Uncategorized Archives - Stuffhere Projects

August 10, 2018August 10, 2018

The Power of Oates? Eastenders Next Producer

Yesterday news was confirmed that many EastEnders fans have been hoping for-Kate Oates is to join as the new producer! This is exciting news for fans of the soap who may feel that the BBC’s flagship soap has been lacking these last couple of years in some department or another.

Oates has a big soap reputation behind her, having changed up both Corrie and Emmerdale, making some strong changes, that while not all soap fans may have enjoyed, a lot of her work was met with much acclaim. She was certainly able to create a strong vision for the soaps and stuck to her direction throughout her runs. Kate is known for bringing a bit more of a ‘twist and turns’ feel to Corrie, and far more gritter storylines then the soap is used too. Which was always the style of EastEnders more, but aside from the odd moments here and there, such as the recent stabbing storyline and the excellent funeral of Shaki, the show has departed from and seemed like it was afraid to take as many risks and wanted an overall lighter tone. Could Kate reinstate the show back to its former self?

When a new producer is announced for a soap, a few areas of media usually like to do ’10 things we’d like to see’ type thing’ and as a fan of the show, I thought I’d do one myself, in a YouTube video which I’ll upload shortly. I’ll give a little on my current thoughts on EastEnders too if you are interested!

Kate Oates joins in October, and her storylines will likely largely begin in the new year. So the question many are asking- Is 2019 going to be the year EastEnders gets back on top?

Most importantly is it a year for the show to offer quality, gripping drama acted and told well, with the edge the show was always known for? Can it do this in a way we know the soap is capable of but does not always show it!

Rope at the Queen’s Theatre

Hi all. I am sorry if this post is a little rushed, the Wifi set up in my new flat (Talk Talk) is currently very poor and keeps dropping out completely (phoned to complain as it was slow and they made it even worse!) so I have had to write this in a matter of minutes before I loose the connection again!

Anyway, I went with a good friend to see the new adaptation of Rope at the Queen’s Theatre.

Rope is a 1929 British play by Patrick Hamilton. There is a good chamce you may be familiar with the 1948 Hitchcock film adaptation.

The story follows two well off, young university students Wyndham Brandon (George Kemp) and Charles Granillo (James Sutton) and is set entirely on the first floor of their London house.

The men have murdered a fellow student Ronald Kentley, with no motive, rather as an expression of their believed intellectual superiority. The corspe has been hidden in a locked chest, which is center to the room where they invite friends and family around for drinks and a buffet. The buffet is served on that very chest! Can the two get away with their murder, even with the body in the same room as the guests? And what happens when a guest in particular starts to get suspicious?

I enjoyed this production of Rope directed by Douglas Rintoul. I felt it was tightly mapped out, keeping you guessing untill the end, with enough time spent on character development and plot advancement, for a well balanced unraveling thriller. The lighting helped evoke a film noir style which was very effective. Also the story still managed a nice line in humour too.

The whole cast did a great job from an acting point of view, nicely judged performances in both the more subtle moments and the more tense and dramatic ones, with beliveable chemistry and friction rubbing against the characters. They all played off each other very well. The play also explores interesting moral dynamics.

All in all, this story of a daring cat and mouse game is well worth catching at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch.

January 16, 2018

Is Joanne my Guardian Angel?

The concept of a Guardian Angel is not one I either believe or disbelieve in. Like so many things, I take the open stance on the subject. It is not so much about sitting on the fence, more just that I have not had any experiences that have led me to one side of belief more than the other.

I got on to thinking about this subject, how I get on to thinking about most subjects-a few drinks courtesy of the local. These type of subjects always come up. In fact, sometimes I swear we have the exact same conversation, at the exact same time, on the exact same beer round as last week, yet we act as if we are giving this a thought for the first time. Is it even a pub conversation if a debate with some sort of spiritual question has not kicked off, such as is there a God?

Well this time, as I say, it was the subject of if we have a Gurdian Angel or not. I usually find that in any group, usually there will be at least one person who inf

November 22, 2017November 22, 2017

Become Your True Selfie!

I was confused about a title of a This Morning video in my YouTube feed, today. After watching though, I understood the story, and its an interesting one. It raises some points that are certainty worth giving thought to, in this modern age.

I was trying to work out how you could make yourself more like your selfie, as you are your selfie already, if you see what I mean. But the situation is that the lady being interviewed by Holly and Phil had surgery to make herself look more like her photos with filters.

You know how some apps allow certain facial features to be altered, in this case the nose, and this particular lady had surgery to have her nose more thinned out, like the results of the app. Trying to make herself look more like her edited version became an obsession, causing her to scrimp and save money in order to meet that goal. She had been suffering from what is known as ‘selfie dysmorphia’.

You can see the video here:

Some people may scoff that this is a new condition that has just been invented, and is just really people being a bit vain. But I think that
it is unfair to generalise in that way, and while some people’s obsession and the lengths they will go to for achieving a certain look, sometimes could be down to vanity, its worth remembering that sometimes it could be something more. Like so many issues with how we look on the outside, it is often linked to something going on inside.

It was in the closing words of this video that this lady said something that got me thinking. She was commenting about how some people who are addicted to taking loads of selfies all the time, could actually be doing it due to self esteem issues. And that those obsessed with snapping themselves may be suffering from anxiety issues. The pressure one could put on themselves to look great, ‘perfect’ in every photo can have negative implications.

Perhaps this context could be related to how in the past it was said how people could become obsessed with looking in their mirror constantly and spotting imperfections, and wanting to change them. Now many may be doing this with their mobile phones (something most carry with them even more then a mirror), spotting their so called imperfections in their camera, then adding filters to cover over what they don’t like. But what if one decides they prefer their unnatural filtered self?

Part of the problem can be linked to where these selfies mostly end up: social media. Wanting to always have a ‘perfect’ photo on our profiles and in how streams for our viewers to see. The young lady featured decided to take a break from social media to help combat this. It could certainty be reason to take a break from social media every once in a while.

The key thing that I take from this is how important it is that we learn to love all the great things about our own individual looks, for their are many. We often do not see them mind, because we are to busy trying to ‘fix’ what we do not like.

Filters can be fun and helpful to achieve a certain look in a photo. But they can never improve on the original, real you. When I look at another person’s face, not through any screen, I get to see your best selfie.

November 13, 2017November 13, 2017

Sod’s Law?

Sod’s Law aka Murphy’s Law is a prospect I have always been interested in.

First of all in case you are unfamiliar with the concept, Sod’s Law is the idea that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. Now I will take a guess that you have felt that way at least a few times in life, likely many-I know I have!

I remember first hearing Sod’s Law being used in an expression around my Junior school era. I heard kids commenting that something was Sod’s Law and I think they roughly understood the general meaning of the term, as did I.

Now you could point out that Sod’s Law, like the concept of luck, might be something that actually does not exist. We just relate the concept to our lives but it is all just the way things happened to plan out. If something does meet the Sod’s Law standard it is just a coincidence. Perhaps, the only way it exists is how we have made it in to a thing of such, but there are no higher powers at work, or fate, or anything we can not physically see, that cause it.

And it is a law you definitely can not use as your defence in court (‘Judge, it was Sod’s Law I happen to see him leave his keys in the car……’

Sod’s Law just seems like such an actual thing, by the frequency that something unfolds in that typical way we could see happening. We seem so use to it we often predict it ‘I bet if I buy this item, it will be in next weeks sale……’

There are so many examples of Sod’s Law at work. Sailing through traffic on a day we do not need to get anywhere fast. And of course it will rain if we leave our umbrella at home. Take a look at the below pin for a more deeper example:

My current belief is that like with luck there is no Sod’s Law. I do think that things can so typically play out a certain way it would seem like they are following a pattern, a rule. But I think down to the large chances of certain events happening, there was always a good chance they would turn out that way, there are a lot of factors that would cause that result.

I think we should not let Sod’s Law prevent us from anything. We may anticipate it, but our best form of defence would be to work our way around it as it presents itself. We might not be able to stop so called Sod’s Law, but like with life in general its how we react against the factors that we can choose.

It is however, Sod’s Law that I’ll forget that the next time it occurs, and I would put that down to a certain rule……