For this installment, I decided that I wanted to learn about Something New; given the proximity of the American presidential elections, "American Politics 101" seemed a good subject to tackle. And so for one night only, my friend, Ben, became "Professor Shepherd" and his living room the "Arlen Spector Memorial Lecture Theatre".
In attempting some pre-reading, I rediscovered Wikipedia, pretty maps - and the fact that I will always be distracted by cats on YouTube.
To begin with, we started with a brief introduction to the make-up of the American political system. We covered all the basics, such as phrases from the news and books like "congressman", "senator" and "Governator". The bit I found particularly interesting was seeing all the differences between the executive, legislative and judiciary levels of government - including who really has power over whom.
Then we moved on to focusing on the upcoming election. Up until now the only things I had remarked upon were Joe Biden's shiny blue eyes. We worked through Obamacare vs Romneycare, purple states, the electoral college and the Democrat/Republican balance. I wouldn't say that we covered the candidates in an unbiased way, given the Prof's strong affection for BHO, but we did consider the consequences of a "Mitt-ctory".
And how would I rate Professor Shepherd? Well, the PowerPoint was clear and concise, even if the pictures were a little distorted. His explanations were interesting and generally clear, once he stopped using the British political system as a reference (another subject on which I am similarly ignorant) and my simplistic questions were neither scorned nor left unanswered. Plus, he provided crisps and wine, which is a step up from most of my university lecturers!
This is for you if...
If you're after a comprehensive view of American politics, rather than a state-by-state analysis. While this learning will ostensibly help me with my understanding of literary characters, I am also now more interested in the outcome of the election.
Recommendations
After university, it is very easy to stop learning in this kind of way. Having "expert" friends rather than official lecturers cover an interesting topic was really good fun and I would definitely recommend trying it out, if there's something you want to know about!
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Monday 15 October 2012
I didn't do the pre-reading...
What: Learning about American politics
Where: Highbury, in someone's house...
Who: Benjamin Shepherd, Esq.
When: Saturday, 20th October 2012
With: Anyone who's interested!
Why: My knowledge of American politics is generally limited to trivia (Grover Cleveland is the only president to have served non-consecutive terms; four assassinated, four otherwise died in office...) I can't help but feel that a more in-depth knowledge would be beneficial for my understanding of how events in the US might actually affect us this side of the pond.
Where: Highbury, in someone's house...
Who: Benjamin Shepherd, Esq.
When: Saturday, 20th October 2012
With: Anyone who's interested!
Why: My knowledge of American politics is generally limited to trivia (Grover Cleveland is the only president to have served non-consecutive terms; four assassinated, four otherwise died in office...) I can't help but feel that a more in-depth knowledge would be beneficial for my understanding of how events in the US might actually affect us this side of the pond.
Wednesday 3 October 2012
The Beauty Workshop
I saw this event advertised in Emerald Street, the daily sister-email to the Stylist free magazine. It was taking place in Selfridges from 6-9pm, which I thought was perfect for a bit of after-work entertainment. The ticket cost £10, which could be redeemed against any of the products or services available on the night.
Other than the vague description of a "unique beauty playground" offering "more than 50 brands and exclusive services", we actually knew very little about what we were signing up to. However, the promise of free champagne, cocktails and frozen yoghurt was enough of a convincer.
At the outset, everything was very unorganised. Despite the fact that we had already collected our receipt-tickets, we still had to queue up again for around 15mins, this time to collect wristbands. At the same time, we should have been given tokens to use to claim the £10; we weren't given any, and in the end the redemption was based more on trust than anything else. The place was so busy that you could hardly move, yet they continued to sell tickets to people turning up there and then. And there was no sign of the free champagne.
We perused around for a while, contemplating eyebrow threading, excessive fake lashes and glittery eyeshadows in every colour a psychedelic rainbow-toting lephrechaun could imagine. However, we found ourselves a couple of available manicurists and partook of a Nails Inc. mini manicure - I went for "Baker Street" blue while Tanya opted for a neon pink. This was £9 with our "token" and included a couple of free pink-iced cupcakes. A bit of careful positioning meant we could avail ourselves of some free health drinks, mojitos and tubs of froyo, after which our nails were dry, our fingers ice cold and we were hungry for some dinner - 90 minutes of windowless mayhem was quite enough for us.
In general, it was an enjoyable event, although I wouldn't have wanted to be there on my own, as a large proportion of the fun was derived from circling stalls piled high with small plastic bottles, wondering what on earth it was all for. I think it was let down by the number of people who were there, crammed into a relatively small area. While the nail treatment itself was great, the manicurists had to then rush off to the next customer straight away, meaning I was left to find the till myself (and trusted to pay for it!) Then again, at £10 for a ticket, it wasn't going to be the most exclusive event ever.
This is for you if...
If you cope well in TK Maxx, you should be able to manage events like this - it was a similar sort of manic, overwhelming experience. I wouldn't want to try it on a hot day, that's for sure.
Recommendations
For events like this, turn up early and get involved straight away. The later it got, the longer the queues became. As there were fewer people at the start, we were able to spend our £10 token on a manicure, which is not something either of us would normally get done.
Other than the vague description of a "unique beauty playground" offering "more than 50 brands and exclusive services", we actually knew very little about what we were signing up to. However, the promise of free champagne, cocktails and frozen yoghurt was enough of a convincer.
At the outset, everything was very unorganised. Despite the fact that we had already collected our receipt-tickets, we still had to queue up again for around 15mins, this time to collect wristbands. At the same time, we should have been given tokens to use to claim the £10; we weren't given any, and in the end the redemption was based more on trust than anything else. The place was so busy that you could hardly move, yet they continued to sell tickets to people turning up there and then. And there was no sign of the free champagne.
We perused around for a while, contemplating eyebrow threading, excessive fake lashes and glittery eyeshadows in every colour a psychedelic rainbow-toting lephrechaun could imagine. However, we found ourselves a couple of available manicurists and partook of a Nails Inc. mini manicure - I went for "Baker Street" blue while Tanya opted for a neon pink. This was £9 with our "token" and included a couple of free pink-iced cupcakes. A bit of careful positioning meant we could avail ourselves of some free health drinks, mojitos and tubs of froyo, after which our nails were dry, our fingers ice cold and we were hungry for some dinner - 90 minutes of windowless mayhem was quite enough for us.
In general, it was an enjoyable event, although I wouldn't have wanted to be there on my own, as a large proportion of the fun was derived from circling stalls piled high with small plastic bottles, wondering what on earth it was all for. I think it was let down by the number of people who were there, crammed into a relatively small area. While the nail treatment itself was great, the manicurists had to then rush off to the next customer straight away, meaning I was left to find the till myself (and trusted to pay for it!) Then again, at £10 for a ticket, it wasn't going to be the most exclusive event ever.
This is for you if...
If you cope well in TK Maxx, you should be able to manage events like this - it was a similar sort of manic, overwhelming experience. I wouldn't want to try it on a hot day, that's for sure.
Recommendations
For events like this, turn up early and get involved straight away. The later it got, the longer the queues became. As there were fewer people at the start, we were able to spend our £10 token on a manicure, which is not something either of us would normally get done.
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