First Timer!?!?!

2004-01-12T08:33:00.000-08:00

I found this image for infidelity. It took me a while to understand what it was supposed to mean and what relevance it had to the debate. But i now understand it....Do You? Feel free to mail me if you have any questions about it, or the point I'm trying to make by using it.

My Crazy Infidelity Picture

2004-01-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

I couldn't really find any good images for 'masturbation'. Well, when i say i couldnt find any good images, i dont mean i couldn't...well...you know...suitable...erm...not pornographic...i wanted something relevent. Thats what i'm trying to say. I could have just put some porn up for the men (and women..if they're that way inclined) to gasp at, but decided instead to put a link in to a site which sums everything i want to add on the subject up in a short article. The Masturbation Page

2004-01-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

Wow, i've finally found out how to get my pictures viewed. How in touch with technology am i? This is the image i wanted to attach to my 'Smoking' blog. I think its good because it depicts what you get with smoking. I beleive everyone has the right to choose but I know i'd be thinking of quitting if i saw this image.
Don't worry, it's not disgusting. Just the hard facts! Thats me all over, a man of substance!

2004-01-12T08:09:00.000-08:00

I've really enjoyed reading 'Jemmas' blog all the way through and her entry about 'Panic Blogging' couldn't be more true. Everyone has indeed realised that the shit has hit the fan and its marking week! None more so than me. What the hell have I been doing for the past three months?

*Just as a side note: Is that really how you spell your name, 'Jemma'. Never heard it like that before....interesting.

2004-01-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

This is my blog that finally gives me a chance to say what i think about the course and wraps everything up in a nice package. I've just turned 19, I'm studying 'Creative and Professional Writing and Film Studies' for my combined degree. Thats all the boring facts out the way!

Firstly, the 'Bad' points. I beleive that the course is very laxidasical and doesn't run strict enough guidelines about assignments and work in general. There have been many times 'ive felt i dont really know what im supposed to be doing. I dont mean to an extreme extent, but perhaps maybe the course was a little too easy going. Thats really all i can think of. I know thats a little disapointing seeing as we've almost been conditioned to be cold blooded, ruthless people over the course of the module.

I really enjoyed the field trip we took to Alton Towers. I know that sounds a really obvious point but it really pulled many of us together as a group and i know i cemented one frinedship out of that outing. I also like the idea that we are all tied together by these, 'blogs' and to be able to constantly come back and write our thoughts on lectures and the issues discussed is something quite different. I like how the course relies a lot on the students being free thinkers and encourages independent thinking, and in that respect has made this my most stimulating course.

The issues we've dealt with could have gone horribly wrong and left many people offended and shocked, but i have to say i've been mightily impressed. When i heard we were going to be having a lecture on, 'Masturbation' i didn't really know what to expect, but Mark (I can call him that, because we're all mature free-thinkers) dealt with the topic with a pinch of salt and everyone had a good laugh and put their own 'unique' views forward. I also have to mention the lecture on, 'Smoking'. I have to admit i've forgot the man who took the lecture but he was hilarious, (in a bumbling Hugh Grant sort of way). The thing that encapsulated the whole course perfectly though, has to be the screening of, 'Kids'. I really didn't think much could shock me, but that film did. To see people actually get up and leave through disgust, was something i'd never seen in a cinema before. Good work 'Being Bad'!

I really liked all the lecturers on the module. Kevin, was a little scary the first time i saw him but turned out to be very nice and extremely helpful. Mark constantly made me laugh, though sometimes when he wasn't trying to! But he explained blogs to me, when i had no idea what to do, so i'm in his debt. What can i say about Jackie, having had her for nearly all my modules, i have to credit her for being so laid back but still being an excellent lecturer. She's extremely funny and her talks are always something special, and she's always approachable.
I think i've done enough sucking up, so i'll move on!

I would definately recommend the course to any first year students as it introduces you to everything thats expected of you at University. Things such as independent working and thinking, as well as not really being too tough on the workload front. I don't think i'll bother with the follow up course, because i don't think lectures should be as fun as these have been, but i suppose i could persuaded.

I really enjoyed the fact that the course drew on a number of subjects and skills and asked you to incorporate them into this one module. It was also interesting to meet people studying different subjects and modules and seeing what they thought about different issues.

Finally, I'd like to emphasise how much i've enjoyed the course and believe it has helped me get started on the long road towards my degree.

2003-12-20T08:36:00.000-08:00

Is lying wrong all the time? I think the only answer can be no! It's a subject that makes us ponder and ask questions about ourselves and reflect on lies we have told in the recent past. Lets face it, lies can be used to hurt people and usually lead to misunderstandings and backstabbing. Other times though, they can shield us from a truth we would rather not be aware of. If ignorance is bliss, then perhaps lying leads to a happier world. I'm quite impressed with myself, that was a little bit philisophical. (only a little though!)

A girl in our class called Samantha seems to grasp both sides of the arguament and I enjoyed reading her thoughts on this matter. (Even though i don't really know who she is!)

2003-12-20T08:28:00.000-08:00

I was extremely pleased with my result for my first 'being bad' assignment. Myself and fellow student, 'David Bailey' put together a selection of 'bad dating videos'. I have to offer most of the credit to him, as he organised and put the thing together. Although I appeared in it, i suppose it was quite 'bad' of me to not to shoulder more of the work. Oh well! We both passed well and believe we raised points about what social expectations and standards exist. A very worthwhile exercise.

It's only recently I've been reading other students bloggs in depth to gage their ideas and thoughts. I was very impressed with the angle Tom Jevons took on his blog about religion and would recommend everyone take a look. I love sarcasm and light hearted writing and think he pulls it off well in his blog.

2003-12-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

This is the image i tried posting in my last blog!!
http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0113540/1-1.jpg

2003-12-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

I have to say something about the film we watched yesterday for 'Bad Cinema'. On the way to the lighthouse I saw Jackie and she said it was a good movie with a slightly strange grin on her face. To say i was a little scared if not intrigued would be an understatement. After that, when we were in the cinema Pritpal told anyone who was easily offended to leave. Naturally, this had the opposite effect and he built it up so much I couldn't possibly contemplate leaving!

When the film finally was set in motion, I didn't really know what to expect. 'Kids' has an immense shock value and even i, was slightly rattled by what was appearing infront of me. I'm not easily offended but this was a bit intense, to say the very least. I found some of it to be over the top and thought it placed far to much emphasis on shocking people, yet i couldn't stop watching it. Someone compared it to driving past a car accident and not being able to turn away. I can't think of a better analagy for the situation!

I have to say, I wasn't overly impressed with the film as a whole, but thought it addressed under age sex, and sexually transmitted diseases well. If it had been an advert to prevent these two issues it would have been excellent, but I really didn't think it was very good!

I found I could relate when I saw them walking around in a big group, dossing around town just killing time. I remember doing this a few years ago, and think that scene where they're walking down the main road was a reality check in between scenes of complete amazement.
This is a still from that scene:

2003-11-26T02:42:00.000-08:00

I decided to give todays lecture on Body piercing and tatoo's a miss for a number of reasons. Firstly, I heard there was going to be extremely horrible pictures and I am extremely squemish. Call me a girl if you want, I don't care! Personally, I would never get anything pierced but I don't really care about other people doing it. I can't think of a reason why it could be considered bad. (Maybe if i went to the lecture I'd have a few, oh well!).

I might consider a tatoo if it was the definate thing i wanted. I'd be upset if it looked shit though, so i don't know if when push came to shove if i actually would go through with it. But interestingly this course has made me push myself further. For instance, i overcame my fear of rollercoasters by going to Alton Towers, and overcame my fear of Americans by talking to Jackie, to name but a few examples. Thanks 'Being Bad', you made me a more complete person!

2003-11-26T02:34:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed Mark's lecture on masturbation last week. (I love how we can call lecturers by their first names!). I thought he dealt with a delicate subject well and I think everyone took it with a pinch of salt and had a good laugh. I know I did! The thought of it being a bad thing though is simply preposterous. For me, it's just part of life, like eating and drinking. It's human nature. I don't really want to go into excessive detail about my own habits, but lets just say I don't pray for redemption everytime I pleasure myself!!

Just as a side note; I thought some of the terminology and euphemisms used to describe wanking were hilarious. I don't know who said it, but the one about 'shooting the yoghurt cannon' or something to that effect was inspired. Whoever it was, let me know, because I am in your debt!

2003-11-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

I hate this module! It keeps emphasising what a bad person I actually am. Everyone seems to be spurting the same crappy line, "I don't know what to write about"....yet i seem to have no problem. I'm not saying I'm Adolf Hitler or anything (although I would like a moustache like his!) but I seem to just be reciting my life on this damn blog!

Anyway, just a note to say how i really enjoyed the lecture on 'Smoking'. The lecturer whose name i've already forgotten (that's pretty bad) was excellent at working the room. He put forward some great points I had never thought of and his clips were hilarious. I don't smoke and never would and really can't understand why anyone would bother. Maybe it looks cool on some people but not most of the people I see! Its a constant drain on resources not to mention health.

My personal view is that people who smoke have some kind of insecurity. Smoking releives the stress of life and makes them part of some gang or elitist group. I suppose if it makes them feel better, then it's up to them. Each person to their own as I say.

Just as a side note, I have a mate who constantly takes a drag of his fag and blows it in my face. It drives me crazy, so if you smoke and are doing this conciously or otherwise, then read this message;

STOP IT YOU WANKER! IT'S REALLY F***ING ANNOYING!!

2003-11-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

I really don't want to make myself sound like an alcholic, as my last entry included a comment on my consumption of lager and subsequent hangover but again, I was entoxicated heavily on Saturday and did my 'Being Bad' image the world of good!

Celebrating the 19th anniversary of my escape from the womb, I invited some of my close friends to partake in a birthday drink. This turned into many quite fast. Mixing is a rookie mistake, and I now know why! After 5 pints, a double whisky and vast amounts of Vodka, (God Bless Russia!) I was a little worse for wear. By the time I got up town, I was able to totally redecorate the Civic with my vomit spreading like wildfire.

To say I embaressed myself, my friends and everyone I came into contact with would be a horrible understatement! To compound my misery I had to work six hours in the very pub I got drunk in the previous night, with everyone regailing me with tales of my supreme idiocy (is that a word?). Me and my liver have learnt a valuable lesson about alcohol abuse. Don't expect any more posts about drinking because I won't be for a hell of a long time! Well... at least until Christmas.

2003-11-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

It's safe to say i've found the last couple of lectures hard going, for various reasons. The session on 'infidelity' was very much different to what i had expected. I was sort of thinking beforehand that we would have the idea drilled into us that cheating on a partner was wrong, full stop. This wasn't the case! Our lecturer played with the idea that infidelity could be condoned in some cases. I didn't agree. I don't usually stick with convention on many ideas but i beleive a relationship only works one way, if you stay faithful to each other. When trust diminishes, the repotoir you share with a partner goes the same way. But thats just my opinion. As i noted in my earlier entry, i already feel like an old man because of my views and attitudes towards life. When the Tories are voted back in, (which isn't likely to happen soon) I'll be happy!

In all honesty, I really wasn't in the mood for yesterdays lecture on 'Bandits'. I usually work late on a Tuesday but they let me go early as we were horribly overstaffed. I took the opportunity to enter a local drinking establishment and consume some beverages of an alcholic nature. Predictably, the next morning I was a little worse for wear. I was tired, hungover, yet somehow managed to pull my haggered carcus into the lecture theatre. With no disrespect to our lecrturer, who always makes the debates interesting, I was falling asleep. I did however perk up, when we were shown the old clip of 'Robin Hood'. A good choice because it illustrated his point of the lecture well, but also made me laugh because of the costume and in my opinion, horribly below par acting. Yet again though, i beleive stealing is wrong in modern day society no matter what. Back when the people who we discussed were around, (Ned Kelly etc) things were different. Welfare was not available and governments didn't always look kindly on the poor. This is not the case now. Call me old fashioned if you like, I don't care! I am old fashioned.

2003-10-30T08:27:00.000-08:00

Whoever said life's short, wasn't lying. I'm only eighteen and already feel like an old man in many ways. This has been further highlighted by events over the past week. After being pressured by one friend/villain who shall indeed remain nameless, I agreed to take the plunge and go to Alton Towers with my fellow 'Being Bad' classmates. I hate rollercoasters, and so all week I was dreading visiting my idea of the seventh layer of hell.

Predictably, after being told to be at the meeting point at 9:00am on Thursday, the first coach didn't arrive until half past. I was already moaning by now, and embracing my 'being bad' spiruit. Fortunately our coach pulled up only a short time after. I reeled off a few chauvinist jokes as our driver was female. You don't get too many women coach drivers though, do you? Surrounded by mainly ladies, its fair to say they didn't go down extremely well. So lets summarise my 'fun day out' to date. Arrive in the puring rain, wait for an hour in the miserable conditions, offend many with poor observational humour and still haven't even got to the place yet.

In all fairness, Alton Towers itself wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. I was once again pressured by my contemporaries to engage in some high velocity fun, in the form of 'Air', one of the newest attractions. Suprisingly I quite enjoyed the ride. I didn't however enjoy looking at the picture of myself afterwards. A cross between scared and constipated would be fair assessment, and if the picture never see's the light of day, I won't be dissapointed. Unfortunately, my nameless friend also obtained a copy, ensuring the horror will last for sometime to come.

Meeting back up afterwards, I was pleased with myself for trying something I hadn't before and was in a decent mood. This was however soured by the minority who didn't make it back to the coach on time, leaving us to wait for them for a further half an hour. I thought to myself as a 'being bad' student it was my duty to tell everyone to leave them behind and go on without them. Not many agreed, but it did complete an extremely eventful day. One which will live in the memory at least until I can destroy every copy of that f***ing photo!