JonathanDavis.me.uk

As 2011 draws to a close (cliché alert) I thought it might be worth writing up a short summary of the year.

Perhaps the greatest change to take place this year was my launching of Passing Nightmare. The site came about following an earlier abandoned experiment with current affairs blogging. Much of the site design was done over the course of a week last Christmas, along with several launch articles on economics and the media. One early article was referenced by the Guardian newspaper, which certainly provided a large boost to both my self-confidence and to the reputation of the site.

The site has since grown beyond my wildest expectations, having now published over 40 articles on a wide range of subjects. This year was undoubtedly an extraordinary year for the media news cycle, so from the summer riots and the war in Libya to the anti-cuts movement and the occupations, I’ve been writing on all of the major events taking place. I’ve also taken my angry keyboard skills to a variety of other issues including consumerism, US and European politics, the Arab Spring and media misrepresentations of the British welfare state.

As my competency in writing has increased I have also been provided with fantastic opportunities to write for established and well-respected websites such as New Left Project, Minority Thought and the Huffington Post. Once I get some more free time (unlikely to be any time soon) I have my eye on a few other projects, including writing for Manchester Mule, with whom I recently attended a fantastic media training day.

Meanwhile, my Open University work has continued apace. I finished my work for DD132 in April and am presently studying for DD203. I still have several more assignments and an exam (which I’m frightfully worried about!) remaining before I complete the course in around May or June, so I imagine there will be limited time for writing until then.

Another development running parallel alongside my writing has been increased activist activity. This year I have attended independent media conferences, occupations, protest marches and went out on strike myself in November. I’ve also been getting out on the streets, talking to people and making some fantastic new friends.

This year has been by far the busiest I can remember for quite some time.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s been a busy couple of months for me since I last wrote a personal blog update. So if you happen to be interested in the inanities and general goings on in my life, read on…

Earlier this month I travelled to London to attend the Rebellious Media Conference, a gathering of journalists, political activists and other radical media types for two days based in the city centre. The keynote speaker was Professor Noam Chomsky, who delivered a fantastic lecture on the current state of affairs with regard to military conflict, the economic crisis and progressive resistance. Chomsky is a personal hero of mine, as he is for many on the left, and despite being 82 years old he retains his superb intellect and razor sharp analysis. Other sessions included speakers such as John Pilger, Greg Philio, Laurie Penny and Michael Albert. Several of the workshops I attended, such as those on the recent riots, or discussing local alternative media, also gave me a heck of a lot of food for thought.

Attending the conference also provided me with an excuse to take a few extra days in London, a place which I hadn’t visited for around a decade. I made sure to visit the major tourist hot spots (taking in the landmarks and museums) though this also allowed me time to meet up with some of my friends, both old and new, for several intoxicating adventures across the city.

In academic news, I have now begun to study for my DD203 Open University module and am currently in the process of drafting my first assignment, due in at the end of this month. The course material so far seems fairly interesting, though I do have to confess that I have struggled to remain enthused given the initial slow pace of the study schedule. However, I imagine that once the material delves into specifics and the workload becomes a little more demanding it should help to focus my concentration somewhat.

Although my studying has somewhat limited the time I can spend on it, I have nevertheless experienced some further success in enabling my writing to be viewed by a wider audience. Last month I was invited to become a blogger for the Huffington Post. My first article for the site was a piece I wrote discussing British media coverage of immigration and attempting to debunk some of the more harmful misconceptions.

I have also written a second article for the New Left Project website, which provides a brief history of political party funding and suggests potential options for reform. This piece was fairly complex to write (with some assistance from the editors) and required plenty of research, but I’m quite impressed with how it turned out in the end. I’ve also continued writing for Passing Nightmare and Minority Thought, most recently with a piece discussing the Iranian ‘terror plot’.

Closer to home, yesterday I paid a visit to Occupy Manchester, based in the Peace Gardens at St Peters Square. The camp is part of a global movement protesting against rising inequality, corporate greed and government cuts, whilst also urging reform of the financial sector to attempt to ensure that the poor do not pay for a crisis created by the rich. The Peace Gardens has now been occupied for almost three weeks and I stopped by to drop off some supplies and chat to those living in the camp. Those whom I spoke with were truly committed to the cause and many were quite eloquent and insightful in explaining their reasons for joining the occupation. I hope to be able to visit the camp again over the next week or so.

Finally, whilst I’m discussing local projects I wanted to quickly mention a fantastic little group I’ve been attending recently. Manchester Film Cooperative is based in Salford and hosts a monthly meeting, screening films which challenge current economics, politics and society. I’ve already watched some superb films there as part of their ‘Surveillance’ season, so it’s certainly worth checking out if you live nearby.

I promised I would make a concerted effort to keep this personal blog going, so as summer gradually disappears without a trace, I thought it might be worth taking some time to let everyone know where I’m up to. Firstly, my writing.

I have continued to write articles for Passing Nightmare, with pieces on the war in Libya, two film reviews, an analysis of the dodgy media reporting on ESA claimants and a discussion on the recent UK riots. A rough estimate indicates that I have written just over 27,000 words for the site since it went live in January.

This month also sees the first publication of my work on another political website. New Left Project commissioned me to write an article on Free Software, with a brief history of the movement followed by an analysis of how the political left can best utilise the possibilities of open code to free themselves from corporate control. You can read the article here.

After a 6 month break, my Open University studying continues. Having awaited the results of the fee increases I was pretty shocked to discover that the cost of a £700 course would be rising to around £2,500 from 2012. Thankfully those already undertaking a degree would be allowed to continue on the old fee structure as long as they continue to take at least one course each year.

This is good news, but means that it would be rather risky for me to attempt a specialised Politics/Economics degree,  so instead I have opted for the standard BA/BSc in Social Sciences.

My next course is DD203, entitled ‘Power, dissent, equality: understanding contemporary politics’. The course begins in October,  the content looks fantastic.

My final bit of news is that I will be heading to London in October to attend the Rebellious Media Conference and do a spot of sightseeing. I’m planning to write a report on this for Passing Nightmare and I hope to be able to meet up with some friends whilst wandering around the big city.

It’s been around seven months since this blog was updated and aside from it being the perfect opportunity to crack such a witty little joke in the naming of this entry, I also wanted to make an attempt at reanimating this blog in more of a ‘personal’ capacity, whilst briefly updating you all on what I’ve been up to in the meantime.

Those of you who know me will be aware (to be fair I’ve made it increasingly difficult for you to avoid) that I launched a new website back in January of this year. Passing Nightmare was the culmination of an idea which had been festering away inside my brain for 12 months prior and something which I’d made a failed attempt at launching several months earlier.

As I became increasingly interested in politics, economics and the media I felt I needed somewhere to scribble down my ideas and thoughts on issues which were important to me, or where I had strong views. I also wanted to collaborate with other writers and spread the articles across social networking websites.

Six months later, the site has been relatively successful at meeting those original aims. It now contains around 20 original articles, many of which are quite considerable in length. Some of my favourites are listed below:

• An Epidemic of Benefit Fraud? The Demonization of Welfare Recipients – This post talked about the levels of benefit and other fraud in the UK, and contrasted it with media coverage of ‘scroungers’.
• Austerity Politics & Blaming Labour – In this article I spoke of the trend towards blaming Labour party spending for the fiscal deficit, whilst overlooking the massive problems caused by the banking crisis. It looked at austerity politics and discussed whether this could eventually cause more harm than good during a period of recovery.
• A Future That Works - My first hand report from the Manchester NUS/TUC rally on the 28th January, during which I was temporarily contained by police. Several arrests were made on the day, although the media narrative of protester violence was severely overemphasised.
• The Death Penalty Doctrine – This piece looked at the continuing emphasis on capital punishment as an appropriate form of punishment. It looked at the history of the methods and argued that the death penalty can never be fairly or accurately applied.
• Why I Will Never ‘Love That Advert’ – My latest article argues that advertising damages our society in increasingly negative ways and that we shouldn’t sit back and accept the massive influence it has over the way we perceive ourselves, the way we treat others and the way we receive information about the world.

An early success for Passing Nightmare was achieved in January when the Guardian newspaper quoted my article on the levels of benefit fraud in the UK, and with the help of Twitter the post eventually went viral.

Various other websites, students, journalists and academics have cited or commented on the articles and it’s been deeply heartening to see some the responses I have been receiving so far. Its not always been easy fitting work on the site around my full-time job and my university degree, but its something I’m passionate about and I sincerely hope I can continue to put in as much effort during the upcoming months.

I’m planning to update this blog more frequently now as it begins to take a more personal slant on me and the various goings on in my life, so feel free to add me to your feeds and subscriptions. I shall try not to disappoint.