Occupy Bournemouth to be evicted from university grounds

Submitted for a converged newsday, myself and Gareth cover the Talbot Village Trust vs Gary Sherborne and Persons Unknown court case to evict the Occupy Bournemouth movement from grounds nearby Bournemouth University, owned by Talbot Village Trust.

BuyMyFace.com - six month reflection from the gumptious graduates

Just short of the six month milestone into their entrepreneurial endeavour Ed spoke to Joshua Saunders about their idea and the troubles they faced.

Taking the front page of the Sunday Times, appearing on Australia's biggest breakfast show and raising over £31,000 is all in the average day's work for Ed Moyse and Ross Harper - the two ex-Cambridge students who are paying off their combined £50,000 university debt by charging advertising companies to paint the logos and slogans onto their face.

Ed Moyse and Ross Harper founded BuyMyFace.com last October click here to read more. Or here for an early conversation with the pair at the beginning of their project. 

Ed (left) and Ross (right) enjoying the high life in their unique business venture | BuyMyFace.com

Once the one year face painting project has reached a crescendo the dynamic duo are set to engage on another unorthodox business venture. But with little at the present the two have vowed to release the exclusive 'scoop' to myself and BUzz news within the next three months. 

Here's what Ed had to say.

The Tethered Self - Reflection

 For one day, thousands of people across the world took part in one experiment - tracking their mobile phone habits for 24-hours and documenting their general usage and interaction with Social Networks through it. This is my account...

 

Wherever I go, people constantly are on their phones. Bleeps, zings and whacky ringtones surround me, as people relentlessly update their Facebook status, latest tweet and Blackberry message. And I must ashamedly admit that I want to be a part of that. 

How long do you spend on your mobile phone each day?

/ Johan Larsson

The desire to look up a word I've never heard, research someone in a lecture amongst other things plague me. Stories could be shared online, along with amusing anecdotes.

But despite having a rather recently produced mobile, I'm deprived of the internet.

Irrespective of this, my phone rarely is unattached from my hand. Fiddling with the cover, swinging it around whilst fidgeting; I can't help but find my phone is anchoring me down.

Sometimes it takes me a number of days to reply to texts, simply for the fact that I'm constantly reminding myself of the need to live life rather than being imprisoned in front of my HTC screen.

Our mobile habits are unorthodox and there will always something better we should be doing. But it feels like the pieces of metal, plastic and complex micro-technology are a part of our existence now.

And to be without a phone at your fingertips is to make yourself socially unavailable and almost anti-social. Yet avid users ironically find themselves outcasts due to living in an online and telephonic world that deprives them of real conversation in this big ball of water, earth and uncountable inhabitable planet that we should live within. 

Social networking through Blackberrys, iPhones, HTCs amongst countless others only promoting this 'cut off' behaviour, where people spend more time before their 'social' hub than they do living in the real world.

Opinion: The day the ad man stole your best friend

One dog dominating the family's TV viewing, 'Yes we will watch Beethoven again' | Taro the Shiba Inu

(Featured in The Bournemouth Rock - March 2nd)

“When a man’s best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem,” American author Edward Abbey once said. 

The unbreakable bond between man and canine companion at one point was utterly undeniable it stretched throughout life, literature and even videos. 

Consider all of the things that wouldn’t have happened had it not have been for one man and dog...  

Would the world have been as humorous a place without the Youtube sensation ‘Ultimate Dog Tease’ or Bizzle the dog-man's insatiable appetite for DairyLea Dunkers? Could Chance have found his way Homeward Bound if not for the love of owner Jamie? Or even hopeless ‘meddling kids’ Shaggy and Scooby, would they have caught countless criminals if one of them was absent? 

And what about that meadow, would it have been mowed if not for the eponymous one man and his dog*? 

Answer: I think not.  *Google it, for the love of outdated references! 

Soon this unspoken agreement between man and his four-legged friend may truly be over… 

And all thanks to ITV broadcasting the UK’s first-ever commercial aimed to pester your pooch.  

The adverts in question uses sounds and noises set to the frequency of 16,000hertz that are only audible dogs and a miniscule handful of humans. Scientists testing the advert for pet-food company Purina found that dogs: “pricked up their ears and paid attention to the product being advertised.”  

Which then presumably gives the illusion that the dog favours a certain brand and ‘wants’ that dog treat, snack or toy - sending it’s uneducated owner into a spending frenzy. 

This first of its kind ad was shown during the 7.15pm advert break of Emmerdale on Feb 13. Produced by dog food makers Bakers Complete it spoofed the Great Escape, showings dogs hijacked a van full of treats and ending up suspended over a cliff with the snacks on one side and the dogs on the other. 

On YouTube one man filmed his dog’s response to the advert. His Yorkshire terrier reacted by barking at the screen while happily dashing around the room, before getting a toy without any command.  

This for someone unaware of this terrier tempting advert, would think that their pet was trying to tell them something. 

Somewhere right this second, there will be a person out in a supermarket stocking up on the food they believe their pet is in awe of.  

Don't let the ad-man steal your adorable animal | Jordon Cooper

And if advertisers have this power to communicate with our pets through sound what else could they make them do? Poop on the carpet, piddle in your tea, run away from your loving home? Howls of horror! The possibilities are worrying and endless. 

Leading us to a world dominated by ad-men and women who would steal your Labrador’s litters and convinces your mad mutt to abandon you, all for a quick sale. This grim reality faces all pet owners – it may have started as just barking for the moment but in the blink of an eye you’ll be pet less and without any way of preventing it…  

Well that or you could just never turn your television off mute…

Feature: LIVING LIFE THROUGH THE EYES OF A YES MAN

Imagine a world where you can never say no. Joshua Saunders survives Scientology, befriends Big Issue sellers and overhears what only countless years of counselling will undo, as he spends seven days in the life of a YES MAN.

Awkwardly I perch in a room constructed deliberately to put people at ease. The woman I’ve met for merely five-minutes leans closer on her adjacent seat. Card-reader in hand she beckons me to act, having unravelled the delicacies of life moments earlier. My choices are limited and crippled by my decision to ban myself from saying no; the two letters I long for more than ever. I vulnerably sit, stalling frantically, attempting to find a way out of this terminal situation… 


Back in 2006, a brave BBC radio producer called Danny Wallace, embarked on a new way of life; the way of yes. Dumped by his long-term girlfriend of the time Danny found himself turning into a recluse and rarely leaving his solitary adequate abode. Every opportunity to socialize he would reject in favour of stopping in and watching television alone. His out-of-work life slowly slipped into non-existence. Until one day, when he met an omniscient elderly man on a bus who imparted him with three wise yet simple words, ‘Say yes more.’  Epiphany struck dear Danny and he took up the challenge of living six months prohibited from saying no.

He recorded his experience in the book Yes Man. And 416 pages later, Danny’s metamorphosis had led him to winning £25,000 only to lose it seconds later; a TV spin-off exploring different lifestyles one where he infamously agitated a monk; and, a film adaptation of his tales starring Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel. It would be fair to say the happiness, and bank balance, of Danny Wallace’s skyrocketed up, up and away in an explosion of array of colours and unequivocal contentment. 



Now I’m not saying my journey as a Yes Man will follow the same path, but by the end of the week if, ‘Man, Myth, Legend – the Joshua Saunders story’ hasn’t been considered by at least three major film companies I’m going to feel pretty peeved.

Inspiration : Yes Man, by Danny Wallace

The last time I said no was on a rather uneventful Friday to the request of watching a film. Even still, this mundane moment fondly sticks out in my mind as my last snippet of free will. The final decision made of my own choice for the experiment over 168 hours.



Several hours into my first day and the first obstacle appeared. A crimson-cheeked man dashed towards me, "Do you know the way to Kinson?” he asks. Unbeknownst to him he has probably stumbled across the least qualified person to ask for navigation tips. Since 2012 began I’ve managed to lose myself travelling between Bournemouth and Winton four times. I did not know the way to Kinson. And I genuinely did want to tell him this. ‘Yes. Just head to the highstreet and turn left,’ I replied. Off he continued to dash unaware of sad truth that he would not find himself in Kinson. With every step further away slight increasing twangs of guilt pricked me, but that was the curse of being a Yes Man. The once remorseless honesty I’d developed as a child eroded a little with every lie I was forced to tell. Telling the truth became an ever more troublesome task in this new lifestyle, especially for knowing that on every street lamppost there would be a poster posing the question, ‘Have you seen my missing cat?’  Selective sight is invaluable gift.

As a Yes Man, you have to be careful of whom you entrust your secret to. If a Yes Man ignorantly imparts his secret to a careless or cunning confidant it could end disastrously. For me, only allowing two people to know was difficult enough, you can imagine the ways people could take advantage. The question, ‘Fancy getting the next round in’ was a saying all too frequently heard by my withered wallet. A life of yes was undoubtedly a life of excess.

Life was starting to become tainted due to having yes as my only answer. Including a rather traumatic tale of trying to sleep in the same room while a friend entertained what would soon be a conquest, while I uncomfortable spent the night smothering my face into a pillow. “Do you want to stop in my room?” he half-mockingly jested. Those words still haunt me now. Sadly, I am not able to name this charismatic chap for legal, ethical and moral reasons. But I would like him to know two things: Yes I heard everything, and yes, my psychiatrist has invoiced you the bills.

Half way through the week and with a room inundated with flyers, leaflets and advertisement business cards, my inability to say no had taken over my life. The average time it took walking anywhere multiplied by three, thanks to every ‘5-minute street survey’. Like vultures they hover waiting to descend in their masses and for the unsuspecting tourist or person deprived of their right to decline, they got lucky.

“Consider your life of yes like karma,” a confidant advised. By complying with the rules whatever yes through before me. I kept hold of the deep-rooted hope that something good would be thrust into my path or I’d be spared of an off-putting challenging in the long-term. And in some ways this did happen, by saying yes more I was more productive. Every night there was something planned and agreed to, rather than the spontaneous last minute arrangements. Things I had always intended on doing such as getting a magazine subscription, finding a new hobby, learning a new language all became a possibility now that I had no more excuses. 

But turbulent times lay round the corner, a threat that would put the very challenge I’d faithfully adhered to at risk.
 

Bournemouth town center was breezier than usual; little did I know that the hidden chill would shock me to my very bone. I hastily strolled through the streets with an ever-open eye looking for things to say yes to. In a state of quiet bemusement due to the fact that I’d bought three editions of the same Big Issue from an eloquently voiced seller named Paul, much to his understandable confusion.

“Four questions, it will only take a few minutes,” pleaded a pixie haired woman. Describing herself as a nurse, she smiled invitingly at me asking me how I wish I could improve about my life and what I dreamed of. Struggling to think, I fabricated a story about a deserted island with friends to this stranger named Sue with a ruby streak in her greying-dark hair.

Sue’s spectacles seared into my soul as she probed deeper into my childhood and life, focusing on the sadder aspects of my moderately happy life. “Follow me just over here,” she said, as I asked what the survey was for. Leading across the cobbled streets of Bournemouth she walked into a building and up a steep staircase decked in white. Hesitating, I pause, wondering whether it’s such a good idea to follow her up. But a yes was a yes, and maybe suspicion, negativity and doubt of mankind was the remaining fragments of my personality preventing me from a full allegiance with a positive change to becoming an open, trusting and convivial Yes Man. How misguided I was.

Encouraging me to take a seat in the plain room, she carried on probing further about my life. Behind her stood a large bookshelf with atleast 300 copies of a mysterious looking piece literature. Vibrant reds contrasted with rustic browns give an unsettling feel to the place as she reveals her sole intent for bringing me upstairs, “Have you heard of Dianetics?”

The name felt familiar but I could not think why. She carried on, delicately sliding a book off the never-diminishing pile in the same way a person patiently plucks a Jenga brick from an overly stacked tower. But the pillar was soon to collapse. Peeling to pages about self-help and happiness, she advises different sections. As well as their complementary personality test and informative DVD.

Another person enters the room, trailing shortly behind her is a fragile timid looking woman. Resting beside us, the leader utters similar words of interest that I personally heard from her colleague but a few moments ago.  

Meanwhile, Sue flicks to the front and mentions celebrities who have endorsed the book, including John Travolta. It clicked. I knew where I’d heard the name Dio-bloody-netics before, and just knowing that meant I could be in danger.

Beside me I could witness as an outsider what the supposedly kind, caring and all-listening woman was doing.

Scientology. They were Scientologists. And she was trying to recruit both of us to follow their belief. A religion that is described on Scientology.org as, “A religion that offers a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of one’s true spiritual nature and one’s relationship to self, family, groups, Mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the Supreme Being.”

Exploring deeper into the background of the lady next to me, she exposed vulnerable parts of her life and questioned each bit. Listening intently and targeting her exposed moments of pain like she had with mine. Feeding on her insecurities and promising her a brighter future ahead with subtle placebos, marathons away from her previous down-spiral.

“Now that will just be £16 sweetie, would you prefer card or cash?” Sue0 insisted looking away to grab her card-reader.

Later on that day and with the final few hours of my time as a Yes Man quickly ticking away I decided it was time to reveal myself to the world. Note: not in a nudist way like last edition. But for a Mr Men and Little Miss themed birthday party. So dressed as that unforgettable Mr Men character Mr Yes, I set off for the night with a t-shirt boasting my lifestyle, designed by my flatmate who was surprised for me to accept the offer for her to paint it. Many, countless rounds of drinks later and several narrowly avoided dares we were in a nightclub.

The penultimate moments of my time vanished down to a final 60seconds, a last bid was made to exploit my life as a Yes Man by a friend shouting, 'Josh, take your clothes off...

'

Amidst trying to waste time by slowly stripping off my jacket I thought back over my odyssey, the friends I'd made Paul the Big Issue seller, volunteering to take part in film, countless flyers and the positives of the experience. Saying yes more had stopped me from hiding from the world, I’d abandoned avoiding the eyes of friendly faces for the worry that they would just see me as another number to fill their quota. By living in the way of no I'd deprived my eyes, thoughts and self of the outer beauty in the world in favour of opting to avoid glancing at anyone or anything. Imagine all the possibilities you miss out on every day by ignorantly saying no, not even aware of what a person has to say, offer or maybe even sell. By saying yes even fractionally more my life dramatically changed and as a result the world was less of a mystery. 


But remembering a little more recently I cast my mind to the Scientologist I'd met earlier that day. "So that's just £16," she reiterated. I looked at the woman beside me and understood the fear and trauma the religion was trying to take advantage of. She was everything Yes stood against, it abuse and manipulation, where Yes granted freedom and liberty. Scientology was available to those who were willing to put their hand in the pocket and bring out naivety and endless supplies of money to purchase the ‘the next step closer to happiness'. Without hesitation I stood up and I uttered the two letters I had at times longed to utter for the whole week.

Catherine Willey, Rachel Trevaskiss, Lauren Potter receive a little help from Yes Man | Ellis Wall

After revealing this I can only hope you aren't too disappointed, some of you may even think, "It was only money you tight sod, you could have made the whole week as a Yes Man if you'd only paid up!" But by accepting and giving in to the demands of the Scientologist the week of being a Yes Man would have been in vain.

My antiquated watch bleeped, a new day dawned in Bournemouth and my life was the Yes Man was over. 



Seven days, no more No's, only yeses. I dare you. Send us your experiences as a Yes Man to JoshuaDavidSaunders@live.co.uk.