If You Have The Time To Listen To Me Whine

Hey guys! Me again! First of all sorry for no James' Today on Saturday! I was pretty occupied, I mean Laura Robson took two hours to win! Then I had a couple of pints so yes. I have a few things today that I want to rant about and I am going to put them all in one post.

So the first thing I wish to rant about and it is a thing, is Katie Price. You do need the time to listen to me whine here really! Well today I read an article about Ms Price saying her husband will get "fuck all". Now I can understand trust must come a big deal when you are as utterly detestable as the thing that seems to be in a state of permanent jealousy of Kelly Brook, so much so you send a picture of her bare breast thinking the whole of Britain will be in shock and say "she's not all that". But no, this backfires as Katie is the only person who thinks plastic is a good look.

This is a thing that works for The Scum newspaper about issues that deeply effect us like "Where will we get our make up if Bangladesh gets flooded?" along with many a story about Peter Andre and how he's a horrible person. I'm afraid to the woman who claims she can count the amount of men she has slept with using her fingers (yes I know, she must be severely dyslexic), having so many husbands and relationships that end in tatters, I can spot one similarity...Katie Price is involved. I am fed up with having papers and news websites telling me what bullshit she's up to now. I don't care if she wants to be in Eurovision, she can't sing and we'll come last because Europe hates her. So why do people follow her, or want to be like her? Why have Sky been rumoured to commission a show looking for the next Katie Price? Is this country really this stupid? We want intelligent, funny, confident women, not women who have to try to look as much like Barbie as possible. Katie Price is just a signal for men to continue to be sexist, that's all she's good for, sorry to be blunt but it's the truth. It's just a shame The Scum newspaper would rather publicise this than tell us about these smart, funny and confident women we would rather hear about.

To be honest, the fact that Katie Price is so popular within society shows me society is dumbing down which leads me onto my next point. Text language needs to stop. I'm fine with the odd use of "lol" and "tbh" in a text conversation but today I found out thanks to +Danièlle Owen that "NVM" means Nevermind. Now what the hell is that for text language, stop using it and write the word. That word was the name of one of the greatest albums of it's time, by a band called Nirvana, I'm sure Kurt Cobain would have been thrilled to call his album "NVM"...and then there is "IMO" which means "In my opinion", why? This makes no sense whatsoever! Stop using slang and text speak and speak in normal English. It's what we all learnt in school. I mean we use this rubbish and then complain that foreign people don't know English, well right now some of us look to also be struggling with the mother tongue! I would prefer this generation not to be the generation of TOWIE, Geordie Shore, Justin Bieber and One Direction, not just because all of these are generally unintelligent television and music with little meaning, but because none of those things has an ounce of real personality within it. Now I can respect people listening to One Direction the odd time, it appears in the club as much as I personally loathe it, but I can only stand that if it's a light sprinkling on top of what I would call far better more intelligent bands. Bieber is also a far worse role model than One Direction, although both fan bases are some of the most scary things you will ever get to cross. Personally I would advise not liking either. But to my point, we need to have an intelligence around, personality, TOWIE and stuff like this just make people sit back and do nothing other than be stupid all day! It's a pathetic excuse for a television show. Mind you I could go on about how the BBC have dumbed down the shows I watched when I was a child, such as Blue Peter now, which went from a reasonably intelligent show to a show that's stupidity is beyond itself, on once a week, mainly so shows about red dogs etc can be shown.

Finally I watched the Rolling Stones tonight, to be blunt it was pretty diabolical considering their reputation, in fact it was an embarrassment to their reputation. Jagger looked like he was a walking skeleton. The dancing was abysmal, all I can say is you expect better, especially from a band that charge £190 for an arena gig. But then some fools must pay that much and then wonder why it was worth it. All I can say is thank goodness a band like the Ramones or the Beatles couldn't embarrass themselves in this way. If you want to see an older artist I would recommend Bruce Springsteen, his Glastonbury set looked incredible, plus everyone I know who has seen him has commented on how good he is and his music is most certainly on the same level (personally I would say far higher) than the Rolling Stones. This is not to say I hate the music the Stones produced, some was reasonably good, but honestly guys, you should have split up decades ago, fans who pay huge sums of money to see that rubbish are being victimised by your greed to make a few more quid. And regarding comments about not finding your careers mentally stimulating and making it sound like such a bad life, look at yourselves and your bank accounts and shut up. If you want to be mentally stimulated and a musician think more about the lyrics, there are many bands I like with lyrics people can relate too. Not just think "this is a good tune and I can know the chorus".

The concludes my rant, which could go on forever to be honest.

No offence was meant regarding the dyslexic comment. 

James' Today 28/06/2013 - Wiley's Rant

Hey Guys!

And another James' Today. Kinda already done my main blog post of the day so this is gonna be short I would expect.

On a similar theme I shall briefly discuss Wiley's discussion on twitter over Glastonbury. Not to much to say on it really, except for the fact that it is totally disrespectful to the fans. I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that Glastonbury isn't about making a profit, not in the way that a bands gig is anyway. Wiley is going to perform for an hour and I bet he isn't getting the minimum wage for an hours set and lets be blunt he's not exactly talented, he just speaks into a microphone and moves some discs around, as far as I'm concerned he should leave the music scene. (You readers may now have learn't that I'm opinionated). There are talented rappers, Wiley is not one of them, end of. He's also proved himself to be a whinger. That's all he's good for. So if you're at Glastonbury give him a miss. And to Wiley, if you think the English treat you like a slave, find some talent OR find out how hard it is to live in Britain without being a popstar nowadays while that twit George Osbourne makes cut after cut, and if they're not giving you much, do you care to send me your pay cheque for the event, I mean it may be nothing to you, but some of us would appreciate it.

I realise this is short, but I'll finish this with a song by Glastonbury Headliners - The Arctic Monkeys

The Rolling Stones - Are They Stupid?

Yes, going for controversy in my title today clearly! And yes this will be a rant. This is all to do with the bands arguments to do with how much of their set will be showed at Glastonbury (a set I shall not be watching...). Initially the pensioners went and said they would only allow 4 songs to be shown by the BBC, the official broadcasters of a festival that has before claimed to be the biggest festival in the world. Now what the hell is going on here? Glastonbury surely has a contract and surely these pensioners are aware if this? Unless their drug use and age has made them beyond demented.

The other point is this band in my eyes are a bunch of con artists. Now I understand their success and longevity gains a lot of fans, I also understand that many of these fans are in an older generation than myself. However I also know bands that have had multiple hit albums and also have gigs in similar venues. But did anyone see the prices of the two gigs at the O2? For anyone who doesn't want to open the article there, here is a quote from the article of the ORIGINAL prices "Tickets - originally priced between £190 and £400 - sold out within seven minutes, however many were bought by resellers such as Via GoGo, Seatwave and Double8 Tickets to sell at an inflated price." Now I don't care what the Rolling Stones have to say for the price and they can sue me if they feel insulted by my comments because there are no legs to stand on but when the cheapest ticket is £190, you're not showing you care about the fans, it more or less feels like you're telling the average fans to "fuck off" and not to bother. Just regarding ticket prices, I have been to see the Arctic Monkeys at the same venue, tickets were priced at less than £40, as were Green Day at the LG Arena (the two massive bands I've seen at arenas). And with this economic climate I would love to know how Mick Jagger, already living the best lifestyle possible thanks to all this money can justify these ticket prices. Apparently I hear he can, by claiming ticket touts have made tickets "not so cheap". For £190 I can pretty much buy a ticket to Reading Festival, little bit better than seeing pensioners way past their best sing songs they wrote before Britain ever considered a female Prime Minister!

So they announce they're to play at Glastonbury and people are excited, to see them at the festival and as with all headliners previously in my memory on the box. But then they tell us they're only to play four songs. So clearly people like myself, oblivious to the days when they were the biggest rock band by a mile on this planet can't make our judgements on them live. Well Mick, that's not good enough, that's not giving yourself a legacy to my generation, we have the Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Blink-182, Arctic Monkeys, Mumford And Sons, Green Day, Eminem, Biffy Clyro, Arcade Fire, My Chemical Romance, Muse...even Rihanna to create legacy through their sets in the last few years (and upcoming summer) to influence us and create a festival legacy. Missing the Rolling Stones isn't like missing a World Cup in England, there are now many artists on a parity (and to the youth of today bigger) regarding the Rolling Stones and every year there will be the chance to see various bands who are on this level. I'm perfectly fine with missing a band that charge more than 4 times the amount that the Arctic Monkeys do! They should be boycotted until tickets are affordable. 

Now they've agreed to play an hour for the BBC, but have arguments regarding it being broadcast abroad, I urge the BBC to grow some guts, you have the rights to Glastonbury, as you do for Reading and various other events, show the full set. If it annoys them, let them sue. Glastonbury rights include the headliners however old and prehistoric they may be! And to the Rolling Stones, let people of my age see what you're about and play on TV, if it's that good, it'll go down in history, like Nirvana at Reading 1992. 

What do you think? Leave a comment or tweet me! If you're the Rolling Stones and feel insulted at what I regard the truth you can also leave me a tweet, or send me a fax, seeming that is probably new to you!

James' Today - 27/06/2013 - The return of the iMac, Surprises and Wimblegeddon

Hey guys!

Yes I'm back home now and my sister didn't murder me for my typing in the car yesterday, so all is well! I'm sure you will all be celebrating this like the Italians celebrated when they won the 2006 FIFA World Cup (driving around just tooting that horn with flags dragging from the cars, gathering in squares and celebrating together)!

And to make this news even better, my iMac is back from Plymouth and I've set it up again! In fact I'm writing this blog from it now! I have also discovered that I downloaded GTA Vice City, Cricket Captain and Tomb Raider on it. How AWESOME is that?! Gonna keep me going when I've finally finished The Last Of Us...which is an amazing game, so buy it if you have a PS3, if you don't get a PS3 and the game, that is how good it is! I will compile a review of it when I have completed the game and had a bash at multiplayer so, clearly something to look forward to there guys!

So have you went on your computer/mac and found something that you're like "wow I forgot that!"? Or maybe on your games console or Sky Plus box, I seem to remember I found FIFA Street 3 on my 360, may it rest in peace. Now that gave some proper entertainment!

Also in other news, the most ambitious plan ever is going a step further, along with +Danièlle Owen, +Ryan Steppel and +Vikki Lamb I have been looking at a trip around the world visiting a host of places located across the continents. Because I would so definitely watch this on television I believe I have the pleasure to start to send emails to companies for coverage and sponsorship, to make this a reality. Also need funding because Mr Osbourne wants at least the 9kers in Uni to pay back quicker than they were meant to. Unfair right? Well this is a party which includes a lawyer who did 10 hours work and got 5k...I'd be happy is I could get this by working 100 hours! I mean if this was the case we'd be off on the trip when the year ends or the year after aha. But clearly watching 4 novices travel the world would be like, quite good to watch right? Comment below if you have an opinion on that.

And finally, what the hell, I looked at my phone in the car last night and Federer was in a tie break, which he lost, therefore losing the game. Wimbledon's gone strange. Not the same without Rafa and Roger. I shall now need to keep away from watching Murray cry or I'll end up wanting him to win and after all these years that is not good!

Anyway, I know this post is kinda rubbish, but please comment and tweet me and help me find something for tomorrow. I shall now leave you with a song, the first song I played on my Mac when I turned him on. By a headliner at Reading 2013 and no, it isn't that headliner....it's Eminem!

James' Today 26/06/2013

Hey guys!

Okay so I imagine that this will be a shorter edition of my "Today" segment as I'm in a car and my sister gets in a serious temper about typing and being able to hear headphones and all of that rubbish. I don't know why but I can tell you that it is highly annoying and she is covering her ears now...she will love Plymouth University library with all of us on our laptops!!!

So what today...well I'm not sure writing this, I am thinking about the sun having decided to come out the ONE day that I have to spend the majority of the day in the car. Also I put in the keys to my flat today so I officially have no home in Plymouth until the first of November :(. Sucks right? As that's where we all wanna be! AND I have to pay for July. I'd advise anyone looking for a place at uni NOT to consider Shorey's. They're not great and that free organic food includes Mushroom's, my nemesis. And not just like two...more like 20...and when you have friends like I do they throw them at you. I can't stand them! Legitimate, compared to spiders, who in this country are relatively nice and help by killing flys, who are annoying little things!

I would also like to point out something I was thinking about last night, this is, what is the point of playing life safe and merely being just satisfied when you could take life by the scruff of the neck and take some risks, talk to people some people may not like but if the risks work you would be thrilled with your life. Yes that's right people, take some risks, go in the deep end, not the shallow end, and take those metaphorical arm bands off and go for it. At least you tried.

And finally, money issues, I'm annoyed at the lack of a job in the Nottingham area...this has led to me having to pull out of Mumford and Sons which is gutting as it was one of my only oppurtunities this summer to see school friends. Let's hope one or two of them go to Reading festival 2013 then! Either way that is gonna be HUGE. You can tell I can't wait for that, and freshers to be honest too.

But yeah I'm at a service station now and if I continue I think I won't be here on this planet to create James' Today tomorrow, and I know, you'd all hate that to happen.

Toodles

No video as this is mobile internet :(.

James' Today 25/06/2013

Hey again guys!

6 months till Christmas!!!!! Yes, today is the 25th June! But before that we have festival season! Yes, the festivals are all beginning! Last week it was the Isle of Wight, but really, that's a preshow to the curtain raiser...Glastonbury! Over 5 days people are gonna get amazing moments such as a set by the Arctic Monkeys, which having seen them in the O2 I can definitely say will be great! So if you're going to Glastonbury I wish you an epic and unforgettable time! Personally my festival seems to be Reading, one of the last festivals of the summer, where Green Day, Eminem and Biffy will headline. Some top shows, as there are at full festivals. This said, it'll be hard to beat my five top Reading moments, which today I'm going to tell you here with the beginning of festival season!

5. Muse, playing Origin Of Symmetry in full in 2011. This was a unique experience and was followed up by their greatest hits from other albums. A very good show by a great great band. Being right at the front for this was a great experience and made watching the awful Interpol almost worth it!

The BBC Highlights of the set (misses out a lot of Origins of Symmetry...I know that's the bit that made it a unique and special show...)

Song of the set - Feeling Good. 

4. Blink-182 - Reading 2010. Reading and Leeds this year seemed to be the festival of bands reuniting (another band in this trend is later in the top 5) and Blink-182 played their first shows in the UK since reforming at the Reading and Leeds festivals! Finishing the 2010 festival they played a montage of their greatest hits, with songs such as All The Small Things, What's My Name Again and Dammit being played.

Highlights of Blink-182 at Reading 2010.

Song of the Set: All The Small Things.

3. Green Day's Secret Set - Reading 2012. This would probably be higher if Green Day were a band I hadn't already seen and a band that I have since seen, in a gig where they played for considerably longer than the secret set. Playing through their greatest hits and songs they generally seemed to enjoy playing like the track "Murder City" they got the crowd mental and were broadcast on the main stage screens as well due to how busy the NME stage was. Luckily for me I was fairly close to the front.

Highlights of the Green Day Secret Set.

Song of the set: Stay the Night. 

2. The reunion of the Libertines, Reading 2010. Now this was special, this was emotional. Coming on stage to the tune "we'll meet again" the band played hits from the albums they released when they were together to an incredibly passionate crowd, well respecting this could be the only time that any of the crowd would see them.

The full Libertines set.

Song of the set. Don't look back into the Sun.

1. The Foo Fighters, Reading 2012. This was simply amazing, Dave Grohl made it not just an event but an occasion, bringing up the fact he was there with the legendary Kurt Cobain 20 years ago. Playing hits and getting his family on stage this was simply an unforgettable experience. The best headline set I have ever had the pleasure of seeing and beating this may be impossible!

Then full set of the Foo Fighters.

You can't pick a song of this set, but I shall throw out a song to finish this blog as I am being rushed out of the house...annoying yes...to a strawberry farm...lame. Here's Walk by the Foo Fighters.

Comment your favourite Festival moments!

James' Today 24/06/2013

Hey guys and welcome to the second James' Today blog.

I think we should start off on a serious note here. I do a degree in Criminology and Law and therefore I find this article in the Daily Mail (I know, but it's one of the sites I find humour on!) about the case of Stephen Lawrence. I just think this is worth a read for those doing, or interesting in doing a degree similar to mine. It points out once again the institutional racism within the police. I should make a different section for this part of my post really, because this is meant to be generally light hearted and of course, this is not. That said it would be foolish not to read it if you are interested on developments in the Police.

So now, let's pick the mood up yeah?

Right so yesterday I talked about the Irn Bru campaign of names on the bottle. I think anyone who watched the adverts will have found them hilarious. I want to therefore point out that these weren't the only adverts they've done that are hilarious. So here is one related to the Scotland vs England rivalry!

This is one of the funniest adverts that has been broadcast on British Television and has given me the idea of a new section to my blog. This section will be titled "James' Top Tens" and every week on a certain day I shall update my blog with a certain top ten. Clearly the first will be adverts and I have a few in mind!


Now, onto the best way to play FIFA! Yes that's right. This is because today I saw an article about a boy having a cinema hired out for his birthday to play...yes VIDEO GAMES! Yes...Wow. Now imagine having a FIFA tournament in Vue Plymouth!

Imagine a FIFA tournament here!

This would be such an ambitious idea, yet so cool! Maybe +Sony should consider this in many places when they launch the Playstation Four!

Right and now for a tune to finish this off with! This song, is about something I clearly wish for, the sex, alcohol and violence (as long as I live) that James Bond gets is something for anyone to wish for! 

Wimbledon - A Quick Preview - The British

Right, so Wimbledon starts today!

So my first post on Wimbledon is going to be on the British players, two reasons really, they get a lot of press from now and well only one will actually make it to week two! And I'm presuming we know who that will be. Well yeah, I was thinking Laura Robson...nah Andy Murray of course.

The British Women

 So there are five British women in the draw, two to keep your eyes on most would say. But then, you never know, all five have made the second round at least of a grand slam.

Elena Baltacha

Back from injury Baltacha shall try to carry on what seems to be good form in the early part of this week. Realistically the second round would be an achievement and is within her grasp as she players Pennetta of Italy in the first round, you never know, if the draw works out like a miracle round three could be on the cards, this is a woman who took Kirelinko to 3 tough sets and really, if she won important points, would have won!.

Anne Keothavong

The former British women number one, not that it's much to talk about, once a top 50 player...just...but now she's not even in the top 200. She does have a match against the unseeded Muguruza, but honestly getting to the second round would be about retaining the points she got for reaching round two last year!

Johanna Konta

She changed her nationality from Australian to British in tennis terms and sits at her highest ranking ever but it's only 137th in the world and honestly, that isn't about to go up at Wimbledon, she faces 16th seed Jelena Jankovic and to be honest having seen Konta play occasionally when the BBC showcase the British players over top 20 players in some competitions, it would take something special, this said she got to the second round of the US Open last year but couldn't follow it up at all in Melbourne. You almost wonder if she changed nationality to get the Wimbledon wild card...

Laura Robson

If any of these players have any hype right now it's the 19 year old British player Laura Robson, just missed out on a seed at Wimbledon, yet most of these points come from the second half of 2013. Her issue has been some poorer performances in the clay season particularly. On hard courts she reached the fourth round in the US Open with a stunning win over Clijsters as well as defeating Li Na. Here though, she faces Kirelinko. The question therefore is, can Laura Robson defeat another seed in a Grand Slam? One things for certain, the pressure is on compared to the US and Australian Slams.

Heather Watson

The British number 2 who looks to be in a battle really to be the number one, Watson has been able to impress many before at Wimbledon. This was last year, a third round. The last British woman standing. Now she has it all to prove again coming back from an illness that saw her miss Roland Garros. To prove Wimbledon 2012 was not a fluke she did get to the third round in Australia 6 months later. She may well do it again, if she can get through the young American Madison Keys, in what will be a close encounter.

The British Men

Kyle Edmund

There isn't much to say on Kyle Edmund really, he's only just coming onto the tour where he has taken part mainly in challengers, until now. He got to the quarter final of the junior French Open this year, yet he has looked good in other matches he has played, notable the 7-6 7-6 loss to Simon. But over five sets does he really have a chance against Janowicz, the only thing I can see on his side it a lack of knowledge about his game from the oponent, a good outcome though may be to win a set or two...

Andy Murray

Not a Wimbledon Champion yet he has won a tournament at the club in the 2012 Olympics, Andy Murray seems a changed man. He is a given to go far, at least to the quarter finals where he may well meet Rafa Nadal. He's also a Grand Slam champion now and the question will be, can Andy Murray deal with the extra pressure he recieves at the British Grand Slam? One can only wait and see whether he lifts that trophy or gives another emotional message like last year.

James Ward

Plays unseeded Lu in the first round and despite being another British player with a low rank, he has surprised before getting to the semis at queens a few years back. Although he won't go far this year, let's hope he pulls through the first round...as then he will play Andy Murray, not quite a Henman vs Rusedski but still a battle of two British players.

So there you have it, make what you will of the British competitors in Wimbledon, one thing seems sure though, Andy Murray will be the last Brit standing and unless Robson or Watson produce a few great results or it rains without fail for a week Andy Murray will also be the only Brit in week two. So if you want a British person to win Wimbledon, you'll be hoping for something similar to this.

Got any thoughts on this article, or Wimbledon itself, then please leave a comment, tweet me or email me, contributions are highly welcome and appreciated and may well be used in the next article.

Coverage of Wimbledon is available across all BBC platforms as well as on the official Wimbledon YouTube channel.

Random Questions About Me

Well earlier on +Danièlle Owen did a questionnaire, I thought it would be cool if I did this too. So I have, so yeah, you can learn some random rubbish about me and maybe work out my intentions of watching a few matches of Wimbledon in the next fortnight while you're at it...and the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who....

1. SEXUALITY
I am a heterosexual male

2. IF YOU COULD MEET ANYONE ON THE PLANET, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
If we include dead people probably JRR Tolkien because of how much imagination it would have taken for him to create his books. I mean The Lord Of The Rings…wow. If we’re on about people alive, Russell Brand would be hilarious, especially if we did a few phone calls!

3. GRAB THE NEAREST BOOK TO YOU, GO TO PAGE 23 LINE 17...WHAT DOES IT SAY?
Due to the fact that I’m in a car I don’t have a book on me…I’ll do this later from the book I’ve been reading for a long time which is Steve Jobs’ biography.

4. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE MOST?
That I need a job, how to get money, will my life be success of a failure

5. WHAT DOES YOUR LAST TEXT SAY?
"I love the U20 team" – this was from Danielle, declaring her love for some Welsh rugby players, I moved this conversation to tennis on Facebook…

6. DO YOU SLEEP WITH OR WITHOUT CLOTHES?
Depends on the heat, doubt you wanna know, but usually an old tour tshirt and my boxers. I have slept in a onesie before though!

7. WHAT IS YOUR STRANGEST TALENT?
Umm, being a mug, not the china things, the too forgiving kind. I think I’ve changed that though.

8. FINISH THE SENTENCES: GIRLS.......... BOYS..........
Girls can be tempermental. Boys will be boys.

9. EVER HAD A POEM OR SONG WRITTEN ABOUT YOU?
Yep, Rusty James and St Jimmy are both poetic songs wrote about me! Nah in all seriousness I have not L 

10. WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU PLAYED THE AIR GUITAR?
1^st June 2013 at the Emirates Stadium. Green Day!

11. DO YOU HAVE ANY STRANGE PHOBIAS? 
Mushrooms. They feel horrible, taste horrible and make me vomit.

12. EVER STUCK A FOREIGN OBJECT UP YOUR NOSE?
The Germans haven’t tried to bomb my nose

13. WHAT IS YOUR RELIGION?
The religion of the lost and damned.

14. IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE, WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO BE DOING?
Going to a club, pondering a pasty or fish and chips, commonly with Josh.

15. DO YOU PREFER TO BE BEHIND THE CAMERA, OR IN FRONT OF IT?
Umm when I’m drunk I am shocked at the amount of photos I find myself in and what they look like, however sober behind the camera.

16. FAVOURITE BAND?
Green Day

17. WHAT WAS THE LAST LIE YOU TOLD?
“I’m leaving” – I was getting out of bed.

18. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA?
Karma’s a bitch, although Karma is life, so life is a bitch.

19. WHAT DOES YOUR URL MEAN?
That I have a blog and I am a God?

20. WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS?
Strength – I can beat my weaknesses. Poor balance, take up rowing. Struggling cycling proficiency, go out for a few hours until I know I can pass.
Weakness – “Love”,

21. WHO IS YOUR CELEBRITY CRUSH?
Jenna-Louise Coleman & Laura Robson.

22. HAVE YOU EVER GONE SKINNY DIPPING?
Nope.

23. HOW DO YOU VENT YOUR ANGER?
Punch walls, bed and stuff. Shout about it online, can’t do that too much with parents looking on my twitter…@jamesmartinlfc

24 DO YOU HAVE A COLLECTION OF ANYTHING?
I used to collect TY beanie babies when I was little

25. DO YOU PREFER TALKING ON THE PHONE OR VIDEO CHATTING ONLINE?
Have to see myself on a video chat, so on the phone of course.

26. ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE PERSON YOU'VE BECOME?
In the last year, I’ve grown up emotionally, so yeah. I speak my mind and people have to deal with that. Because it’s important to stand up for what you believe and not go with the crowd.

27. WHAT SOUND DO YOU HATE, AND WHAT SOUND DO YOU LOVE?
I hate the sound of people eating with their mouths open, my fist starts to feel a magnet in it being attracted to their face. Regarding sounds I love it depends, I’ve always liked the sound of a beach, or like a festival noise before the music, just the anticipation and excitement that can be sensed.

28. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST "WHAT IF"?
What if I got rid of you when I should have?

29. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS AND ALIENS?
Ghosts yes. You know when you suddenly randomly shiver briefly but it’s warm, yeah, that’s a ghost. Extra Terrestrial life, yes, but I doubt if we met them we’d be like “shiiiit aliens!”

30. STICK YOUR RIGHT ARM OUT - WHAT DO YOU TOUCH? SAME WITH LEFT ARM.
The car seat in front of me

31. SMELL THE AIR. WHAT DO YOU SMELL?
I can smell the outdoors, every now and again some cow shit. Or is it horse shit? What’s in my burgers nowadays?

32. WHAT IS THE WORST PLACE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN TO?
Manchester.

33. EAST COAST OR WEST COAST?
In Britain the west, in the USA I don’t know, isn’t NYC the east? In which case east.

34. MOST ATTRACTIVE SINGER OF THE OTHER GENDER?
Taylor Momsen from The Pretty Reckless

35. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?
Carpe Diem

36. DEFINE ART.
Something you can physically see that makes you think. Although I hate art.

37. DO YOU BELIEVE IN LUCK?
Yeah, well kinda, look at the people who have the talent that has given them everything.

38. WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE?
Dry and cool.

39. WHAT IS THE TIME?
10pm

40. DO YOU DRIVE? IF YOU DO, HAVE YOU EVER CRASHED?
Nope, failed twice, wish I did crash in either test though, would be a good reason I failed rather than stupid faults by other drivers or being 4mph over the limit

41. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?
My Booky Wook 2 – Russell Brand

42. DO YOU LIKE THE SMELL OF PETROL?
It’s addictive

43. DO YOU HAVE ANY NICKNAMES?
God! Nah I don’t  have any.

44. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW?
It’s either Iron Man 2 or the Hunger Games 

45. WHAT IS THE WORST INJURY YOU HAVE EVER GOT?
It’s either a broken toe from playing football in the hallway when I was 7ish or the scar I got drinking. 

46. HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT A BUTTERFLY?
No, no I have not.

47. DO YOU HAVE ANY OBSESSIONS?
If I say no someone will comment about Green Day and Liverpool so…

48. DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?
Yes, although I’m still waiting for my letter from Hogwarts that must have got lost in the post.

49. HAS ANYONE SEEN YOU IN YOUR UNDERWEAR IN THE LAST 3 MONTHS?
I don’t think so….

50. IS THERE ONE PERSON WHO CAN ALWAYS MAKE YOU SMILE?
Yeah, Milky, Elliot, Steve, Josh, Andy, Danielle, Vikki et al all in their own ways haha.

Well I hope you learn't something new, do it yourself if you want, it would be interesting! If you have anything to say, comment or tweet me!

Toodles!

James' Today 23/06/2013

Hey Guys!

Welcome to the first James' Today. I have a couple of news articles from the last couple of days to show to you and discuss briefly as well as a song that today put me in a pretty good mood, before some drunk guy was too loud in the restaurant that is!

So the first article is from Sky News and refers to the name of the rapper Kayne West's and the err I don't actually know what she does Kim Kardashian's newborn baby North West. Is it a good or bad name? I also think it's good now to bring up whether the name is dumb after Kayne West is quoted as saying "Right now it's a fight against the separation and constant dumbing down of culture, and I'm standing in the middle of it," he said. "So if you know what people say are my lowest moments, those moments where I sat and saw them try to dumb down culture, and I would not allow it to happen on my clock."(source Digital Spy). Is he succeeding by what many would say is a stupid name? Mind you is calling your album "Yeezus" and the first single "I Am A God" good examples of this either? I think not, it seems no more intelligent than any generic pop rubbish that's released nowadays. In my opinion you want music with lyrics that mean something, considering some of his last songs, I don't think that he is succeeding in a battle to stop the dumbing down of society but to continue to dumbing down of society. 

Secondly I would like to share Irn-Bru's new advertising campaign with you. Like coke they are going for names on bottles, but not just any names, traditional Scottish names like this:

Good move or bad move? Personally I think it's quite funny, but then I'd find anyone with the name "Fanny" quite funny...which is probably why this advert is one of my favourites in this country:

Although this spoof sequel may be even better:

Infact looking at the adverts for Irn Bru I could write a whole blog about them and how funny they are, I think I may have to do that for tomorrow. But in this case, is the idea to put these traditional Scottish names on the bottle hot or not? Considering it's a traditional Scottish drink surely it's looking back at it's heritage in a humorous way?

And finally, to end on a song, kinda my song of the day, here is Dakota by the Stereophonics! Enjoy!

Remember to comment, tweet me, or email!

Toodles!

Frustrated

Hey guys! Now I've been feeling frustrated and bored the last few days, you may ask why, well it's summer and I'm a University student. More to the point though whereas most University students get to go back to where they went to secondary school and hang out with their friends as well as work, a lot of them at jobs they got before University which are open to them going back to in holidays. However my family moved to Nottinghamshire on the days I got my A level results and confirmation I would be going to Plymouth University. For those that don't know getting from Nottinghamshire to either Plymouth or Barnstaple does cost well over £30, sometimes closer to £60, a trip I have to make a few times a year to go from the family home to my University home, it's not something I can really afford to do though to see my friends back in the town I would refer to as home in the Summer and lets be honest, there's no point of any of them going to Nottingham, the only good event that has happened there that I noticed was Blink-182.

So why am I telling you all this in this blog? Well it's frustrating. I have applied for countless jobs, at places at anywhere advertising and places that are not. I have considered walking into the supermarkets and telling them I won't move until they give me a job or at least interview me or give me a job trial because lets be honest they can afford it. I'm not sure why it seems easier for my friends to get a job in Bideford but it does, maybe there are just not as many people of my age group going to University here and deciding to work in a shop for the rest of their lives and more teenage parents here (although there were and I believe looking on Facebook are a fair few teenage parents in Bideford) who can't afford to go to University or courses away from here due to that commitment. For some reason though, it seems harder to get a job in this more densely populated area of the country, this might be because ASDA like to employ their employees children here, seems to be one of the reasons, the rest seem quite backwards in all honesty, for instance when my Mum bought some goods there explained to the person putting the "freshly" baked "pasties" (they were not of a sufficient quality to bear the name pasty to be honest) that both her and my sister were vegetarians, the person put the pasties into the same bag. This person shouldn't be working at a food store if she does this, what if a person who is due to beliefs a vegetarian and this person puts them next to a product containing meat that they don't eat, it could to the customer "contaminate" their food. Yet this person has a job and I do not. Takes away my belief in the best people getting the job, as even if I'm not the best, she clearly was near the worst. Also I need money to see my friends, so I can't see my friends because people hire idiots like that and don't give students a good chance as far as I'm aware (if anyone in Nottingham reads this and wants to give me a job, please send a comment, email or tweet yeah?).

Secondly, things here happen that wouldn't so easily happen in Bideford. I may have had my fair share of scraps in Bideford, but I was the type of person who wouldn't keep my opinion quiet if I was offended and this could lead to myself falling out with people that made racist comments, especially Tom Benson (if you wanna send your Mum to my old houses door to complain to my Mum but not to my face, or send your army mates round there to "get me" because you can't face up to your own racist remarks yourself, please do) and the chavs. But in Nottingham on my first full day back from Univeristy for Christmas it was my sisters 18th party, me and my cousins however were fed up of her taste in music and stuff and thought about going to Wetherspoons, only to have some thugs try to mug us. These were low life scum mugs that you seem to see more of here than in Bideford, attacking three people unprovoked asking for our phones. Now I must be honest, I didn't get punched, I thought they had a knife and found the nearby bouncer for Wetherspoons to get the police on these scumbags, and I hope they were arrested, I also by a streak of luck didn't have my iPhone 5 on my but my iPod touch, although I wasn't giving it to them, they wouldn't understand the music on it as it contains instruments and isn't just full of "I'm gonna fucking shoot you, because I am hard, because I do rap, and emo's are useless" but proper music from the Arctic Monkeys, to Green Day all the way to odd hits by pop groups like Marina and the Diamonds, Eliza Doolittle and Ellie Goulding. But this showed me a sign that some of the people in Nottingham aren't exactly receptive of people who don't just give their phones. At least in Bideford I knew who some of these problem people were and to watch out for them, I also could predict that a couple of people in my year would end up in prison (I got at least one right unfortunately). Also the people of Nottingham seem to go out wearing joggers, (the type of thing you wear when you're staying in because you have a hangover after an intense night in Oceana Plymouth, busy on the sambucca and beer without getting into trouble...). This is a just no, to me you look like an idiot, especially if you have lines in your hair, the only reason for having that is that your friend did it when you were asleep or your name is Mario Balotelli. You just look like a twat.

Thirdly, not knowing anybody here (and not really being willing to associate with someone who has dressed up like a member of D12), I don't really have a friend here. The people who I have met seem to have this idea that the original people who lived there must be better and therefore leads to me having a lower opinion of them too. Grow up is all I can say to those people. Then there is the fact that due to the timings of moving, my sister obviously went to six form and made friends, I on the other hand didn't get any opportunity to do this and therefore know nobody, so I've went from Bideford where we went to the cinema, went on nights out, hung out on the beach to Nottinghamshire where I lack friends to do any of this with (which will make me a lightweight by Reading Festival/Freshers 2013 as well as miss new films like The Man Of Steel), partly down to the time of move, partly down to myself only being in Nottingham during short periods other than the long long summer, and secondly there is no bloody beach! I miss the beach, the beach was amazing, a nice pint of cider by Westward Ho! beach on the pebble ridge was great, it was one of the best things to do really! I do really miss the regular meeting up with friends.

And then there's the issue that whilst in Nottingham I am always with my family, it's great to go and see them, it really is, but it can become irritating living under rules again, not having to worry about times you come in, or nobody would worry if you just go out and stuff like that. Also people sleep later at uni than at home, so of course you can be louder, and people won't tell you to get quieter for instance. Also was nice to order a Chinese or Indian randomly at 10pm for instance. You also didn't get comments about the time of getting up, mind you staying up late is definitely not as fun at home. Also University had daily meet ups with friends, which was great. Going from that to very little of a social life is frustrating.

There may be a part two to this post, you never know, there is probably enough to write about, so ya'know.

Got any comments about frustration in your life, particularly regarding summer for uni students, or moving, then leave a comment or tweet me, alternatively you can email and I shall get back to you.

Cheers guys

General Concerns From A Student

I'm currently frustrated that I can't seem to get a job. I have a CV that I've tampered with to make it feel like it's the best CV I can come up with and commonly write individual personal statements per job I apply for yet I get nothing, therefore I have taken the time to email various MP's with my issues. Here is the letter.

Dear Sir or Madam,

This email I am sending you is of my general concerns as a student and as a citizen of this country, I shall cover various points and I would appreciate it if you could read my email. First of all though I shall go through why I chose to include you in this email.

Regarding the MP's of Nottingham and Gedling this is area where I reside in the summer when I'm not at University. 

Regarding the MP's of Plymouth this is where I study my degree in Criminology and the Criminal Justice System with Law.

Regarding Geoffrey Cox the MP of Torridge, this is where I used to live before my parents moved in 2011. 

Regarding David Cameron, George Osbourne, Ian Duncan Smith and Michael Gove of the Conservative Party this is because I feel each of you are relevant to issues I am going to bring up within this email. 

Regarding Ed Miliband, Ed Balls, Stephen Twigg and Liam Byrne of the Labour Party, I believe you are in the equivalent opposition members to the people mentioned in the Conservative Party. 

Regarding Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats, I believe his party once built a reputation about caring for young people as well as the rest of the country.

Regarding George Galloway and Caroline Lucas, I believe being sole representatives of their party that they should also receive this email (I have not included parties from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales due to the slight differences regarding having seperate parliaments as well as Westminster and my knowledge not spreading to how this effects their roles regarding the concerns in this email). 

First of all may I congratulate you on winning the seats that you did in the last General Election. I would also like to thank you for being part of the Parliament that has discovered the truth of the Hillsborough disaster and I hope that this leads to those families getting the justice that they deserve. 

I am an average 20 year old student attending the University of Plymouth, I attend all my lectures and carry out all my essays to what I believe is the best of my ability, however I also enjoy the social aspects of University too. I believe this is the same with many of my friends who agree with the majority of the concerns which I shall raise in this email. 

First of all I would like to highlight my concern of a lack of opportunities for students in the Summer, due partly to the current state of the economy which let's be blunt, it's not exactly great. Therefore many students like myself live summer with little money so the chance to go out and do something can't be taken, this is a point that applies even more to a rural community miles away from the nearest town. Without money students are left all day being this lazy picture that many of the media seem to paint of them, but this may not be out of choice like many perceive. Even in a prosperous area the amount of jobs going for students is not great. Why? you may be asking. This answer would be that a lot of employers now don't have the funds to invest in extra staff for the summer, this may involve time taken by training the individuals or simply that the public have less money so despite it being summer they don't feel they need these employees. I realise that one of the things you may email back are the opportunities to volunteer. I would like to clarify here that although my next point will cover it more that because of the rent and money involved with some university courses that just volunteering and gaining nothing financially can be detrimental to the student. But if these students are not getting an income (and only a few really have the "bank of mum and dad" as our parents are generally not millionaires), then it can be detrimental to businesses that depend on young people, these businesses being for instance nightclubs, which hold a lot of jobs for people in the society.

So now onto my second point, the student loan. Now here I'm not talking about tuition fees despite my anger that this was put up to £9,000 for students the year below me, which means many years with a debt in their name, there were alternatives that I can point out to each of you about this (a graduate tax for the graduates who are earning over £30,000 for instance), but I really wish to talk about the actual maintenance loan. I read somewhere and have been told by a lecturer before that the rent of a property for a student should be around 50% of the loan. Now I live in Plymouth at term times and I'm living in a house that is £86-£90 a week, which is considerably cheaper than some places. This is costing £4,500 a year however as all landlords seem to charge for June and July despite the fact that exams finish in May in Plymouth. Therefore this year that was £860 extra I've paid for rent without being there. This therefore works out at 75% rather than 50% of the maintenance loan, giving a student £1500 to live on for about 8 months. You may say you can do this, as I know one of the recipients of this email has essentially said, well try it. It isn't easy. Therefore this year that was £860 extra I've paid for rent without being there. This may be easier if every student could get a job, however as I previously highlighted the lack of opportunities made for them because of the economy means only some students can get a job. Even more annoying for some, particularly myself is that when me and my sister who is two years younger did our student finances, in my third year where I have a dissertation which I have always aimed to do a survey using an iPad. Apparently the dissertation that the majority of students have to do in their final year is overlooked by this loan as when I phoned to ask about this my answer was because my degree finishes in May, however with the money students have to put into their dissertation that reason I'm sure you'll agree is outrageous.

Both these point I have risen with you leads to students feeling like they are not listened too which leads to a lack of motivation generally. These young people are the future of the country and therefore making them feel like no hopers is a negative stance. I realise there are the arguments around no money to spend, but this is not the case, if there is more money put in, there will be more money spent by these people eventually in the long term leading to the upturn of the economy and preventing any scenario like Greece. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that the current ways aren't working but are letting people suffer, in the case of this email the young adults, but I'm sure other age groups suffer too. Look at the average age of someone buying their first house for instance, it should be in the early twenties really, we should be looking to get people to settle rather than to live and depend on their parents, it's extra strain on everyone the way people are now in their thirties or forties when they get their own house. It's something to be proud of and someone in their twenties getting their house if they've worked for it and houses are affordable for them, which right now they are not, would lead to pride. It would make communities safer. Me and my cousins were attacked on my sisters 18th birthday last December in Arnold. We hadn't had a drink, but don't you think that the young people who attacked us would be somewhere else, doing something more positive or at least legal, if they felt like they had hope with doing what they want to do with their life, trying to create a fulfilling career rather than watching the country melt down with shops closing, buildings being boarded up, people losing their homes? And let's be honest with people losing their homes, I'm sure we all agree that keeping people in their homes is more important than paying millions to a funeral for a woman that the public seem mixed on.

I also would like to raise both the NHS and legal aid in this email. As a Criminology and Law student, I know stuff about legal aid and as a citizen of the country I'm bound to know about the NHS, and taking these services away, or making people pay for them will lead to even more of a meltdown as a country, I want to see the country be able to proudly shout about how we have a health service for everyone in the country, I want to hear us shout about how whether you be rich or poor you can get a fair trial with a decent lawyer. This country has been proud of these things for decades, privatising the NHS or making legal aid very niche is a very negative thing to do. The NHS is one of the best things about this country and in all honesty I'd rather see the defence budget cut, and nuclear weaponry lessened or stopped as the nation won't be attacked in a way that needs a nuclear bomb, than the NHS, something that doesn't attack other nations but actually looks after it's own people in their times of need. The NHS saved my uncles life when he had a brain tumour and I am incredibly grateful for the great service they gave to him. Privatising it seems to only make it much more of a confusion institution. 

I hope you can respond to my concerns. And I hope you can see into my reasoning. There are times with the way the countries run that I would like to stand in an election to just put through my opinions and that of many other people within my age group because right now it's an age group that want to be listened to but just don't seem to get the recognition that they should. 

Yours sincerely

James Martin