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Archive for October 25th, 2008

Murray’s character change

Posted by Euan Black on October 25, 2008

A classic Andy Murray winning pose

A classic Andy Murray winning pose

By Euan Black

Tennis is a funny old game. Despite originating in good old Blighty the game is now dominated by the American and European players of the sport. Every so often a great hope will come along, shining like a beacon in a dark world of mediocrity. At the moment, that hope is Andy Murray.

2008 has been his best year so far. Winning the St Petersburg Open gave him his 5th title this year and his 23rd win in 25 ATP games. 

Despite his obvious natural ability and 4th place world ranking, he has failed to capture the imagination of the British public the same way that “Tiger” Tim Henman annoyingly could. What is it about him that’s un-likeable, and was it always like that?

Andy burst onto the scene in 2005 when he reached the third rounds of the Stella Artois Championship and Wimbledon. Despite having to retire from both tournaments because of injury, his cultured style of play and the tenacity he showed on court earned him a massive following. “Tiger” Timmy , who had exited in the first round, had been usurped as the Great British hope of tennis.

This massive following continued as Murray shot up through the rankings, reaching the top 100 on the 29th September after beating Robin Soderling. His career rocketed as he posted impressive results throughout 2006 and 2007, beating the likes of Roger Federer, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. It was during this time that he was starting to be questioned by the media and fans.

Murray gained a reputation amongst reporters for being “petulant” and not answering their questions properly. A fine for swearing at an umpire during a Davis Cup tie and tongue-in-cheek comments about England’s World Cup hopes did little to endear him to fans and the media alike.

This is what is thought to have lead to sickening comments about the Dunblane School Massacre, something Murray has spoken little of in the past. Anonymous comments were posted on his website mocking him about his experience of the massacre, where he hid in a classroom as Thomas Hamilton shot dead 17 people.

Those moronic comments don’t reflect the view of the majority of his critics, who think he struggles to contain his emotions on court and doesn’t have the big game temperament to break into the top 3.

Nowadays, we are witnessing a more controlled, all rounded player. Murray has had an absolutely fantastic 2008, starting with wins in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and the Marseille Open. He took the Cinncinati and Madrid ATP Masters and managed to carve his way to the final of the US Open, defeating Rafael Nadal along the way. He lost to Roger Federer in the final.

This year is evidence that his ability can’t be called into questioned. It seems that attitudes towards him are slowly changing because of his on-court success.

60% of people asked simply: “Do you like Andy Murray?” said yes. David Jess, 22, a sales assisstant from Glenrothes, proclaimed Murray as “a total legend”. Only 20% said “no” and the rest said they didn’t know who he is.

But why have fans at Wimbledon sometimes been lukewarm towards him?

Tim Henman was loved and adored by the strawberries-and-cream brigade at Wimbledon because he was a ”valiant loser”. He was quintessentially English – a gentleman on and off the court.

“Tiger” Tim, for all his achievements in the game, had the charisma of a Tesco plastic bag. He never seemed to be bothered by the fact he was losing, and anytime he won a point, a little pump of the fist was all we got.

Anyone unconvinced of Hemnan’s lack of character would only have to listen to his BBC commentary for Wimbledon. They should have carried an advert for free sleeping aid before it.

Andy Murray has something of the John McEnroe about him. He always looks like he cares when he’s out on the court. While more recently he has managed to control his aggression, you still see him swearing when he slices one into the net or sends a forehand wide. You can see the fire burning in his eyes.

McEnroe is hailed today as one of the sport’s legends for winning loads of titles and is revered for the entertainment he gave us on the courts but at the height of his career he was lambasted for having similar personality traits. Does this mean that if Murray doesn’t win any of the Grand Slams, he’ll be forever condemned to hypocritical treatment from writers and fans?

Unfortunately, the only thing Andy Murray will be able to do to win over the people who criticise him is win an Open. And on his current form, few would bet against him doing that very soon.

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Make Money, Not Warcraft

Posted by Michael Fern on October 25, 2008

A new industry is being created by video gamers which involves paying often hundreds of pounds for highly trained in-game characters.

 Online game World of Warcraft is at the forefront of the phenomenon, with enough players willing to pay as much as £300 for a character to make a sustainable industry for dedicated sellers.

Michelle Bancroft, a Californian player who sells characters as a hobby, has sold four in the past year. She said: “That’s $1,675 I made from playing a video game. It’s approximately 3 to 4 months’ hobby time. 

“A character in this game is a status. It’s a struggle for fame and recognition, and that’d otherwise be impossible for these people to achieve, so they take the shortcut way and play this game seriously.”

Another gamer, Christopher Brady of Glasgow, disagrees about the value of spending time selling the characters.

He said: “Really you’re just getting back what you’ve paid in fees for levelling those characters. And it’s repetitive. It’s nothing to do with being good, it’s addictive. It is impossible to be bad at Warcraft after you’ve played it for a few hours.”

Mrs Bancroft disagreed, saying: “For me, a hobby is supposed to be a sink-hole – you don’t make money off it, you spend a lot of money on it – so for me I am just glad I can turn $50 into $500 through a hobby I do when I’m not doing anything else.”

For some, however, training characters in this way is a far more serious business. In a number of developing countries, so-called ‘Warcraft sweatshops’ are beginning to appear. A recent investigation by the University of Manchester has revealed the growing extent of the industry.

Professor Richard Heeks said: “Workers in Asia undertake long shifts and earn about £75 per month.

“However, the image of the ‘virtual sweatshop’ seems inappropriate. Most workers are young men who would otherwise be unemployed, and they report to enjoying their work.

“This represents an intriguing new way in which the internet is helping to create jobs and incomes in developing countries; one that is likely to grow over time.”

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The art of exhibitionism

Posted by Agnieszka Gryczkowska on October 25, 2008

Tracey Emin’s controversial exhibition, held in the National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh since the beginning of August, has been a critical and popular success.

This is Emin’s first major retrospective exhibition of her work in the UK and will run until 9th of November. The show, inspired by Emin’s teenage years and traumatic experiences, has garnered a lot of positive comments tempered with shock and amusement.

Patric Elliot, the exhibition curator, said: ‘The work is all about her, so the show is about her and about her whole life, so she was a bit anxious about the public response. This is her life on the walls, and a very negative response could have been hard to take. Happily, the press and public response has been terrific.’

This confessional show covers the past 20 years of Emin’s artwork. It deals with sex, fear, pregnancy, abortion, family and love. It features major installations, including her celebrated ‘My Bed’ from 1998, which comprises of an unmade bed littered with cigarette packets and condoms; embroidered blankets with shocking inscriptions; variety of paintings; sculptures; videos and memorabilia. The show includes some of Emin’s rarely seen early work, such as her room-sized installation, ‘Exorcism of the Last Painting I Ever Made’. It is a replica of the room in the Art Gallery in Stockholm, in which broken, after the abortion of 1990, Emin lived for 3 weeks forcing herself to paint.

Exorcism of the Last Painting I Ever Made, 1996

There are numerous events related with the exhibition. The visitors have the opportunity to sign up for one of the curator’s tours and workshops, such as Saturday Studio, which will be running from the 1st until 22nd of November. Moreover, there will be a chance for those, who wish to see the artist herself. She will be present at a talk held on 29thof October, under the National Gallery (the Weston Link lecture hall) at 6.30pm, by writer and broadcaster, Tim Marlow.

According to the curator it was an absolute pleasure working with Tracey. As he says she is very professional, but also very emotionally involved and committed to the project. The project began over 4 years ago, when Patric Elliot asked Emin if she would like to do a show for the National Galleries of Scotland. The decision was made when she came up and was struck  by the beauty of the Gallery of Modern Art. The show was initially scheduled for 2006 or 2007, then, so as Emin was asked to do the Venice Biennale, it got pushed to 2008.

Now, that the art has been on the walls for over 2 months, it is beyond doubt that Emin’s exhibition is one of the biggest events that have recently taken place in the capital. It has gained a lot of public and media interest. People may say that it is based on self-obsession, but as a leaf through the comments book illustrates, it is a big challenge to come across Emin’s work and remain indifferent to it.

‘Stimulating and touching. An exhibition where you don’t take any postcards or leaflets, you just take your experience’, as one of the comments says.

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