The Hair and Other Things

I can't sleep so blogging is what I will do.

Ok, just so you know I probably won't be cutting my hair on Friday. I have a few job interviews coming up in the next week or so and I don't want to look like a skin head as a first impression. However hair will be shaved off, but roughly one month from now when I am Seattle with the lovely Kristina. She will be doing the cutting and the video will be uploaded to fiveawesomegirls. So we still have a good month of hair left and more time to promote and to raise more money. I havn't spoken to the other guys about this yet (ie Alex and Charlie) but I hope it is ok and they will understand.

There will be a video uploaded to RWO on Friday explaining all this. I hope people won't think I am a cop out, to be fair I am still going to do it.

I uploaded a video earlier this evening about the trip to Poole with the RNLI and other YouTubers and then realised I didn't explain the situation (ie the mystery packages, who the eff the RNLI are etc) so I had to add in an annotation and explain myself in the side bar. I hate annotations.

Most people in the comments so far seem to be more preocupied about my hair coming off, so muh.

Here is the video in question:



Regardless I really like how this video turned out, some of my better editing skills coming through... didn't even know I had any so yay for me.

I have also just now finished a collab I have been working on for over a month and a half with the gnooze, davisfleetwood and the resident. I am probably going to upload this to RWO on Sunday, but I want to get their approval first so it may be later.

No videos for ages then I decide to make 3 in one week. Overcompensation? I think I need to give myself a rota again.

*love&hugs*
Jaz

I'm worried

I'm worried I have lost my chance to get the third series of my radio show.

I'm worried I have let my Chinese slip far too much over the summer.

I'm worried I am letting YouTube slip (nearly three weeks without a video is kinda hard core).

I'm worried this teaching English malarkey is going to fall flat on it's face.

I'm worried I'm not going to be able to focus enough this year to get any work done.

I'm worried about my group of friends and the cohesiveness there of.

I'm worried I'm not getting involved enough in extra stuff at Uni.

I'm worried I'm worrying too much about this whole thing.

For some reason the second year is so much harder than the first.

Quit whining Jazza, be a man.

I promis I will not post on here again untill I am up beat and loving life.

- Jaz

Real Life

I am scared that I am taking on too much stuff this year. What with teaching and learning three language at once and other things that I don't think I can tell you about as of yet.

In other news I really want to go to Charlie's for his birthday and shave my hair off but am scared I can't cuz I have lectures the next day and I am poor.

At least the fangirls will be happy that the mop won't get the chop.

oh, that rhymes ^_^

This video is cute:



I wish I could focus on stuff.

*luv&hugz*

Jaz

Papering over the Proverbial Cracks

This blog was intended for MyBoxx but the account doesn't seem to exist any more... so I am posting it here:

Over the past week the Labour Party has put on a remarkable show of cohesion, especially seeing as it was not so long ago that the papers were showing polls in the most popular MP to take over from Good-old-Gordon (the run away leader in that particular survey was the over-smiley David Miliband with something like 42%)

However, now all the paid for speeches, fringe meetings and free lunches have been inhaled by the over pampered journalists and politicians, we all love Gordon again because he acted on HBOS and wants more poor families to have Internet access. And I must say; my love/ hate relationship with him is warming yet again... What can I say? I am very susceptible to spin.

Although I genuinely believe Mr Brown is the right person to be leading the country (at least at the moment, ask me again tomorrow) what I fear we have seen here is a papering over of the cracks of dis-contempt in Labour and one big 'We are all fine' smile for the conference that can only be compared to a dysfunctional family on the day of the family photograph.

The thing is, papering over the cracks doesn't last long, and I am doubtful that Labour will be able to survive the next 18 months before the forthcoming general election without at least one more wave of rebellion. We have of course already seen scandal one day after Gordon's speech with the resignation of one of his senior ministers, Ruth Kelly, apparently for personal reasons.

What I will say for the party is that they have countered the criticism, responded to crisis (HBOS) and scraped together what solidarity they could muster for the conference, unlike the Tories who seem to have just stuck their heads in the sand and waited for Gordon to fuck up, which he hasn't, so it will be interesting to see what ammunition David Cameron can come up with for the Conservative Party Conference on the 28th.

It ain't over 'till the Toff-Tories sing.

I bid you fare well.

Jazza.

Fresher(')s Week

OH GOOD GOD I HATE NOT BEING ABLE TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET!!!

For those of you that don't know my laptop is off being repaired because I sat on it when I was in Barcelona. Yes I am that much of a spaz.
It comes back tomorrow (hopefully) and I have been surviving by mooching off of computer clusters and the Internet capabilities of many of my lovely friends (thank you all).

This has meant no videos, no blogs, and only limited IM and Facebook which, as well as metaphorically kicking me in the balls in terms of my social life, has ruffled the feathers of many good friends I have online.

Don't worry - I haven't been avoiding you, technology just hates me.

So I have moved up to Uni(versity) in the sunny city of Manchester and am currently in Fresher's Week (is that meant to have an apostrophe? I should probably know seeing as I am meant to be teaching English next week, ARGH!) and quite honestly I had forgotten how much I hated it.

I am generally not a very good example of a stereotypical student in that I have a vague idea of what I want to do with my life, I don't drink and won't go anywhere near a cuppa-soup. In terms of going out I will be quite happy to go out dancing with a few mates, but for God's sake can we please do something other than shuffling around in a club like a pack of sweaty sardines every weekend? I would much rather spend a fiver going to the movies or cooking a meal or going to a gig (ok, a gig will more often than not be more than a fiver... as will a meal but you get my drift) than spending £20 for tickets to a club where they squirt watered down vodka at your face. I wear contact lenses! What if it gets in my eye?!

The point of it is that Fresher(')s week is the epitome of everything I can't stand about student life. Mob mentality, alcohol and so many fliers shoved in your face that you wonder how many rain forests have perished just so you can know about the wonders of '90's Roller Disco on Saturday nights at Pure!' on glossy paper.

Am I old, tired and grumpy?

Yes I am.

Jaz

emo-politics

I really want to start using this more, to be able to use this as a way to express myself etc. There are people like Alex who will update their blog automatically, it's second nature to them. For me this is still very forced, my first medium has always been video making and I guess in my head this feels like a backward step, but I think it is important for me to learn how to get my thoughts down on the proverbial paper, rather than just being able to speak about.

I am going to tell you a little story;

It is fair to say that my politics tends to land left of centre, which some people will argue means that I enjoy having money taken away from me and spent on things that will not benefit me in any way... and they are more or less right.

My family however is very right wing. They are pretty much all conservative, and with me as the only socialist at the table it makes for... let's say, 'heated' debate at family get-togethers. It will often start with my Grandad asking something along the lines of:

"So, Jazza. What do you think of so and so that has been happening in the political scene"

And as a subject matter that I see myself as very clued up on (current affairs) a comment like this is a life line for me in the midst of deep conversation about how many bogey they got on the new golf course in Chelmsford and their profound thoughts into the future of English cricket (snoooooooore). Understandably, I nearly always take the bait.

Now, those of you that watch me on YouTube will know I am quite good at putting my point across, in my videos and in real life conversation I am quite good at sounding knowledgeable about 'current affairs'.

However, when that moment comes, my Grandad throws me the barbed hook and I step up to the plate in an atmosphere of great drama akin to cross between Mastermind and Gladiator

I choke.

For some reason, when faced with my Grandfather's very strong opinions, all of a sudden my opinion is void. I feel like my view doesn't equate to anything and the best retort to one of his epic speeches, that will sometimes last more than ten minutes, will be something along the lines of:

"... I'm not sure I agree with you."

I am unable to articulate, as I would normally be able to in normal conversation. And the worst thing is I begin to question my own values and ethics when faced against him and his views...

I used to hate politics, and this is why:

I didn't believe that it was possible to define yourself as either right or left, Conservative or Labour, Republican or Democrat. And I thought I had finally found my niche in the centre left. But the more I have to try and prove my chosen position in the political spectrum, the more I find myself shooting blanks, and unable to back up my own views. I identify with the left I really do, but there are parts of the right that I completely empathise with as well.

Am I going to have to try and find my niche all over again? Or am I destined to just float around in politics, not sure which side of the fence to jump in to.

I think this entry could be defined as emo-politics.

Jaz

The most inspirational video I have ever seen

This woman is my hero



Check out Marta and The Gnooze crew at the following places:

gnooze.com

YouTube