What is David Cameron doing?

What is David Cameron doing?  Or should I say, David "Webcameron"?

The leader of the conservative party recently launched a blog cheesily named Webcameron.  It appears this is what he believes will get through to disaffected members of the public who don't know who to vote for or don't care enough to vote.  The blog is peppered, even in its first days, with short clips of Dave talking, washing up, talking, feeding his kids, and talking.  I have watched the videos and I must congratulate Dave on appearing as normal as he can whilst avoiding the statesman image.
He clearly wants to be everyone's mate.  But is this a good thing?

I personally think its a cynical marketing ploy by the conservative party and I find Dave, despite his obvious warmth and good-humour, simpering and irritating.  Just watching the clip of him at the sink for a second time, and you can sense the loose scripting and staging that went into this scene.  Why is he introducing Webcameron whilst washing up?  To appear as normal as possible, I am sure, and yet this just removes him further from the people he wants to vote for him.  He is trying, so desparately hard, to look like a dad, a pal, and a funny-guy, but in trying, all he achieves is a simulation of these aspects he believes he has.  Of course, he is a dad, and he probably does have some friends, and maybe some times people laugh at his jokes instead of his ridiculous forehead, but first and foremost, in the eyes of the British public, he is the leader of the conservative party.  This blog thing he is trying, quaint and quasi-democratic as it is, can't work, at least not in its current form.  I don't want to watch Dave taking a shit whilst absent mindedly chatting about nuclear power or masturbating furiously whilst harping on about the days under Thatcher.

Politicians aren't normal, and simulating normality whilst preaching your policies is nauseating.  I don't want to be patronised but instead want our politicians challenged in open forums about their policies and views.  Blogs, as we all know, are inherently biased due to the intent behind their existence.  Dave's blog is a vote making machine and little more, so try not to get roped in by this modern twist on a tired and cynical theme.

I won't be happy until I have seen him mime along to the theme to Titanic on Youtube, all done up like Celine Dion, forehead glistening, then he'll get my vote.

easier to make mistakes

Student Doctors.

That is how me and my fellow medics, or should I say, my colleagues and I, are known now.  We have also been described as young professionals!

The day we were told this was probably the start of the rest of my life, a watershed moment if you will, where it suddenly dawned on me what is actually going to be involved in this career known as Medicine.

Before long, the enagaging and capable staff at Hope Hospital were detailing our new responsibilities as Student Doctors.  We are supposed to know stuff now, and will soon be moving about the wards taking histories, performing physical examinations and generally getting in everyone's way in order to advance our career.

I guess, in some ways, I was getting a little anxious about this, being treated like actual Doctors and all, so in some ways it was a relief to see that, at Hope at least, the 3rd year medics' NHS badges state that we are Medical Students.  It will be easier to make mistakes and learn from them with a badge that says Medical Student; I think people expect great things when they see the word Doctor on your person.

As cool as it would have been to have an ID that said Student Doctor, I feel like I have space to learn.  My clinical experience at the moment is essentially nil, so it would be very presumptuous and highly inaccurate to describe myself as any sort of doctor.  That said however, before long I will be doing a lot of what junior doctors do, albeit poorly and with massive inexperience, but taking histories, drawing blood, suturing wounds, and examining patients all the same.  It is going to be a rollercoaster of a life experience, and if the last week is anything to go by, I am going to be a very busy and very tired young chap indeed, but it's gonna taste great!

Expect a little more on this ride of mine as time goes by.  Confidentiality is going to make it hard to give you all the gory details, but I shall use my discretion and artistic license.

Essentially fatigued but utterly happy, I bid you all adieu.

downtempo spy electronica

I love iTunes and the fact that it introduced me to a world of radio I didn't even know existed.

During a random browse with a few brief clicks here and there, I was listening to radioioJam in mere moments. I kept on listening for about three days! What a fantastic mix of music I could really appreciate.

Being a guitarist, I am a bit of a jazz head and I love the blues, so I am always looking for music that contains these musical essentials. RadioioJam had it all, and a little bit more besides. I will certainly keep dipping into this station via iTunes "eclectic" radio section.


A few more clicks brought me more recently to SomaFM and their Secret Agent stream.

"The soundtrack for your stylish, mysterious, dangerous life. For Spies and PIs too!"

Since danger is never far away in my sleuthy life, I was quick to ensure a soundtrack accompanied my every moment, and even now, sexy, "downtempo spy electronica" backs this message that I type, in a way James Bond would be proud of.

With that I shall leave you all to explore the gold mine that is iTunes' streaming radio listings. Don't go below 128kbps if you want a pleasant, almost cd-quality experience.

I am off to find a beautiful woman, get her deeply involved in a russian/cuban/japanese drug plot I am trying to unravel, rescue her from the bad guys, before inevitably being unable to save her from her subsequent death, meanwhile my mission is a success and I will still be alive despite having been shot in the shoulder and fallen off a cliff in a burning music festival tent, living to go on yet another that will inevitably involve less convincing characters, larger, ever more bizarre set pieces, and a world I would only perceive mostly as green screen.

engage in solo activities

Spotted this More4 news blog about "How to cover a Wank-a-thon tastefully".  It brought a smile to my face so I have dutifully linked to it here.  Sorry I haven't updated as regularly as before, but I promised I would only post the interesting whilst avoiding general mundane meanderings.

I think it is great that Channel for have decided to have a "Wank Week".  People need to lose their hang-ups about this activity and celebrate their bodies and sexuality.  90% of people masturbate, and the rest are just lying (not a real statistic, but there has to be some truth to it).  I bet even Mormons masturbate, or at least engage in solo activities that involve some kind of... "release", that they choose not to call masturbation.  If people can seriously get by without wanking, they have the greatest of willpowers or a broken sex box.

Enjoy Wank Week safely, if its still on, and if not, make every week Wank Week.

I bid you adieu.

Chris Cornell and Casino Royale

Was randomly browsing MSN news and spotted this little gem of trivia:

"Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell is to record the theme tune to new Bond film Casino Royale"

This excites me as I am a fan of Chris's current band Audioslave and certainly do not mind hearing the odd Soundgarden track.

Since Tomorrow Never Dies, in my opinion, the Bond films have been poor, really poor. I am led to believe Casino Royale will try to correct this by being a film that is actually good, and to be honest, a change of frontman was probably the best decision the guys behind Bond could have made as well as getting rid of the directing bloke responsible for XXX and The Fast and the Furious (and in my opinion the downfall of Bond films).

A change of director, a change of style, and now news that there will even be a change of sorts in the music department; a male has not sung the title track of a Bond film since A'ha way back in 1987! This is just more good news in my opinion. Chris Cornell's voice is great. It is grungy and driving without grating and so the new title track of the film titled You Know My Name should be a success.

Fingers crossed for a long-awaited good Bond film.

the proverbial disability egg

Disability?

This word pops up everywhere, and its context always seems to alter. What is a disabled person? What do they look like?

Apparently, as an article in an issue of the Guardian's g2 said a week or so ago, Pete from Big Brother is disabled. Sounds terrible doesn't it. Poor Pete.

If you have never seen this years Big Brother and have no idea who Pete is, when an article describes him as disabled, you would be forgiven for thinking he was blind, or wheelchair-bound, or afflicted with a terrible mental condition. These are the things the word disability conjures up for your average joe. If you thought, having never seen Pete, that he may be affected by the latter disability, you would in fact be correct, as he has Tourette's syndrome.

"So he swear's all the time, alienating those around him, to be doomed to life a solitary cursing?" I hear you enquire.

Well no, not exactly.

Pete is warm and lovable, with his only cursing tick being a mild "Wankers!" or "Wank!". His other ticks just seem very endearing; whistles, pops, meaows, dances, wild Jim Carrey-esque facial expressions. You can't help but like him. Sometimes you may even feel you wouldn't mind having that kind of energy, that kind of "disability".

When the article described Pete as disabled, being an on-off watcher of BB, and a fan of Pete's, I was inclined to disagree with the use of this adjective. This was because, due to my extensive and specialist medical training <wink>, I knew a little about disability. Let us look at the World Health Organisation's three-fold distinction between impairment, disability and handicap:

"An impairment is any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function; a disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being; a handicap is a disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from an impairment or a disability, that prevents the fulfilment of a role that is considered normal (depending on age, sex and social and cultural factors) for that individual."

The article celebrated the fact that reality TV could help society come to terms with how to cope with disability. I would argue however that this is not quite what should be celebrated. This reality TV show, has, in some respects, assisted with society's ability to cope with impairment. I do not believe Pete would describe himself as disabled, and according to the WHO's definition, he probably isn't. His impairment gives him a great energy to be himself - he has no difficulty performing "an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being". Moreover, I do not believe it is society's place to determine who is and who isn't disabled. It can find the medical reasons for impairment and take that as it is, but it is up to the affected individual to decide whether that impairment is a disabling feature of themselves or not. They are the one's who get to say if they have a disability.

The article should celebrate the fact that society has been shown a very positive way of coping with an impairment, to such a degree that Pete will probably never need to ask himself the question "Am I disabled?".

I must also assert that Big Brother will not have cracked the proverbial disability egg, until they get someone in one of the future houses who has a real handicap. I am talking a blind, deaf or mute housemate, or a housemate with no legs, or a one with extensive cognitive impairment (but obviously someone who it would be safe to put on the show) . If this programme could do this, without creating a freak show, perhaps it will not have been such a vacuous decade of reality TV after all and society might wholly benefit from an education in what is to be human.

It is certainly a pipe-dream, but BB has done everything else; homosexuals, bisexuals, transsexuals, erm... wait, maybe it hasn't done everything else, but a real handicap (and a non-sexual one at that, please), if done correctly, couldn't be a bad thing.

Pete to win.

Shoot the rest.

Except Imogen, she's hot!

reluctant to seem too eager

Typical!

I have been weighing up whether or not its worth getting a job for the rest of this summer. An opportunity that seemed worth it did appear in my student webmail; £75 an hour, 4 weeks with flexible hours, and a bonus at the end (thats £1500+!). It sounded like a pretty easy job too where I would just sit at a computer manipulating images of a medical nature in some way. I was reluctant to seem to eager right away due to a potential trip to Canada on the cards, so I sent an email asking for details as it was a Saturday and no one was answering the phone number I was given.

After a phone call, it turns out I missed a deadline of sorts that was on the Thursday of last week, the day I read the email!

The job, of course, was just as sweet sounding to about 70 other people so the organisers decided to only send application forms to those who had requested them before Thursday.

So I have gone from weighing up whether to earn quite a decent amount of cash working for the final 4 weeks of summer or to have no cash at the start of the academic year by flying to Canada for a week to potentially having the possibility that neither will occur. The optimistic side of me still believes that both are a possibility however, despite the fact that both are receding away from me at tremendous pace.

I have sent a pleading but polite email to the head honcho at this job opportunity in Manchester requesting that he send out just one more application form to little ol' me. They need me, dammit! Meanwhile, I am keeping my fingers crossed that my chum in Canada can get the necessary time off work to allow me to fly over.

If neither of these things happen, I shall wear my sad face, whilst refusing to ask for my delivery job at Domino's Pizza back, and I shall enter the beginning of the third year at Medical school with a normal amount of debt and reasonable amount of cash. That's just boring!

over 3000 lithium ion batteries

Before I finally make my way to bed after this mammoth web browsing session, I just had to share this beautiful nugget of information with you.

Imagine a car that looks great, is fast, and has a great fuel economy.  Imagine this car doesn't run on petrol.  Imagine a car that runs on over 3000 lithium ion batteries like the ones in your laptop or mobile phone.

Well, apparently, you need not imagine it at all since it is actually a reality.

Tesla Motors are about to go into mass production with their Tesla Roadster.  It sounds like an amazing piece of kit and also like the sort of electric vehicle lots of people would buy.  To be green and fast is the dream and it looks like its here.

I can't wait for say, 10 years time, when these guys may have rolled out saloons and hatchbacks that we can all afford.  Lets hope this type of vehicle catches on as it would mean a fundemental change to overall carbon dioxide emmisions as well as leaving no one with an excuse to own a gas-guzzling SUV, the swines!

more precisely, not right-wing

In George Galloway's post on the Guardian run discussion place comment is free, "Time to boycott the Standard?", he criticises the use of the headline "The Human Sandbags" which was accompanied with a picture of a man carrying a dead Lebanese child. Galloway is angry because the implication is that this dead child is one of the "human sandbags". I cannot see any other intention by the Evening Standard beyond this implication and share Galloway's contempt of the newspaper.

Before I continue, please understand that I am not a fan of Georgie boy, he is a fine speaker, its just I find myself disagreeing with the bullshit however eloquent it may sound.

A commentator of the article said it better than I could:

"Whatever you think of Galloway, that headline was a piece of shit. It wouldn't have even made the Mail, it's that shit. The Express would rather have gone with 'Hezbollah link to Diana death', that's how utterly shit it was."

Check out the full comment here.

Once I had stopped laughing I started thinking about beginning this blog. I loved this mixture of comments this little article churned up. There was a lot more than just Evening Standard knocking in this debate. People had a go at Georgie boy, whilst others defended him, meanwhile the general discussion expands to varying sentiments about much wider issues.

I couldn't find my footing, just like I couldn't find it whilst reading another chain of debate earlier today. "Remember how this began" is an article by an Israeli named Benjamin Pogrund. It piqued my interest as the news had generally seemed highly critical of Israel's response to the rockets and kidnappings. Benjamin sought to defend Israel somewhat by creating a debate about where it all started. But when did it all start? Everyone had an answer, and no one seemed incorrect, despite disagreements.

It was in these follow-up comments that my feet began to slip. The article had attracted all kinds of people with differing political leanings and allegiances. It was fascinating, albeit, unhelpful in my quest to find out where I am politically.

The Guardian, is considered by most to be a left-wing newspaper. It is my newspaper of choice, one which I have read now for about 3 years. I chose to read it because I consider myself left-wing, or, more precisely, not right-wing. Despite my temporal left-wing status, I find George Galloway's lefty rantings non-sensical and ultimately unhelpful and can often find myself at odds with fellow left-wingers. Take the invasion of Iraq, for example. Before the war, I was willing to accept the governments WMD arguement, as well as the need to remove Hussein. The Liberal Democrats were staunchly against the war, and left-wingers descended on London in the Stop the War marches. With hindsight, I guess I feel the invasion was unwise, and yet I cannot help but note the hope Iraq now has, despite the insurgency, to be a free, democratic country.

But free, democratic countries don't put me at ease. Most of them seem to have nuclear weapons and powerful armies. The country that prides itself most on freedom and democracy is one of the biggest aggressors of this century. Imagine having the USA as your enemy. I cannot think of anything more terrifying. So many nuclear weapons, and so angry with the world, it really doesn't bare thinking about.

That said however, I am in a country who is a strong ally of America, and Britain, in turn, is a member of the European Union, which comprises 25 free and democratic countries. This future the West wants, where all countries are free and democratic is a future I would embrace. I do not believe however that we can hypocritcally force it on others.

I really am going off at a tangent here. There is no way I will be able to get a hold on how I feel about the global situation. All I know right now is that I hate what Hezbollah has done/is doing and I hate the Israeli response to it. I hate the fact that it is impossible to trace where this began exactly and the lives that will be lost because of this. I hate that I can't pick a side when that is what I set out to do. Everyone just seems wrong.

And you know what I really hate? The fact that Mr Galloway can use a comment forum to shallowly promote his radio show. I know he had a point, but this man really can't stop advertising himself; just see if you can watch his unsettling cat impression one more time without feeling the insatiable desire to show him some real respect by kicking him up the arse.

stimulated by something

Blogging has been calling me for some time but I have never felt I had it in me to blog about anything. I mean, who cares what I think?

Well, there is only one way to find out. So here is "Mind Camp" and my intentions are simple. Whenever my curiosity is stimulated by something, anything, then that thing will find its way here in some form or other. Expect comment on current events, a little amateur philosophy, nuggets of trivia from the life of a medical student, and a journey to find my political, moral, and emotional standing within an ever changing and increasingly complex world.

Has anyone brought any marshmellows?