My week, plus some rants on stuff
Diary: Week of 07/05: Dissertation and clubbing
Monday was a bank holiday, so I naturally had no lectures to attend. That left me free to stay around thepussykat's and littlecyberalex's the night before (littlecyberalex had taken the liberty of showing me the latest instalment of Dawn of War the night before, which looks brilliant).
Anyway, gave time to lay down plans for going to the cinema to see Pirates, which, after being reminded later in the week, actually led me to book tickets :o) thepussykat doesn't like the idea of Transformers though *shakes head* :o)
Not much going on Tuesday except a Kierkegaard lecture, and not much at all on Wednesday beyond me putting the final touches to my dissertation, which I printed off at my brothers the next day (the printer at mine is being dodgy and not printing to a very high quality), and the day after that I got it bound.
Is looking very good and am pleased with myself. It's a thirty-six page document with a very tidy looking cover page with a clipart picture I altered from this one (I altered it just so it didn't have guest book written on it, but squiggly lines across it all). All very shiny :o)
I was supposed to go to a Philosophy Society talk on the Thursday but that went wrong. I thought I was going to be all organised and be a good final year student by sending a text to one of the freshers (lj user="nematri">) to poke her into getting there et cetera, so at about half nine I sent her a text message reading 'Don't forget to go to the philsoc talk tonight at the Mitre at ten or I'll be a very sad panda'.
It all went terribly wrong when she sent me a text back saying 'It was at eight' :o/
Oh well...
Friday I also got my exam timetable in. MY Kierkegaard exam is on Wednesday 30th of this month, in the afternoon. Then my Imagination and Self-Consciousness exam is on the Saturday 2nd July, in the morning. That's the second time I've had a university exam on a weekend :o/
Anyway, went down Unit 22 that night with Angryangeltoo, which was probably a mistake (although the plan was to meet a friend of Angryangeltoo's or else we would never have gone. Why they cancelled Emanate is a mystery.
They had some loud band in one room, and some very loud and crude metal in the other. Given that no one there seemed interesting in dancing to what they were playing, that meant one dancefloor had a band on it and the other dance floor had no one on it. Given that Emanate was always a rather successful night I can't see its cancellation as anything even nearing a shrewd business decision.
Shalln't be likely to come back in any case.
Naturally, all this led to me and AngryAngeltoo sodding off and making our own way to Dungeon instead, which was much better. Okay, so the music was it's usually 'nothing spectacular' and it was a rather quiet night, but after being in Unit 22 I think anything would have seemed good. At least at Dungeon there was excuse to dance, and when I wasn't dancing my ability to socialise wasn't destroyed by extremely loud yet bad music.
People on her list may have spotted the equally derisive comments on Angryangeltoo's journal: linky
Saturday I was trying to work out what to do and got unprompted invitations to go to both Dungeon and Edge, making me feel unusually popular all of a sudden :o) I ended up down Edge with Thepussykat, littlecyberalex and angryangeltoo. Naturally, being a gay club the music was mostly rather naff, but there was still some opportunity to dance, so was all good and fun :o)
Slept on thepussykat's couch that night and eat soup made by angryangeltoo the next day as well as reading my way through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (hadn't looked at it before really) :o)
Isn't a bad little book, although Hermoine seems a bit weaker as a character (there are strong female characters at least though at least), and Snape seems less respectable as a character (though he's dislikeable either way). The other thing that bothers me is I'm not sure you lose much by just watching the film to be honest. There wasn't much in the book that seemed particularly new in any important way... :o/
Health: My Weight
So I am a bit short (5'6") and eleven stone, which BMI-wise gives me an index of 24.9, which is just shy of medically overweight, but then I've never been sure whether or not to trust that given that the BMI isn't very well respected (seemingly) by people who know what they're talking about. Plus it's still lower than the average male BMI for the UK is (apparently) 25.4, so still below average anyway (if that counts for something). Almost a shame I don't live in America where the average BMI is apparently 28, that way I could feel skinny all the time :oP
Anyway, an entry by mathilde about her body fat ratio got me looking into how to calculate it (didn't know there was an easy way) and I discovered this little nifty site
Using your measurements of a 32 inches waist and weight of 154 pounds your body fat percentage is estimated to be 17.20 % using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, or 16.82 % using the formula developed by the YMCA.
Neither method is as accurate as a water displacement test, but is usually within 1-3% for most people. If you have a very small waist, it will show a low value. On the other hand, if you carry all your extra weight around your middle, you may have an elevated percentage. Please note that having this extra weight in the middle is a high risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The waist to hip ratio calculator can give you more information.
Men are typically lower in body fat percentage, averaging around 23%, with an ideal of about 15%. Highly fit athletes are between 5-10%. Remember these are guidelines; your physician should help you determine the ideal weight and body fat for you.
Suddenly I'm under the impression of being more in a healthy range again :oD
Thoughts: Sony advertising controversy
Sony lately appears to be taking the controversy route of advertising. Somewhat risky, will alienate some segments of their clientele, but also will likely work.
For instance, take this article: linky. In this form of promotion they use animal slaughter rather liberally and unashamedly in a way that will draw criticism from animal rights groups, and sure enough PETA has already stepped up to give them free advertising: linky
Now, take a look at this one:
A rather interesting move.
To my understanding, the are releasing a console in a new colour. This by itself is very boring, and no one cares. Of course, it's the job of advertisers to find some way to make the change interesting, to give it character, and to make us care about it, and they've done that rather well.
Presumably someone somewhere came to think that the colour of the two versions of the console could be represented through the skin colour of people, hence anthropomorphising the consoles. Anthropomorphising consoles is a rather well-used method of course, it's already made rather famous by the Mac Vs PC adverts.
However, they don't normally involve ethnicity like this does. It's obvious that when you have a white woman being very aggressive to a black woman with the slogan 'White is Coming' that people are going to start thinking about racism, which is exactly what the advertisers want. Immediately the characters come to life as it dredges up the entire culture and history of racial tension, and suddenly a simple change in colour of a console is something dramatic, interesting and alive.
I suspect it's going to work well. Real question is, of course, should a company really be using racism in this way to promote it's products?
Similar issues have been explored before of course. The Renault Clio adds uses national rivalry between England and France for instance. Of course, the effect is quite different.
With the consoles the choice is either/or, and thus the black and the white model are posed aggressively. With the Renault Clio car the issue is that it's forged with influences from both nations, and thus we get a petty rivalry between an English man and a French women that is sexually charged in nature. No one worries about this anyway, after all, the French/English rivalry is mostly 'just for fun' anyway, and not usually taken seriously.
Racial tensions aren't 'just for fun' in the same way. It's a serious matter, and hence the controversy. I don't know that the advert will do any harm per se, but it does seem to fall under the catergory of 'bad taste', kind of like using Sept 11 to advertise a product.
Thoughts: Some people are sick... (eating disorders)
And apparently they know it, but don't care.
Take this community: ed_progresspics
The ed stands for 'eating disorder'. It's a site designed for people's progress in their eating disorder.
The community info is quite clear...
"This is a community for anyone with an eating disorder.
This is NOT a place for anyone on a crash diet or any other kind of diet.
An eating disorder is a disease, not a diet."
It's recognised as a disease...
But then continues...
"This community is for posting pictures of yours or anyone else's progress.
You can also post pictures of any REAL person that you've seen that could be considered thinspiration.
However, we don't want to see celebrities or models.
All pictures must be untouched. No photoshopping, no airbrushing...nothing like that.
Enjoy. ;-)"
So, it's a 'you're only allowed in if you are diseased, but revel in it...'
You'd think at the point where you realise you're disordered you'd want to try and get your way out of being disordered... ick.
Watching this girl look increasingly sickly over time is enough to despair at how messed up people are...
Fortunately it's mostly fools who want to lose weight, but don't have an Eating Disorder, posting, only the occasional one is in the unhealthy underweight range. The rest are likely just idiots for joining a site that encourages eating disorders.
Links: Painted Minitures (and W40k stuff)
It's amasing what people can do with paints. I would love to have minitures like these, but I'd be frightened to use them! They'd have to be locked away on display behind glass :o)
This image alone can prove how much the Eldar rock: Autarque eldar. For those who don't know, the Eldar are Warhammer 40k's version of a 'Space Elf'. If you prefer normal elves there's always minitures like this one: linky
For people who don't like Elves, here is a Space Marine Venreable Dreadnaught of the Ultramarine's chapter: linky. Here's one for the Black Templars: linky
Dreadnaughts are mostly used by Space Marines. When a Space marine is too crippled to fight, he is placed within a Dreadnaught to fight that way, spending most of his time outside of battle in stasis chambers. More can be found throughout the site: Space Wolf, Smiley Legion, Unidentified, and Choas
Eldar Wraithlords (the Eldar equivilent of Dreadnaughts, although powered by the souls of the dead rather than the entombed crippled) are also rather snazzy in a different way: linky, linky, and linky
Some brilliant Tyranid models as well: linky, linky, linky, linky
Here are a few well-painted tomb kings: linky and linky
Space Marien Vs Necron Wraith: linky
Some Imperial Guard Walkers: linky and linky
I want my Necromunda Terrain to look something like this: linky (although I'd probably want more walkways)
On the subject of Necromuna: linky and linky
Some Demons: linky, linky, and linky
Just loads to look at, brilliant :o)
On a different note, some W40k artwork: linky
Oh, and a life-size Space Marine model: linky :oD
Link: Dollface animation
Link: Advice for women on having a happy marriage (read: submissive marriage)
Link: How toast proves the existance of God
Link: Cat Vs Psychotic Turtle
Meme: Top 100 commenters on my journal...
Top Commenters on wight1984's LiveJournal
(Self and anonymous comments excluded from rankings)
1wrenny_bum 108
2dreamfairyhel 107
3lulu_vampyre 97
4elegy_of_flames 87
5angryangeltoo 73
6thepussykat 68
7fraggleonspeed 52
8allysaundre 52
9uv_ragdoll 42
10x_demolition 33
11myke_minstar 33
12genie22 31
13ange1_grace 29
14halluciphy 27
15alienfox 26
16gothicfreakgrrl 26
17bleedingspade 23
18selfishlyme 23
19seeker_of_thule 21
20ophelia_machina 18
21alchemia 18
22mazturbate 17
23lisi_killer 16
24scratchmeharder 15
25azaraphael 14
26lacuna_raze 14
27charon47 14
28spin_guy 13
29black_rainbow_ 13
30jahred13 12
31doctor_leggett 12
32queen_strumpet 11
33_pheonixrising 11
34kruk 11
35sami_x 11
36terajjin 10
37basum 10
38squirmelia 10
39purple_flames 10
40trash_cookie 10
41socktree 9
42littlecyberalex 9
43dizzytat 9
44purified_dreams 9
45creatrixx 8
46girgoescrazy 8
47eldritchreality 8
48machinochrist 8
49iridescent_bean 8
50daven 8
51paul_sticks 7
52deckar 7
53lady_amaranth 7
54saucy_goth 6
55iamnotgemma 6
56xladygodivax 6
57corpsie 6
58fransess 6
59reizar 6
60masterofwalri 6
61jisici 6
62tainted_forever 6
63calanthe_ 6
64lady_anna 5
65panzerwalt 5
66shiftplusone 5
67miss_loop 5
68re_make 5
69adievko 5
70hazejam 4
71ebmgothicgirlie 4
72djbrianuk 4
73mathilde 4
74slarithyn 4
75psychodolly 4
76assisted 4
77chiangdiao 4
78amai_diamond 4
79le_bizarre 4
80sameen 4
81sinmara 4
82oxnardbrian 4
83thelemurgod 4
84ninshubur 4
85nursexcandipops 4
86glowstickdoll 4
87metalshez 3
88scarynic 3
89starwhistle 3
90jacoby_swift 3
91downandup 3
92tsuki_chama 3
93ephoscus 3
94new_art_riot 3
95ain_soph_dei 3
96mudgetheotter 3
97kitano 3
98nihilego 3
99cheetara32 3
100ill_die_today 3
Total Commenters: 197 (97 not shown)
Total Comments: 3098
Report generated 13/05/2007 22:53:59 by scrapdog's LJ Comment Stats Wizard 1.7
Monday was a bank holiday, so I naturally had no lectures to attend. That left me free to stay around thepussykat's and littlecyberalex's the night before (littlecyberalex had taken the liberty of showing me the latest instalment of Dawn of War the night before, which looks brilliant).
Anyway, gave time to lay down plans for going to the cinema to see Pirates, which, after being reminded later in the week, actually led me to book tickets :o) thepussykat doesn't like the idea of Transformers though *shakes head* :o)
Not much going on Tuesday except a Kierkegaard lecture, and not much at all on Wednesday beyond me putting the final touches to my dissertation, which I printed off at my brothers the next day (the printer at mine is being dodgy and not printing to a very high quality), and the day after that I got it bound.
Is looking very good and am pleased with myself. It's a thirty-six page document with a very tidy looking cover page with a clipart picture I altered from this one (I altered it just so it didn't have guest book written on it, but squiggly lines across it all). All very shiny :o)
I was supposed to go to a Philosophy Society talk on the Thursday but that went wrong. I thought I was going to be all organised and be a good final year student by sending a text to one of the freshers (lj user="nematri">) to poke her into getting there et cetera, so at about half nine I sent her a text message reading 'Don't forget to go to the philsoc talk tonight at the Mitre at ten or I'll be a very sad panda'.
It all went terribly wrong when she sent me a text back saying 'It was at eight' :o/
Oh well...
Friday I also got my exam timetable in. MY Kierkegaard exam is on Wednesday 30th of this month, in the afternoon. Then my Imagination and Self-Consciousness exam is on the Saturday 2nd July, in the morning. That's the second time I've had a university exam on a weekend :o/
Anyway, went down Unit 22 that night with Angryangeltoo, which was probably a mistake (although the plan was to meet a friend of Angryangeltoo's or else we would never have gone. Why they cancelled Emanate is a mystery.
They had some loud band in one room, and some very loud and crude metal in the other. Given that no one there seemed interesting in dancing to what they were playing, that meant one dancefloor had a band on it and the other dance floor had no one on it. Given that Emanate was always a rather successful night I can't see its cancellation as anything even nearing a shrewd business decision.
Shalln't be likely to come back in any case.
Naturally, all this led to me and AngryAngeltoo sodding off and making our own way to Dungeon instead, which was much better. Okay, so the music was it's usually 'nothing spectacular' and it was a rather quiet night, but after being in Unit 22 I think anything would have seemed good. At least at Dungeon there was excuse to dance, and when I wasn't dancing my ability to socialise wasn't destroyed by extremely loud yet bad music.
People on her list may have spotted the equally derisive comments on Angryangeltoo's journal: linky
Saturday I was trying to work out what to do and got unprompted invitations to go to both Dungeon and Edge, making me feel unusually popular all of a sudden :o) I ended up down Edge with Thepussykat, littlecyberalex and angryangeltoo. Naturally, being a gay club the music was mostly rather naff, but there was still some opportunity to dance, so was all good and fun :o)
Slept on thepussykat's couch that night and eat soup made by angryangeltoo the next day as well as reading my way through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (hadn't looked at it before really) :o)
Isn't a bad little book, although Hermoine seems a bit weaker as a character (there are strong female characters at least though at least), and Snape seems less respectable as a character (though he's dislikeable either way). The other thing that bothers me is I'm not sure you lose much by just watching the film to be honest. There wasn't much in the book that seemed particularly new in any important way... :o/
Health: My Weight
So I am a bit short (5'6") and eleven stone, which BMI-wise gives me an index of 24.9, which is just shy of medically overweight, but then I've never been sure whether or not to trust that given that the BMI isn't very well respected (seemingly) by people who know what they're talking about. Plus it's still lower than the average male BMI for the UK is (apparently) 25.4, so still below average anyway (if that counts for something). Almost a shame I don't live in America where the average BMI is apparently 28, that way I could feel skinny all the time :oP
Anyway, an entry by mathilde about her body fat ratio got me looking into how to calculate it (didn't know there was an easy way) and I discovered this little nifty site
Using your measurements of a 32 inches waist and weight of 154 pounds your body fat percentage is estimated to be 17.20 % using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, or 16.82 % using the formula developed by the YMCA.
Neither method is as accurate as a water displacement test, but is usually within 1-3% for most people. If you have a very small waist, it will show a low value. On the other hand, if you carry all your extra weight around your middle, you may have an elevated percentage. Please note that having this extra weight in the middle is a high risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The waist to hip ratio calculator can give you more information.
Men are typically lower in body fat percentage, averaging around 23%, with an ideal of about 15%. Highly fit athletes are between 5-10%. Remember these are guidelines; your physician should help you determine the ideal weight and body fat for you.
Suddenly I'm under the impression of being more in a healthy range again :oD
Thoughts: Sony advertising controversy
Sony lately appears to be taking the controversy route of advertising. Somewhat risky, will alienate some segments of their clientele, but also will likely work.
For instance, take this article: linky. In this form of promotion they use animal slaughter rather liberally and unashamedly in a way that will draw criticism from animal rights groups, and sure enough PETA has already stepped up to give them free advertising: linky
Now, take a look at this one:
A rather interesting move.
To my understanding, the are releasing a console in a new colour. This by itself is very boring, and no one cares. Of course, it's the job of advertisers to find some way to make the change interesting, to give it character, and to make us care about it, and they've done that rather well.
Presumably someone somewhere came to think that the colour of the two versions of the console could be represented through the skin colour of people, hence anthropomorphising the consoles. Anthropomorphising consoles is a rather well-used method of course, it's already made rather famous by the Mac Vs PC adverts.
However, they don't normally involve ethnicity like this does. It's obvious that when you have a white woman being very aggressive to a black woman with the slogan 'White is Coming' that people are going to start thinking about racism, which is exactly what the advertisers want. Immediately the characters come to life as it dredges up the entire culture and history of racial tension, and suddenly a simple change in colour of a console is something dramatic, interesting and alive.
I suspect it's going to work well. Real question is, of course, should a company really be using racism in this way to promote it's products?
Similar issues have been explored before of course. The Renault Clio adds uses national rivalry between England and France for instance. Of course, the effect is quite different.
With the consoles the choice is either/or, and thus the black and the white model are posed aggressively. With the Renault Clio car the issue is that it's forged with influences from both nations, and thus we get a petty rivalry between an English man and a French women that is sexually charged in nature. No one worries about this anyway, after all, the French/English rivalry is mostly 'just for fun' anyway, and not usually taken seriously.
Racial tensions aren't 'just for fun' in the same way. It's a serious matter, and hence the controversy. I don't know that the advert will do any harm per se, but it does seem to fall under the catergory of 'bad taste', kind of like using Sept 11 to advertise a product.
Thoughts: Some people are sick... (eating disorders)
And apparently they know it, but don't care.
Take this community: ed_progresspics
The ed stands for 'eating disorder'. It's a site designed for people's progress in their eating disorder.
The community info is quite clear...
"This is a community for anyone with an eating disorder.
This is NOT a place for anyone on a crash diet or any other kind of diet.
An eating disorder is a disease, not a diet."
It's recognised as a disease...
But then continues...
"This community is for posting pictures of yours or anyone else's progress.
You can also post pictures of any REAL person that you've seen that could be considered thinspiration.
However, we don't want to see celebrities or models.
All pictures must be untouched. No photoshopping, no airbrushing...nothing like that.
Enjoy. ;-)"
So, it's a 'you're only allowed in if you are diseased, but revel in it...'
You'd think at the point where you realise you're disordered you'd want to try and get your way out of being disordered... ick.
Watching this girl look increasingly sickly over time is enough to despair at how messed up people are...
Fortunately it's mostly fools who want to lose weight, but don't have an Eating Disorder, posting, only the occasional one is in the unhealthy underweight range. The rest are likely just idiots for joining a site that encourages eating disorders.
Links: Painted Minitures (and W40k stuff)
It's amasing what people can do with paints. I would love to have minitures like these, but I'd be frightened to use them! They'd have to be locked away on display behind glass :o)
This image alone can prove how much the Eldar rock: Autarque eldar. For those who don't know, the Eldar are Warhammer 40k's version of a 'Space Elf'. If you prefer normal elves there's always minitures like this one: linky
For people who don't like Elves, here is a Space Marine Venreable Dreadnaught of the Ultramarine's chapter: linky. Here's one for the Black Templars: linky
Dreadnaughts are mostly used by Space Marines. When a Space marine is too crippled to fight, he is placed within a Dreadnaught to fight that way, spending most of his time outside of battle in stasis chambers. More can be found throughout the site: Space Wolf, Smiley Legion, Unidentified, and Choas
Eldar Wraithlords (the Eldar equivilent of Dreadnaughts, although powered by the souls of the dead rather than the entombed crippled) are also rather snazzy in a different way: linky, linky, and linky
Some brilliant Tyranid models as well: linky, linky, linky, linky
Here are a few well-painted tomb kings: linky and linky
Space Marien Vs Necron Wraith: linky
Some Imperial Guard Walkers: linky and linky
I want my Necromunda Terrain to look something like this: linky (although I'd probably want more walkways)
On the subject of Necromuna: linky and linky
Some Demons: linky, linky, and linky
Just loads to look at, brilliant :o)
On a different note, some W40k artwork: linky
Oh, and a life-size Space Marine model: linky :oD
Link: Dollface animation
Link: Advice for women on having a happy marriage (read: submissive marriage)
Link: How toast proves the existance of God
Link: Cat Vs Psychotic Turtle
Meme: Top 100 commenters on my journal...
Top Commenters on wight1984's LiveJournal
(Self and anonymous comments excluded from rankings)
1wrenny_bum 108
2dreamfairyhel 107
3lulu_vampyre 97
4elegy_of_flames 87
5angryangeltoo 73
6thepussykat 68
7fraggleonspeed 52
8allysaundre 52
9uv_ragdoll 42
10x_demolition 33
11myke_minstar 33
12genie22 31
13ange1_grace 29
14halluciphy 27
15alienfox 26
16gothicfreakgrrl 26
17bleedingspade 23
18selfishlyme 23
19seeker_of_thule 21
20ophelia_machina 18
21alchemia 18
22mazturbate 17
23lisi_killer 16
24scratchmeharder 15
25azaraphael 14
26lacuna_raze 14
27charon47 14
28spin_guy 13
29black_rainbow_ 13
30jahred13 12
31doctor_leggett 12
32queen_strumpet 11
33_pheonixrising 11
34kruk 11
35sami_x 11
36terajjin 10
37basum 10
38squirmelia 10
39purple_flames 10
40trash_cookie 10
41socktree 9
42littlecyberalex 9
43dizzytat 9
44purified_dreams 9
45creatrixx 8
46girgoescrazy 8
47eldritchreality 8
48machinochrist 8
49iridescent_bean 8
50daven 8
51paul_sticks 7
52deckar 7
53lady_amaranth 7
54saucy_goth 6
55iamnotgemma 6
56xladygodivax 6
57corpsie 6
58fransess 6
59reizar 6
60masterofwalri 6
61jisici 6
62tainted_forever 6
63calanthe_ 6
64lady_anna 5
65panzerwalt 5
66shiftplusone 5
67miss_loop 5
68re_make 5
69adievko 5
70hazejam 4
71ebmgothicgirlie 4
72djbrianuk 4
73mathilde 4
74slarithyn 4
75psychodolly 4
76assisted 4
77chiangdiao 4
78amai_diamond 4
79le_bizarre 4
80sameen 4
81sinmara 4
82oxnardbrian 4
83thelemurgod 4
84ninshubur 4
85nursexcandipops 4
86glowstickdoll 4
87metalshez 3
88scarynic 3
89starwhistle 3
90jacoby_swift 3
91downandup 3
92tsuki_chama 3
93ephoscus 3
94new_art_riot 3
95ain_soph_dei 3
96mudgetheotter 3
97kitano 3
98nihilego 3
99cheetara32 3
100ill_die_today 3
Total Commenters: 197 (97 not shown)
Total Comments: 3098
Report generated 13/05/2007 22:53:59 by scrapdog's LJ Comment Stats Wizard 1.7