2012
Hellloooooo, blogosphere! Remember me?
I know, I know. I’ve been a neglectful blog-mother. I’m sorry. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been MIGHTY busy. New county, new home, new job, new life… Same old me. And Ben is still here 
But yes: HAPPY NEW YEAR! I’ve had some tough “moments” this year, and to be perfectly honest, I’m getting a bit sick of hearing my own whinging. Looking back on last New Year’s 1st Jan post, a lot still applies:
“So, [2011] is gone. Like so many days and years, it is in the past, now merely a memory. Words on a page, photos in the album. Some days, I mourn the days that we’ve lost, but really, we haven’t really lost them. We’ve lived them, and we have many more days ahead to continue living.
So rather than mourn what has passed, perhaps it’s time to look optimistically to the future. I spend an awful lot of my time moping and burying my head (please see my official job description in the blog header), but I have, over the last couple of years, been trying to reassess my life and get some perspective. I’m sure many of you know how difficult it is to break habitual destructive behaviours, but where there’s a will, there’s a way!
So let’s see the New Year as a chance for a fresh start.”
My New Year’s Resolutions from last year… didn’t really work out. Let’s review:
1. I have not lost weight. I’ve gone from last 1st Jan’s 12st1.5lb to a mighty 13st. Please do not adjust your sets.
2. The exercise… Well, no. I jogged for like… two weeks, then realised it doesn’t suit me. AT ALL. However, moving to the countryside has lead to more countryside walks, and in warmer weather will encourage cycling and swimming. Watch this space.
3. Eat healthy? Sort of. Less so these past few weeks due to the seasonal blow out, but over all we have rediscovered vegetables, which can be no bad thing.
4. Budget. Well, I wouldn’t be still standing if I hadn’t managed to squeeze my finances. Go me.
5. Redecorate the flat. I don’t live there any more! Hurrah!
6. Study hard. I could have studied harder, but still managed to come out of my MSc with a 2:i (3% off a first. I have mixed feelings. Not discussable here).
7. Forgive myself? Unfortunately, still an unmastered skill. I’ll keep working on it.
And this New Year? Well, one of my seniors at work today suggested making wishes, or hopes. for the year ahead, rather than resolutions. I thought it was a lovely idea, so with that in mind:
1. I hope to continue furthering my education, with possibly some NVQs or a diploma in counselling or mental health care
2. I hope to do some volunteering – I miss my work with SANE
3. I wish people would have their voices heard, and that people would listen more compassionately
4. I wish an assistant psychology post would open up in Waveney, and take me on board for the role…
5. I wish I could give a doggy a home 
6. I wish all my friends and family luck, health and happiness. Cheesey, I know, but now more than I ever, I realise how much you all mean to me.
So there we go. All a bit vague and swirly, yes, but I hope that I can make this year a good one.
AH, OH, BEFORE I FORGET. The books of 2011! You remember the Book List, right? Well, here is the 2011 Book Round-up:
I’ve only read a measly 18 books (12 non-fiction, 6 fiction) this year. I know, I know. But remember how I was studying for finals, doing a dissertation, and then moving house? Poor excuses, maybe. Poo to you, sir.
Well, I got a lump of Amazon vouchers as part of a Christmas present, so I’ve loaded up my Kindle and am raring to read. I’ll see you in a year to prove that 2011 was just a rare howler, reading wise. Here’s the list (favourites are show with an asterisk):
- 01.2011 – *V S Ramachandran – Phantoms in the Brain (nf)
- 02.2011 – Neris Thomas & India Knight – Neris and India’s Idiot-Proof Diet (nf)
- 03.2011 – Carl Rogers – On Encounter Groups (nf)
- 02.2011 – *Terry Pratchett – Unseen Academicals (f)
- 03.2011 – Matt Ridley – The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature (nf)
- 03.2011 – Adam Phillips – Darwin’s Worms (nf)
- 03.2011 – *Ben Goldacre – Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks (nf)
- 04.2011 – Prof. Robin Dunbar – The Trouble with Science (nf)
- 04.2011 – Jeff Potter – Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food (nf)
- 05.2011 – Susan Greenfield – Id (nf)
- 11.05.2011 – Rudyard Kipling – The Man Who Would Be King (f)
- 29.07.2011 – Jack London - White Fang (f)
- 02.08.2011 – Richard Mabey - Food for Free: A Fantastic Feast of Plants and Folklore (nf)
- 07.08.2011 – Steven Johnson – Everything Bad is Good for You (nf)
- 12.08.2011 – Patrick Bateson & Paul Martin – Design for a Life (nf)
- 16.11.2011 – Terry Pratchett – Snuff (f)
- 20.11.2011 – Terry Pratchett – Wintersmith (f)
- 24.12.2011 – *Robin Hobb – Assassin’s Apprentice (f)
How about you? Read any good books lately?
The next few steps
Well, here I am.
Where, you ask?
Well, I’m not really sure, either. Existentially, I mean.
Geographically, I am on the move, too. The London chapter of my life is coming to a close. I got the keys to my new place last week, and spent the most part of a week sleeping alone on an inflatable mattress. It’s made it really sink in that everything is changing.
I have been finding this whole “finish full time education, move house, start work” thing more stressful and emotionally challenging than I ever could have predicted. Maybe it’s because it’s the unknown. Maybe because it’s all at once. Maybe because I’ve never been good at growth, or change, or being out of my comfort zone. Maybe because, whilst I’ve been offered bank/part time roles at four different organisations, not one of those have started formal training, or told me when I’ll start. But I know part of it is that I’ve never been out of full-time education for more than 6 months at a go, I’ve never lived alone (even if this is going to be for 2 months, at most), and I’ve never ever lived this far away from my whole family. Yes, Ben’s family live close, and they are great, and supportive, and better than being completely in the wilderness, but they are still that: potential in-laws. Not my parents, my brothers, my… you get the idea.
I relish the freedom of all this. But I’d relish it all the more if it was a bit more certain.
Unclean Beings
On Saturday, I was gifted with the opportunity to go and see Dr Brooke Magnanti (aka Belle du Jour – yes, that one) at the Wellcome Collection’s Unclean Beings. My wonderful Twitter pal, @DoktorG, generously left his two tickets at the desk for me – he couldn’t make it for the day, and didn’t want the tickets to go to waste. Ben and I couldn’t stay for the whole day, either, but were determined to at least see Dr Magnanti (and cash in on a free lunch).
It still boggles me, by the way, that Twitter can work like this – I have never met @DoktorG in “the real world”, and yet look at the generosity. Thanks, @DoktorG!
Dr Magnanti was there to speak about, yes you guessed it, prostitution. Her talk was entitled “Why is paid sex dirty?”, and was sadly less than an hour long. I say sadly because Dr Magnanti is such a wonderful speaker.
Dr Magnanti, having actually worked AS a hooker, didn’t bring the stuffiness and drama that usually surrounds a discussion about sex work – there was no “shock” factor and patronisation you would get in, say, a Channel 4 documentary. Dr Magnanti gave a brief history of “the oldest profession”, and offered some opinions as to why it is considered so taboo. She also voiced her own opinion about why this label of “dirty” is so unnecessary – it is, after all, a job. In many societies (different countries, different times), prostitutes earn more money, have more power and more protection, than most other women in “respectable” professions. Someone in the audience gave a statistic of something like 8c a week as a factory worker versus $9 a week as a hooker (somewhere in the Far East I think, but honestly, I have a memory like a sieve).
What followed was an excellent Q&A session, where there were some good questions (What about male prostitutes? Why is the stigma attached to women so much stronger?) and some terrible ones (Why did you choose to reveal your identity as Belle du Jour when you did? Do you regret it, or has it made you a stronger person?).
Long and short: if you get the opportunity to see Dr Magnanti speak, take it. She is not to be missed.
Finally, whilst we were at the Wellcome Collection, I took the opportunity to finally have a look at the temporary Dirt exhibition. Excitingly, I was actually featured in this gallery. Don’t believe me? OK, then I had to break the rules and take a surreptitious photo in this gallery (DO NOT DO THIS – IT’S NAUGHTY AND NOT ALLOWED). See number 12 -
Exciting stuff, right? Find out more about this exhibit (the Laid to Rest project) – I think they’re still taking dust donations, so if you want to see your name in a public gallery (eeee) then go ahead!
Letters to the Editor: Science vs. Magic
I am a very proud daughter.
My dad got his letter to the Times printed. In full. In bold. With a photo of a rainbow.
OK, I’ll explain that.
On June 4th, there was an article printed in the Times Opinion pages, by one Raymond Tallis, accusing scientists of suffering from “Darwinitis” and “Neuromania” – seeing our obsession with scientific explanations for the human condition as some kind of disease. Tallis argues that humans are simply not explainable by science, evolution, brain scans and so forth.
Well, my dad responded by saying… Oh hell, read it for yourself; he puts it so well (Dr Alex Christie; click to see the bigger picture)
The little bit of paper in the right hand corner is a response to my dad, printed a day later. So glad the Rev Graham Hellier has such a long, considered response. He entirely misses the point, and just as an aside? Referring to nature as a “she” is a mere colloquialism. Dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Any thoughts?
Mental Health Forum
OK, early start because I have an exam in a few hours, so sorry this post is brief.
I just wanted to remind you all that the second in the Wax/Owen mental health forums is today! Come along to the Menier Chocolate Factory from 2-4pm to join in the discussion. Here comes the blurb…
Due to overwhelming demand Ruby Wax and Judith Owen’s show ‘Losing It’ will return to theMenier Chocolate Factory on 17th May until 18th June
SANE is delighted to announce that we will be holding a series of mental health forums as part of the latest run.
Download the Press Release.
Each week there will be an opportunity to listen to leading experts from the fields of psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. Ruby Wax, Judith Owen and Marjorie Wallace founder and chief executive of SANE, will then join the expert for a question and answer session.
The schedule of speakers is as follows:
19th May – Dr Mark Collins, Psychiatrist, Priory, Roehampton
26th May – Professor Lewis Wolpert, leading writer on depression
2nd June – Professor Shitij Kapur, Institute of Psychiatry
9th June – Professor Mark Williams, Clinical Psychologist, Oxford
16th June – Camila Batmanghelidjh, Kids Company
This initiative follows on from the incredible success of Wax and Owen’s piece, ‘Losing It’. Here’s what the celebrities have been saying…
“This show is too important, too funny and thought-provoking, too touching and inspiring to miss. I recommend it wholeheartedly: it’s fabulous.”
Joanna Lumley
“Absolutely marvelous… Judith’s songs are beautiful.”
Ronnie Wood
“It’s ingeniuous and hysterical and blisteringly honest. Ruby Wax and Judith Owen explode the silence on mental illness, go where people have not dared to go before. They tell the tale that most want to pretend they have never experienced. And it’s reaaaaaally funny and you get wise at the same time. And if you are the depressed one, this is up there with Prozac with no known side effects.”
Helena Bonham Carter
Violent Video Games
As part of my assessment for my MSc, I have been doing a joint poster project with my friend Rebecca surrounding the topic of violent video games. Are violent video games really causing our kids to be more aggressive? I say “our” kids – I don’t have kids. But I WAS a kid. And I played violent video games. So did my brothers. I wouldn’t consider us to be particularly aggressive. Maybe we were boisterous kids, but that was arguably before the games, and plenty of people have boisterous kids.
Image from GeekWithLaptop.com
Anecdotal evidence, you say? Maybe. But some facts and figures from the US of A -
“According to the FBI in 2009,The arrest rate for juvenile murders has fallen 71.9% between 1995 and 2008. The arrest rate for all juvenile violent crimes has declined 49.3%. In this same period, video game sales have more than quadrupled. The FBI statistics show that video game sales have been on the rise, while all juvenile violent crimes have fallen in the same amount of time.”
From debate.org
OK, but that’s just someone saying a thing on a debating website, I hear you cry. I won’t lie: I’ve made no effort to track down that report from the FBI. It could be made up. This is the internet, afterall. EDIT: Oh look, found it.
You might have read some news articles talking about a correlation between violent video gameplay and subsequent aggressive behaviour in children. Bollocks to that, is what I say. Correlation, as any good scientist knows, does not equate to causation. It might be that children that already have an aggressive disposition are more likely to be drawn to play violent games in the first place. They see violent games as a way of directing their aggression, which surely is no bad thing. We don’t see a correlation between calm kids and violent video gamplay, maybe because calm kids don’t get attracted to play violent video games (they’d much rather play bonkers colourful games like Katarmari Forever or Hamster Ball.)
And what about extraneous variables? Studies that show these correlations tend to ignore the children’s family history, or trait violence. Who knows, these kids might come from abusive homes, and violence is all they know. Oh, and we usually only see the short term effects of violent influences – what about a longitudinal study, please? Do these same kids grow up into violent adults? Or is that a rare thing? Are the majority of violent video game players (i.e. MOST WESTERN TEENAGERS) likely to populate the globe with murderers? I think not. They will probably be accountants, or contestants on Britain’s Got Talent, or some other, (arguably) normal lifetime pursuit.
Perhaps some “more research is needed” – I hate to fall back on that old line, but it’s true. Video games are here to stay, so rather than bitch and moan about the possible influence of young children, and their subsequent development into aggressive teens (view not supported by evidence), maybe it’s high time we started looking into the other factors influencing aggression in young people. Maybe there’s deep-rooted issues. Maybe aggressive children need early-intervention programmes. Maybe we need to teach the negativity of violence to young people. What about anger management strategies for children? Don’t scoff – the naughty step works wonders for Supernanny.
Interested in reading more? Go for it -
An overview of previous research
A positive application of the “desensitisation to violence” effect
Books: Bad Science
You might have come across Ben Goldacre before – via his column in the Guardian, or via his Twitter-based angry ramblings. So you’ll know that this guy suffers no fools.
Doctor, journalist, science cheerleader – Ben Goldacre is perfectly positioned to expose malpractice in the world of science and medicine. And how well he does it.
Bad Science is, at its heart, a light-hearted non-fiction read. It made me laugh a lot (Brain Gym? Really?) but, I have to be honest, it made me a bit depressed. Although it made me feel smug and self-righteous (yes, detox and homeopathy are bunk! And here’s why…), it also made me despair – particularly the new chapter (unpublishable in the first edition, as Goldacre was going through a court case at the time) about Matthius Rath and AIDS in South Africa. You might think Big Pharma is evil. It is, but you ain’t seen nothing yet…
Goldacre doesn’t just make sweeping claims – he supports his views with example after example of evidence. With a comprehensive reference list and suggested further reading at the end of the book, Goldacre has nothing to hide. But it’s hard to feel empowered when he admits that the quacks have won, and things will always be this way – Bad Science is entrenched.
A thoroughly recommended read: very accessible, enlightening, funny, and realistic.
IQsquared: Freedom of Information
Apparently, information just wants to be free. Does it? And do we want to liberate it?
I was hoping Jack Klaff of Intelligence Squared and his panel of experts would be able to give us some insight, but we didn’t seem to get anywhere close to a firm answer. As one speaker, Murad Ahmed (technology correspondent, The Times) tweeted mid-debate -
@muradahmed: Member of the audience at #iq2infofree says she’s confused about what we’re talking about. Oh dear
And, loathe to admit it, I’m sure that’s how many of us felt. The 90min open conversation bounded from research data, to WikiLeaks, to the current state of Libya and Egypt, to freedom of expression, to something about Inuits (I’m sorry, Nicola Triscott – I didn’t really follow, and you spoke so briefly! As the only woman on the panel, I would have liked you to have had more part in the discussion).
As the heated discussion was so varied, I think I’ll stick to what I know best: the availability of scientific research data. It’s notoriously difficult to get hold of, and Daniel Glaser (of the Wellcome Trust) explained why: when a scientist has been slogging away with his research for ten years, and comes up with a nugget of worthwhile info, that scientist would find it pretty galling if another person looked at their data, and used it to produce their own nugget of worthwhile scientific info. They produce a similar glorious breakthrough, but without having to do the time-consuming monkey work.
So what’s the problem here? Resentment between scientists? If scientists shared their research data, they would theoretically save a lot of effort all around and reach valuable conclusions faster. But then they’d have to share the glory – and unfortunately, as Dr Layla McCay put it -
@laylamccay: Of course. Altruism is not the most reliable motivator, and people do want to eat and feed their families…
But let’s not write off all scientists – as I pointed out on Twitter (and several people RTed, so I can only assume they agree), some scientists have a pure love of scientific knowledge, and are not just doing their research for money and glory. But, sadly, they are increasingly few and far between.
I won’t dwell on the subject of info released all over social networking sites (we’ve heard it all before – at one point in the evening, behaviour on Facebook and Twitter was coupled with the words “idiotic” and “naive”), but just to say: common sense, people. As with all things in life, if you don’t want people to know, then DON’T SAY IT.
What do you think? Do you think more information should be made public? Where do we draw the line? An article published in the Lancet in January suggested that it should be a condition of research funding that the research data is made freely available. Do you agree?
Read more about last night’s debate (and listen to it yourself, should you be so inclined!) on the IQsquared website.
You can go to many other IQsquared events around London – see their website for details.
The Dana Centre (where last night’s debate was hosted) is in South Kensington (down the road from the Natural History Museum), and is part of the Science Museum. They run regular talks and other events, most of them free. See their website for further details.
The hashtag from last night’s debate was #iq2infofree – feel free to have a look at what people were saying during the talk.
Games: Sonic Colours
Nope, sorry, massive disappointment. Similar to Ben’s reaction to Gran Turismo 5 (where he was waiting ages for it, really looking forward to it, and cetera), Sonic Colours just did not meet my expectations.
That’s cruel – Sonic Colours is a pretty good game in its own right. The game is pretty (especially the starlight carnival planet) and the designers have obviously tried hard to remain true to the original charm of the original Sonic games.
But it just… doesn’t match up. It doesn’t have the same addictability as Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic & Knuckles… There is even more annoying stuff to fall off of than in Lego Batman (beyond challenging, into the realms of pure frustration, to the point where I actually just turned off the console mid-level several times). The controls are a bit sticky (the double jump is a pain in the arse) and the “Colours” themselves are a bit gimmicky and frankly slightly embarrassing.
Oh, and the 2-player part of the game SUCKS. Jesus.
Fine, I’ll admit it – I didn’t finish this game. It just didn’t grab me like those from my childhood did. In fact, I traded it in today, and got Lego Star Wars for PS3 instead.
It seems SEGA still haven’t managed to recapture the wonderful Golden Combination that those original games had (up until the first 3D game *shudder*). I even liked Sonic Spinball. But not this.
Maybe I’ll just download the original games instead…. Sigh.
Chinese New Year in London
Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that I was determined to get in to central London on Sunday, in order to experience Chinese New Year 2011, London style.
You will also be aware that I was sadly disappointed.
Whilst there was food in abundance, lion dances parading from shop to shop, and lanterns laced above our heads, Chinatown was rammed with people (prams = BAD IDEA, people), so good luck actually seeing over heads.
Oh, and to the chap behind me who shoved me in the back whilst we were all trying to get out of New Loon Moon – Yes, you were pushing me, no, pushing didn’t help, and no, threats don’t work on me either. Yes, you were right to feel embarrassed and shut up after I pulled you up on that one. Weren’t expecting that from a girl half your size, were you? Jerk.
I know what you’re thinking, because I thought it too at first: Why can’t people just put their rubbish in the bin?!! Well, maybe it’s because…
Quite. Good luck with that one, Westminster City Council.
My other major irritation with Chinese New Year in London is that there was advertising EVERYWHERE. The paper lanterns were sponsored by Lebara mobile, children carried red balloons festooned with Lyca Mobile logos, and lo and behold – Kung Fu Panda 2 fortune cookies. It all just felt a bit tacky and was, in my honest opinion, a massive anticlimax. On the upside, I managed to get three buffet box take-aways for £9. With that in hand, I bustled through the insanely large crowds (well, that’s what you get when you have a completely free event) and retreated to home.
What about you? Maybe you aren’t as jaded about your Chinatown Chinese New Year experience as I was. Maybe you are 6’5” and therefore actually managed to see a lion dance. Maybe you were one of the many pushchair-users that rammed me in the ankles – we need to talk.
Bridgewood Manor Comedy Club
Woo! I’ve had a fun couple of days, despite it all being based in Chatham, of all places.
Friday saw me trek to Kent, alongside my friends Sarah and Matt. When there, we found our way to Bridgewood Manor Hotel – a 4* hotel on the edge of Chatham (yes! Chatham has a 4*!)
After a bit of faffing and madness, I left Sas and Matt to shower and went down to prop up the bar. Louise arrived just as I got downstairs, so we went to pester the barman together! A G&T for me, a large glass of red for her, and we chin-wagged until the married couple came downstairs. Soon after, the fifth and final member of our party (Callum) pulled up a chair, and we celebrated a long-awaited reunion get-together.
Dark photo yoinked off Matt. DON’T SUE!! 
Bridgewood Manor Hotel was surprisingly nice. All the staff I encountered were very friendly and great service, and the hotel itself was spacious and tidy. Whilst I didn’t stay the night at the hotel, Sas and Matt did – their room was the standard hotel room layout, but pleasingly neat and tidy. You’d have to ask them if the bed was squishy and the shower wet enough. As far as facilities are concerned, a rental of the room gave access to the hotel’s own swimming pool (meaning Sas nipped to the Asda next door to buy herself swimwear!)
But our main calling to Bridgewood Manor was to filter into one of their many conference halls (the Hythe suite) to experience their Comedy Club experience. For a mere £23.95, we were treated to a 2-course meal and two comedy acts (plus a brash and crass lady-compère). The food was a generic crowd pleaser – roast chicken with veg and sautéed new potatoes for the mains, and muddled summer fruits with whipped cream for dessert. Nothing special, but it was well executed (although some bread to sop up my gravy would have been appreciated).
The comedy acts, more importantly, were a mixed bag. As I said, the compère, whilst not terrible, was at times a bit of a cringe. But she soon introduced the first act, Joe Rowntree – very satisfying start. His observational comedy was spot on – even if the story about being thrown up on by a drunk on a night bus was revolting! The second act though, needed a lot of polishing. I’m sorry, I can’t remember his name. He was an impressionist, and he tried to do a gimmicky thing with 50 impersonations in 20 minutes, but it didn’t really work. He was good, but the act itself needs polishing. And he got heckled something rotten by the audience – I felt really bad for him. But rather than fight back, he would’ve done better to ignore them.
Ah well – all’s well that ends well. Had a great night out with friends, and it was all polished off with Krispy Kremes courtesy of Sas. Huzzah!
Paxton’s Tower Lodge
Ben and I ventured to Wales this week. Predictably, it rained pretty much the whole time we were there, but that was ok because:
- I had my new wellies with me
- We were staying in the gorgeous and cosy Paxton’s Tower Lodge
OK, maybe that needs a bit of explaining (the lodge, I mean. Not the wellies)
This is Paxton’s Tower:
And this, at the base of the hill, is Paxton’s Tower Lodge:
While Paxton’s Tower is a folly, erected in honour of Lord Nelson, and now maintained by the National Trust (not that it needs much maintaining, to be honest), the Lodge has been lovingly restored by the wonderful Landmark Trust. If you’ve never heard of the Landmark Trust (and three years ago, I hadn’t), they are a charitable foundation that restores historic and architecturally interesting buildings for the enjoyment of the paying public. But unlike the National Trust, English Heritage and so forth (where you pay an entrance fee, have a look around, then buy a cake and souvenir and leave), Landmark Trust properties are for living in. Yes, you can rent one for your holiday.
Ben and I have been to one other Landmark Trust property before (the equally wonderful Tangy Mill out in the wilds of Kintyre), but this time we decided to go somewhere… well, less Far Away. We wanted to go to Castle of Park, but they were already booked up for the dates we had free. Ben had been to Paxton’s Tower Lodge once before (4 years ago now, so before we met), and liked the building and surrounding area, so we thought we’d give that a go.
And it was lovely! Apart from the typical Welsh weather, Carmarthenshire is quite nice indeed, but definitely the crowning glory of the stay was our accommodation, no doubt about it. We hardly got any actual sight seeing done, because the cottage was so lovely (and it was cold and wet out). Every evening was spent curled up on the sofa, knitting, whilst Ben poked at (and cursed at) the open fireplace.
(Still working on that bloody Firestarter jumper!!)
A lovely big kitchen meant that I could Get My Cook on – we did eat like pigs. OK, I know, I know, I made a resolution to lose weight, but you didn’t expect me to diet on holiday, right? That aside, I have a separate post put aside for my adventurous cooking, so watch this space.
Other evening activities included trudging up to see the tower (which is lit up at night), and of course Airfix. What? Oh yes. Ben got a Mk 1 Ford Escort Airfix kit for Christmas (from his sister and her other half).
Which reminds me: I have a bone to pick with Airfix. What the hell did you do to the paints, dude? You used to supply tiny tins of top-quality Hummel paint with your kits. And now you have what amounts to shoddy, thinned down nail varnish. Hummels gave a smooth, even coverage in one coat. Three coats in on the bodywork, and the paint job is still streaky. Before you ask: Yes, I did stir the paint before use. Thoroughly disappointed on behalf of my foreman (I was delegated to paint duty, whilst Ben did important cutting and sticking).
Aaaaaaaaaaanyway. We did have some small adventures in wet Wales, but this post is running on a bit now, so probably best to leave those for another day. Deal? Here’s a picture of me in the lodge’s loft bedroom, to make up for it:
Books: Mood Mapping
Mood Mapping: Plot your way to emotional health and happiness
I should probably start by saying I did not like this book. In fact, there are no significant redeeming features, in my honest opinion. So, if you have read this book, use this book or like this book for whatever reason, then please give this review a miss. Because I didn’t like it, this review will mainly concentrate on WHY I didn’t like it. These opinions, being opinions, are not debatable.
Where to start? Probably at the beginning, is best. When this book was first released, I read an interesting review of it in the Guardian. So, when I saw this book in my local BHF book shop, I thought “what the hell” and thought I’d give it a go. I have never read a self-help style book in my life, and now I know why.
Dr Liz Miller is an ex-neurosurgeon, and so you would expect her to be a sensible woman of science. She’s not: she is full of absolute crap. I was willing to sit through her sad stories of struggling through her breakdowns (she says in the text that she is bipolar, but she doesn’t specify what type. I suspect cyclothymia), and to start with, her advice is pretty sound. However, it is also common sense: keep a mood diary so that you can try and see patterns in mood vs. time of day, events, foods, etc.
Anything that didn’t fall under this header of “common sense advice” was not useful at all, and in fact made me rather angry. One of my common gripes is preachy, self-righteous types: Miller is one of these. Her favourite thing to preach about, it would seem, is food. I knew this would be a problem from the Introduction, where she gently declares a war on meat, alcohol, and processed food. Later in the book, she all but blames mood disorders solely on what we eat.
Let me get one thing straight: PROCESSED FOOD WILL NOT MAKE YOU DROP DEAD. You do not need to be on a “raw food diet” to be happy. Let’s look at the evidence: you know plenty of people who eat microwave meals, take aways and stuff from tins on an almost daily basis, and yet they are functioning perfectly. And then there is “Doctor” Gillian McKeith. I’m sure you’ve all been forwarded a copy of the McKeith vs. Nigella email (they’re both 50, and yet…) She doesn’t look like a happy bunny. She looks fucking miserable.
Fair enough, we’re all sensitive to different foods in different ways – I’m not all that susceptible to caffeine, but I am more careful about alcohol nowadays. And I think that’s the key: you do NOT have to give up everything fun or delicious to live well. You need to know your own body. And that’s where Mood Mapping MIGHT be useful: just for finding patterns in your mood in response to external stimuli. But you do NOT NEED TO BUY THIS BOOK (RRP: £12.99) to be able to do that. Food is not the root to aaaaaall your problems.
On a housekeeping note: Miller needs to get hold of a better proofreader. Even my casual, half-attentive reading of this book (often accompanied by a background of Christmas TV and the sound of family members reading articles from the newspaper outloud) spotted a whole menagerie of errors. Most hilarious IMHO was pp. 237-8, and the supposed “Causes of bipolar”…
“…Bipolar disorder can also start after head injury, treatment with anti-malarial drugs, particularly mefloquinine, head injury, childhood abuse, drug abuse…”
And later on in this ridiculous list of madness and repetition: post-traumatic stress disorder. WHAT?! PTSD is a mental illness in its own right, not a “cause” of bipolar. I think she’s getting confused: violent mood swings are not the only characteristic feature of bipolar. They are a symptom. And guess what? They just so happen to be quite a significant symptom of PTSD, too. Just because someone is having severe mood swings does not mean they have suddenly “come down with” bipolar disorder.
I’m trying to keep this short, so here’s the last and most important reason why I hate this book:
“…what my research and experience did prove is that mood and its associated chemicals respond more to the five keys to mood than they do to drugs. By physically managing your mood, it is often possible to dispense with drugs entirely.” (p. 233)
My, that’s a sweeping statement. And, “prove”? Really? Please, tell this to anyone suffering from psychosis, or chronic, major depression. Some people simply cannot function without medication. Some people can’t even cope WITH medication, it’s that bad. MY research and experience INDICATES this. Read a far better and more realistic account of mood disorder.
By all means, I am not poo-pooing Miller’s personal trauma and experience of the mental health system, but that is what it is: a personal trauma. She found something that works for her. Good. She has no right to prescribe it to others.
Music: Gloria in Excelsis
On Saturday, I went down to Lancing in West Sussex to play my double bass again. This time, I was playing for the Worthing Choral Society, under the direction of the wonderful Aedan Kearney. I have played for Aedan before, several times whilst he was still teaching at Boundstone College, but now he has been retired for two years, he has been pulling me in for other groups. I don’t think I’ve played for WCS before, but I very much enjoyed it.
However, the venue was familiar to me: St Michael & All Angels is a cute little church, with a public car park across the road: a nightmare to get the car in, because the entrance is dangerously narrow (many streaks of car paint on either wall, but my mum has amazing spatial awareness). What we also remembered from our last visit to St Michael’s is the fantastic pizza shop within spitting distance of the church, so dinner was sorted (I had a kebab, but that’s not the point).
The bass parts were a bit more challenging than last week: I find this with classical music from the Classical period (you’ll have to look that up if you’re not musicky), because composers tend to just lump the bass with the ‘cello, not realising that the two instruments simply do not function in the same way. Last week’s Baroque programme had more suitable parts for the bass, but that’s the luck of the draw. I made a few boo-boos, but nothing terribly noticeable, especially as the choir made a couple of boo-boos themselves. That sounds cruel, and don’t get me wrong: WSC are a great choir, but not the most professional I’ve ever played for. Notably, the sopranos were not quite reaching their top notes, their was a gradual flattening of pitch through quite a few passages, and there was the “heads in copies” phenomenon, which meant that the tempo of the choir didn’t always match the tempo of the conductor.
Non-music related gripes: one choir member fumble with a packet of tissues during the soprano soloist’s incredibly quiet Laudete Dominum. Also, all the ladies in the choir brought their handbags on stage with them, which looked really messy. And finally, during the rehearsal, when my bass was lying on the floor and I was sitting down nearby, one lady thought it’d be ok to step over the bass’ neck, rather than going around it: any bass player will tell you this is a CARDINAL SIN. She would be crying all the way to the bank if she’d kicked it over, because she would be paying for the repairs. And the worst thing was that she ignored me when I asked her NOT to do it. Hmm.
OK, let’s put that aside for the time being, and turn to the programme: Mozart’s “Vesperae solennes de confessore” and Haydn’s “Nelson Mass”. Neither works I’ve played before, but both challenged me and I enjoyed them. There was a particular passage in the Haydn that the viola, ‘cello and bass get to play in unison, which is very twee but good fun, and I could see Russ (the viola player, who I keep bumping in to all over Sussex) grinning at this musical joke.
The concert itself was very enjoyable – not moving like the concert last week, but a fun romp through some strong tunes. It is always a pleasure to play under Aedan, and the assembled orchestra were fantastic, so it was an honour to play with them. I hope to be down in Lancing again, because there is a lovely sense of community amongst this group. There was a great audience turn out, and they all seemed to enjoy the performance. So my thanks and congratulations to Aedan and the WCS!
N.B. my mum’s doggy really enjoyed her walk on the beach. Bonus.
Books: The Meaning Of It All
The Meaning Of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist
I was a wee bit disappointed by this book. I think Richard P Feynman is brilliant, and therefore maybe I was expecting something utterly ground breaking. Maybe it’s important to remember that this book is actually a transcript of three John Danz lectures which professor Feynman delivered in April 1963 at the University of Washington. As a result, the book tends to be a little fragmentary, a few points are repeated, and a little unfocussed. Perhaps, had Feynman gone back to this and refined it, we would be left with a more comfortable and satisfying read. As it stands, it might benefit from you reading it aloud (as if you were giving it as a lecture, live).
That said, this small work does reflect on some important topics, mainly the use of science to society. What makes for good scientific practice? What is the true value of science? Can scientists really believe in God? And, my personal favourite, why is it, that with the advances of scientific research in the modern world, is there such widespread belief in flying saucers, homeopathy and astrology?
Feynman also discusses scepticism at length, and in the final lecture he explores how science has been abused. Whilst nothing strictly ground-breaking, Feynman is a hugely respected scientist but also a great teacher and philosopher. A nice quick read for anyone interested in science, philosophy, scepticism, and the philosophy of science.
And as another reviewer has pointed out: Yes, it rambles, but then so do scientists!
Books: The Poetry and Short Stories of Dorothy Parker
The Poetry and Short Stories of Dorothy Parker
Ben has been raving about Dorothy Parker pretty much since we first met, and having finally gotten around to reading her work, I am beginning to understand why.
All of her poems are bitter and witty, and none are too long (Ben and I are not overly fond of poems where you have to turn the page – again, call us philistines if you want). Parker voices frustrations that you wish you had found the words to express. She’s especially bitter about the plight of woman – but voices it fantastically well. Parker’s women are feisty, vengeful and fierce. A snippet from one of my favourites is in order, I think…
…Down from Caesar past Joynson-Hicks
Echoes the warning, ever new:
Though they’re trained to amusing tricks,
Gentler, they, than the pigeon’s coo,
Careful, son, of the cursed two -
Either one is a dangerous pet;
Natural history proves it true -
Women and elephants never forget….
Ballade of Unfortunate Animals
I’m fairly certain that Parker is not for everyone: she does not write happy or upbeat, and too much Parker, I’m sure, might make you pretty bitter yourself, so I advise taking in small doses. Not all of it is fantastic – a lot of it is self-indulgent pining over lost loves and boredom. Like the modern teenager, she does seem to enjoy her misery far too much.
However, she is very witty and observant, and made me laugh out loud more than once (at the expense of her archetypal characters, I must admit). Her short stories are fairly entertaining too, but I felt they weren’t on par with her poetry. That said, both stories and poems make clever observations about the hypocritical and often cruel behaviour of “normal people”.
And I can see myself getting Inscription for the Ceiling of a Bedroom inscribed on my bedroom ceiling.
…Though I go in pride and strength,
I’ll come back to bed at length…
…Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall -
I’m a fool to rise at all!
Poor Dotty P.
Cleaning up your mess
I spent my weekend in Sussex, with my lovely mum. We had a great time, catching up, eating and pestering the dog.
Dusky the lurcher
But my visit was not just to chin wag and to get fat off my mum’s superb cooking. Oh, no. The deal is: my parents own a second house, three doors down from where they live. They rent out this second house, and make money. Hurrah! Well, for the last four years, a guy and his two (or was it 3? I can never remember) sons and their dog have lived there. (It just so happens that the youngest son used to bully me at school, but that’s neither here nor there…)
But, coming to the end of their tenancy this time around, they’ve decided they need to move on. Fair enough, says my mum, your contract ends on the 18th of September, so please have the place cleared up by then.
Mum puts out adverts for new tenants, and has an offer in no time. She agrees that they can move in on the 1st of October, which gives her two weeks to make sure the house is ready for a new family to move in. Hopefully, the last set of tenants are so eager to get their deposit back, they’ll have scrubbed the house top to bottom and fixed anything that they’ve managed to break.
But no. They weren’t even completely moved out by the 18th. I arrived at my mum’s on the 18th, and bright and early on the Sunday (19th) we expected to start on an empty, mostly clean house. NO, NO, NO. There were a dozen dead footballs in the garden, their old barbecue on the decking, two bikes leant against the house, and coathangers EVERYWHERE for some reason.
But Stuff is easy enough to toss in a skip. Less easy: mouldy wallpaper, mouldy curtains, broken window and dog hair, dust and spiders.
For me, the worst was the mould. It’s almost as if they didn’t open the windows for four years. All of the windows had some mould on them (although luckily the frames are plastic, not wood, so it should come of with no lasting damage), some of the curtains need completely replacing, and worst of all: my mum has to repaper half of a bedroom because it was so mouldy. I helped her strip the old, mouldy paper back:
We spent the whole day cleaning (9-6:30) but only scratched the surface. I hoovered my own weight in dog hair, and many a spider met a grim end.
Seriously though – how do people live like this? Why didn’t they see the mould and go “huh, probably should do something about that..”? And the guy came round halfway through the day to pick up some of his stuff (my mum foisted their rusty old barbecue and mangled footballs on him) – he had the utter CHEEK to ask how soon he could get his deposit back!! My mum simply shrugged him off by saying she was a bit busy at the moment. I am trying to encourage her to make an itemised bill detailing all of the ruined stuff that needs replacing, and explaining THAT’S why he doesn’t get his deposit back.
I’ll be back there next week to clean up some more of the mess.
Typical
Typical! Just about to have out Easter break from uni, and I come down with a horrid cold-thing. Obviously I can only get ill when I have the time. Just hope I’m not too ill to sing this weekend.
You may have noticed I rehauled the layout of my blog. This is more along the lines of how I want to brand my new shop. Still a bit generic at the moment, but I’m still working on it – just got a bit sick of the all-black look; I think I’m getting a bit too old for that! I plan to incorporate some other elements (cutesy ones!) but I’m fond of the London sky line. Still no firm thoughts on a name.
But what have I been working on, in preparation for my new shop? I’ve decided to focus on my strengths (i.e. easy things, that I believe I make well, and that sell!), being fibre crafts. I love making beaded jewellery, I believe I produce really nice pieces, and have received a LOT of compliments for my jewellery products – however, not a single jewellery piece has sold. So unfortunately, I’ll be calling a halt to production of jewellery for retail purposes – it is simply a flooded market. Any jewellery I make in the future will be only for me, or as gifts for friends.
So what does sell? Cute crochet things, like this:
It’s a mouse! Yay! I’m also working on other crochet critters, after the success of those ‘shrooms.
AND I ordered some new felting needles – my last one broke ages ago, and I never got around to replacing it.
And now, a Current News Rant
There is talk of altering Daylight Savings by an extra hour, to match the rest of Europe. The idea behind it is to make summer evenings longer - “If the clocks were put forward by two hours, it would mean summer evenings would be lighter for longer, with the sun setting at about 2200 BST in June.”
Now, for me, the issue would be yes, longer evenings, but DARK mornings. Not really a good start to the day.
However, what “farmers” seem to object to is that it would make their days very long. EH!?
One Devon poultry farmer: “I’d have to get up an hour earlier in the morning for my chickens and they wouldn’t go to bed any earlier – it would be about 1130 [2330] in the summer.”
No. No. Changing the clocks forward would not alter the laws of physics. “Time” is a manmade concept. There will still be as many hours of light in the day, we’re just shifting the label. Get up with the chickens, and go to bed with the chickens. If anything, you’d be getting up an hour LATER. Your chickens will get up with the sun, just like they always do. They won’t get up any earlier, just because you turned their clocks forward. In fact, if you give your chickens a clock, you’re a bit weird.
Chickens will NOT react to daylight savings. They won’t suddenly go “Oh, it’s still dark out, but the clock says 7am. I should probably get moving…”
It amazes me that people can be this stupid.
