Sunday, October 30, 2005
Halloween
We're almost at the night when by tradition the darkest, foulest, most evil creatures of the nether realms can stalk the Earth. Although I suspect most of the vampires, demons, witches and ghouls will take one look at a world beset by terrorists who slaughter innocents, leaders of 'civilized' nations who reign down destruction (for the greater good of course) and a string of terrible natural catastrophes and run back to the much safer infernal marches. Normally I'd read a good ghost story or watch a gory horror for Sahmain, but this year all I really need to do is switch on the news...
We're almost at the night when by tradition the darkest, foulest, most evil creatures of the nether realms can stalk the Earth. Although I suspect most of the vampires, demons, witches and ghouls will take one look at a world beset by terrorists who slaughter innocents, leaders of 'civilized' nations who reign down destruction (for the greater good of course) and a string of terrible natural catastrophes and run back to the much safer infernal marches. Normally I'd read a good ghost story or watch a gory horror for Sahmain, but this year all I really need to do is switch on the news...
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Having a gay old time
The actor George Takei, beloved by millions for his role as Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek (and a regular voice over on the Simpsons among other appearances) has come out of the closet in Frontiers, a magazine on gay and lesbian community issues, saying that he and his partner had lived together happily for many years. It is nice George can be open now but a great shame that the bigotry against gay people has been such that he was unable to come out until he was in his late 60s. I can't help but wonder how many lives were ruined through being forced to live in secrecy and fear, like Alan Turing.
The sad thing is that although attitudes have changed for many folks, there is still a sizeable number of folks out there - many of whom consider themselves 'good' people or even good Christians (or Muslims or various other faiths) - who still openly discriminate against gay folk. We're not talking about some mad neo-Nazi creeps here either, but ordinary folk, most of whom would be horrified at anyone showing bigotry over the colour of a person's skin. Yet they will discriminate against gay folk. Hey, it's not even about approving of someone else's lifestyle, it's simply about acknowledging their right to live that lifestyle; live and let live, folks - I don't give a damn what sexuality my family or friends have, as long as they are comfortable and happy with it. And good one George, I hope he and his partner remain very happy together and wish them the best.
The actor George Takei, beloved by millions for his role as Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek (and a regular voice over on the Simpsons among other appearances) has come out of the closet in Frontiers, a magazine on gay and lesbian community issues, saying that he and his partner had lived together happily for many years. It is nice George can be open now but a great shame that the bigotry against gay people has been such that he was unable to come out until he was in his late 60s. I can't help but wonder how many lives were ruined through being forced to live in secrecy and fear, like Alan Turing.
The sad thing is that although attitudes have changed for many folks, there is still a sizeable number of folks out there - many of whom consider themselves 'good' people or even good Christians (or Muslims or various other faiths) - who still openly discriminate against gay folk. We're not talking about some mad neo-Nazi creeps here either, but ordinary folk, most of whom would be horrified at anyone showing bigotry over the colour of a person's skin. Yet they will discriminate against gay folk. Hey, it's not even about approving of someone else's lifestyle, it's simply about acknowledging their right to live that lifestyle; live and let live, folks - I don't give a damn what sexuality my family or friends have, as long as they are comfortable and happy with it. And good one George, I hope he and his partner remain very happy together and wish them the best.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Evolution
I like the new Guinness advert with the three drinkers reversing out of the pub and de-evolving back through time, but I'm guessing there are large chunks of the American midwest which will probably consider this the Devil's work. They probably believe the drinkers should only walk backwards in time six days... Still, these folk probably don't drink Guinness - in fact I doubt they could handle it, being used to the blandest, weakest lager beers on the planet - and as Bill Hicks once observed, isn't it funny how people who adamantly refuse to believe in evolution usually look kind of unevolved? You can see the Guinness ad here.
I like the new Guinness advert with the three drinkers reversing out of the pub and de-evolving back through time, but I'm guessing there are large chunks of the American midwest which will probably consider this the Devil's work. They probably believe the drinkers should only walk backwards in time six days... Still, these folk probably don't drink Guinness - in fact I doubt they could handle it, being used to the blandest, weakest lager beers on the planet - and as Bill Hicks once observed, isn't it funny how people who adamantly refuse to believe in evolution usually look kind of unevolved? You can see the Guinness ad here.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Hanging out in Singapore
My wonderfully outspoken mate Adrock in Australia has been discussing a hideous event which has hardly been mentioned in the media here. The repressive regime in Adrock's native Singapore is about to hang a young man. It looks like has committed a crime (although how can anyone trust a verdict in a legal system in a non-democratic nation?) but hanging a young man is a disgusting thing to do. In fact I think capital punishment in any case is a dreadful barbarism and find it unbelievable that it is still practised (even in democracies) - it is barely one step up from burning witches in my book.
I'm not religious but I think the commandment 'thou shallt not kill' is a pretty good rule to live your life by. I don't recall in any of the Bible classes I was forced to go to as a kid ever mentioning 'thou shallt not kill, unless you are in Texas and really feel like using a person as an electrical fuse' and yet even among many Christians there is a demand for captial punishement (and to be fair many driven by their faith to protest against it). State execution is a cold, pre-meditated form of killing - exactly the sort most legal systems consider the worst form of murder.
I know the normal excuse trotted out is 'if it were someone you loved they harmed, you'd want to see them dead.' I'm human, so I must admit there would be a flare of terrible anger which wanted that - it is an understandable repsonse. But rising above those feelings of hate and revenge is what makes us people and not barbarians; besides societies have been trying capital punishment throughout the whole of human history and yet crime is still with us, so it is logical to assume it doesn't actually work.
And as for the bloodthirsty dictators of Singapore, what can we say? Articles a few years ago by Bill Gibson and others referred to the heavy investment in IT there by calling SIngapore the 'intelligent island'. A shame that intelligence doesn't extend to the despotic rulers or their legal system.
My wonderfully outspoken mate Adrock in Australia has been discussing a hideous event which has hardly been mentioned in the media here. The repressive regime in Adrock's native Singapore is about to hang a young man. It looks like has committed a crime (although how can anyone trust a verdict in a legal system in a non-democratic nation?) but hanging a young man is a disgusting thing to do. In fact I think capital punishment in any case is a dreadful barbarism and find it unbelievable that it is still practised (even in democracies) - it is barely one step up from burning witches in my book.
I'm not religious but I think the commandment 'thou shallt not kill' is a pretty good rule to live your life by. I don't recall in any of the Bible classes I was forced to go to as a kid ever mentioning 'thou shallt not kill, unless you are in Texas and really feel like using a person as an electrical fuse' and yet even among many Christians there is a demand for captial punishement (and to be fair many driven by their faith to protest against it). State execution is a cold, pre-meditated form of killing - exactly the sort most legal systems consider the worst form of murder.
I know the normal excuse trotted out is 'if it were someone you loved they harmed, you'd want to see them dead.' I'm human, so I must admit there would be a flare of terrible anger which wanted that - it is an understandable repsonse. But rising above those feelings of hate and revenge is what makes us people and not barbarians; besides societies have been trying capital punishment throughout the whole of human history and yet crime is still with us, so it is logical to assume it doesn't actually work.
And as for the bloodthirsty dictators of Singapore, what can we say? Articles a few years ago by Bill Gibson and others referred to the heavy investment in IT there by calling SIngapore the 'intelligent island'. A shame that intelligence doesn't extend to the despotic rulers or their legal system.
Sit down to stand up
I was sad to read about Rosa Parks passing away; I first heard of her in Modern Studies at school (many years ago). For those of you who don't know, this unassuming lady performed the simple act of refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person. It was the 50s in America and bigotry - alas never far away in human society - was actually enshrined in law; as a coloured woman she was supposed to give her seat to a white person. Rosa refused. In so doing she became one of the pebbles which slide down a mountain and bring on a vast avalanche - in this case the bus boycott which would involve a man called Martin Luther King Junior and the Civil Rights movement.
I remember when I first read this I mentioned it to my parents. My dad told me about an event involving my uncle who had gone to visit his family in South Africa in the 70s. Riding a busy bus he saw a coloured lady with her shopping getting on. He immdeaditely stood up and offered her his seat. He was utterly unaware that under the apartheid system she wasn't allowed in that section of the bus, let alone permitted to take a - gasp - white person's seat.
My dear uncle was even more confused when the other passengers starting telling him he couldn't do that. The bus stopped and the driver stomps back and starts yelling at my uncle in that guttural accent. He is unfazed by this - he's been through two world wars so a stroppy, racist bus driver in South Africa isn't going to bother him. He stands there and in a loud voice berates these people in no uncertain terms - not for racism, but for their lack of decent manners. He was brought up in a generation where a gentleman would give up his seat to a lady. The fact she was a different colour never entered my uncle's mind; she was a lady, he was a man and the proper thing was to offer her his seat, bless him.
No political stance, just simple, decent manners and kindness. The driver was told he should be ashamed of his lack of manners and poor upbrining and brow-beaten back to his cab (facing down an irate Scot is never a good idea). Now uncle never started a civil rights movement, but he and Rosa did have something in common (apart from the bus thing) - they both knew what was the right thing to do and they did it in their own way; maybe that's the way we make the world better. We can't all be heroes in some grand drama that history will remember but we all get little opportunities to do the right thing throughout our lives.
Some people say a single person can't make a difference in the large scheme of things, but the big picture of society is made up of many single people, with each of those people's action influencing the actions of the others. Sometimes doing one little thing you know is right is all it takes. Maybe the little things we do won't be remembered in international news stories when we die, but that's not why we should do them; we do them so we know we did them; we do them because, simply, it is the right thing to do. One pebble can start an avalance; one unassuming lady sitting on a bus can change a nation. Don't ever say one person can't make a difference. Good night, Rosa, you have earned your rest. And if you bump into my uncle in the afterlife and he offers you his seat, please take it.
I was sad to read about Rosa Parks passing away; I first heard of her in Modern Studies at school (many years ago). For those of you who don't know, this unassuming lady performed the simple act of refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person. It was the 50s in America and bigotry - alas never far away in human society - was actually enshrined in law; as a coloured woman she was supposed to give her seat to a white person. Rosa refused. In so doing she became one of the pebbles which slide down a mountain and bring on a vast avalanche - in this case the bus boycott which would involve a man called Martin Luther King Junior and the Civil Rights movement.
I remember when I first read this I mentioned it to my parents. My dad told me about an event involving my uncle who had gone to visit his family in South Africa in the 70s. Riding a busy bus he saw a coloured lady with her shopping getting on. He immdeaditely stood up and offered her his seat. He was utterly unaware that under the apartheid system she wasn't allowed in that section of the bus, let alone permitted to take a - gasp - white person's seat.
My dear uncle was even more confused when the other passengers starting telling him he couldn't do that. The bus stopped and the driver stomps back and starts yelling at my uncle in that guttural accent. He is unfazed by this - he's been through two world wars so a stroppy, racist bus driver in South Africa isn't going to bother him. He stands there and in a loud voice berates these people in no uncertain terms - not for racism, but for their lack of decent manners. He was brought up in a generation where a gentleman would give up his seat to a lady. The fact she was a different colour never entered my uncle's mind; she was a lady, he was a man and the proper thing was to offer her his seat, bless him.
No political stance, just simple, decent manners and kindness. The driver was told he should be ashamed of his lack of manners and poor upbrining and brow-beaten back to his cab (facing down an irate Scot is never a good idea). Now uncle never started a civil rights movement, but he and Rosa did have something in common (apart from the bus thing) - they both knew what was the right thing to do and they did it in their own way; maybe that's the way we make the world better. We can't all be heroes in some grand drama that history will remember but we all get little opportunities to do the right thing throughout our lives.
Some people say a single person can't make a difference in the large scheme of things, but the big picture of society is made up of many single people, with each of those people's action influencing the actions of the others. Sometimes doing one little thing you know is right is all it takes. Maybe the little things we do won't be remembered in international news stories when we die, but that's not why we should do them; we do them so we know we did them; we do them because, simply, it is the right thing to do. One pebble can start an avalance; one unassuming lady sitting on a bus can change a nation. Don't ever say one person can't make a difference. Good night, Rosa, you have earned your rest. And if you bump into my uncle in the afterlife and he offers you his seat, please take it.
Respect
"R - e - s - p - e - c - t,
George get's none from the Sentate Committee..."
Not a big fan of George I have to say; I liked his anti-war stance but I'm always left with a distinct impression that he's rather full of himself. The US committee says he lied under oath to them, but let's face it, no-one has actually seen this new 'evidence' and we all know that supposed evidence can be produced (just look at all that 'evidence' they produced to justify the war after all). He certainly didn't perform very well on Channel 4 News this evening though, but that doesn't mean he has actually done something wrong, but this tactic of saying he has and that there is proof (which no-one has seen) certainly slings mud at him.
Gee, if I was cynical I might think the US had nothing on him at all but had hit on a way to discredit him, hoping some of that mud might stick. Nothing to do with the fact George ran rings round Senator Coleman and made him look like an eejit in public, of course... Whatever his faults George is not someone you want to cross verbal swords with and Coleman is quite obviously not in his class, but I'm sure his public humiliation didn't influence him at all. And anyway, why would George need to embezzle funds? Surely he has had more than enough from all his libel wins over the years??
"R - e - s - p - e - c - t,
George get's none from the Sentate Committee..."
Not a big fan of George I have to say; I liked his anti-war stance but I'm always left with a distinct impression that he's rather full of himself. The US committee says he lied under oath to them, but let's face it, no-one has actually seen this new 'evidence' and we all know that supposed evidence can be produced (just look at all that 'evidence' they produced to justify the war after all). He certainly didn't perform very well on Channel 4 News this evening though, but that doesn't mean he has actually done something wrong, but this tactic of saying he has and that there is proof (which no-one has seen) certainly slings mud at him.
Gee, if I was cynical I might think the US had nothing on him at all but had hit on a way to discredit him, hoping some of that mud might stick. Nothing to do with the fact George ran rings round Senator Coleman and made him look like an eejit in public, of course... Whatever his faults George is not someone you want to cross verbal swords with and Coleman is quite obviously not in his class, but I'm sure his public humiliation didn't influence him at all. And anyway, why would George need to embezzle funds? Surely he has had more than enough from all his libel wins over the years??
Monday, October 24, 2005
Pining for the fjords
Is it just me or did anyone else see the news item about the imported parrot which had died of avian flu and think 'was it a Norwgian Blue? Lovely plumage'. Perhaps it wasn't dead but merely pining for the fjords? This is an ex-parrot...
Zed's dead, baby...
It is depressing to see that the TV regulator Ofcom upheld complaints by some boring old farts against the BBC. Why? Well, the Beeb showed the movie Pulp Fiction - after the 9pm 'watershed' when stronger material is held to be acceptable and with plenty of warnings as to content, violence and language. And can there be an adult on the planet who hasn't heard of this film anyway? If you are going to be offended by this then don't watch it - especially when warned beforehand...
The whingers... Sorry, complainers, were worried that the film could induce 'antisocial behaviour in young people'... The usual excuse used by dim-witted little conservative folk who want to control what we can watch (for our own good of course) and, as usual, betraying a distinct lack of familiarity with media audience research which if they paid attention to it doesn't back up their claims to any acceptable level. But why let facts get in the way? Funny these same folks never complain about Shakespeare or the Bible, both of which contain an awful lot of nasty scenes which could influence young people... Easier to ban movies, rock or rap albums and perhaps we should burn a few less desirable books too just to be safe...
Is it just me or did anyone else see the news item about the imported parrot which had died of avian flu and think 'was it a Norwgian Blue? Lovely plumage'. Perhaps it wasn't dead but merely pining for the fjords? This is an ex-parrot...
Zed's dead, baby...
It is depressing to see that the TV regulator Ofcom upheld complaints by some boring old farts against the BBC. Why? Well, the Beeb showed the movie Pulp Fiction - after the 9pm 'watershed' when stronger material is held to be acceptable and with plenty of warnings as to content, violence and language. And can there be an adult on the planet who hasn't heard of this film anyway? If you are going to be offended by this then don't watch it - especially when warned beforehand...
The whingers... Sorry, complainers, were worried that the film could induce 'antisocial behaviour in young people'... The usual excuse used by dim-witted little conservative folk who want to control what we can watch (for our own good of course) and, as usual, betraying a distinct lack of familiarity with media audience research which if they paid attention to it doesn't back up their claims to any acceptable level. But why let facts get in the way? Funny these same folks never complain about Shakespeare or the Bible, both of which contain an awful lot of nasty scenes which could influence young people... Easier to ban movies, rock or rap albums and perhaps we should burn a few less desirable books too just to be safe...
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Contentment
There are few things more likely to induce contentment than being curled up in a warm flat on cold night with a soft-furred, sleeping puss against you, gently purring, paws twitching after dream mice. Until she starts so swiftly that she wakes herself and in true feline fashion digs in the claws so she can leap off.
This is why cat owners prefer jeans or something similar to denim to offer at least a bit of protection.
I do wonder how Pandora manages to wake herself like this. She reminds me of a former flatmate in my student days who would often fall asleep in front of the TV and start snoring, often so loudly he would actually snort like a pig with bronchiatis and wake himself up! Obviously this is not unique to humans.
There are few things more likely to induce contentment than being curled up in a warm flat on cold night with a soft-furred, sleeping puss against you, gently purring, paws twitching after dream mice. Until she starts so swiftly that she wakes herself and in true feline fashion digs in the claws so she can leap off.
This is why cat owners prefer jeans or something similar to denim to offer at least a bit of protection.
I do wonder how Pandora manages to wake herself like this. She reminds me of a former flatmate in my student days who would often fall asleep in front of the TV and start snoring, often so loudly he would actually snort like a pig with bronchiatis and wake himself up! Obviously this is not unique to humans.
Canongate
BBC Scotland had a great little arts programme tonight dedicated to Edinburgh-based Canongate Books which was a delight to see. For those who don't know them, Canongate are a Scottish publisher of a wonderfully independent bent; they have managed the tricky balancing act of maintaining artistic and literary integrity, support for Scottish talent and building a national an international reputation and list (some of you probably know them through the huge bestselling and Booker winning Life of Pi).
The programme was timed to coincide with their latest, unusual venture - in collaboration with a multitude of other publishers around the whole word they had a simultaneous publication of a new range of books based on world myths. Karen Armstrong has written a short but fascinating introductory book to the series A Short History of Myth; Margaret Atwood has written the Penelopiad, telling the Odyssey from Penelope's point of view instead of Ulysses. More writers from around the world have been persuaded by Jamie Byng to take part and since they can choose any myth and then re-interpret it in any way it has the potential to run and run. Mythic archetypes underpin so many of our stories and it is good to see this well-spring of literature being so well displayed.
I think the really nice thing about Canongate though is that they have enjoyed some great success with a number of writers, earning good sales and critical acclaim, yet they remain in Edinburgh and continue to be very supportive and nurturing of new Scottish talent as well as international writers. Their Scottish list runs from damned fine newer authors such as Anne Donovan through to Alasdair Gray (their special anniversary hardback slipcase of his novel Lanark, split into four hardback volumes, each signed and numbered by Al and with his artwork all over them is one of my mnost treasured of my signed books - it is also one of the best and most unusual fantasy works and I think the best Scottish novel of the 20th century). Nice to see them being celebrated and I wish them the best, because they print some really good books and the literary scene would be far poorer without them
Oh, and Jamie really knows how to fling a launch party! I've been to more than my share of book launches, large and small but Canongate always throw really good ones (obviously this doesn't influence me at all!).
BBC Scotland had a great little arts programme tonight dedicated to Edinburgh-based Canongate Books which was a delight to see. For those who don't know them, Canongate are a Scottish publisher of a wonderfully independent bent; they have managed the tricky balancing act of maintaining artistic and literary integrity, support for Scottish talent and building a national an international reputation and list (some of you probably know them through the huge bestselling and Booker winning Life of Pi).
The programme was timed to coincide with their latest, unusual venture - in collaboration with a multitude of other publishers around the whole word they had a simultaneous publication of a new range of books based on world myths. Karen Armstrong has written a short but fascinating introductory book to the series A Short History of Myth; Margaret Atwood has written the Penelopiad, telling the Odyssey from Penelope's point of view instead of Ulysses. More writers from around the world have been persuaded by Jamie Byng to take part and since they can choose any myth and then re-interpret it in any way it has the potential to run and run. Mythic archetypes underpin so many of our stories and it is good to see this well-spring of literature being so well displayed.
I think the really nice thing about Canongate though is that they have enjoyed some great success with a number of writers, earning good sales and critical acclaim, yet they remain in Edinburgh and continue to be very supportive and nurturing of new Scottish talent as well as international writers. Their Scottish list runs from damned fine newer authors such as Anne Donovan through to Alasdair Gray (their special anniversary hardback slipcase of his novel Lanark, split into four hardback volumes, each signed and numbered by Al and with his artwork all over them is one of my mnost treasured of my signed books - it is also one of the best and most unusual fantasy works and I think the best Scottish novel of the 20th century). Nice to see them being celebrated and I wish them the best, because they print some really good books and the literary scene would be far poorer without them
Oh, and Jamie really knows how to fling a launch party! I've been to more than my share of book launches, large and small but Canongate always throw really good ones (obviously this doesn't influence me at all!).
Monday, October 17, 2005
Listening mix this last week
Iradio Chicago comedy channel - runs a lot of full-length standup shows and, thankfully, doesn't censor them like some other web comedy stations.
King FM Seattle - very cool classical station from Seattle (well, duh). Especially nice since it is run not by a commerical company but an arts grouping, including Seattle Symphony. The time difference between Edinburgh and the Paficic Northwest does make for some light amusement as the presenters announce it is very nearly 7am as I'm thinking about a mid-afternoon cuppa. Great station to have on while working.
Selected Johnny Cash. Listening to his cover of Nine Inch Nail's Hurt I had a sudden urge to listen to some more of the Man in Black (and how cool is his cover of Personal Jesus?). Don't generally like country music but Johnny is one of those performers who transcends genres really. Kind of intrigued to see the film biopic of him coming up with Joaquin Phoenix.
Diana Krall - especially Autumn Leaves; very timely.
Watching
Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Totally top fun from Aardman and utterly loaded with references to other movies, especially 1930s Universal monster movies, from the obvious (Lon Chaney in the Wolfman, right down to the 'time lapse' montage for the transformation) to the subtle (the village bobby with his moustache is a dead ringer for the village copper from the Claude Rains version of the Invisible Man). Large-scale yuks all round and good to see Hollywood hasn't ruined our fine Northern Lads (the cheese over in the States probably doesn't appeal to them).
Nightwatch. The very cool Russian movie that took more in Russia than Return of the King last year when it came out and has been storming across Europe faster than avian flu. To be honest there is hardly an original part to it - it is loaded with references and lifts from a wide variety of other movies and film-makers (notably Buffy, the Matrix and a lot of tracking shots that are very Jean-Pierre Jeunet) - but the way they are put together is excellent (especially considering it was made for under £4 million). It also shares a moral ambiguity with the excellent series Ultraviolet, leaving you pondering if the Dark Others are actually evil and the Light Others truly good. Can't wait to see the next two in the trilogy. Good to see it getting some screenings in multiplexes as well as arthouse cinemas. Just a shame I keep thinking on a totally unrelated Terry Pratchett novel of the same name every time I hear the title.
Iradio Chicago comedy channel - runs a lot of full-length standup shows and, thankfully, doesn't censor them like some other web comedy stations.
King FM Seattle - very cool classical station from Seattle (well, duh). Especially nice since it is run not by a commerical company but an arts grouping, including Seattle Symphony. The time difference between Edinburgh and the Paficic Northwest does make for some light amusement as the presenters announce it is very nearly 7am as I'm thinking about a mid-afternoon cuppa. Great station to have on while working.
Selected Johnny Cash. Listening to his cover of Nine Inch Nail's Hurt I had a sudden urge to listen to some more of the Man in Black (and how cool is his cover of Personal Jesus?). Don't generally like country music but Johnny is one of those performers who transcends genres really. Kind of intrigued to see the film biopic of him coming up with Joaquin Phoenix.
Diana Krall - especially Autumn Leaves; very timely.
Watching
Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Totally top fun from Aardman and utterly loaded with references to other movies, especially 1930s Universal monster movies, from the obvious (Lon Chaney in the Wolfman, right down to the 'time lapse' montage for the transformation) to the subtle (the village bobby with his moustache is a dead ringer for the village copper from the Claude Rains version of the Invisible Man). Large-scale yuks all round and good to see Hollywood hasn't ruined our fine Northern Lads (the cheese over in the States probably doesn't appeal to them).
Nightwatch. The very cool Russian movie that took more in Russia than Return of the King last year when it came out and has been storming across Europe faster than avian flu. To be honest there is hardly an original part to it - it is loaded with references and lifts from a wide variety of other movies and film-makers (notably Buffy, the Matrix and a lot of tracking shots that are very Jean-Pierre Jeunet) - but the way they are put together is excellent (especially considering it was made for under £4 million). It also shares a moral ambiguity with the excellent series Ultraviolet, leaving you pondering if the Dark Others are actually evil and the Light Others truly good. Can't wait to see the next two in the trilogy. Good to see it getting some screenings in multiplexes as well as arthouse cinemas. Just a shame I keep thinking on a totally unrelated Terry Pratchett novel of the same name every time I hear the title.
Turnip Prize for Art
One of the highlights of the
Archie McGlaikit, a graduate of the Auchenshoogle Academy of Art has impressed many art critics with his installation piece Large Empty Room. Aubrey Winnington-Smythe, art correspondent for Art Wankh, told the Gazette that he found this an incredibly powerful piece which challenged the viewer's perceptions. When it was pointed out to him that Large Empty Room was in fact, simply, a large empty room, Winnington-Smythe nodded sagely and remarked, "Exactly, it’s amazing." His learned opinion may have been worthy of more note if it had not turned out the room he had been studying was not in actual fact McGlaikit's installation piece but was an old utility room the janitor had recently cleared out.
Stacey Macey, who many say glows in the Brit artistic firmament like an oil warning light on your car's dashboard, is on the list for the third time. Her previous entries include jelly moulds made from her own breasts and a small 2-foot high wall which she would hurdle every fifteen minutes. This year she has surpassed herself with an interactive performance piece of art where she removes her jeans, bends over and invites the audience to insert a variety of kitchen implements into her gaping bum. Originally she planned to perform in a darkened room and illuminate it in bursts by having viewers light her farts, but this set off the sprinkler systems.
There are two wildlife-themed entries this year. Anton Ashwhole has a delightful video installation which features two penguins sword fencing (sabre, not foil) on the battlements of
The Winner will be announced in another couple of weeks. Last year's winner was, of course, Delilah Tomkinson's Big Book of Pressed People. Inspired by Terry Jones and Brian Froud's Lady Cottington's Book of Pressed Faeries, Delilah managed to persuade a number of art students and friends to lie down inside a giant scrapbook which was then placed inside an old industrial press and crushed closed. Charles Saatchi is thought to have bought it soon after it won the award for an undisclosed six-figure sum.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Autumn in Edinburgh
Some random pictures taken in the last week or so around the city as the leaves fall slowly. The setting sun is so low in the sky now that it glows a deep red; a gorgeous colour as warm as the evning's now are chill. Like most Scottish cities the buildings here are built of our native-hewn stone rather than dreary bricks (even my humble tenement flat is built of these huge slabs of sandstone).
The sandstone and granite reflects the light throughout the seasons; in high summer they shimmer in the direct sunlight (when we get it of course!); in the winter the silica crystals glitter and shine like little stars in the frosty moonlight. And here in the autumn the ancient stones glow with a warm copper-red light as the long autumnal twilight settles around us, contrasting the golden-red sheen with the lengthening shadows of the setting sun; its the time when the quality of light is astonishing (and these pictures cannot capture what the human eye sees, alas) - it casts an enchantment over everything; when you experience it you realise why our ancestors thought this time was when the faerie folk would emerge from their mounds, it is a very special time of day and year, full of the promise of transition.
A setting star billions of years old, emparting the last warmth of the dying day to stones millions of years old, hewn from our native land, which comprise the buildings centuries old, enjoyed by those passers by who raise their eyes; our existence is so short compared to those stones and stars and yet little magical moments like these make them seem eternal and wonderful. So many people so intent on getting home from work miss these moments around them. Raise your eyes and marvel at the art created by human hand and nature and stand for a moment in the magical twilight. Stop the rush of commuting, the concentration on those little matters that seem to dominate our lives and allow yourself, just for a moment or two, to embrace a little wonder in your daily life. You may be a few minutes later getting home, but your soul will be enriched. When you live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and in one of the most magnificent looking cities it would be a crime to ignore such beauty and delight. Little moments of wonder, folks, that's one of the small aspects of existence that make our lives worthwhile. These little magical theatres act out their plays over millennia but we only experience them for a briefm lfeeting moment; enjoy that moment; if, as the old poem put it, we can see eternity in a grain of sand imagine how much more we can see in the glow of setting sunlight through a copper burnished leaf.
Some random pictures taken in the last week or so around the city as the leaves fall slowly. The setting sun is so low in the sky now that it glows a deep red; a gorgeous colour as warm as the evning's now are chill. Like most Scottish cities the buildings here are built of our native-hewn stone rather than dreary bricks (even my humble tenement flat is built of these huge slabs of sandstone).
The sandstone and granite reflects the light throughout the seasons; in high summer they shimmer in the direct sunlight (when we get it of course!); in the winter the silica crystals glitter and shine like little stars in the frosty moonlight. And here in the autumn the ancient stones glow with a warm copper-red light as the long autumnal twilight settles around us, contrasting the golden-red sheen with the lengthening shadows of the setting sun; its the time when the quality of light is astonishing (and these pictures cannot capture what the human eye sees, alas) - it casts an enchantment over everything; when you experience it you realise why our ancestors thought this time was when the faerie folk would emerge from their mounds, it is a very special time of day and year, full of the promise of transition.
A setting star billions of years old, emparting the last warmth of the dying day to stones millions of years old, hewn from our native land, which comprise the buildings centuries old, enjoyed by those passers by who raise their eyes; our existence is so short compared to those stones and stars and yet little magical moments like these make them seem eternal and wonderful. So many people so intent on getting home from work miss these moments around them. Raise your eyes and marvel at the art created by human hand and nature and stand for a moment in the magical twilight. Stop the rush of commuting, the concentration on those little matters that seem to dominate our lives and allow yourself, just for a moment or two, to embrace a little wonder in your daily life. You may be a few minutes later getting home, but your soul will be enriched. When you live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and in one of the most magnificent looking cities it would be a crime to ignore such beauty and delight. Little moments of wonder, folks, that's one of the small aspects of existence that make our lives worthwhile. These little magical theatres act out their plays over millennia but we only experience them for a briefm lfeeting moment; enjoy that moment; if, as the old poem put it, we can see eternity in a grain of sand imagine how much more we can see in the glow of setting sunlight through a copper burnished leaf.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Vamping it up in
Sooo busy lately, working with my colleagues on the latest version of the web site for FPI. It’s a much more flexible site bringing everything under one virtual roof. It’s a lot of work to get the thousands of graphic novels ready and moved over of course. Still running the existing site but I’ve got a good chunk of stuff up on the new site now and I’m pretty pleased with the way it is shaping up, I think its well worth all our efforts. Still, I’ve been spending so much time relentlessly entering graphic novels onto it that I started hallucinating a couple of dwarves on my screen, one dressed as Adolf Hitler and one a miniature Winston Churchill. Both were juggling kiwi fruit for some reason, while behind them a chorus of penguins in blond wigs sang Lily Marlene… At least I think it was a hallucination, perhaps my colleague buried a bizarre screensaver into his code for the site.
So I was pretty pleased when a DVD box set arrived from
It ran for three seasons and stories varied from some which were very much cop-crime tales to some which drew more on the vampire mythos (which I enjoyed more). Like the rather good Highlander TV series which was running at a similar time (FK’s leading man Geraint Wynne Davies was a guest star in one episode) many of the events in each week’s story would trigger memories from the lifetime of past centuries. FK was also one of the first shows I can recall being the subject of an internet campaign to keep it going – the Kick-start the Knight campaign and had quite a number of websites back in the Olde Days of the Web (the 90s, when we had to wind up the telephone crank similar to those seen in U-Boat movies to make astonishingly fast connections of 28.8KBS, less broadband more rubber band).
Despite that I’ve hardly ever met anyone who knows of the show – a chum at my old work watched it and a couple of friends in the States and that was it. Never saw it mentioned in any of the UK SF magazines either, which is why I had no idea it had ever been released on DVD, even if only in the
The only sting was that HM Customs and Excise stung me for import tax – fair enough, it was over their £18 threshold for personal imports, but if the government is serious about pushing internet commerce in the UK they need to look at this – but this tax was doubled by the bloody post office who charged me a handling charge even higher than the import tax. Handling charge??? They’re the sodding post office!! Handling goods is their business!!! They’ve been paid postage then charge you even more to finish delivering it? Is this some scam between Customs and the GPO? What a rip. Certainly something I’ll have to consider before ordering the second volume.
Well, that’s given me something to relax with after a hard day of adding new graphic novels to the site and I’m really enjoying it, especially as I haven’t seen Forever Knight in years. I also got out for a few hours at the weekend to go the
Flying flu
As
Once again it is up to the intrepid staff of the Gazette to expose the Truth. And what a tangled web of conspiracies it is. The outbreak of bird flu in Asia Minor which lead to an EU ban on turkeys from
However, it is not that simple; certain elements of the EU community are using this ‘crisis’ not only to garner more powers to government bodies but to play the politics game. Doesn’t it seem suspicious that the first two nations to be struck are both eastern nations who are considering EU membership – a memberships that those EU nations closest to them are highly resistant to. The fact that a mass outbreak, cull and ban on exports has hit Turkey while it is in actual negotiations with the EU is remarkable – could it be that it isn’t only diseased birds certain EU governments are trying to keep out of Europe’s supposedly open borders?
Ah, but the conspiracy is even deeper than that, as
Today we are told that superstitious villagers mistook forms of disease and plague for vampiric attacks, but now we must ask ourselves, did they perhaps know something we don’t? Something the European authorities don’t want us to know? And is it a natural phenomenon or the result of a scientific project gone dreadfully wrong? Were European scientists experimenting with ancient strains of Romanian blood tainted with the vampiric virus? Coming soon we examine how the Warren Commission and the assassination of President Kennedy are tied in to the whole Romanian vampire cover up and the supposed pandemic of bird flu from the East…
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
And it's good night from him...
Just about to dash out to meet some chums for dinner but I had to say how sad I was to hear of Ronnier Barker passing away today. Watching the show he and Ronnie Corbett did recently where they anchored some of their best classic material was a sheer delight - how terrific was it to watch their mini-serial The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town agian after all these years? I remember watching that with my parents when I was a schoolkid (yes, we did have TV then you cheeky buggers!). The fact that one was co-written by another of my favourites - and another British comedy hero - Spike Milligan, made it all the better for me.
It is too easy for folk to take potshots at old comedy shows and dismiss them. I remember watching the new 'alternative' comedians who came in behind the likes of the Two Ronnies in the 80s. Some I liked, some were fresh and new and some, let's be honest, were just talentless tossers who thought saying anything about Thatcher was funny (so why bother working on an actual joke?).
But even the then-new comedy shows from that period that I liked, like the Young Ones, just isn't as funny as the Two Ronnies or Porridge. Like Morecambe and Wise it is easy to sneer but secretly many of us still laugh at many of their sketches. Laughter is as vital a component of our lives as love, air and water. Its not bad way to be remembered though, is it? Ronnie Barker - he made a lot of us laugh. That's a nice thing for folk to say after you're gone.
Just about to dash out to meet some chums for dinner but I had to say how sad I was to hear of Ronnier Barker passing away today. Watching the show he and Ronnie Corbett did recently where they anchored some of their best classic material was a sheer delight - how terrific was it to watch their mini-serial The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town agian after all these years? I remember watching that with my parents when I was a schoolkid (yes, we did have TV then you cheeky buggers!). The fact that one was co-written by another of my favourites - and another British comedy hero - Spike Milligan, made it all the better for me.
It is too easy for folk to take potshots at old comedy shows and dismiss them. I remember watching the new 'alternative' comedians who came in behind the likes of the Two Ronnies in the 80s. Some I liked, some were fresh and new and some, let's be honest, were just talentless tossers who thought saying anything about Thatcher was funny (so why bother working on an actual joke?).
But even the then-new comedy shows from that period that I liked, like the Young Ones, just isn't as funny as the Two Ronnies or Porridge. Like Morecambe and Wise it is easy to sneer but secretly many of us still laugh at many of their sketches. Laughter is as vital a component of our lives as love, air and water. Its not bad way to be remembered though, is it? Ronnie Barker - he made a lot of us laugh. That's a nice thing for folk to say after you're gone.
Monday, October 3, 2005
Real Time
Many thanks to the Silvereel for kindly passing on this extract from the closing moments of Real Time With Bill Maher:
"Mr. President, this job can't be fun for you any more. There's no more money to spend--you used up all of it. You can't start another war because you’ve used up the army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term has become the Bush family nightmare: helping poor people. Listen to your Mom. The cupboard's bare, the credit cards maxed out. No one's speaking to you. Missionaccomplished.
"Now it's time to do what you've always done best: lose interest and walk away. Like you did with your military service and the oil company and the baseball team. It's time. Time to move on and try the next fantasy job. How about cowboy or space man?
“Now I know what you're saying: there's so many other things that you as President could involve yourself in. Please don't.
“I know, I know. There's a lot left to do. There's a war with Venezuela. Eliminating the sales tax on yachts. Turning the space program over to the church. And Social Security to Fannie Mae. Giving embryos the vote.
"But, Sir, none of that is going to happen now. Why? Because you govern like Billy Joel drives. You've performed so poorly I'm surprised that you haven't given yourself a medal. You're a catastrophe that walks like a man. Herbert Hoover was a shitty president, but even he never conceded an entire city to rising water and snakes.
"On your watch, we've lost almost all of our allies, the budget surplus, four airlines, two trade centers, a piece of the Pentagon and the city of New Orleans.
“Maybe you're just not lucky. I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side.
"So, yes, God does speak to you. What he is saying is: 'Take a hint.' “
Many thanks to the Silvereel for kindly passing on this extract from the closing moments of Real Time With Bill Maher:
"Mr. President, this job can't be fun for you any more. There's no more money to spend--you used up all of it. You can't start another war because you’ve used up the army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term has become the Bush family nightmare: helping poor people. Listen to your Mom. The cupboard's bare, the credit cards maxed out. No one's speaking to you. Missionaccomplished.
"Now it's time to do what you've always done best: lose interest and walk away. Like you did with your military service and the oil company and the baseball team. It's time. Time to move on and try the next fantasy job. How about cowboy or space man?
“Now I know what you're saying: there's so many other things that you as President could involve yourself in. Please don't.
“I know, I know. There's a lot left to do. There's a war with Venezuela. Eliminating the sales tax on yachts. Turning the space program over to the church. And Social Security to Fannie Mae. Giving embryos the vote.
"But, Sir, none of that is going to happen now. Why? Because you govern like Billy Joel drives. You've performed so poorly I'm surprised that you haven't given yourself a medal. You're a catastrophe that walks like a man. Herbert Hoover was a shitty president, but even he never conceded an entire city to rising water and snakes.
"On your watch, we've lost almost all of our allies, the budget surplus, four airlines, two trade centers, a piece of the Pentagon and the city of New Orleans.
“Maybe you're just not lucky. I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side.
"So, yes, God does speak to you. What he is saying is: 'Take a hint.' “
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