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Tuesday 26 February 2013

History of English Result

Feedback was published for my comparison of the trials of Shipman the mass murderer and the Duke of Norfolk, who was accused of high treason. I got 68!! Two marks short of a distinction. He said some really nice things about it but also that my approach was 'like a blunderbuss'. Whatever did he mean?

Well, I know what he meant. I got carried away doing many many analyses with no methodology and no clear research question. I knew this whilst I was writing but did not know how to correct it. I've asked if he will see me so I can work at improvement.

Friday 22 February 2013

Spoiler alert - Skyfall

We are traumatised this week because over two nights we watched the last episode of Silent Witness where Leo died and the Skyfall when M died. But both brilliant!!

Still working on short exercise analysing conversation but no-one has posted an answer yet and its due in on Monday. I'll be the first, as usual. We got some feedback on our last exercise - there seem to be a lot of things none of us understand, which makes me feel better and less inferior. And my book on 'How to do a literature review' arrived. This is an issue which continues to give me a lot of worry.

And I am sleeping well for a change. We changed our 6-year old Tempur mattress for a new one. The old mattress was making me so hot, they should come with a health warning. The new one is natural fibres, which is so comfortable and does not seem to have affected my asthma yet, at least.

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Bellowhead

Last night we went to a Bellowhead concert at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. They are a group of 11 and I would call their music folk-rock. A mixture of traditional songs and their own material. The singer, although good, sometimes can't be heard above the massive sound of the strings, brass and drums. But they are fantastically talented. When they announced they were going to play dance music, I expected the British attitude of 'well, I'll dance if lots of others will'. But, no, lots of people immediately rushed into the aisles and to the front and started random dancing. And lots of them were my age or older. We children of the sixties who are now in our sixties know how to party. We were in the circle so my sister and I just stood up and clapped and jogged about a bit. Eventually TSH stood up because 'he couldn't see anything because of the way the rest of us were behaving'. But he enjoyed it in his understated way (I think!!).

But the band's laptops were stolen during the first half, What an indictment of the Phil's management!!

I am trying to analyse a team conversation from a work context but I am so tired after the late night that its not going well.

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Planning the assignment

The assignment requirements have been posted. 5,000 words required and lots of opportunities to analyse  texts. But I've done that so many times before. So I might tackle a 'multi-modal' text. Something where language, pictures and typography work together. We haven't studied this yet but it will be different and it might stretch me a bit more than some assignments have done.

But the module we were due to start yesterday is still not there.

Saturday 9 February 2013

Its come to a halt

So I've posted the latest task, which is due this weekend. No-one else has posted anything. The session due to start on Monday is not available yet. At this stage in a module I usually know what marked assignment I'll be doing. But that's not available either. I asked the tutor a few days ago about the assignment and she said it would be available on Thursday. Its now Saturday. I could do other things but I know as soon as I immerse myself in another task, the course will pick up and I'll have to drop it.

The purpose of this course for me is to provide a little brain-work most afternoons, with a goal at the end of it. And with an interesting topic. Its ticking some boxes but not all of them just now. And the subject is Critical Discourse analysis, which I expected to be one of the best.

Meanwhile the sales are over and the new clothes aren't in yet so retail therapy is not an option. I tried to read part of Follett's Century trilogy (which is brilliant)  but my Kindle needs charging. I'm part way through 'Winter of the World'.

But I have a fabulous new pedicure - deep purple with a silver sparkle layer. The same as last time but I love it. And I already have a wardrobe full of great clothes (well, more than one wardrobe if I'm honest!).