Throwing the soapbox at your head

We are but two gentlemen living in a savage age

2007-03-06T02:42:00.000Z

Tales From the Trenches: Extracts of letters from two men who should know better

2007-03-06T02:32:00.000Z

Make of this what you will, I am far too drunk to explain myself.

"I (on the other hand) am Heraclitus ... I am a crippled genius
who fuelled by cheap larger and subversive literature am on the
verge of "my big break through" ... why would you interrupt me
in this way you bastard!!"

"WELL NOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED YOU LENINIST SCUM ... for I am the great pamphleteer and I will out-do you any day ... put this
grand theory to the test at a NHS demonstration this Saturday ...ONLY ANARCHISTS ARE PRETTY ..."

"It all started at base camp with drinking games, lipstick and a healthy dose of funk..."

"I’m starting toget some real ugly looks from the clientele. They don't like bearded queers in places like this, especially one who would have the gall to express his desire for sodomy in such a blatant and eccentric manner."

"All we need do is dress him up in some sparkly hot pants and we’ll have our own pederast magnet, they’ll flock to you, ready for you to exploit them in the name of social science."

"Many plans have been proposed, including acquiring a miniature owl to perform errands around the house"

"After much internal deliberation I have decided to stick with the lemons, they provide me with more intelligent conversation."

"I have become an insane hermit living off the scraps in my cupboards, I am a philosopher, and I have become some kind of bastard love child of Zarathustra, Diogenes and Schopenhauer."

"In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face."

That is all.

Not now Margaret!

2007-02-13T20:58:00.000Z

Just a quick blog to provide a few brief updates and anecdotes. I have been seriously neglecting this site recently, mainly due to an ungodly amount of work and personal projects that have been underway but anyway, into the void we go.

Firstly, anyone interested in up and coming comedy keep an eye out for Dan Atkinson who I recently saw at my University bar. Within 5 seconds on stage Dan had managed to offend a group of burly rugby players dressed as schoolboys (school disco night) by accusing them of being paedophiles and opened up old wounds between an ex-couple sitting in the front row. Looking like some kind of dishevelled homeless Jesus he proceeded to wheel through 3 20-minute sets like it was child’s play. He had the whole audience in stitches, those who wasn’t personally offending at the time that is. Anyway, if you get a chance, go and check him out. I’ve put a link to his site on the right.

Secondly, an amusing situation in Sainsburys last week that I’d like to share. I live in Norwich, relatively close to the recent bird flu scare and I was amused in a darkly terrified way to see how they corporate food stores had gone to every length to contain the risk. Some hapless drone announces over the speakers “all turkey products now 75% off” and the hapless fools shopping obediently trot off to buy the stuff. Its good to see that both corporate integrity and public intelligence are both still held to such rigorously high standards.

Thirdly, I have been involved in a project named ‘tales from the trenches’ started by friend Chris. It essentially involves twisted and weird correspondence between the two of us. I am debating whether or not to put it on the site. We shall see. A real update soon I hope.

Don’t impose your morality! That’s our job.

2007-01-09T23:57:00.000Z

If anyone needed any more proof that the Daily Mail and religious organisations are nothing but intolerant bigots then you have to look no further than the controversy over the recent Gay rights bill being debated in Parliament tonight.

Looking at the arguments that Christian groups and the right wing press have put forward it becomes infinitely clear that the higher moral purpose the profess to represent is merely a smoke screen for hypocritical intolerance with a deeply conservative agenda. The Archbishop of Birmingham Vincent Nichols, head of the UK Catholic church has claimed that the new gay rights bills proposed by the government are forcing a new morality on Christian communities. The response to this is hardly surprising; the moral bulldogs have been unleashed and have shown their true colours shattering the illusion that the Church is founded universal doctrine of peace, love, tolerance and understanding.

Anyone with an IQ larger than their shoe size should be able to spot some fairly obvious hypocrisy here: Christianity, as well as other religions, is based on a long history of moral authoritarianism and conformity. Apparently it is perfectly acceptable for a Christian to preach endlessly about moral bankruptcy and the like but as soon as the process is reversed it becomes a case of moral imperialism.

It should also be noted how the Catholic Church in the UK have decided to deal with this problem, it is a plan that essentially involves holding an elected government hostage by those who have moral authority bestowed upon them by a fictional being in the sky. Catholic churches and organisations have stated that they would be willing to close adoption agencies and remove and funding for schools that are willing to deal with Gay couples. Any Christian that claims to believe in universal love, care and tolerance and then is prepared to isolate and ruin the lives of children instead of allowing them access to a supportive family environment and decent education is quite simply a cunt. There is no polite way to say it; they are ignorant, intolerant imbeciles.

The issue in this debate is not over whether Christians should be allowed to protest this decision, it is over the alleged persecution of an extremely privileged group, after all only the Anglican church is officially represented in a legislative body. The right to protest is of course a fundamental right and any group that has a grievance against the government should be allowed to do so, but it is an absolute lie and total hypocrisy for religious and right wing groups to claim that they are doing so for the moral framework of our country, that is no more than a different kind of moral domination. It is about time that religious leaders stopped being so selective over who applies to their apparently universal doctrines and stop using moral standards as a smoke screen for their own intolerance, ignorance and agendas.

The Political Alphabet

2006-12-27T15:19:00.000Z

Following a recent conversation with a Primary School teacher in the making a close friend and I have compiled a list that we think should be taught to Kids instead of the mundane "A is for Apple" stuff. Enjoy.

A is for Anarchist
B is for Bolshevik
C is for Capitalism
D is for Descartes
E is for Engels
F is for Facism
G is for Governance
H is for Hegel
I is for Internationalism
J is for Jacobin
K is for Khmer Rouge
L is for Lenin
M is for Marcuse
N is for Nietzsche
O is for Oligarchy
P is for Patriarchy
Q is for QUANGO
R is for Regime
S is for State
T is for Trotsky
U is for Utopia
V is for Vanguardism
W is for Weatherman
X is for Xenophanes
Y is for Yippie
Z is for Zedong

Finally an update

2006-12-17T17:02:00.000Z

Firstly apologies to the one or two people who glance at this blog from time to time. I have pretty much ignored this site for the last month, mainly due to end of semester craziness and work and also the weird sitution where my laptop froze up every time i tried to log in. Anyway, I'm back in the suburbs for the best part of a month now so i should start posting fairly regularly again soon, i am incredibly bored and my staring at the ceiling is starting to get a little old.
Ta for now

The Death of Mr Lazarescu

2006-11-18T14:21:00.000Z

A stark Romanian film about the last two and a half hours of an elderly mans life and the indifference he faces in his suffering and various indignities. The film plays out with a single handheld camera in real time, this makes the film almost torturous to watch in places. There is also a darkly comic undertone in the film that you can’t help but smirk at in places. If that seems like an odd way to start a film review then all I can say is that the death of Mr Lazarescu is a very odd film.

Starting in a run down flat in Bucharest covered in filth and surrounded by cats Mr Lazarsecu lives his lonely life. After complaining of headaches and stomach pains and being given a series of seemingly endless lectures over his drinking habits he finally collapses vomiting blood.

Mioara, a middle aged paramedic is called to pick up and take Mr Lazarescu to the local hospital for diagnoses. What follows is two hours of apathetic, often abusive doctors; jam packed waiting rooms, inefficiency and negligence. Mr Lazarescu, a smelly, alcohol abuser is treated cynically and cruelly, or at best condescendingly by almost every medical professional he encounters.

One of the doctors accuses Mr Lazarescu of being a attention seeking, child beating drunk while another doctor simply refuses to treat Mr Lazarescu as he won’t sign a permission slip for surgery, despite the fact that he is near comatose and delusional; the doctor is far more concerned with finding a mobile phone charger and putting down Mr Lazarescu’s one carer; the paramedic Mioara. She faces endless abuse at the hands of doctors and nurses who insult her for attempting to diagnose Mr Lazarescu, ad well as her attempts to get him treated, apparently stepping out of her place as a lowly paramedic, this provides a vicious attack on the inefficiency and rigidity of hierarchical bureaucracy.

The obstacles that are in Mr Lazarescu’s way range from these examples of outright failure of professional medical conduct and more human failings. Some of the medical staff are simply bored and exhausted of working 12 hour shifts while others are dubious of Mr Lazarescu’s chances of survival, whether he is treated or not. As one doctor sarcastically quips when asked about the recommended course of treatment for Mr Lazarescu, ‘put him in the crematorium, he keeps complaining he’s cold anyway’.

The lack of any notable score, and the use of a single camera give the film a semi documentary feel. The use of a handheld gives the impression of there always being a detached observer to the events, adding to the feeling of apathy and indifference towards another human being. The use of real time, or as close to real time as cinema will allow, and the plodding plot is perfect for showing the inevitability and melancholy of the slow decline towards death and the final few hours of a persons life. As the film draws to a close, and Mr Lazarescu lies naked and shaved for surgery all alone on a cold steel table waiting for death or salvation at the hands of a surgeon we are meant to feel compassion for his plight, something which very few of the characters have done.

The one problem with the film is that the slow pace can be a little infuriating at first and this is the films greatest weakness. The first hour is all waiting, and could have easily been cut in half and still made its point, demonstrating the monotony of the old mans life. This constant sense of reality and circling the drain gives the film its unique appeal, something that definitely draws you in and grows on you as it builds towards its subdued conclusion.

Can you really expect any less of a Tankie?

2006-11-15T13:37:00.000Z

For those of you that don’t know, a Tankie is a left winger who supported the Soviet Union even after they crushed the democratic movements in 1956 Hungary and 1968 Eastern European movements, all in the name of protecting democracy and national freedom of course. John Reid, the current home secretary, is a Tankie.

Looking at the home secretary’s current record it becomes fairly obvious that this love of authoritarianism has not left him, in fact it has taken on new dimensions; the prejudices of middle class nationalism. It should come as no surprise to see John Reid’s latest policy proposal, the power for police to evict neighbours who have loud parties and other such anti social behaviour. Could Reid be pandering to Daily Express readers any more? He could, but only if he somehow related it to house prices. Constantly.

The proposed policy, which will allow police officers to issue immediate bans and fines to a wide array of behaviour. Now aside from the fact that this policy is quite simply middle class bullshit I noticed something else in Reid’s proposal. He has been quoted in today’s Guardian claiming that we need to ‘move away from the traditional view that justice has to involve going to court’. He also stated that ‘the problem we face is what I call a justice shortfall. That is the difference – sometimes big – between what you and I think is justice, and what a lawyer or a legal academic might think it is. My kind of justice is swift effective and matches the crime’.

Perhaps I am being an elitist liberal minded leftie, but what the hell is John Reid on? Criminals going to court?! That’s bleeding heart bullshit; Hell, what we should do is lynch them in the street, especially if they are a bit shifty looking. In the context of the anti social behaviour laws these proposals are bad enough, but supposing that John Reid’s ideas carry over into other areas of social life, such as the right to protest. Is it inconceivable that John Reid may try and bring in legislation to allow police to arrest or fine anyone demonstrating in the street against the government? Maybe I’m old fashioned, but generally speaking court where suspects should go to be tried. Surely, and I am of course assuming based on some kind of blind optimism, that the majority of people aren’t fucking morons. Unlike Mr Reid I assume that most people believe that lawyers, judges and academics that specialise in law know a hell of a lot more than the average person about the intricacies of legal justice. I’m not defending lawyers and judges, I don’t even like most of them, and I’m not saying that people shouldn’t have their own opinions on justice and the law but I will give lawyers the benefit of the doubt in the majority of legal matters.

And what is Mr Reid’s idea of justice anyway? Recent debates and policy issues have shown him to be an authoritarian who attempts to remove safeguards and civil rights in order to ‘speed up justice’ as he puts it. It seems that justice is sped up most when dealing with the poor, minorities, immigrants and dissenters. A notable example to the contrary is the BNP and their recent court ‘victory’ and its relation to the debate of free speech. This is a situation where John Reid is against pushing through new laws and powers to remove free speech, anyone else a little troubled by this? Free speech and action should be preserved, but it should apply to everyone, no matter what their political beliefs and not just white middle class nationalists. It seems that this is something John Reid takes issue with; all I can hope is that he doesn’t have any control over the Territorial armies armoured divisions; there might still be some residual Tankie urges that he hasn’t quite rid himself of.

Anyone who laughs now is a Communist

2006-11-13T20:45:00.000Z

For anyone not aware, and I’m sure this won’t apply to most, the remembrance day services occurred on Sunday. I’m sure that most people out there have had a great grandparent/grandparent/parent who fought in either World War One or Two; I know I certainly do.

Like most people I respect the sacrifices and the losses that these people experienced but based on the destruction of so many human lives, not through any kind of nationalist bullshit. However I watched the farce of a remembrance day with increasing disdain and disgust, mainly due to the fact that this has been turned into yet another flag waving, 'fuck-you Johnny foreigner' shindig. As Robert Jackman points out in his blog Double Negative (http://roberthenryjackman.blogspot.com/) the Remembrance Day events have been given some form of holy reverence where all criticism is banned and those that disobey are shunned.

The right wing fuckwits that seem to have lionised the British troops in past wars, as well as the current Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts, happily ignore the sacrifices made by other countries, even though British casualties make up 2% of the total allied losses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties). Of course even mentioning this simple fact is enough to receive disapproving looks, verbal insults or even physical threats. This feature of modern society seems to resonate through every facet of our lives, the ‘do your duty, love your country’ argument is applied left, right and centre. Whether it is Army recruitment adverts telling you to blow the fuck out of some little brown nation for ‘your mates, your family and pride’ or whether it is journalists and politicians being lambasted for criticising the governments latest ill conceived authoritarian scheme or badly thought out military campaign. It angers me a great deal to see politicians and nationalists take these genuinely tragic events, arguably caused by nationalist ideals to begin with, and compare them with modern conflict; conflicts born of greed and stupidity.

Sadly, these nationalist ideals can even be applied to domestic events; Brown has recently supported plans to push through proposals to increase the limit for holding a suspect without charge. Everyone on the political podium is saying the same thing, ‘fight terror and other abstract concepts, kill darkies, feed the rich, kill the poor, make them like it, lock them up forever, rape their wives and daughters, they shall pay for opposing our freedom’. Elected officials seem to be so terrified that they will not speak out, no matter how strongly they feel. Anyone who criticises this move will surely be told that they don’t understand the threat, or even that they are making it worse. To disagree, it seems, is to be on the side of terrorism. I have no doubt that Labour MPs will bitch and moan and then promptly vote for the legislation anyway, I hope to (Insert deity here) that this doesn’t get through, or it’ll just be another step away from the freedom we claim to fight for.

I liken this current debate to the issues of the remembrance services as another striking example of disagreement in a democracy being looked down upon. It baffles me that people react in this way, the very idea that other people may have different viewpoints and opinions is simply staggering to a worrying proportion of our country. If someone wants to question the necessity of poppies, the legality of police powers or even burn a flag why shouldn’t they be allowed? My point in all this is that hysterical hero worship and blind idolatry is not going to solve any current problems, nor is it going to give past events the respect they deserve. Rational debate and universal acknowledgement of problems, sacrifices and contributions needs to be made; it is not merely enough to become misty eyed at some idealized idea of Britain-that-was and pander to the nationalist agenda which only seeks to create tension and violence between people in our society who aren't willing to bow to the flag.

Laziness

2006-11-13T11:24:00.000Z

Apologies for my total lack of activity in the last few weeks, I have no excuse, other than apathy and borderline alcohol poisoning that is. I’ve been working on something; I’ll post it when I get back from lectures.

Red Sparowes

2006-10-26T23:50:00.000+01:00

Jaw dropping: I think that is probably the best way of starting this review. It is always exciting to see innovative and exciting support band; Una Corda as well as an absolutely stunning performance from tonight’s headliners; Red Sparowes.

In a scene that is overwhelmed by so many bands with the same identikit, loud/quiet monotonous sound it is refreshing to see Una Corda play. Featuring a combination of possibly the skinniest guitarist in the whole world and a bassist who looks like an exuberant child Una Corda create epic sounding songs from a relatively simple basis. For some reason the bands second bassist wasn’t present, although I honestly wouldn’t have been able to tell from the exciting and enjoyable performance. Definitely a band to keep an eye on in the future.

Next up it’s Red Sparowes themselves wandering about the stage, setting up, of all things, a projector. After a couple of minutes the lights go out and the first notes of ‘The great leap forward’ kick in. It immediately becomes evident what the projector is for, a film about Maoist China and the Cultural Revolution; not only have they done a concept album on the subject but now they’ve managed a concept gig. Some may call it pretentious, others genius but the next hour is mind blowing, the musicianship of the band, especially the basis, is possibly the best I have ever seen. This became most evident during ‘Message of Avarice’ when the bassist managed to switch between pedal steel and bass guitar and without missing a single beat.

Leaning against the bass amp near the stage listening to this epic sound was a bone rattling, mind pounding experience. It was almost impossible to avoid nodding my head and becoming deeply engrossed in the music and that is always the mark of a good band. All in all it was an absolutely stunning gig from an extremely talented and under appreciated band, a once in a lifetime experience.

The Revolution Will Be Bureaucratised

2006-10-13T14:16:00.000+01:00

Can anyone think of a reason that supposedly left wing revolutionary groups are so obsessed with maintaining rigid, almost office like committee structures? I find it simply baffling that groups supposedly committed to the cause of drastic social change spend so much of their time arguing over petty issues, such as the correct way to keep minutes, specific hand signals to use in meetings or the exact labelling of personal political beliefs.

After spending time with some of these groups (at University) I have to say that I am incredibly disillusioned. I intended to join these groups in the hope of finding like-minded individuals who actually want to make a visible difference, and maybe take some form of action now and again.

I’m all for educational leaflets, marches, documentaries etc but after a while these thing make no difference. People get sick and tired of endless pieces of paper being thrust into their hands; they just tune it out after a while. Why not create a 10 foot tall piece of graffiti art that grabs everybody’s attention and puts a message across?

Hopefully this issue will be dealt with, I intend to attend now and again and hopefully influence some action, but I’m not going to hold my breath, after all I haven’t even submitted my objection to the agenda.

By the way, I have decided to forgo the Red Sparowes album review and will instead post up a live review and hopefully a transcript of Chris/The Psychosis Safari’s interview. More stuff to come as well, including a Sikth review and something on LARPing. Stay tuned.

Norwich

2006-10-03T14:50:00.000+01:00

After a solid week of wrangling with my computer and endless numbers of IT staff i've finally managed to connect my laptop to the university netork. Lots of things to report on, but haven't got too much time to spare at the moment, but there is a possibility that i will be writing for the University newspaper and getting a radio show some point in the near future.

Hopefully i'll get a review of the new Red Sparowes album online in the next few days. Until then check out the new link to 'Double Negative' which is the blog of a fellow UEA student. Enjoy.

Political parties should not be glorified advertising agencies.

2006-09-22T14:59:00.000+01:00

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/libdemconference2006/story/0,,1878286,00.html

After watching the Liberal Democrats party conference for most of this weeks I have got to say that I am pretty impressed. For a relatively main stream political party they seem to be rather open and honest about their intentions and policies. Rather shocking for a party that has an ability to influence change and actually receives votes.

It seems that the Liberal democrats have been given a decent shot at getting into a coalition government, or at least becoming the largest opposition party in the country. Labour are doomed, Blair is a pariah and no one in the party is willing to distance themselves from him in any significant way. Over centralisation and lack of inner party democracy has come round to bite the Labour elite in the arse and I have no doubt the next election will be the death of the Blair/Brown administration.

I also have no doubt that we’re heading for a long period of Conservative power, after all every silver lining has to have a huge black cloud attached. My only hope is that the Liberal Democrats gain enough representation to curb some of this power. After all in the current political situation an ethical liberal capitalist is better than a right wing bastard capitalist. I’ve just read that back and realized how depressing that makes politics in our country, but it is still encouraging to see some real opposition to the Thatcherite policies that have dominated our political climate for nearly 30 years.

I may not be able to write anything new for a while, I’m moving into my University flat tomorrow so I’m not sure how long it’ll take me to set up my internet access. Ta for now.

The Psychosis Safari

2006-09-16T14:16:00.000+01:00

Its plug time boys and Girls. My good friend Chris will be running his University Radio Show ‘The Psychosis Safari’ every day next week between 9.30 and 11pm. It’ll be broadcast on a weekly basis after that. Anyone out there who fancies a bit of obscure music, philosophy and a whole lot of anger should head over to www.sureradio.com to listen. Alternatively if you want to see what you’re getting yourself in for head over to the Psychosis Safari for a gander. The links on the right hand side. You know what to do.

To the Pope mobile!

2006-09-16T13:45:00.000+01:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,,1873914,00.html

The Pope offending the Muslim community? God forbid. We are after all talking about an institution that has long called for tolerance against other religions and has never instigated any Crusades or any other nasty policies.

But seriously, I am in two minds about what to think here. I am less than surprised that the Pope; the rabid, close minded, God bothering fuckwit that he is, holds this view of Islam. On the other hand he does say that the concept of Jihad is a reprehensible thing and that spreading faith through violence is wrong, both of which are views I fully agree with.

I am also less than inclined to defend the Muslim faith as it falls under the category of religion and is therefore a crock of shit. Nor do I want to leap to the Popes defence, for reasons I have already made clear but I will say that comparing him to Mussolini and Hitler is taking things a little far.

As I said before I have no intention of taking sides here, it is an argument between religions and as far as I’m concerned anyone who believes that firmly in an imaginary man in the sky after the age of six is quite simply delusional. The Pope was wrong to say what he did, but only in that Catholicism is a guilty of spreading faith through violence and other dodgy policies as Islam is. Religion in general is so self righteous it is incapable of seeing its own flaws, and neither side is going to back down from its beliefs without a fight.

In my view all this proves is how hypocritical all religions are, most notably Catholicism. The three main religions in the West; Christianity, Islam and Judaism all seem to have this chronic inability to stand up to mistakes in their past or to take any criticism. It has become taboo to mention or condemn Jihad, Israeli action in the Middle East or the Catholic Churches policy of non intervention during the holocaust or the Popes involvement in the Hitler youth.

At the end of the day the three major religions have a long history of tension, violence and competition; no matter how much they try and play nice. Now and again there are going to be disagreements and this is one of those times. Looks like the best thing to do would be to hunker down somewhere before things really kick off and create your own imaginary friend to make everything alright.

Prague

2006-09-13T12:19:00.000+01:00

Well it has happened again, I’ve returned from a holiday and had to spend almost two solid days in bed to recover. I’m not entirely sure that I have the notion of a holiday entirely right in my head but by Jesus it was fun.

I can probably trace my tiredness to the marathon return journey from Prague; being awake for 24 hours, charging around a city for 7 or 8 hours then flying home and finishing off with a high speed burn at 1am from Gatwick is not the best combination for feeling relaxed and refreshed. But still I’m over it now, at least to the extent my alcoholism and reverse sleeping habits will allow, and I can just about get my head together to write something.

Prague has got to be the most enjoyable place I have ever gone, ridiculously cheap and full of some of the most bizarre places I have ever set foot in; the Kafka Museum to start with. Anyone who can take the existential weirdness of Kafka and turn it in to trip through giant ringing filing cabinets, which are all spouting extracts from his novels and short stories, then lead you into a dazzling white mirrored room with eclectic industrial music and twisted imagery appearing on the wall deserves respect.

It was also incredible to listen to stories of the Communist dictatorship and how utterly ludicrous it was. You have to hand it to the Soviets; they knew how to be dictators on quite spectacularly stupid levels. They did, after all, spend obscene amounts of money building a statue of Stalin which was only finished after Khrushchev condemned him. So they blew it up. That is the kind of stupidity that only a politician or a bureaucrat could think of.

Forgive me for being pretentious but anyone who thinks that Prague is just a boozing holiday, as I was told by almost every person I know who has been, is quite simply a moron. Now that’s not to say that I didn’t get quite horrifically drunk every single evening, but that’s not all I did. I honestly can’t understand how anyone can come out to an amazing city like Prague and then spend the entire time in an English themed bar, or locked in a hostel getting smashed. Mind you, it does mean that I don’t have to interact with them while I’m in museums and galleries or even when I go to a bar that isn’t serving carling and showing the match, so I guess things aren’t too bad after all.

Incidentally I was planning to post some photos onto the blog at some point but some bastard stole my girlfriends’ camera so no such luck. There are a few photos on my mobile phone that I’m going to try and get online as soon as I can.

A Scanner Darkly

2006-09-01T19:44:00.000+01:00

After seeing the latest Phillips K Dick story to be adapted to the big screen I must say I am impressed, even with Keanu Reeves. An interesting, immersive story, unique and innovative presentation thanks to the new ‘interpolated rotoscope’ animation and quirky, twitchy, drug addled performances by Robert Downey Junior and Woody Harrelson.

The film and the director have managed to capture the disjointed paranoia, mistrust and confusion that are central themes in Dick’s work. This sense of paranoia is achieved with a combination of ambient electronica and acoustic rock as well as very strange visual effects. The animation effect (which takes a little getting used to) gives the film a distinctive feel. It can seem a little strange to watch a scene where the whole scene appears to be cell shaded (not unlike XIII) except certain key details that appear to be completely real. Certain objects (for example, cars and of course, the scramble suit) also appear to shift around the screen in an almost unrealistic, cartoonish way, not that this is a negative thing. It adds to the unreal sense of drug induced paranoia that the film attempts to create, a sense that is also maintained by the combination of omnipresent manipulative government agencies and intrusive technology.

The only criticism that I have of the film is that it is a little short, and as such can feel a little rushed. For example the time between the films big twist and the end is a little under five minutes. Several characters also have no real end to their story arcs, but these are both minor problems to an otherwise excellent film which I would highly recommend.

Absence

2006-08-30T19:54:00.000+01:00

I know I promised to start posting relevant things once I recovered from Devon but everything is a little hectic at the moment. Between sorting out University application forms, switching mobile phone contracts, packing for Prague in a few days and spending time with my girlfriend and my friends I’ve had absolutely no time to spare. I’ve hardly even been able to look at a newspaper. So I will start posting something vaguely informative in the near future.

In the mean time I recommend Londoners with a spare fiver and an hour to kill to check out the Che Guevara exhibit that is on at the Victoria and Albert Museum, it is pretty interesting for an exhibit which is based on one photo.

One thing that I will mention quickly was something I overheard on a radio talk show this morning as I blearily searched for caffeine (never an easy task in someone else’s kitchen). The discussion was over fishing and how people are catching and keeping smaller fish. Now personally I normally wouldn’t care less, I find fishing one of the most tedious activities in the world, but one thing struck me as amusing and ridiculous. One of the panellists was trying to blame the situation on Polish immigrants. His reasoning was that the poles eat fish on Christmas Eve. Now, ignoring the fact that it is august I couldn’t quite believe this, apparently immigration is a more dangerous threat than I ever considered; not only is it the cause of our failing education and health systems, terrorism, unemployment, crime, disease, traffic, old age, bad weather, illiterate children, the price of drinks and God knows how many other problems attributed by the Daily Mail, but now it seems that those bloody foreigners are attacking our fish. Bastards! They should be sent to back what where they came from. I seem to remember mumbling something at the panellist, I can’t remember exactly what it was but I think it was something along the lines of ‘moronic hick fuck’, by that stage the caffeine I had just created was a much more pressing issue.

It seems that I did have some time to spare after all; I’ll post something again as soon as I get a chance. In the mean time, do something useful, kill a stupid person.

Oh for fucks sake…

2006-08-23T17:50:00.000+01:00

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1855136,00.html

I couldn’t quite believe this story when I first read it, at first I was convinced that it had to be some kind of practical joke but sure enough Tom and Jerry has been censored. Ofcom and a concerned parent seem to believe that they promote and glorify smoking to children. I remember watching Tom and Jerry when I was a kid and I have never had the desire to smoke because of it, nor has anyone that I know. Kids watch cartoons like Tom and Jerry for one simple reason: Over the top mindless comedic violence and that’s it.

I want to find the joyless moron who complained about this and rant at them for being a humourless piece of filth that is absolute terrified of their kids being exposed to anything that isn’t safe and cuddly. Whoever it was that complained about this is just another example of over protective fearful parents who have made it their mission in life ban everything even remotely fun.

It might be worth pointing out that Tom and Jerry (as well as other cartoon characters of that period and style) spend more time hammering the crap out of each other than they do smoking. Surely then it would be in the interests of children to edit out these scenes in case they get the urge to drop an anvil on their teacher.

As far as I’m concerned the one thing that has the most influence on a Childs actions, whether that be smoking or anything else, is other children. Children usually do dangerous or stupid things because it makes them appear cool to their friends and peers. My point is that children grow up and stop doing these dumb things on their own throughout the course of their childhood and adolescence. That is one the most important parts of growing up, learning how to stop yourself from getting into stupid and dangerous situations. As I mentioned in my paedophile blog the problem is naivety in children, something which is not going to be solved by shielding them from everything.

Maybe I’m looking at this from the wrong angle. This opinion is surely the kind that angers middle aged parents everywhere who defiantly scream ‘you’d understand if you had kids’. If that is case then I would like to offer an alternative solution to the problem of negative influences on children. After all the only way to stop a child from doing anything stupid in its life is to ban it from contact with other children as well as any other external stimuli. I think the best way top prevent kids from being exposed to these nasty influences would be to use Coffee and PC’s method; lock them in cotton wool insulated rooms to protect them from all possible harm and danger.

Holidays

2006-08-17T20:49:00.000+01:00

For starters I’d like to apologise in advance for this post, I imagine that it is going to make very little sense. Sleeping on a floor and drinking almost constantly for 5 days has taken its toll. Just in case anyone out there actually reads this I’m going to post something relevant soon, after I recover from my holiday. Now I have to go and lie down and do nothing for a long, long time.

The Power of the Riffage

2006-07-24T10:27:00.000+01:00

Disjointed tribal-esque drumming, a bass line that sounds like the aural equivalent of being punched in the gut, a singer who puts so much effort into screaming it looks like he might pass out through lack of oxygen, ethereal white noise, and a guitarist who is head banging so violently it seems he is attempting to head butt someone at the back of the room. All of this combined with a crowd that range from skin head metallers to dread locked shoe-gazers. It could only be Isis.

Last nights performance of Oceanic at the Koko club was absolutely superb, almost faultless. The only thing that I think could have improved it would have been the inclusion of a female backing vocalist to add that dream like quality to the songs. However the band put on an epic performance that left the whole crowd awe struck. I was worried that Isis wouldn’t be able to translate their sound into a live show, especially since it was a start to finish exact performance of the Oceanic album, but by Jesus was I wrong.

Starting out with ‘The Beginning and the End’; a song which manages to be both bone-crushingly heavy and hauntingly beautiful at the same time the band drift in and out of each others riffs interplaying and evolving slowly throughout the song. The result of which is a song that is filled with complex jams, beautiful introspective minimalism and all out devastation. The set continues in this way, flowing effortlessly between the two extremes, reaching amazing peaks in the songs ‘Carry’ and ‘Weight’.

This was without doubt one of the best and tightest shows I have ever seen live. Isis are a band who have taken post rock; a genre that has the habit of being generic and self indulgent and have turned it into music that is both exciting and unique, combining sludgy distorted metal noise and ambience that works almost incomprehensibly well. After finishing the last song of Oceanic and departing the band grace the stage and with an incredible rendition of ‘In Fiction’ from the Panopticon album, which was an unexpected and beautiful song to end the night with.

Isis have shown that they can take the atmosphere and emotion of their music and translate it into a live setting, and not only that but create new levels intricacy that propel the sound of their music to heights that simply cannot achieved on a CD. This is music that inspires and captivates people, it was a truly incredible experience.

Your Politics Are Boring As Fuck

2006-07-19T08:44:00.000+01:00

I found this great article over at a site called CrimethInc (which is now under Links). All credit has to go to Nadia C for writing this, get over to the site and check it out. The site also has some really interesting reading material etc.

http://www.crimethinc.com/library/english/yourpoli.html

‘Disproportionate action’

2006-07-18T09:28:00.000+01:00

Oh wait sorry, I’m not allowed to say that (unless I’m Lord Levy). I’m sure most are aware of the situation in Lebanon at the moment, The Israel/Lebanese/Palestine conflict has turned into a veritable shit storm of late. Despite all past experience and common sense I still cannot believe the line that is being taken by western governments (especially Britain and Germany) over this issue. Under British and German pressure the EU condemnation of Israeli actions was actually removed because it was too critical of the Israelis. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not taking sides here, I’m not a supporter of Hizbullah or Hamas (or any psychotic religious zealots) but the actions that have been taken by Israel are absolutely deplorable.

All I ask for is a little consistency of policy; it really would be more beneficial. As long as Blair stands there and condemns Hizbullah for killing civilians and being a terrorist group while at the same time refusing to condemn Israeli action he provides justification for continuing terrorist attacks. This double standard of foreign policy helps to justify extremist claims that the west is anti-Muslim.

I think that this double standard is best exemplified by the Israeli tactic of bombing civilians homes, electricity and water supplies due to the actions of a minority militaristic group; i.e. collective punishment. According to the foreign policy we are currently adhering too it is a terrorist action for a Hizbullah militant to fire rockets at Israeli civilians but legitimate for an Israeli soldier to do the same to Lebanese/Palestinian Civilians. It seems that murder becomes reasonable when it is carried out by someone in uniform.

I agree with neither side in this conflict, I don’t like having to choose between violent zealots, but civilians should not be dragged into the conflict whether they are Israelis, Palestinians, British or any other nationality. Article 33 of the fourth Geneva Convention states ‘No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited’. The term ‘protected person’ refers to civilians. This article was included in the convention due to the reprisal killings that occurred in both world war one and world war two. If Israel continues to pursue its policy of collective punishment while the west simply sits back and condemns Israel’s enemies for using the same tactics (with less success) then this situation can only get worse. For the Palestinians, the Lebanese, the Israelis as well as the West; it is not possible to fight and condemn terrorists while using terrorist methods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Geneva_Convention

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1822988,00.html

Another day, another scandal

2006-07-14T10:17:00.000+01:00

It really is a wonderful day; we’ve been given another opportunity to see Blair squirming under public scrutiny after yet another scandal is revealed. For those of you who haven’t already seen go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,1820006,00.html to check out the full story.

It amuses me to see Blair sinking this low; I honestly can’t think how things could get much worse for him. The next few days are going to be fun, except perhaps for New Labour. One thing that struck me most about these corruption charges is that the Lord Levy (the accused) has since cited that he was ‘disappointed’ by the ‘disproportionate and theatrical way in which he had been arrested’. All I could think of was the shooting during the raid in Paddington Green of Mohammed Abdul Kahar on the 2nd of June. Apparently sending 250 armed police officers to arrest two innocent men in their home, then shooting one of them, is entirely within reasonable police action but arresting a Blairite lord in a police station is a disgrace. Can anyone else sense a little hypocrisy?

The fact that Blair is also being subjected to police investigation/interview and also an MP public enquiry is truly a wonderful thing. It always puts me in a good mood to see that toad in trouble. No doubt he’ll manage to worm his way out of it as he always does, but it will still be gratifying, even though I remain very sceptical that anyone involved in the scandal will actually face charges. I just hope they show it live… maybe they could place those giant screens they used during Live8 back in Hyde Park for the showing.

Incidentally information about Lord Levy and his fairly dubious past can be found at http://www.red-star-research.org.uk/subframe1.html.

Coffee and PC

2006-07-05T09:00:00.000+01:00

I stumbled across this wonderful site whilst researching my last post. Look for the post called ‘Daily Mail TV’ (under november 2005 in the archives). It is, quite simply, sublime.

There is a link to this blog as well. Enjoy.

Welcome to Daily Mail Country

2006-07-05T08:54:00.000+01:00

Flicking between channels this morning I stumbled upon a story being run on the BBC about paedophiles. It confirmed, yet again, what an utterly paranoid middle class nation we are living in. The general public in the UK seems to think the only thing that is going to protect them from the Aids infected, baby raping terrorists prowling our streets is either hiding behind a white picket fence or using a rolled up tabloid to beat them back.

According to the news story and ‘The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre’ there are over 50’000 paedophiles online and that over 20% of children that go online are solicited. For starters, where is the proof of this? I’ve looked on the CEOP website (http://www.ceop.gov.uk/) and have not yet managed to find any kind of evidence into the research for these statistics. Another claim that the website makes is that 90% of children have seen indecent images, i.e. porn. This sounds fairly shocking, but bear in mind that the term child includes everyone up to the age of 18. And I’m fairly certain, unless I’m a freak example, that most teenagers tend to use the internet for two things; Music and porn, and I can pretty much guarantee that this makes up most of the 90%.

The issue of paedophilia has been fairly prevalent in the UK since the mid 90’s and has increasingly become more ridiculous as time has gone on. The most recent development is that the UK government has considered bringing in legislation that will provide access to local paedophiles for parents claiming that this will help parents feel safer. How exactly? Surely this type of information is already known to the police who deal with it so people can get on with their lives. The government have denied claims that they are merely pandering to the right wing tabloid agenda and the right wing media have denied claims that this policy will lead to lynch mob justice. However we are living in nation so retarded that people can’t even tell the difference between a paedophile and a paediatrician (http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,361031,00.html)

My point in all this is not that paedophiles aren’t a serious problem; I’m just trying to approach that problem in a rational way and not let my actions be dominated by a fear mongering media and a government that seems obsessed with lynching everyone and everything that it does not understand. Using the internet has a element of risk and if you use it in a stupid way then something bad could happen but surely that is applicable to every situation in life. A child is probably more likely to be solicited by a paedophile on their way to school. The rational approach would be to provide education and information for children and teach them what is going on in the world. The approach most parents take, in suburbia especially, is to throw their children into the back of a huge Jeep desperately trying to make sure little Johnny or Susie don't get too clued up and start asking awkward questions about reproduction. This tactic of insulation (used by government agencies too, though not in a literal sense) is surely just going to create ignorance amongst children and make them unaware of how to deal with paedophiles (i suggest a polite 'fuck off you pile of shit or i'll confiscate your thumbs'). Personally i think isolating children from this kind of problem is simply putting them in more danger when they eventually confront the real world. Naivety is the problem here, not the internet.

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail

2006-06-30T08:18:00.000+01:00

Sweet Zombie Jesus that was a surprising twist. The by-election in my local borough turned out not to be as predictable as I previously thought it would be. I would even go as far to say that it has put me in a relatively good mood, although there are some fairly depressing elements that i can see in the results. Enough of the preamble, its time to go all pundit on your ass.

Once again the Tories won the seat, as everyone pretty much knew they would, but by God it was a close call. The Liberal Democrats kicked the living crap out of both New Labour and the Tories increasing their votes by 17.5%, which is pretty impressive. After all the Tory Majority in the area was slashed from thirteen thousand to six hundred votes and the votes for Labour dropped by 15.6%. Bearing in mind that the last general election only took place 18 months ago it appears that there may be some hope after all. Unfortunately it was another case of almost but not quite for the Lib Dems scraping in just behind the Tories. But still it was shocking and slightly gratifying to see both main party candidates squirming under press scrutiny, rather than being the smug scumbags they usually are. (All the information on the Bromley by-election can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromley_and_Chislehurst)

However the election also pointed out some less advertised facts about Bromley & Chislehurst. Anyone who lives in or near this area is probably aware that southeast London/Kent is a dump. And a fascist infected one at that. In the local elections the total votes for the far right parties (I.e. UKIP, English Democrats and the National Front) totalled in at around 10% of the total vote, this is a fact that does not bode well for the future. True, the vote was split between these 3 parties but the fact that they even run in the area really infuriates me.

To be blunt I shouldn’t be surprised, The Suburbs are a haven for right wing reactionaries and fear mongers of all kinds. Middle England is a hypocritical nightmare, a bland empty space where the only joy you experience is from leaving. Before the election I was given an article by a good friend about the borough in which I live. One quote struck me as extremely poignant and summed everything up for me;

'The suburb is the symbol of waste and, at the same time ... is a kind of scum churning against the walls of the city'
CIAM International Congress of Modern Architecture

Now, back to work I go, but just before I do, I’ll give you one more quote about suburbia, If you live in the suburbs I’m sure it’ll apply to you as well;

In the suburbs 'life ceased to be a drama, full of unexpected challenges and tensions and dilemmas: it became a bland ritual of competitive spending.'
Lewis Mumford, The City in History (1961)

You will be dispensed with when you have become inconvenient

2006-06-29T12:41:00.001+01:00

If anyone out there is looking for a comprehensive independent online news site i suggest using http://www.schnews.co.uk/. It's extremely useful for keeping up with the day to day events in the UK and beyond without having to risk seeing a copy of the Daily Mail.

The main issue that has been concerning me recently is the debate over civil rights legislation. Both main British parties seem to have this overwhelming desire to outdo each other in their draconian policy ideas, all in the name of 'public safety'. Blair seems intent on legitimising his policy of 'act now, cover up later' through any means at his disposal. Even threatening judges that he will create new legislation to overrule them when they oppose him
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/humanrights/story/0,,1808322,00.html).

He seems to believe that the government can never be wrong, that somehow a group of fallible beings can always be correct with no need to listen to anyone else, even if they have a greater aptitude for the situation. The government doesn't seem to realize that a legal decision made by the judiciary is just that. Legal. The issue of whether judges should be allowed to overturn government policy is tricky but when the policy is clearly in violation of the European Human Rights Act, which Blair was once an advocate of, then it should be fairly clear that the government is in the wrong. Once again Blair has proven that having an opinion in free, democratic Britain is only acceptable if it falls into line with the ideas of the party leaders. Difference of opinion and healthy debate is what makes democracy work, it cannot function in a stifled atmosphere where those that dissent are fired, lambasted, or disciplined.

In response to this the conservative leader has offered up a policy which, I can only assume, is the result of very hasty improvisation. The Idea of introducing a US Style constitution to the UK, at first, aroused some degree of hope in me. I have long been an advocate of a constitution for the UK in order to defend our rights with more ease than at present. However when analyzed the conservative policy makes absolutely no sense, about right for a Tory. For those of you who are not familiar with Cameron’s suggestion the idea is essentially to create a constitution that only gives rights to those doing their 'civic duty' and to allow the government to change the rights that citizens have whenever they see fit.

I have a great number of objections to Cameron's policy, for starters what does 'civic duty' mean? If I go on a protest against a government decision that results in disruption for the public, am i ignoring my 'civic duty’?. The policy is left vague and inconclusive. It seems fairly obvious to me who the civil rights act will apply to; White, middle class suburbanites who will do whatever the government wants in order to protect them from the horde of Johnny foreigners who are lurking down every alley. Something that seems to have been overlooked by Cameron is that the whole point of a bill of rights is that they apply universally to all people, hence human rights. The second fundamental principle is that a government cannot change the legislation easily. A Human/Civil rights bill is there to protect citizens of a country from an over reactive and potentially tyrannical government. Producing a bill of rights without adhering to these two fundamental and basic principles is ludicrous and will quite simply produce a piece of legislation that removes the few rights we currently have and not be worth the paper that it is written on.

This blog has started to run away with itself so I’ll wrap it up here and leave you with a quote from George Orwell's '1984' which I dread will be the fate of democracy in the UK if the current trend of human rights policy continues as it has recently.

"Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record. All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary."

It Begins

2006-06-29T10:29:00.000+01:00

Right, I have finally got slightly motivated and decided to set up a blog after years of avoiding it. I'll try and update this thing whenever i get a chance with my ramblings, rants, reviews and whatever else i can get online.

Live without dead time.