How the media push though the Human Trafficking legislation
By David Thomson "They had for the present no object immediately before them, but that by putting stop directly to the carrying of men in British ships to be sold as slaves,” were the words of evangelical christian MP William Wilberforce after his Slave Trade Act won an overwhelming Commons majority in Febuary 1807. It wasn’t until 26 years later that slavery was fully abolished. Slavery was thought to be long gone in the UK until the beginning of 2013...
Two Night Stand – Film/VOD Review
By Clarisse Loughrey @Clarisselou The cultural consensus has been slowly letting the bar drop on rom-coms for years now. In some strange parallel to Two Night Stand’s own recently dumped lead, whose all-consuming sexual frustration leads her to pursue the very first dude who doesn’t reply to her online dating messages with “sup girl?”, the very existence of a rom-com which doesn’t come across as outwardly offensive to our core ideals somehow feels like a cinematic triumph. That is to...
I’m Alright Jack – Blu-ray Review
By Sam Inglis @24FPSUK 24fps.org.uk I never met my great grandfather, he died some years before I was born, but watching I'm Alright Jack I wished I could have seen it or at least discussed it with him, because I'm sure it would have struck a chord with him. In some ways it did with me, but in other ways it has definitely become dated over the 56 years since its release. Set in the early 50's, before Britain had...
The Nightmare Economics of Ayn Rand
By Darragh Roche The term 'job creator' has crept into the political lexicon on both sides of the Atlantic. It sounds harmless, but don't be fooled - it is the quiet vanguard of a political and economic nightmare. Calling Ayn Rand a novelist is generous, calling her a philosopher borders on the ludicrous. But her corpus of regressive ideas has ignited the hard right in the United States. The coming Republican presidential primaries will give deficit hawks and would-be economic...
Interview – Alright The Captain
By Grant Bailey (@GrantDBailey) As I'm sure any successful band will tell you, standing out in your music scene is tough. But with the discerning crowds of instrumental prog fans on the hunt for the latest band to blow their minds it can be even more challenging. Alright The Captain have had no such trouble, hitting their stride with 2011's debut release SNIB and causing a major stir among technical rock fans. Ahead of the release of their highly anticipated second album 'Contact...
Beat the January Blues with #smileforjanuary Viral Campaign
The gloomiest day of the year is here. January 19th marks Blue Monday on the calender, the day when Christmas and New Year seem like distant memories and summer fun seems like a far away dream. But it doesn't all have to be doom and gloom, and if the public get behind a new viral campaign things could be altogether more cheery. Using hashtag #smileforjanuary One Poll CEO John Sewell is encouraging the nation to share their favourite jokes to brighten up the...
Ex Machina – Film Review
By Stephen Mayne @finalreel It seems we are firmly in the season of Alan Turing. But while Benedict Cumberbatch is off picking up awards for his imitation of the man, Alex Garland’s directorial debut is interested in the ideas. Taking the famous Turing test that sets out what a machine has to do to demonstrate consciousness, Garland’s paranoid slice of future phobia is a slick and engaging thriller that can’t quite reach the cerebral heights it shoots for. Garland is...
Turn Blue Monday Red
By Charlotte Hope, Lifestyle Editor @TLE_lifestyle Today, Monday 19th January, is the most depressing day of the year. It’s official. I didn’t get a seat on the tube this morning until 9 stops in, which is unheard of, so I can definitely feel the first wave of ‘it’s going to be a bad day’ permeating my brain. It’s also really bloody cold. This theory goes back to 2005 when a UK based psychologist, Cliff Arnall, calculated that a combination of...
Workers Wait Over 8 Years Before they Become ‘Part of the Furniture’
New research has revealed it takes the average employee a massive eight years and four months before they’re seen as 'part of the furniture' at their place of work. The study found that even though 78 per cent of people believe being called a 'part of the furniture' at work is a good thing, it takes almost a decade on average to achieve it, with employees feeling at home at work when they’ve stuck at the same job for many years,...