Rebecca Fielding · Storify

National Poetry Month

Rebecca Fielding — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:07:33 GMT

First introduced in 1996 by the Academy of American poets, National Poetry Month is a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States.

Storified by Rebecca Fielding · Wed, Apr 18 2012 09:07:33

Russosbooks

@thebooksluts O to be a dragon/ a symbol of the power of Heaven—of silkworm/ size or immense; at times invisible. Felicitous phenomenon!
— Lindsay Lackey · Wed, Apr 18 2012 08:41:08

SO. I hear it is Poetry Month. Quote me your favorite lines from poems, Twitter friends.
— Insatiable Booksluts · Wed, Apr 18 2012 08:39:05

@thebooksluts "Is all that we see or seem bit a dream within a dream?" - Edgar Allan Poe
— Sofie Marcussen · Wed, Apr 18 2012 08:41:35

@thebooksluts "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" - Yeats
— Amanda. · Wed, Apr 18 2012 08:43:51

@thebooksluts My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun/Coral is far more red than her lips' red - William Shakespeare
— Michelle Hancock · Wed, Apr 18 2012 08:46:25

@thebooksluts "I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)" Of course by e.e. cummings.
— Rebecca Fielding · Wed, Apr 18 2012 08:51:32

@thebooksluts "Here are your waters and your watering place. / Drink and be whole again beyond confusion." from Robert Frost's "Directive"
— kimberly southwick · Wed, Apr 18 2012 08:50:07

@thebooksluts 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves/ Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; — Lewis Caroll (Jabberwocky)
— Pamela Aurelia · Wed, Apr 18 2012 08:54:36

.@thebooksluts "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep" -Frost
— Jesse the Mutt · Wed, Apr 18 2012 08:52:50

@thebooksluts I wandered lonely as a cloud/That floats on high o'er vales and hills - Wordsworth - "Daffodils"
— Michelle Hancock · Wed, Apr 18 2012 08:48:41

In Pictures: Cup o' Tea?

Rebecca Fielding — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:16:45 GMT

It's a given that the majority of the British population enjoy a few gallons of good old tea throughout their day. Here are a selection of our nations favourite drink, sourced from Instagram.

Storified by Rebecca Fielding · Sun, Apr 15 2012 12:16:45

Just #cooling it down. #cup #tea #window #roof #warm #hot #drink #yum #nomnom #sunday #night · Maiken Kolstad

Time for #tea anyone fancy one? #cuppa · Kimbers only

Hejsan halsfluss! #swedish #girl #sick #tea #polkagriste · torabotmar

#tea, #cup, #sugar, #milk stay thirsty, stay snobbish! · Jane

Ein spätes Moin! · missnickel

#chai #tea great way to start the morning · Reema Mohsin

Best thing to drink when you have a cold #tea #cold #yum #greentea · Emily✌

What i live for #tea #bestteamaker · Kaya Ruby Turoff

From Seattle to Hawaii. Pre work activity. @veronicalynn #bricks #tea #oilpastels hashtag hashtag hashtag · kimberliea

Mmmm #morning #tea #zen #delicious · Siobhan Brookhart

Go on, have a cup of tea.

Does the Grand National need to be banned?

Rebecca Fielding — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:10:29 GMT

As is every year, yesterday's Grand National race was one of stressful moments.

Storified by Rebecca Fielding · Sun, Apr 15 2012 12:10:29

Neptune Collonges and winning jockey Daryl Jacob gave a wonderful performance in the year's most famous horse race. Neptune Collonges received a hero's welcome as he returned home today.

Sport360

Nonetheless, the race was marred by the deaths of Gold Cup champion Synchronised and another well-fancied contender, According to Pete.

Both horses were brought down at Becher's Brook. Synchronised fell the first time around, According to Pete the second.
Synchronised continued riderless, but was stopped at the following fence, Canal Turn and was put down after being found to have had a hind-leg fracture.

The horse had caused a scare prior to the race after unseating jockey Tony McCoy; Synchronised had been spooked by the start line, bucked and ran loose.

Once caught, he was walked to the start line and checked over by a racecourse vet before being allowed to race.

This years race saw only 15 of the total 40 complete the race.

Of course, the deaths of two horses following last year's deaths have again caused controversy for all those involved and supporting of the Grand National; is the race simply a horse race, for entertainment value, or does it need to be banned to prevent such fatalities occurring.

RT @DaveLambley: Seems synchronised incurred injury running riderless. So doing it's natural thing. #grandnational
— Danielle Hughes · Sun, Apr 15 2012 11:42:10

@TimComley yeah it wasn't nice but wasn't the initial fall for synchronised as he carried on jumping and according to pete was very unlucky
— paul john meredith · Sun, Apr 15 2012 11:35:03

Can't believe Synchronised is dead. Wasn't long ago I was watching him win at Cheltenham.
— Sam Cook · Sun, Apr 15 2012 11:30:30

#grandnational Got the impression that Synchronised didn't want to run. Only 4 weeks since he won the Gold Cup ... http://m.tmi.me/oqgoy
— Angela Perkins · Sun, Apr 15 2012 11:17:00

RT @WoolhouseStudio: YES i,m still going on! Black tent where #Synchronised fell and is put down! STOP THIS! BAN THESE RACES #grandnational http://pic.twitter.com/IIjVweAy · Harry Styles

Unsurprisingly, the RSPCA are disputing the winning horse after both deaths and claiming the overuse of the whip on the winner, Neptune Collonges. They have also described the deaths of Synchronised and According to Pete as "totally unacceptable".

This years race saw only 15 of the total 40 complete the race.

Is romance dead?

Rebecca Fielding — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:32:30 GMT

Twitter is renowned for its bizarre and often insulting Twitter trends. Today, the world are discussing the #worstchatuplines. Here's only ten examples. Who said romance was dead?

Storified by Rebecca Fielding · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:32:30

Telegraph

RT @OMGWTFRobFTW: #WorstChatUpLines Are you from Ireland cause my penis is Dublin.
— brandon dunne · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:26:05

RT @BolaDawodu: #WorstChatUpLines give me your number and I'll give you love on bebo
— Akinyemi Akinwale · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:26:05

RT @officialmalvern: #WorstChatUpLines Did you just fart? Cos you blew me away!
— Giovanna Watts · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:26:04

#WorstChatUpLines - "My name's Tinie. We could get frisky then pass out?"
— This Is Andy · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:26:04

RT @jamie8mcewan: #WorstChatUpLines If I had one chance to rearrange the alphabet, I would put U and I together.
— beth † · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:26:43

#worstchatuplines Hey, is your dad a terrorist? Cos baby, you’re the bomb.
— Bindya Hirani · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:26:43

RT @j_mercuriooo: #WorstChatUpLines Do you have a cell phone in your back pocket? Because I swear your butt is calling me.
— *~.MONEA.~* · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:26:44

#WorstChatUpLines I hope I've got my library card cos I'm checking you out
— Emily Edwards · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:26:42

#WorstChatUpLines The word of the day is LEGS, now let's go back to mine and spread the word
— Chris Cornelius · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:29:09

#WorstChatUpLines it must be criminal to look that good!
— Abbie Turnock · Tue, Apr 10 2012 05:27:55

Twitter for graduates

Rebecca Fielding — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:47:32 GMT

A few not so ordinary helpful tips for graduates who use Twitter.

Storified by Rebecca Fielding · Sun, Apr 08 2012 12:47:32

So I read an article once regarding Twitter and there were five tips on how to use the social networking site as a graduate to develop a career.

Do you know what tips they were? Use a sensible name, upload your own picture and not use the generic egg image Twitter provides, fill your biography and actuallytweet. No sh*t, Sherlock. Great tips to ensure your followers aren't all robots. Not great tips to ensure you personally develop both in your social life and career. Personally, I think there's a few more important tips than that.

BlogSpot

1) Use a picture of your face; NOT of your bum, your boobs or your pet dog or car. It's the same as Facebook people, you want friends, use an image of your face. And what I mean by face, a naturalnice photo of you. Not of you pouting, closing one eye, sticking your tongue out, with your pet hamster or you downing a pint of Sangria.

2) Robots aren't real people, so don't follow them. It's all so very easy to think "oooh, I have more followers. 15 more followers! Wow" No, these people aren't real. Especially if their biography is "I'm real and I hope some of my followers are too" and their image is of two girls making out. Don't follow them back either.

3) Protect your tweets. I'm slightly hypocritical in saying this as I don't have protection, mainly because I know I wont say dumb stuff or swear till there's no tomorrow or argue or cause abuse. If you're planning on doing anything of the sort, protect your tweets. However, protecting your tweets can also provide the image of "sensible"; protecting yourself from the evils of the internet is a good and smart attribute. It depends on how accessible you want to be on the internet. I don't have protection on my tweets mainly so I can promote my blog, my work and my university projects. It all comes down to personal knowledge and preference. *I'd like to change this and say now I have protection on my tweets, may as well follow my own advice.

4) Use your favourites like bookmarks. There will be times when you're sat in the pub with your friends, you quickly check Twitter and there's a cracking tweet and link to an article you find deeply interesting. Instead of throwing your phone across the room because the page is too large to open on your phone, favourite it. Come back to it whilst you're on the computer, when you have time and in a more suitable place. There have been many times when I've not had the chance to investigate the tweet there and then. Instead I've favourited it, like a book mark, and gone back to it later. Once you're finished, simply un-favourite it. Simple.

5) Hashtagging. Yes, hash-tagging is the "thing" on Twitter, #butpleasedonotoverusethehashtag. #Itsseriouslyannoying. #Andgenerallythethingorsentenceyouretryingtotrendisnteventrendable. Trends on Twitter is for the purpose of keeping up with stories, gossip and what not. Like Whitney Houston's death, to find out what happened or what people were saying you'd search #WhitneyHouston. Generally, your hash-tag of #ilovemcdonalds will not be as popular and you generally look odd writing it. And #vom.. What the-?!

6) You have 140 characters. One of the most annoying things I find when using Twitter is when people will write an essay over 9 different tweets. The point of Twitter is to be succinct and have quick access to peoples thoughts and opinions. Having to read 9 tweets to get your point is time-consuming. Even those with nothing to do all day will find it annoying. Twitter users like lightening-fast tweets, information and sharing. Think of it as writing the essay title and not the essay.

7) Don't follow everyone back. It's the most annoying thing when a "real" person follows you, you follow back, then a day later they unfollow you but you're still following them. I know it's a small annoyance, but it's frustrating.

8) Use your followers/contacts/resources. Recently I've been looking for work experience elsewhere apart from the one I have had finalised. A great way to utilise the social network is by tweeting local businesses or areas or contacts. For example, local areas tend to have a twitter page. The village I live in has a twitter page, and to help me find relevant work experience in the local area, I ask them to kindly retweet my initial tweet regarding work experience opportunities. If you don't ask, you don't get.

9) Don't treat it as it's Facebook and don't use Facebook as it's Twitter.Hash-tagging on Facebook is not cool. It's pointless and you look like a weirdo to those Facebook users who have no clue what the hash-tag is used for. Also, Twitter isn't Facebook; don't use it to post endless amounts of pictures of your Christmas presents, create a "Me" album, post images of your baby or the lovely bouquet of flowers your partner bought you. The guy on the other side of the country does not care.

10) Don't tweet once a month and claim you use Twitter. That's like eating a jalapeño once a year and calling yourself a daredevil. Beyonce has a MASSIVE amount of followers but has never tweeted. What's the point. If you know you're hardly going to use it, then don't. Unless you're really one of those psychotic people who sits watching everybody's updates and stalking people.

In Pictures: Spring is near

Rebecca Fielding — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:54:46 GMT

Britain is infamous for its outrageous weather conditions, and this week hasn't been a disappointment. With temperatures of up to 23 degrees over a week ago, this week has brought inches of snow, rain, hail, wind and sleet.

Storified by Rebecca Fielding · Sun, Apr 08 2012 11:54:46

Nonetheless, Easter is and always has been a big sign that spring time is looming.

#Flowers #Spring #Easter · ~✿Christina~

#iphonesia #iphoneonly #iphonography #instagood #instamood #instago #instadaily #igdaily #ignation #igaddict #instagramhub #photooftheday #popular #picoftheday #bestoftheday #igers #jj #teg #webstagram #webstahub #instagramers #statigram #nature #flowers #flower #spring #outdoors #pretty · Thomas Accardo

#hipstamatic #inas1969 #johns #iphone #iphone4 #iphoneonly #iphoneography #instagram #instacool #instagood #easter #spring · Anna ✨

happy Easter (: #spring #easter · jerseagirlms

#gymnastic #dance #fdj #streching #summer #spring #love #this #happiness #never #stop #dance #me #girl #converse #pink, · Malin Emilie Granli

Again :O ... #spring #trees #sky #clouds #pink #blue #sunset #sun #beautiful #house · miss_coconut

Spring #lovely #london #spring · beatricebostrom

#trees#nofilter#beautiful#easter#spring#green · Hannah Werner

#spring #color #grass #yellow #lime · Lauren

#flowers #roses #easter #spring · bonniebot

Press the button: The Voice becomes new favourite

Rebecca Fielding — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:18:07 GMT

BBC's The Voice has taken Saturday nights by storm over the past few weekends. And guess what, amidst the rest of the demeaning talent shows, this one's actually worth a watch.

Storified by Rebecca Fielding · Sun, Apr 08 2012 11:18:07

And why is it worth the watch?

Well, there are four well known judges; The Script's Danny O'Donoghue, Jessie J, will.i.am and the legendary Tom Jones. They each have a swivel chair and face away from the stage. When they hear a voice they like and wish to have on their team, the press their button and turn around.

Tellymix

The whole concept of the show is blind auditions. To judge a talent by their singing voice, not by their appearance. And it's a great concept at that.

Whilst Simon Cowell constantly reminds those auditioning for Britain's Got Talent that they haven't got 'the look', The Voice concentrates on what is most needed in the music industry; natural, raw, musical and singing talent. Never mind the overt outfits, stage acts and meat dresses we're familiar with nowadays.

So, a judge who likes what they hear will press their button and turn around. Simple. If more than one judge turns around, the talent on stage gets to choose who to coach them. Each judge has 10 contestants, of which they will train. Then of course, the talent are pitched against each other in a typical talent-show-style-war.

It's uplifting to see individuals come on stage and be able to sing. To know they can sing. To actually take their voice and career aspirations seriously. You don't see a couple of girls, unable to sing, start arguing and then punch each other in the face, causing shock and ridicule across the nation. That's demeaning entertainment.

The Voice, instead of making you want to shout "OMG WHAT AN IDIOT" at the television, makes you want to shout "PICK THEM! PICK THEM!"

We as humans have an acute desire to see other people fail. It's a fundamental human instinct to want to feel better than others. We're jealous beings, whether we like it or admit it. Secretly we always wish that other people fail whilst we succeed. And that's what comes with talent shows such as Britain's Got Talent and X Factor.

When Susan Boyle walked out on stage she was instantly judged by her appearance. And then she sang. And it turned it she was so very much better than those sat at home on their settees.

The moral of the story? Don't judge a book by its cover.

The Voice, whilst it may be confined in its styles of judges and music - there has often been contestants who really can sing but are not chosen as the judges cant do anything with their 'style' - is somewhat a degree above the rest of the talent shows seen on television.

Of course, the fact that contestants are pressured to fit a particular style that the judges can work with can be criticised, and should probably be worked in. There is a vast array of genres besides the Indie/Pop The Script and Hip-Hop will.i.am and Jessie J. I guess Tom Jones is an exception considering he's sang all kinds of music: rock, pop, R&B, country, soul.

Nonetheless, it's quickly become a new favourite.

RT @AishaMushroom: Watching The Voice UK. My favourite so far is Frances Wood and J Marie Cooper. :) <3
— Frances Wood · Sun, Apr 08 2012 11:10:37

Catching up with The Voice UK blind auditions. Absolutely love the talent & the positive format. Deserves to overtake BGTs ratings next week
— Roo Reynolds · Sun, Apr 08 2012 11:09:00

The voice uk is so much better
— III. · Sun, Apr 08 2012 11:03:28

'The Voice' UK closes ratings gap on 'Britain's Got Talent' - http://bit.ly/Ht99qs
— Medioh! · Sun, Apr 08 2012 10:57:36

Watching THE VOICE UK #loveit!!!!
— Nina Kanlagna.xo · Sun, Apr 08 2012 11:15:27

You can watch The Voice on BBC One, Saturdays at 7pm. Alternatively, get more information and backstage highlights here.

The true meaning of Easter

Rebecca Fielding — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:20:15 GMT

Easter has fast become a commercialised holiday over the years, exploiting our sweet tooth with chocolate, sweets and food in the shape of a rabbit. Of course, every year, the question still remains: whilst indulging ourselves in calorie filled sweets, do we keep in mind the real reason for Easter?

Storified by Rebecca Fielding · Sun, Apr 08 2012 11:20:15

As with many holidays, Easter appears to have lost its religious value over the generations. For my family, its a day filled with chocolate, an Easter egg hunt and a huge slab of gammon ready to be devoured alongside wine and lager. I'm sure with many other families, it's just the same. What's interesting is whether its religious undertones are remembered and to what extent.

We're all aware of Jesus' crucifixion, his resurrection and the value of fasting, prayer and penance. Each of us are taught the historical significance of Easter in educational terms as early as our nursery years. Nonetheless, it's rare to see such belief remain, specifically in my own local area. It's interesting to see what the general public are saying on this day, and whether Easter is now entirely chocolate driven or its religious eminence remains.

Happy Easter ! Today Jesus rose from the dead #BeThankful
— Miss Independent . · Sun, Apr 08 2012 07:30:40

Yey I did get an Easter egg :) I got two including a chocolate Charlie chicken :)
— Helen · Sun, Apr 08 2012 07:17:48

The only day when it's acceptable to eat chocolate for breakfast, dinner and tea #Easter
— Rachel Armstrong · Sun, Apr 08 2012 06:30:13

Happy Easter! Just like Jesus, I rose from my bed to feast upon Peeps and jelly beans :D
— Jared · Sun, Apr 08 2012 07:30:40

Who was in charge of planning the concept of Easter?!..bunnies that lay different colored eggs filled with candy?!.im not buying it
— Aaron Nelson · Sun, Apr 08 2012 07:38:28

Think my brother is too much in the Easter spirit @r_fielding @rwebbo @r_fielding. Lost his marbles http://pic.twitter.com/ulCpS1bG · Gavin Roberts

Easter = a day off work and chocolate http://lockerz.com/s/199628504 · Zoe

Mmm So much chocolate! Happy Easter! http://pic.twitter.com/ztRmWYY4 · Stephanie Graham