Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Could someone very quickly tell me about Paradise Lost in particular and Milton is general?
Last night was probably my final Imps show of the year, as exams loom. In fact, if the exams get more loomy while the big pile of reading does not get any less loomy, Monday could have been my final Imps show as a student in Oxford. We shall not entertain this thought. Instead, we shall tell it dull stories of childhood activities during in the post-war years.

I am to do standup at the Magdalen punts party this Saturday, then a set for Stand Up for Darfur next Friday, at the Keble O'Reilly theatre. Get tickets from me. It is important to support such worthy causes - without such events, people would never go on punts.

The classic misdirection joke. I have perfected the technique: have a look at the first word of this paragraph, and while you are doing that, I shall finish the post and leave.

Friday, May 25, 2007

I've been on a bit of a high all week after the Imps on Monday, which was by far the best show I've done or been involved in this academic year. I have not been as active in the group as in previous years, as I have more pressures on my time and am looking to take on other things (see Sideshow, Sunday; Mirth, Ministry of; thesis, writing of a). As a result, I have often found myself disappointed in my performances, probably due to a shortage of practice.

This week just clicked however. I felt very responsive to everything on stage, whereas recently I have felt sluggish, mentally. I had three scenes with Becca, Lucy and Simon, and felt each was a success. While the scene I had with Simon was the most enjoyable, I was most pleased with the film and theatre styles scene with Lucy, and I think we really kept a strong story going without getting lost in the gimmick of the game.

I MCed the second set, and was trying out a character idea I had over the weekend, when I was thinking a bit about the movie Man on the Moon. It was very fun to do, and I think people responded to it which was the main thing. I'll definitely be using it again, and am toying with the idea of using it to compere a Ministry night, though I'm not sure it fits as well for a standup night as much as it did with the joyously enthusiastic, nerd-cool of an Imps show.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

I have just got into using Torrents, which has enabled to keep up with the much-missed pro-wrestling that I no longer can watch in my Sky-less home. I was watching this week's episode of Smackdown, which featured a wonderful 12 minute Finlay vs. Benoit match. Dave Finlay and Chris Benoit are two guys that I absolutely know are going to deliver whenever they are matched up, which, joyfully, has happened at least five times in the past 18 months.

The first thing you notice about these matches is the manliness. There is manliness going on all over the place. The strikes are convincing, the chops are vicious, the holds have that extra edge of legitimacy. The second thing that seperates them from almost everyone else on TV is the lack of moves or spots. Each match has built around the notion of creating a true sporting contest. In this case, Finlay was targetting a weakened leg and so they hit the mat for large chunks of match, with Finlay working holds and Benoit trying to counter and fight out. Then, when the throw in a suplex or they go outside the ring, it seems a lot more meaningful and important to the story of the match. In the WWE, no-one wrestles this sort of match on a regular basis apart from these two, which is a shame, because this really is the next level up. On the indy scene, there aren't many that could be quite so confident in such simple match-building.

The match was obviously serving as a plot device for the Benoit-MVP match tonight, thus the non-finish. Conseqently, this match didn't reach the levels of last May's Judgement Day or the preceding KOTR qualifier. It's hard to feel disappointed though.

Friday, May 18, 2007

I missed this is the week. I can not say I feel sad. If his God exists, maybe He "helped this happen".

Thursday, May 17, 2007

A Result! Fantastic!
The more people that do this, the better chance there is of a success.

At 10pm this evening, Shoman Ahmed Mohammed will be deported back to Darfur, after his application for asylum was turned down. The Home Office claim that he is not Zaghawa, and as such does not face the risk of torture and execution when he returns to Khartoum. It would not be the first time the Home Office has made such a dangerous mistake. In February they denied asylum for Sadiq Adam Osman, which, as the link shows, had horrific consequences.

Clearly in a case like this, where Shoman's fate is at best uncertain, it would make more sense to err on the side of caution and potentially save a life. It remains a mystery to me why the Home Office finds such a risk to be acceptable. Moreover, this is not an isolated case, and quite clearly, current asylum policy regarding the assessment of Darfuri African ethnicity is quite inadequate.

So let's try to do something. Email your MP. Send him or her something like the letter at the bottom of this post. Ask him or her to at least call the Home Secretary and the Immigration Minister to account for this decision. Ask him or her to put pressure on the Home Office to postpone this deportation until a full assessment of the risk to Shoman's life can be made. Ask him or her if, in fact, John Reid and Liam Byrne are happy to accept the consequences of deporting a man, consequences that involve torture and death.

Mass writing has had success in the past, and organisations like the Aegis Trust are attempting to mobilise as many people as possible to do the same again. Shoman has about seven hours.

----------------------------

Dear MP,

I would like to draw your attention to the case of Shoman Ahmed Mohammed, who recently was rejected asylum in the UK by the Home Office, and is to be deported back to Darfur at 10pm this evening. The Home Office doubts that he is truly Zaghawa and as such will not be at risk of torture and execution upon his return, in spite of strong evidence toward a contrary conclusion. Clearly in a case like this, where Shoman's fate is at best uncertain, it would make more sense to err on the side of caution and potentially save a life. I would like to ask why the Home Office has, instead, decided that such as risk is acceptable to them. I hope you would ask John Reid and Liam Byrne to reverse this decision until a more thorough investigation and assessment of Shoman's case can be made.

I am sure you remember the recent Channel 4 programme about Sadiq Adam Osman, also of Zaghawa ethnicity, who was deported in February, and was brutally tortured by the Sudanese Security Services, and only escaped with his life thanks to the brave work of organisations like the Aegis Trust. His story highlights the insanity of the asylum decisions being made by the Home Office regarding Darfuri refugees. Could you ask the Home Secretary what what specific steps he and his department takes to assess claims of Darfuri African ethnicity, since any current procedures are clearly dangerously inadequate.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

What?

I have no idea what to do with this. Everyday, they make themselves just a little bit more electable, albeit by basically creating a new party. A Tory party that cares about things like social mobility and the environment would be like, well, a Labour party that valued big business over the well-being of the workers, if you can imagine that. Is there any similarity left between the Tories today and the 1980s government? Thatcher must be rolling in her grave. During the day, I suppose.

The issue of education brings out my most lefty views. I don't believe in school choice and market forces (and I'm an economist) for the provision of compulsory education, because I've thought a lot about these things and I understand about both equity and efficiency, and I also don't forget that there is a short-run. The argument for increasing competetion between schools is essentially a Darwinian one - badly run schools will fail, while good schools will prosper. Don't worry about the generation of children who are educated at one of the failing schools, because in the long run, only the best schools will remain and education will be fantastic, providing you can afford to travel.

Really, this all comes down to what role state-provided education is really all about. I believe it should provide the basic skills and knowledge to allow equality of opportunity so that when it becomes time for a student to make his own future decisions, he is not impeded. He is able to go to whichever university suits his or her ability, or to get a job, or whatever. None of this should depend on his or her family background, and none of this should be affected by the academic opportunities he or she was presented with as a child.

The best schools attract the best teachers. The best schools are also able to be more selective, and with no other information, are more likely to choose children from more priveledged backgrounds on the reasonable assumption that they are, genetically speaking, more able. This penalises children from poor backgrounds and the less academically gifted in two ways. They end up with worse teachers, when really they need the best teachers to get anything out of them, and they miss out on the valuable peer effects - children perform better in classes where they are surrounded by hard-working or able students.

And let us be clear on one thing - most of what is taught in schools does not make the country more or less productive. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that the only subject positively linked to directly causing economic growth is primary school maths*. So any argument that says that academic selection allows the brightest children to prosper is not the same as saying academic selection helps our future economy. On the job training, vocational qualifications and univeristy education really drive our productive capabilities, or at least allow employers to screen for the most able individuals and assign them more efficiently to the top jobs.

There may be more on this later, when I've, you know, done some revision.

*Alison Wolf, "Does Education Matter?", (2000)

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

So, Sunday was my fourth standup outing, and I'm really starting to get the feel of my own act. It was also a completely nerveless performance, and it gave me a lot of confidence that audiences will find my material funny, which is always the big risk with my one-liner based style of word play and punnery. I'm always worried the audience will realise they are too smart to be laughing at something this daft.

I've noticed audiences react really well to setups that are really absurd (singing cat in the back of my mouth, blood ham, small man in a bicycle wheel). I found this odd - I always assumed the best reactions would be on the gags which had more effortless setups, even though I personally am a mark for the really silly stuff. It's gratifying to be rewarded (with laughs) for that.
I realised I should have written an addendum to my last post of the local elections. More seats went the Tory way in the aftermath, and the Lib Dems lost quite a few (though Eastbourne and Northampton were big wins). As the Tory vote remained at last years 40%, I tentatively stick to my original conclusion that overall, there wasn't a huge indication of Tory's stealing Lib Dem voters.

Friday, May 11, 2007

A number of things have occured recently, marking this period of time out as unusual. My thesis was finished, bounded, sealed, coated with wax and handed in. Cath has taken to calling it my "baby", often finding me lovingly holding a copy in my arms, telling it stories and tucking it in at night. Much like an actual baby, I became tired of it recently, wishing it would just go away and frequently threw it on the floor. Finally, I was able to send it out in the world, knowing I had done all I could to prepare it for the harsh realities of modern existence, disappointed in its flaws and wishing it was prettier. However, unlike an actual baby, the man who took it off me did not offer me any money.

On Monday I went to watch the Haunted - the last gig I'll see at the real Zodiac. They were great, playing the new songs (which I enjoyed more live than on CD) and some oldies. Best thrash band in the world. For an Oxford gig, the pit was OK. Metal gigs in Oxford have the following structure. Kids at the front, pressed against the barrier, noticeably not moving, nodding, possibly even blinking for the entire three hours (Frontman Peter Dolving actually asked one of them if he was even enjoying the show). Then, a large space where the pit is. Then, everyone else, keeping to the back, as if they were actually there for some other reason.

The two support acts were Wolf (power metal cheesiness with porno bassist) and crossover-thrash kings Municipal Waste, who are so dumb and fast they can't help be entertaining: "This song is about ripping your fucking face off and throwing it on the stage. I wanna see 47 faces on the stage by the end of this song. It's called...Headbanger Face Rip". Other classics include "The Thrashing of the Christ" and "Terror Shark" ("This is a song about a shark").

Come to the Ministry of Mirth this Sunday, 8pm, at the Wheatsheaf. The show will feature some of the smartest comedy acts in town - Tom Greeves and John Lean and Andy Murray and Alex Erler and Parth Sonerji - and possibly the dumbest - Craig Holmes. Expect jokes about ham, Norway, skipping ropes and bicycles. Also, check out the new Ministry logo - it's all awesome and drawn by John, who got paid for it and as such now has a CV.

Friday, May 04, 2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2007/councils/html/31ue.stm

OK, I don't live there anymore, but this is still quite a thing of beauty. Hinckley and Bosworth has been Tory forever. The MP for Bosworth is one of the few who survived the cash-for-questions scandal and kept his seat in 1997. That's how Tory my hometown was. They'd rather elect sleaze-monkey. In 2005, the vote swung several thousand in the Lib Dem direction, so maybe in 2009 it can go further. And then I will dance around my parents house singing "Do you know the way the San Jose?".

By my count so far, two councils have changed from Liberal Democrat to Tory, and two have gone the other way. Most of the other gains for both parties have come from places where there was no overall control before. This seems like a positive result. Even better, in the past year the Tory share of the popular vote only increased by 1%, and the Lib Dem share only dropped by 1%. I would say that this suggests the Tories aren't doing so well in stealing Lib Dem voters by talking about traditional liberal issues than they would hope.

I'm also glad Labour didn't do as badly as predicted. I'm no Blair supporter, but I'm a little tired of people complaining that things are no better, or even worse, than in 1997. They are not. In so many ways they are not. It is not perfect, but it is annoying that the things this government has actually gotten right are forgotten just because everyone is getting bored.