Thursday, September 30, 2010

Sick to my stomach

Listening to: 'Wonderful Life' by Kylie Minogue [Radio 1 Live Lounge ('Hurts' cover)]
"A New Jersey college student has leapt to his death a day after authorities said two students secretly filmed him having sex with a man and broadcast it over the internet."
I'm disgusted. I mean so disgusted that my stomach feels tight. I'm not sure which bit I find more distressing: the fact that there are creatures vile enough to such a thing, the fact that there was no one who could convince the poor kid that it would eventually be ok, or the fact that I have a feeling this wouldn't have happened if he was straight.

I mean what kind of sick fuck live-streams his room-mate's private life? Voyeurism is one thing, but this is a whole different level. I feel violated just thinking about it. And then I just think about the guy. The media is focusing on the fact that he was gay but seriously, that's irrelevant. It doesn't matter if you're gay or straight or anything in between or beyond, no one would want intimate details of their lives broadcast on the internet without their consent. It was a betrayal of trust, an invasion of privacy and a violation of common decency. He was only 18 for goodness' sake...we have enough internal struggles as it is at that age, without having to worry about all this. I can't even begin to imagine how he must've felt.

And then there's the matter of his sexuality. This only matters to me because, like I said, I don't know if it would've happened had he been having sex with a girl. Which is awful, because it illustrates society's attitude towards non-heterosexuals. Legislation may have changed to provide equal opportunities to non-heterosexuals (unless of course you're in the US military, in which case you're considered a liability...WTF), but the mindset of the people is still pretty homophobic. It has reinforced my opinion about all social issues - legislation can only do so much, and change will only come when the people desire it (which is not yet, by the looks of it).

The hardest thing for me, personally, will be to wish the perpetrators well. Loving kindness and compassion, even for the most despicable among us - that is what is required of me. Hard as it might be, that's what I'll try to do.

RIP Tyler Clementi.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Hand over your money, your phone and your Pokémon cards

Listening to: 'Written in the Stars' by Tinie Tempah ft. Eric Turner [Disc-Overy]

Nah, the title isn't relevant...I was just listening to Plan B's 'Kidz' on the way home.

I cleaned my keyboard. Not just a wipe down like normal...a proper 'unscrew the back and take all the keys out' job. Oh. My. God. I have never seen so much dirt. Ewwwwwwwww. Exactly how many eyelashes am I supposed to have?

Anyway it's clean now. Smells quite lemony too. Some of the keys are a bit stiff - only the ones with springs though...maybe I put the springs back the wrong way or something. I might investigate before going to bed tonight. The spacebar is definitely dodgy.

In other news, I think I'm just a little bit in love with Tinie Tempah. He's sooooo nice! And his speaking voice *swoon*. And his body *drool*. And he likes Michael Bublé...have you ever heard of a rapper admitting that they like the Bublé? So cool. I love the new video. I know he's just jumping around on a rooftop, but still... #suchasuckerfortheswaggeryo. If only he'd lift his trousers up a bit and get rid of that earring, he'd be perfect.

Oh oh oh and remember the fit drummer of Bombay Bicycle Club that I was going on about? Turns out my mother did ballet with his aunt or something. I don't care that it was almost half a century ago, I'm using that as my claim to fame. You heard it here first.

OK I should get back to work. When will this ennnnnnnnnd?! *sigh*

Paris photo post

Listening to: Radio 1

I need to go to sleep now but I thought I'd get the trip photos out of the way first. For those of you that I don't know personally, here you go...


If the slideshow's playing up, the Fluidr set is here

Highlights of the trip?
  • Day 1 - seeing Marie and Pierre Curie's tombstones at the Panthéon; feeling my knees go weak as I entered Notre Dame; almost being squashed to death on the Metro; seeing the Sacré Coeur; walking around Monmartre
  • Day 2 - being pleasantly overwhelmed by the Louvre (I say pleasantly 'cos I was overwhelmed by the Met in NYC as well, but not in a good way); being predictably underwhelmed by the Mona Lisa; feeling chuffed that I managed to climb up the Notre Dame towers without my heart going into overdrive
  • Day 3 - The Eiffel Tower...everything about her is pure heaven for an engineer; feeling almost sickened by the grotesque opulence of the Palace of Versailles; getting rained on at Versailles; eating escargot
  • Day 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - lots and lots of mother-daughter and father-daughter bonding time :-)
And there we have it. Sorry I don't have time to write a full account - hopefully the pictures will speak for me.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Post-PhD To-Do List

Listening to: 'Let The Sun Shine' by Labrinth [-]

Yes I've already begun. So far, I have...
  • Buy the Glee: Season 1 DVD
  • Get a TV (and a TV License)
  • Watch Glee: Season 2 (it starts in the UK in Jan)
  • Learn to drive
  • Learn to play guitar
Oh and there's also that other one...
  • Get a job
:-|

In the meantime, I shall get on with my thesis while listening to this awesome choon. Hate Simon Cowell all you want, but I for one am thankful that he signed Labrinth on as not just a producer.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Bonjour, mes amis!

Listening to: 'Tomorrow Never Dies' by Sheryl Crow [OST - Tomorrow Never Dies]

No, I haven't suddenly become a francophile...but yes, I have returned to the UK. I had a wonderful trip. Paris was ace, and catching up with the parents in Geneva was bliss. I wish it could've been at least a week longer, but no such luck.

As expected, I went a bit apeshit with the camera...the photo count currently stands at 817. It's gonna take a while to sift through them all, especially considering I've got 3 months left until my actual final no-more-faffing-about thesis deadline. So far I've just done all the Project 365 pics from the week, so I'm up to date on that stuff. The rest will have to wait.

Anyway, I'm off to bed now. Will blog about the trip soon, maybe this weekend. Till then, au revoir!

Saturday, September 04, 2010

The greatest of the greatest

Listening to: 'All About You' by McFly [Greatest Hits]

I went on the Amazon website 'cos I needed to download some music for my father...and I saw that they were selling a bunch of 'greatest hits' albums for £3. I am now the proud owner of...


and...


also...


and not forgetting...

Cheesetastic, baby!

Oh and to counteract the cheese, I also got the greatest hits albums by Stereophonics, Texas and Aerosmith. Now excuse me while I go shimmy around the room to McFly.

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Bullet points

Listening to: 'Evening/Morning' by Bombay Bicycle Club [I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose]

I'm not in the mood to blog. Too stressed. But there's stuff that needs to come out, so I'm gonna be the stereotypical engineer and blog in point form.
  • I'm 17.3% through my Project 365. That's two 31-day months and one day, for those of you who are not mathematically inclined. Some of the photos are good, some of them are awesome, and some are just plain pigeon shit. But they're all up there. If you haven't seen them yet, what are you waiting for? Go go go!

  • I bought two albums recently - Who Needs Actions When You Got Words by Plan B, and the one I've got on now - I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose by Bombay Bicycle Club. They're both awesome. The former is scary and satirical at the same time. He's like a less glamorous, less messed up Eminem. You listen to this, and then Defamation of Strickland Banks...they could be by two different people.
    As for the BBC album...it's lovely. It just makes me want to jump around. I think if I had to describe the boys in 3, 4 and 5 words, it'd go something like this:
    • 3: quirky Brit indie
    • 4: Vampire Weekend meets Editors
    • 5: ohemgee Suren is so fit.
    So yeah. Their new album 'Flaws' is on my wish list already...I am loving Rinse Me Down.

  • I had my first lab accident today. Which is pretty good going, considering I've been doing lab work for almost 4 yrs. I was wearing the appropriate PPE, and I'd closed the fume cupboard...else there might've been trouble. And I'm pleased to report that safety training does work! I didn't panic, I just did what had to be done. I'm quite proud of myself. People give me grief for being a goody-two-shoes and stuff, but whatever man. If not for my 'sticking to the rules', I might be in hospital now, or worse.
Hmm...I think that's it for now. Incredibly sleepy. Will try and squeeze in another post before Paris.