Decisions decisions decisions....

The assignment: do something you have never done before, then blog about the experience. And you must be thinking to yourself 'surely that is simple enough, I mean how tought can it be?'. Dont be fooled, it is tougher than you think! First off, you have to think about what to do. Ever hear of having too many choices? That is rather what I felt like when trying to pick my action. Overwhelmed! Second, think why you want to do this. Erm, is 'because I have to' a valid enough reason? Third, think of how you will do it and who you can ask for help. Right, got you. Fourth, think about where you are going to do it. Lastly, think about when.
Well my mind was feeling overly full, so I decided to chill out on drostdy lawns and mull over all this while lying in the sun, surrounded by nature. I had seen posters up around campus encouraging people to sign up for writing a novel in a single month. Now why would I want to do this you ask? Well, aside from having high and lofty writing ambitions, I have always wanted to write a novel, but have never tackled it in a constructive way. At least by doing this I would be getting to achieve a personal goal, as well as being given a set timetable to work with and thereby geet rid of a lack of organisation -a terrible habit of mine. Okay then, so far so good. Now for the how.. I would have to sign up on http://www.nanowrimo.org/ the international website that generated the idea. November is the national writing month, 30 days and nights of literary abandon -just my cup of tea! Plus they give you a lot of support via email and their forums. You get to interact with professional and amatur writers from all over the globe, making it a cultural experience. Therefore, should I require help, I could it from the website, or ask other friends of mine that are writers. Now for the where. I guess that would be wherever I want really. I can write on my laptop in my room, in the jac labs, or even outside or in the bath with a pen and pad of paper -the choices of exhecution were as varied as my brain could create. Lastly...the when. Well, the first part was easy, I had made the decision to do it, and thats half the battle won. Now I just had to stick to it.
Looks like I am going to be a busy girl the next few weeks. Not only do I have to study for and write exams, I now have to fit in 1500 word per day for my novel. Going to be interesting I think, so wish me luck!


TWEET: Decision making IS NOT as easy as you might think

Are they 'writer than you'?

‘Writer than you’ is an intriguing, thought provoking and amusing blog than not only informs readers but allows them to create their own opinions as well as be entertained at the same time. The first impression of the blog draws viewers in due to the attractive, yet mysterious background. The background of luminous blue mushrooms urges viewers to read further in order to decipher the meaning behind the theme of the mushrooms. The connection between the mushrooms acting as magic mushrooms draws a parallel to how media changes our views on the world and can in many ways mislead our perceptions. The blog posts are diverse and humorous and cover many different controversial issues that enable different opinions and interesting topics to be discussed. The range of different genre’s include controversial issues such as homosexuality, humour and the function of jokes in social day to day situations, political news events such as Obama’s speech to the Congress, and many more that cater for a broad audience of readers. This blog is well written, precise, easy and interesting to follow and is a form of media that not only informs readers in an exciting and down to earth way, but is also a successful form of entertainment that allows for easy and relaxing reading. It is clear to see when the blog posts are subjective and objective and therefore prevent any cause for controversy among readers. Overall it is s a well written, well done blog.
Tweet: ‘Writer than you’ is a blog worth reading and something that enables thought and amusement all in one package.

Capital Punishment

Shelley West
G09w1284

Tweet: Capital punishment is an issue that must be given a lot of thought. The state has somebody’s life in their hands, and therefore exercising the power of the death penalty must be strongly questioned.

Capital punishment is a very controversial issue, and one that I personally feel strongly about. I do not believe in capital punishment. Some people agree with the view of “an eye for an eye” as in if someone commits murder they should then be sentence to death. This view is highly hypocritical. By sentencing someone to death it is simply condoning the act of killing. By sentencing someone to death for committing a murder is in turn committing the same crime the murderer did and therefore sanctioning the act of killing. Another argument is that there is a possibility of the state killing an innocent person if they were wrongfully convicted, and such a sentenced cannot be rectified as it would be able to do with say, a prison sentence. Furthermore by sentencing the murderer to death it is arguing that they do not have the ability to better themselves and change their lives around. This is a massive assumption and gross generalisation to make. This also lacks any faith in humankind and the ability to have genuine remorse. I think that by killing someone for a crime is taking away the option for them to redeem themselves, to better themselves and repent for their wrongdoings. I believe they must definitely be punished but within the parameters allowing those who want to change their lives the ability to do so. I personally believe in proportional punishment. This means that the offender must receive an appropriate sentence in relation to his crime. It means that for committing a murder one might not be sentenced to death but rather given another sentence that is in proportion to the severity of the crime.

Escaping to nature

I was feeling trapped, claustrophobic, exhausted and frustrated and all I wanted to do was run and get away to be alone. So I walked frantically, with tears streaming down my face and struggling to catch my breath to the furthest most remote place I could find in the Botanical Gardens. I collapsed on a patch of grass when my legs could no longer move and lay there. I lay in the shade of an exquisite tree with pink blossoming flowers that seemed to create this umbrella of beauty above me. I closed my eyes and began to slowly escape from reality with the distant noise of the weavers fluttering their wings frantically collecting essentials for their nests. The sound was soothing and allowed for my body to drift into a state of paralysed serenity. I was finally at peace. The stresses and pressures I had felt were slowly drifting over my body and escaping my soul, the cool breeze of the spring morning tickled my body into a deep, relaxing sleep that engulfed my every thought and feeling. I was content with a feeling of freedom that I had been searching for until that very moment.
Before I escaped to the Botanical Gardens I knew that if I found a place to be alone, it would cure my insecurities and exploding emotions. I knew that it was the perfect place to disappear to in order to regain my strength and distinguish my thoughts and feelings. This is the exact effect the Botanical Gardens had on me and I realised that although Grahamstown is an amazing place, there are times people need to get away and Botanical Gardens is the best place to do so in order to allow nature to surround and cleanse your soul.
Tweet: Running to escape, losing control and needing internal peace, an hour in the Botanical Gardens cleanses and relaxes the soul.

A Question of Priorities

I read the Editorial Column of the Activate newspaper dated Wednesday 14 October 2009. I find it extremly intresting that the broader society, even those suppossedly on a paper noted for its activism stance, only every seem to feel sympathy for human beings and sometimes even that can be a stretch. It is just yet another indication to me of what a self-absorbed society we have become,, mostly caring for only ourselves and when forced to do so caring for our own species at large. We do not care that we constantly torture and abuse other sentient creatures, because we “alone” are actually sentient. Everything else merely has a pulse and nothing more. The majority of people do not seem to realise that you cannot simply separate human rights from animal rights. The two are infact extremly closely interwoven. By trying to separate them we do a disservice not only to non-human creatures, but to ourselves as well. We have evolved far beyond the majority of needs supplied by many animals, and the constant torture and abuse we put them through is not only cruel, it has become outdated and intollerable. It's time for our self-absorbtion to end, and to start looking beyond ourselves to the greatness and wonder that surrounds us in so many shapes and forms and to start appreciating them more.

Shelley's Mission Statement

Mission1

Shelley West

G09w1284

Farzan Rasool

Tweet: I don’t where this blog is going- but it guarantees you one epic journey. My passions are politics and history. The writing will focus on international issues worthy of analysis, critical opinion or political dissection.

I’m told I’m unpredictable, that one can never know what I’m going to do or say. Personally, I find it easy to agree with that statement, as I too do not know what next is going to pop out of my unfiltered mouth or where next my able legs will take me. More importantly is the questions: what will my fingers produce on this clicking plastic of alphabet choices? I can’t tell you – but what I can do is give you the promise of honesty, critical thinking and a dark sense of humour. I share this promise with my fellow bloggers within the “Journ Assassins”.

Passion: Pronunciation: \pa-shən\ Function: noun 6. a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything. My passions include politics, history and the prevalence of it repeating itself and anything else that catches my eye.

Politics is an integral and vital part of everyone’s lives. Though they may not know it – it surrounds them, engulfs them and entangles them. This blog will aim to make people more aware of the immediate effect of relative strangers and how their beliefs and actions can change our course of life. This blog will not concentrate on conspiracy theories or on slandering governments. This blog is searching for truth through intelligent investigation.

In terms of history, one can see some definite repetition coming through the centuries. Some mistakes are remade, the same forms of dictators are let back into power and the same atrocities are allowed to happen. The focus will look to parallel events in history with events in modern day society. It will aim mostly at African issues as that is where my passion lies however; often the most paralleled incidents are in Europe and “the West”.

In terms of the other ingredients in my recipe for a taste-tantalising blog it will be ingredients without careful measurement or thought. If a celebrity scandal catches my eye, the blog will have it. If an odd-spot story happens in Bangladesh, this blog will feature it. And if a fashion catastrophe occurs, this blog will criticise it.

Through what I have already learnt as a journalism student, and for what I know I will learn – I am passionate about journalism and how it can influence the world. To know that I can one day possess the tools to be a historic- worthy journalist makes every lecture, every tutorial worth it. This blog cannot promise you a smooth ride. Nor will I dull you with monotony. But if you’ve read this far you obviously share the same zest for life, quest for truth and thirst for what is hidden from us. I don’t where this blog is going- but it guarantees you one epic journey.