Let the Sun Shine?

So I write today in light of the recent sun we've been graced with these past few days. It seems fair to say it was somewhat unexpected considering not so long ago we had the long awaited snowfall we'd been expecting since November. In fact the snow came and went so quickly it seems hardly worth mentioning if not for the very English way our country deals with the annual "snow days".

Blind panic! I for one was on a short weekend break in Brighton when I heard the news of the weather warning, resulting in the group of us leaving early in the fear we could be snowed into a Brighton youth hostel for weeks. All of us had warning calls from our parents and respective other halves urging us to leave to avoid the blizzard, and so we all rushed home, didn't look back, and in the nick of time too, as we pulled up with the start of the snowfall already coating the roads. Within minutes campus had turned into a beautiful winter wonderland, and it remained this way for all of an hour before the students all marched out to throw snowballs at each other until the early hours. I wonder at what age the satisfaction of hitting your friend square in the face with a snowball is lost, I hope never.

Thanks to social networking its easy to find the mixed opinions of each person pop up on your phone or computer. Its sad for me as I get older to see more people cursing the snow than thanking it for the days you get off school. Unfortunately this occasion of snow did not merit me off two days of studying at uni (apparently uni isn't like school), but I appreciated the buzz it creates regardless. I was in fact disappointed at the efficiency of clearing the snow, leaving piles of dirty ice around the edges of roads and pathways for days. I would assume now that I have to wait another year for my next dose of snow, but who knows, sometimes it snows in April.

And so now we can consider the beautiful sunshine we were blessed with these past few days. It seems crazy the effect a little sun can have on people even when it wasn't particularly warm. My father and brother braved a pub garden, wrapped up in layers and layers, which seems ridiculous, but they were certainly not alone. I even braved shorts myself in the hope it would be as warm as it looked out the window. We love the sun, or we love what the sun brings, either way I'm struggling with any motivation to stay in and work when outside has so much to offer. So in a way I'm sitting here hoping for the sun to just hold out a little longer, let me get some work done and then feel free to blaze away... but how I do love the sun...

Not cool Glee... Not cool...

So after two weeks of waiting I sat among my friends to watch the newest episode in the "Glee" series. I'll admit that being a "Gleek" is massively uncool, and I once was a hater myself, but I have to admit my hate for American high school series' has been somewhat suppressed by Glee while leaving me with a smile in my face after every episode. Yes, it has enough American cheese to feed all the mice in my neighborhood, but it's got that feel good Disney happiness that I think is lacking from most television nowadays, and so I have no shame in admitting I do love Glee.

This weeks episode "Michael" was, as the name suggests, a Michael Jackson themed week with songs throughout the episode being covers of some of M.J's best work. As a group we had high expectations from the episode, with Glee getting better every season mixed with M.J classics surely nothing could go wrong? Unfortunately we were mistaken, and while my peers may disagree, I was quite frankly disappointed.

Minutes into the show it was clear they were recycling the story of the "rival school" and individuals overcoming the "hardships" they have as teenagers. That mixed with the song-a-minute barrage of music made an almost uncomfortable viewing, with almost too much cheese to bare (even for my friendly neighborhood mice). An uncharacteristic outburst by one character lead to a cover of M.J's 'Scream' leaving the regular viewer confused, made worse by the fact that two other characters are shown to be successful in applications to a college that, considering previous incidents, makes absolutely no sense. It seems the producers focused too much on creating a story out of M.J songs and not enough time focusing on the witty humor and down to earth representations they often manage to subtly create, and as a result created an American teenagers Mama Mia. If that wasn't bad enough Sue Sylvester, the character who often pokes fun at the "terrible tragedies" the teenagers face, was nowhere to be seen, contributing massively to the abysmal story line.

While I'll feel robbed as a Glee fan, and angry that this awful episode does nothing to my cool points should an non Glee watcher decide to view it, I feel the biggest injustice is that of poor Michael Jackson. Is it not bad enough the poor man is no longer with us, that now his songs have been crammed poorly into 45 minutes of teenage angst and emotion? After the Madonna and Lady Gaga episodes working so well, I can only now say I am disappointed that the long awaited M.J special seemed rushed and lacked thought.

My last words: Not cool Glee... not cool...