I didn't read as much as I wanted last night so I've still not moved onto Faraday (I will eventually... Honest). I was thinking about what to do on Saturday after the Induction Event at Leeds University. I've no money left (apart from the £5 I've put on one side for my bus ticket), so I won't be shopping. The event will finish around 12.15pm which leaves the rest of the day clear, and as I will have a 'Day Ticket' for the buses, I might as well get some use out of it.
I decided to start by looking at the Gazetteers on the AA100 website. They list locations around the country to see examples of works I will be studying throughout the course. After a bit of scrolling and clicking I've discovered that there is a great example of Pugin's architecture at St Anne's Catholic Church in Keighley, and examples of Benin art in the Leeds City Museum (there are others at the Leeds Discovery Centre, but this is only for pre-booked tours). I can't decide whether I should visit any of these or leave them until I'm actually studying them (possibly on the same day as a tutorial).
As I was scrolling through the coming weeks I discovered that NONE of the Ancient Sacred Sites, Roman Villa Sites or Eighteenth Century Houses listed on the website are within West Yorkshire. The nearest being in York, which although only another hour by bus would be another £6! I think a bit more research might be required to find something similar locally.
I also spent a little time today working through the online activities for using the Harvard Referencing System, and then followed this up by adding some references to my pre-prepared assignment and advising someone on the AA100 Facebook page. Now back to my reading...
Having decided that I was indeed doing the right thing I couldn't wait to get started. I was still weeks away from the official start date, but needed to get in front. I'm currently unemployed, having given up working last year to help look after my disabled Mum. I realised that when (if??) i find work, I will have to completely change my daily routine, and as I tend to think best really late at night (or is that really early in the morning? - it's currently 1.15am), it would mean having to study when I'm NOT at my best.
Book 1 on the course (AA100- The Arts Past & Present) is all about Reputations. Why are some people famous and others not? What makes us remember some people but forget others? So as you've probably gathered, this book is about famous (and some not-so-famous) names from history.
The first chapter in the book is all about Cleopatra. You all know everything about her right? Bathed in asses milk, bitten by an asp, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony... but what about her Greek ancestry, marrying two of her brothers... where does this appear in the films? Well apparently the 'modern' view of Cleopatra was brought to us courtesy of the Romans. I must say I am hooked! Much more interesting than today's so-called celebrities. Now I'm just off to watch all the films so I can answer my first assignment...
