Category General
Television: American Horror Story: Asylum – Episode 2 – The Review (Spoiler Alert)
Violent Misogyny seems to be the theme in this weeks instalment of American Horror Story as we begin to settle in to the new surroundings of Briarcliff Mental Institution. While the centre-piece of episode two, and its most visually violent element, is an exorcism (which I will talk about in a moment), it is flanked […]
US Presidential Election 2012: Owen’s Companion Guide
In exactly two weeks the most important scheduled political event of the year will take place. The results of the 2012 US presidential election will have repercussions across the globe. How the world reacts to future international incidents, how the economy will look in four year’s time, how successful we are in dealing with the […]
LGBT: Do numbers matter when it comes to equality?
ACCORDING to figures released by the Office of National Statistics only 2.6% of people questioned in a recent survey said they identified as either lesbian, gay or bisexual. This has lead the Christian Institute, which claims to be “a nondenominational [sic] Christian charity committed to upholding the truths of the Bible”, to question whether such […]
Shorthand: The drama, the boredom, the insanity
For some strange reason, even in this highly technical age where you can get dictaphones as small as a USB-stick, shorthand – which should be renamed ‘journalistsbain’ – is still an important addition to an unemployed journalists arsenal, and the only one I have not managed to get so far. A hundred words a minute […]
The depressing nature of job applications
Applying for jobs is by no means a past time I enjoy, so to give myself a break I thought I would post an update on my progress. So good news first, this Wednesday I start another stint of work experience at the Llanelli Star, which is good because my portfolio is beginning to look […]
Book Club: Edition Two: A Mouthful of Glass by Henk Van Woerden (Translated by Dan Jacobson)
It is probably better to think of ‘A Mouthful of Glass’ as more of a biography than a novel, and in all fairness the British publisher – Granta – has classed it in non-fiction. In reality, however, it is a clever mix of fact, speculation and fiction, documenting the unusual life of Greek-Mozambican Demitrios Tsafendas […]
Book Club: Edition ONE: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell
So when I’m not frantically applying for jobs, writing or feeling totally frustrated about my current situation in life I have a lot of spare time to read. For the last four years the vast majority my reading has been political philosophy. My love of fiction (or at least pseudo-fiction) has had to make way […]
London 2012: My 15 most memorable moments
So after seven long years of hype and speculation the London 2012 Olympic Games have come and gone. I think it’s fair to say that few people anticipated the way the games have inspired the nation, bringing a sense of pride and self-respect to the United Kingdom which has not been felt for many years, […]
Music: New Zealand talent on the rise!
New Zealand is not really known for having a prospering international music industry, especially when you compare it to the Australian mammoth music industry which has produced international superstars such as Kylie Minogue, Delta Goodrem and Jason Donovan. Ladyhawke is potentially the most successful New Zealand break-through act at least in terms of a British […]
Owen Jack Williams 
The Leveson Report: The Views of an Unemployed Journalist
Lord Justice Leveson has just released his report on press standards in the United Kingdom, and the fourth estate collectively held its breath while he announced that he would recommend a new independent, self-regulating body, recognised by governmental legislation, to oversee the practices of the press in the future. It falls short of the press’s […]