Things I Like - 5 - Reality TV

I think of the term "reality TV" quite lightly. I'm fully aware that everything you see on telly is produced and edited for entertainment purposes and is not "real" in almost any sense - and it's a darn good job it is edited, otherwise shows would be incredibly boring (like when they used to show 24 hours of live Big Brother. Yawn).

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When I'm home in the day and able to select from the pretty dull rice, beans and pasta smorgasbord that is UK daytime TV, I've got to admit I'm partial to a little bit of The Real Housewives of Orange County (above) and Supernanny (below {in case you couldn't tell which was which}). I don't have kids but I do have big respect for Jo Frost who is incredibly good at her job, and who seems to have to work more on the parents than the kids. She goes from being your typical nanny to mediator to councillor with a mere flick of her ponytail. I just want to be her friend!

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Two "reality" shows I have drawn the line at watching are Made in Chelsea and The Only Way is Essex. Luckily, to this day, I have only seen adverts and not actually seen the shows. I feel like I've had a lucky escape. Frankly I'm a bit of an inverse snob, I'm pretty working class and watching a load of toffs get drunk and embarrass themselves is just too much for me to take. I saw enough of that kind of behaviour during the rugby team initiations at uni to last me a lifetime. TOWIE on the other hand turns me into a regular snob. I find myself looking down my nose at them and their common vajazzling ways and would rather stick pins under my nails than watch either of these shows...

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...buuut maybe you think the same about shows like Britain's Got Talent, The Voice UK (who is that Irish guy anyway?!*) or The X Factor. I suppose I should confess right now that I'm a massive fan of talent shows. I never went to Butlins as a kid but I imagine that's the kind of place where the British fascination with talent competitions began! Since Diversity (and Ashley Banjo *swoon*) became so successful and awakened me to the existence of modern street dance I have harboured this secret desire to join a crew. Yeah that's right, a street dancing scientist! Unfortunately my dancing looks like someone put me in a straitjacket and set my feet on fire so it's unlikely my dream will become a reality.

Anyway, daydreaming aside, I just watched last Saturday's episode of Britain's Got Talent and was really impressed with Hope Murphy's cover of Maxwell's cover of Kate Bush's 'A Woman's Work'. Skip ahead to 2:40 in the video if you want to avoid the small talk. I love the kind of stunned silence at the end when the audience are unsure if it's over and then everyone starts cheering. My heart got truly warmed!

Another BGT video I've added here just for good measure is the one with Charlotte and Jonathan who sang something (from 1:55) that I've never heard and were incredible! Well I have to say Jonathan was incredible... Charlotte was lovely but unfortunately paled in comparison.

And just to round off on the reality theme, here are some minature foodstuffs a talented dude from Israel is selling as jewellery on Etsy which look very real but aren't. Please don't eat them!

 

*Interestingly when I just Googled "That Irish guy off The Voice" the first hit was Peter Griffin. That's right, even Google doesn't know who he is! Eeek!

Things I Like - 4 - My Kindle

Two Christmases ago I was given an Amazon Kindle (thanks Mum). At the time it hadn't crossed my mind to get one and I was a bit unsure what I'd use it for. I mean, I LOVE books. I'm a great fan of that musty, papery smell and I'm a bit hooked on the excitement of finding a literary treasure in a second hand bookshop. What would I do with an e-book reader..?

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Well! I use it all the time! I never go anywhere without it because it fits perfectly in my handbag. I get the bus and train a lot and so it's really useful to have instant entertainment. It stays charged up for a really long time too so it's better than reading things on my iPhone. The only vaguely negative things I have to say about it is that it's very easy to spend money on the online shop, it's hard to gauge how far through the book you are even though there's a percentage read bar at the bottom, the majority of Discworld books have not yet been made available (come on Terry!) and, because I have one of the older versions, the QWERTY keyboard is a bit unnecessary day-to-day.

Since getting, what I think of as my "Amaz-ing Kindle", people have started talking to me randomly on the bus, in the lunch queue, as I'm wandering around with it in my hand and asking me if it's any good. After stammering for a bit (I'm a bit shy around strangers) I eventually find my words and I tell people it's great. Especially if you're someone who takes public transport a lot, hasn't the space for many books in the home or are going on holiday. It's fantastic to have hundreds of books available at the touch of a button and e-books tend to work out cheaper than hard copies, or in the case of classic novels, are even free.

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After I've explained just how handy e-book readers are, these people tend to respond with: "Oh, but I just love real books" or "I enjoy going to the library" or "I like the feel of a book in my hands". It's like they started speaking to me just because they want to berate me for abandoning paper books and want to feel smug that they are still in the "real book" club. 

My answer to these comments is always: "You don't have to give up paper books!!" It seems like people believe there is some unwritten rule that states you can no longer buy hard copies of books once you own an e-book reader! Trust me, it's not like a siren goes off when you step over the threshold of Waterstone's. A security guard does not come over and say "Sir/Madam, I see you are carrying an e-book reader. You no longer appreciate the ink and paper world of the written word. Please leave."

Owning a Kindle is not scary, it does not automatically make you a member or a weird book-burning cult. E-book reader owners simply appreciate the convenience of reading books any time on a lightweight gadget. For example, think about when you're lying in bed with The Lord of the Rings (or equivalent) hardback trilogy and you get hand and neck cramp from trying to keep the pages open at a suitable reading angle. Compare this thought to one of holding a little grey thingy at whatever angle you like, turning pages with a press of a finger. In my mind it's not much of a contest.

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Saying this, I have only had experience with using the Amazon Kindle. If anyone out there has used and can tell me more about pros and cons of other brands of e-book reader I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Here are some books which I recommend:

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - Recently made into a hugely succesful movie, The Hunger Games is book one of a trilogy of the same name following Katniss Everdeen before, during and after she takes part in the fight to the death that is the 74th Annual Hunger Games. The book and movie are both excellent. Supposedly they're aimed at children, but everyone else I've spoken to who has read them had enjoyed them as much as I did (I'm 23 in case you were curious).

The Help - Kathryn Stockett - From the point of view of a few different characters, this book details the world of 1960s African American maids working for white families. I don't know much about American history so I found this quite enlightening as well as a great read with engrossing characters. I haven't seen the movie yet. I hope to do so soon!

Confessions of a GP - Benjamin Daniels - I do not work in the healthcare sector so I can't share in the frustrations vented within, however, from the point of view of a patient I learned what I should and shouldn't do when visiting my GP. It's a faintly amusing collection of anecdotes which made me feel amused, guilty and a bit sad in turns. Pretty cheap as an e-book, well worth a read!

QI Book of General Ignorance - John Mitchinson & John Lloyd - I'm a big fan of the QI TV show. After reading this I kept on spouting facts to everyone around me. I guess they thought it was pretty annoying but I revelled in that smug feeling which comes from arguing back with the words "it was in the QI book so I must be right".

The Painted Man - Peter V. Brett - I'd like to know what the 'V' stands for. This is the first book of the Demon Series and is also known as The Warded Man in the US. It's based in a world in which the human inhabitants have to use magical "wards" to keep night-time demons at bay. It's pretty epic!

Storm Front  - Jim Butcher - Book One of The Dresden Files. About a modern-ish day wizard who helps his buddy in the "Special Investigations" US police department and ends up kicking lots of magical beasties' butts in a charmingly candid fashion. I feel the writing style is aimed at men but I have been appreciating the lack of flowery language sometimes thrown about in fantasy fiction.

Darker Things - Rob Cornell - Book One of The Lockman Chronicles which I discovered via Twitter. This book is about an ex-secret agent type of chap who is thrown into all kinds of supernatural drama following the appearance of a teenage girl at his front door claiming to be his daughter. I'm not usually one for action type books but I really enjoyed this due to it being coupled with the element of magic/mojo. The story was refreshing and at one part I was actually surprised at the turn of events. Normally I see things coming from a mile away so this gets a  big thumbs up from me!

Things I Like - 3 - Travel

In case you have just tuned in, today I present item 3 of "Things I Like". I'm trying to blog seven days in a row about things I enjoy and feel the need to share or ramble on about. I might miss out Sunday cause I'm off to a Joe Bonamassa gig in Newcastle, but for now I hope you enjoy!

*edit* A technical error (i.e. I got blocked from work internet cause I was abusing it looking for pictures for this blog) means I am a day late posting this. Failed my mission already!

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Last Friday I got a credit card delivered. Last Saturday I maxed it out. On a holiday! Eeek! Although really it's not as bad as it sounds, I got the card purposefully to pay for the holiday so it wasn't exactly an impulse buy ^_^

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Me and my mother are jetting off to the sunny (hopefully) Greek island of Rhodes in a few short weeks. Rhodes is the one with the green arrow in the picture above, right near the coast of Turkey. I've been there before with my friend and housemate Kate and we had a really good time. It was out of season so many of the attractions were closed but the local buses were running and the Old Town area of Rhodes was open for business. The Old Town is spectacular. I'm really looking forward to exploring it some more and introducing it to my mum who has never been. I'll probably write a review or something on Trip Advisor in May when we get back.

I must admit I feel a little responsible for us having a successful trip, mainly because I've chosen not to book airport transfers, (£50 for a coach to the hotel? It's less than 5 Euro on the local bus service!) but the pressure is on because I now have the job of making sure we actually find our hotel. Hopefully some forward planning, printed out Rhodes bus timetables and my iPhone will help!

Whilst booking I was thinking about where I've been and where I'd like to go. If you know me you will know I'd love to visit Japan for a month or so. I'd visit the Ghibli Museum and a hot spring and the Ginza shopping district. I'd also love to return to New York. When I went in 2006-7 (I went for New Year) I was a little younger and I don't think I experienced it like I could now. I did see the Statue of Liberty, which was incredible, I didn't imagine her to be quite so tall, and went to a cool museum on Native American history. However, I didn't see Central Park, didn't go inside the Empire State Building and didn't flounce around pretending to be Serena Van Der Woodsen from Gossip Girl, It's definitely worth a return trip.

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Closer to home I travel around a lot on buses and trains. My typical journeys are between Barrow-in-Furness, Nottingham, Sutton Bonington and York but I'm pretty comfortable travelling anywhere in the UK by public transport. I love getting on a train for a long journey and knowing I'll be sat for a good hour or two with nothing to do but read a book or listen to music. It's like time stops for a little while and I can forget about the general stresses of life!

(Yeah, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna start a sentence with...) BUT, there is something which can easily spoil my journey (and I hold Apple firmly responsible): having to listen to other people's music. How hard is it to chuck away those crap earphones they give you with iPods/iPhones and buy some in-ear noise cancelling phones? If I can manage it, then so can you Mr Businessman on the seat in front listening to Nicki Minaj (?!).

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I got better earphones because I'm just super considerate. (Actually I did this swanky personality test recently and that was one of the words which came up to describe me. I guess I think it's accurate but please do tell me if you find things I do really annoying and are struggling with a daily desire to flush my head down the toilet. I'm so considerate I'd probably stop doing it right away!)

Anyway I think the world would be a better place if people would keep their choons in their own ears and stop forcing them on me. Thanks!

Things I Like - 2 - Stationary

Ever since I was a kid spending my pocket money on watercolours and visiting The Pencil Museum (Oh yes, there is such a place, and they even have an online shop *swoon*) I've been hooked on stationary. I love when you go into a shop and there are incredible rainbows of acrylic paints, pencils of increasing B's, reams of snowy white paper and those brill scratchy-offy-foil-pictures with dolphins and deer on them (Like the one below. Remember those?).

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Now, writing-wise, Muji produce a lovely gel-ink pen. They make my writing look fancy and the ink flow is just right. I must say that the ink does run out quite quickly but you can buy refills from Muji, who, incidentally, used to have a shop in Nottingham but it shut down a few months back. Now I have to buy my favourite pens online which makes me a little bit sad. I quite liked browsing around Muji with its minimalist shop style and t-shirts in little cubes!

For any kind of felt-tip colouring in, I love my Staedtler Triplus Colour fibre-tips. I like having nephews and a niece (Someone needs to invent a term for multiple nephews and nieces, like 'grandchildren'... How about 'sibchildren'..?) because spending time with them means I can do colouring in without looking like a person who has severely regressed to their childhood.

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For a lighter, more-pencilly colouring in requirement I prefer watercolour pencils. They are super blendable and of course can be painted with. Just add water! My favourite brand is Derwent, maybe because they are based in Cumbria not too far from where I grew up, or maybe because their statement about watercolour pencils is "The beauty of watercolour. The precision of pencil". I mean, it's just so true! ^_^

Something I recently found, and am desperate to find a supplier of in the UK, is the Beetle Tip Highlighter. It's a highlighter which has a nib I suppose you could loosely describe as being shaped like a little weevil nose (I was going to add a picture of a weevil but they're just too gross, Google them if you wish) and can be used to either highlight over words like usual, or, to highlight around words in one fell swoop! This would be SO useful when reading through journals, in order to make certain parts stand out. I must own a beetle tip pen!

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Lastly but my no means least...ly, for all my kawaii stationary needs I immediately turn to www.tofucute.com. They have a great selection of erasers shaped like food, tape with adorable friezes and themed paper stationary. I recommend a visit to their site if you haven't yet been and, whilst there, go ahead and browse the food section. There are some wicked Japanese snacks for sale! Hooray! Everyone loves miracle flavoured sweets!

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Things I Like - 1 - Movies

Ever since I worked at the Savoy Cinema in Nottingham I've been hooked on going to the movies. I'm happy to go any time, alone or with friends to see any film - expect scary ones. I draw the line at scary anything. I love the popcorn (sweet and salted mixed please), the slushy drinks and the chocolatey snacks (expensive though they may be) and tend to feel quite at home sitting in the screens, be they traditional or modern.

- Just a note on working at a cinema. When I first started I got told to go and "clean the screen". To which I responded "Ok, do I just brush it down or use a mop?". I got a pretty blank look. You see "screen" can of course refer to the room in which the movie is shown, not just the big white thing at the front. I think this is the cinema staff equivalent of an electrician's apprentice being sent for a left-handed screwdriver. If you ever get asked to do this this, be a pro and go and get the hoover. Don't go hunting for ladders like I did. -

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Most recently I've been to see The Muppets and John Carter. The Muppets blew me away with how funny it was. I was expecting outdated jokes and cutesy storyline. Indeed, the storyline was the usual formula of "ARGH! They want to cancel The Muppet Show, quick, we need to make money!" but anything cutesy was served with a side order of slapstick/ironic/situational comedy which just made the whole thing ace. Fans of Flight of the Conchords will love the musical numbers. Brett McKenzie himself was musical director and contributed to a lot of the songs (won a few awards for them too). I'd say this movie is a must see for anyone with a sense of humour. There is also an impressive string of cameos from the likes of Dave Grohl and the dude who plays Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory which made it all the more fun. I for one am going to buy it on DVD as soon as it's released.

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John Carter, on the other hand, is a film which I think lacks humour. I think it would have benefited from a Jack Sparrow type character with a few one-liners, just to make it stand up as typical Disney fare. Saying that, there is a pretty cool Martian dog in it which was funny and cute (in a toothy, slobbery way), and, aside from the humour stuff, I personally thought it was an enjoyable movie. There wasn't anything really spectacular about it which blew my mind as such, but my mum (49) and nephew (12) both thought it was really good, and it was definitely aided by good use of 3D. I feel quite sad that it's reported as a flop by the BBC. I think this could be due to harsh reviews given to it by websites and newspapers putting people off going, but Rotten Tomatoes shows that, even though it was given a review score of 51%, 71% of people who actually went to see it enjoyed it and I think that speaks for itself. If you have a free evening I recommend giving it a whirl.

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One must-see movie, which I'm so excited to see I get a funny feeling in my tummy when I think about it, is The Hunger Games which will be released on the 23rd March (that's only two days time!!). I intend to go watch it this weekend because sadly I can't do cinema during the week when I'm away working in Yorkshire, but hopefully I will be able to book tickets and it won't be too busy.

I'm super excited about this movie because I recently read the book trilogy by Suzanne Collins and enjoyed it immensely, despite the fact that the concept of post-apocalyptic survival isn't really a new one. I'm expecting it to be pretty dramatic and I saw the trailer last weekend before John Carter and it looked like it would be emotional. However, I heard on the radio yesterday a snippet of a review that said the extreme mortal peril wasn't really put across properly in the movie. I figure this is to be expected in order to make the film a 12A rating. Personally I'd like to see it properly souped up and aimed at adults, with a lot of emotion, fear and gore but hey, that's just me. I like book-to-movie adaptations to be intense in order to meet my expectations.

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DVD wise I recently bought The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, a Japanese animated movie about a girl who, in a minor lab accident, gains the power to be able to jump backwards in time. She uses this power to go back and fix events and help out her school friends. It's a really sweet story with a fairly simple time travel angle and I think it's going to be one I'll watch over and over because I find animated movies pretty relaxing. I'm also going to get hold of the book of the same name which is loosely described as a prequel, but I imagine it will be more of an inspiration for the story in the movie.

If you've been to see a movie lately that you think is a must-see, or you think is a do-not-see, please let me know. I definitely appreciate recommendations!

Advice for First-Time Conference Goers

Recently I went to a conference. It was the first time I've been to one and I wasn't sure what to expect. Since coming back I've thought of a few tips for people who don't have a clue like me, based on things I saw last week.

- What to wear - 

This can depend on the type of conference. If you are a business person then I'm sure suits will be all the rage but this farmy/sciency crop protection conference seemed more chilled. People were still expected to look smart but some students wore jeans and converse and nobody commented. I like a little bit of dress up though, I find wearing smart clothes makes me feel more confident.

Ladies: I'd recommend aiming for the mid-ground that is smart-casual. General office wear is good - I wore a knee-length skirt with flat black pumps and a blouse. Unfortunately that's not me in the picture on the right (those images came from a pretty cool dressing room function on the H&M website where you can plan oufits easily by clicking on items you like) but that's the look I'm gonna aim for next time I go.

Gents: Simple! Trousers and a shirt! Or a nice jumper if you're wanting to look more casual. Again only the real pros wore suit jackets so maybe think twice about that if you're a student.  If wearing a shirt please, please, please tuck it in. One bloke who gave a talk had his shirt hanging out and it looked like he had just rolled out of bed. I couldn't take him seriously.

Looking smart is important because you are representing yourself and your institution but looking too formal will make people think you're too big for your boots! I'm pretty sure I ended up looking like a schoolteacher on the second day but hey, you live and learn! Following the above suggestions will hopefully make sure you don't make any faux pas.

Hint: The venue might be air-conditioned to feel like the North Pole so do take some extra layers along just in case.

- Giving a Talk - 

I wish I'd given a talk instead of presenting a poster as with hindsight I think my work would have gone down well with the audience. If you're deliberating over whether to give a talk or make a poster I'd say go for it and give a talk. It's more stressful to plan but it is a good opportunity to show off your project, make your face  familiar to potential contacts and the relief feels pretty darn good when it's over!

Things to remember when giving a talk:

If there is a microphone at the podium, please stay still and speak into it. I know it's important to engage with the audience but turning back and forth to face them makes it hard to follow what is being said. Take some time before you begin speaking to angle the mic towards you and position it a reasonable distance from your mouth - about 30cm away should be fine.

Don't go crazy with the laser pointer! People don't need each line of your presentation highlighted for them, it can be taken as a given that most of your audience can read so try to keep the pointer for essential uses only. Also when designing your PowerPoint, think ahead about what you want to emphasise and make an animation to do this for you when you click.

Don't read out reams of raw data and results. People just don't care. Explain your methods, have a few graphs and tables and then spend most time on the conclusions or discussion. Numbers don't mean much to other people but the facts you have deduced from them are what people want to know, so, be a crowd pleaser!

- Poster Presenters -

Do try to stand near your poster during the coffee breaks and lunchtimes but don't stand guard by it like the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace. That can make people too nervous to come and read your poster or, alternatively, can induce your audience to start poking you in the face, taking pictures with you and telling you jokes to see if you will move from your post. Instead I recommend standing a little way back and approaching people once you have seen that they have already begun reading the poster. Don't do what I did and get scared and avoid staying with my poster altogether, I missed speaking to someone who I really wanted to network with. Luckily I managed to catch her later in the day but she was disappointed I wasn't available earlier when she had more time to talk.

As for things to bring along, it can be helpful to provide A4 handouts for people to take away with them. It will make you more memorable and it should have your contact information on it so people can email with questions. Also get some business cards printed, they're always handy to have just in case.

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Feel free to comment with questions and if I think of anything else useful I'll put it up here. 

Morals of the story are: look good, be confident, be prepared, don't wear bearskin hats and maybe go have a little fun with that H&M dressing room thing!

Not an Animal Lover...

Anyone who knows me will know I am not a huge animal lover. Don't get me wrong, I'm not heartless, I got upset when Bambi's mum and Simba's dad died but to be honest that's probably because they could talk. I do appreciate that larger animals can have their own individual personality but I'm not one of those who thinks animals are like people. I'm also pretty strongly allergic to anything bigger and hairier than a hamster (they make me sneeze too but just with less intensity).

- As an aside: I hate the Dog's Trust charity advert, which, amongst other charity ads, try to give dogs human characteristics and say they will send you a card in the post. How can they lick the envelope? How can they place the stamp? The answer is they cannot and thus I feel so obviously lied to that I get annoyed and grumble loudly at the TV, irritating those around me more than the advert probably did. I'd feel much better about donating if they said "Billy is a grumpy dog who won't fetch your paper but he'll lie happily on your feet for a bit. He also likes chicken but it makes him fart.", although I suppose guilt-tripping people does make money. -

Anyway, back to the point, I am not a typical animal lover. I do have pet gerbils who entertain me hugely, but I think of them as pets instead of friends. Some people might think this is isn't right but I look after them as best I can (with some help from my kind friends), I buy them new houses and toys which they destroy in 3 hours and I sometimes try to give them a sand bath but they just eat the sand instead. Idiots. I am under no illusion that they see me as anything other than their primary food giver and besides doing that important task I am unimportant to them.

So, it is safe to say I have never wanted a large, uncaged house pet like a cat or dog... until this day. When I saw this Youtube video my heart officially turned to mush and I Googled hard to see what kind of breed he/she is. I then discovered the Munchkin Cat. They have teeny-tiny legs. Here's the Japanese website linked in the video which sells them and you don't have to speak Nihon-go to enjoy this site because the pictures, like the ones on the right, speak for themselves! It is all I can do to not shout "AWWWW!" out loud but rest assured I am doing so in my head!

If there is some way of overcoming my allergies, when I am a grown up with a house and a proper job I will be getting one of those little fluffballs. Preferably a grey one. And maybe he or she will send me cards in the post. More likely they will just behave like any normal cat and do this instead.

Here's what's left of my gerbils' destroyed wicker teepee: