Anish Kapoor - Royal Academy of Arts

PIA WALTER got there before us, and she got there just in time. So, what's the verdict?

Prepare to feel miniscule, perplexed, and bedazzled! Anish Kapoor’s sculptures at the Royal Academy of the Arts invite you to join a world where space is relative, the colours dumbfounding, and sex is everywhere.

Kapoor is an internationally acclaimed artist and winner of the 1991 Turner Prize. This major solo exhibition, which runs until 11 December, surveys his career to date, showcasing a number of new and previously unseen works.

His pieces are often simple, curved forms, usually monochromatic and brightly coloured. Tall Tree and the Eye, a major new sculpture on display in the Annenberg Courtyard, is a pristine example of this. By creating works which both distort and disorientate, the Bombay born artist intends to challenge our traditional notions of time and space, leaving the spectator to deal with an oddly appealing form of nausea.

Kapoor seems fascinated with sculptures actively participating in their own creation, as seen with Svayambh, meaning self-generated in Sanskrit. This rather macabre piece, which occupies five galleries, consists of a vast block of wax moving slowly along tracks and squeezing itself through the classical doorways of the Royal Academy, leaving behind a viscous red residue.

Svayambh, along with other works such as Shooting into the Corner, a cannon that fires red wax at 20 minute intervals, in a manner which reminds one of a sneeze, makes you wonder how his pieces are dismantled.

There is no doubt that Kapoors work swallows you for magical moments in which you stand in awe, oblivious to your immediate surroundings. This surreal exhibition is truly original and definitely worth visiting. Although a complaint can be found in its briefness, which seems rather disproportionate to the very real £8 (practically student price!) expected at the door.

TRAINS TRAINS TRAINS!

Call me crazy, but sitting in a brand new tube at Oxford Circus station got me so excited I couldn't stop smiling!

So you always seem to question the weekend closures, that extra 15 mins to your journey, but are we really going to benefit after all that scarificing? Causing delays to people's journeys is worth the wait when you'll be getting cleaner, bigger and cooler tubes in return.

Weekend and evening closures can be a right pain, but I have to say Boris ain't such a nob after all ;) I happened to jump on a tube on Tuesday afternoon and as I got on, I couldn't help but stare around like it was my first time on the tube. Brighter lights, new COMFORTABLE seats, and best of all were the wider carriages which gave me enough space to move away from people's unpleasant body odour at the end of the day.

Let's hope we see more of these trains around on more Underground lines. Over populated London is desperate for better public transport and I think we've waiting long enough. More new trains will be running on tracks in the new year and hopefully we'll get a chance to enjoy them more!

Promote Vegetarianism

"Eating meat could become as socially unacceptable within a generation as drink-driving."

A very interesting article I came across the other day. Stop eating meat, cows harm the planet. Confused? So was I.

Apparently climate change experts say that meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. Dietary shifts are needed to halve greenhouse gases caused by methane-producing livestock such as cows. Does this really mean giving up meat altogether?! I personally know some people who would faint after reading this.

Singer and animal rights activist Chrissie Hynde is determind, and called for cruelty-free dairy farming worldwide.

Meat consumption is wasteful of resources including water and land, not to mention secondary issues like the increased medical costs associated with eating a meat-based diet. So would we all be better off giving it up?

There are entire cultures representing millions of people who have lived and thrived for centuries without meat, which is enough evidence that human beings do not "need" meat to satisy their taste buds or to survive. In fact, the evidence weighs heavily in the other direction: The hazards of a meat diet in comparison to the benefits of a vegeterian diet are well known in the medical and scientific community. Health, animal cruelty, and environmental issues could be alleviated if everyone ate a vegeterian diet.

I really do hope i'm not the only one with this view..

What happens next..?

Having an interest in the political crisis taking place in our country at present, I thought it would be a good idea to attend a debate taking place at my university about the upcoming general elections.

City University’s new Head of Journalism, Professor George Brock, who was hosting the event said: “The members of this panel will help to shape what you see and hear about the long election campaign that has just begun. Find out what they know. Find out what they think."

Walking in with an open mind was a positive start. It wasn’t long before the lecture theatre was almost full with under and post grads. The City University Journalism department is huge as it is, so I guess I was expecting some interesting questions being put forward to the panel.

The panel was made up by some of the UK’s most prominent political journalists, including Sam Coates (Chief Political Correspondent, The Times), Steve Richards (Chief Political Commentator, The Independent) and Pippa Crerar (Political Correspondent, Evening Standard), to debate the runners and riders in the general election race.

It started off pretty boring with Pippa Crerar so far away from the mike, you could hardly hear her. Then Steve Richards came to the mike and lit up the whole lecture theatre. His loud voice and strong views made a lot of the audience nod to his points. He came up with some plausible suggestions towards the Labour and Conservative party which stirred up some views from the audience. Concluding with Sam Coates and his ideas, a prediction was made of the election results by each panellist.

Some of their predictions made sense and in reality, could actually happen. But as far as I’m aware, political outcomes are always doubtful to the very end.

Many people came up with different points, such as why has The Sun made its decision to openly support the Tories during campaign? Has blogging changed political journalism? And has the MP’s expenses scandal really messed stuff for the outcome of these elections? All questions which may seem easy to answer, but difficult to understand what’s really behind it.

Overall I think the debate went well. It broadened my knowledge of the elections and what could actually happen. But I think I’m left with the question “What do the Tories actually stand for?” We seem to be wanting a way out from Labour, but a way in with the Tories may not necessarily be the answer...Hmm!

Charitable Causes - Get Involved.

It is a popular saying that: “To the world you are just one person. But to one person, you could be the world.”

Despite what we may often think, we are in an incredibly fortunate position. Studying at university is out of reach for so many people our age, yet still a major part of their dreams. With a little help and support however, we have the ability to make those dreams come true.

There are a wide range of charitable causes for students to get involved with to help make a difference, you just need a little direction. Here are three simple ways of supporting children’s charities, and making a difference:

Shopping – Helping Handbags was set up by Melora Johnson, a Londoner, after reading an article about a disabled children’s home in Bulgaria where the children, aged from just a few months to 18 years, were brutally neglected. Her idea was to design a handbag and sell it online, with all proceeds going to the Baba programme run by Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children Trust. The Tabitha, £150, comes in caramel, purple and metallic, and is available at www.helpinghandbags.co.uk

Mentoring – Kids Co. Mentoring was established by the Kids Company charity, based in London. The innovative and flexible mentoring programme is ideal for students, as it involves just one weekly meeting with your allocated mentee, at a time and place of your choice. This can be an exceptionally rewarding experience as you work with young people to help them achieve their goals, build confidence and self esteem, and reach their potential. Often with so many young people all that’s missing is that little bit of hope, which you can give them. More information on training and enrolment into the Kids Co. Mentoring programme is available at www.kidsco.org.uk/mentor

Partying –Trekstock was founded by Sophie Epstone in 2006 to raise awareness about the Teenage Cancer Trust. Parties, gigs and events are held for Trekstock, and all proceeds are donated to the Trust. People of all ages suffer from cancer, but the Teenage Cancer Trust specializes in young people, alike you and I, who are in need. Organising an event for Trekstock could lead to anything from a breakthrough in research to a simple smile for a patient. Either is entirely worth it. For information on how to get involved, visit: http://www.trekstock.com/

Actively becoming involved with charity work will not only benefit the children on the receiving end of your efforts, but will also enhance your own CV, especially causes like Kids Co. Mentoring and Trekstock. It is vital for the future of the children who depend on such causes for people like us to apply ourselves and get involved, so be it a donation to the Ronald McDonald House Charity, or a bracket of time for an organised cause, it’s important we make the effort. If we don't do something ourselves, then we cannot expect a change.

Visit http://www.leapanywhere.co.uk/ to learn about new and exciting ways of helping others. To these kids, one person could make all the difference. That one person could be you.

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This moment will never be forgotten.

Michael Jackson. King of Pop. A LEGEND. R.I.P

For me and for all of us, hearing of Michael Jackson’s sudden death was a complete shocker. When I got a text from my mate, my initial thoughts were ‘HE’S LYING’. Switching to Sky News only confirmed what probably everyone was hoping not to be true.

His music will live on forever, for generations to come and appreciate his work. No matter what people say about him, he was one of a kind. We should at least give him the respect that he deserves now that he’s gone, which we didn’t really give to him while he was alive. He was the best best bestest! He gave us tunes that we'll remember and sing along to forever!

We all loved him, his music and just MJ himself.. And probably always will.

Rest in peace Michael.. x

House of Frauds - Where's the TRUST?!

I'm sure everyone's familiar with the expenses scandal taking over our news recently. What I don't quite understand is why a general election is being called for by a lot of people, when really and truly, it won't change anything. New MP's, Conservative government blah blah, what's the guarantee that they won't do the same?

Blame the system or whatever you want to call it, the situation remains the same. MP's using tax payers money for personal use, who the hell signed their cheques in the first place?! What's the future for Labour? Is Gordon Brown apologizing enough to convince the public? Someone help me answer this before 5th June, please?

Just another day.

When you ain't got a j-o-b, the only thing you can do is chill or look for one. So this time i decided to chill.

When there's no tv in the apartment what do you do?

Streets of Rage never loses touch. Megadrive or no megadrive.

Roll>Light>Smoke.

more soon.

*BARCA BARCA BARCELONA* {part-3}

Sorry for being so slow on the posts, it takes time for everything to come back to me haha.

DAY 3 + 4: After complete mayhem the night before, Nani and I realised we needed some urgent sleep catching to do. The weather was looking a little shakey the next day so we settled with waking up late and just having a stroll around the center and grab lunch. We had the Barcelona book which gave us a list of all the quality places to eat but they were always so busy and unbelievably popular. Well I guess they would be if they were listed as the top ten! It was nice for us to search for a backstreet restaurant :)

It started raining slightly that day so we were getting stopped every 2 mins by random people selling us umbrellas for 2 euros LOL. Anyway, so we saw this nice pizza place and immediately went for it because we were starrrrvin'. Foodies was BOOMTINGS that day, simply because we were hungreh!

Rest of the day was sweet, found some new shops which made us smile. Kept eating random shiz the whole day and felt mega fat in the end. We got back to the hotel quite early and dodged the last bit of rain but it cleared up in the end!

That night was awesome too, went back to travel bar and met the most cooolest people. Troy, Ben and Tom! :) Walked around the city at night and ended up at the

beach again.. Beautiful <3

Barcelona is one of the most beautifulest cities you'll ever see. I'd definitely recommend everyone to go at least once in their life and explore the lovely streets of Barca! And if you're anything like Nandini and I, you'll wanna move there! ;)