Desert Island Discs
15th October 2018
A Definitive Ranking of All the (Relevant) Gossip Girl Characters
15th October 2018
Ok, Gossip Girl. Let’s face it, all of the characters are trash. Genuinely awful. The worst. They make countless horrendous decisions, turn against everyone they love, sabotage their best friends in genuinely terrible ways, and we absolutely love it. I can never decide whether I love to hate this show, or hate to love it, but either way, it has been an absolute staple throughout my adolescent years, and I find immense enjoyment in living vicariously through these unrealistically attractive, filthy rich, abhorrent upper east siders. Having watched all 6 seasons front to back (all 85ish glorious hours), near 5 or 6 times, it’s safe to say I have opinions. Here’s a list of all of the characters that actually had some sort of lasting impact on the show (@ all of the random love interests/filler friends that continually cropped up throughout all 121 episodes, you’re canceled), ranking them from genuine garbage to kind of ok. Also, spoilers.
Extreme Rescues: Patisserie Valerie
14th October 2018
Synesthesia and Colour
14th October 2018
It is widely acknowledged that colours have meanings. Green means go, and a teacher’s red handwriting means a wrong answer, to name a few examples found in everyday life. However, red can also signify passion, violence, anger, and love. If a colour can have so many wildly different connotations, surely, they depend on what we have been taught to think about them, as opposed to inherent association.
Muscle Flexing in the South China Sea
12th October 2018
The South China Sea was described by Iain Palot as “the most important waterway in the world” suggesting that due to its problematic claimants it remains “the issue in global politics”. The sea carries tremendous strategic importance, whereby $5 trillion of commodities (approximately 33% of the world’s shipping) flow through the region. Moreover, it contains profitable fisheries that are crucial for the food security of millions in Southeast Asia as well as in global trade, and it is believed that extensive oil and gas reserves lie beneath its seabed. Thus, the sea is contested by a number of superpowers as well as other, smaller countries in the surrounding region.