Journal – May 2003 – Well Eye Never

Here we go again, with another bundle of journal posts. My time was mainly spent revising for my upcoming exams this month, but there has also been an IQ test on TV, the most recent Bond film, a list of the worst Britons, and our now infamous Eurovision performance that earned the UK “nul points”. So I hope you enjoy!

Thursday May 1, 2003

I’ve got another couple of results now, so here’s the full list so far, with the new ones in bold, plus the exam dates:

Management Accounting:

Essay – 70% (worth 10% so approx. 7% of module mark)
Group project – 69% (worth 10% so approx. 6.9% of module mark)
Exam – To be taken on Wednesday 28th May (worth 80%)

Audit:

Group project – Currently ongoing, presentation next week (worth 20%)
Exam – To be taken on Wednesday 4th June (worth 80%)

Financial Accounting:

Essay – 55% (worth 20% so approx. 11% of module mark)
Exam – To be taken on Monday 9th June (worth 80%)

Taxation:

Essay – 67% (worth 20% so approx. 13.4% of module mark)
Exam – To be taken on Thursday 12th June (worth 80%)

Information Systems:

Essay – 62% (worth 20% so approx. 12.4% of module mark)
Exam – 67% (worth 80% so approx. 53.6% of module mark)
Final module mark – 66%

All in all, not bad so far. Hopefully the exams should go well. I’m confident enough of passing at least (I need 40% minimum to pass on anything).

Local elections are being held today. Now I’m over 18, I can vote. I’ve already voted by post, so I don’t have to worry. No, I’m not telling you who I voted for. A lot of people my dad knows didn’t vote though. That’s a shame, as they’re passing up the opportunity to get a council they want, or even to chuck out one they don’t like and try another!

Monday May 5, 2003

It’s May Bank Holiday, so I get an extra day off. Today’s lessons have been moved to Wednesday, but not until the afternoon, so I don’t have to get up really early until Thursday and Friday.

Last night we had Test The Nation on BBC1, a national IQ test. I got a score of 62 out of 70, and that makes my IQ 130 apparently, which is a great score.

There were lots of statistics during the night. There were a selection of groups in the studio taking the test, out of which mechanics came bottom (average IQ = 92), then body builders (95), musicians (100), blondes (101), celebrities (102), tax inspectors (108) and city traders at the top (111). Blondes were not bottom this year, which they were last time, so they’re dispelling the stereotype, which is good. In the UK, Wales were bottom (103), then England (104), Scotland (105) and Northern Ireland were top (106). The best UK region was the South with 107, and the lowest was the South East with 103. Cardiff was the worst capital city (103), while London had 105, and Edinburgh and Belfast tied with 106.

Those people who were heavier at birth appeared to have higher IQs. If you listen to classical music, you should have a higher IQ, while pop & dance music had the lowest. Rock was in the middle. A strange outcome was salaries – the higher your salary, the lower your IQ. You’d think you would have to be intelligent to earn a higher salary, but perhaps some elements are not so important. As they said on the show though, if you have a high salary then IQ doesn’t matter anyway! Also, those people who drink alcohol have a higher IQ than those who don’t, apparently.

In the celebrity section, Matthew Pinsent was 2nd with 120, and Paula Radcliffe was 1st with 125. And finally, males and females were also compared. The females got 102 and men got 106. We won again, although it doesn’t prove anything. They’re only statistics, and the whole show was just a bit of fun, nothing to be taken too seriously.

Apart from that, having bought the DVD on Friday, I watched the new James Bond film Die Another Day last night. Me and my Dad were both a bit disappointed really. It was a good film, but not one of the best. Pierce Brosnan is a good Bond, but not the best either (Sean Connery was the original and still the best). And John Cleese was great as Q, his interactions with Bond were very funny.

Most of the special effects were good, but some were, as critics stated, a bit ropey. That’s not a problem, but it is true that on the ski slope section, the effects were so obvious and didn’t look realistic enough. The locations didn’t feel right for a Bond film either, perhaps being a bit too unrealistic, and the story felt a bit too far-fetched this time. They seemed to go for a story that relied on special effects rather than being particularly interesting. Plus, what is that theme tune? It’s awful! Madonna’s getting a lot of attention at the moment, but I don’t like her music much. The theme for Die Another Day is the worst Bond theme yet I think.

Overall, it’s a good film for anyone that’s not seen it, and Bond fans will like it on the whole. But it was still lacking something special this time.

Thursday May 8, 2003

We did our group presentations for Auditing today, and they went well. The results will be with us next week. Things are really coming to a close at uni now. One lesson is definitely finished with, meaning I get Tuesdays off as well as Wednesdays, plus 1 lesson in the morning on a Thursday, compared to 3 during the day. Then the week after next most of those stop too, because the exams are getting closer. I also bought Series 6 of Minder on DVD today.

Sunday May 11, 2003

Nan came down yesterday to stay over for the weekend, my Aunt and Uncle brought her down. So she’s going home today. As for me, I’m doing some work this weekend, and the next few weeks at uni will get shorter and shorter, giving me more free time for revision.

Channel 4 did another of their list programmes, as they fill up a few hours in the schedules, and last night it was the 100 Worst Britons. Candidates had to be British, living, and not in jail, which leaves Jeffrey Archer out, otherwise a lot of people would have voted for him I suspect. Here’s the list:

Make of that what you will! I do agree with some of it, but some of them are a bit unfair!

Friday May 16, 2003

All my lectures and tutorials have finished for this year. All I have to do now is revise for the exams. The first is not until the 28th, so I’ve got 12 days.

We’ve also had the results for the Auditing group project we completed last week. The overall mark for the project, which goes towards the overall module mark, was 73%! So that’s great, obviously. I’m also told that for the presentation part itself we got 88%! That’s even better!

Tuesday May 20, 2003

The revision’s still going well. 8 days to go until my first exam. There isn’t really much else happening at the moment, but I thought I’d share an amusing news story.

On the Isle of Wight, many children at one school, especially boys, have been playing up – threatening, vandalising, etc. The new deterrent? An old pink bus! The school got the oldest bus from the local company, removed all the comfortable seats and put in others, removed the heating system and installed CCTV. And they painted it bright pink! Any kids who misbehave then have the choice of walking, hiring a taxi, or travelling on the bus to get home. Most will, therefore, go on the bus (walking is too far and taxis cost money). The pink bus journey does take longer though, on purpose.

And it’s working! The kids bob down below the windows to stop being seen! Plus, if they misbehave on the way to school or on the way home, the driver stops for 5 minutes each time, making the journey home even longer. I think it’s a super idea, and the parents are supportive I believe. It’s helped bring down the problems enormously I gather. Maybe the idea will be adopted elsewhere.

Sunday May 25, 2003

Well, what can I say? In Eurovision last night, Turkey were the champions, with Belgium second and Russia third. And the UK, for the first time ever, came last with 0 points. Yep, nothing, nil. Some are blaming it on a backlash over the Iraq war, which could partly be right, but even if that wasn’t the case we still wouldn’t have done well, as our performance was dismal. They were badly out of tune, out of step and looked very wooden on stage, and it just wasn’t a good song. Sorry Jemini. Luckily, we can’t be eliminated even for coming bottom, because we are one of the big countries who put a lot of money into the contest, so we’re always part of it.

t.A.T.u. were also there, performing for Russia. I’ve never heard a whole song of theirs before, nor seen them much apart from when they’ve been on the news. The impression the media gives of them is big-headed girls who want to be controversial. They refused to rehearse, and promised to be raunchy on stage, although the BBC were ready to cut them out if necessary and show some video of them instead. They needn’t have worried though, as somebody obviously gave them a good talking to before the show. They didn’t do a proper dance routine, and instead just walked around. When one of the two wasn’t singing, the other just walked off towards the back and waited for their go, looking rather fed up. Plus, am I the only one who thinks they can’t sing? They sounded awful! The song wasn’t much anyway, even in terms of the lyrics. I’m astounded as to how they reached 3rd.

It says something about the quality of all the songs, though, that I can’t remember any of them. Not one song stood out. I do remember, though, that I liked the Irish, Icelandic and German songs, even if I can’t actually remember them now.

As for the Austrian entry, what was that about? Rabbits and birds and things? It was such an odd song!

I’m not complaining, really, I know it’s a bit of fun. And the voting hasn’t been fair for a long time, it’s so haphazard. But it’s good for a laugh, and we like to see the funny side of it here in the UK.

Wednesday May 28, 2003

The Management Accounting exam was ok today. It was quite long, and I think I made one or two silly mistakes at the end because of that, but overall I’m happy with it. The next exam is for Audit, and that’s next Wednesday. I bought Series 1-3 of Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em on DVD today too, it’s a very funny sitcom.

Author: Glen

Love London, love a laugh, love life. Visually impaired blogger, culture vulture & accessibility advocate, with aniridia & nystagmus, posting about my experiences & adventures. View all posts by Glen