Things recently

Recently things have been strange and different.

It doesn't make sense, nor is it appropriate to go into it on the internet. However, there are a few things that I would like to share that maybe some of you might find interesting.

First of all, I have been 'elected' Editor of The Orbital - the student magazine.

I say 'elected' in quotation marks because I was the only person running for the post, but at least nobody put in an outright rejection to my standing for the position.

The last issue of The Orbital, or 'Orbital' as it is now, was quite different to previous issues.
I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it.


BEFORE                                                       THE LATEST ISSUE

 


I feel that, although it did fantastically, and there was a very clever hype created through the marketing strategy and the launch party, the focus was on celebrity culture and fashion. It did not really resemble a student magazine to me, but I suppose that is personal. In fact, it looked a little too close to this cover of GLAMOUR:

Now that I am editor, I am keen to redesign the magazine, and change the focus slightly, but only of course if everybody else on the team is on board with the idea.

 I would like something that maybe looks a bit more 'arty' and can engage the students on a more intellectual level.

I am creating a mood-board and some mock-up covers at the moment, mostly inspired by some of the design aspects of Suitcase magazine, AnOther magazine, Dazed & Confused Magazine & serious magazines such as National Geographic / well-designed academic journals.


Pinterest mood-board here: https://www.pinterest.com/catrionaos/print-layout-mood-board/

  
 

 

 



So in the last issue, I just wrote for the news team. On reflection, it might have made more sense to put this article in the entertainment section? Not sure.

The article was about an explosion in a sushi factory, the one that supplies the sushi to our university campus outlets. When the issue was printed however, the article had been rather significantly cut down (to its' detriment in my opinion), so here is the original article:

http://theorbital.co.uk/fire-sushi-factory-leaves-students-floundering/

Orbital Article – Explosion in Sushi Factory Leaves Students Floundering

Students at Royal Holloway may have been left wondering where their sushi fix had gone, towards the end of last term.

The sushi supplier for Royal Holloway had, in-fact, exploded in the early hours of December 1^st 2014.

The major fire closed Staines town centre, after the blaze broke out in several industrial units, including that of Royal Holloway’s sushi supplier: Tanpopo Japanese Food, at Unit L4 on the estate.

Homes were evacuated and about 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Renshaw Industrial Estate. Surrey Fire and Rescue Service said the fire, which broke out shortly after midnight, was thought to be due to propane cylinders exploding. Three industrial buildings have been almost completely destroyed.

Surrey Police tweeted that the town centre was closed to traffic because of the "major" fire and urged drivers to avoid the area. However, South East Coast Ambulance service stated there were no casualties reported.

One local woman said she was concerned to see police officers wearing face masks. She said she could smell the smoke and see it in the air but nobody had told them anything. Alan Clark, fire area commander for Staines, said firefighters and police were wearing masks because they were going into the affected areas. He said residents should avoid prolonged exposure to the smoke, but that it was “already drifting away”. Asbestos roof sheeting had been found at the site but posed no risk to the public, he added. About 20 people were moved from their homes to a local rest centre. 

The fire service said crews were working with police, the ambulance service, the council, utility companies, the Red Cross and the Environment Agency to resolve the situation. 

However, for now, it looks like Royal Holloway students ‘cod’ have some waiting to do before sushi returns to their food outlets. Not very rice. If you can think of a better fish pun, let minnow.

My manifesto / questions to the answers asked about my 'vision' for the orbital is as follows:

What is your vision for Orbital? 

A more student focused publication, with an acknowledgement of the fact that students are intellectually curious and engaged.  I have a strong background in journalism, as a mature student, and have written,, and continue to write for national and international publications such as The Independent and The Guardian. This experience would undoubtedly be helpful in achieving this goal of a serious, yet cutting-edge tone.

It would be ideal to re-design the publication so that it reflects this and appeals to as many students as possible. Having worked in design across various contexts, I have a strong belief that the design is just as important in conveying messages as the content itself. The kinds of publications that would be ideal to draw inspiration from design-wise would be print magazines such as Dazed & Confused, Suitcase and National Geographic. Of course, however, it is of paramount importance that the team of student journalists, and as many people in the wider student population are involved in this decision as possible.

Lastly, I believe it is important to champion student achievement and this would be central to my vision for Orbital.

How do you plan to boost the reach and engagement of Orbital? 

New sections in the magazine, such as a ‘Society Round-Up’ – with news and achievements from smaller groups or niches on campus – perhaps accept nominations for student achievements to be published in print.

Increased events, something similar to the highly successful ‘careers in journalism’ event of last term, which was fully-booked, and even required another room for the event to be live-streamed in. This shows that there is real demand for this kind of event in the future.

Co-operation with the other student media outlets would be key to boosting the reach and engagement. Creating inter-media outlet events or articles, as well as cross-outlet projects would be an exciting way to make use of the new media-suite, and create new kinds of content in this new era of digital innovation. 

A continued and stronger social media outreach activity would be key to engaging students across media. We could employ an array of social media such as Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr and so on to create excitement around the publication, but perhaps more importantly, to allow the wider student population to stay updated on the activities of Orbital.

As Editor how would you manage your editorial team and contributors?

Delegation to the editors of each section, and a democratic style of managing the team, to create a healthy and co-operative working environment. Weekly e-mail updates and posts to the Facebook page for the student journalists. Meetings with the editorial team on a weekly basis, or where appropriate.  Good incentives for being on the team, such as industry networking opportunities or journalism training days. A real feeling that the team are actively involved and part of the creative process, and use feedback sessions to ensure that members are finding it a useful and enjoyable experience for further development in the field.

I started dancing again.

It was my first proper dance class in 4 years (or maybe a little more).
It felt great.
However, now the dance society at university are rehearsing for a show that I'm not in, so will need to wait a little before I can join the dance classes properly.
I wondered about going into London to join some 'drop-in' classes there. But I'm still not sure, still not quite brave or confident enough to just 'show up' to things. My strength, fitness and stamina aren't quite what they used to be.


For my job at The i Paper (the concise version of The Independent), I have been asked to submit a 'city' guide for my adopted university town.

However, I have not moved to exciting Manchester for university, nor Glasgow or even quaint Warwick. I live in Egham. A small place that can barely be described as a town. Somewhere between London and The-Middle-of-Nowhere, there isn't really an awful lot to talk about apart from the beautiful campus building.

It is near Heathrow airport, not far from Windsor and Richmond, London. Very close to Staines and Guildford, Surrey.
There are alot of very 'English' pubs, charity shops and perhaps most importantly, a train-station (to get away).

I feel if I write a 'city guide', it will turn into more of a 'how beautiful is my Victorian university campus?!' and 'oh how gorgeous is the library?!'.

I could do a guide to West London and Surrey, but I don't feel I know the surrounding area as well.

I think, more likely, I will do a slightly satirical guide to Egham, and gently make fun of the fact that it is so small.

Stay tuned. I will link the article once it's published.

I've been watching a bunch of new people on YouTube for distraction from 'real life' (which has become a little tricky and sad of late).

One of the people I absolutely adore at the moment is:

Tyrannosaurus Lexxx

Obviously, as per usual, my other favourites are:

Chrissstttiiine
Beautycrush
Kiss My Frog
Books & Quills
Not So Plain Jane

I have been loving the 'screen tests' by Lynn Hirschberg for W magazine:

Especially the ones with-

Jennifer Lawrence - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmHAPvxQ208

Penelope Cruz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UclGydhNXqM

and

Helena Bonham Carter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_riYAlUp4V4



As far as music is concerned, I have made some interesting discoveries, and have some new favourites for sure. Some you might have heard, some you may have not.

The Hanging Tree - from The Hunger Games movie. 

I love that they made it genuine and folky, and one of the ways that they did that was by getting the actress (Jennifer Lawrence) herself to sing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3hTW9e20d8

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
They strung up a man
They say who murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where dead man called out
For his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where I told you to run,
So we'd both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
[Movie line:] Wear a necklace of rope,
[Soundtrack line:] Wear a necklace of hope,
Side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where I told you to run,
So we'd both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
They strung up a man
They say who murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where dead man called out
For his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.

It reminds me alot of a song called 'Strange Fruit', and I particularly like Annie Lennox's version of the song (which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_cGtRMK-7Y )

Southern trees bear strange fruit,

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,

Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,

Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,

For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,

Here is a strange and bitter crop.

On a lighter note, I've been introduced to a new genre of techno south american music, which I can't remember the name of at the moment, but will post it here as soon as I do.



My parents went to see the Punch Brothers live - and I am really jealous. I discovered that their song Julep is probably my favourite:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppn7eQSBdJQ

I also listened to a fantastic podcast produced by the Barbican.

https://soundcloud.com/barbicancentre/markkermode

In my classes and lectures we have been looking at French cinema 1917-1944, Surrealism, Film Noir, Femme Fatale, 1930s British cinema and the role of 'the male gaze' in cinema.

I did some presentations on these themes on Prezi. I love Prezi.

https://prezi.com/ug3hgbotknvz/

 I've just finished writing essays for the television studies unit, one about an article by scholar John Ellis, and the other about TV show 'Mad Men'. Such a good series. The opening sequence was quite central to my essay, and the idea of talking about it as a fragment of art.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcRr-Fb5xQo

I have only just discovered (after years of writing essays), that essays are actually easier to write in the 2 page spread view format. It's easier to see the overall structure that way.

On the practical side of uni work, we are working on a new film project. My group is great, and all groups are focusing on themes of justice and rights (because of the anniversary of the Magna Carta, which was signed very near Egham). I am delighted to be the designer/art director for the project, and have already begun to create a  mood-board and set sketches.


Lastly, I have some plans, which may just turn out to be dreams used as a kind of escapism, but I do hope that I manage to do these things:

1) Reading week - do something lovely and relax (see Leah / Lauren / Lindsay / Ben?)
2) See old-housemate Gabriele in London beginning of March
3) Socs Ball 7th March
4) Go home and see Kirsten in Aberdeen for her birthday at the end of March
5) April is Easter holidays - go on the Amsterdam trip with either The Orbital or Dutch Soc?
6) Old house in 'Kapoenstraat, Maastricht' -  reunion somewhere warm? (April)
7) The UK Student Radio Conference
8)  Little trips? Brighton, Oxford, Cardiff? (to take my mind off exams)
9) Finish film project & do some work experience
10) Barcelona music festival?
11) Travels & work experience in the summer


I also want to do more post-card making & writing letters this term.


Sorry, that was a bit of a ramble. I am currently on a train from Edinburgh to London, and attempting not to listen to the incredibly and painfully posh couple to my left. So I have written a sort of stream of consciousness and I hope you found maybe some of it interesting.

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