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Becky Hannan

“it's all banter…”

June 21, 2010 New Beach Break!

The line-up

At the last minute I decided to go to Beach Break this year with a group of my friends, and I found it £100 worth spending!  Being a student festival is was small, less expensive and all together a different atmosphere than when I had been to Reading Festival when I was younger.  The experience I had there was great!

Music

One of the main reasons I chose to go was because of the music, having some of my favourite acts around at the moment.  From Calvin Harris to Plan B, Annie Mac to 2 many djs all the acts I saw were great and really got the crowd going.  I have to say though there was one act that stood out, Chase and Status, having seen them before in night clubs seeing them live on the stage was a completely different experience.  They played tunes both old and new and every one left the crowd wanting more.

The only downside I would have to say about the music was the volume once it went past midnight, but you can respect that the residents of a quiet Welsh seaside town aren’t used to loud music into the night.

Food and Drink

I was pleasantly suprized with the variety of food on offer, you think student would just be happy with burger and chips for a week but Beach Break had much more to offer.  My personal favourite being the Pizza Express van offering any pizza, dough balls and a drink for £10.

As for the booze your not going to get the cheap student prices we are all used to at the student club but they were not as shockingly expensive as seen at many festivals, costing only £3 a pint.

Campsite

We had a great spot not to far away from the toilets that if you need the loo in the middle of the night its a problem but not to close so the you can smell them.  The toilets themselves were great, as long as you went after they had cleaned them.  Going to the toilet in the morning was not a pleasant thing to wake up to.  The festival also had showers with were pleasantly clean, some were warmer than others but with the bright sunshine we had a cold shower was not a problem.

Overall

All in all i think the Beach Break team did a good job and I would definitely go again.  Just next time they should had a few more toilets and coaches to avoid all the queueing, but I suppose being Brits we do like to queue.

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May 7, 2010 Chase and Status are back with another great tune

Saul (Chase) and Will (Status) the men behind the music.

The first time I saw Chase and Status in Fabric in London I loved them.  I have continued to listen to their music and more often than not I like what I hear.  Their song Eastern Jam was a massive hit and brought dubstep music more into the mainstream.  The new song Heavy that features Dizzee Rascal is going back to the old school drum & bass and I for one love it.  When I was younger I admit I was not a big fan of Dizzee Rascal but over the years he has grown on me.  Recently Dizzee Rascal has gone much more mainstream with hits such as Bonkers, his music nowadays is very different from his original music.

I first heard Heavy sat in my university bedroom listening to Radio 1 with Zane Lowe, when he had Chase and Status on his show.  It was the world exclusive of the song and I was glad I had turned on my radio for once.  Chase and Status explained how they were big fans of Dizzee Rascal’s old work and really wanted to work with him.  I was glad to hear when I listened to the song that it went back to how Dizzee Rascal’s used to be.  The song had everything I could hope for in a good drum & bass tune and I was happy to see Chase and Status had done it again.  I am looking forward to their new album and will defiantly be buying it especially as people such as Rihanna are rumoured to be on the next album.

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May 4, 2010 Freud Communications – Website analysis

Homepage of Freud Communications

Freud Communications is a marketing and communications consultancy for consumer brands, public sector bodies and global corporations.

Searchability - When searching for Freud Communications on Google it appeared as the first result.  Furthermore when searching communications the website appeared in the first two pages of Google as the fifteenth result showing that Freud Communications is easily accessible.

Usability - The links work and are quick, giving the web page easy, fast navigation.  The structure is consistent with each link taking you to another page and none opening in a new tab apart from one link which opens in a new window as it is a pdf file.  By having the pdf file open in a window is useful as it shows the user that this is a different part of the website.   This link takes users to a page which clearly shows them the different services offered by the company and what these services do.  The page also offers links to the services to explain more in-depth what they do.

Navigation - The website includes tabs at the top of the page which make it easy to navigate around the site, these tabs stay at the top of each page therefore making it easy to navigate back to the previous page.  Freud Communications includes their logo on each page of their website always in the upper left corner, therefore making it obvious to users the website they are on.  The logo is also made into a hypertext link so that users can navigate easily back to the homepage.

Design -  The uncluttered, clean layout of the Freud Communications website makes it easy to navigate around the site and clear to read.  Therefore more users will stay on the website as they can gain information easily.  The website for Freud Communications keeps the same black background, font and layout throughout all its pages.  This shows that it is very consistent therefore appearing professional to its users.  The appropriateness of the theme of the website is also an important factor in its design as the design should look professional.  The sleek black background with white font and coloured links gives an appropriate theme to the Freud Communications website.

Content -  The website uses humour and wit to engage with its users, this gives the company a personality so that potential clients can gain an understanding of who Freud Communications are as a company.  This is a useful tactic as it engages with the user and touches their emotions causing them to read on and therefore stay on the website for longer.

Video and audio - There is no video or audio included in the site.  The website may benefit from including a video on Freud Communications as a company so the users can have a better understand of what Freud Communications does.  Watching videos on the internet is becoming more popular therefore by having a video on the website it is a quicker and easier way to gain information.

Interactivity - There is no interactive content on this website where users can comment, take part in forums or polls however the website does include contact information.  Users are given Freud Communications telephone and fax numbers as well as address and email.  This information enables users to interact with the company if they please.  On the other hand it may be useful to the site if they included interactivity that could happen immediately for the user rather than them having to wait for a response.

UGC – As there is very little interactivity on the site there is also no chance for user-generated content either.  The website merely offers users information from the company about what and who the company is, there is no chance for the user to see other user’s views.  This may not be appropriate for the site as it is used to sell Freud Communications as a company and therefore does not want every user to be able to give their views on the company.

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April 29, 2010 Photographs in Chislehurst woodland

While I was home  in Chislehurst I took the opportunity to go and take some photographs.  Luckily during the Easter holidays the weather decided to be nice and sunny and so I was able to get some great photographs while in the nearby National Trust land.  I thought it would be nice to show the  calm woodland of the busy commuter town that I live in.  The photographs are all black and white as I took them on my manual SLR, I think that the black and white helps to pick up the light in the photos and in some give a more magical element to the shot.

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April 19, 2010 Britain’s got talent is back!

The judges.

The new series of Britain’s Got Talent came to back our television screens on Saturday.  I was waiting to see if the next Susan Boyle or Diversity came on the screen.  Didn’t seen any Susan’s or Diversity but there was some good and interesting acts.  From a man who’s talent was burping to a brilliant kid drummer, there was a real variety of acts.

The show began with some awful acts, a couple of sisters who were at least 40, dressed in pinks dress, you can only assume they got dressed in the dark.  In there act they played the Timbrel, which is basically a Tambourine, this act was no more exciting than it sounds.  It does make me think what runs through some peoples heads before they decide to audition, I can’t imagine why some of the acts actually think they have a talent.  For example the man that went on stage and said his talent was burping, this is disgusting in any case and I am not so sure the Royal Family would like to see this on stage at the Royal Variety Performance, however in my opinion if you are going to go on stage and say your talent is burping you should at least be able to burp a song or the alphabet or something.  Instead he went on stage let out two large burps before being buzzed of the stage,  that is not a talent!

Through the bad there were some great auditions.  Ten year Chloe Hickinbottom shocked everyone with her mature voice and Kieran Gaffney was back again after last year the judges failed to put him through to the semi finals.  A year later and Kieran had become even better at the drums.  This year he auditioned first with his parents, but it didn’t work at all, his talent was hidden by the mum’s not quite up to scratch singing leaving the family with the difficult decision of whether to let Kieran audition again on his won.  I for one am glad that it was able to audition on his own again as he blew me away, I have tried to play the drums before and its not easy so to see someone so young play so well, that is talent.

A dog doing ballet, what next?

I have to say that one of my favourite acts on Saturday was the dog act, Tina and Chandi.  Usually when an animal comes to the stage you know something is going to go wrong but this dog was a great act and could actual dance.  The whole act was a great laugh with the routine if the dog doing ballet and the owner being a learner ballet teacher, I loved it, it was both funny and entertaining to watch.

Now I can only wait to next weeks episode to see what other weird and wonderful acts appear and whether Simon Cowell can make it through a whole episode without having to rope someone else in to fill his place, after being ill through most of the first episode and missing some of the best acts.

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April 18, 2010 Alice in Wonderland: Review

Wonderland

I recently watched the new Alice in Wonderland film.  Before I saw it I was quite excited expected something quite weird and wonderful from Tim Burton as I am a fan of his other films especially Sweeny Todd, however after watching Alice in Wonderland I feel slightly let down.

Many people said the film would have quite a dark side to it how I didn’t feel this as much, I think it was a rather Disney film and didn’t necessarily have much other depth to it.  Although my eight year old brother enjoyed it thoroughly.  I am not saying that I disliked the film I wasn’t bored by it at all I just felt it lacked something, as after watching the film I did not find it very memorable.  The one part that does stick in my mind however is the very embarrassing dance Johnny Depp does after the battle.  Although this may be apart of the original story I felt the dance lowered the tone of the whole end of the film, while it was funny it just seemed out of place, especially when his head spins all the way around.

I did enjoy the concept of the beginning of the film and how Alice and been to wonderland before but could not remember as it made the story different and you could not tell where the story was going.  Colleen Atwood who designed the costumes for the film wanted to do more than the cliché Alice costumes that are available at most fancy dress shops.  I believe she achieved that with her costume designs.  Atwood designed the Mad Hatter’s costume to look like an actual hat marker from the Edwardian era, the White Queen was enspired by Victorian fashion and the Red Queen dress was described by Atwood as “tipped to Elizabethan”.  I think it is because of this the characters look suit to there roles and almost how you would imagine them.

Although I felt the story needed something more to it I was not completely disappointed with the film as I felt the characters were well fitted to their roles, especially with Johnny Depp making a very convincing Mad Hatter.

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April 6, 2010 Gene Hunt used in Labours new propaganda.

Labours not quite got it right.

I am not one who is usually follows politics but with the election only a month away I thought it important to try to get an understanding of the parties if I was going to vote.  From doing this it caused me to stumble over Labours new propaganda posters.

I’m not quite sure who came up with the concept and thought it would be a good idea but to depict Conservative leader David Cameron as Gene Hunt from Ashes to Ashes rather back fired on them.  The idea of the campaign was to show how David Cameron would take Britain back to the 80′s, with all that was wrong in the 80′s, such as unemployment and social unrest.  I think they have failed to depict this however by using the image of Gene Hunt and the Quattro and have instead made David Cameron appear as one of the nations national heroes at the moment.  Therefore the poster does not link back to all that was wrong in the 80′s it points to some of the good that was there.

Conservative use the image to their advantage.

The Conservatives have used this propaganda to their advantage by taking the poster and changing the words to ‘Fire up the Quattro. Its time for change’, David Cameron has even said that he is ‘flattered’ to be compared with Gene Hunt.  I think the idea of ‘Don’t let him take us back to the 80′s’ is a good one however in order for it to work Labour need to move away from the popular BBC television programme Ashes to Ashes and focus more on images of unemployment and social unrest.

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March 26, 2010 Lady GaGa’s shocking new video – Telephone

I have to say that when I watch the new Lady GaGa video I was shocked but I couldn’t keep my eyes off the screen.  She never fails to entertain and cause controversy.  In her latest video she teams up with Beyonce to create a diva filled music video.

A risqué costume from the Telephone music video

There have been many rumours about Lady GaGa being an hermaphrodite.  Personal I didn’t believe the rumours especially not after what she wore to the Brit awards I think it would be hard to hide any man parts in that ensemble.  The new video Telephone puts any of these rumours to rest with her proudly flashing her private bits as she climbs up against prison bars.  Although thank god her area is blurred out, I think that most gossip of her not being all woman will and should be squashed after viewing the video.  In my opinion its a rather outrageous way to prove people wrong but in true GaGa fashion it does the job and sparks debate, yet again making her the topic of conversation.

I did enjoy the new song and video, its catchy (as always) and makes you want to dance and sing-along.  Personally I enjoy a music video when there is a story, it gives me something to watch and follow rather than just another video of a pop star dancing around aimlessly.

It makes me wonder what will be in her next music video, more violence, sex and dancing with an array of weird and wonderful clothes, or maybe she will shock us all and not use any of these themes.  Just have to wait and see.

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March 22, 2010 Chatroulette Funny Piano Improv

I love the way that this guy has managed to make Chatroulette appear as though its not just a social networking site for slightly pervy (for lake of a better word) men to meet girls on, but that there are in fact other people who use it.  The site was designed by a 17 year old Russian student with the idea that the website pairs random strangers for web-cam based conversation.  When I first went on the website it slightly frightened me the fact that my web-cam could be linked with any random person however it can be quite a funny website to go on with your friends and have a laugh about who is on the other end of the web-cam.

I think it is amazing how this seemingly simple idea has only just been created, although I do think that Chatroulette will face problems in the future.  With legal action against Facebook already happening I don’t think it will be long till someone sees something they really don’t want to on Chatroulette.  But for now I think that the site will continue to grow rapidly as when it began in November 2009 there were only 500 visitors per day within only a month there were 50,000 and since February 2010 there were at least 35,000 people on the website at any one time.

I think this video of the ‘Piano improv guy’ shows how gradually Chatroulette is seeping into our culture with famous musician, Ben Folds, copying him live at his concert.

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March 18, 2010 What women want

what women want film

I was watching the Mel Gibson film ‘What women want’ last night with my boyfriend and housemate.  Surprisingly the two boys quite enjoyed the film even though it has to be said it is very much a chick flick, but for them they were engrossed in the fact that he could hear what women thought and both admitted to wanting to have this power.  While Mel Gibson struggles to control his mind reading skills to start the boys proclaimed that they would have no trouble with it and thought it would be great fun because they could do everything right.  I wasn’t so sure about them being able to master the female species because they could hear our thoughts.

It did get me thinking about if men could hear our every thought and how awful it would be.  As well as the fact that I don’t really think it would help men because sometimes I don’t even know what I want, if he could go in my head and work it out for me maybe that would be a breakthrough, Somehow I don’t think that would work.

What I do think would be interesting would be to hear men’s thoughts although for some men I don’t know if their thoughts would be much more than just women, sex and booze.  I know that that is a big stereotype of men that they think of sex nearly all the time so maybe if women were to hear their thoughts it would be revealed that there are many more ideas and thoughts whizzing round in the brain.

Perhaps one day someone will discover a way to read each other’s minds, but I for one hope that the day never comes, private thoughts should be kept private in my opinion.

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