by Chelsea Geach

by Chelsea Geach

Having always been a fan of Douglas Adams and the quirks of Hitchikers’ Guide to the Galaxy, I was immediately intrigued by a blog entitled “The Number 42 is Purple”. The number 42, to those who have not yet indulged in Adams’ wacky world, is the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything. The colour purple, for those even more alienated from the fundamental truths of our universe, is the patriotic colour of Rhodes University.

This blog goes beyond the demands of assigned articles to express the personality and spunk of the writers. One contributor in particular, Catherine Cunningham, shows a maturity of opinion that is at once refreshing and entertaining.

The standard of writing on this blog is consistently high, with regular flashes of genius. One example is the headline for a story on animal rights: “When did beauty need a beast to be fashionable?” For student journalists, the amount of character and wit woven into the writing is impressive, and makes for a capturing read.

These bloggers have made good use of imagery to accompany their posts, creating a visual as well as intellectual experience for the reader. The clean-cut appearance of the blog is user-friendly, but could be improved with the addition of a few gadgets in the sidebars.

I think this blog has been used as a forum for well-developed opinions and is definitely worth a read.

http://thenumber42ispurple.blogspot.com/

insects are my worst fear, well Ants are even worse. i have decided to spend some time watching and playing with Ants, at first it was scary but eventually i overcame my fear. watching Ants is amazing, they are capable of doing great suff, imagine an Ant carrying a big Insect. i enjoyed being around them and i think watching them is something i will do more oftern from now on.

Entering the lecture I am suffocated by a tension in the atmosphere. The Zoo Major lecture theatre seems to be encapsulating a thousand brainwaves and thoughts. My experiences in this lecture theatre are very different. Having attended English literature lectures in this same venue this year, Zoo Major has become a place where I have been introduced to revolutionary thoughts. It has been a zone which has brought out much of my unfound creativity. Yet, the energy of the lecture theatre now, when walking in on a Mathematics 1 lecture, is very different.

I trod into the lecture, late as usual, looking like a mix match of BA creativity. My daisy imprinted gumboots clomping, my numerous charm bracelets jingling and untamed hair bellowing everywhere. This is obviously the incorrect dress code for so serious a lecture. Feeling the eyes of the resident Maths-goers, I quickly take up a seat. I find myself next to a younger version of Bill Gates. Sensing his confusion (a feeling I expect these young geniuses are not accustomed to) I break the ice with a quick, “Hey, is this the Maths 1 lecture?” He simply replied: “Yes.” Yet, from his facial expressions it was clear that he was still questioning my presence. To put his mind at ease, before the abuse that Pythagoras was about to be release on it, I quickly added that I am a “journ” student here to immerse myself in a foreign environment. A smile came to his face, filled with the delight that he was about to watch a “journo” drown in their complex sea of theories, formulae and numbers.

“Now I’ve put the formula up on the board, so completing this question should be easy” came from the young lecturer, Kate Koch. I looked up from my notepad and found this on the board: V = π _c ∫ ^d (f/y)² - (g(y))² dy

My first reaction was to laugh. Solving this equation looked like an archaeologist’s mission of decoding an ancient script. However, I knew that if I were in their position my reaction probably would have been a more tearful one.

While it took me a few minutes to take down this exotic equation, the students around me were tackling the question as they were the detectives and this was a new exciting case. I could feel a strange enthusiasm as ideas were swopped and an answer was finally found.

After experiencing the intensity of a Mathematics lecture I have a new respect for these people which we stereotype as nerds. Their abilities to think, reason and use these complex formulae to solve what I would deem the unsolvable is remarkable. It would, however, be interesting to chuck one on these “mathletes” into the creative depths of an English literature lecture or even a “journ” immersion exercise. Wouldn’t it be fascinating to see these experts of logic thrown outside their box? Let the faculty swopping begin...

When choosing one of the many first year blogs to review I couldn’t help but be drawn to ‘I know what you wrote last semester’. The title jotted my memory back to the 1997 slasher film ‘I know what you did last summer’ which provided comedians with more than enough material to exploit and was the centre of attention of the first scary movie.
The blog itself can be argued to rival the humour created by the movie. Its writers have the ability of finding the truth in a witty manner that students are sure to appreciate. The point of view from another student is an effective attention grabber and while the blog’s layout leaves much to be desired it must be emphasised that it’s what’s written that counts the most.

Local politics is discussed extensively within the blog, a factor that I’m sure would go down well with Rhodes students given the extent to which it is discussed on campus. Racism also features and given the recent events of Tri Varsity as well as Free State University, it is a relevant area for blog analysis. But again what makes it worth reading is how the writers manage to carry through their humour while dealing with issues that too often command straight faces. For us as students the blog sends a basic message for students to recognise that we shouldn’t always take things seriously.

By: Justin Archer

My residence was on Sunday rattled to find me wandering around the corridors walking backwards. I decided an interesting test to find if I was able to walk in the incorrect direction for an hour and at the end review if I had improved.

While it sure seemed peculiar it definitely wasn’t too difficult to get used to as I grasped the feel for it rather quickly. Obviously it wasn’t to the effect that it became natural to me but well enough for me to compete with any other backward walking citizens, if there are any out there.

If you do decide to try it do be aware. While walking on the flat ground may seem easy, walking down or up stairs is another thing altogether. It is as challenging as tasks could come. I stumbled; I twirled and can’t say I’m in a rush to do it again. Insisting on walking downstairs should be accompanied with an IQ test because it simply is looking for trouble and the hospital will not smile with the beds you take up.

All in all though it was an interesting hour for me and my housemates and I can say I learned a new skill in the end, although a very useless one at that.