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Month: November 2016

Review: The Grand Tour, Episode One

In March 2015, Jeremy Clarkson punched a BBC producer due to the absence of a hot meal on offer after a day of Top Gear filming. Immediately, debates were opened up as to what the BBC should do next. Take the moral high ground, make a statement and sack Clarkson? Or accept a public apology, acknowledge his popularity and let the incident slide? In essence, the nature of these debates were akin to the “non-dom” taxation debates of the 2015 UK general election campaign: morality vs economics.

Well, despite petitions from fans to keep Clarkson, the BBC decided Clarkson had crossed a line and had to go. And so with him went colleagues James May and Richard Hammond. In an attempt to prove Top Gear was bigger than the trio, another series of Top Gear was filmed. Cast selection made it clear from the offset the BBC were trying to appeal to a wider audience than before. Top Gear had become symbolic of heterogenic masculinity, with its “laddish” style humour. That is not to say women didn’t watch the show but the new Top Gear wanted to feel more inclusive. New presenters included radio host Chris Evans, Friends star Matt LeBlanc, F1’s Eddie Jordan, as well as professional racing driver Sabine Schmitz. The show certainly had crafted a fresh, new image.

Despite the BBC’s efforts, the new Top Gear series went down like a lead balloon. That didn’t stop Evans rather embarrassingly taking to twitter to defend the first episode, tweeting “The new Top Gear is a hit. OFFICIALLY. 23 % audience share. 12 % MORE than the opening episode of the last series. These are the FACTS”. Indeed, people may have watched the first episode out of curiosity but that is not to say they enjoyed the show, as indicated by the plummeting viewing figures of subsequent weeks. The 3rd episode’s overnight viewing figures were 2.4 million: the lowest for the BBC2 show in over a decade. Matt Le Blanc received praise from critics but overall Top Gear flopped. So much so that Evans has since stepped down as host due to the overwhelming volume of criticism received.

And so all eyes turned to Clarkson, Hammond and May. The trio signed a multi-million pound deal with Amazon to host a rival car show, titled  “The Grand Tour”. Fans were brimming with excitement, with the first episode due to go live on the site on the 18th of November from 00:01.

The Grand Tour started off in tongue and cheek style. Clarkson left a building, exchanging glances with the security guard (alluding to his BBC departure) before heading off to the airport to get a flight to Los Angeles. Clarkson then began driving along a picturesque road in America, joined by May and Hammond. The trio then drove along a beach to the opening set to the sound of Johnny Nash’s “I can see clearly now the rain has gone”, played by a live band. Lots of other cars, trucks and Lorries drove alongside Clarkson et al. to illustrate the number of team members that followed the trio to Amazon from BBC.

Amazon had clearly gone over and above to ensure as many fans were at the show’s launch as possible; the size of the crowd illustrated the extent of the global reach of the trio’s popularity. The cinematography of this scene was stunning, as well as being very clever, it was basically a way of sticking two fingers up to the BBC and saying “you need us; we don’t need you” without explicitly saying or doing anything controversial. The beaming trio were upbeat, and their energy infected the crowd.

Once inside the tent, the Grand Tour began with a classic Clarkson Vs Hammond battle over whose car was best, with May eventually joining the duo. The three cars reviewed across the show were hybrid hypercars: McClaren P1 (Clarkson); Porsche 918 (Hammond) and LaFerrari (May). There were some details given about the mechanical features of the cars. But in traditional Top Gear Style, these reviews were light hearted in nature. Clarkson suggested Hammond’s Porsche was like Downton Abbey and his McClaren was like Breaking Bad. The humour was also as politically incorrect as fans have to come expect (and love). Clarkson compared the trio to gypsies due to the fact they will be travelling round in a tent but pointed out the difference is that they will pay insurance tax. In the “I’m offended” political era, Clarkson’s politically incorrect jokes are somewhat refreshing. The trio’s humour is what the fans tune in for. Evans just did not have that presence about him. He might tell a joke but it seemed slightly forced and awkward. With Clarkson et al., the show is embedded with witty jokes and one-liners; the trio bounce off one another and have great chemistry: a complete contrast to the Top Gear presenters who failed to gel as a group.

While the BBC has ownership rights over lots of Top Gear content, the Grand Tour was very similar to the traditional Top Gear set up which the fans know and love. “The Stig” has been replaced by “the American”, who seems to like to make jokes about Communism. The “Star in the reasonably priced car” section has been replaced by “Celebrity Brain Crash”, although details of what this actually entails remain vague as of yet. All that has effectively changed is technicalities and titles: it is basically Top Gear but Clarkson et al. now have more money, as well as greater freedom to do what they want given the show is broadcast online and not on TV.

The Grand Tour’s reception was well and truly brilliant. Over 3,000 people have rated the Amazon episode, averaging 5 stars. In addition, the episodes’s IMDb rating is 9.6. Given Top Gear was one of the BBC’s most exported programme worldwide, the success of The Grand Tour might have them worried. With the loss of so much revenue, further question marks will be added over the BBC’s future. Sacking Clarkson might have been the right thing to do morally but it was bad for business.

Score: 4/5

Revolution Champions League opens in Manchester

Team JLT Condor won the opening round of the new Revolution Champions League at the Manchester Velodrome on Saturday.  The duo of Jon Mould and Ed Clancy racked up a sizeable 199 points over 9 races to put them firmly in the lead going into the final round in London.

The newly revised format also proved a success, as British and international teams battled it out over two days.

In spite of the World Tour teams being the new major attraction, the track specialists dominated the standings, with all of Saturday’s races being won by riders for non-World Tour teams.  Elia Viviani arrived as Olympic champion, and was hoping to replicate some of that success at Revolution. However, his immaculate chrome blue and gold bike was not enough to overcome the Revolution regulars, and had to settle for second place in the team elimination as his best result of the weekend.

JLT Condor cemented their place at the top of the standings with three wins and two second places on Saturday.

The nearest placed team to them, Team Pedalsure, notched up a win each for both of their riders — Andy Tennant and 6-day legend Iljo Keisse — and trail JLT by 27 points. They will be hoping to overturn this deficit in London this weekend.

Owain Doull managed to recover from a nasty crash on Friday night to compete on Saturday, and managed a solid third place finish in the scratch race.

Maloja Pushbikers’ Max Beyer won the scratch race after escaping with leading group with five other riders and pipping Clancy on the line in the final.

The women’s elite omnium also gave fans a first look at the new format. The UCI recently changed the omnium from six events over two days to four events over a single day, and removed all of the timed races. Revisions to the rules of one new addition, the tempo race, only came through on Friday night, meaning riders had to be quick to adapt to new regulations.

Team podium ambition finished top of the standings at the end of the weekend, with Voxwomen and Great Britain in second and third respectively.

The men’s sprint omnium also saw plenty of tense racing, with it being dominated by France’s Quentin Lafargue, and Lithuania’s Vasilijus Lendel. Matt Rotherham also managed to revel in the home support, and earned himself a solid fourth place among a tough field.

The riders now go on to London’s Lee Valley Velodrome for the final round of the Champions League, on the 2nd and 3rd of December.

6 day legend Iljo Keisse, Photo: Joseph Laithwaite Photo: Joseph Laithwaite Olympic Omnium champion Elia Viviani, Photo Joseph Laithwaite Photo: Joseph Laithwaite

Champions League Standings after 9 races

JLT Condor p/b Mavic 199

Team Pedalsure 172

Maloja Pushbikers  127

Team Sky 102

Cannondale Drapac 89

Team Wiggins 83

Giant-Alpecin 72

LottoNL-Jumbo 70

France-Alé 58

Trek-Segafredo 53

Orica-BikeExchange 42

Lampre Merida 25

Gigi Hadid, Melania Trump, and the rise of virtue signalling

The American Music Awards (AMAs) has never been short of controversy. In 2009 its public voting system was criticised for posthumously nominating Michael Jackson for awards such as Artist of the Year — it also received complaints concerning Adam Lambert’s ‘racy’ performance at the ceremony.

This year was no different. This time it was one of the hosts, Gigi Hadid, who drew unwanted attention. It was to be expected that a joke about President-elect Donald Trump was going to be made, given his momentous victory over Hillary Clinton earlier in November, and the plethora of material he has handed to the media to satirise.

Gigi Hadid’s impression of Melania Trump at the awards ceremony on Sunday highlighted a few things, and there are many questions that could be debated: was it racist? Should she have had to apologise? The stunt involved her imitating Melania’s facial expressions and Slovenian accent, and saying “I love my husband, President Barack Obama,” playing on Melania’s plagiarising of Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in 2008. In that case, the lack of foresight of both Melania and her speechwriter was dumbfounding, particularly in an internet age where nothing can be fully erased or forgotten.

Regarding Hadid’s impression, initially, I felt that it was an unnecessarily personal and spiteful attack on someone who has remained relatively removed from the political sphere. Reflecting on my initial thoughts about the incident, though, it seems clear that she should not have felt compelled to apologise. The impression was based on something Melania had done, and was rightly criticised for. While imitating her facial expression seemed particularly spiteful, and did not add any humour to the segment, double standards of the ‘acceptability’ of mocking others must not be tolerated.

To me, this event illuminated something about the way in which people engaged with the US election and Donald Trump. The process exposed the prominence of ‘virtue signalling’ in our society. Virtue signalling, a phrase coined by author James Bartholomew, is defined by Mark Judge in an article for Acculturated as, “the popular modern habit of indicating that one has virtue merely by expressing disgust or favor for certain political ideas, cultural happenings, or even the weather”.

I noticed that throughout the UK’s European Union referendum campaign, and more acutely during the US presidential election campaign, a competition arose to see who could denounce certain ideas the most. This was particularly the case on social media, irrespective of whether claims were backed up with evidence.

Political discussion and debate on social media platforms have too often become what Bartholomew notes as “indicating” that you share “the right, approved, liberal media-elite opinions” and that you are of a “kind, decent, and virtuous” sort . In no way did I support Trump in the election — I found the election to be demoralising. It seemed, however, that  any allegiance to Trump was deemed completely unacceptable and unfathomable — any and every supporter was immediately branded a racist, ignorant bigot. This labelling does not encourage the challenging debate that is so needed in the current political climate — this is a whole other discussion to be had.

The link between Gigi Hadid’s impression and virtue signalling may not be immediately clear. However, for me, it drew into focus the ‘group think’ mentality that goes hand-in-hand with virtue signalling. It highlighted the connection between celebrity culture and politics, and how this perpetuated the sense of ‘moral superiority’ that Ben Shapiro talks of — which undoubtedly contributed to Trump’s victory. The very overt presentation of morality and decency portrayed by celebrities and others reflects how most of the time it is for their personal ‘aggrandisement’ — for an ego-trip. People are able to place themselves in the camp of virtue and “enjoy a sense of community” and “feel confirmed” in their viewpoint. All of this has been exasperated by celebrity culture and liberal mainstream media.

Some people I spoke to about Trump knew as much as possible about his policy aims. However, the majority seemed to rely upon vague popular discourse and lacked concrete backing to their arguments against him. This is one reason why ‘virtue signalling’ became so prevalent during his campaign, it seemed as though it was a fight for who could shout the loudest in denouncement of him.

There is plenty to say in attempting to reason with Trump’s victory, though it is not the focus of this article. Last Sunday’s incident, however, highlighted a growing problem in society. There is too much concern with appearing in a certain way and conforming to the “right” way of thinking. It is exactly this “group think” and fear of diverging from popular rhetoric that lets someone like Trump gain traction and build support. Instead of concentrating on solutions, we are stuck in denouncing him and failing to fully address the issues behind his discourse. It also brings in the focus the American public’s rejection of the intertwining  of celebrity culture with political strategy, despite Hillary Clinton’s best efforts.

Trump and Farage are role models for aspiring politicians

These days, people are becoming increasingly sick of politicians that represent establishment interests and repeat party lines without passion behind what they are saying. Irrespective of your political beliefs, no one can deny that both Nigel Farage and President-elect Donald Trump managed to connect with ordinary people, in the UK and US respectfully. In pursuit of their goals, both beat the odds against them: Farage gathered public backing for the  UK to leave the European Union and Trump made it to the White House.

Lessons can be learned from the events of this year. It signals a change in way we view our representatives: we do not want prim and perfect individuals. Rather, we prefer individuals who have battled through setbacks, made mistakes, and are ready to admit that they are imperfect people. Many accuse politicians of being out-of-touch, but it takes a lot for a politician to admit that they have made mistakes and then not let it get in the way of their work.

It is true that politicians are in a position of high authority. Naturally, we would expect them to behave appropriately and show respect. But there is a fine line between being diplomatic to all parties and being a push-over. David Cameron’s leadership of the Conservative Party was case-in-point of the latter. He appealed to the centre of the party and facilitated a broad church of views. This encouraged resentment from traditional conservatives within the party, with many feeling that the Tories no longer stood for their values.

The Labour Party is arguably having the opposite problem. Many ardent Corbynites feel that Jeremy Corbyn is returning the party back to its old working class roots, but much of the Parliamentary Labour Party feel that electability is more important. It is often said that it is better to be in government than to be in opposition.

I beg to differ. A strong and vocal opposition beats weak governance. Nigel Farage, despite not being a representative in Parliament, helped create the foundations for Britain to vote to leave the European Union. Perhaps the strength of the anti-Westminster movement that he created was somewhat rooted in that fact that he was not publicly elected.

Those in government often get complacent and take their safe seats for granted. They see their position grants them a secure and comfortable lifestyle in contrast to the precariousness of standing up for what one truly believes in. So what was it that brought our MPs into politics — an inherent conviction of their principles or a fervent love for power?

One who had nothing to loose has all to gain. Trump is a successful multi-millionaire and exerts plenty of influence in the business world. Despite having a privileged life, voters in the US could be reassured that he was not competing in the election for the money or power of the Presidency — he already has that. It is not surprising, therefore, that the results of the electoral college showed that the average voter trusted Trump more so than Clinton.

Irrespective of placement on the political spectrum, those aspiring to go into politics can learn a lot from how both Trump and Farage engaged with the electorate. One cannot deny that they are able to connect with people in a way that other politicians are not able to do. At heart, they went into politics for the right reasons. Above all, that is why they were so successful. When the going gets tough, one’s principles always serve as better motivation than money or power ever will.

Student’s new cane design to change visually impaired lives

Vasileios Tsormpatzoudis, a PhD student and the University of Manchester’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, has upgraded the traditional white cane used by the blind and visually impaired by adding a sensor.

He explains, “mySmartCane allows visual impaired people to sense their environment beyond the physical length of their cane.

“The user is alerted to approaching objects using gentle audio, rather than waiting for the cane to physically bump into the object. Navigation is therefore easier and much faster.”

Mr Tsormpatzoudis explained that this project felt very personal to him. He said: “My main inspiration was my mother, who has retinis pigmentosa. I have seen first-hand the struggle visual impaired people have to put up with when they try to navigate with the traditional white cane.

“In preparation for the project, I conducted many conversations with existing white cane users. The key takeaway was that my modernised white-cane had to be as simple and low-cost, so I used 3D printing and cheap sensors to create an ultrasonic sensory ball, which attaches to the bottom of most existing white-canes.”

The sensor used is an ultrasonic ball that can measure the distance of the cane from surrounding objects. It then converts the data into a sound that can be heard with a bone-conducting headphone.

This means the user can gauge the object distance by the frequency of the sound without becoming too distracted by the environment and reliant on support from others.

Talking of the future, Mr Tsormpatzoudis said: “I do have many ideas to refine the design further. For example, I want to add an additional sensor to detect overhead obstacles such as sign-posts or doorways which could cause injury and are impossible to detect with a normal white-cane. Another innovation could be using vibration rather sound.”

Mr Tsormpatzoudis’ project supervisor at National Instruments, where the design was made, Richard Roberts has said: “It’s also a testament to practical engineering skills taught at The University of Manchester, the power of National Instruments technologies and, of course, Vasileios’ unbounded creativity. I think this highlights that Manchester is a hotbed of engineering talent.”

Consumerism: always on the rise

As November comes to an end, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving and “the day after Thanksgiving.” For some reason, so do we. Their four-day weekend makes Black Friday the perfect day to attract customers with low prices and crazy offers. Here in the UK, with no historical nor logistical reasons to observe this day, shops are having their very own Black Friday sales. On the either side of the pond, one thing is for sure: consumer culture is more alive than ever.

We were born and raised in the age of consumerism and ultimately, we know no other way of life. Hypocritically, our complaints have been  over-done by now. But, as time goes by, we get more and more sucked into this excessive lifestyle: Kylie Jenner has got us waiting on her lipsticks, Kanye West on his Yeezys, and Rihanna on her Creepers. Just last Saturday, customers waited outside of FootLocker from 8am to get the new Adidas Ultra-boosts. They sold out so fast that even an employee working there at the time did not get the chance to grab a pair — all this because Kanye wears them.

Producing limited quantities of celebrity-created, or even merely celebrity-endorsed, products for a limited amount of time almost makes the matter one of obsession. Out of personal experience, and after failing three times already, I am going to keep trying to catch at least one Kylie Cosmetics release.

There is something about the thrill of “winning” and getting the lipsticks in the six minutes before they sell out that makes you forget just how much your spending, or, more importantly, that you are getting really competitive about an over-hyped make up collection. It makes you feel like you are part of something bigger, that you are in a community with millions of others who share the same interests.

Apps such as Snapchat and Instagram bring celebrities so much closer to us, the images of their lives become far easier to relate to. It becomes an almost personal endeavour to support Kylie on her newest launch. Even these apps — which are, ironically, free — flood us with advertisements at every tap. It is a process of globalisation that reaches so far into our pockets, we don not even seem to notice.

Our obsession with celebrity lifestyle has even found its way into the recent US elections. After the results, many turned to analyse Hilary Clinton’s heavily reliance on celebrity endorsement to generate youth appeal. For example, Beyoncé often performed at Clinton’s rallies, casting a different light on the presidential candidate’s campaign. This aura of fake political legitimacy “yas queen slay”-ed Clinton all the way to losing.

Our consumerism, namely that of pop-culture, has crept its way into the political sphere, almost belittling it. The election was not a pure democratic process — it was a sad, drawn-out reality TV episode. The world has become so used to Keeping up with the Kardashians that America’s only way of keeping politics interesting was by electing a President who engages in constant Twitter wars with fellow celebrities.

And as much as Trump would like to deny it, this consumer culture is not just harming us, it is also harming the planet. In fact, the only shred of hope in this constant rise is that consumerism may be reaching the apex after which we can hope it will decline. With rising populations all over the world and the majority of us now increasingly living in urban areas, the dangers of our excessiveness have gone beyond potential threats — they are now a concrete reality.

Consumerism brings with it gas-guzzling cars, plastic water bottles, and takeaway menus. It necessarily displaces money into the hands of the wrong, rather wasteful people. The money we hand over to said-celebrities and designers — some more so than others — goes towards their animal-tested, toxic-waste-producing products. All the while, we advocate for recycling and reducing our carbon footprint, oblivious to the fact that our daily lifestyle is a threat to life itself. While we often cannot escape the over-powering consumerist narrative, we could at least be more conscious about where we spend our money.

For now, commercialised holidays are just around the corner. Christmas movies and songs are all the rage — all pushing us to show our loved ones we care in the only way we know: spending. It is not even December yet and I have already lost my chance of getting the Kylie Holiday Collection. Consumer culture has changed the holidays from a relaxing time with family and friends into a fast-paced survival-of-the fittest scenario, and we are too weak to do anything to resist it.

The world has not always been this way. Soon enough, we will realise that we do not need to be so blindingly impressed by big names — nor will we need the constant flickering on our social media accounts of the minute, day-to-day details of people’s lives that are so far removed from our own.

“You’re a total cuck mangina”

We all know them. You watch a video, you read an article, you foolishly scroll down and there they are — the comments.

On The Mancunion comment section you can use any username you like, and you do not even need to use a real email address. We have had our fair share of ridiculous, abusive, and just plain bizarre comments. Not all of them are trolling, or being deliberately provocative, many clearly just disagree with our writers and choose to voice their frustration in a petty, personal way, but many are worth reading. Here are some of our favourites:

‘guz’ on ‘A response to ‘Dear fresher females studying STEM’’: “It’s hilarious how you can sense the indignation and anger of this prissy writer grow through the article. By the end she is starting to realise that being born with a vagina entitles her to nothing… Shameful article overall and shows just how conceited feminist has made many women.”

‘Rachel’ on ‘Are celebrities ruining Sport Relief?’: “Harry Newton, how you could write this is beyond me. What Eddie is doing is utterly inspiring. I feel dirty even commenting on this because you were quite obviously controversy-fishing when you wrote it. But I cannot stand by and watch a bored, and to be quite frank, boring student write this in the hope of losing his virginity tonight. Harry, Sport Relief is a fantastic cause and it is people like you who detract from it by writing such sceptical garbage, not people like Eddie.”

‘tonysprout’ on ‘The Executive Team doesn’t need a Men’s Officer’ (an article from 2011): … “‘men are already vastly over represented…’ Yes, by patriarchs that believe that women are special snowflakes and therefore need more protection than men. IOW, women can’t hold their own and will never be equal. They are to be treated and protected like children. I see I’m a little late, but the date at the top of this page is Nov 22, 2016. Today’s date, so I’ll post anyway.”

The election of Trump has also attracted many commentators:

‘firstpostcommenter’ (who was second) on ‘Two slogans that define our world’: “I am not saying that all Muslims are Terrorists but all Terrorists are Muslims

Why arent politicians like Hillary saying openly that All Terrorists are Muslims….

People dont [sic] want to hear Political correctness…they want to hear ‘actual’ correctness i.e. to say things as they are”.

‘NosSig’ on ‘Harvard suspends men’s soccer team over sexual comments’: “Hey JM… just a friendly reminder, no one cares about your attempts at virtue signalling”.

‘eric strickland’ on the same article: “you’re a total cuck mangina,i bet you wear your wifes dresses when she’s at work .lmao at you”.

One inexplicable comment thread is this frankly bizarre incident where somebody impersonated one of our writers and… her mum:

‘P’ on ‘53% of University of Manchester students in favour of monarchy’: “What a well written article”.

‘Stevie’: “Thanks Mom – yours truly Stevie”.

Why would anyone bother doing that? However, perhaps more damaging was when someone pretended to be Naa Acquah, the SU’s General Secretary. Or rather, it might have been damaging, if they could spell her name properly:

‘Naa Acqua’ on ‘Response to SU apology’: “There is nothing to settle. You made a colossal blunder and you can’t even apologise with dignity. This article just makes you look bad. Off to a great start guys.”

Opinion naturally gets by far the most comments and debates, and so by extension the most trolls. However, these trolls appear to be a cut above, at least in their eloquence and seeming lack of blind rage:

‘John Smith’ on ‘Can The Labour Party sell 21st century socialism?’: “I must say I loved this article, my favourite kind of opinion piece is so often the type that gives me about as much information as i would obtain from the back of a penguin wrapper! Kind regards John Smith”

‘Catmanface’ on ‘Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell’s disrespect for the student body’: “The only thing we deserve in this situation is better journalism. Aside from the author’s apparent use of this article to practice for his Key Stage 2 ‘how to use analogies’ homework, he clearly isn’t in the real world. Another anology might pertain to Mr Nicholas reminiscing of an inept Brutus, stabbing his friend in the back but failing, with neither grace or charm, to kill her, and instead biting the hand that feeds him.”

‘John Marchant’ on ‘The fight for the European Union is not over’: “Oh stop whinging. If you really want to be in the EU then take the opportunity afforded you now. Move to the EU country of your choice and settle and establish yourselves there.

In 2 years or whenever we leave you will have the time to take residency and then its pretty much guaranteed you can stay.

Its simple really, or is this just Remoaners or Remainiacs having a whinge who will never actually get off their arse and do it. Oh i forgot its Manchester, of course it is.”

Although this relative politeness sometimes slips:

‘Student’ on ‘An NUS women’s officer is unnecessary’: “#I’mHolierThanThouTriggered
#DoesNotUnderstandTheMeaningOfOpinionArticlesTriggered
#EditorsAreBiasedAsTheyLetOpinionArticlesContrayToMineBePublishedTriggered”

However, whilst trolls are often largely harmless, pointless rage, they can commit terrible acts. Research by CiviliNation found that 12.9 per cent of people have been physically threatened online, breaking the barrier between online and offline life. Trolls are also becoming more dangerous — both because they are getting more aggressive and because we are putting more and more of ourselves online. According to trolling expert Professor Joseph Reagle simply saying “don’t feed the trolls” is “no longer sufficient. The trolls in the 90s are not the same trolls we have today.”

One example of just how dangerous trolls can be is Gamergate. A movement ostensibly about improving ethics in videogame journalism, in practice it has seen online trolls carry out a systematic, blatantly sexist campaign of abuse. It has led to several women being forced to flee their homes after their personal details were published online and they received countless threats of rape and violence.

“Next time she shows up at a conference we… give her a crippling injury that’s never going to fully heal… a good solid injury to the knees. I’d say a brain damage, but we don’t want to make it so she ends up too retarded to fear us” was one such threat, aimed at developer Zoe Quinn, one of the women who had to change address. Another, Anita Sarkeesian, had to cancel a planned talk, after an anonymous threat that “a Montreal Massacre style attack will be carried out against the attendees, as well as the students and staff at the nearby Women’s Center” – referring to a 1989 antifeminist massacre where 14 women were killed. Even controversial conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, who was a supporter of the movement, had to cancel an event after a bomb threat.

But what makes people become a troll? According to a variety of recent studies, there appear to be two main reasons. Firstly, the anonymity provided by many websites removes people’s inhibitions along with their identity — something called deindividuation. Just as crowds can turn into violence and rioting, people online feel they are free to do as they please, with little real consequence.

Secondly, trolling makes people feel better about themselves — an act of digital narcissism like the selfie. Trolls are likely unable to command the same attention or get the same sense of power and control in real life, so they exert it as much as possible online. The average troll is young, male, white — look at Linford House, who burned a poppy in protest against “squadey cunts,” or Sean Duffy, who trolled the Facebook pages of dead teenagers. Of course there are exceptions, but in the bulk of situations these trolls are individuals wanting attention. They are scared by the slow ending of their traditionally dominant position in society and the increasingly poor economic prospects of our generation and so they lash out.

So, while trolls are often hilarious, they can just as often be terrifying. What they are not, however, is evil — the ones who commit the more despicable acts are just deeply troubled and desperate for attention in order to feel good about themselves. So next time somebody calls you a “total cuck mangina”, tell them to engage in some more positive digital self-love, to whack out that Snapchat dog filter and take some selfies. But do not try to respond to them seriously — you would not want to feed the troll.

All usernames and comments appear here exactly as they were originally posted

Chicken shop supremacy

For anyone who has worked as a waiter or waitress, you will probably have been treated in a way that the majority of the population has not been subjected to. People talk down to waiters, people talk down to restaurant staff, all the social graces and manners that people in Britain have can mysteriously disappear when their steak is over-cooked, or they are sat too close to the bathrooms. It is a sad reality, but what is one notch worse than the treatment of restaurant waiters and waitresses, is the treatment of people who work at fast-food outlets.

A case in point would be that of a Michael Corcoran, a former Cardiff and Oxford United footballer. He drank over a gallon of beer before ending his night at Kebab Zero in Kingsland Road, Shoreditch. There he chanted racist abuse at Michelle Kwarteng, banging on the shop counter and staring into her eyes. Having been identified by Kwarteng, PC Tracey Chapman attempted to arrest Corcoran outside Shoreditch Town Hall, he pushed her aside and fled across the road, running straight into a car and then requiring treatment for minor injuries by paramedics. Corcoran was convicted of assaulting a police officer and racially aggravated harassment in January 2016, and was ordered to carry out 220 hours unpaid work and pay £1,085 in fines and costs at Thames Magistrates’ Court. (Hackney Gazette)

I have seen it, they way certain men order food in kebab and chicken shops, if they aren’t banging on the counter and running into cars there is still a kind of rhetoric that comes with ordering their fast food late at night. Something about being inebriated, under the cover of night, and surrounded by their friends makes them talk in a certain way. It is symptomatic of ladism, of lad culture. Although, I find the marriage of the word lad and culture unsettling in itself, the way lads behave is so dramatically divorced from anything that gets described in cultural terms, perhaps they need a new name? Try lad supremacy, for one of the many heinous characteristics of the lad in 2016 are his delusions of grandeur, the idea that he is better than everyone else, that he must have the last most authoritative word on everything.

This notion of supremacy manifests itself overtly in the arena of the chicken shop. As I witnessed last Monday, when a ‘white lad’ ordered from a BME restaurant worker, he attempted to establish himself in all his hollow alpha masculinity. It was just after 1.00am on Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield. It was in a chicken shop. The guy who was cooking that night, who I often see working there, has these terrible hours yet still manages to provide a fast, personable service. I have been going there for years, and something that keeps me coming back is that service. So when I see, first hand, lad supremacists talking to him in a derogatory, condescending tone weighted with the full force of British ignorance and prejudice, it makes my skin crawl.

I had ordered, sat down, when these two young guys walked in with that distant, drunken look in their eyes. Bearing in mind there is a huge menu printed above the counter. One asked, ‘how much for three fillets?’ the chef tells him it’s 50p a fillet but chips are extra. “What? Where’s the other guy? The other guy normally does me three nice fillets and puts some chips in their as well”, at this point his friend mumbled something about not having much money but was quickly assured by the one ordering that, “don’t worry it’s fine”. He continued, “look can we get six fillets with chips, three quid”. It wasn’t a question, he wasn’t really ordering, he was telling the chef what he wanted and how much he was going to pay for it.

And so it went on, similar to a thousand other scenes like it all over the country that probably happen every night. I imagine you have seen it too, maybe not a loud, brazen display like that of Michael Corcoran, but probably something a little more back-handed, more clandestine. In something as small as the tone of voice of a drunken man, can exist decades worth of deeply entrenched ideas of racial superiority. Even when you remove race from the equation, the language a man will use arguably reveals something. The derogatory, patronising words he uses are chosen in an attempt to exert authority. Maybe he is searching for order in a life that is otherwise spiralling out of control. For what these displays of macho arrogance reveal to us is not strength, but weakness. They attempt to bolster their claims at manhood by ‘looking tough’ in front of their friends, yet their insecurity shines.

This kind of behaviour is not secluded to fast-food restaurants, it happens everywhere. There is no immediate, magnanimous solution but one incident told to me by a friend when I was in the process of writing this article, serves as a kind of model of what we can strive to do. So this friend, N, was in Sheffield, at a kebab shop after midnight. A middle-aged man was being told that he had to wait in line to get his order, like everyone else. He worked himself into a rage and stormed out uttering the most archaic of British racial slurs, ‘P***i’, loudly under his breath. N has never appeared to me a confrontational person but she said, that on this occasion, she could not contain herself. She followed this man of nearly 50 years out the door and called him on what he had said. “You CAN’T say that to people”, “it was just a joke, I…I…”, it doesn’t matter if it was “a joke, you CANNOT call people that”. The man was left dumbstruck at being made to swallow his pride at the hands of a woman half his age.

Call them on it, don’t let it go unchecked.

Sweet Potato and Spinach Dal Recipe

Serves 4

Oven at 180˚ fan
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
3 medium sweet potatoes
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
olive oil

Diced onion
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1tsp ground turmeric
200g red lentils
400ml coconut milk
600ml vegetable stock
3 handfuls spinach (or 3 blocks of frozen spinach)

Naan (optional)

It is so cold outside that all I want to eat is a big bowl of carbs. Unfortunately that is not a very healthy option, so instead I make this dal. Lentils can get a bad rap but this dish changes that, it is full of flavour — perfect for those on a pre-Christmas budget. The sweet potatoes are what makes it special although the naan can make a great addition. Handy hint: if you buy it from your local takeaway it will taste so much better than supermarket ones and cost about the same.

Heat the oven to 180˚. Dice the sweet potatoes (wash them but leave the skin on) into 2cm cubes and place on a roasting tray. Sprinkle over the fennel and cumin seeds with a glug of olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast in oven for 40 minutes, turning occasionally until cooked through.

Heat a little more olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan (essential to stop the lentils from burning) and add the diced onion. Cook until soft and translucent, about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spices — cinnamon, cumin, coriander, turmeric — and stir through the softened onions.

Pour in the lentils, coconut milk and vegetable stock to the pan, stir, and bring to a simmer. Ensure the hob is on the lowest heat and leave the dal to cook for 25 minutes, stirring frequently to stop the lentils from sticking to the bottom. Add some hot water if necessary to stop the lentils from burning. Drop the spinach into the cooked dal and stir to wilt.

Serve with the sweet potatoes on top and naan on the side.

Feature: Should you ever meet your heroes?

You have £150 and you decide to treat yourself. What would you buy? Perhaps you would purchase one remarkably cute kitten? Or 600 of Cadbury’s finest Freddos to store for winter hibernation? Or would you spend it on breaking the golden rule of never meeting your heroes? I chose the latter of the three — as tempting as the other options sound.

Myles Kennedy, otherwise known as the hardest working man in rock music today and two-time winner of Loudwire’s Best Vocalist award, is a human I am very much in awe of. So when Kennedy’s band, Alter Bridge, offered a meet and greet package for UK fans, it was nigh on impossible to resist spending some of my hard-earned cash on a brief encounter with the man himself.

After purchasing this golden ticket, I started to hope that I was going to be as lucky as Jack (of magic beans fame). Was this daylight robbery or will this really be a little piece of magic that I will treasure forever? The package promised: a photo with the band, access to soundcheck, early access to the venue, a limited edition poster and a tour laminate. A selfie with Bieber is $2,000, so this was feeling like a pretty good deal.

However, I could not help but feel as though I had just purchased a ticket to this century’s interpretation of a freak show — a human zoo in which we all queue to gawp at these celestial beings.

For preparation purposes, I resorted to YouTube to seek out what to expect from an Alter Bridge meet and greet. Fan-made videos showed four men sat behind a table with the pictorial definition of ‘perturbed’ splattered across their faces. I was surprised at the pluck of some of the fans, shoving cameras in the band’s faces with the same vigour one would encounter in a Tom & Jerry pie-throwing duel. It was at this point that I started to doubt that I had signed my soul — and £150 — away to the right cause.

On the day of the meet and greet, my stomach was an aviary of wingèd creatures. After experiencing three stages of queuing purgatory at Manchester Arena, a stern lady approached us and asserted that she and the security team would be “ruling our meet and greet with an iron fist.”

The whole experience was all too reminiscent of queuing for lunch in primary school, contending with the draconian command of dinner ladies in a quest to get a slice of that highly sought after rainbow sprinkles cake. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the camaraderie among the fans who were present. It was wonderful to be nestled into this personification of a patchwork quilt, all unique pieces but all part of the same foundation that contribute to the success of Alter Bridge. We should never underestimate the sheer power music has in connecting the dots of our individualistic society.

Overall, we spent no more than fifteen minutes in the presence of the band, and only one of these minutes allowed for any face-to-face interaction. We danced the Hokey Cokey for two hours, a very strict ‘in-out, in-out’ policy when it came to moments with the band.

This rush left me with very little time to compute the reality of the situation. Thus, when my 10 seconds with Myles Kennedy arrived, “it’s a pleasure to meet you” was all I could squeak — twenty-one years of training in the art of conversation and this is what I produced. The cat got my tongue with ferocious tenacity.

I knew I should have said more, but out of fear of Ms Iron Fist and her security minions, I swiftly exited the room as instructed. At time of writing, my photo with the band is yet to be revealed, but one can only hope that my ability to keep my eyes open during the taking of a photo is superior to that of my language production skills.

So to whoever said you should never meet your heroes, I wholly empathise with you after this communicative fiasco. Furthermore, was the package worth £150? Probably not. But if you do get the chance to meet your hero, grab it — despite my conversational glitch, I am still smiling from meeting mine.

63 Degrees

Any time a family member drops by Manchester for a visit it turns into a food extravaganza. I look at my restaurant wish list, pick one or two that are out of my price range and hope they have got a table free. Last weekend was no exception. Mum arrived on Friday to homemade mac and cheese (a guilty pleasure) before ramping up to The Day of Food.

Saturday was to involve lunch at 63 Degrees, supper at El Gato Negro (chef’s table no less, although that did mean eating at the unfashionably early time of 6.15pm) and to top it all off, drinks at The Refuge. Believe you me, if I could have fitted brunch in there I would have! Instead we made do with croissants and homemade jam. Between all of this bounty, we explored the Christmas markets, nibbling on Dutch baby pancakes sprinkled prettily with icing sugar and shopped to our hearts content (ok, about 30 minutes before the crowds beat us).

63 Degrees is tucked away in the Northern Quarter (as all restaurants in this area of town appear to be). It is a family-run French establishment with an expensive à la carte menu and an ultra reasonable set menu at £20 for 3 courses (available Tuesday to Friday from noon until 2.30pm, as well as Saturday and Sunday from midday until 5.00pm) Having instructed mum that she could not have what I wanted, and not to touch the food before I had gotten a photo (she promptly forgot this edict), we ordered.

The set menu is to the point, with three starters and three main courses, all well chosen. Unlike many restaurants in France itself, vegetarians are well catered for here with a soup of the day (pumpkin, if I remember correctly) and a parsnip risotto with coconut milk. We bypassed these possibilities and went for the pork and chicken terrine, and the scallop ‘crumble’ with sweet potato. I don’t know quite what the crumble was, but the sweet potato puree was phenomenal, and the scallops perfectly cooked. A side note here, I often think that the bread offered by a restaurant serves as a good barometer for the quality of the restaurant as a whole, and this bread was no exception. Served both with the terrine and for the table, was a light walnut bread that was so good that I went back for more.

Sticking with seafood, I chose sea bass with fennel for the main, served with a hollandaise sauce. It was simply executed and tasted exactly as it should. My mum ordered the restaurant’s signature dish, Volaille 63 degrés, which was a ballotine of chicken stuffed with mushrooms and served with cauliflower. While I am not the greatest fan of mushrooms, I must say that this was also a well thought out plate of food. My only problem with the meal was the lack of carbohydrates, so if you would like anything more than bread, you need to remember to order it. The portion sizes are perfect for lunch or a light supper and we still had room for dessert.

The à la carte menu features macarons and cakes from the amazing Didsbury patisserie, Bisou Bisou, among other offerings. The set menu gives a choice between French cheeses and a crème brulée. As my mum loves crème brulée we ordered one with two spoons (I was saving myself for pancakes later on). Intriguingly, the pudding’s description merely said “flavours from childhood”. The sugar glaze was lit in front of us, and provided an entertaining show as the flame danced over the plate. The idea of a childhood flavour to the crème puzzled us for we recognised the taste but could not quite place it. It was sweeter than just vanilla but not overpowering. In the end, a waiter put us out of out misery and announced it was bubblegum. Thankfully, it is just a hint and not the strident flavour I remember from my days on the playground.

I cannot recommend 63 Degrees highly enough, whether your parents are visiting or you simply want a treat, you won’t be disappointed. If only there were a restaurant this good in the sleepy French village where we spend Christmas.

P.S. El Gato Negro is pretty damn good too, but costs so much more. Graduation, maybe?

Castlefield Gallery: Miniature World

The new exhibition at the Castlefield Gallery is a small wonder in many respects. Miniature World encapsulates many aspects of the search for better understanding of the world around us, in many different mediums showing the small steps to the bigger picture. The exhibition holds artefacts and diagrams of scientific concepts, miniature models of fantastical scenes, and more close-to-reality situations. It is these models depicting scenes closest to my own heart that captured my imagination.

Claire Tindale’s exhibits holds tiny models of ‘behind the scenes’ medical equipment which looks at the roles involved in taking care of dementia patients. The models are accompanied by scaled down versions of the rooms created from the memories of the patients, which makes the models — that by themselves can be clinical — really come to life. As the rooms are empty, it brought to mind the sense of loss that dementia can bring to patients and to their families, as well as to those working closely with them. I think anyone with a connection to the disease would find this part of the exhibition particularly interesting.

Another fascinating collection of pieces was created by Iain Andrews, an array of monsters, figurines, and the paintings they inspired based on folk tales and biblical narratives. His beautifully historical style of painting and the traditional themes surrounding them are in juxtaposition with the strange creatures that have been modelled and painted into them. Altogether, the images created are thought provoking — the longer you look at them the more detail you find raising more questions rather than providing answers.

The exhibition as a whole is odd, it is hard to find a link that would put each collection under the same title. Whilst each artist’s collection is intriguing and stunning in its own right, the ensemble seems disjointed. Regardless, I would recommend this exhibition to anyone looking to think deeply about the world around them as it was all I could think about for hours after leaving.

The Castlefield Gallery is showing the collection until the 22nd of January 2017 and I may be visiting again before it leaves.

Review: Love’s Labour’s Lost

Love’s Labour’s Lost was an outstanding adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy, capturing the wit and intricate ways in which words are twisted and played with, which the play is so famous for, wonderfully.

Despite the complexities of the plays references and clever wordplay, the play never felt inaccessible, credit for which should go to the cast. The acting wonderfully captured the various levels of tone the play goes through from slapstick humour to in-depth explorations of what it means to be in love, and how language expresses it.

Other than the exploitation of the power words, the plays main plot line, for those not familiar with it, follows the the forsaking of earthly pleasures in order to concentrate the mind on studying. Students will probably find the dilemmas of the plot resonant, as the main characters struggle to balance their desire to study with other seemingly more powerful desires.

The set design which had been built to mimic an Edwardian English manor house in the midst of summer seemed to have a character all to itself. The movement of set, with the inner rooms of the manor house sliding backwards as the scenes of the princesses party of women locked outside the house appeared on the stage, heightened the sense of the two worlds of earthly pleasures and study colliding.

Nigel Hess’ score dominated much of the play, largely to great success. The music of the play was integral to many of the scenes and helped to set the shifting tones of the play; however it felt that at times the musical segments were expanded beyond necessity. This was particularly true of the ending which while remaining true to the original script ended with a song, seemed to unnecessarily linger.

The intention of this prolonged ending, with the actors staring out into the audience was perhaps to heighten an awareness that the play is not in fact over, that final promise of reunion between the lovers in ‘twelvemonth and a day’, is ‘too long for a play’, which is why the play is believed to be paired with ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ or ‘Love Labours Won’.

This idea is being tested on the stage as both plays are brought to the Opera House, with the same company of actors playing in both performances, on the same Edwardian set. By presenting both plays together has enabled the cast and director to explore hands on the ways in which they speak to each other.

It is hard however to pass judgement on whether this match effective without watching the paired play. The idea that the play’s pairing is an empirical test of the hypothesis that Much Ado About Nothing, is another name for the lost play, and sequel to Love Labour’s Lost, Love Labour’s Won, is difficult to judge. Without having the two plays consecutively played on one night, it is difficult for those who do not attend on both nights to decide whether the similarities suggested are there.

That is not to say I cannot see where the plays do overlap, particularly in respect to the wit and sparring nature of the relationships presented; however if the plays have been produced to reflect each other in tone an style, it is hard for those other than the actors and the very committed theatre goers to view it as a double-bill.

Perhaps if it had been performed as such, abridging both plays, to create an extended double-bill of the two, the intended speculation that the two plays are closely connected or that Much Ado About Nothing is in fact Love’s Labour’s Won, would be made more potent and accessible

Album: Thee Oh Sees – An Odd Entrances

November 18th 2016 via Castle Face Records

6.5/10

An Odd Entrances is the eighteenth album by the Californian band and their second of 2016, following August’s A Weird Exits. It is impossible to describe An Odd Entrances without the context of A Weird Exits; the two albums, the first to be recorded with the new two drummer line up, were recorded during the same session and are undoubtedly companion pieces.

A Weird Exits took the bands trademark garage rock sound and gave it a more psychedelic, almost cosmic edge, all the while maintaining the energetic noise rock elements synonymous with Thee Oh Sees incredible live performances.

An Odd Entrances’ six tracks, three of which are instrumentals, take the sound from A Weird Exists and stretch it into several different genres expanding on themes that subtly inhabit the previous album.

Tracks like ‘The Poem’ seem an ode to sixties folk with a violin throughout and Tolkieneque lyrics, while ‘Jammed Exit’ is a continuation of A Weird Exits’ ‘Jammed Entrances’ sharing the same groove but adding an oddly well-fitting wayward flute to the mix of droning synths and metronomic drum and bassline.

The following track ‘At The End, On The Stairs’ is one of the odder tracks on the record sounding as though it wouldn’t be out of place on a sixties smooth jazz album, if it weren’t for the occasional psych rock guitar solo.

The next track ‘Unwrap the Fiend, Pt.1’ is a prelude to the A Weird Exits track ‘Unwrap the Fiend, Pt.2’ which, despite the confusion of releasing the prelude after the main track, is probably one of the best tracks on the album with a great drumming that highlights the fantastic rolling guitars.

The final track ‘Nervous Tech (Nah John)’ exemplifies the reason for having two drummers both of whom get to show their talent as noise driven guitars start and stop giving the track a sporadic, almost improvised feel.

It is hard to argue that An Odd Entrances is not an album of leftovers from the A Weird Exists session. While almost all the tracks individually are fantastic, the lack of consistency means there is no coherent message within the album, but that may be the point; the confusing track listing and even more incoherent album names gives this pair of albums a sense of disorganisation indicative of the bands sound.

While I doubt anyone would call An Odd Entrances the best album from the Californian rockers, for fans of Thee Oh Sees this is another good addition to their impressively consistent catalogue of albums.

EuroWatch: Bundesliga

EuroWatch: Bundesliga

Josh Jenkins will be looking at the best European leagues each week – this week: Bundesliga

Team to Watch: Rasen Ballsport Leipzig

Player to Watch: Sebastian Rudy

Manager to Watch: Julian Nagelsmann

Game of the season so far: Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 RB Leipzig

The 54th Bundesliga season is on its way to becoming the most fascinating in many years. It has only taken eleven games to – not just get Germany talking – but the rest of the footballing world talking too. The astonishing rise of Rasen Ballsport Leipzig (you’re not fooling anyone Red Bull), Hamburg’s seeming descent into the footballing abyss, and a 29-year-old manager doing wonders at Hoffenheim have all contributed to the League’s intrigue.

Perhaps even more remarkable, the spotlight has been taken away from powerhouses Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Usually when these two play each other, like they did last week, the game steals the attention away from the rest of the league. But not this year. Everyone was talking about Leipzig and how they produced a scintillating comeback to beat Bayer Leverkusen and rise to the top spot.

RB Leipzig

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The ascent of RB Leipzig is even more eye-catching when examining their short history. The Club were formed in 2009 after drinks company Red Bull controversially purchased the playing rights of the fifth division side SSV Markranstädt – in a move every bit as controversial as Wimbledon being bought and relocated to Milton Keynes. Since then, they have gained four promotions in just six seasons.

Devastating on the counter attack and with a defence that has only been breached nine times this season, they sit at the top of the table, three points above powerhouses Bayern and the rest of the chasing pack.

In their short time at the top table they have already created Bundesliga history. Never before has a team gone eleven games without defeat in their first season after winning promotion to the Bundesliga — the previous record was held by MSV Duisburg who went ten unbeaten in 1993. Leipzig are also the first team from East Germany to play in the top tier since Energie Cottbus were relegated in 2009. They buck the trend in every possible way.

With a unique management structure in place, their head coach Ralph Hasenhütt was only appointed in the summer after then manager Ralf Rangnick moved to the role of Director of Football. With a more hands on role than one would expect from a Director of Football, Rangnick’s thirty-three years of experience in the game have been vital in aiding Leipzig to the top of the table.

Hoffenheim

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

As the only other unbeaten team in the league to date, Hoffenheim have also been grabbing the spotlight so far this season. Managed by a twenty-nine-year-old tipped to be the next Jose Mourinho, their ‘we’ll score more than you’ mentality has been a real hit. The decision to appoint Julian Nagelsmann for his first senior coaching role certainly raised eyebrows. Many in the Germany media merely dismissed it as nothing more than a publicity stunt, but they’re being made to eat their words!

Nagelsmann has helped Hoffenheim to get over the losses of talisman Roberto Firmino and influential winger Kevin Volland. The goals of summer signing Sandro Wagner have certainly helped numb the loss. Sebastian Rudy also appears to have been transformed under the new boss. Excelling in both the defensive midfield and right-back positions, his superb form earned him a call up to the Germany squad during the recent internationals.

Like Leipzig, Hoffenheim are also a remarkable club, but for different reasons. Representing a village of just 3000 people in south-western Germany, they play their home games in the nearby Rhein-Neckar-Arena in Sinsheim — the stadiums capacity is ten times larger than the population of Hoffenheim.

With it still being early days in the season and with another twenty-three games to go, it will be tough for both Leipzig and Hoffenheim to maintain their positions in the top five. They both face tricky away games this weekend at Freiburg and Monchengladbach respectively. Also, Bayern will certainly not be happy with what is for them, the lowly position of second. Also, Dortmund finally seem to be playing the attacking football that has been craved since the days of Klopp again — evident from last week’s win over Bayern and the eight goals scored against Legia Warsaw on Tuesday. But if the two continue the way they are, then this season has the potential to be the most exciting and most historic Bundesliga season in a number of years.

Five free things to do on a rainy day

The weeks are getting wetter and your loan is vanishing quicker, but don’t let this dampen your mood. We are here to tell you that there are things to do for free on a rainy day that aren’t sleeping or studying. In fact, they are, totally, rain friendly ideas that you needn’t be in credit to enjoy. So, here they are:

1. Visit an art gallery

Manchester’s art galleries never fail to give penniless students a cure for rainy day blues. Although it is true that independent exhibitions often charge a small fee, many of these galleries are completely free; including the gallery right here on campus! Indeed, The Whitworth Gallery is not only multi-award winning but it is also exceptionally close by. This means the distance from your bed to the paint splashed canvas is but a bus or speedy walk away. So, if you fancy escaping the Fallowfield squalor but avoiding the rain, the warmth of The Whitworth Gallery is beckoning. It’s telling you it’s ok to leave the house, because Andy Warhol is exhibiting and it doesn’t cost a thing.

2. Decorate your room

This one may seem menial, but for those yet to settle in, a rainy day could be just the time out needed to make any accommodation feel more homely. It can also be a pleasant way to get your creativity flowing and help you tackle that essay later on. Nowadays, there is an abundance of apps to help you get creative but the one suggested here is FreePrints. FreePrints is an app that prints out your pictures for you and delivers them to your door. The first 45 prints are free and, every so often, you get another set of photos on the house. These photos can be used to collage your wall or to put in that photo frame you got last Christmas. The choice is yours.

3. Watch live music

Manchester may be titled Britain’s eighth rainiest city but, certainly, it doesn’t rain on anyone’s parade in terms of music venues. Having had bands such as Oasis, The Stone Roses and Take That surface from its streets, Manchester is not in short supply of emerging or showcasing talent. Dotted around Manchester there are a number of edgy and popular music bars to escape to when the rain comes a’pouring. Bars such as Albert Schloss, Night and Day and Matt and Phreds are just to name a few bars that have live performances from local bands. More often than not, entry is free and who is to say that the water isn’t out of this world.

4. Read a book

As already mentioned, the dawn of apps has meant quick access to a whole range of content, including the likes of books. Kindle, for example, is an app that allows you to download books straight from Amazon. Although many of the books are acquired at a price, there is an extensive range of books that cost not a penny. If you don’t mind spending a little money, however, when the skies are grey you can take cover in the incredibly cute cafe Chapter One Books in the Northern Quarter, and grab a bite to eat with your eBook in hand.

5. Watch a film/TV

Rainy days are the prime time to snuggle in and watch that programme you missed or that film just released. Agreeably, there are a number of ways to do this but the recommended method is to either sign up for a free trial on Netflix or Amazon Student Prime or use a family member’s account to log in. An Amazon Student Prime trial currently lasts for six months which is the perfect amount of time to race through your favourite TV shows. These methods are not only legal but safe ways to get your binge on.

Poorest countries aim to eliminate fossil fuels

Members of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) have announced that they are aiming for 100 per cent renewable energy production for all domestic needs by between 2030 and 2050. The forum is made up of the countries which are “highly vulnerable to a warming planet”.

Some of the countries involved are experiencing extreme weather conditions as a result of climate change. According to the BBC, Mattlan Zackhras, a representative from the Marshall Islands, said: “We are pioneering the transformation towards 100 per cent renewable energy, but we want other countries to follow in our footsteps in order to evade [the] catastrophic impacts we are experiencing through hurricanes, flooding and droughts.”

Not all CVF countries have fully developed energy infrastructures, so part of the plan involves creating not only power stations but the power lines as well. According to an article from The Guardian in July, one in five people in the world is still without power. The same article stated that “investment in renewable energy was higher in the world’s poorest countries than the richest ones for the first time in 2015.” Recent advances in energy storage and transportation are also helping to boost the renewable energy market.

A lot of the finance required for the CVF’s plan will be coming from richer nations as part of the Paris climate deal. There is however some uncertainty over the future of the USA’s involvement. Although the country had promised $3 billion towards the green climate fund, and has currently paid around $500 million, Donald Trump plans to stop further US contributions towards global warming initiatives.

Even with concerns over investment, there is a growing movement towards green energy and it is often smaller innovators who are leading the change. In 2002, self-taught William Kamkwamba achieved fame by building a windmill out of junk to bring electricity to his Millawian village. He had to drop out of school when his family could no longer afford the £50 a year fee but maintained his education by going to his local library. Aged 14 at the time, he came across an image of a windmill in a science text book and, having seen the potential for bringing power and pumping water, he decided to build one himself.

As the Marrakesh conference draws to a close, the CVF has received widespread support for its pledge. Miguel Arias Canete, the EU climate commissioner said: “The commitments made by the Climate Vulnerable Forum today are both impressive and inspirational.”

With or without all the promised financial support, it looks like the CVF will be leading the way towards positive change.

Students sneak in Old Trafford for a sleepover

Uosof Ahmadi has hit the sporting world by storm this week as he filmed himself pulling an all-nighter… in Manchester United’s Old Trafford Stadium. Alongside his friend, Kyle Morgan-Williams, Ahmadi had been on a stadium tour at Old Trafford the night before Manchester United played Arsenal, when he put his plan into work.

The two hid in the toilets in the stadium and lasted all night in there, but they were eventually caught out in the early hours of Saturday 19th of November, when they came clean. The two just missed out on the 12:30pm kick off between United and Arsenal, which ended 1-1, but did make it to see the warm-ups. After realising that they had no seat, and that they were attracting attention, they came clean

The 24-hour stunt theme is not new to the pranksters however, as Ahmadi has successfully spent the night in M&M’s World and McDonalds, and has since become a YouTube sensation. The Biochemistry student at the London Metropolitan University had also attempted the same prank at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium but were unsuccessful, as they chose to hide in the players’ Changing Rooms.

Uosof’s Twitter @uosofahmadi tweeted twice on the 23/11/16: “I’m getting messages from all over the world asking for interviews, this is crazy!” and “I need to revise lol and I’ve been taking calls since morning.” They spent a total of 17 hours overnight in the toilet, and Uosof is said to have passed out for twenty minutes under a seat due to the cold at one point.

The two were eventually handed over to police but were not arrested after being put through rigorous searching; it was decided that they were no risk to supporters so were let free.

Photo: Uosof Ahmadi @ YouTube

“The biggest fail was not bringing food or wearing enough layers,” said Uosof Ahmadi – but I think the biggest fail here was from Manchester United’s security. Although this all looks like fun and games (and it is pretty funny to be fair), Manchester United security staff will be on edge for a while now; this is the second stadium scare they have had in six months.

On the last game of the season last year, Bournemouth had come to play United at Old Trafford, but the game was called off due to a suspect package being found in the toilet. United announced soon after that this turned out to be a false alarm, as it was a fake explosive left behind from a training exercise.

The two lads, however, have no plans to stop with their videos, especially the internet craze that is 24 hour sleepovers in public places. They’ve even posted a video online that lasts around half an hour of how the evening unfolded. A few highlights from the video include a sarcastic dab in-front of Paul Pogba’s shirt, somebody knocks on the secret toilet door before moving away, and a security guard shouting at them for not bringing food for the night: “absolute basics.” For many of us, the closest we will come to this is pulling an all-nighter in the Alan Gilbert.

England players caught in the act

During the international break, tabloid headlines were dominated by the exposure of the actions of several England players. The players were chastised for their behaviour.

While information differs, it is supposed that England players were given the weekend off following their win over Scotland on Friday November 11th. In the following week, The Sun led with this headline: “Wayne Rooney shocks guests as he crashes wedding on boozy bender in hotel bar after Scotland win”. Despite stating that John Stones, Phil Jagielka and Raheem Sterling were also indulging in a few drinks at the hotel, the allegations were explicitly aimed at Rooney. A few days later pictures emerged of Rooney, The Sun suggesting they illustrated his drunken state. In the wake of this damaging story, Rooney issued a statement affirming that he “unreservedly apologises” for the “inappropriate” images.

In some ways, I think Rooney was incredibly naïve. The fact Rooney is pictured in his England training gear is particularly damning and was a foolish decision on his part. On Rooney, the England training gear evokes his role as captain, and the subsequent responsibilities that entails, providing greater ammunition for the press. Moreover, the England team is still recovering from the turbulence created by the Sam Allardyce scandal. The England team desperately needs a period of stability; Rooney’s actions have caused the opposite.

However, these reasons are outweighed by the sympathy I have for Rooney. In my mind, this was a vitriolic attack on a player that has endured an extremely difficult year on the football field. Rooney’s form, and subsequently his ability, has been the hot topic of debate within English football for some time. Rooney was hammered following England’s disastrous Euro 2016 campaign: the failure of the team was laid firmly on his shoulders by areas of the media. Moreover, since José Mourinho took over at Manchester United, Rooney is no longer an established first-team player and has played only 2 full league games this season. The media scrutiny and Mourinho’s treatment led to Gareth Southgate dropping Rooney for a qualifying game against Slovenia on October 11th. The insecurity that has plagued Rooney during the latter half of this year will have undoubtedly affected him.

Many have come out in defence of Rooney. One of the most articulate responses was from Jamie Carragher, alluding to the immense pressure Rooney endures as a footballer, stating the night of drinking was a much-needed “release”. I would second this argument. While many would have become bitter or outspoken, Rooney has remained extremely dignified and calm during this difficult time in his career. Several tabloids have used this incident to unashamedly attack and undermine the credibility of a player at his most vulnerable. I wholeheartedly agree with Rooney in that the coverage has been “disgraceful”. Furthermore, this is the press getting in early jabs at the Southgate regime (he will likely be named England manager full-time). This will inevitably continue throughout his tenure. The media have got the England team truly under their control.

Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana deserve separate consideration. On the same night as Rooney’s incident, the two Liverpool players were spotted in Bournemouth at a strip club, 110 miles away from the England base camp for the international break; the Daily Mail adds that “Lallana was spotted slowly sipping on a beer” while the teetotal Henderson “stuck to water”. I have no desire to debate the moral permissibility of strip clubs; the coverage of the Liverpool player’s foray suggests that there are hypothetical limits on a footballers’ freedom to act that don’t exist for the rest. As with the Rooney situation, I think it was naïve for Henderson and Lallana to visit a strip club while representing their country; there is definitely an extra level of responsibility entailed by this role. However, unless it is perceived to be affecting their training and performance levels, footballers should have the same freedom to do this as everyone else.

A theme arising from this media scrutiny is the incongruous notion that footballers aren’t allowed to enjoy a drink. For me, the traditional argument that footballers should be role-models, setting the highest standards of behaviour, can only stretch so far. Undoubtedly, they are idolised figures in our society, and thus, should set good examples. However, this is completely ignoring the fact that they are human beings, human beings like us that enjoy drinking and going out. While I am not a sports scientist, I would argue that players, the pressures of the modern game considered, need time off, taking their minds off football. A clearer mind would certainly lead to better performances on the pitch.

The fact of the matter is that these incidents happened in the wake of the triumph over Scotland, our local rival. England players were well in their right, but instead, were wrongly chastised for celebrating the win. This is yet further evidence for the damaging effect the media has on the England team, and the dangers of a powerful and intrusive press.

Review: Indignation

Sexual promiscuity, room mate quarrels and psychological breakdowns. These are just a few of the themes present in the film which any university student can relate to. However, the immersive world created by Schamus is far from modern. Indignation premiered at Sundance film festival earlier on this year. It is the eighth novel by Philip Roth to be adapted into a film.
Winesburg university student Marcus Messner played by Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) is the son of a kosher butcher. It is thanks to his intellectual capabilities that Messner avoids getting drafted into the army. With the Korean war raging in the background, a few years at university is inevitably the better option.
Despite his Jewish upbringing, Messner is an atheist and struggles to acclimate to the strong christian values of the university. He also finds trouble coexisting in a small dorm with eccentric room mates and cannot stand attending chapel every week.
Things begin to look up for him when he strikes an infatuation with the delectable Olivia Hutton (Sarah Gadon). She is the embodiment of a 1950s girl-next-door. With perfectly curled blond hair, sultry red lipstick and a flirtatious nature, its easy to see why she piques Marcus’ interest.
Gadon’s performance at first appears robotic and un-emotive, but as the the film goes on and more is revealed about Olivia, Gadon’s detached line delivery makes sense. Olivia has many secrets and one of them is revealed through a scar on her left wrist. The mark was left behind after she took a razor to herself.
Shamus deals with this very painful and triggering subject matter in a delicate way. The films tone, if at times slow paced, is very calm and spacious. The action peaks and troughs as the characters meander through life in a historically difficult time in America. We get the sense that Marcus’ back is constantly to the wall and Lerman’s portrayal of a highly intelligent awkward outsider is acted with tentative accuracy and believability.
Temporally, the film begins with the present day Olivia in a nursing home and we delve into her nostalgic thoughts of the past. There is a full circle resolution when we are met with this very same image for the ending. The cinematography and editing stitch together the shots in a soft hazy glow, in keeping with the nostalgic representation of Olivia’s memories.
The serious nature of the film may be off putting for some, but this particular time in American history was undoubtedly serious. I think the oppressive nature of the time was effectively and sensitively captured by Schamus.

3.5/5