Issue 32 - November 2012

The Magdalen D U N D E E

U N I V E R S I T Y

S T U D E N T S ’

M A G A Z I N E

christmas

Dinner recipe

100 years of

Fashion photography

Dundee’s

Meet DUfC

daniel sloss

ticket giveaway

Gold Medallist

editorial

Editorial

Published by: Daniel McGlade, VPCC DUSA, Airlie Place Dundee, DD1 4PH vpcc@dusa.co.uk

First of all, I’d like to say congratulations to Barack Obama, the re-elected President of the United States. With his second term starting in January he will continue to offer us the hope for change that is so vital in times like these.

This month The Magdalen hopes to bring you a bit of Christmas cheer with Mhairi Rutherford’s Christmas Dinner recipe. It’s quick, easy to make and delicious and all costs under £50. It’s a great excuse to have your friends over and drink a bit too much wine.

Also be sure to check out Nicholas Manderson’s interview with Daniel Sloss. Get an insight to the comedian’s world and learn how to you can win two free tickets to see him at the Dundee Rep on Saturday 8th of December!

Through the devastating destruction of Hurricane Sandy our very own Special Olympic gold medallist, Gregor MacKenzie sheds a beam of light onto Dundee, reminding us that nothing is impossible. He shows us that with the right attitude, confidence, hard work and a practical joke or two, success is attainable. He is truly an inspiration to us all.

And finally, thank you to The Magdalen’s team, you’ve outdone yourselves again!

Printed by: Winters & Simpson Print 16 Dunsinane Avenue Dundee, DD2 3QT Editor in Chief: Melina Nicolaides themagdalen@dusa.co.uk

Deputy Editor: Nicholas Manderson Editoral Assistants: Catriona Duthie Kevin Fullerton

Melina Nicolaides editor-in-chief Production:

Category Editors: Current Affairs | Benjamin Blaser Features | Danielle Ames Entertainment | Jane Johnston Art | Francisco Garcia Travel | Shannon Pryde Fashion | Claire McPhillimy Lifestyle | Mhairi Rutherford

Graphic Design | Nicholas Manderson, Melina Nicolaides, & Stacy Rowlison.

Cover Photograph | Steven Fullerton Cover Photoshop | Steven Fullerton

Contributors: Benjamin Blaser, Danielle Ames, Jane Johnston, Francisco Garcia, Shannon Pryde, Claire McPhillimy, Mhairi Rutherford, NIcholas Manderson, Melina Nicolaides, Steven Fullerton, Kevin Fullerton, Catriona Duthie, Stacy Rowlison, Gregor MacKenzie, Fiona MacKenzie, Andrew Wooff, Brian Mudie, Iain MacKinnon, Kirstie Allan, Jalal Abukather, Felix Reimer, Christine Norval, Rose Matheson, Geraint James, Kathryn McKnight, Sarasvath Arulampalam, Leona Reid, Brian Cox, Daniel Sloss, Fleur Darkin, Andrew Jardine & Gillian Easson.

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The Magdalen

NO. 32 - Nov 2012

Editorial

4 Exec News, Campus News & Spex Pistols

Lifestyle

Contents

Editorial

5 Christmas Dinner Recipe

Travel

8 Climbing Kilimanjaro

Current Affairs 9 Malala 10 Defending Disability 12 Palestine’s Apartheid 13 When going abroad

Features

14 A Miserable Guide to Christmas 16 A Few Words with Brian Cox 18 Dundee’s Unsung Hero

Fashion

Cover | MEET GREGOR p. 18

20 Beauty Remedies 21 Captured on Campus 22 The Hit List 24 Selling Dreams

Art

26 SDT | Fleur Darkin 27 Silent Cinema 28 Creative Dundee

Entertainment

30 Daniel Sloss interview 31 Reformed Band Review 32 Previews 33 Band of the Month

WIN TICKETS TO DANIEL SLOSS p. 30

Contents

The Magdalen

Sport

34 Meet the Team | DUFC

NO. 32 - Nov 2012

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Editorial

He’s here to stay

F

nicholas manderson

or the most part, the more liberal and peace loving members of the world breathed a collective sigh relief when Barack Obama was re-elected into a second term as President of the United States of America.

In the run up to the November 6th polling day, pundits were predicting a tight sprint to the finish with each candidate jetting between the crucial swing states to gather every ounce of support they could muster.

Ten days before voting stations opened, Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, was seen to be slightly ahead of the Democrats Barack

Obama, according to opinion polls.

Rather morbidly though, Obama’s campaign was aided by the devastation in the wake of hurricane Sandy, as the US media showed a calm and collected President Obama, stepping into the fold offering help and support.

Heading back on the campaign trail, Barack Obama was coming just in front of Mitt Romney in the polls. The two men were essentially neck and neck, with few of the regular pundits offering a concrete prediction of how the vote will fall.

Mitt Romney emphasised just how close the vote might be only

hours before voting stations opened, stating that Ohio - one of the crucial swing states - would make or break his chances of becoming President.

In the end Ohio with Obama, with Romney conceding victory once the majority of results had swung against his favour.

Before the state of Florida, the eighth swing state, had finished counting its ballots and declared, Obama had won in the other seven swing states. Overall, President Obama won 303 electoral votes to Romney’s 206; a far more decisive result that had been expected.

EXEC

the next few months. DUSA will be holding a Raising and Giving Week starting on the 14th January, where we will be raising money, in conjunction with Cash for Kids, for TCCL Lodge, who are building a lodge to provide respite for those recovering from cancer. There will be many exciting events including a comedy night as well as cards being sold, with all the money going to straight to TCCL Lodge. Why not pick up a pack of Xmas cards today, and help a really worthwhile cause.

To add to this, the Rector

Elections are creeping up fast, with nominations opening at the end of November. The Rector’s role at the University is to look after student’s pastoral interests at an institutional level. This is a key position in the University, so why not have a think about who you might like to nominate.

That’s all from me for this issue. As always the Exec is here for you, so feel free to contact us at any time.

NEWS ANDREW

JARDINE

I

VPE

t seems like it was just yesterday that I wrote my last column for The Magdalen.

There are many exciting and interesting events happening over

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The Magdalen

NO. 32 - Nov 2012

vpe@dusa.co.uk Editorial

Cranberry & Orange

Chicken

with roasted potatoes mhari rutherford

ingredients 6 chicken breasts

cooking directions

4 chilli sausages 1 navel orange 6 tbsp cranberry sauce Salt and Pepper Vegetable Oil Potatoes Seasoning Serves 6 Feel free to use Turkey for this recipe. The turkey will take longer to cook than the chicken, so be careful with timings. I recommend visiting the butcher for the chicken and sausages; I found it to be far more economical than the supermarket, and better value.

Lifestyle

In honor of the holiday season which is fast approaching, our Lifestyle Editor, Mhairi Rutherford, took it upon herself to put together a fantastic Christmas dinner. It’s quick, easy to make, cheap and a great way to get all your friends and family around to celebrate the end of term.

1.

Chicken

Start by squeezing the orange juice out into a bowl, and mix in the cranberry sauce; season with a little salt.

2.

5.

Let the chicken marinade for at least 30 minutes, then bake in a 200 degree oven for 40 minutes, or until cooked through.

Potatoes

Snip the ends of the sausages, and squeeze (delightful, I know) out the filling.

1.

Make a slit in each chicken breast; Cut with a sharp knife from the side in, to make a pocket and fill with the sausage meat.

2.

3.

4.

Drizzle a baking dish with oil, and place the chicken in side by side. Spread a little oil of the chicken, season, and then pour over the orange and cranberry mix. (or whatever you’re using).

Make sure it has been well distributed about the mix too.

The Magdalen

Pour around 3 tbsp of oil (or goose fat) into an oven tray, and place in a 220 degree oven.

While your oil heats up, peel the potatoes and chop them in half, then boil in salted water for 10 minutes..

3.

Drain and place in heated oil, spooning the hot oil over the potatoes. Next, season with salt and pepper and place in a 200 degree oven for 40 minutes, turning the potatoes occasionally.

NO. 32 - Nov 2012

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Roasted Pepper, Onion &

Feta tart

ingredients 2 sweet Red Peppers Packet of feta Ready Roll puff pastry 2 red onions 2tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 heaped tsp of sugar Olive Oil Seasonings

Serves 4-6

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cooking directions 1.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Slice the peppers in half and discard the seeds. Cut the feta into smaller pieces. Arrange on a tray, drizzle with oil and season with pepper; roast for 10 minutes.

2.

Dice your red onion and fry on a medium heat in oil and butter. When it has softened and is beginning to colour round the edges, then sprinkle in the sugar.

Add the vinegar and cook for a few minutes longer, until the onions are starting to get sticky and caramelise.

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NO. 32 - Oct 2012

3.

Roll out your pastry (prerolled is much easier) on a surface sprinkled with flour. Cut into six rectangles and arrange on an oiled tray.

4.

Spread the onion mixture over the pastry, and assemble pieces of the roasted pepper and feta on top.

5.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden around the edges.

Lifestyle

baking directions

1.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bain-marie. Make sure the bowl isn’t touching the water. Put to the side and let cool.

2.

To separate the egg yolks, crack the egg in a bowl, and either catch the yolk between the shells until it’s separate from the white, or, quite simply crack the egg, and catch the yolk, letting the white fall through your fingers; Messy but satisfying.

3.

Beat the three yolks, and three eggs, and vanilla essence

with the sugar, using an electric whisk, until it’s pale and thick.

Sieve the almonds and flour and stir in. If you’d rather not use almonds, swap it for 30g plain flour. Add the orange zest.

ingredients 150g plain Chocolate 150g unsalted Butter 120g plain Flour

4.

30g ground almonds

5.

3 eggs, plus 3 egg yolks

Gradually add the chocolate butter mix to the batter, stirring constantly, until it’s well combined.

Tip into a buttered dish and chill for at least half an hour before baking in a preheated 200 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Zest of an orange 1tsp Vanilla essence Serves 4-6 If you’r dish is more shallow, reduce the cooking time. Check on its progress when it’s been in the oven for about 18 minutes.

Molten Chocolate

pudding

Travel

Climbing

rose matheson

F

Kilimanjaro

ancy climbing up Mount Everest? Childreach International is recruiting volunteers from Dundee to head to the Everest Base Camp next summer. If the word Everest is not enough to get you lacing up your boots then let the Dundee group who conquered Kilimanjaro tempt you.

I and 16 other students headed out to Tanzania in July to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Thirty-four times bigger than the Law Hill, Mount Kilimanjaro is not exactly a walk in the park! We followed the Machame Route, which took five days to ascend and one day to descend. Shortly before arriving at our hotel we caught our first glimpse of Kilimanjaro and, considering most of us thought it was a cloud, it was rather intimidating.

We had the opportunity to visit Lotima Primary School, where some of the £41,393.31 our group had raised now stood as new toilets, classrooms and a kitchen. All 400 pupils performed a traditional song and dance and were even kind enough to ignore my attempt at Swahili! It was amazing to see what our hard work had achieved and the difference we had made to the kids’ lives.

Our climb started at the Machame Gate, which took us through the dense rainforest to the Machame Hut (3030m). The next day we broke through the clouds at Shira Crater (3837m), a shrubby moorland dotted with spectacular volcanic features. Upwards to the Lava Tower (4637m), the blistering cold and lack of oxygen hit us. We slept at Barranco Camp (3976m), which was surrounded by the Barranco wall. This provided our first hands-on climb, changing the pace from the usual plod.

Barafu Camp (4673m) was our last stop before the summit. The lack of oxygen resulted in the need for a frequent rest stop, even when your

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walk was simply to get to the toilet 50m away. Morale was at an all-time low as we headed to bed at 9pm to prepare for our summit attempt.

Four hours later we were under the light of stars, our guides showing how impressive they were as they navigated the paths in the darkness.

You could see lights from the headtorches of other climbers like stars; a reminder of how far was left to go.

The ascent to Stella Point (5756m) was the worst we had felt, but just as we were giving up, the sun broke through the horizon to warm our

Unbelievably, everybody in the group made it to the summit and although it is a feat to have climbed the World’s highest free-standing mountain, we only had to talk to the guides and porters to put things into perspective. One of our guides completed his 840th summit attempt and was heading up again in another few days. The porters are required to carry so much and when they sprint past you, you instantly stop complaining. They are the unsung heroes of Kilimanjaro and their praises should be sung as

More info on the Everest Climb can be found here: http://www.childreach.org.uk

numb fingers and dampened spirits.

Many people say that reaching the Uhuru Peak (5895m) is like a drunken night out — you need photos to piece everything together.

You remember the sign and hugging everyone but the details are blurred.

Nevertheless, the huge sense of relief and satisfaction banished any tiredness.

loudly as they themselves sang during the mountain climb.

Our group would like to thank everyone who helped us reach our fundraising targets in whatever form it was; be it sponsoring a Space Hopper commute to Ninewells or buying some cake from our bake sale!

The Magdalen NO. 32 - Nov 2012

Travel

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Malala The Paradox of Religion and Human Rights christine norval

T

he callous shooting of 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai has brought into the spotlight the darker side of religion.

For many years, various religions have used their chosen deity as an excuse to silence those who try to stand up and change things.

Malala was shot for publicly stating her belief that women should have the same education rights as boys in Pakistan (Pakistani women have a 39.6% literacy rate, compared to 67.7% for men). The Taliban's reason for doing so? By stating her right to be educated, Malala was trying to 'westernise' Pakistani culture. Sickeningly, the Taliban boasted their responsibility for shooting the innocent teenager, as though it was their right, even their duty.

This sickening trend is not limited to groups claiming Islam as their scapegoat. For example, the depth of covered-up sexual abuse in the Catholic church is only now coming to light (reported cases in the UK doubled from 2010 to 2011) and various religions practise barbaric

female circumcision (as a means to prevent premarital sex). And the list goes on.

So, why does an element of human society, generally devoted to peace and unity, end up condoning this kind of misogyny, child abuse and murder? For me, the answer is in what Malala was fighting for; education. Lack of education allows a small minority of educated, powerful people to interpret holy texts however it suits them, and then teach them to those who don't have the power and influence, and of course, the education. This cycle can continue perpetually, at the leader, government or terrorists whim..

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Defending disability Geraint james

I

n the past the Paralympics have been treated as little more than a coda to the Summer games, but this year’s games smashed previous records for attendance and worldwide viewing figures; an obvious positive. But most encouraging of all was the tone of the commentary and of public reaction to the games. No longer defined by difference, the reactions to Ellie Simmonds’ triumphs were similar to those of Rebecca Adlington. Just four years earlier a more patronising “aren’t they brave” narrative tended to prevail. But many of the resulting think-pieces lauding our progressive attitude to disability are jumping the gun— to find out why we only have to look at main Paralympic sponsor Atos.

The Atos controversy stems from their contract with the Department of Work and Pensions to administer disability benefit assessments.

These assessments were introduced on a trial basis in the dying days of the last Labour government, and enthusiastically expanded by the coalition. There has long been a press narrative of disability claimants as ‘scroungers’, despite official figures that have consistently shown fraud rates to be well below 1%. Despite an official position of there being no ‘targets’ with the assessments, several whistleblowers have reported pressure to pass just 12-13% as ‘unfit to work’ — suggesting the government believe a fraud rate of 87% and above. No evidence exists to support this.

Ellie Simmonds won Gold in the 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley at the London 2012 Paralympic games PAGE 10

The Magdalen

NO. 32 - Nov 2012

Current Affairs

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Atos proved to be a controversial sponsor of the London 2012 Paralympics Internally, assessors are paid a £70 bonus for each claimant they find ‘fit to work’, incentivising away any chance of an unbiased test. Thirty eight per cent of appeals succeed, and this rises to 70% with the involvement of advocacy groups.

Any ‘test’ that produces inaccurate results 38% of the time must be considered a test unfit for purpose.

But not all are fit to fight these verdicts. Freedom of Information requests have highlighted 1,100 deaths after being found partially or fully ‘fit to work’. A Reading man was found ‘fit to work’ while in a coma.

Stephen Hill was awaiting heart surgery when found ‘fit to work’ — one month later a heart attack killed him. A Fife man died a week after being found ‘fit to work’; he weighed six stone at time of death.

I have always believed you can judge society on how it treats its most vulnerable. On these criteria we have a long way to go — mature attitudes toward disabled athletes don’t make up for successive governments’ hostility toward

Current Affairs

the disabled. The Atos tests show how cuts can disproportionately hurt the sick. Closer to home, 18 months ago our University – lauded for its commitment to supporting disabled students — gave serious consideration to shutting down the Disability Access Centre. The Access Centre is the only one in the region and one of just three across all of Scotland. This means it provides disability assessments for students along the entirety of the east coast, paid for by the Scottish government.

This shows the financial argument

The Magdalen

was as weak as the moral argument given the number of students whose education would have been adversely affected. Fortunately, a student-led campaign successfully mobilised opposition to this, bringing together students, staff and representatives, reversing most of the proposed cuts. But with University senior management committed to a policy of selling off property, vigilance is required to ensure their deeds match their words when it comes to supporting disability.

NO. 32 - Nov 2012

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Living under Apartheid Palestine’s struggle for equality Jalal abukather

I

come from Palestine, a country in the heart of the Middle East.

Many students are curious to know more about Palestine. It is a place people hear a lot about, but know little of.

I live in Jerusalem, a city that has been facing invaders and conflict for over two thousand years. The latest occupation (Israel) has lasted over half a century. Being a Palestinian living in Jerusalem means I am treated as a second class resident living under Israeli state authority.

Compared to a Jewish Israeli citizen, we have unequal rights, unequal access to basic resources, unequal life opportunities; basically unequal realities.

Visiting Palestine today, you would be able to see how Palestinian neighbourhoods have turned into tiny ghettos encircled by a huge concrete wall. This ‘Apartheid Wall’ has been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice. My old high school lies behind the Apartheid Wall. To get to school, I had to cross checkpoints, wait in line for lengthy times, and have my school bag searched thoroughly everyday. Two and a half million Palestinians live in the West Bank and their freedom of travel is extremely restricted by the ‘Apartheid Wall’ and the Israeli

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The Magdalen

checkpoint system. Palestinians need to obtain permits from Israeli authorities to travel across the West Bank making visiting relatives living as little as a mile away unimaginably difficult.

In Palestine/Israel, the conflict is neither religious nor nationalistic.

The Israeli state in its current form constitutes a colonizing power oppressing Palestinians under an Apartheid system. That is why many Palestinians strive for equal rights, justice and dignity for all.

Many people believe in a twostate solution. One small state for the Palestinians and a big state meant for Jews only. I don’t believe this solution is realistic. The facts — the growing number of settlements, the wall and land seizures — make it impossible. Pursuing it will lead to more misery and hate. I believe it is not for politicians and foreign powers to dictate what happens in Palestine but the Palestinian people.

Palestine has always been a land that welcomed people of all faiths and races. I believe that could be achieved by seeking a solution where equal rights would be granted to all, in one democratic and secular state. It would be a place where all cultures, religions and traditions are upheld and respected.

NO. 32 - Nov 2012

Current Affairs

CURRENT AFFAIRS

When going abroad...

Felix Reimer

I

t was 8am Pacific Time and I could not believe what my sleep-deprived eyes were reading. “My colleague will be advising you. The time slot is Wednesday between 10 and 1 o'clock on Level 3 Tower Extension.”

Due to the eight-hour time difference, I had been up all night to email in real-time with staff at the School of Humanities and International Office. After more than a dozen emails, most starting “I'm Felix, a UoD student currently on exchange in Vancouver, Canada”, I was summoned to the Tower Building to sort out a mess not of my making.

For all the talk about internationalisation — “a core part of the University of Dundee’s mission”, according to its website — a lot of work remains to be done to support outgoing exchange students.

Take the inflexible “learning agreements”; these are binding agreements between students and their school, listing all modules students are required to take at their host university to get the necessary credit points. This policy sounds reasonable, especially if you take into account that it is in part a reaction to exchange students to Asia who tried to get credits for yoga classes. When I had to change my learning agreement because of cancellations and scheduling conflicts, however, staff in Dundee seemed puzzled about what to do.

In the end, I was told to pick any class, even if it was not related to my degree at all, to meet the number of required courses.

Features

As any former exchange student will tell you, that number is quite high. Whereas most students in Dundee take two or three modules per semester, exchange students to North America must enrol in five, based on the assumption that classes overseas are easier than in Scotland. The opposite is true, and I haven’t met a single foreign student in Dundee who thinks that studying here is more difficult than back home. Even if you accept Dundee’s assumption, it doesn’t explain why outgoing exchange students get stuck with more classes than their local peers. Most of my Canadian friends enrolled in three modules per term; none of them did more than four.

Since many other countries don’t give students a three-week break around Easter or a month off for Christmas, it is easy to see how the heavy workload could negatively affect the exchange experience.

The International Office, getting this feedback all the time, is aware of the issue — but academic schools are not. Their requirements show a disappointing disregard for the students who represent this university abroad.

Given the beginning of my exchange, I was not terribly surprised when things didn’t go smoothly at its end. “We don't seem to have received your Level 3 Module Choice Form”, read the email I got in mid–July, marking the first time I heard about this. The International Office confirmed that they informed the History

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NO. 32 - Nov 2012

Department of my return, suggesting that the department failed to send me the relevant documents in time.

(The History Department had no comment when contacted for this article.)

Many students want to go abroad but shy away because they think an exchange might be too expensive or too difficult. Yes, money can be an issue, though there is financial support for going to European countries. And yes, organizing the move to another country or continent can be nervewracking.

Yet despite the time and resources that the International Office and individual schools are investing into convincing students to take the plunge, more could be done. One school is currently looking into creating a list of approved classes for outgoing exchange students, giving them more flexibility once they get to their host university. More schools should learn from this great idea. Schools should also listen to the feedback of returning students and lower the number of required classes for those on exchange. Blaming laziness does not cut it, since there are already minimum grade requirements for getting accepted into Dundee’s exchange programmes.

None of this is regarding the academic or administrative staff I dealt with; they all tried to be as helpful as possible. If the university is serious about internationalisation, its policies and processes need to catch up.

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With every new Christmas comes another year where George Michael fails to give his heart to someone special. You’d think he’d have learnt by now. But that’s not the only sadness related to the Christmas season.

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NO. 32 - Nov 2012

W

hen I discuss Christmas with other people, I feel like little Timmy staring through a frosty window at a glistening Christmas turkey, wondering what such delights must taste like. People seem so enthused by it, discussing gifts and what they’re going to do with their day – spending it with family or weeping in a corner alone with some wine, that sort of thing — while I shrug and don’t massively care. I’m not like Scrooge, the popular character who

Features

A Miserable Guide To

Christmas kevin fullerton

was an arsehole and then wasn’t when a ghost reminded him that everyone hated him; I’m just really not that fussed.

But this ennui soon transforms itself into outright annoyance come late October. Because of the way that The Magdalen’s print cycle works, this article is currently being written in October for the November/ December issue, and already people are telling me their gift ideas in some of the most banal conversations I’ve had all year. People seem to turn

Features

into misty-eyed capitalist cretins at the mere mention of Christmas gifts, convinced that giving a bad gift to someone will cause them to hate you forever.

Here’s my Christmas gift buying strategy: I begin thinking about what I’ll buy people on December 22nd. I usually come to this conclusion: If the gift is for a woman, I buy them bath products. If the gift is for a man, I buy them male bath products. If I hate the person I’m buying a gift for, I buy them a Michael McIntyre DVD. If they’re dead, I don’t buy them anything.

I then purchase all of these thoughtful gifts on December 23rd. I once made the mistake of delaying this strategy by a day and buying my gifts on Christmas Eve. As I entered Argos to buy my fiveyear old nephew some male bath products, I was placed into their bizarre queuing system with around forty or fifty other furious customers, some of whom had been waiting for hours on end. They were terrifyingly angry, screaming abuse at the acneridden teenage Christmas temps who were desperately handing the boxes of crap and Christmas toys over as quickly as they could.

It was like that bit in Titanic when the peasant classes are trapped in the hold screaming at the toffs to let them out, except instead of freedom to get to a lifeboat, these peasants were getting Tefal Kettles.

As ‘Fairytale of New York’ by The Pogues blared in my ears, a song that’s actually quite good until you hear it seven hundred times in December, I vowed I would never leave my flat on Christmas Eve again.

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NO. 32 - Nov 2012

“Let them know it’s Christmas time” warbles Bob Geldof with his parade of eighties has-beens. Let them know? They’re probably sick of hearing it by now with you not shutting up about it Bob! And that’s the fundamental problem with Christmas; it’s everywhere. On the radio, the songs all sound the same.

Slade wish it could be Christmas every day, without factoring in the financial consequences of such a wish; Eartha Kitt wants her Santa Baby to slip a sable under her tree, meaning that she wants to sleep with a bearded older man. And everybody seems to want it to snow, ignoring the fact that with the happiness of snow comes the miserable hangover of slush.

And all the while these songs jangle in an endless repetition, defecating into your eardrums with festive glee. It’s a loop of a loop, repeating itself ad infinitum and screaming into your ear like a crap drunk at a party who ran out of things to say a while into your conversation but can’t figure out a way to leave, so he just tells you about charity and “Oh don’t you wish it could be Christmas every day?” and other such banal dribblings until you throw your drink in his face, swear loudly and leave yourself, deciding that instead of going to the next party you’d much prefer to just weep in a corner alone with some wine.

If Christmas was maybe just a little more quiet about itself then maybe it could be just that little bit more enjoyable. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, Merry Christmas everyone!

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“Don’t be afraid to challenge it”

a few words with...

Brian Cox

Since a hamster, a goat named Mervyn, and David Hasselhoff have all been nominated for position as University of Dundee rector, if you were given the opportunity to nominate any animal what would it be?

A Grizzly Bear. I think he’d do very well on campus. If you saw a Grizzly Bear standing in the middle of campus, I think you would treat it with respect. I get a lot of respect.

And it’s quite near the sea, you’d get a lot of nice fish… I think you’d need someone who’s quite imposing that would make a contribution. It would crush the people it didn’t like.

opposed to the other one.” You know there’s another Brian Cox, but I’m the real one. I don’t read it [the Wikipedia page] but it’s very nice to have one.

Seeing as you played the number one movie villain in the film, ‘Manhunter’ can you give us your best Hannibal Lecter impression?

Please send me something wet.

(We here at the Magdalen are still trying to figure this one out…) That was a line I had, which was kind of nasty really when you think about it.

But I did say that.

Surprised you didn’t mention your Wikipedia page, that’d probably work on me. I’m sure every student’s fantasy is to one day have a Wikipedia page devoted to themselves, how excited were you when you got a page, and do you like what’s written?

What have you learned from your three years as Rector at The University of Dundee?

There is so much I’ve learnt, about myself, about things that I like, things that upset me. I think I’ve learnt really what an incredible community a university can be, but like all communities, it faces a lot of threat. In terms of within, and also from without. Also things that surprise me is the amount of loneliness a lot of students suffer from. And I’ve learnt really about the courage of people. Really how they deal with it, and how courageous they are, and we tend to forget that.

Coming out of a school system into a university is very exposing, and to see how they deal with that, and how they cope is quite humbling sometimes. And that’s been the most interesting part of the job, and for me the most thankful part of the job. I took the job quite literally, I didn’t want to be one of these rectors that comes along, and with great respect, does silly interviews and stuff like that, I wanted to be somebody proactive in a way, and was responsible for the pastoral life of the university.

I always forget to self aggrandize.

One of the things I could have said is, “I’m actually the real Brian Cox, as

What do you think makes the University of Dundee unique?

I don’t think we quite know

If the Union wanted to name a cocktail after you, the “Brian Coxtail,” What would be in it?

Probably pomegranate. Quite a lot of berries, blueberries, and blackberries. It would have to have a mixture of Prosecco and Vodka at the base. And some very delicate not too much, but a little ginger and coconut. That would be the healthy elements to disguise the unhealthy elements.

What’s your best pickup line to hook that brunette at the bar?

Oh, good god! Oh god, I haven’t used a pickup line since after the Korean War. I don’t know…Hang on let me think…Oh yeah.. yeah… ‘Do you really want to be here?’ It gets the job done.

what makes Dundee unique, but it certainly is unique… With the other universities there’s this sort of monumental aspects of the Cambridges and the Oxfords, and even the Glasgows, they have a kind of character about them, but nobody quite knows what Dundee’s character is, it’s very elusive and I think that’s what makes it really interesting, and people do have a good time. Because it is also quite a small town, and I think people really do enjoy it, and they’re always surprised that they enjoy it. And I think it’s very conducive to making friends, because it is a university town and the students live in such close proximity to one another... For me, it’s been interesting coming back here, because I was born here, but I couldn’t wait to get away. When I was a kid, I saw that river and I wanted to cross it, I wanted to get across that river like nobody’s business, and now one of the greatest joys for me is to see the skyline of Dundee and know I’m coming to it, and that’s after 50 years, and that’s quite remarkable really. There is something very positive and it has a great energy about it, and despite what people have tried to do to it, how people have joked about the city, how they’ve debated the city, what they’ve done to it, it still has this real life force about it. I’m very excited about it. I’m very proud to have been rector of the university.

And do you have any last advice for us young, foolish, and skint uni students?

Enjoy it, and don’t be afraid to challenge it.

Danielle Ames

For more Brian Cox check out the DUSAtv interview at www.youtube.com/dusatv

Dundee’s unsung

hero danielle ames

A

dose of caffeine to force your eyelids open, a chunky muffin to keep your stomach from chatting in the silent area, or a study break, be it well deserved, or your tenth consecutive one in a row. The library café is the juncture of suffering students. If you’ve clocked in your fair share of hours revising the latest sleep inducing lecture, painstakingly cramming for exams, or just clogging up the computers playing Skyrim, you’ve probably met Gregor.

Twenty-seven year old Gregor Mackenzie works in the library café, and his friend and support worker, PhD student Andrew Wooff, accounts his legendary anecdotes.

When Gregor told a police officer that Andrew had a body in the boot of his car — just for a laugh, or their adventure on the Falkirk Wheel when Gregor told the tour guide in front of a boat full of people that he had a bomb in his bag, as well as Gregor’s tendencies to nip into a nail parlour and ask the pretty lady for a massage.

However, what Gregor is probably most well known for is his inspiring power lifting performance at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens. Born with Down’s Syndrome, Gregor has consistently shown discipline to keep himself fit and healthy, an effort most likely made ‘for the ladies,’ mentor Andrew assures us. Gregor has demonstrated a keen and successful interest in weightlifting, competing in a large competition in Leicester in 2010, where he was encouraged to sign up for the 2011 Special Olympics.

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gregor with his gold, silver & bronze medals

After a rigorous year of training for Athens, the Special Olympics Team GB flew to the small Greek island of Skiathos for preparation before the Special Olympics began.

It was while in Skiathos that Gregor caught perhaps the most ill-timed food poisoning possible which had him hospitalised for the three days preceding the competition. Gregor was first admitted to a local hospital, before being transferred to a military hospital, where he was fed mainly chicken and rice to raise his weight levels up to competing standards.

On the day of competition, even Gregor’s parents were unsure as to whether he would lift, until they saw him walk onto the stage.

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NO. 32 - Nov 2012

Gregor describes the challenge of competing in the Special Olympics as extremely inspiring, although he was exceptionally nervous before performing; he says it was reassuring to hear the audience cheering him on. Gregor’s mother Fiona says the experience was “Very nerve wracking, because I know Gregor’s really competitive, and I want him to do as well as possible! But it was a brilliant opportunity.” Fiona describes seeing Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver sitting in the front row cheering Gregor on and shouting his name.

She said it was motivational to see someone so influential, and who appeared so comfortable in their

Features

own skin encouraging Gregor’s achievements.

Gregor competed in three categories; bench, dead lift, and squatting. His favourite event is bench, and the most difficult is squatting, a category with thirteen different ways to be disqualified during the lift. Fiona recounts, “I’ll never forget when [coach] Gary Porter brought you out in Athens stadium, and the stage was massive, and he said to you, if you lift this well, you’ll get a gold medal.”

Gregor proceeded to complete a successful performance with an exceptional first lift, which resulted in him procuring a well-rounded congregation of a bronze, silver, and

Features

gold medal, with an additional silver medal for his overall effort. When asked how it felt to win four medals, Gregor quickly disclosed, “Extremely happy!”

Gregor seems to have been allotted a couple more minutes than the rest of us onto his five minutes of fame, as he was nominated, and awarded the honour of carrying the Olympic torch while running through Cupar. All of Gregor’s support workers cheered him on wearing hand-made t-shirts supporting Gregor. Fiona and Gregor both describe it as one of the best days of their lives. Andrew characterises the experience, “A fantastic day, and a real thrill seeing

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NO. 32 - Nov 2012

him running with the torch. He certainly seemed to enjoy all the attention he received. He now has a topic of conversation to impress every lady with.”

Next on Gregor’s agenda is the British Championships in November down in Bradford. In the meantime however, Gregor can be found serving piping hot cups of tea and scones to the famished students of Dundee, and a word of warning to the ladies, beware, as you just might find it as exceedingly difficult as I did to resist a dose of the Gregor charm.

PAGE 19

Fashion

BeautyDIY Remedies Kathryn mcknight

I

don’t know about anyone else but I anticipate winter with mixed emotions. Part of me is jumping for joy at the prospect of a break from university, presents and (most importantly) an unforgivable amount of food. The other part of me, however, is saying sayonara to my skin. Every winter as soon as I step outside or, now that I’m at university, just stand in my flat, I can feel my skin getting drier and drier.

If you’re lucky enough to afford central heating then you probably don’t have this problem. Freezing weather, heavy rain and a ridiculous amount of wind can wreak havoc. In my desperation I frantically flicked my way through some beauty magazines and they unsurprisingly recommended a huge amount of products and routines. I’m a student. I can hardly afford a bottle of Lambrini let alone a tub of fancy moisturiser. So I decided to experiment.

PAGE 20

The only thing I could think of that cost relatively no money was a DIY face mask. I’m a complete novice in terms of skincare and cooking so this was bound to go well. I wanted something that would hydrate my skin as best as possible. I found that the best ingredients to get rid of dryness are honey and natural yoghurt. Take half an avocado, a quarter cup of honey and a quarter cup of yoghurt, mash the avocado and stir in the honey and yoghurt.

Chill for ten minutes and you’re done.

Unfortunately, it’s not only skin that can go haywire during the winter months. After stepping outside into wind and rain my hair resembles that of Monica Bing in Barbados. No matter how many hours you slave over your hair, as soon as the cold weather comes, it all goes to pot. Hair can go dry, frizzy and limp but there are some simple things you can do to avoid a winter hair disaster. The

things I’ve found most effective are leave in conditioners and masks which help to keep hair shiny and hydrated whilst taming the frizz! To make a hydrating hair mask all you need is honey and olive oil. Pour some olive oil into a bowl and heat in a microwave for around 30 seconds.

Add some honey and stir until it’s all combined. Rub into wet hair and wash out 15 minutes later.

To avoid a complete winter disaster take heed of these simple tips. Just remember to take any allergies into consideration before trying the masks!

The Magdalen NO. 32 - Nov 2012

Fashion

captured

on campus

the new campus style

H

ello and welcome to The Magdalen’s new Fashion feature, Captured on Campus! Over the upcoming year we’ll be hunting down our University’s best dressed students and celebrity guests to be featured in the magazine!

This past month we spotted double denim, tartan scarves and tops and an abundance of military style jackets.

The country chic aesthetic that has infiltrated the runways this season has also hit campus. Muted greens, tan collegiate satchels and classic tarten have been all over campus this month.

Our Fashion photographers will be out and about ready to snap a picture of you looking your best. So pull out your most Vogue-worthy outfits and be ready to be Captured on Campus!

Fashion

The Magdalen NO. 32 - Nov 2012

PAGE 21

the

hit list Claire Mcphillimy

English rose Safely stylish Beauty

It may have been slowly trickling off the runway but dip-dye hair is still massively popular and for good reason. Stick to natural colours only one or two shades lighter than your base to achieve a surprisingly polished look.

Alexa Chung is one celebrity who rocks this hair trend, always adding trademark bedhead waves to amp up the indie factor. A naturally messy but elegantly finished hairstyle, dip-dye is the prefect contradiction to the structured tailoring and cinched in waists of this season. Make-up wise, cheat your way to an English Rose complexion with clean eyes, light foundation and a gentle sweep of blusher.

Garnier BB Cream: Boots, £7 Bourjois Blusher: Boots, £6 Loreal Beach Fizz Spray: Boots, £9 Chanel Lipstick in Boy:£24

Footwear

Leather riding boots to complete the country chic heritage look? Hardly original I know, but they tick all three style, comfort and weatherproof boxes so I’m going to go there again I’m afraid. Basically any leather footwear works well with this month’s Hit List trend, although fashion savvy shoppers should look out for pointed toes which were one of aw12’s key footwear shapes.

If these options are a little too feminine or predictable for you, then chunky Dr Martens add a tough grunge edge to even the safest of outfits, and have been seen on practically everyone lately.

Black Doctor Martens: £150 Ankle Boots: Topshop, £65 Riding Boots: Zara, £79.99 Black Quilted Hunters:£125

creature comforts country chic Accessories

This is an urgent appeal for your help. The high street is overflowing with animal inspired knitwearhats styled as owls, knitted panda mittens, black and white penguin socks- and all of these quirky cute accessories are looking for a home.

So save yourself from the gloom of boring winter coats and adopt a woolly friend — you’ll look good, you’ll feel warm, and you’re helping out the animal kingdom (sort of... well no, not really... at all. But you will look cute as a button.) Check out Accessorize, H&M and New Look’s offerings.

Racoon Hat: Accessorize, £17 Owl Cuff:Accessorize, £10 Owl Snood: Topshop, £25 Horse Bangle: Chloe, £465

Clothing

Maybe I’ve been watching too much Downtown Abbey, maybe it’s because Ralph Lauren’s AW12 collection has been top of my dream Hit List for months, or maybe it’s just because this heritage look is pretty much always a British winter staple — whatever the reason I can’t get enough of the whole country-manor, stable-chic look. Quilting, tweed tailoring, the classic Mac , it’s all there this season and looking better than ever. A trend that works wonderfully with this look is geometrically patterned knitwear. Jonathan Saunders’ checked jumpers and Burberry Prorsum’s Wowl-print pullover have both filtered into the high street, with New Look in particular boasting a varied range of trendy winter warmers that when styled right add an extra edge to your country chic wardrobe. Layer over a shirt with a gold-tipped collar, pair with distressed denim and leather brogues for a casual campus style that will garner serious fashion envy.

Silk Shirt with Dipped Collar: Topshop, £36.00 Owl Jumper:New Look, £22.99 Geometric Jumper: New Look, £49.99 Grey Coat: H&M, £59.99

Horst P Horst, Mainbocher Corset. Pink Satin Corset made by Detolle for Manibocher American Vogue, March 1939 Š Horst Estate / Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Fashion

selling dreams Sarasvathi arulampalam & Leona Reid

‘Selling Dreams: One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography’ until 6th Jan 2013 at The McManus Galleries.

FREE ENTRY.

changing, the general mood of the public – the list is endless. What you want to take away from fashion photography is entirely up to you.

Take, for example, the classic photograph of Twiggy on a bicycle taken in 1966; it is impossible to look at that picture without instantly feeling a little more optimistic about life. The youthful exuberance reflects the outburst of cool British culture at the time and that is why we love it. The dress, of course, is something you could wear to a 60s themed costume party, but it is the smile, the short hair, the carelesslyriding-a-bicycle-in-a-mini-skirt that shows a certain new found, fledgling freedom of that time. What would be your favourite fashion photography moment, and why?

One of the most telling photographs is Rankin’s ‘Hungry’ from 1995. Featuring a skinny model gorging herself on a large bar of chocolate, it’s a highly stylised comment on an industry often accused of promoting anorexia.

The photo is as fashionable as it is controversial; the bright red leather jacket screaming 90s fashion. It’s also an opportunity to see a piece of the famous Rankin who most

recently photographed Daniel Craig and can boast of a shot of the Queen herself blasting a killer smile.

You may wonder about the different kinds of fashion photography that exist today. Have you ever considered street fashion?

Or fashion bloggers? Take, for example The Sartorialist; a fashion blog written by New Yorker Scott Schuman, or even the Magdalen's version in our ‘Captured on Campus’ feature . The fashion models of today have gone from the fantasy of Naomi Campbell to our next door neighbours. The photographers too are our friends, the ones at the party who will not stop snapping pictures of you in your skirt from a most unflattering angle (yet another photo to un-tag on Facebook…).

Our generation is becoming more and more instant as the reign of social networking gives us the opportunity to not only express ourselves through our style, but also say what we want to say about the era and society in which we live.

And when we have the opportunity to capture and share these stylish social moments through the art of photography, nothing seems out of reach anymore.

Tim Walker, Lily Cole & Giant Camera, Italian Vogue, 2005 © Tim Walker / Victoria and Albert Museum, London

F

ashion photography brings to mind famous names like David Bailey and famous faces like Kate Moss. Glossy spreads in magazines starring half-dressed footballers staring at perfume bottles with a dazed expression and leggy models wearing constructions that defy gravity. But what is it really?

The ‘Selling Dreams’ exhibition has attempted to squeeze 100 years of fashion photography into one small gallery at the McManus, and in our opinion has successfully managed to give the viewer a brief but thought provoking overview of a century of fashion and social trends.

One of the most obvious things you notice about the exhibition is the development of the clothes themselves as time goes by. From the elaborate waist-cinching gowns of the 1930s to the simple yet chic mini dresses of the swinging sixties; fashion continues to develop alongside the people who wear it and make it their own. What fashion photography shows us is that, no matter how much the clothes may change from season to season, true style is absolutely timeless. It's not just about the clothes of that particular era, in fact some of the photographs in the exhibit feature a distinct lack of clothes or such an artistically lighted set that the clothes are barely visible; instead, it’s about the attitude and that everelusive concept of style.

Why would people still want to look at photos of a model wearing clothes designed over 50 years ago? Because it expresses to them something of the sentiments at the time; what shape society was taking, social norms and conventions

ART

INTERVIEW

Fleur Darkin

Artistic Director of Scottish Dance Theatre

What first attracted you to Scottish Dance Theatre, and the role of SDT artistic director?

I worked here quite a lot for theatre, and in Edinburgh for the National Theatre of Scotland and at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh.

I had also been to the Dundee Rep with shows. So, I always knew of Scottish Dance Theatre because SDT is held in very high esteem throughout the country and I had seen them in London and various festivals. They are a very solid, grounded company with really high production standards. It’s hard to be a company like that, as the funding landscape is such that it’s hard to have high production values, and so very few companies can employ people like Scottish Dance Theatre can; they’re a jewel in the crown.

Has your background been more theatre based then, rather than specifically being dance focused?

I had been working in theatre as a choreographer. I had been a dancer but I had been a choreographer, really, from the moment I graduated.

I had my own company that toured and then I freelanced doing various theatre dance things.

Scottish Dance Theatre is a very close company, with some dancers performing the same pieces for seven years. How has it been to join such a company?

I think it’s fantastic. The art can suffer from focusing entirely on new or emerging people who have just graduated. It’s really hard to make great work and it takes years to develop it, so if you have a group of people who know each other and know how to work together then that’s how you can get somewhere.

Any great piece of art doesn’t happen in isolation, so you want to be working with the same people.

There’s an assumption when you take on the role of artistic director that you’re going to come in and fire everyone and bring in your own team. I don’t have that impulse at all, my impulse is to work with the people who have been here for years and try and imbibe what the sense of the company is. Again, everything in the arts is focused on “new” and doesn’t have a history or a legacy and that’s how you get somewhere interesting, having that legacy and history.

So, it has been a really exciting company to join.

Scottish Dance Theatre will be performing at the Rep Theatre November 21 + 22. Tickets £5 on the day for students.

The company spent three weeks touring India at the end of October. Is it relaxing to settle in without the full attention of the entire company?

Yes, it’s great. It’s nice and quiet and I can be at my desk and think. It’s great to have the time to visualise all the things we can do and there’s so much we want to do.

I’ll be in India in March, as we want to extend this project with India for at least three years, so we have a really significant cultural exchange.

This tour sees the beginning of a big co-production with India, which is based on the history of Dundee and the jute flow between west Nepal and Dundee.

Is that something a new audience can struggle with or causes them to hesitate, that the absence of meaning isn’t as satisfying, particularly when compared to classical arts, like ballet?

It has to be great work, whether you’re explaining what it means or not. Something like ballet already has a really strong narrative, so already the audience knows how to receive it, and I think that is one of the challenges with contemporary dance, is that the audience doesn’t know necessarily how to receive it. You know how to receive a play, everything is organised around a narrative principle. But with contemporary dance you might be asked to respond as if it’s a painting, and you’re just responding to a composition; which isn’t easy if you’re sat in a seat being schooled entirely by screen and tv and cinema, and plays.

One of the things I’m hoping to achieve is to increase the dance readership here, specifically in Dundee and Scotland; so that we all become a bit more conversant in what dance is and what it can be.

Art

Making noise for

silentcinema

nicholas manderson

I

n 2011, silent cinema was reinvigorated on our silver screens to rapturous applause with The Artist (dir: Michael Hazanavicius) happily scooping BAFTAs, Golden Globes and Oscars.

It’s by no means a bad film; it’s fun and satisfying to the viewer, however there is a certain irony.

It’s not really a silent film. Rather it’s a sound film that is all about the absence of sound.

The absence of sound is what singles out a silent film as being a “silent film”. It’s crucial to think about the absence of recorded sound.

What we might call silent film is by no means silent. They were shot with dialogue, with directors barking at actors to get the desired composition. For the most part, silent films have suffered because of the assumption of silence. These films — with their musical scores blaring over them — don’t use the hushed reverence of a library as a tool, but for some reason they have been given second-rate treatment

over the decades. Most recordings of silent films are accompanied by awful honky-tonk music, reminiscent of some backwater saloon. These films deserve proper and full scores; and fortunately there is a growing movement reinvigorating some of the greatest titles of the silent era.

Scottish Ensemble treated Dundee to a five-day residency last month. The ensemble aims to redefine the string orchestra. One of the highlights of their 2012/13 season is their re-imagining of F.W. Murnau’s Faust (1926), a gem of German Expressionist cinema. In collaboration with DJ Alex Smoke, Scottish Ensemble performed a new 21st century score live at the DCA. The experience was both haunting and mesmerising, with DJ Alex Smoke’s electronic elements breathing life into the fantastical elements of the film, while Scottish Ensemble’s strings were as rich and foreboding as Murnau’s expressionist shadows.

At the beginning of November Minima Music returned to the DCA to perform Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922). Since 2006 Minima have been performing their unique scores to a growing repertoire of silent films. Minima’s performances are a real cinema experience; their live accompaniments dissolve the age of the films. Of course some of the films in the repertoire can’t escape their nine decades, but for the most part Minima’s music creates a sense of timelessness.

Live contemporary scores to silent films is a growing trend, creating a fantastic new interest in this type of cinema. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for future screenings. Even if you don’t think you would enjoy silent cinema, with a live score you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised.

See Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Manxman’(1929) with live piano accompaniment by Jane Gardner.

DCA Friday 30th Nov, 7pm Art

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ART

Creative Dundee Co-founder Gillian Easson explains all

What is Creative Dundee?

Creative Dundee is a platform to amplify all the immense creative talent and events happening in and around the city. Originally started as a website back in 2008, we introduced a regular events programme last year and encourage networking and collaboration through social media. Working collectively, we help people shout louder, it's as simple as that. Our site contributors come from a range of backgrounds. Some are studying, others are working, but everyone shares a passion to see Dundee recognised as the cultural hub is deserves to be.

Earlier this year to tie in with the University degree show period where thousands of visitors come to the city, we crowd-sourced a creative guide — Creative Dundee IncorpoRated — to highlight people who live, study and work in the city's top rated cultural places to visit, places to eat, drink, be merry, shop independently and much more.

What spurred you to start Creative Dundee?

Dundee has a thriving creative scene and a great eco-system that covers everything from innovative underground arts events held in obscure venues; through to wellrespected cultural organisation who host major touring exhibitions. Yet I was surprised when visiting other cities to hear how little people knew of Dundee's arts scene. Information on what to do and where to go in Dundee was pretty sparse and it doesn't make navigating a new city easy. Myself and my co-founder decided to take action rather than sit about complaining and so Creative

Dundee was born — it's a way to hook everything up under one umbrella but also show off our best to the world..

What is a Creative Dundee Pecha Kucha night?

Pecha Kucha Nights are run globally in approx 572 cities (always growing!). They were devised in Tokyo in 2003, as an event for creatives to meet, network and hear others talk about their work.

The much loved 'Pecha Kucha' format, meaning small-talk or chit-chat in Japanese, is relaxed and enjoyable, with something for everyone. Roughly a dozen presenters show and talk through their 20 images, each image for just 20 seconds; it keeps things fast, frantic and fun! We've had a fantastic mix of speakers so far, including Phillip Long, Director of the V&A at Dundee; Ross Fraser McLean, a photographer who was kidnapped in India by snake charmers; a Balkan jazz band called Sink; the optically curious Richard Cook from Spex Pistols; and Kate Pickering, graduate of the university and founder of ingenious jewellery incubator, Vanilla Ink. The format gives everyone an equal platform, irrespective of people's stage of

career. The PKN audience is also immense — the 200 strong crowd includes creatives, non-creatives, students and professionals — you just don't find that blend or energy in the room anywhere else, but we are a little biased! PKNs are a great way to connect with things happening locally and leave with a huge boost of creative inspiration! www.pecha-kucha.org How can students get involved with CD and its members?

Creative Dundee is independently run by a core team who do it for the love of the city. We rely on collaborations with other individuals and organisations to provide high quality information which our audiences find valuable and relevant; and because the arts and creative scenes are so broad, varied and exciting, we’re always looking for interesting content, bloggers, contributors and collaborative partners — people who share our values and aspirations. Dundee's compact size offers students a unique chance to highlight whatever they are passionate about, have their voices heard and make a real difference to what's going on. We say, how can you resist?

www.creativedundee.com @creativedundee PAGE 28

The Magdalen

NO. 32 - Nov 2012

Art

Follow us:

Dundee Rep Student Pass

ÂŁ5on all shows same day tickets

all the time

drama, dance, comedy & music

www.dundeerep.co.uk

ENTERTAINMENT

Daniel Sloss INTERVIEW

nicholas manderson You were the youngest comedian at the Edinburgh fringe when you first started out, how was that?

It was an advantage, definitely helped give me an angle. But now I’m trying to move away from that “young” image. I’m a comedian who just happened to be young when I started out; I don’t want it to define the rest of my career.

But, I love the Fringe, it has always been good to me, and it’s a home audience, which is really nice. It’s a joy to work there. I always start my tour at the Fringe and it’s what spurs me on in January to sit down and prepare my new material.

We’ve seen you a lot on TV this year, is this the rise of Daniel Sloss?

No, I don’t think so. The tv comedy shows and panel shows are great fun to do, but I’m probably just there to tick a box for the producer. I can fulfil a certain role on the panel shows, I suppose. It was fantastic to be on Russell Howard’s Good News. Russell asked me to come on his show and just do my stand up, which suits me fine and gave me a great opportunity to do my new material.

I much prefer gigging and doing my stand up. I don’t want to become a big arena comedian as that sucks the fun out of the material. I mean,

I have the DVD out now, which is great, but I’m not going to be selling out in that sense.

You had a short lived series on BBC Three…?

Yes, it was fun to do and had good viewing figures but there was a change in management at BBC Three and for whatever reasons it didn’t continue. Again, I prefer to stick to the stand up stuff, that’s where my heart lies.

Your material has switched over the past 18 months, becoming more mature, have you experienced a maturing too?

That’s really because I’ve changed.

I’m no longer the teenager I was when I started doing stand up. I’m no longer living in my parent’s house anymore, I’ve got my own place with a friend in Edinburgh now.

Plus I’m single now, I had been in a relationship previously so that also allows more freedom. It has been a year of change, but that’s had a positive effect. I’m the most proud of this year’s show.

Have you experienced the Dundee night life?

I have indeed. I had an offer to study at Dundee Uni before starting doing comedy full time. I’ve had a few messy nights at Skint!

Quick fire questions Drink of choice?

White wine, or on nights out Sambuca Favourite film?

Dark Knight Favourite computer game?

Fifa series Boxers or briefs?

Boxer briefs, y-fronts look awful and squeeze my penis too much, uncomfortable.

Daddy or chips?

Daddy Pet Hate?

Lads, or lad culture Phobia?

Velvet, frosted glass, cotton wool balls and vegetables

Win a pair of tickets to see Daniel Sloss at Dundee Rep on Saturday 8 December Simply email DANIEL to knairn@dundeereptheatre.co.uk to be in with a chance.

PAGE 30

The Magdalen

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Entertainment

ENTERTAINMENT

reformed bands Kevin fullerton

W

ith the two veritable nineties behemoths of Blur and The Stone Roses reforming this year, it seems that a band coming back has become the trendy thing to do. A few years ago it was mainly naff acts with little to no artistic credibility who reformed. Take That, for instance, came back together in 2005 to the joy of lonely middleaged women who lived with their cats. In the 90s they dressed like Depeche Mode had merged with the Village People and they sang songs that were as banal as they were irritating. But come 2005 their reformation was a commercial success as the women who were teenagers when Take That had their first go-around flocked in their thousands to concerts to relive their lost youth.

But bar the odd interesting comeback, the Pixies reforming after years of acrimony for instance, it seemed that the bands of actual worth — in other words, bands that I like — rarely staged a moneygrabbing revival tour until now. And frankly that’s the way I like it.

Blur broke up in 2002 after Graham Coxon left the band A part of the beauty of pop music is that every band has their day in the sun. They come to represent a specific era, sometimes even maybe even just a specific year or two, within which fashion trends were different and sometimes, with punk as a pertinent example, an entirely different political world was being sung about. As soon as a band reforms, that snapshot in time is erased. Once that band that you loved, after 10 or 20 years of irrelevance, comes back on stage their myth in the rock pantheon is obliterated. They go from creative

megaliths to touring greatest-hits artists. They become a tribute act of themselves.

When Guns ‘n’ Roses came back there was a clamour of excitement for them. People were overjoyed.

Then they actually went to see Gun ‘n’ Roses. Lead singer Axl Rose was a mumbling, shambling, rock star casualty, bloated from a decade of drugs and dickishness. In a moment every Guns ‘n’ Roses fans memory was gone, and that’s the gamble with a band coming back. Maybe it was best to never relive it in the first place.

The Stone Roses began to dissolve in 1996, with the departure of John Squire

Entertainment

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ENTERTAINMENT

Previews Iain MacKinnon

Movies

O

nce the hype of new Bond outing Skyfall (recommended last month) has died down, at the start of November we’ll have the thrills and excitement of Breaking Dawn: Part 2 to look forward to. No doubt this will be yet another vampire thrill-fest, this time with added baby (who is apparently dating a teenage Jacob, not sure how that’s going to work out). By now you know whether you love it or hate it, so book your tickets/avoid as required.

Towards the end of November we’ve got the remake of Red Dawn coming out. It could be a flop like Total Recall or a success like Dredd; I’m hoping for the latter, and the trailer looks interesting enough. Also appearing is The Life of Pi adaptation, it certainly looks intriguing and might be worth a look.

And then to end the year we’ve got Django Unchained coming out on Christmas Day, the latest Tarantino movie which is sure to be a hit. But, more importantly, the first in The Hobbit trilogy is released. Geeks around the world will swoon at hairy dwarves and get all hot and bothered over some epic action sequences, plus Gollum and Gandalf are both back. It’s going to be awesome.

For more reviews and previews check out the magdalen’s website.

PAGE 32

The Magdalen

NO. 32 - Nov 2012

Entertainment

ENTERTAINMENT

Kirstie allan

New BandS of the Month:

The weeknd & Sleigh Bells

games

Assasins Creed

The Weeknd Sleigh Bells Okay, I’m not one of those people First off, this band has nothing to that hates an artist because they’re do with Christmas. And I will not mainstream but generally I hate recommend holiday music because mainstream artists. This mostly I work in retail, so I hear Christmas covers people who fall under the songs from October through to RnB and Dance genre, right?

January every year, and it makes So for me to like Abel Tesfaye aka me want to Van Gogh myself.

The Weeknd, who isn’t just RnB but Anyway, a few key words related Dirty RnB, he must be making some to Sleigh Bells: volume, distortion, killer music. smutty, loud. This band is all about His three albums are for, and an adrenaline rush, and If you about, the nocturnal. Patient wanted to trash something, this is echoes are enticed with a solid the soundtrack you’d stick on. Their beat to create savvy atmospherics songs are full of synths, screeches, that command the NSFW nature clashing guitars, punk bass, lightning of the songs. Combined with bolts — all fighting to be heard the the lyrics, from the persona of a most. But the amp-destroying power solipsist playboy, you’re pushed to is transformed into addictive sweets be offended, but never are. You’re through the clever melodies and instead captivated by the disasters surprisingly pure vocals of front of his crimes and loves, and a part woman Alexi Krauss. of you can’t help but want to be Sleigh Bells are truly unlike implicit. anything else right now. If you ever The Weeknd’s louche sound is get a chance to see them live, do. the perfect escape from every pop Krauss shows you exactly how to cover of Christmas songs on repeat. dance/frenzy to such energetic Also his first two albums were noise pop. released for free download, which is exactly the kind of artist you want to follow all year round.

The Weeknd

LIYL | Lana Del Ray, Purity Ring, Frank Ocean.

Start With | ‘Wicked Games’, ‘Loft Music’, ‘D.D’

It could be an interesting time in November in the FPS world with Black Ops II and Halo 4 coming out within a week of each other. My money’s on CoD, it’s become enormous over the past few years and will stick with the same formula; whereas Halo 4 has been developed by 343 instead of Bungie. Odds are it won’t live up to the quality of its predecessors.

New instalments in the Assassin’s Creed and Hitman series also arrive on shelves soon, but Hitman doesn’t really look like it has anything great to draw new players in; other than those latex-clad nuns from the trailer that caused all that fuss back in May. Assassin’s Creed is more likely to please. With the action moving forward to the American Revolution, you play a tomahawk-wielding assassin who meets everyone from Washington: Franklin, Jefferson and others. You won’t get to kill any of them in the main storyline, that’s to be included in some upcoming DLC.

sleigh bells

LIYL | Santogold, M83, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Start With | ‘Riot Rhythm’, ‘Rill Rill’, ‘Comeback Kid’, ‘Rachel’

meet team the

D.U.F.C

Dundee University Fencing Club Where do you get the motivation to train so hard from?

Lucy Higham (Womens Captain) ‘It’s fun!’

Mimi Figge (President) ‘Who didn’t fiddle around with a sword when they were a kid?! It’s a bit of pirate and I like that.’

What are your main objectives for the season?

Ross Hockaday (Mens Captain) ‘I like to see a strong performance at BUCS (British University College Sports).Universities across the country compete in it. We want to win the BUCS trophy.’

Tell me more about the social aspect of the club?

Mimi ‘We go to the pub after every training session for a bit of banter and beer and a catch up. We also have parties and movie nights.’

Lucy ‘Yeah we had the fresher’s welcome party recently Wwhich was 90s theme, I went as one of the Spice Girls.’

Did you get a lot of freshers sign up?

Mimi ‘We had a good intake this year, and a lot of people are sticking with it. Loads of people seem to be enjoying it, which is the main part..’

Any words of wisdom for the freshers on the team?

Mimi ‘Go for it. Hit them before they hit you!’

Ross ‘And relax!.’

Has the club improved in recent years?

Lucy ‘Well we joined. (laughs). We’ve had a consistently good intake of beginners, which means we’ll still have a strong team when people graduate.’

Ross ‘The Women’s Team came second at BUCS last year. We also have a strong men’s team which I’m confident will perform well this year.’

Any fundraisers we can look forward to?

Lucy ‘We’re planning James Bond themed night in Mono, with suits and cocktail dresses, and maybe a roulette table. It’ll be in second semester.’

‘DON’T BE A TURKEY’

10TH - 14TH DECEMBER

ROAST TURKEY CHRISTMAS LUNCHES ONLY £4.99* *NO NEED TO BOOK, JUST SHOW UP AND EAT