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The Cambridge Chat Thread

Reply 7820

Rich19

Tried it earlier in the term, was not selected. My chemistry supervision partner was, however.

Reply 7821

smilepea

Catsmeat

I tried this in my first year. I was not selected. Growl.

Try again! I will not get on the team, but I love uni challenge so so so so so much

Reply 7822

Catsmeat

13

smilepea

Try again! I will not get on the team, but I love uni challenge so so so so so much

I'd only get disinterested half way through, and start playing mind games with my teammates. This is not conducive to victory ... apparently :mad:

.

Reply 7823

Scipio90

Catsmeat

I thought Pyramids was one of his more accomplished works ... saying that, I'm more a fan of his earlier novels (the first ten-twelve). Making Money and Going Postal are both hilarious and sophisticated, yet they don't have that taproot of darkness which grows through his other works.

Yeah, I do think the general feeling of a more expansive and slightly crazy/dark world in the earlier novels has faded out somewhat in the more recent ones, which is something of a shame. The more books there are, the more we see of the world, and I think our imagination is able to fill in the gaps of an outline world better than one in which most of the originally "exotic"/fantasy places/themes have been reduced to something funny rather than unknown. Not that the new ones aren't good, of course, I just think the series has undergone a shift in tone. (You could view it as a transition between a more Hitch-hiker's guide style crazy, inconsistent universe to a LOTR-style very well-planned and consistent ordered world.)

Reply 7824

Scipio90

I think I came second in our uni challenge tryouts last year but somehow wasn't on the team...

Reply 7825

ukebert

13

Craghyrax

I just got inspired and looted the Bridge and St Andrews st Oxfams :o:

I told the friend I went to the play with last night about my online Pratchett finds and he mentioned he'd seen loads at the town bookstore. Not wanting them to get sold I rushed over. Found only one at the bookstore, but I found three at the more general shop on Bridge st :king1:

8 new Pratchetts in the space of 24hrs! :awesome:

Now I really must work :getmecoat:

Which ones? Do you have Witches Abroad? If so I want to borrow it :p:

My supervision did not go disastrously :biggrin:

My day of struggle evidently paid off, because I understood what was going on with the work a lot better than I thought that I did. I really don't get on with structures and although I should have done way more than I have done I am pleased with how it went. He did spend the last 5 minutes ranting at us because we hadn't done enough work, but who cares. Another one down, only 4 more to go.

Does anyone know where there might be a passport photo making machine in Cambridge?

Reply 7826

ukebert

13

strueeee

Oxford Rockz!!!

Hilarious.

Reply 7827

Catsmeat

13

Scipio90

Yeah, I do think the general feeling of a more expansive and slightly crazy/dark world in the earlier novels has faded out somewhat in the more recent ones, which is something of a shame. The more books there are, the more we see of the world, and I think our imagination is able to fill in the gaps of an outline world better than one in which most of the originally "exotic"/fantasy places/themes have been reduced to something funny rather than unknown. Not that the new ones aren't good, of course, I just think the series has undergone a shift in tone. (You could view it as a transition between a more Hitch-hiker's guide style crazy, inconsistent universe to a LOTR-style very well-planned and consistent ordered world.)

I think it represents something like Discworld becoming its own thing; his early works, especially The Colour of Magic, Light Fantastic, are pretty sharp spoofs of pulp-fantasy novels. You can only keep that going for so long. He made something else out of it, which kind of turns out to be a rusty, yet endearing, analogy-world for London in the 00s.

Reply 7828

Scipio90

ukebert

Does anyone know where there might be a passport photo making machine in Cambridge?

Boots, upstairs, near all the baby-centred crap.

Reply 7829

Blaah Blaah

Swap. Bottle of wine +. Pennies (more than I left with)

Queen's ents?

Reply 7830

BigFudamental

13

Anybody got any great recommendations for stuff to do over the first year summer (seemingly all internships these days are directed at "penultimate year students" )? Is there anything that being at Cambridge sort of opens up or facilitates? I'm trying not to procrastinate on this for once...

Reply 7831

ukebert

13

BigFudamental

Anybody got any great recommendations for stuff to do over the first year summer (seemingly all internships these days are directed at "penultimate year students" )? Is there anything that being at Cambridge sort of opens up or facilitates? I'm trying not to procrastinate on this for once...

Go travelling.

And don't listen to my advice.

Reply 7832

smilepea

I just had a lovely bath :bath:

Reply 7833

BigFudamental

13

ukebert

Go travelling.

And don't listen to my advice.

thanks

. I wouldn't mind that but would rather do it in under the umbrella of some work programme type thing rather than just buying a plane ticket to godknowswheria.

Reply 7834

Craghyrax

OP

17

munro90

Thanks. Going postal is brilliant (have you read making money?) I was really disappointed by pyramids definitely the worst pratchett i have read by a long way! :frown:

I have both and I certainly prefer Pyramids to Making Money; the end was too disgusting :p:

Glad to have picked up Going Postal again. I bought the new hardcover back when it came out, lent it to somebody and never got it back :grumble:

Christmas Bop today, which is annoying. Tonight might be a good time to bury myself in the library. Think it will end at the same time as it closes. Got Muse on super loud to match their base for my base.

scarlet ibis

You guys still have one of my Neil Gaimans right? Just trying to keep mental track as a few things are out.

Reply 7835

Craghyrax

OP

17

Scipio90

Yeah, I do think the general feeling of a more expansive and slightly crazy/dark world in the earlier novels has faded out somewhat in the more recent ones, which is something of a shame. The more books there are, the more we see of the world, and I think our imagination is able to fill in the gaps of an outline world better than one in which most of the originally "exotic"/fantasy places/themes have been reduced to something funny rather than unknown. Not that the new ones aren't good, of course, I just think the series has undergone a shift in tone. (You could view it as a transition between a more Hitch-hiker's guide style crazy, inconsistent universe to a LOTR-style very well-planned and consistent ordered world.)

I don't know. I think some of the new ones regained some darkness. Like Unseen Academicals focused on a goblin who turned out to be an orc with super dark scary roots [oOo] :p:

Also I prefer the nice balance in between. The middle Discworlds manage real life with fantasy just enough. It all reminds you of something real but the characters and characteristics of that world are still very much distinct and autonomous. Like the Librarian, the Luggage, Igors, Death... They fit in the pseudo-real world without being pseudo-real themselves.

strueeee

Oxford Rockz!!!

Its quite nice. I'm planning a visit in 8days :yep:

ukebert

Which ones? Do you have Witches Abroad? If so I want to borrow it :p:

New books from online: Pyramids, Small Gods, Hogfather, Going Postal
New books from Cambridge: Hat Full of Sky, The Light Fantastic, Colour of Magic, Equal Rites.

Can't help you with Witches Abroad. Not one of my favourites, tbh. Got Mort and Maskerade (also witchy) if you like, although the latter is on loan.

ukebert

My supervision did not go disastrously :biggrin:

My day of struggle evidently paid off, because I understood what was going on with the work a lot better than I thought that I did. I really don't get on with structures and although I should have done way more than I have done I am pleased with how it went. He did spend the last 5 minutes ranting at us because we hadn't done enough work, but who cares. Another one down, only 4 more to go.

w00t! Glad to hear it :biggrin:

ukebert

Does anyone know where there might be a passport photo making machine in Cambridge?

As Scipio said, there's one upstairs in Boots (had to go yesterday to get photos for my application) It takes coins, and its £4 or £5 depending on how many you want.

Reply 7836

TheUnbeliever

16

BigFudamental

Anybody got any great recommendations for stuff to do over the first year summer (seemingly all internships these days are directed at "penultimate year students" )? Is there anything that being at Cambridge sort of opens up or facilitates? I'm trying not to procrastinate on this for once...

Thread on undergrad research here

The UROP (Undergraduate Research OPportunities - Supermerp links it in that thread) scheme gives you a £200 tax-free stipend. On the other hand, I assume accommodation would come off that.

Reply 7837

Catsmeat

13

BigFudamental

Anybody got any great recommendations for stuff to do over the first year summer (seemingly all internships these days are directed at "penultimate year students" )? Is there anything that being at Cambridge sort of opens up or facilitates? I'm trying not to procrastinate on this for once...