Ah, Derek Conway, Derek Conway, Derek Conway - what have you got yourself into?
Seriously, what have you got yourself into, 'cos I've got no bloody idea. Donated money to your son, or something, I get that, and I get that whatever you did was very naughty, but I just don't get why or what exactly it was that made you the laughing stock of the Conservative party.
Talking with a friend yesterday lunchtime we somehow strayed into the land of politics briefly. Having looked after a group of Year 11 schoolchildren visiting the University the previous day, she told me that a couple of them figured the voting age should go down to 16. This idea, though nice to hear, is completely ridiculous.
That's not to say that 16 year olds have no interest in politics. There are plenty of young groups of budding politicians out there, I'm fully aware of that. The problem is, especially in our country at the moment, politics seems to revolve around the economy. I think its got more to do with Gordon "Iron Man/Mr Bean" Brown and his previous job, which is understandable considering he was in the position of chancellor for ten years. But all this buisness with Northern Rock and Conway and Loans and what not - I can see that it's important, usually because it takes up half the bloody time on a news show anyway. But I just don't understand why they are important. And if I don't understand, chances are a lot of 16 year olds will have no clue, so how are they going to determine who to vote for?
Me thinks that there are possibly more important news stories out there. Take this one for example: A gang of Swedish criminals in Stockholm were seconds away from completing a digital bank robbery when the plug was pulled on them - literally. An elert employee pulled out the cable when he saw his computor making the transaction.
Now that's both news worthy and hilarious. Why can't politics be more like that?
Laters.
Thursday 31 January 2008
Tuesday 29 January 2008
Bye, Marj
Yesterday afternoon I put on my best suit and went to a funeral. Not just because I felt like it, but because this was the time to say goodbye to a woman who I'd only met twice in my life. Marj was one half of the couple who were my "host family" for this year, which are a group of volunteers at my church here in Winchester who every so often invite students round to their house for a meal. When these meals included pheasant, you knew you were in for a treat with Marj.
I've been to a few funerals already , and they are obviously not meant to be enjoyable experiences. And yet, yesterday's service was possibly the loveliest funeral I had been to in a while. The church was packed, the music was gorgeous, and the mood was so much more optimistic than you would perhaps expect. It was so much more a Thanksgiving than a Funeral.
I'm wondering if the church has anything to do with it. I mean, Christ Church, though Church of England, is very different to any other C of E church I've been to, which is definitely part of its appeal. There is always an optimistic mood in the building's atmosphere, and this influences every event and service held there. And in the case of a funeral I feel that this really helps. It helped yesterday at least - it was the perfect way to say goodbye, for Marj was just like Christ Church, heck, she was Christ Church. I found myself agreeing with practically everything that was said about her yesterday, and I'd only met her twice!
Laters, Marj.
I've been to a few funerals already , and they are obviously not meant to be enjoyable experiences. And yet, yesterday's service was possibly the loveliest funeral I had been to in a while. The church was packed, the music was gorgeous, and the mood was so much more optimistic than you would perhaps expect. It was so much more a Thanksgiving than a Funeral.
I'm wondering if the church has anything to do with it. I mean, Christ Church, though Church of England, is very different to any other C of E church I've been to, which is definitely part of its appeal. There is always an optimistic mood in the building's atmosphere, and this influences every event and service held there. And in the case of a funeral I feel that this really helps. It helped yesterday at least - it was the perfect way to say goodbye, for Marj was just like Christ Church, heck, she was Christ Church. I found myself agreeing with practically everything that was said about her yesterday, and I'd only met her twice!
Laters, Marj.
Friday 25 January 2008
It's A Tough Job, But Someone's Gotta Do It...
In preparation for one of my final modules of English here at the University of Winchester, I have to watch as much of the television series Sex & The City as possible. This has provoked much humor amongst my friends, but the joke's on them! I spent about two and a half hours on both Tuesday and Wednesday doing nothing but watching television. okay, so it's Sex & the City. Okay, so it's rather trashy and paints a lot of blokes in a bad picture. Okay, so, as Peter Griffin once observed, Sarah Jessica Parker looks like a foot. I don't care!
In the afternoons, though, I'm mainly concentrating on my dissertation, which has reached its final transformation as being bout the novel Saturday by Ian McEwan. The premise is that this novel is a postmodern novel, but, if you look at the definitions of postmodernism, is it also a post 9/11 novel? See what i did there? All that research on 9/11 won't go to waste. Well, not much of it anyway.
Have also re-tweaked the second Green Ash manuscript, Shine On Me. I can't quite believe that I'm still tweaking them. I guess I just want them to be absolutely perfect, but I doubt I'll ever be pleased completely with my work, especially if my University essays are anything to go by.
Laters.
In the afternoons, though, I'm mainly concentrating on my dissertation, which has reached its final transformation as being bout the novel Saturday by Ian McEwan. The premise is that this novel is a postmodern novel, but, if you look at the definitions of postmodernism, is it also a post 9/11 novel? See what i did there? All that research on 9/11 won't go to waste. Well, not much of it anyway.
Have also re-tweaked the second Green Ash manuscript, Shine On Me. I can't quite believe that I'm still tweaking them. I guess I just want them to be absolutely perfect, but I doubt I'll ever be pleased completely with my work, especially if my University essays are anything to go by.
Laters.
Wednesday 23 January 2008
Heath Ledger & Hot Fuzz
Was completely taken aback by the death yesterday of Heath Ledger, as I'm sure everyone was. I had not seen a lot of his work, but I was very much looking forward to his role as the Joker in the Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight; he looked amazing in the trailer, completely unrecognisable and creepy. His death is a real tragedy, for I'm sure he would have been one of the great actors of our time.
In other film news, I saw Hot Fuzz the other day. Here's my review. [This comment may contain spoilers]
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright score another hit with this intelligent, funny and at times pretty thrilling follow up to their smash hit zom-rom-com Shaun Of The Dead, which I also loved. What was brilliant about that film was that it hit ticked every box it advertised: there was plenty of comedy, plenty of romance (be it between Shaun and girlfriend or Shaun and best mate), and plenty of zombies.
Not sure how you could class this film - maybe an action-thriller-comedy-spoof-ensemble piece. Or not. But there was again plenty of every one of these.
Great writing, great casting, great stunts and great special effects - basically the film is great. It sets a Lethal Weapon-style movie in a small English town that just so happens to be full of A-list British actors like Jim Broadbent, Edward Woodwood and a brilliant Timothy Dalton. The boys have obviously gone up in the world budget wise after Shaun - in the first scene alone we have Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy! The twists in the plot are slightly unexpected and very entertaining, and Pegg and Nick Frost once again make a great double act. My only criticism I have is that there were too many endings, kind of suffering from Return Of The King syndrome there, but I guess that was needed to fully round up the spoof elements to the film.
On the whole this is a genuinely funny film to watch with your mates (though not your Gran). Oh, and there's a couple of really good gory moments in it too. Well, what did you expect? These boys made a zombie movie!
8/10
Here's to Heath.
Laters.
In other film news, I saw Hot Fuzz the other day. Here's my review. [This comment may contain spoilers]
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright score another hit with this intelligent, funny and at times pretty thrilling follow up to their smash hit zom-rom-com Shaun Of The Dead, which I also loved. What was brilliant about that film was that it hit ticked every box it advertised: there was plenty of comedy, plenty of romance (be it between Shaun and girlfriend or Shaun and best mate), and plenty of zombies.
Not sure how you could class this film - maybe an action-thriller-comedy-spoof-ensemble piece. Or not. But there was again plenty of every one of these.
Great writing, great casting, great stunts and great special effects - basically the film is great. It sets a Lethal Weapon-style movie in a small English town that just so happens to be full of A-list British actors like Jim Broadbent, Edward Woodwood and a brilliant Timothy Dalton. The boys have obviously gone up in the world budget wise after Shaun - in the first scene alone we have Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy! The twists in the plot are slightly unexpected and very entertaining, and Pegg and Nick Frost once again make a great double act. My only criticism I have is that there were too many endings, kind of suffering from Return Of The King syndrome there, but I guess that was needed to fully round up the spoof elements to the film.
On the whole this is a genuinely funny film to watch with your mates (though not your Gran). Oh, and there's a couple of really good gory moments in it too. Well, what did you expect? These boys made a zombie movie!
8/10
Here's to Heath.
Laters.
Tuesday 15 January 2008
Must See Movie
[Last week I had the good fortune to be sent The Fountain on DVD. Reviewed down below! (May contain spoilers)]
I like to think of myself as a fairly universal film viewer, in that I watch both mainstream and art house films. Personally I don't really like the fact that there is such a thing as art house cinema – films are for everyone, and we should all be given the chance to watch them, whatever their subject matter, country of origin, etc. Thank goodness, then, for DVDs, or else I know I probably would have had to wait a very long time before seeing The Fountain.
This film totally staggered me. I knew I was in for a wild ride in a technological sense, and I wasn't proved wrong. The visual effects, particularly those set in the "future/inner self" segments of the film are awesome to watch and beautiful. But this film has a hell of a lot of emotion in it too, and I wasn't expecting to be taken on a wild ride inwards.
I guess it's kind of difficult to work out the exact synopsis – Aronofsky gives the plot just enough ambiguity for everyone to have their own opinion on what exactly is going on. It all revolves around the characters of Tommy and Izzie, played respectively by Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Izzie is sick, dying of a brain tumour, and Tommy has made it his mission to find a cure for it and save her life. Izzie, meanwhile, spends her time writing a manuscript for a novel about a Spanish conquistador who is sent on a seemingly impossible expedition by his love, the Queen of Spain – again, both of these characters played by Jackman and Weisz.
This film is a real tour de force for both these actors, and Weisz is fast becoming one of my top five favourite actresses who make films watchable simply because they are in them. Thankfully, this doesn't have to be the case with The Fountain. Jackman is probably the stand out performance here, however, his character (or characters) going through a wide range of emotions and journeys whose endings, though perhaps are sometimes predictable, are not tedious in their predictability.
Several images repeat themselves through the film; for example a ring, skin, and, perhaps most important of all, a tree. Not just any tree, mark you, but the Tree of Life, the perhaps less famous one from the book of genesis in the Bible, the one whose slightly overshadowed by the big bad Tree of Knowledge. If anything, this film made me actually see for the first time what several of the sentences mean in this segment of the biblical text, words that I and I'm sure a lot of others would have simply blanked over.
I urge you to see this film. I know it won't be everybody's cup of tea – after all, that's why it's not mainstream. It's intellectual, has a confusing plot line, only has two major stars in it, and it's director's last film was Requiem For A Dream, another flick which divided film goers and critics alike. But it's also about grief, about love and hope and of acceptance. This would be a great therapy film for those going through a terminal illness, or for those who have recently lost someone in that way. It is a beautiful, beautiful film, and the first chance that you get, please, watch it.
9/10
Laters.
I like to think of myself as a fairly universal film viewer, in that I watch both mainstream and art house films. Personally I don't really like the fact that there is such a thing as art house cinema – films are for everyone, and we should all be given the chance to watch them, whatever their subject matter, country of origin, etc. Thank goodness, then, for DVDs, or else I know I probably would have had to wait a very long time before seeing The Fountain.
This film totally staggered me. I knew I was in for a wild ride in a technological sense, and I wasn't proved wrong. The visual effects, particularly those set in the "future/inner self" segments of the film are awesome to watch and beautiful. But this film has a hell of a lot of emotion in it too, and I wasn't expecting to be taken on a wild ride inwards.
I guess it's kind of difficult to work out the exact synopsis – Aronofsky gives the plot just enough ambiguity for everyone to have their own opinion on what exactly is going on. It all revolves around the characters of Tommy and Izzie, played respectively by Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Izzie is sick, dying of a brain tumour, and Tommy has made it his mission to find a cure for it and save her life. Izzie, meanwhile, spends her time writing a manuscript for a novel about a Spanish conquistador who is sent on a seemingly impossible expedition by his love, the Queen of Spain – again, both of these characters played by Jackman and Weisz.
This film is a real tour de force for both these actors, and Weisz is fast becoming one of my top five favourite actresses who make films watchable simply because they are in them. Thankfully, this doesn't have to be the case with The Fountain. Jackman is probably the stand out performance here, however, his character (or characters) going through a wide range of emotions and journeys whose endings, though perhaps are sometimes predictable, are not tedious in their predictability.
Several images repeat themselves through the film; for example a ring, skin, and, perhaps most important of all, a tree. Not just any tree, mark you, but the Tree of Life, the perhaps less famous one from the book of genesis in the Bible, the one whose slightly overshadowed by the big bad Tree of Knowledge. If anything, this film made me actually see for the first time what several of the sentences mean in this segment of the biblical text, words that I and I'm sure a lot of others would have simply blanked over.
I urge you to see this film. I know it won't be everybody's cup of tea – after all, that's why it's not mainstream. It's intellectual, has a confusing plot line, only has two major stars in it, and it's director's last film was Requiem For A Dream, another flick which divided film goers and critics alike. But it's also about grief, about love and hope and of acceptance. This would be a great therapy film for those going through a terminal illness, or for those who have recently lost someone in that way. It is a beautiful, beautiful film, and the first chance that you get, please, watch it.
9/10
Laters.
Thursday 10 January 2008
And The Score Is Currently 1-1...
Why all the fuss over the American Pre-Election Elections? As soon as Barack Obama won in Iowa, the press over here in Blighty was all, "Oh no, poor Hillary Clinton, she's lost, it's looking bad for her, etc".
Erm, hello? It was just one friggin' state! That doesn't mean a thing in politics, and my point is proven by the fact that Clinton then whooped Obama's ass in New Hampshire. Okay, so maybe 3% more votes isn't exactly "whooping ass", but still there's no need for all the fuss just yet!
It's an interesting contest, don't get me wrong - much more interesting than the Republican Pre-Election Elections. Sorry, but I don't think much of the world cares for the Republicans at the moment, seeing as how they're unlikely to win after good ol' Dubbya's eight years. No, the next President will be a Democrat, and I'm betting on Clinton too.
Now I like Obama, I think it's amazing what he has achieved in his career and life, and good for him for winning in Iowa. But America seems only just ready for a female president, let alone a black president. Maybe it's just me being cynical, and I will be incredibly happy if Obama does win, because it will prove me wrong. It's just that I don't think he will. If anything it's his track record that will be the problem for Obama - at least, I hope that's what the problem will be for some voters, and not his skin colour. The fact is that Hillary Clinton has years more experience than he has - after all, she's already lived in the White House for eight years. Obama has only been on the senate for three.
Maybe his youth will win people over, like JFK before him. Maybe some people won't want another Clinton in the hot seat - after all, we've already had another Bush. There could be a danger of American politics really turning into a family affair - an unreliable source tells me that Nancy Reagan is all set for the 2012 Presidential Race. It's all starting to feel like The Godfather - who's next in line to the Sicilian throne? One's thing for sure, I'm keeping a close eye on this one. May the best candidate win - as long as it's not Rudy Giuliani, because after his continual, shameful plugging of "what he did for New York after 9/11", well, sorry, but that puts you down in my opinion poll.
Laters.
Erm, hello? It was just one friggin' state! That doesn't mean a thing in politics, and my point is proven by the fact that Clinton then whooped Obama's ass in New Hampshire. Okay, so maybe 3% more votes isn't exactly "whooping ass", but still there's no need for all the fuss just yet!
It's an interesting contest, don't get me wrong - much more interesting than the Republican Pre-Election Elections. Sorry, but I don't think much of the world cares for the Republicans at the moment, seeing as how they're unlikely to win after good ol' Dubbya's eight years. No, the next President will be a Democrat, and I'm betting on Clinton too.
Now I like Obama, I think it's amazing what he has achieved in his career and life, and good for him for winning in Iowa. But America seems only just ready for a female president, let alone a black president. Maybe it's just me being cynical, and I will be incredibly happy if Obama does win, because it will prove me wrong. It's just that I don't think he will. If anything it's his track record that will be the problem for Obama - at least, I hope that's what the problem will be for some voters, and not his skin colour. The fact is that Hillary Clinton has years more experience than he has - after all, she's already lived in the White House for eight years. Obama has only been on the senate for three.
Maybe his youth will win people over, like JFK before him. Maybe some people won't want another Clinton in the hot seat - after all, we've already had another Bush. There could be a danger of American politics really turning into a family affair - an unreliable source tells me that Nancy Reagan is all set for the 2012 Presidential Race. It's all starting to feel like The Godfather - who's next in line to the Sicilian throne? One's thing for sure, I'm keeping a close eye on this one. May the best candidate win - as long as it's not Rudy Giuliani, because after his continual, shameful plugging of "what he did for New York after 9/11", well, sorry, but that puts you down in my opinion poll.
Laters.
Wednesday 9 January 2008
Why "Pumpkin"? I Prefer Tomato..
In my first year here at the University of Winchester, I listened to a lot of radio in my spare time, as I didn't have a television in my halls. I listened to a wide variety of stuff - from contemporary music via BBC Radio 1 to the more serious spoken stuff on BBC Radio 4 to the radio stations you can access via the wonderful world wide web.
Over the last two years, though I don't listen to as much radio as I used to, I still regard it as one of the best forms of entertainment ever. Most of the time I catch up with any programmes I enjoy via their websites, and listen to the radio stations I can get on my generic Mp3 player on my way to and from the main campus.
But occasionally I get annoyed at radio, and it's not radio's fault, but it's just pure chance this week so far that every time I switch the radio on within five to ten minutes I'm listening to Kate Nash's new song, "Pumpkin Soup". Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good song, and I loved the way she performed it at last year's Hootenanny, which you can see by clicking this link right here. But it's just a little annoying when I keep hearing it every time I'm walking to and from University which only takes me about fifteen minutes max, which therefore means I don't have that much time for a lot of songs. I want to hear something I haven't already heard.
I know I'm pretty much nit picking, and I also know that the radio stations have to abide by their play lists. Some people will probably tell me just to switch from radio to the saved songs on my generic mp3 player when this happens, but the music's not the only reason why I listen to radio. I like the witty banter, the comments texted or emailed in by other listeners, some of whom I usually agree with. But most of all, in a world where television and, more increasingly, the Internet is King of Entertainment, I listen to radio because, like an old warrior, it seems invincible. It will never die! And I salute radio for this!
Laters.
Over the last two years, though I don't listen to as much radio as I used to, I still regard it as one of the best forms of entertainment ever. Most of the time I catch up with any programmes I enjoy via their websites, and listen to the radio stations I can get on my generic Mp3 player on my way to and from the main campus.
But occasionally I get annoyed at radio, and it's not radio's fault, but it's just pure chance this week so far that every time I switch the radio on within five to ten minutes I'm listening to Kate Nash's new song, "Pumpkin Soup". Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good song, and I loved the way she performed it at last year's Hootenanny, which you can see by clicking this link right here. But it's just a little annoying when I keep hearing it every time I'm walking to and from University which only takes me about fifteen minutes max, which therefore means I don't have that much time for a lot of songs. I want to hear something I haven't already heard.
I know I'm pretty much nit picking, and I also know that the radio stations have to abide by their play lists. Some people will probably tell me just to switch from radio to the saved songs on my generic mp3 player when this happens, but the music's not the only reason why I listen to radio. I like the witty banter, the comments texted or emailed in by other listeners, some of whom I usually agree with. But most of all, in a world where television and, more increasingly, the Internet is King of Entertainment, I listen to radio because, like an old warrior, it seems invincible. It will never die! And I salute radio for this!
Laters.
Tuesday 8 January 2008
My Holiday Memories
Okay, so my plans to really update this blog proved fruitless as I arrived back in Winchester yesterday to an empty, cold house with no food - so plenty of work to do! I hope to have a few minutes tomorrow just to muck about with it, but for now all I can think of doing for today's blog is to list the films I watched over the christmas holidays.
- The Golden Compass
- Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow
- The Simpsons Movie (again)
- Shrek The Third
- Muppets From Space (again)
Good times, good times.
Laters.
Thursday 3 January 2008
And A Happy New Year To You, Too!
Normal service should be resumed on Monday - including a much needed fresh Passage For The Week, Monday Moans, Film Tuesdays and Music Wedensdays. There will also be two new themes for the two remaing days of the week, and I am also planning to eventually recommence my work on the Green Ash website, but this depends on university work loads, so this may not happen for a while.
Laters.
Laters.
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