10 Reasons Why English Coursework Should Be Banned

Oh dear... as you can see, I am once again procrastinating from the hideous English coursework. Here I present to you The Procrastinator's List of Good Reasons to Give Coursework the Boot.

1. It's ridiculously stressful.
2. It's harder than exams.
3. It's expected to be of much higher quality than work produced in an exam.
4. It gives you weeks and months of stress rather than a couple of hours.
5. It will haunt you for quite some time, unlike an exam which will disappear from view within a tiny amount of time, and is hence quickly out of your hands.
6. You have to worry about ridiculous extra trimmings that are unnecessary in the exam such as footnotes and a bibliography.
7. Most A-Level students are trying to study at least two other subjects, in addition to preparing for the actual English exam itself, plus trying to hold down a social life and possibly other commitments such as drama and music. IT'S TOO MUCH!
8. Because everyone in the class is in the same boat, there's a tendency for students to wind each other up with anxiety... this could potentially lead to mass-suicide or less dramatic events such as mass-panic on Facebook.
9. OK, here's the proper rational reason that grown-ups use: plagiarism. Now, I'm a good girl so I don't plagiarise, but how is anyone to know that my parents or non-existent older sister or even my teacher hasn't given me large quantities of assistance? This is as good a reason as any to scrap coursework!
10. Pathetic final reason: In the modern world in which we live, it's so much harder not to procrastinate (yes, readers, I speak of Facebook). We've got it so much harder than our parents' generation, who probably had to handwrite their coursework with very few distractions while we are slaves to the internet and to our "I-must-not-be-bored" culture. Save us from despair! Get rid of coursework and maybe we'll get off Facebook too... or maybe not.

Right. I'd better actually crack on with the coursework. This is completely ridiculous.

J

xxx

Sarah is Leaving Target Women!!!

As Terra just posted on her wonderful blog, SARAH HASKINS IS LEAVING INFOMANIA'S TARGET WOMEN. This is possibly one of the worst pieces of entertainment-related news I've heard in a long time.

Target Women is one of those real pleasures in life, a dependable source of media-bashing wit and fresh feminist comedy. I like nothing better than to sit down with a cup of tea and watch old episodes over and over again. Sarah combines genuine intellectual magic with pure and simple humour, and I admire her so much for her effortless style: she shows that women can be funny without being caricatures.

To say that I will miss her goes without saying. I sincerely hope that the future of Target Women remains bright, and that Sarah will go on to produce more fantastic material in the future.

J

xxx

Patrick Wolf

Recently, I have become completely addicted to Patrick Wolf's music. I haven't been so hooked on a particular artist's work since I discovered David Bowie a few years ago. Patrick is one of those rare talents that have the ability to move the listener's emotions. His music is both epic and intimate, ambitious and simple, heart-wrenchingly painful and gloriously joyous. It's as though he breathes his music; it's organic, it pulsates with life. The themes that run through his work -- loneliness, freedom, nature -- are timeless, as are the beautiful strings (Patrick plays the viola) and the hints of old folk music and traditional myth. Coupled with this ageless quality is the very modern electronic element to his work, which gives the music an undercurrent of sexuality and a heartbeat-like pulse.

I saw spirits

Crawl across the river mouth

In skewed ascension

With no destination

Like this lone bachelor in me

This constant yearning

For great love and learning

For the wind to carry me free

Of course, I have to say that the androgynous appearance is a bonus too...it seems I have a little bit of a thing for more effeminate guys in makeup, which might be a potential distraction from my general lesbianism if it weren't for the unfortunate drawback of male genitalia. Ahem.

Wind in the wires

It’s the sigh of wild electricity
I’m on the edge of a cliff
Surpassing
Comfort and security

But here comes a gale
A crippling anger
Sea birds are blown
Into the rocks
Grace is lost to thunder

Patrick has been producing stuff for quite a while now; his first album, Lycanthropy, was released in 2003 and his latest album, the INCREDIBLE The Bachelor, came out in 2009. His next piece, The Conqueror, is due for release later in the year. I can't wait! I'd love to go and see him live, but I'm not aware of any upcoming gigs... :(

Hooray for Patrick!

J

xxx

Ex-Gay Movement

If there's one thing that pisses me off, it's homophobia. Religious homophobia, in particular, really really makes my blood boil. Growing up gay is difficult enough as it is without fundamentalist nutters trying to convince you that your natural state of being is somehow dirty, sinful and impure.

Religious homophobia can be extremely damaging. I refer especially to the so-called "Ex-Gay Movement." (I'm not going to focus on those who believe that homosexual people are called to a life of celibacy -- that would lead to a separate and very opinionated discussion on the purpose of sex that I don't really have time to go into).

Various organisations exist, particularly in the USA, that seek to "cure" people of their homosexuality. One of the largest of these groups, Exodus International, offers to help people "leave homosexuality," (as if it's that simple!), through counselling and prayer. Oh yes... pray, and suddenly your lifelong, natural homosexuality will turn itself into straightness. Because God would NEVER create gay people: gayness is an illness or an unfortunate childhood development that stems from trauma or child-molestation. Pah.

Not only do organisations like Exodus International make adults, who have full responsibility for their own bodies and their own sex-lives, feel shameful about their homosexuality with various real-life stories and frightening articles (like this little piece of bullshit that tries, pathetically, to link paedophilia with homosexuality), but they also try and make young people feel like crap. Children and teenagers often try and repress gayness, so they are particularly vulnerable to this sort of twisted "help": and the parents need never know. Of course, evangelical Christian parents can't bear the thought of their kids being gay, and I don't blame them: if you thought your kid was going to hell, wouldn't you be worried?

Homophobia is a great evil, along with racism, sexism and other forms of prejudice and discrimination. Because Christianity has shaped, and continues to shape, much of our society, we have to eradicate Christian homophobia, because it has an affect on all of us: religious and non-religious. We need to teach kids who fall into the former category that being religious and being gay are not mutually exclusive. The good news is that groups such as the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement are attempting to change the position of homosexuals within churches.

Of course, homophobia doesn't just come from religion; though admittedly, things would be so much better if Church groups didn't insist on screwing up gay people. Ignorance is a problem: although we've come a long way, there are still many people who just don't understand that the world is full of gay people! The media doesn't exactly help, with lesbians largely invisible (I hope this upcoming BBC3 programme isn't a stereotypical let-down) and gay men usually stereotyped ridiculously. When it comes to homosexuality, as with everything in life, education is absolutely vital. Children need to understand about the reality of gay people in society from a very young age. We should be teaching our children about different kinds of families, healthy heterosexual and homosexual relationships, and about simple respect. We should be combating homophobic bullying. And we should be telling kids that religion is not a good enough excuse to condemn people. Because until all generations understand that homosexuality is normal and natural, we're never going to get rid of homophobia.

Mobile Phone for Little Girls

While browsing the blog of epic-win that is Feministing.com, I was reminded about a toy that I first saw advertised in a home-improvement magazine of my mother's a while ago. It's a mobile-phone for little girls, with a simple design so that the child can immediately contact Mummy or Daddy by touching one of two simple buttons.

(You can see the picture at Feministing here)

In my opinion, this is a hideous product. Giving a child a mobile-phone is, in my view, rather sinister. Presumably, this phone is marketed at children of around five or six; if I was a mother, there is no way that I would be happy about letting my very young child use such a device. From a feminist perspective, the product is even more insidious. This little pink phone is inaccessible to children from single-parent families or children with same-sex parents. For children who are growing up in "normal" families, it simply encourages little girls to continue thinking that this is the norm for everybody. Not to mention its colour: it seems that every toy for girls has become a great big pink sexist stereotype.

The product also seems to market itself based upon the sad fact that parents are increasingly paranoid about their children's safety. This is, of course, a problem in our modern society. We all know about how parents "wrap their kids in cotton wool." Obviously the world has changed, and giving kids the freedom they had thirty years ago is not really possible, but this is just a step too far. I can see the following happening: Paranoid mother sees the product on the shelf, imagines her daughter lost in the supermarket or in the back of a paedophile's car, then buys the product because it would be irresponsible not to. Surely some of the paranoia will rub off on the child? It's a sad world we live in.

Fortunately, I have never seen a girl with such a phone, and hopefully won't start seeing them everywhere in the near future.

J xxx

That's Gay

Oh, how I love Bryan Safi!

It's so refreshing to see the ridiculousness of gay-stereotyping and homophobia in the media presented in such a fresh and funny way. For any of us who have complained about the portrayal of gay people and gay issues in popular culture, That's Gay is just perfect! Thumbs up to Infomania. :D

Enjoy :)

J xxx

Miep Gies 1909-2010

Goedenavond,

This morning I woke from my sleep to hear the sad news of the death of 100-year-old Miep Gies.

Last week I started to read her memoir, Remembering Anne Frank, which tells the world-famous story from Miep's perspective, and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the dangerous risks that she and her husband Jan were prepared to, and did, take. Miep's bravery and resilience -- qualities that she modestly protested were not remarkable at the time -- ensured that the Frank and Van Pels families remained hidden from the Nazis for two years, and her practicality ensured that Anne's diary was saved from the ransacked "Secret Annexe," later to become one of the most significant historical sources of all time.

Miep was a remarkably headstrong, kind-hearted, competent woman who put others before herself without a fuss, refusing to accept throughout her life that she was in any way a hero. She worked for Otto Frank from 1933, willing to put her to hand to any task and rising up quickly to become a trusted and senior member of the company. She would get around Amsterdam on her trusty bicycle, always busy, and frequently went for dinner at the Franks' with Jan. Anne was very fond of Miep, and was always bursting with questions. When Miep recalled her, she often said that Anne's most memorable personality trait was her curiosity.

When the Frank family went into hiding, Miep carried on working in the office below whilst sourcing extra food and other essentials for the group hidden in the annexe. As the war-years progressed, this became an increasingly dangerous and difficult task, and Miep would often spend hours searching the shops for the most basic of necessities, using illegal ration cards and utilising the black market. Jan, meanwhile, worked in an underground organisation helping victims of the Nazis whilst also continuing his day-job as a cover. Together they lived in fear, trying not to think too hard about the implications of their risk-taking, and even hid a Jewish student in their flat on top of their other dangerous activities.

When the residents of the secret hiding place were arrested, Miep found Anne's diary and writings and, out of respect for Anne, did not read them. Instead, she placed them in the drawer of her desk so that she could return them to Anne "after the war." Of course, tragically, Anne never did return, but Miep faithfully handed the diary to her old employer. Without Miep, we wouldn't have The Diary of Anne Frank.

I have a soft-spot for Miep because I played her in a production of Tales from the Hidden Annexe. The experience of being in that play has changed me as a person, more than I ever expected it would, and I have such enormous respect for anyone who played a part, however small, in the resistance against Nazi occupation in Europe.

Miep, with her independent and headstrong spirit, was an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances who had the gift of human kindness and courage. The last significant character in Anne's famous story has now departed from this world; we can all learn something from Miep Gies.

Tot ziens,

xxx

Back to Blogging

Good morning,

I am heartily sorry that I have not written properly for so long. I wrote so much on here from the summer to November, and then, quite suddenly, I stopped. Obviously, things became rather busy around the Christmas season, but also I was overcome with a rather disconcerting sadness and fatigue and a loss of hope in everything that I believe in... so to write on here would have taken a bigger effort than usual and, actually, a bit of hypocrisy as I doubted all of my opinions and values.

Fortunately for me, and perhaps unfortunately for you, my old self has returned -- if a little more cynical, liberal and doubtful than before -- so this means I need to get back into the business of blogging! :)

I am going to start with a characteristic moan about our messed-up, appearance-obsessed society. Specifically, I am going to moan about a dating website that claims to connect so-called "attractive" people with other people that fit the same narrow, shallow characteristics. The site, Beautiful People, is an exclusive club that accepts a small percentage of applicants, based purely on their physical attractiveness as voted by other users. If this concept wasn't hideous in itself, this news article caught my attention, and sparked my shock, recently:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8439495.stm

I need not explain why this is so saddening, and such a hideous symptom of our sad and sick society.

Anyway, on a happier note, I also came across this exciting article in my copy of the G2 on Friday: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/08/the-feminist-year-ahead

This is giving me much hope -- feminism is definitely coming back into public consciousness -- and I look forward to getting down to London to get involved in a bit of activism!

Happy New Year,

J

xxx