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Connor Davidson (8,139)
Connor Davidson
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The Woman in Black by Susan Hill at Newcastle Royal Theater Review and Plot Summary

Posted Sunday, February 07, 2010 (2 days 2 hours ago.) Viewed 54 times.

Yes, the cinema is good but it's not the theater. Televised movies are good but they're not the theater. A two dimensional representation of three dimensions is alright but there is clearly something missing. Without this something, Woman in Black would be nothing.

The Woman in Black is a play based off the novel of the same name by Susan Hill and adapted for stage by Stephen Mallatratt. It is essentially a ghost story with a few humorous touches. Poor old Arthur Kipps goes off on a simple task of monotonously and laboriously sifting through the late Mrs Drablow's mountains of unexciting paper work. Mr Kipps's trip was set to be as exciting as a ten hour recital of the entire Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics, read by an old man with an excessively deep voice and an incessant cold. Were it not for the a haunted castle, a chilling event and, of course, the Woman in Black herself.         

At first the play is very difficult to get into as it is essentially a play within a play. The play is based off the experience of one of the fictional characters who plays himself in the play. While watching the play I was confused as to when the actual play had started.

The other observation I made was that the second act was better than the first. If you were only to watch the first act you would leave without getting at all scared. The question on everyone's lips at the end of the first act was: that supposed to be scary? Just wait until act 2...

Now, I suspect that many people will have been turned off the play already. The second the word horror or ghost is mentioned people are turned off. The Woman in Black is certainly a horror and ghost story and I'm sure it will chill you but I doubt it will leave you physiologically scared. It's scary but not scaring.

The scary is more due to suspense and tension than gore. They get you right on the edge of your seat. You're taken in by the actors slow movements, the look of terror they wear,  the lights dull, the eire silence that ensues and then, suddenly, a blood curdling scream. You get a surge of adrenalin and jump out of your seat as if you have seen a ghost. Then you take a deep breath and relax, it's over. At which point you actually see a ghost and it sets you off again.     

Then just as you think it could not get any better you see the last few seconds of pure genius. Oh, how I really want to tell you the very last plot twist. The way the play in a play makes hideous sense. How you find the last piece of the jigsaw hiding under the sofa. Oh, it works wonders. Alas, I can not bring myself to tell you want it is. I guess you have go and find out for yourself or forever live without knowing.


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How to Spot Dangerous Emails and Prevent Getting Caught up in Fraudulent Online Email Scams

Posted Tuesday, January 19, 2010 (20 days 23 hours ago.) Viewed 158 times.

In the information age everything has become so much simpler. If you are reading this article the chances are you've just zoomed off a search engine and are about to leave once you've got what you need. Did you walk down to the local library to haul a huge book on the topic all the way home? No you didn't. In much the same way criminals have turned to the internet. All the running , shooting and looting is not cut out for "Al Ca-nerd". So many criminals have taken to the internet to scam you out of your money and personal details.

Know Your High Spam Topics

Certain topics of email are used over and over again. These topics are not always spam but are an indication that they are. Here is a list of the most common topics for dodgy emails:

  • Lottery Scans if you did not enter you're not going to win.
  • Computer Security Update emails a euphemism for Trojan horse, virus, spyware or ad ware. Never install the attached files. Go directly to an accredited company like Norton or McAcfee for updates.
  • Phishing Scams never email anyone your pin, or bank numbers or follow links in emails to give away such sensitive information.
  • Giveaway emails need a new TV? Well go out and buy one random strangers don't just give you one for the hell of it especially if they are a milti-billion dollar company.
  • "Nigerian Scam" (or 419's) you get an email from someone who needs your help to get millions out of a bank account and you will get' a share of the cash. Now, ask yourself one question: if the scammers knew about a bank account worth tens of millions would they tell you about it?
Do a Google Search

There are many sites on the internet dedicated to revealing internet scams such as Hoax Slayer and Scam Dex. Search the subject of the email and the email address. Hopefully one of these sites will pop up and then you will know that it is a scam.

If it is from Someone you Know it Does not Mean you Should Trust it

Say you get an email from your mum or best friend asking for a small amount of money or your new phone number etc still be aware. I'm not saying be suspicious of the people you just have to be sure that it was them that sent it. Many scammers gain access to email accounts and take them over to send these messages so that they look like they are genuine. Here are a few things to look out for and consider:

  • How many people was it sent to? If it was sent to large numbers of people: beware.
  • Do you notice any differences in writing style?
  • Is the email signed with the persons name? Does that person usually do that?
  • Is the grammar and spelling exceptionally poor compared to normal?
Before you do anything contact the person the email concerns (i.e. the person who suposedly sent the email) by an offline means and ask them directly. The chances are they don't even know it has been sent.

Is the email Threatening?

These are the worst kind of email. I have received emails telling me to hand over so much money or I would get this, that or, the next thing. Including being decapitated by Mickey Mouse. These type should be reported immediately.

The problem with these types of scam is if you pay up, you will almost certainly get the same threats. You will get emails like "your last payment showed us your location, we now know where you live". These types of messages are very effective and make people a lot of money.

Forwarding

If an email requests that you forward it beware. If the email is spam you are doing the dirty work for the scammers. Furthermore people in your contacts who your forward these to will get pretty annoyed at you.

Harvesters

If you get an email that wants you to reply to it and you don't know anything about it beware. For example it may ask you to email back a survey or email them to find out more about something. These are usually used to collect email address to sell to other spammers. By you replying you are showing spammers that you are vulnerable and thus they want to use you.

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The bottom line is, yet again, question everything. These people are dangerous and you must be wary of them. It is only by everyone boycotting these scams that we can kill them off.

Finally, ensure that you report these. First click the report spam button on your email and then send it to one of the 'scam revealer' websites that I mentioned earlier.


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How to Delete Browsing History, Cookies, Temporary Internet Files, Form Data and Saved Passwords

Posted Monday, January 18, 2010 (22 days 1 hour ago.) Viewed 84 times.

Computers are annoying as they like to save everything that you don't need and crash before saving what you do need. All of the things mentioned in the title are a waste of space and should be scrubbed regularly.

Though I suspect that most people seeking advice on how to delete these types of files are not into saving disk space. They may well have been looking at things their granny would not like to see. For example that red hot ruby ring for her birthday. Moving on swiftly…

You will be happy to know that deleting these files is so simple it only requires two steps.

1. Tools Tab
Open up your browser and find the bar showing the open tabs. At the far right of this bar you will see a drop down menu called "tools" click on it and select "delete browsing history" from the list.

2. Delete
Read through the text beside the buttons and decide which you want to delete. If you want to delete all of them there is a button at the bottom to do this. Finally, click the yes button and wait for the green bar to fill and you're done.

3. Check they are gone
Ocassionally, or at least for me, it does not work so press Control+H to ensure it has worked.

That was easy now, wasn't it?


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How to Delete a: Twitter, MySpace, FaceBook, Bebo, YouTube, Yahoo or Ebay Account Permanently

Posted Saturday, January 16, 2010 (24 days 7 hours ago.) Viewed 174 times.

Occasionally, you create an account without thinking or get fed up with your account and wish you never created it in the first place. If this is the case then here is how to sort out your problems:

Twitter

1.    Log into Twitter as usual
2.    Once logged in click on the settings button at the top right hand corner of the screen
3.    At the very bottom of the account page you will see a delete account button, click it.
4.    Confirm you want to delete your account

MySpace

1.    Log into Myspace
2.    Click on My Account from the upper right menu
3.    Select Account from the settings page
4.    Scroll down to where it says "account cancelation" and click cancel account
5.    Click one the box to explain why you want you're account deleted
6.    Open up a new tab and, in it, check your email.
7.    You should receive an email from MySpace. Open the email and click on the confirmation link
8.    Finally, click to confirm your cancelation once again

FaceBook

1.    Log into FaceBook
2.    Follow this link: https://ssl.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account
3.    Click submit
4.    Enter your password and the word in the boxes
5.    Once you have done this, do not log into your account again and it will be deleted within 14 days

Bebo

1.    Log in and go to my account
2.    At the bottom of the my account page click cancel my account
3.    Insert your password and reason for deleting your account

YouTube

1.    Log into Youtube
2.    In the top right you will see your name, hover the mouse over it and from the drop down menu click account
3.    On the account page select manage account from the left hand menu.
4.    Click on delete account
5.    Give and reason and click the delete account button

Yahoo
 
1.    Log into Yahoo
2.    Follow this link: https://edit.yahoo.com/config/delete_user
3.    Insert your password and the code
4.    Click the button below yes

Ebay
 
1.     Complete any pending payments or disputes - if you don't you won't be able to close your account
2.    Submit a request to ebay and your account will be added to the queue for deletion   

Thankfully, should you later decide that you want to start up again you can. However, you will have to start all over again and create a new account as your old account is gone. 

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