by a single point. The following year he appeared to be in a similar position, before an overtake on Adrian Sutil at the last corner, of the last lap, of the last race of the season, which won him the championship in breath-taking style - winning, this time, with a single point.
This has proved a masterstroke and, after a promising 2013 season, Hamilton and his teammate Rosberg have dominated 2014: winning 16 of the 19 races. Despite Hamilton winning 11 of these, a mixture of foul play on Rosberg’s part (puncturing Hamilton’s tyre at the Belgium Grand Prix) and the moronic doublepoints rule, meant it was only at the last race of the season that Hamilton was finally crowned. The victory makes him the fifth most successful F1 driver of all time for race wins and, with Mercedes set to be dominant next year too, this is only the start.
Driver
Wins
Michael Schumacher Alain Prost Ayrton Senna Sebastian Vettel Lewis Hamilton Fernando Alonso
91 51 41 39 33 32
From this high point, years of squandered opportunities and celebrity excess ensued, with McLaren apparently unable to produce a World Championship winning car. To general astonishment at the time, Hamilton turned his back on the outfit at the end of 2012 to go and join the struggling Mercedes, replacing Michael Schumacher.
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Nov, 2014 Issue 2
Sport
F1 HAMILTON BRINGS VICTORY HOME NATHANIEL SEWELL
On November 23rd 2014, Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi to seal his second title in Formula One history. The 29 year old beat his fellow team mate Nico Rosberg, who is also 29 years old, in a battle for the title. Lewis won the season with 384 points, just 67 points ahead of 2nd place Nico Rosberg. He also got 11 wins to his name, while Rosberg only managed 5. Qualifying was a fierce battle between the two but the result was Rosberg clenching Pole position, with Hamilton 2nd on the grid. The race changed though, as a great start from Lewis put him in first by the first corner. He continued his run until, on lap 24 (out of 55), his team mate Rosberg suffered from energy recovery system failure. Rosberg could not get enough power to his acceleration system and dropped from 2nd to a finishing position of 14th .This resulted in Lewis Hamilton and Britain’s celebrations going all through the night. The German Nico Rosberg will have another go in the 2015 season starting in Melbourne, Australia. Who will grab the title then? Will it be Hamilton again or is it someone else’s turn .Watch all the action next year on Sky Sports F1 or BBC One and watch the world of Motor racing come alive.
1. 2. 3. 4.
L. Hamilton F. Massa V. Bottas D. Ricciardo
Mercedes Williams Williams Red Bull
1:39:02.619 +2.576 +28.880 +37.237
5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
J. Button N. Hulkenberg S. Perez S. Vettel F. Alonso K. Raikkonen
McLaren Force India Force India Red Bull Ferrari Ferrari
+1:00.334 +1:02.148 +1:11.060 +1:12.045 +1:25.813 +1:27.820
17 Nov, 2014 Issue 2
Tech Talk
AMAZON FIRE PHONE ANOTHER NEW RELEASE FROM TECH GIANTS AMAZON FILIPPO GALDIOLO
The Amazon Fire Phone: The Only Smartphone with Dynamic M AYDAY Perspective, Firefly and Mayday This is a feature which allows you to get access to free, live, on-device video support with an Amazon expert, 24/7, 365 days a year at the touch of a button. No appointments are necessary, meaning that you will not have to wait when you are stuck on something. In addition, when the Amazon expert assists you, he/she will be able to take over your screen in order to make sure you know what they are doing. So is the Amazon Fire Phone a phone for you? The Amazon Fire Phone just came out in the UK (on the 30th September 2014) and is getting ready to tread on the well-worn path that Apple, Samsung, LG and countless other companies have already blazed. This unique smartphone offers a range of new features and characteristics, which none of the other smartphones on the market have developed yet. These include: a dynamic perspective, firefly and mayday. D YNAMIC P ERSPECTIVE By using this feature, you can experience interactions not possible on other smartphones, such as using maps to view a 3D image of a building. There is also a feature where you can tilt, auto-scroll, swivel and peek to navigate menus and access shortcuts with one hand. This could be extremely useful for multitasking. F IREFLY TECHNOLOGY In this program, you can quickly identify printed web and e-mail addresses, phone numbers, QR and barcodes, plus over 90 million items, including movies, TV episodes, songs and products by simply pressing and holding the dedicated Firefly button to discover useful information and take action in seconds.
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Nov, 2014 Issue 2
Mr Kelly’s Quotes of The Month
‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’
- Edmund Burke ‘ To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.’ - G.K. Chesterton ‘Falsehoods do not cease to be falsehoods because they become fashion.’ - G.K. Chesterton ‘If there were no God, there would be no atheists.’ - G.K. Chesterton
19 Nov, 2014 Issue 2
WORLD’S EDGE: EPISODE THREE PETER STRZALEK-STANECKI
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TO BE CONTINUED…..