After a Strong Start...

Afternoon, ladies and mentalmen.

Hope this message finds you well: I'm tired and want chocolate, but I'm going to do this first because I know you're all dying to know how I've been the past 48 hours (in other words: hi Mum, hope your lunch hour isn't too boring)!

Well, my day away from University yesterday was eventful to start with: haircut time! With the colder weather up here in the north, half-an-inch of hair coverage over my entire skull isn't exactly survival kit issue... still, I stand resolute on my hat policy in that no such hat-based device will ever grace my bonce! No beard to stroke ponderingly, either, which is a shame because up until now people think I'm "academic" with a beard and therefore know my stuff. My grades will slip and people will start asking questions just for being smooth as the proverbial baby's backside... still, nice work with my new shaver (thanks Dad)...

In the world of the media, two outstanding franchises must be addressed without further ado: 24, both on television and on PlayStation2, is filling my spare time with suspense and intrigue. The build-up to the launch of 24: The Game next Friday is almost as tense as watching Jack Bauer's Power Hours rattle along on DVD, but hey, I've heard on the grapevine that it'll be worth the wait. A full report on that later, especially as promised to fellow 24 die-hard fanatic, Jill. Secondly, We Love Katamari, also known as Katamari Damacy 2, is a crazy Japanese PlayStation2 game involving a giant ball (easy target) called a katamari: basically, anything it touches can stick to it providing the katamari is big enough to roll it up. The entire objective of the game, as such, is to roll massive katamari balls that encompass everything from pencils to cats, people to cars, buildings to entire islands... all in a madcap Japanese techno world. I don't know what the makers of this game were smoking, but I bet it's got a street value of millions...

On to serious matters: politics, and David "Dave" Cameron has started in motion his plans for the Conservative Party to gain power at the next election (against Gordon "Trust Me, I'm Not Prime Minister Yet" Brown, who has been speaking about everything but the economy recently while His Tonyness has been globetrotting in an effort to make himself look like decent Premiere material. Nice try, mate, but I'm not buying it). Tuesday's news report from the BBC News website (thanks for the link, Mum), plus rumblings in the Tory press such as The Spectator (more thanks to Dad for that one) and Telegraph, show that Cameron is facing a battle within the party faithful. Old school Tory boys are withdrawing funds and making noises about Cameron being "too modern" and "too leftie"... I think it was a possible bad move of Cameron's to get behind His Tonyness' education reforms so quickly after taking the leadership reigns last year, as a lot of people saw this as the Bush/Blair relationship on a national scale, or at least the chance of it in the future. Bummer, then. But is it?

There are a lot of disillusioned ex-Labour supporters out there, according to The Spectator, who are uneasy about the Liberal Democrats due to recent events and are looking for a moderate alternative. Could Cameron's new softly-softly approach to right wing government grab the cash from them, make a mad dash for Number 10 and then slam the door behind him? I'm holding out hope.

I'll tell you one thing, though. "Beano" Boris Johnson, the shadow higher education secretary, better have a good deal sorted out for University teachers when he gets power. Striking doesn't work, we all know that, and yet on Tuesday my politics lectures have been cancelled due to the teachers creating a picket line and refusing to mark any of our assessed work. Joy of joys: how much does the average student pay for a course? Isn't this supposed to cover all costs? Then why the protest? If the Kremlin (sorry, I mean "New Labour government") are so proud of the education system, why are the staff striking? Who is to blame inside the halls of power? I've a sneaking idea that I'd like to go along on Tuesday and start my own protest, knock some heads together, end on a witty remark and then get arrested, but seeing as my actions may well come back to haunt me if politics really is my calling, I've got the second option of staying in my flat and watching The Legend of Zorro on DVD. Yep, I'm gonna sit in the flat...

Quick announcements: yay for a certain lady friend of mine who is having the time of her life with a new mystery man; rest in peace Goldfish #1, who Mum informs me died this morning; congratulations to Simon for working through two consecutive nights to get his presentation finished and in on time despite being part of an unmotivated group.

That's me for today, folks. Back tomorrow after my 09:00 lecture (I'm going to request that "Beano" Boris, when in power, makes sure that no student ever has to suffer such an early start again)!

Take care, peace out.