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Movies

2020 Oscars Roundup: Diversity No-show Year 2

Last nights result at the Oscars were both surprising and highly predictable. Most notable of all however, and worthy of mention right from the beginning is the award for Best Picture being given to a non-English speaking film, Parasite directed by Bong Joon-ho, for the first time in Academy history. But let’s back up a minute and start from the beginning! The Academy Awards (commonly known as the Oscars) are awards given by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) at the beginning of every year for artistic merit in the film industry from the previous year. They…

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Movies

Top Favourites 2019: Movies

How does one even begin to sift through the numerous releases from 2019? Indeed this past year has been such a big one for movies! With the long-awaited final instalments of both the Star Wars and Avengers franchises, the release of two Disney live-action remakes and a slew of incredible dramas and comedies it makes it difficult to pick just a few. But I’ve managed to identify six that stick in my mind from the past year. Here are my favourite movies from 2019: John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum This may just be me because I absolutely love thrillers…

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Books

4 Biographies to Read in 2020

This January I went on a bit of a biography kick. To be honest, I have never been the biggest fan of biographies. If I were to head to a bookstore, it would be likely that I would not venture anywhere near the aisles that hold names such as the Obamas, Steve Jobs and Nelson Mandela. Though undoubtedly interesting, I generally crave losing myself to another world, not the one we are in. But by a peculiar turn of events, I found myself with a box of 13 biographies and autobiographies to read over the winter holidays.  I felt daunted…

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Academic

PhD Year 1: What I Learnt

Let’s start with the basics: A PhD (Doctorate in Philosophy) is the highest level of academic certification a university offers. This requires producing original research in a specific field, which upon completion must be defended in front of a panelist of experts. The term dates back as far as Medieval Europe though, at the time, the requirements usually only called for advanced scholarship rather than original research. Even now, requirements for a PhD differ across institutions ad nations but in all cases, original research remains compulsory.  So why do a PhD? I could write a whole post on what to…

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Books

What is Reading?

The Benefits of Reading On Your Brain Read. To read. Reading. Read. You know that feeling when you look at a word for a long time and all of a sudden it is like you have never seen the word before. It feels odd on your tongue, you cannot remember how to pronounce it properly and are almost entirely convinced you have been saying it wrong your entire life. That is exactly how I felt the other day while staring at the word ‘read’. The Cambridge dictionary defines ‘read’, a verb, as the ability to look at words or symbols…

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Books

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Mini Review

Earlier this year, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton seemed to be everywhere. I could not walk into a book store or scroll through my Instagram without seeing some mention or photo of this thrillers elegant cream and red cover. Yet, for some reason, it was not until the end of the year that I ventured to pick it up, and I am so happy I did,  Seven Deaths tells of a young man (supposedly), a guest at the Hardcastle home for the weekend, who wakes up with no memory of who he is and how he…

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