100 word review: Thomas Hardy

This novel was extremely controversial when published and I can completely understand why. I won't give away any of the plot that has made it so controversial but it basically follows the story of Jude who falls in love with his cousin Sue. It is a very depressing book but still a really good read. It is a classic so you should definitely consider reading it. I got a shock from this one and I'm pretty sure you will too. Despite being about forbidden love, this is not just a novel for women and men could enjoy it too. Odd.

The official band of our blog: DECOY!

Emotions

Sat next to you and all I want to do
Is grab and pull you close to me
Feeling your lips and tongue on mine
My legs wrapped around you like clinging to some glorious bounty
But I don’t.

Walking down the street and all I want to do
Is take your hand in mine
Stopping to watch the world go by
My head leant against your chest, your fingers stroking my waistline
But I don’t.

In my room alone and all I want to do
Is dial your number, without much to say
And yet talk for hours on end
And plan to meet the very next day
But I don’t.

Sat next to you and all I want to do
Is tell you that I’m crazy about you
And think of you all the time
And know if you feel the same and think of me too
But I don’t.

Robyn

30/08/2009

100 word review: Old Goriot

I chose to read this book because it was a classic and I am usually a big fan of classics, particularly 19th century ones. However I found this novel very slow to get going and had to fight my way through it. Once the plot did get going, however, it is pretty good. You empathise with the characters and it is an interesting observation of the obsessions of love and money. Unlike some novels of the 19th century, it isn't very difficult to read and understand so it's suitable for teen readers, although I'm unsure if they would like it.

The official band of our blog: DECOY!

Old Folk

The days are long
For us old folk
We sit, smile, fart and joke
About death
And how much better it'll be
Than sitting, smiling, farting and drinking tea

To think we'd once feared
The great unknown
Now we're one foot in the grave, the secrets nearly blown
We wait our turn
In comfy armchairs
And pass days by with unconsequential stares

We've been there, done that, our t-shirts are vintage
These young'uns think they started it all
We were doing it before they could crawl
One thing that i've learned from age
Is that nothing you will ever do
Is new for anyone but you

Robyn
10/08/2009

100 word review: White teeth

I really enjoyed this book. Its very funny with an original structure and perspective. Although it is set mainly in the 1970s, you don't need to know much about the 1970s to be able to enjoy it. I would recommend this to all genders and ages, although perhaps not younger readers because of the language and sex. When you read this, you aren't in a hurry for the plot to unfold, you enjoy reading about the characters lives and as the plot develops, the relationship you've built with the characters causes you to really care and relate to them. Fantastic.

The official band of our blog: DECOY!

I am a Poet

I am a poet.
I know, i know, i know:
What is a poet?
A manipulator
Of words, of reality
Of opinion, of truth?
The artist of human creation?
The scholar of sound?

What is a poet?
Society's unraveller.
Treading the line
Between menace and martyr
Searching all the while
For who they really are

What is a poet?
The one who'll say what you won't
Who causes a stir
Who warms and chills and shapes this earth
Remembered,
Until their words become archeology's play

Robyn
12/07/2009

100 word review: Pride and Prejudice

I am a huge fan of both Austen and 19th century literature and so I absolutely loved this book. I would agree that women are the most likely to enjoy it but it is such a timeless classic I would still recommend it to men. If you watched the film and didn't like it, don't pass those judgements onto the book, read the book and I can assure you that you will change your mind! The characters may have been born 200 years ago but they experience emotions that any woman could relate to. One of my favourite books ever.

The official band of our blog: DECOY!

The Robyn

I originally intended for this to be a birthday poem for Robyn's 18th, but as I showed it to her today, I guess I'm 'allowed' to post it on here. Enjoy The Robyn:

Her beauty ever growing
changing from day to day.
Blossoming into a creature
for which the world is not ready.
Her eyes:
two dark tunnels
I tumble into,
down her rabbit hole
into her universe.
The colours bright.
Vibrant as she.
Feel her creativity,
swirling around my head.
Like fairy dust;
It's magic.
I feel dazed, amazed
simply being in her presence,
it's a must.
(I shan't mention her glorious bust)
The talent
jumping out of every pore.
Delicious: I. Must. Have. More.
Those 'lovepump' jokes,
my compass arrow.
This girl is with me,
throughout the thin and narrow.
Be we together,
be we apart,
this amazingly awesome bird
will always have captured my heart.

Symone xoxo

Famous Speeches: The Shawshank Redemption

LANGUAGE WARNING!

Quote of the day

Woody Allen

It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens

THE BLOG IS 9 MONTHS TODAY!!!

(P.s Symone has a thing for cats....hence the picture....)

Glitter Graphics

Glitter Happy Birthday Graphics

Quote of the day

Aristotle

The whole is more than the sum of the parts

V for Vendetta Speech



A great film with very interesting political undertones

Fate

Is it
inevitable
that we
we danced,
under those
white
party lights?
Burning
as skin touches,
rolling together...
...The sounds crack,
cooking the atmosphere.
Feeling every beat.
Quickening.
faster and faster still.
Yet slow and steady
and
some aren't ready for what I have to say because I'm on another level, and I'm telling you the truth. I've done it, you know, that thing you were going to have. Upper... I mean higher
Like waves
Is where I want to be
Imagine this pebble beach,
but my ears are
filtering
the rhythm incorrectly.
I can out sniff
a dog,
heighten sense,
but blind like fuck.

Found my way to the loo.
The mirror
lies with every
second passing.
Ticking by.
Eyes, ears, mouth, nose.
Can this be us?
This skeleton,
surrounded by death,
camping on our doorstep.
Disease.
Bruising.
Cuts on me?
Like we are one
by some miracle.
The two grim reapers
of this world,
in neon dance attire.
What luck,
that He would find Himself
here tonight
to pay witness... no, respect to the...
*BLACKOUT*

Famous Speeches: A Few Good Men

Language warning!

Quote of the day

W.H Auden


Private faces in public spaces

Are wiser and nicer

Than public faces in private places

I'm Back!

I am officially back from America! WOOOOO!!!! So get ready for my lovely journal of my time in the states! If you are one of the millions of people who had no idea why i was out there and just thought it was a holiday, you are going to be very very surprised!

Quote of the day

Simone de Beauvoir

One is not born a woman: one becomes a woman

Winston S Churchill: We Shall Fight on the Beaches

Shut Up & Give Us Something New

This summer didn't turn out the way it was supposed to; horrible weather. I found myself inside during most of the day, flicking threw the music channels being constantly bombarded by Pixie Lott's new single 'Boys & Girls'. I have nothing against this girl, no doubt she is very talented, but am I the only person on the planet to notice her song is Rhianna's 'Shut Up & Drive'? I think it's time for the music industry to throw something different at us. Pixie Lott: English version of Lady GaGa (who was hailed the new Madonna)? We already have a blonde singer who likes to get her legs out: Madonna, and she isn't dead! Why are people so quick to kill her off? We do not need another! I am not hating on Pixie Lott. I am hating on the music industry. I think it's time to shake this up a bit.

Symone xoxo

Bukowski -Only The Truly Lost

Robyn's Personal Statement: FINAL!!!!

Edgar Allan Poe once said that writers 'prefer having it understood that they compose by a
species of fine frenzy an ecstatic intuition'. I am one such individual. Inspiration hits and
your fingers itch for the sensation of putting pen to paper. You do not think of themes or
subtext but scribble the outpour and turn inspiration to words, emotions to themes, instinct
to metre. You breathe in the ideas and breathe out the design as your entire being becomes the
words you write.

I was taught to write by the books I read. As a child I wandered through The Secret Garden and
giggled at Mitton's Plum. As a teenager I grew with the Little Women and was stunned by
Zephaniah's Too Black, Too Strong. Today, I would require an extra 4000 characters to list the
novels that have passed through my hands; everything from The Golden Notebook to The Waves.

There are three areas which I feel a particular passion for, the first being 19th century
literature with the likes of Eugene Onegin and Portrait of a Lady. Second are novels which
push society's boundaries, such as Jude the Obscure and Invisible Man. I also have a great
love of international literature including Old Goriot and War & Peace but feel that translated
novels lose the authors syntactical crafting. It was this that sparked my interest in studying
French and I now seek to become fluent.

Studying French provided me with the skill of extracting information from research and using
it to write my own work while law developed fundamental analytical and essay writing skills.
Politics allowed me to practise rhetoric and enhanced my ability of debate and unbiased
comparison. I chose to study the combination of English Literature & Language because of the
creative writing element of the course which specifically taught me how to write and allowed
me to improve my writing. Having now had this experience, I have no intention of letting it go
and have immersed myself in the world of creative writing.

I subscribe to The Writer's Magazine, using the articles as lessons and the competitions as
practice. I was a teaching assistant in a year 9 and 10 English class and am in charge of the
school's Creative Writing Club which began this year. Combined with my other community work,
this culminated in a Jack Petchey award for my contribution to creative writing within my
school. I received GBP 200 to spend on any area of my school and chose to split it between the
school production which I wrote and look to produce this summer and a new school magazine for
which I am editor.

Outside of school, I was chosen by the Windsor Fellowship and Hummer-Tuttle Foundation to be
part of a Dialogue and Leadership Programme which provided a group of young people from London with the opportunity to engage in dialogue with their Iraqi and American peers to explore issues of faith and leadership and strategies for reducing conflict. The programme consisted of a series of training workshops and a 2 week trip to the US, ending with a presentation in October to the stakeholders of our group including the chairmen and trustees of the Windsor Fellowship and the founders of the Hummer-Tuttle Foundation. Despite the programmes end, our group continue to work together to resolve issues within our communities.

In June I attended an English Literature degree event consisting of several lectures at a
university. While mesmerised by the detailed manner of analysing author's work, I still found
myself itching for the opportunity to practise what I was being taught. The course of English
and Creative Writing, on the other hand, scratches this itch to an extent I could never have
imagined. The days have passed since writing was simply a euphoric hobby for me; it is now a
future I am tirelessly working towards. Over the past 10 years I have been taking small steps
for man but I know that reading this course with your university will be my giant leap for
mankind.

Politics Essay: Democracy

What is representation?

Representation is a relationship where an individual or group acts on behalf of a larger body of people. It is part of representational democracy, which is slightly different to democracy because democracy wants to abolish the distinction between the government and the people while representational acknowledges this. Representation is used in the UK today through the party Government system and also through things such as pressure groups.

Charles Bukowski "Bluebird."

Oh deary me

I was going to post my 7th and 8th attempts of my personal statement on the blog for you to read, but my pen drive broke and so I've lost them! You'll be glad to hear however that tomorrow I will be posting the FINAL version that will be sent to Universities!

Robyn

Robyn's Personal Statement: 6th Try

In the Philosophy of Composition, Edgar Allen Poe said that writers ‘prefer having it understood that they compose by a species of fine frenzy – an ecstatic intuition’. I am one such individual. When I write I don’t think of themes or metre. I scribble the outpour and turn inspiration to words, breathing in the ideas and out the design.
No one ever taught me to write; I was taught by the books I read. As a child I would revel in The Secret Garden and giggle at Mitton’s Plum. As a teenager I found solace in Little Women and was stunned by Zephaniah’s Too Black, Too Strong. Today, I would require an extra 4000 characters to list the novels that have passed through my hands; everything from The Golden Notebook to Eugene Onegin. There are three areas which I feel a particular passion for, the first being 19th century literature with the likes of Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre and Portrait of a Lady. The second are novels which push society’s boundaries, such as Jude the Obscure, Invisible Man and Of Mice and Men. Lastly, I have a great love of international literature including Old Goriot, War and Peace and Freely’s The Other Rebecca but feel that translated novels lose the authors syntactical crafting. It was this that sparked my interest in studying French and I now seek to become fluent.
All of my A Level subjects have developed my skills in English. They have all improved my essay writing skills and provided a forum for practising rhetoric. In my extended project I combined Politics with English and my essay writing skills to argue the extent to which Orwell’s 1984 had become our political reality. I chose the combination of English literature and language because of the creative writing element of the course which specifically taught me how to write and allowed me to improve my writing, something which I had never had the chance to do before. Having now had this experience, I have no intention of letting it go and have immersed myself in the world of creative writing.
I have completed three Poetry School courses and subscribed to The Writer’s Magazine. I also spent 8 months as a teaching assistant in a year 9 and 10 English class and mentored a group of lower school students on planning the school production. Combined with my other community work, this culminated in a Jack Petchy award as an outstanding achiever and my contribution to creative writing within my school. I received £200 to spend on any area of my school and I split it between two new projects starting in year 13. The first was the school production which I wrote and look to produce this spring and secondly a new school magazine for which I am editor.
Outside of school, I was chosen by the Windsor Fellowship to be part of a leadership and dialogue programme with 11 other young people from around London. As a group we discussed the issues facing young people in London today and worked on how to resolve them through communication. The programme involved several seminars and a two week trip to America to work with Americans and Iraqis on communication. In October we will be doing a presentation at the Channel 4 studios to the stakeholders of our group on what we had learnt. Despite the programmes end in October, our group will continue to work together to resolve issues within our communities and have already made steps to doing so.
In June I attended an English degree event of several lectures at a University. While mesmerised by the detailed manner of analysing author’s work, I still found myself itching for the opportunity to practise what I was being taught. The course English and Creative Writing scratches this itch to an extent I could never have imagined. The days have passed since writing was simply a euphoric hobby for me; it is now a future I am tirelessly working towards. Over the past 10 years I have been taking small steps for man but I know that reading this course with your University will be my giant leap for mankind.

Politics Essay: Democracy

Distinguish between an election and a referendum

The purpose of an election is to fill offices or posts and to form government. The purpose of a referendum is to make policy decisions. In an election, the electorate vote for a candidate or party whereas in a referendum, people give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ opinion. Elections are related to general issues as the electorate vote for all of the candidate’s policies. Referendums on the other hand, are related to a specific piece of policy or issue. Elections are legally required as part of a representative democracy and take place quite regularly. Referendums, however, are a device of direct democracy and the government decides when they happen.

Anne Sexton reads "The Fury Of Overshoes"

Robyn's Personal Statement: 5th Try

I could never say how I feel when I write poetry; but I could write it. When that inspiration hits and your fingers itch for the sensation of putting pen to paper. You do not think of themes or subtext but scribble the outpour and turn inspiration to words, emotions to themes, instinct to metre. You breathe in the ideas and breathe out the design as your entire being becomes the words you write.

No one ever taught me to write; I was taught by the books I read. As a child I would revel in Burnett’s The Secret Garden and giggle at Mitton’s Plum. As a teenager I found solace in Alcott’s Little Women and was stunned by Zephaniah’s Too Black Too Strong. Today, I would require an extra 4000 characters to list the novels that have passed through my hands; everything from Lessing’s The Golden Notebook to Smith’s White Teeth and Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin. There are three areas, however, which I feel a particular passion for. The first is 19th century literature, the likes of Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre and Portrait of a Lady. The second are novels which push society’s boundaries, such as Hardy’s Jude the Obscure, Ellison’s Invisible Man and Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Lastly, I have a great love of international literature including Balzac’s Old Goriot, Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Freely’s The Other Rebecca but feel that translated novels lose the authors syntactical crafting. It was this that sparked my interest in studying French and I now seek to become fluent.

Studying law gave me fundamental analytical and essay writing skills which I use in my occupation of writing legal articles for a Barrister. Politics has allowed me to practise rhetoric, which I hadn’t done since debating competitions in year 9. In my extended project I combined Politics with English, arguing the extent to which Orwell’s 1984 has become our political reality. English literature and language allowed me to greatly improve my writing through the creative writing element of the course and studying how authors craft literary texts.

My passion for literature is something I sought to pass on while I was a teaching assistant in a year 9 and 10 class. I loved teaching and went on to teach a GCSE preparation lesson to year 9 and did a Stop & Search Rights law assembly for year 10.

All that I had worked on over the course of year 12 culminated in a Jack Petchy award for being an outstanding achiever. I received £200 to spend on any area of my school and I chose to split it between two new projects starting in year 13. The first was the school production which I wrote and secondly a new school magazine for which I am editor.

Outside of school, I was chosen by the Windsor Fellowship to be part of a leadership and dialogue programme with 11 other young people from around London. As a group we discussed the issues facing young people in London today and worked on how to resolve them through communication. The programme involved several seminars and a two week trip to America to work with Americans and Iraqis on communication. In October we did a presentation at the channel 4 studios to the stakeholders of our group on what we had learnt. While the programme ended in October our group have continued to work together to resolve issues within our communities.

I am a subscriber to the Writer’s magazine and have been on a Poetry School course but feel that I have so much to learn. In June I attended an English degree event made up of several lectures and sat in the back of the lecture room listening to the professor, I was mesmerised. After only a few hours of lectures I knew that English was the degree for me and the only thing missing was the chance to be taught how to write myself too. English and creative writing is the perfect course for me and a subject that is an integral part of my life. I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend the next three years than at your University becoming the best writer I can be.

Politics Essay: Democracy

What is an election?

An election is the means through which an office or post is filled. It involves a designated body of people, known as the electorate, to choose one candidate and cast their vote in the secret ballot. There are four different types of elections. The general election is where all the seats in the House of Commons come up for re-election. The devolved assembly elections are to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly. The European Parliament elections select members of the European Parliament. The local elections are to district, borough and country councils. Elections take place every four or five years.

Quote of the day

Alan Bennett

You know life...its rather like opening a tin of sardines. We are all of us looking for the key.

Patton Speech

Fairy Tale

All the sins,
Buried within,
Carefully hidden away.
Daily dosages of insanity,
Evading the inevitable
For the sake of one moment.
Grasping the spirit of this ever after.
Hinder the pain,
Inseparable: seeming force of nature.
Juxtapose the living: nurture.
Knowing; ignorance isn't bliss.
Life like a picture,
Moment of perfection,
Never ending.

Snap shot,
Frozen for all time.
And that's the full picture.
Him completing her,
Her contemplating him.
The riddle,
This puzzle:
Life.
That final piece.

Is it really possible?

Symone xoxo

Sylvia Plath reads "The Stones"

Robyn's Personal Statement: 4th Try

Mozart wrote his first composition aged 5. Picasso discovered his talent for painting aged 9. I penned my first poem aged 7. I could never say how I feel when I write poetry; but I could write it. When that inspiration hits and your fingers itch for the sensation of putting pen to paper, lest the ideas should fade, you do not think of themes or subtext. You scribble the outpour and turn inspiration to words, emotions to themes, instinct to metre. Your entire being becomes the words you write and the euphoria from writing them.

No-one sat me down and taught me how to write; I just did it. If anything, books were my greatest teachers. My love of literature lines the paper on which author’s write. At a young age I revelled in the rich description of Burnett’s The Secret Garden, the intimate characters of Alcott’s Little Women and the thrilling adventures of Harry Potter. Today, I would require an extra 4000 characters to list you the novels I have read. There are three areas in particular, however, that I hold a great passion for. The first is early 19th literature such as Jane Eyre, Eugene Onegin and Pride and Prejudice. The second lies in international literature compromising of texts like Old Goriot, War & Peace and the Home and the World. With the latter I believe that the author’s syntactical choices are often “lost in translation”. This belief brought me to study French at A Level and I continue to study the language outside of school in the hopes of attaining fluency. Lastly I love literature that pushes, convulses and thereby moulds society for example Orwell’s 1984, Rushdie’s Midnight Children and Ellison’s Invisible Man.

Literature has a profound power to shape opinion and it is in this fact that I believe my future lies. At 14 I competed in a regional debating team for my school and I was amazed by the way in which I could change the audience’s mind simply by giving a good speech. My fascination with the power of rhetoric grew as I studied politics and read of politicians and activists that moved nations with their speeches. While I may not yet be moving nations, I do all I can to change the communities in which I work and live. In Law we learnt of the injustices in stop & search due to people’s lack of education and so I gave an assembly on stop & search rights to year 10. I was also a teaching assistant in a year 9 and 10 english class, seeking to end their apathy towards reading and writing and instil some of my passion for literature into them. From the year 10 class I met two girls who I began to mentor on their work ethic and self-belief. Lastly, two others and I won funding from Sports Relief to run a 12 week kickboxing class for 20 sixth formers, which students finished with a level 1 kickboxing qualification. All of this work accumulated in a Jack Petchy award for being an Outstanding Achiever in May 2009. My reward was £200 to spend anywhere in the school I liked. I placed £100 into a new school magazine which I am editor-in-chief for and £100 in the school production which I wrote and then organised and directed with a team of sixth formers.

Outside of school, my greatest achievement lies in my succession onto a leadership and dialogue course by the Windsor Fellowship. BLLLLAAAHHHHHHHHHH HOW DO I SUM THIS UP IN 500 WORDS????? TIS IMPOSSIBLE. BLEH. RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAA RRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRR FFFFFFFFFFFFFF UUUUUUUUU DDDDDDDD GGGG EEEEEEEE. Must fill the word gap. Lallalalalalalalalalalalalalalala. Only 60 more characters tralalalala. 16 more. Done.

I have come a long way since the days when writing was just a euphoric hobby and reading an educational exploration into the world. Now, I aim to cultivate the lives of many through my writing and I know that this course is the key. Everything, from the modules to the tutors to the campus, is perfect for helping me achieve my goal. I am already a writer but with what I can learn from this course and from your University, I hope to become so much more.

Politics Essay: Liberalism

Define individualism and explain its implications for the state

Individualism is a core theme of the liberal ideology, although it has now been embraced by the Conservative New Right. It first arose in the early 19th century as feudal life broke down and the society was understood from the viewpoint of the individual. Individuals were thought to possess personal and distinctive qualities with each being of special value. Liberals view society as a collection of individuals, each seeking to satisfy his or her own needs and interests. This is equated with atomism as they believe society doesn’t exist but is merely a collection of self-sufficient individuals. It is based on the assumption that the individual is egotistical, essentially self-seeking and largely self-reliant, liberals desire to create a society in which each person is capable of developing and flourishing to the fullness of their potential. This belief and the consequential desires of it have many implications for the liberal view of the state.

Liberals don’t believe that a balanced and tolerant society will develop naturally out of the free actions of the individual. Liberals fear that free individuals may wish to exploit others if it is in their interests to do so. Therefore our liberty requires that they are restrained from encroaching on our freedom and their liberty safeguards them from us. Such protection can only be provided by a sovereign state capable of restraining all individuals within society. The argument for the social contract theory developed by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke explains the individuals political obligations towards the state. Rational individuals would enter into a social contract to form a state in order to escape from the disorder and chaos of the state of nature.

This highlights the value of the sovereign state to the individual and suggests that political authority comes ‘from below’ as the state is created by individuals for individuals. This implies that citizens do not have an absolute obligation to obey all laws or accept any form of government. If government breaks the terms of this contract then the legitimacy of government evaporates and citizens have the right of rebellion.

The social contract theory expects individuals to recognise it is in their interests to sacrifice a portion of their liberty in order to set up a system of law otherwise their rights and lives would constantly be under threat. This suggests that the role of the state is to protect individual rights and protect individuals from external threats.

The social contract portrays the state as an umpire on society as it is created by an agreement amongst all the people. It embodies the interests of all citizens and its actions are seen to be impartial. Liberals regard the state as a neutral arbiter amongst the competing individuals and groups within society.

Classic liberals believe in minimal state with the states proper role restricted to the maintenance of domestic order, the enforcement of contracts and the protection of society against external attack. Modern liberals on the other hand are prepared to advocate the development of an interventionist state as the minimal state was incapable of rectifying the injustices and inequalities of civil society. The liberal new right regards the state as a realm of coercion and un-freedom as collectivism restricts individuals initiative and saps self-respect and restates the case for a minimal state.

General Douglas MacArthur: Duty, Honor, Country

Quote of the day

Hector Berlioz

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils