It has been far too long, I apologise.
I have been preoccupied with getting my life in order; starting work, looking
to move forward on my chosen career path and other distractions. That is not to
say I've not had a moment to spare, far from it. There has been many a time in
the past month where I've had nothing constructive to do and instead of finding
purpose, I've whittled away these hours of opportunity playing Minecraft, Call
of Duty or Fifa.
I am currently in one of those frames
of time. Sitting at my desk with nothing especially constructive to do. So I
thought I'd pick up where I left off and forge ahead with my blog and other
hobbies.
We shall start with something briefly
contentious.
Recently in the news Jimmy Carr has been outed by the Prime
Minster, David Cameron, as a 'tax dodger' for being part of the k2 tax scheme.
If you are unfamiliar with these events Google it, or alternatively watch this
video on the bbc news website.
Essentially the PM has said that taking part in such scheme is morally wrong,
and I tend to agree with him. Yet here begins the hypocrisy. While being
slightly sensationalist in nature, the daily mirror stumbles upon the core
problem with the PM's 'moral' argument. While chastising Jimmy Carr for is
'moral failings,' the PM has not publicly criticised those considered his
allies, friends, family and colleagues, whom a large majority are using similar
tax avoidance techniques such as paying oneself dividends instead of a fixed,
and thus taxable, salary. (To see more details read here - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jimmy-carr-tax-row-turns-905663).
Whether or not you agree with the 'moral' argument in this case is irrelevant.
The simple truth is that you cannot in this case have a rule or law set down
and then not apply it to all who operate under it. It is hard to avoid sounding
partisan/anti conservative when I say this is classic
Conservative-in-government behaviour. If we want to strive for fairness,
honesty, transparency and equality, then these exemptions simply cannot be
tolerated.
Moving away from politics and back to
the informal ramblings and recordings of my life, I have started to steam ahead
with my plans to become a teacher. I have finally finished my Degree and got my
results (a 2:1 overall! :D) and now it is time for me to begin the next step.
This essentially involves me applying for positions as volunteer teaching
assistant/ observing lessons. Not only will I gain invaluable experience by
doing so, but also an insight into teaching strategies.
This is all well and good, but I cannot
stress enough how strange it feels talking to people, asking for these
positions, when the last time I spoke to them was when I was like 8 years old
or something. It is pretty weird to say the least :P
Finally we come to the end of this
post... well, near the end.
I wanted to write a review of a gig I went to a while back, yet I held back. I
mentioned this in my last blog post; personal reasons, not wanting to sound
like a pretentious dick and so on...
Anyway, that's all passed now and yet there is a new problem.
Time.
It has been a fair while since then, so I'm going to put it quite bluntly.
They were good. Well worth going to see.
It is pretty hard to describe what Sunrise Over Europe are like; this isn't
exactly helped by the somewhat confusing description prior to the gig being
'Balkan folk' amongst other odd genre's. The easiest way for me to convey what
the gig was like, and how I felt, is for you to just go and see them. They
curate an event at the Flapper and Firkin in Birmingham every month called
Watchifres. Basically they gather good local bands and showcase them to a
guaranteed audience, before rounding off the evening with their own set.
S'pretty good. Follow the embedded links to find out more, or check out my blog roll list in the top right corner of the blog.
Another 'gig' I went to was a show by
the Dead Poets. The show is a story explaining how a Grime MC and a
Professional poet came together to try to mix genre's; fusing rap with poetry,
and their subsequent '___' (Success? Failure? Your choice I guess). The show
was funny and exceptionally clever, it is definitely worth checking out one of
their shows if you can make it, or alternatively you can order some their
merchandise from their website. The best way to get a taste for what it is like
is to check them out on YouTube. I'd be surprised if you haven't already seen
this; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp4wEewrQdU
It is a rap battle between Blizzard and Mark Grist; a former teacher and the
former poet laureate of Peterborough. It is a quality vid, and I cannot stress
enough how much you need this in your life.
That is it for now. I've updated my
Bolter and Chainsword blog with a little snippet about my Sisters of Battle,
but my war gaming has been put temporarily on hold until the release of the
6th edition of Warhammer 40,000. So stay tuned.
Inabizzle
-DH-
