Shocker: 1D smoke joint! (Is it though?)

So the big story in the past couple of days is that two of the five from the pop teen heartthrob boy band, One Direction, Louis and Zayn, have been caught on video smoking a spliff. 

Oh the horror! Two twenty-something-year-old guys having a casual joint! Because that doesn't occur on a daily basis everywhere in the world.

At no point am I condoning the use of marijuana, it is of course illegal in the UK, but is it really that surprising that two of the richest under 25-year-olds in the world are smoking weed? Rock bands of the 1960's would laugh in the face of One Direction and other 2014 celebs thinking they were so hard as to smoke a class C drug.

Yes, 1D are the idols and fantasies of millions of young girls, but so are Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus and yet no one at The Sun is reporting their use of marijuana. Then again, we are still waiting for one of One Direction to be arrested or gyrate with a massive foam finger.

The fact is that when your absolutely loaded and have forgotten what the word 'no' means, smoking a joint is nothing compared to what they could (and probably are) doing. 

So lets not get caught up in the idea that this is the start of another clean cut celebrity meltdown until one of them is caught in a hotel room Rolling Stones style filled with smoke, hookers and cocaine. 

This is simply two guys having the time of their lives being part of the most successful boy band of the 21st century, doing something that most guys and girls of the same age do. This, if anything, is their normality.

No Longer a Fresher…

Time flies when you’re having fun. My first year at uni certainly has and all in all it’s been a good year. I’ve learnt things about life, myself and of course journalism.

There are certain things that I think just have to be done in your first year at university to be a top fresher. I’d like to think I’ve done a few of them.

Joining a society is definitely something I would encourage to any first year. It’s just another new group of people to mingle with. The Winchester Volleyball team has given me a lot of entertainment over the past few months and holds several of my highlights from the year.

The great thing about joining a society, particularly sports is that at Winchester at least, and I’m sure at other universities, it’s not all serious and competitive. People do join for the social aspect which is definitely what I did and it’s fair to say that volleyball is a team that prides itself on being more of a social team.

For a lot of sports societies the big event is sports tour which I decided to buy a ticket for just a few days before the January deadline and I’m so glad I did. It was one of the best weeks ever and a proper boozy, student time. It’s even quite fun as a fresher to get dicked on by seniors. I would advise anyone on a sports team to go on tour, it’s not to be missed.

Of course it’s not all fun and games. One of the major factors of being a student is finance. I was one of the lucky ones in that my loan and grant covered my accommodation with a good amount left over for myself. I also had a fair bit saved up from my job back home. Seriously though, never underestimate how much money you will need as a student. A tenner here, a fiver there, it all adds up. I just about survived until the end of second semester and came two pounds from my overdraft. Luckily I now have a job in Winchester and its treating my bank account nicely.

I really wouldn’t wait around to get a part time job. I started looking properly in January and didn’t have one until the end of March and looking at the circumstances, it was pure luck that I went there for lunch with my mum and happened too ask about any jobs.

Although it may not be the most fun summer, I’m staying in Winchester for the majority to work and save for year two. Also I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to keep it once second year starts. With 9/10am starts every day I don’t know how long I’ll be able to cope with getting home at 4am from working at a bar. I do love the job though and I definitely prefer the people to 

my last job.

Let’s now not forget the reason I’m at university; the degree. I think you know after the first few weeks if you made the right choice or not and I know I did. The course itself is awesome and the people on it are also great. The good thing about doing journalism at Winchester is that it’s not a big course in terms of the number of students. There’s about 40 of us which means there’s no excuse to not at least know everyone’s name. The great thing about a smaller course as well is that it’s much easier to be social with each other outside of lectures. There have been many a pub trip and nights out to the SU with journalism.

Now that first year is coming to an end it’s a weird feeling knowing that I won’t see my closest uni friends for three months. It’s also weird to think I’ll be moving into a proper house in July. I think that’s when it will hit that I am no longer a fresher and everything piece of work I do actually matters, so it’s not okay to scrape through with a 40% because I was out the night before.

However, if this year’s anything to go by, second year’s going to be a blast (okay, with a bit work work!)

R.

Money, money, money

Being a university student that is almost halfway through their second semester, I have noticed that the main topic of conversation, other than drunken stories, is money. 

I am now reaching the point where I have to except that my overdraft will be in use by the end of term. 

The bulk of my money this term has been spent of tour in April. Don't forget about all the extras that come with it. I'm now having to spend £80 on a passport renewal.

Then there is the ridiculous amounts that get spent on takeout. It may seem like just a fiver at the time, but trust me you will regret it later.

Birthdays are another thing. Of course we all want to celebrate our flatmate's and our friend's birthdays, but remember that this does add up. There's the present, the decorations, the meal and of course the night out, and don't forget taxi money.

Its important to remember that there will be payments every few weeks that you weren't anticipating.  Just yesterday I had to buy a new pair of headphones off Amazon because mine decided to give up the ghost. ALWAYS go for free delivery, no matter how long it takes. The days of agony, anticipation and disappointment when they don't arrive on the first day stated will be worth it when you review your next bank statement.

There are other small things that can be done for a slightly cheaper student life. I've started buying Quorn rather than actual meat because its so much cheaper and no risk of food poisoning. Also it's so much nicer not having to plan meals in advance in case you need to defrost something.

Buy the supermarket's own brand products and always look for the deals. Just today I saved £7.00 on my food shop from doing this. Also, Poundland is a God send. One pound for a bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup? Yes please.

I cannot tell you how glad I am I saved the majority of my paychecks from my old job for uni. It's the only thing that's got me through this year, because let's face it, student loans are complete bull****. I'm fortunate that I have money left over after my accommodation fee goes out, but some people aren't so lucky. This is the one time in life when you're glad your parents have a terribly paid job and you have younger siblings that live at home. 

I think it is important to point out however, that you can be as careful and stingy as you like, but at the end of the day, living without parents and university life in general is expensive. There's simply no way round it. If you can get through uni without having to once worry about money, then every student out there hates you right now. 

I think it's safe to say, the adult world can really suck sometimes.

But it's also the best thing ever.

Formula 1 2014: The Latest

The cars for the upcoming Formula 1 season are finally being unveiled! As a massive fan of the sport this could not come sooner. The months December through to mid-March are so boring for me.

This season is seeing some radical changes to Formula 1 rules. We have said goodbye to the V8 engine which are replaced by V6's and a seemingly bizarre rule change to double points for the last race of the season, among other changes.

From the latest released pictures from Ferrari, Force India, Williams and McLaren, the most obvious change to the style of the cars are the noses that is now being dubbed the 'anteater' nose. This is thanks to new rules that require the nose to be lower to the ground for safety reasons.

One of the biggest questions that have resulted from the changes to the 2014 season is whether or not Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull will continue their dominance that they've had over the past few years. 

Either way, there's guarantee that Ferrari and their 2014 drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonnen will both be competing to become world champion again.

Team personnel has also been shifting and changing within the teams. Eric Boullier has left Lotus for McLaren, with co-chairman Gerard Lopez replacing him at Lotus.

The driver line-up for 2014 is almost complete as well, with a number of drivers switching teams and also seeing the return of Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi to Caterham.

Latest driver line-up:

• CATERHAMKamui Kobayashi
• CATERHAMMarcus Ericsson
• FERRARIFernando Alonso
• FERRARIKimi Raikkonen
• FORCE INDIANico Hulkenberg
• FORCE INDIASergio Perez
• LOTUSPastor Maldonado
• LOTUSRomain Grosjean
• MARUSSIAJules Bianchi
• MARUSSIAMax Chilton
• MCLARENJenson Button
• MCLARENKevin Magnussen
• MERCEDESLewis Hamilton
• MERCEDESNico Rosberg
• RED BULLSebastian Vettel
• RED BULLDaniel Ricciardo
• SAUBERAdrian Sutil
• SAUBEREsteban Gutierrez
• TORO ROSSODaniil Kvyat
• TORO ROSSOJean-Eric Vergne
• WILLIAMSFelipe Massa
• WILLIAMSValtteri Bottas

Back to school for Wills

It’s that time of year again when schools and unis restart for a new term. Although for many this might not be seen as a good thing, Prince William can’t seem to get enough of education.

He already has one degree under his belt, but the Duke of Cambridge has decided to go back to university, starting today, to study environmental management on a ten week course at the University of Cambridge.

The course is designed to help him when he takes over the Royal estate in Cornwall. 

Happy New Year

It’s time to say hello to 2014. It’s finally here! The past 24 hours have been awash with tweets and statuses informing the rest of the world that ‘a new year is a new me’ and all the usual trivial quotes that usually get forgotten about come January 3^rd.

Which leads us to ponder New Year’s resolutions. For me they are worthless, my rule is if you’re going to break them don’t make them. Despite this I see it time and again every year from all sorts of people claiming that they are going to lead a better life in one way or another by making a new year’s resolution.

But what did we learn in 2013? Well...

In the world of entertainment we learnt that even Oscar winners aren't afraid of acting like fan girls when they meet their heroes as demonstrated by Jennifer Lawrence when she met Jack Nicholson mid-interview.

 huffingtonpost.co.uk

It also became OK for number one singles to reference sexual harassment.

 alexshye.wordpress.com

Hundreds of journalists and news crews decided to have a camp out in front of some hospital.

 telegraph.co.uk

Tom Daley told us what we already knew.

theguardian.com

And we said goodbye to some of the most influential political figures in history.

Forbes.com

Npr.org

Now as we look back on some of the pinnacle moments of 2013, we welcome in the New Year and wait to see what 2014 has in store for the next 12 months.

Miley, please just stop

She's been at it again! Miley Cyrus has been twerking her way into my (and I'm sure many other people's) most annoying celebrity of the year list. This time she stepped out at the iHeart Radio festival in Las Vegas in a cringey fishnet dress showing way too much for anyone. 

It appears that it can get worse after her awful VMA's performance in which all I could shout at the TV was "who told her that obsessive tough thing was attractive?" and "stop trying to twerk when you clearly can't" Even worse than the Wrecking Ball video which lets face it, is not 'art' or whatever she wants to call it and is just an excuse to cause havoc in cyberspace when there are more important things in the world that need to be discussed, like the fact that people are dying from inhumane chemical weapons in Syria. What makes it worse is I'm now blogging about her, all be it negative, no doubt she find satisfaction in being heavily criticised and bitched about seeing as a lot of people are currently doing it.

I don't buy this "oh, she's just doing what every twenty-year-old does", because being just two years younger and knowing some 20-year-olds myself I can say that no self-respecting twenty-year-old decides to get on a massive foam ball naked and put it all over the internet.

To top it all, now that she's officially broken up with Liam Hemsworth, all I think about is that its only going to get worse from here.

The REAL Important Questions when leaving home

Leaving home is an step we all take at some point in our lives. I'm doing it now at 18, having just moved into my new flat at Winchester University. Your parents or guardians or other mature adults you live with always try to give you little pearls of wisdom when you leave that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Such nuggets include, "Never set up a direct debit on a credit card" or the classic, "don't spend all your money on alcohol so you can't pay the rent and end up in debt with an interest rate overdraft". 

These problems however, are nothing compared to the real world problems I have come across in the past three days. The utter confusion of having three different cleaning products - Cif, bleach and disinfectant. Or the threatening question of whether a blue and black stripey dress should go in the white or coloured wash.

 Luckily however, it appears I am not alone in dealing with these problems as my flatmates all seem to share the same issues. So although we may have perils to deal with along the way, like trying not to accidentally stain the carpet with bleach, I know that the next three years will be some of the most important in becoming fully grown adults.

Oh, and getting the degree at the end obviously. 

About Bloody Time: Gay Marriage plans to go ahead

Plans to legalise gay marriage are to proceed through Parliament in England and Wales backing Labour, despite opposition from some MPs.

The bill will be debated over two days with a final reading next Tuesday when if passed it will go to the Lords where it is expected to face more opposition.

Conservatives had offered an amendment to allow heterosexual couples to have civil partnerships if gay couples could get married.

Tim Loughton (Conservative MP) said the amendment would make the bill "less unpalatable  since extending civil partnerships to co-habiting heterosexuals would address a "glaring inequality" in the current proposals as well as encouraging family stability.

Nick Clegg said he had no problem extending civil partnerships to heterosexual couples as well.

On Sunday, 34 current and former local party chairmen delivered a letter to Downing Street opposing the gay marriage policy as "flawed, un-Conservative, divisive and costing us dearly in votes and membership".

They said it was causing "crisis of conservatism" saying that Europe, same-sex marriage and the "contempt" for party membership from the leadership were "destroying the party".

My thoughts...

Stop thinking about your God forsaken party and start thinking about all the couples in the England and Wales that are going to benefit from the same-sex marriage bill. Its already taken this long for the bill to go to Parliament now lets just pass it, with an amendment for civil partnerships for all if its going to make you happy.

Happily, another letter was sent to Cameron from 100 Tory activists praising him for his stance on the policy.

Under the new Bill, Church of England and Wales would be banned from performing same-sex marriages because of their strong opposition and other religious organisations would be able to opt-in.

Last week France became the ninth European country, and 14th in the world, to legalise gay marriage. Earlier this month Rhode Island became the 10th US state to allow same-sex marriages.

All I can say is just do it already for the sake of equality and freedom.

US Gun Laws: Is it Time for Change?

The US Congress voted against background checks for gun owners yesterday, despite President Obama publicly stating his views for such checks. The debate comes after a number of shootings in the US, particularly the school shooting in Connecticut that left primary school children dead. As Congress currently has a Republican majority, it is no surprise really that the result is against the motion.

Despite the decision, it appears the majority of US citizens would favour background checks for gun sales. It is of course a sensitive issue in America due to the 2^nd Amendment to the Constitution that states that US citizens have the right to bear arms.

However, what was most baffling about the decision made was that for the most part it wouldn’t impede this right. The only way an American wouldn’t be able to access a gun legally is if there was significant evidence that they would pose a threat to society at large, and surely the public would want protection from that?

From an outsiders point of view (not being American myself) it seems that there are people in the US, particularly the Republicans that are holding on too tight to the past. Is it not time to let go? The whole point of society is progression so that we can adapt to whatever comes our way and surely introducing such a law would only do this. The majority of Americans would still be able to buy a gun if this legislation was put in place. Yes the checks may take time, but in the end for most people should they choose to want a gun for self-defence their rights wouldn’t be affected.

By introducing this legislation you are protecting the weak and the vulnerable which after the shootings at the school in Connecticut along with others in the past, that’s surely who we need to be thinking about here? Such easy access to guns puts everyone in danger, with or without guns. Keeping those unfit to have weapons from arms will help make society that little bit safer. This is not the government bubble wrapping its people, this is them protecting them from what is horrific and unnecessary harm.

Obviously the 2^nd Amendment is there for a reason and to meddle in such issues is going to affect some freedom, put by limiting those people’s freedoms you are allowing for the rest of society to fulfil theirs in all aspects without fear of a violent and sometimes fatal reaction from those unfit to bear arms.

The amount of gun crime that we hear from the US is ridiculous and needless. By bringing in something as simple as background checks for gun sales you are keeping society safe from gun violence.

This legislation is the only way forward and hopefully at some point the Republican party and its supporters will see that.

Up In The Air, 30 Seconds To Mars

After a four and a half year wait, 30 Seconds to Mars have finally released a new tune. Their new single Up In The Air was sent to the international space station two weeks ago and now the people of earth can finally hear it.

The song is very much a step in a different direction for the band. After the success of their last record This Is War and their record breaking tour (over 300 shows in one album cycle) can 30STM repeat or exceed their success with the new record due out later this year?

Looking at comments on the new single it seems to have received a mixed review. The majority of fans appear to love it and are happy with the evolution of the band and the new music they're making. There are of course those who would happily have another This Is War or maybe even another A Beautiful Lie. Whatever your opinion the band seems pleased with the results.

Hear the new single below and watch an interview with Jared Leto at SXSW about the new music:






I do not own anything. These videos/audios belong to their right owners. :)

Prime Minister's Questions

So I watched Prime Minister's questions earlier today and two things stuck out for me:

1. David Cameron almost never answers the question that's actually been asked. He just tries to big-up Conservative policy anytime he can.

2. Both the coalition and the Opposition can fire attacks at each other about the economy, but all it did was make me realise that actually, neither side is going to get us out of the economic mess. Cameron spent the time saying that its a mess that the previous Labour government got us in to, whilst Ed Miliband pointed out all the flaws in the current policy. So as it turns out, as long as all of these (mainly) Eton posh boys are in the Commons, nothing is going to get sorted.

SAG Awards 2013: The winners

Award season is now in full swing after the Golden Globes two weeks ago and now the SAG awards, held last night in Los Angeles. Ben Afflick's Argo won best film award and Daniel Day Lewis won best actor for his role as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Speilberg's new film. 

The award for best actress went to Jennifer Lawrence for her role in rom-com, Silver Linings playbook and Anne Hathaway took best supporting actress for her role in the well acclaimed Les Miserables movie.

For TV it was Modern Family and Downtown Abbey that were the big winners and 87-year-old Dick Van Dyke to home the lifetime achievement award.


Full list of winners:

Movies:

Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"

Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Supporting actor: Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"

Supporting actress: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"

Cast: "Argo"

Stunt ensemble: "Skyfall"

TELEVISION:

Actor in a movie or miniseries: Kevin Costner "Hatfields & McCoys"

Actress in a movie or miniseries: Julianne Moore, "Game Change"

Actor in a drama series: Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"

Actress in a drama series: Claire Danes, "Homeland"

Actor in a comedy series: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"

Actress in a comedy series: Tina Fey, "30 Rock"

Drama series cast: "Downton Abbey"

Comedy series cast: "Modern Family"

Stunt ensemble: "Game of Thrones"

January Exams: Yes or No?

Its New Year. Celebration and jubilation's. Or if you're a student, January exams, but for one of the last times.

As part of the educational reforms its been decided that January exams along with resits are going to be scrapped at GCSE and AS/A Level. But should January exams be scrapped?

I think not.

The problem at the moment is not that exams are too easy as I hear so often from my parents or people of the older generation in general, but that there is more opportunity to get it right. Therefore, resits should be scrapped. So why get rid of January exams too?

This is ultimately going to mean three hour exams at the end of two years, which considering its fact that our average attention span is around 20 minutes is a stupid idea. There are subjects which require an awful lot of knowledge and understanding of that subject that simply can't be crammed into one exam at the end of two years. January exams aren't whats making exams 'easy'. Its the ability to retake the exams as many times as you like as long as you pay a small fee.

Good luck to anyone taking exams this January, (if your in sixth form/college just make sure you don't have to retake the year!)

Gig venues losing tour dates

Recent figures show the number of gigs at major UK venues has dropped significantly in the past year.

The number of gigs taking place in big UK venues has almost halved in the last year according to Tixdaq.

One of the major factors causing the decline, is the opening up of new markets in South East Asia and Eastern Europe. More and more artists are flooding to these new markets, taking part in several gigs in these areas on one trip. The music festival in Manila is just one example of this new market. Bands like The Maine, This Century and The Pretty Reckless have all played at the festival this year and the bands keep going back for shows.

A problem with UK venues according to AEG Live are the size of UK venues. "It's facilities - it's as simple as that. In Murrayfield, it's 55,000 people in a city the size of Edinburgh.

"How many groups can sell 55,000? As a band or as a punter you don't want to be there with 20,000. It's miserable."

It's true bands never want to see a load of empty seats, especially those still growing as bands or artists.

One of the UK's leading rock bands, You Me At Six just played their biggest headline show ever on Saturday (8/12/12) at Wembley Arena. The reason for doing so was that it was their final night of their Sinners Never Sleep album cycle and the last that we'll hear of the band until 2014. It was this that helped the concert to sell out. Its doubtful that we'd be seeing them play a venue the size of Wembley Arena every show, despite them becoming one of the UK's biggest rock bands of the moment.

For a lot of artists it seems that they prefer to play small gigs. British rock band, Young Guns, played the Festival Republic tent and Reading and Leeds in the summer and in a number of interviews said they preferred playing to an overflowing tent than their opening set on the main stage in 2010.

The Leveson Inquiry

Lord Justice Leveson has called for a new independent body for the press after saying that “the press need to act”.

A campaign has now been launched by inquiry witnesses for MPs to implement a new body.

In his report, published on November 29^th, Lord Justice Leveson said that the press needed a new independent regulatory body that should have the power to investigate any breaches and be able to sanction newspapers. This new body should then be backed with legislation to determine whether the body is doing its job properly. This legislation would mean a legal duty put on the government to protect freedom of the press.

Newspapers that refuse to sign up this new body will be required to face direct regulation by Ofcom, the media watchdog.

The body should be independent of current journalists, the government and commercial concerns. It should also not include any current editors or MPs or other government members.

The report also suggests that a “whistle-blowing hotline” should be set up for journalists who feel under pressure to do something unethical and have journalists’ contracts include a clause protecting them if they refuse to perform unethical practises.

The report has split the coalition with Prime Minister David Cameron firmly against statutory control, whereas Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg, along with Opposition leader Ed Miliband, wants to see Lord Justice Leveson’s proposals implemented with a new law on the press.

Cameron believes that setting up such a body will only show how difficult it is to regulate in such a controversial area. Both Clegg and Miliband believe the opposite will be achieved.

 The Department for Culture, Media and Sport are currently drafting a bill that is thought to take a few weeks for it to be completed.

On Friday, the newspapers came out welcoming a new regulatory body, but supported Cameron’s opposition to the law-backed legislation, rejecting the idea of statute and involving Ofcom.

Gerry McCann, father of missing girl Madeline, has said to the BBC that, “The press has been given enough chances, and in my opinion Lord [Justice] Leveson has given them another chance to put a structure in place which they are happy with."

Actor Steve Coogan wrote in the Guardian: “By rejecting Leveson's call for statutory regulation, Cameron has hung the victims of crime out to dry. He has passed on the opportunity to make history. He has revealed there isn't an ounce of substance in his body, that he has one eye on courting the press for elections in years to come, and doesn't know the meaning of conviction.”

We wait to see the future results of the Leveson report and the effects on the press.