I remember when..

This is what essays do to you or maybe it's just the final year. Spent the day in the library, eight hours straight, trying to write my essay and yeah, I did 2/3 of it and still managed to procrastinate – I was soaking up the libraryness… honest…

It was when my housemate said 'it was fun today in the library with you' that I think we both looked at each other and realised what she'd said. This is what it's come to.

Our social lives have been officially put on hold. Haven't been out since NY and really fed up of essays, applications, reading.

The depressing thing is none of my reading is going to be done for next week: 3 films, 900 pg novel, 300 pg novel, 4 plays…

However, I am very much looking forward to Monday when I have time to sort everything out and I'm pretty happy with everything else in my life.. the end is near and I'll be out Monday!!!!

: 13 Jan 2006 00:50 |  Tags: Course Essay Finalyear Literature Procrastinating Shakespeare Ww2 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Too much Shakespeare?

Just in case I had any doubt that this was the final year and that it all gets harder in the last one, I can most positively ascertain that I'm there. It can't get crazier than this, I hope.

Was supposed to go back home on Friday as my presence had been requested, nay demanded, for a night of drinking and dancing on Saturday night. Unfortunally, six hours of driving really wasn't appealing and deadlines and applications kept me here. Think its the first weekend I've not been out. My social life has been officially put on hold until at least Monday!

I have two essays in for Monday 5,000 and 3,000. The first is nearly done, the second isn't. It's all planned, its going to be great. Just need to find some time to write the thing.

Have however completed two applications today and will get another signed and sent tommorow hopefully. It's proving quite hard to juggle applications, essays, films and reading. Ugh.

Watching Chimes at Midnight. Everyones talking about it and had to watch it for Special Topics. Not a bad production. Could tell it was Orson Welles. But, it was black and white. I'm a colour junkie, what can I say? Its just not the same. Caught myself writing inspirational notes such as "Falstaff looks like Father Christmas" and "Long battle Scene" five minutes later "Very long battle Scene" .. you get the picture. Think the tiredness is having its effect.

On a positive note, I'm looking forward to my seminars from 10 to 5 tommorow with an hours break in which I'm meeting friends. I really don't have a moment to spare at the moment. Even housemates are commenting that I'm working hard…

Wednesday I've got some training in Birmingham. I'm hoping its going to be useful. Least it'll be a break from the Shakespeare.

NYE, although a while ago now, was a really good night. Noone was around at home, all having swanned off abroad or to various other parts of the country, so decided to come back to Cov and celebrate instead. We donned medical uniforms, think Doctor and Nurses and the eight of us looked quite the part. Overall a good night!

Adieu

: 10 Jan 2006 01:01 |  Tags: Course Essay Film Finalyear Literature Procrastinating Shakespeare Wine Ww2 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

£7,000 ring, all in a days work…

Was in Chelmsford shopping last week in Goldsmiths and a man stole a £7,000 ring. Just grabbed it from the assistants hand and ran out. I just cannot understand what state of mind someone must be to do that. Theres security cameras everywhere, and the tapes were running in store, so how does he expect to get away with it? Surely, he will be caught…. ?

: 22 Dec 2005 14:24 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Shakespeare

Writing about Team Shakespeare from Fluff And Nonsense

This is possibly the funniest (and most accurate) entry on how I feel about Shakespeare. I only wish I'd written it myself!! :)

: 09 Dec 2005 01:13 |  Tags: Course Finalyear Literature Shakespeare |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

God only knows what I'd be without you..

As it sit drinking my Ernest & Julio Gallo Sirerra Valley California White and waiting for my housemates to finish straightening, makeuping, and dressing, I can't help but reflect how different each year at uni is. It's frustrating, but also part of the fun of it I guess – I lived in JM one year, Leam the next and Cov this year. Yet it keeps getting better and better. Only to end in not much time at all – half way through the final year :( … Saying that I'm pretty excited about next year, although I can't even imagine what its going to be like, except more work than I've done in my life and very, very expensive.

: 26 Nov 2005 21:22 |  Tags: Finalyear Wine |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Othello: let them use us well…

Sitting in front of the third and final version of Othello that I have to watch this week. Somehow I managed to watch the worst one first and the best one last – which is nice. Although, I'm slightly bored with watching the same film three nights running.

I love this line, it sums up Emilia well … and is perhaps more fitting to our contemporary lighter hearted views to singledom/sex:

"Nor I by this heavenly light, but I might do it in the dark."

After this we're going to Tesco – late night shopping trip, reminiscent of the first year. Feeling quite nostaglic about the first year. Would love for everyone to move back into JM for a fortnight to live together again – it would be fun, if not very strange. Would love to start again uni from the beginning. Realised we were halfway through the final year last night – scary feeling. It's almost time to start applications; I've been putting it off till the holidays but we're almost there!! Three days left of uni!!

Anyway, Othello's about to "put out the light" – I should watch this scene. Adieu.

: 24 Nov 2005 21:53 |  Tags: Course Film Firstyear Literature Shakespeare |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Taboo

So this week, we've read The Merchant of Venice (Sh.) and The Jew of Malta (Marlowe). I guess the thing that got me thinking about the seminar today was, what right do we have to censor?

The texts have, apparently, been banned from being taught in the US, and many teachers refuse to teach the texts worldwide. In this, are they also refusing to recognise Shakespeare as an anti-semitic? Or perhaps more importantly, can we recognise, and should we recognise Shakespeare in this way? It would be pretty damning to accept this for our national playwright, the legend that is Shakespeare. Can we discard his views as merely fitting to the contemporary popular ideologies, and erase all blame?

If yes, why is it that we change the offensive words/actions/phrases in his plays? Why is 'villian' thrown in place of his prejudices?

Sure, I understand that this is done so as not to offend and to fit our modern viewpoints. Fair enough. But, if we truly accepted Shakespeare's views as merely contemporary, why are we so keen to erase them? It was suggested that Shakespeare is thought of as a humanist and as so this was done so as not to confuse the less educated general public. Surely we cannot exercise so much intellectual snobbery as this?

It is true that the plays do not need the racism and offensive stuff, but do we have the right to edit to censor? I don't know. Who tells us what is offensive? The way women are treated is pretty offensive, the Christians are mocked also – why is it that we do not censor this?

We can therefore only have difficulty when confronted with Merchant or Malta – you cannot avoid the racisim there, its the play itself. It is almost certainly problematic, particulary given what has happened between Shakespeare and today. If its 'ok' to put on these plays, why is it that we feel the need to censor Shakespeare in other places?

(Avoiding reading Pamela…)

: 24 Nov 2005 01:08 |  Tags: Course Literature Procrastinating Shakespeare |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Reading and Writing Ourselves

Follow-up to Destined to Witness from Meanderings of a wandering mind..

Yeah, I think a lot of people would agree about men not finding the same thing in writing. In that case, maybe its the reading. It's more 'active' in allowing us to react to what we read, rather than simply writing our own thoughts down..

As for the water.. I think its the frozen water in the air – how cold is it at the moment?! Apparently its going to be -10*c at the weekend. It's lovely being back in England.

Snowstorms on the way ..

: 22 Nov 2005 20:36 |  Tags: Literature |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Destined to Witness

Every diary ends with a death. This doesn't have to be a human life, though it often is, but it invites an end. Doesn't everything. We were given a presentation on Children's Wartime Diaries in WW2 today and its incredible to think of the scars the innocent, vulnerable children had to bear growing up and trying to make sense of the confused world. Many talk about a sense of purpose and perhaps thats why we write.

Macha Rolnikas:

"In order to feel my powerlessness a bit less and not to think of the torture that is caused by each step, I go on mentally writing my journal."

Perhaps thats what we all do, write our journal, as we go through life. We write, mentally and physically, just as the world writes onto 'us'.

: 22 Nov 2005 00:30 |  Tags: Course Literature Ww2 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Reading Update

Reading Schmeading

Finally finished Middlemarch, one of the few "adult novels" according to Virginia Woolf, but what does she know? And does "adult"define boring? Does boring mean its a more mature type of novel?? Maybe the longer it takes to read, the more adult it gets – a bit like cheese. It was a good novel, in parts, but the length just made it impossible. I think its the kind of novel you need to read when you're 30, sitting down on a Sunday afternoon, in desperate search of mental stimulation when you still haven't decided to make the plunge and get yourself some kids. Anyway, I finished it, but couldn't help thinking maybe it would have been better if I hadn't been studying it right now. Its this bizarre way that we've, or maybe just I, have taken to reading. The page-turner way and not in a good way.. the way when you know exactly how many pages you have left to go and how many you need to read to get to (a) the end, (b) the next part, (c) the next chapter, (d) the next 100th page, (e) the next 10th page, (f) the next even number page… And when you, or again, maybe just I, am sitting/lying there trying to read.. you can't help thinking that this page turning/counting .. isn't quite the way that I thought I'd be reading for my degree. These are major and brilliant novels, and I can still appreciate them, but I wish I had an infinite amount of time to read them.. Anyway I finished Middlemarch this week. And I'm starting The Red and The Black, and the next week I'm going to be reading Orlando. The first week of the hols it was Germinal, brilliant book, and second week, Crime and Punishment .. so I'm doing a novel a week, and almost sticking to it.. we'll see. Then I'll have finally got this module up to date.. and i've done my LCT reading.. Just then need to do 10,000 of essays * ouch * and catch up my reading for PS and C17th.. sigh..

: 06 Apr 2005 01:15 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem