HurlyBurly

Falling back in Love with New York City

2011-06-21T01:40:00.000-07:00

I've just got back from New York for the 7th time. Once again, I'm left astounded by the magic of the greatest city in the world.

So Saturday morning I set off on the long journey. I get the bus to Gatwick and then the coach to Heathrow airport. I'm worried I've cut the time a bit tight because usually travelling is a nightmare and I'm expecting to run into at least 17 obstacles before I even get to the plane. Today though, I'm blessed with the other side of luck and I experience the easiest flight of my life. I get there and the Virgin staff member organises my upgrade in a matter of minutes. Everything is looking Big and Apple like...

Landing in JFK is usually just as stressful. There's usually a queue about 15 miles long and custom officers who haven't had sex since Clinton also "didn't have sex" But no, not today, there were a mere 10-15 people in front of me and I walked straight through. I get straight on the long island railroad and head for Manhattan. Penn Station appears in barely 20 minutes and i check into my hotel. Not before arguing with the lady about the deposit per night though. I don't understand what she's saying because my ears haven't popped yet and although I've nothing to worry about, I get the impression they get a lot of English people arguing with them because she has that "roll her eyes god not again what is it with you people" kind of expression. I apologise loads and therefore also come across stereotypically English.

I get to my room and immediately feel better, I can take a bath and blast out whatever is showing on HBO at the time. I end up relaxing while listening to Garden State, Natalie Portman is cute and neurotic, but she was the other 56 times I'd seen it so... I head uptown to my favourite bar HURLYS which is on 48th & 8th. I get there and recognise the bar staff, I order the Turkey & Bacon clubhouse sandwich and a Makers Mark...I'm home. I've spoke to my friend Spanish Rob and TJ but they haven't got back to me yet and come 8pm I start to get kind of sleepy. I head back to the hotel and decide to take "a nap" This is an impressive nap as I wake up at 12:00am. Still no message from Rob so I go back to bed. I wake up and 3am and Rob has text me about 1:30 saying they've just finished dinner, where am I? This place is like Spain, people go out about 12:00am here and party until 4-5am. It's the city that never sleeps but I am tired so I temporarily disagree with this perspective. I am now however wide awake so I start to watch Scream 2.

I forget Portia De Rossi is in this film which sparks enough interest for me to continue watching it, again. I had forgotten what may very well be the most annoying thing about America. This being the sheer number of adverts they show. When watching a film over there they show 9 minutes of film then 4-5 minutes of adverts. Result? It takes 3 hours to watch a 90 minute flick. Seriously considering writing to Obama to tell him I have figured out why they have so much gun crime in America.

I have to stay awake so fuck it, let's watch The Goonies again. I'm not sure If I've paid for breakfast but decide to find the breakfast room again. I use the computers for a while to email everybody I haven't spoken to for the last 15 minutes and therefore miss terribly.

I need to kill some time today as I don't have much on so decide to go see the new Woody Allen film "Midnight in Paris" It's actually a really great film. I love Allen's films but they're not for everybody, this one however is for everybody. Owen Wilson is a Screenwriter who is captivated by the romance of Paris. He accidentally travels back in time and finds himself socialising with his literary heroes. The Fitzgeralds and Hemingway to name a couple. It's nicely done and perfectly illustrates the way we romanticise as a way of escaping the ugly present. It's a great film and I'm happy to hear from Rob who has invited me for dinner and drinks tonight at a place called the Sun Burnt Cow. Sounds delightful...

I go back to the hotel to get ready for the evening ahead. I take a cab over there and immediately feel more at home in New York. Taking a cab in New York is just one of the many thousands of cliche's which immediately make you feel like the star of your own movie. It's also a great way to see the city. As we drive through Union Square I am feeling better already. I've also been stuck inside my own head now for over 24 hours. I decide that New York City is the greatest city in the world when you are in the company of others but can be one of the loneliest and most isolating places in the world when you are on your own. This is no revelation, in the tradition of Travis Bickle, this contrast is merely a consequence of the sheer volume of people and things going on at any moment.

I get a bit annoyed at Ordering a Makers and coke for $10 because as Rob arrives with his entourage he informs me this place does a deal where you can eat and drink as much as you want for $20! Insanity and probably a reason America has some rather large citizens. I meet his lovely girlfriend Courtney and some other guys including some people I met in the Hamptons last year. Lots of cocktails and food flowing while the English & Australian (Rob's girl) gang up on the Americans. Or at least put up a fight.

Rob heads off to sort something with his Girl and me and one of his friends Matthew take off to The Life Cafe, my other favourite place in the whole of New York (East 10th & Avenue B)I'm delighted to see a lot of the same faces still there. Arran, otherwise known as The Gay John Cusack is still there. Funny guy. I feel at home in this place, it has familiarity for me and that is sometimes needed in another country.

Monday morning I have to check out so i go to use the computers again. I can't get back into the room once I check out so I ask this American lady to let me back in once I've handed in my key card. I get chatting to her and she's a drama teacher in town from Indiana. She agrees with me about my take on New York and the evils of being stuck inside one's own head. I get the most use out of the computer room before setting off to my next hotel. It takes me a while to find and I stop off at a great little book store in the West Village but I eventually find my hotel. The Larchmont on West 14th between 5th & 6th. Upon arrival it becomes clear to me immediately that I should have come straight here and not bothered with the Overpriced Pennsylvania that didn't even have free Wifi. This place is smaller but perfectly clean, tidy, tv, WiFi, great location, free breakfast in the morning and helpful and polite staff. I love it and tell them I probably want to stay an extra night on Wednesday as well.

I have my big list of Open Mic comedy gigs to consult. I organise two gigs for the evening. The first was Eastville Comedy Club. The audience consisted of all acts and It was in the order of signing up. Since I was 17th of 20 and these acts all had other gigs to get to, I ended up performing to about 4 people. Fun but pointless. But it's ok because I have a second gig lined up. The Z-room. I have trouble finding it but luckily Spanish Rob turns up at the last minute and drives me to my destination. This gig is much busier and looks promising. I have to sit through about 2 hours of mostly good acts but some shit too, I finally get on and there's still a decent crowd. The set goes really well and I settle into my own material after a minute or two working out the rhythm of some one liners I'd been working on. Rob actually laughed and said I was the best one of about 3 of the night. There were about 25 acts. I see a guy from my previous gig there, Jason. Jason is from Australia and managed to do I think 6 gigs on this particular night. This is impressive in any country and made my record of 2 on that night look mighty feeble. Fucking Australians. Always competing. Rob drops me off and I get a relatively early and mildly tipsy night.

Tuesday I kill some time in the day again and go to see The Tree of Life with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. If you know me you will know I quite enjoy artsy fartsy films and basically anything involving Sean Penn. But this film was a bit of a stretch to enjoy. Eventually it started going somewhere but really did take far too long to get into. The film is about death, loss and the connection of everything. Even so, that doesn't necessarily justify the film detouring into a big bang/evolution science documentary. That being said, the film ends up watchable but I've got to head back as I'm doing another 2 gigs tonight. The first gig is at the Treehouse in Greenwich village. I did this gig last year and didn't really like the layout. I did however love the staff and they had a bar tender who looked like a cross between David Grohl and Robert Downey Jnr, cool dude. I walk into The Treehouse and smile as I see Grohl/Jnr is still there at the bar. He recognises me straight away which I find rather impressive as we weren't there too long last time. He asks about the people I was there with last year, Rob & my girlfriend. I am astounded but saying that, as a former barman/waiter for so long, we do remember faces.

I am also pleased to see they have moved the gig out to a room in the back, this is sensible as we no longer have to compete with the noise from the bar. I get on third (perfect) and the gig goes great, much much better than last year. I recognise two of the other acts from last year also. My second gig is uptown at the Republik Lounge. I have to get a cab after taking the subway as I'm running late. When I get there I'm told what time the sign up is, his angers me as i just paid 20million dollars for a cab and confirmed it by email first. I'm about 18th on the running order so I decide to go sit at the bar. I talk with Jolene behind the bar who looks a little like Nicole Richie, her friend is a Psychology student who is fascinated to learn how I did my dissertation on masculinity in the gangster genre. She asks me all about it. THIS IS EMBARRASSING, I HATE TO TALK ABOUT MYSELF....

A few drinks and a couple of hours later I am starting to feel a little hammered. I go back to check on my spot, oops, I've just missed it. My etiquette as a comedian is usually very good as we are all usually expected to stay after and be a healthy part of the audience but In this country, nobody seems to care, especially me. I talk to the host who kindly puts me on next. I do my set, it goes well, I don't remember all of it but it's all on auto pilot and there's about 5 people in this particular audience so who cares right? I go back to the bar and decide to shoot onto another gig that's around the corner. I'm starting to realise why there are so many gigs, it's because people can't be bothered to move. Apparently only 2 people wanted to come to this one and they are both acts so I say thanks but no thanks and jump in a cab towards Plan B (which is now called The Blind Barber) ID? Fuck, what self respecting 30 year old brings out their passport? Ok, i actually usually do IN this country but tonight i actually forgot. Eventually the guy lets me in though and I go bother two randoms in the room out the back where the most historic conversations took place whilst smoking weed. Unfortunately things have changed rather dramatically and shit just ain't the same these days. I don't remember leaving and woke up in a cab outside my hotel. That's pretty good timing. Thanks brain.

Wednesday I had to switch rooms which meant I had to go out into the incredible heat for at least 3 hours while they sorted my new room. Union square is a nice place to sit and read but too hot for me on this particular day. I decided to take a pit stop at the Hearltand brewery for some food. My smaller room was actually bigger than my big room, but that was cool with me. I headed over to the Duplex on Chrisopher Sreet. This gay bar was about 7 doors down from where I used to live in 2005. I got there very late and put my name on the list but it wasn't looking good to get on. After a few acts in though the standard and crowd was so good I decided to ask the host nicely in my most English of accents. He said he'd make sure to get me on but not to tell anyone. Does the Internet count as anyone?? Some amazing acts, I got on second to last just before 9 and the crowd loved me. I got approached by a few people and the host said come back anytime and gave me some contact details. I then had to shoot uptown again as I was meeting Robin (former regular member of Anthony Peake's forum) and Danielle (Agent and Niece of Susan Kovalinsky) at a mid town gig - Charlie O's Bar and Grill. There was about 5 people in the audience again, two of them were Robin and her husband who I enjoyed meeting. Another act I'd met earlier on that week really struggled but the energy in the room was not particularly friendly. It was actually a room used as a vacuum for NASA to study the sleepiest of particles. Danielle got there just in time to catch my act. Lucky her! Afterwards we got the subway (after 30 minutes of Danielle tirelessly attempting to get a cab, seriously she even questioned the physical intimidation of an oncoming bus) downtown which was a harrowing experience for Danielle who basically has a phobia of people. Particularly ugly, stupid and fat people. America has been known to harbour and produce these types of people. We popped to the The TreeHouse again, unfortunately Grohl jnr wasn't working today. This, other than the red wine I drank earlier, was the only night I didn't drink alcohol. I'm far too old and can't handle this much anymore. Plus I knew I had Thursday, Friday and Saturday still to come.

Early night for me I went back to the hotel but saw Joe Devito on the television who I could have sworn I'd performed with earlier that night. Same material, same guy. I was convinced anyway.

So Thursday was going to be a great one. Martin, the former bankruptee and compulsive gambler was going to Atlantic City. To make it even more special I was going with a girl I saw for a bit while I was living in NYC in 2005 and her Fiance Brian. Veronica was 8 months pregnant. I know, I smelt a sit-com too. I got to Port Authority and booked a ticket for 11am. While waiting for my bus I saw that Weiner had finally resigned after consulting with his wife. As much of an idiot as this guy actually sounds, I think it's ridiculous that he can't do his job because he basically gets horny and seeks validation. Essentially, biology is the reason a man can no longer do his job. The future is looking bleak for us men if we're not careful.

The bus got in at 13:30 but I had a couple of hours to kill so took a walk around. Veronica and Brian picked me up about 15:45 and we headed to our casino/hotel. They had got me a comped room and fuck was it nice. We went down for the buffet about 18:00 and made sure we got our moneys worth. We had to queue for nearly an hour though and Veronica ended up playing the pregnancy card. Thought it would produce more than just a chair, she should have piled it on thicker. Food was totally worth the wait though. Some amazing variety, an abundance of awesomeness. Basically, a shit load of awesome food. After dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner and desert we headed to the poker tables... Uh oh...

If you have no interest in poker this next section may some how put you into a state of boredom, higher than the state you had already achieved by listening to the mundane tales of my existence. So feel free to skip to the part where I was only down a little bit of money..

I sat down at the first table and lost $100 pretty quickly. I cashed back in for another $100 and quickly won back $200 after playing Pocket Queens all in to take down a stubborn Ace King. I continued for a few hours going up and down until I lost to a Made Full house having a slightly lower full house... I know... very unlikely to happen odds wise, I'm just lucky that way I guess. I decided that as much as I'd like to continue losing money it would probably be wise to just go to bed. So for once I took my own advice. I went to bed, messaged my girlfriend and watched Ryan Renoylds being interviewed by Conan. I do like the double R. I love him in that episode of Two Guys and a Girl where there is a leak in the house and he says "I'm the toilet King" - If anybody has this, let me know cause I want it!

I woke up feeling slightly cheated and disgusted with myself so I decided to sit down at the tables with another $200 before checking out. I was pressed for time and through tight play managed to get up to $252 and then went to meet Veronica and her fiance to check out. They dropped me back to the bus station at Ceasers and we said goodbye. Good luck to you guys for the birth in about a months time and hope to come out for the wedding in April.

But now, back to my stupidity. I walked around for a bit and couldn't find where my bus would be leaving from. I must have selective navigation because what I DID see was signs heading back to the Casino. I thought about it, then I stopped thinking about it and just did it. I sat down with $100 and got up quite quickly, this was a nice table and there were a few idiots (yes bigger than me) there which I was outplaying nicely. Then a Chinese lady came and sat to my right and starting playing very aggressively. She put me all in on a bluff which I called but luckily for her she hit her two pair on the river. This annoyed me. I cashed in again for my remaining $150. I made a few small wins and then got dealt ACE 10 of clubs. The flop came down with two club cards and I almost had the nuts flush. Chinese lady right on target started betting into me and I called $30 as did the player to my left. I had one of those please god moments which paid off because the final card which i believe was the 7 of clubs gave me the unbeatable hand I needed. I checked the hand as did the player to my left. Right on schedule, Chinese lady bet $25 which I happily re-raised all in which was about another $40. I got 2 calls and enjoyed getting my money back from her. I hit a few more flushes and laid down a full house to another higher full house, this was pure genius on the turn as I was actually losing but the river would have given a split pot and the pot got very, very big. I got this money back from the guy a little later on after hitting a king high flush. I laid my final hand of pocket 8's down which was probably wise as the kid opposite me had Aces. Could have been interesting. After getting to $400 I decided to cash out. I felt smart and very proud of myself... I SURVIVED ATLANTIC CITY.

I went to make my bus from a different casino but had to run a mile in the smouldering heat in 10 minutes. I made the bus, barely and enjoyed the slightly longer journey back to Port Authority. Just over an hour to kill before I met up with Rob for ANOTHER night out. Fuck it, HURLYS it is then. Rob picks me up and we grab a few of his friends and head to a place in the village for wings. We head to the first club but encounter a lovely racist bouncer who has an issue with some of he ladies out with us. This angers me. I decide to give him my scariest look, I don't think it's working. I tell myself that he got the message and go with rob and co to the next club. A few Long Islands later and I wake up at Rob's house in Hackensack New Jersey. I'm a bit hungover...again. I decide not to get a lift in with Rob and to trade the ride for a few more hours rest and just take the bus a little later on. I've stayed in this house so much now that I know it very well. I stop to wish his mother happy birthday and head off to catch the 165. I'm falling asleep as I approach Port Authority again. I've decided to pay for one last night in the Larchmont Hotel tonight so I have somewhere in the city to stay and can leave on Sunday with little hassle. I get the same room as last time but am disappointed that Ellen was not on at 4pm (I do very much so enjoy her dancing). I decided to watch The Dark Knight just because it was on. Heath Ledger still cracks me up with his delivery of the line "Six"

At about 8pm I get impatient, Rob says he will be around about 11pm so I decide to take a walk down to Life Cafe for some food and my last evening. Gay Cusack is behind the bar. Fabulous.

The thing I love most about New York is the best nights I've ever had have often been on my own. This can occur for 1 of 2 reasons, but mainly both.

1) America takes more effort as to who they employ to work behind the bar. They actually learn how to make drinks, tend to be Attractive (I'm mainly talking women here but Grohl/Jnr was certainly a good looking chap!) and are friendly and sociable with customers. England tends to just hire those with little prospects and little interest in talking to anyone. Now I'm certainly aware this isn't true for everybody so don't cry if it doesn't apply to you. I worked in the industry myself for about 8 years and know there are some great bars in England. I'm just saying, New York bars do it better, the layout of the bars, actual bars you sit at and talk to the barman encourage this kind of dynamic and it's just one of the many reasons I love this city

2) People also talk to other people out there. The barman/customer dynamic is infectious and they are often a catalyst in getting people to talk to each other. Most people from New York aren't from New York (at least originally as well) and everybody has a story to tell. It's a ride and you can sit anywhere to enjoy it from a different perspective.

Within minutes of ordering my food with Gay Cusack an Irish girl named Sarah sat down. She'd just quit her job. As I had also quit mine recently it was faily easy to get talking. We enjoyed a good chat for 30 minutes or so and then she headed off to Brooklyn. I've struggled with the sadness in life sometimes at how you can chat with people and never see them again but it's merely part of the ride that we are all on and it's something you just get used to, especially living here. I also got chatting to a guy named Seth from Utah and two girls he was with. Seth started the best conversation with me about Neitzsche and the pattern that guys who grow up with no father tend to be massively creative and Charismatic. I may have been bias to this theory having lost my father at the age of Six..... possibly. This is why I'm a natural networker and love New York so much, there are just so many smart people out there that can enrich your life with stories and knowledge and fresh perspective on things. You can never eat to much from this menu.

Rob came and met me and I said goodbye to everybody there and we headed to a party in the East Villiage. As the song goes "nobody throws an Eastside party like we do" the music being played here was very much my taste! Naughty by Nature, Arrested Development and lots more old school hip-hop. Tribe Called Quest. I really do enjoy being the English Whiteboy that'll dance my ass off and scare people with a 97% lyrics accuracy. This % has gone down in recent years due to brain cells coming under fire from alcohol. Lots of look a likes at this party, I got the Morrisey thing....weird that, rarely happens.... luckily I was able to retaliate to the DJ who looked like Dwayne from Different World and Jason Segal who apparently owned the apartment I was drinking in...oops.

I left my bag with Rob at Tiffinys the next day While I went and bought some gifts, mostly from the shop at NBC. Went to HURLYS for a final sandwich and got chatting to a girl behind the bar from Ireland who also seemed to share an addiction to the game wordfeud (online scrabble). This made me chuckle as I've been slightly preocupied with this game now for several months. A lady came in and asked for directions to Robin Williams' show. After the lady left Barlady said she should probably know seeing as he comes in there all the time, should have known, HURLYS is awesome.

Left and popped into Tiffany's to grab my back and say goodbye to Rob. The journey to JFK was made more interesting on the subway by a young kid dancing like MJ for money, made a good video and kid had skills.

One of the most exhausing trips of my life but also very enjoyable. See you soon New York. I love you!

List of gigs for June

2011-05-28T05:11:00.000-07:00

Comedy Cooler - June 3rd The Alibi
Victoria Terrace, Kingsway
Hove, 8pm

(Possibly) The cavendish arms - Stockwell, London
June 7th - 8pm

Monkey Business - June 9th 8pm
The Oxford 256 Kentish Town road, NW5

The Smugglers pub - June 25th 8pm
Pitt Level, Hastings, TN35 4EH

The Jordan Rules

2011-01-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

The Jordan Rules

It’s rare you pick up a book that engages your interest so much you literally can’t put it down, but this was a beautiful exception. What a book! Sam Smith seems to have been able to uncover every single high and low experienced by the Chicago Bulls during their turbulent 90-91 season. From Jordan and his gambling & golf issues, to his team mates (or his supporting cast) and their problems with contracts, playing time, involvement in the “give the ball to Jordan and get the hell out of the way” playbook and so, so much more!

Smith really manages to take us into the atmosphere of the players and the trouble they had forming a cohesive unit. It’s very easy to think of all of these players as a group of spoilt athletes bickering about petit jealousies and differences, but as you learn about the way some of them were treated, you begin to understand why some of them acted out in the way that they did.

Let’s start with Jordan. Carrying the weight of not only his team on his back but the weight of the league itself, Jordan manages to bring his team together in time for the playoffs whilst also gradually isolating himself from the league and its exploitation of his image, talent and competitive drive. He is caught between a rock and a hard place at times and although you certainly see the point of view of players who, at times, have had enough of Jordan, you also realise what sacrifices it requires for a player of Jordan’s stature to dominate almost every night that he decides to.

Pippen, Grant and especially Paxson all show remarkable patience with Krause and his obsession with recruiting Toni Kukoc. I happen to love Kukoc, he was one of my favourite players, but I had no idea of how long the Bulls had their eye on him for. Pippen and grant were consistently performing All-Star’s and John Paxson, who won player of the game in the Final game of the finals, was an extremely reliable shooter during clutch time. All of these players had their contracts delayed longer and longer in the hope of signing Kukoc who seemed put off by the intimidating presence of Jordan and all of the controversy that seemed to surround him.

Scott Williams and Will Perdue were among the many brave bench members who kept their heads up during all the stress and strife. Bill Cartwright is portrayed as the soft and kind hearted gentleman that we all knew him to be. Cartwright seems to be an illustration of a player who is both frail and powerful at the same time. He is the starting centre but with his age and injuries he always seemed one bad fall away from retirement.

BJ Armstrong is the player who would probably go on to improve the most. Eventually becoming an All-Star in seasons to come he would replace John Paxson in the starting line-up and earn his position as well as his pride.

Phil Jackson is an enjoyable character to learn about. His philosophising and eagerness to coax his team into one of the greatest Dynasties of all time are matched by his patient ability to test his players and ignore a lot of potentially damaging issues amongst his players.

Such an enjoyable book. To see your favourite players struggle with their own “human” issues off the court is a revealing process that teaches us that Sportsman should not always be role models. I’m tempted to pick up a copy of Phil Jackson’s book about the Lakers.

Somewhere....(There is a point to this film)

2010-12-17T03:50:00.000-08:00

Now, before i begin to attempt to explain to you how bad this film is, let me first make something clear, I LIKE FILMS WHERE NOT much HAPPENS. Some of my favourite films include The Anniversary party, Coffee and Cigarettes, Before Sunrise & Sunset, The station agent and most notably, Sofia Copolla's last effort, Lost in Translation. I like films that rely on dialogue and character. Films that are comfortable to have characters share a familiar situation which is true to life. This is the beauty of film-making.

I saw "Somewhere" at the cinema the other night, I think. It quite easily could have been Lost in Translation, or an edited version where someone had taken out all of the good bits. Copolla has made the same film again but decided that there was too much storyline last time. This time she relies on the excitement of real life, you know, like when you take a shower or brush your teeth.

It opens up with a car circling an off road track. You think "this is intriguing" Let me warn you, it's not. It's simply a preview of what's to come.

There is one scene where we're actually watching the grass grow. I think the only time my heart rate reached "alive" was when Chris Pointius plays some Guitar Hero, by comparison it was almost watchable.

So to conclude, awful, just awful.

Make that change.

2010-12-12T01:15:00.000-08:00

Coming up to that New Years resolution time of the year where business for Gym's sky rockett and efforts to attend them fail miserably. So why is this?

Change really isn't as easy as some people would like to think it is. Some people are able to make dramatic changes where others struggle to do so. So what does this mean? It means some people are pre-destined with the genetic make-up and environmental factors that can foster this behaviour. Otherwise, you are almost trying to change paths when there is no bridge between them.

So based on this logic, change almost occurs based on a coming-out-of-a-coma-like state. If you're lucky enough to experience this, make changes quick before you slip back into your life coma, it's often unavoidable. Our Waking Lives are often so mundane it's as if we are merely the spectators of a life that is being played out on its own, like a Dvd set to repeat.

Change must be gradual and structured. It requires focus, discipline and sacrifice so if you are unable to display any of these qualities you're only hope will be that life makes the changes for you and that rarely goes the way you would like it to.

Funniest song on the Album Recovery and maybe ever!

2010-06-23T05:16:00.000-07:00

Here We Go Lyrics: Eminem (Recovery Bonus)

Nah man, not quite finished yet! Haha… Whoo!

[Verse 1]
Girl I think you just might of tried to pull a motherfuckin’ fast one; I’m mad
You just hurt my goddamn feeling and that was the last one I had
Does this look like an arcade, tryna play games, see this saw blade
See this silhouette of a stalker in your walkway, better cooperate
Or get suateed and rotisseried while you’re hog-tied
MC’s get so quiet you can hear a motherfuckin’ dog whistle when I walk by
Colt Seavers on a mule stuntin’ on that ass like a fuckin’ Fall Guy!!
I don’t gas my Mercedes after midnight, I treat it like a Mogwai
Cuz it will turn into a gremlin, and run over kids, women and men
Vrnn Vrnn, motor so big you can fit a midget in his engine
Bitch gimme them digits while you cringin’
Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin will I spend spend
Even ten cents on you since when
Did you think it’ll cost me a pretty penny
Shiit, if I think a penny’s pretty, just imagine how beautiful a quarter is to me
Eenie-meenie-miney-mo, catch an eskimo by his toe
While he’s tryna roll a snowball
But, don’t make him lose his cool, if he hollers better let him go y’all!

[Chorus]
Do you love me?
Now here we go, go go!

[Verse 2]
Get up baby, get a move on, like a U-Haul
You can rack your brain like pool balls
Who woulda ever think of this shit, yeah honey you called?
Well here I come, Havoc on a beat I reek it
Evil, I see, hear, and speak it
Lady put your money on Shady, fuck that other weak shit
Put your eggs in the same basket
You can count every motherfuckin’ chicken ‘fore it hatches
Cuz you can bet your ass that, we gon’ get it crackin’
Like the Kraken in Titans when they clashin’
Get your brains bashed in so bad you’re gon’ have Kurt Kobain askin’
To autograph a bloodstained napkin
Unfashionable and ’bout as rational as a rash on a fag’s asshole
Now let’s take that line run it up the flagpole
With Elton, see if he’s cool with it (kh)
Don’t stand there and look stupid at me
Bitch I ain’t in the mood for this shit
Get my dick Google it, til it pops up
Y’all just so motherfuckin’ full of shit that you stopped up
Me I’m always shittin’ diarrhea of the mouth
Til your speakers crap out, pfft, huh what?
Girl you got a hot butt, like a lit cigarette
(J-Jrrga what) But you won’t get a hot fudge sundae
From me so don’t strut my way, slut because…

[Chorus]
Do You love me
Now here we go, go go!

[Verse 3]
And now that I got your panties in a bunch and your bowels in an uproar
Imma show you why I came so you stop asking me what the fuck for
Now look you little slut, cunt whore, I know you want more
Bitch it’s time to put the math back into Mathers cuz I’m a fuckin’ [problem], run boy
Every flow got it mastered, so every last word that you fuckin’ fags heard
comes straight from the bitches ass, yeah in other words I’m a bas(turd)
Lookin’ at me like I killed Kenny, gas in the tank, yeah still plenty
No morals are instilled in me so remorse, I really don’t feel any
Eat your heart out Hannibal, understandable
Why you’re jealous, fuckin’ animal, I got cannibal magnitism cant resist em now can you hoe
“Shady I don’t understand your flow”, understand my flow
Bitch I flow like Troy polamalu’s hair boy
Don’t you dare try to follow or compare boy
I’m raw, you ain’t even medium rare, stay the fuck outta my hair boy
You can look, you can stare and point, but you can’t touch, I’m too [clairvoyant]
I don’t get it man is there a void, all this weak shit, what am I steroids?
Well bitch I’m back, with some shit for that ass
And your trunk, elephant, [hemorrhoids]
And remember boys

The King is back.

2010-06-23T03:53:00.000-07:00

Eminem has just released his new album "Recovery" Masterpiece comes to mind. The most talented lyricist in the whole of Hip-Hop has some how found a way to get even better. His lyrics are tighter, stronger and just ooze confidence. He is once again untouchable. The opening track "Cold wind blows" is one of my favourites from the album, the beat and the lyrics go hand-in-hand as very dark and angry. The collaborations with Rihanna and Pink are fantastic and the verse on the song "No love" with Lil Wayne may be one of the best of his career. I'm not a fan of Lil Wayne, I just don't get it. Despite this, I can say it's one of his better efforts and the song has a tremendously catchy flow. The song "You're never over" which was written and performed for deceased D12 member and best friend "Proof" is a perfect ending to the album.

He's back to his old self, let's hope he stays that way, if he does Hip-Hop will continue to be in his debt.

Despicable....!

2010-06-13T03:26:00.000-07:00

Fuck an intro man, lets go..
I come around like what goes around
what goes up must come down
anyone who comes up must go down
might as well go for the gusto now
better not let up better not let them breath
last shot give it all you got
try to turn me down b-tch get f-cked with the volume nob
fuck all you snobs
hoes I hope all you rott
2 bottles of lubriderm and a box of condoms is that all you brought
and you wanna menage a trois you twats
fuck that I’d rather turn this club to a bar room brawl
get as rowdy as Roesthlisberger in a bathroom stall
like a leech stuck in a vacuum your only nothin but a whole lot of suckin’
goin’ on in rap
yeah but I’m home
Bad to the bone
Back in the zone
Let him alone
You don’t wanna go eggin’ him on

It’ll never be my chair that your on
crown so tight that it cuts off circulation to the brain no oxygen
otherwords there’s no heir to the throne
when I die so does hip hop
hitchcock better shit bitch ass got a zip locked in a bag
you fags aint been able to fade me since Kid Rock had a high top
keep blogging while I’m mind boggling my zone like I’m in the twilight
talking of my bone this is my mic dog I like hogging it

flow so wet I’mma take this beat tobogganing
I’m water logging it, I’m sogging it
pull your verse out the beat and stomp on it
suplex it on cement like I’m on some straight outta compton shit
take this dick and chomp on it
I’m so bad I can b-tch slap a back handed compliment
jack ass eat a donkey dick
the game I just about conquered it like Donkey Kong
I’m bonkers bitch, I’m the king of this honkey shit, I reign supreme in this honkey shit
no sense screaming and arguing
makes no difference whether a Benz or Bentley or a Beamers the car you in
you think you ball well I palm it
I throw up bombs when I vomit
boy I throw down in the kitchen might hit your mom with my omlette
but you got egg on your face now watch me drop an atomic
I should be strapped to the chest of a kamikaze
bitch I’m as bat shit as Ozzy it’s obvious
you can tell I go right off the bat
no pun intended but come any closer I’ll bite off your head
tryna give me the fingers kinda like giving a spider the web
lyrics courtesy of www.killerhiphop.com
I’m just gonna spin it and try to use it to my advantage
I catch a fly in that bitch you think you fly you just food
I give as much as a flying fuck as that superman dude
guess I just do what you can’t do or make you look stupid and bamboozled
confused as usual and you can get ripped she can open a can too
but you better hope you can handle the heat
or stay the fuck outta hell’s kitchen
I came to cock block like a square fucking male chicken
yeah it’s shady slut the rest can suck on a big one
cause I’m as despicable as Daffy Duck when I’m spittin
(haha recovery)

The king is back.

England - Why we HAVE to win.....someday.

2010-06-13T02:12:00.001-07:00

Now anybody that knows me will realise I've hardly been the biggest football fan for the last, hmmmm, 16 years or so. But I do still love football. I grew up loving football and still remember the 1990 World cup like it was yesterday. Now yes a few years later I began playing basketball and my transformation into a yank had sadly begun. But underneath all of the American in me, I'm still an idiotic, English football fan, oh yes I am.

It's a question of mortality. Every 4 years, we have our hearts torn out and stomped on and the most painful thing is knowing we'll have to wait ANOTHER 4 YEARS before we do it all again. Even if you don't give a fuck about football, this should still bother you as a human being, counting the seconds of your existence. English world cup football is like an egg timer for your life and time can be a very cruel thing indeed.

The best effort I have seen in my lifetime is still Italia 1990. I remember David Platt scoring that goal in the last minute of extra time sending us to the quarter finals. In the quarters even Ireland gave Italy a run for their money just losing out 1-0. We then took on Cameroon and the awesome Roger Milla. Platt opened the score for us and all looked good. But with only 20 odd minutes or so left we were 2-1 down to the underdogs, story of our lives right? WRONG. Lineker, fucking legend that he was brought us back by victory by scoring two penalties on a row........

sorry, what was that?? What did you say.....?

THAT'S RIGHT, ONE PLAYER SCORED TWO MOTHERFUCKING PENALTIES IN A ROW FOR US AND WE WON THE GAME. WE CAN DO IT!!!

Semi finals and once again we found ourselves in a familiar situation. 1-0 down after a fucking own goal. I still remember now the moment that ball deflected off of Paul Parker and went high in the sky lobbing poor Peter Shilton. Fucking heartbreaking. But Lineker, LEGEND, brought us right back in the last ten minutes......

Penalties. Oh Fuck.

As a nation we had to rid ourselves of this fear of losing. We play not to lose, we play scared and we play cautious. We need to rid ourselves of this fear, this pressure and just let our talent speak for itself. We have the players, we have the chance, we just need the attitude. Fuck it if we make mistakes *cough* fuck it if our keeper makes mistakes. Mistakes are good, as long as we recover from them quickly and the only way to do that is show belief in our team. So despite being a such a traitorous Americano, I am with you England. Let's erase all the heartbreak and take it back to 1990 when we had some belief in ourselves.

If not, I'll be one of thousands of 60 year olds huddled around a TV praying that this year will be OUR year. I believe we CAN win this year. If we don't why are we bothering?

How I Wound Up As A Film Surgeon

2010-05-22T14:25:00.000-07:00

Father issues are at base of it all, on top of which is my frustration at failing to attain even a modicum of the recognition and success that some of the filmmakers I enjoyed demolishing had attained. And of course, the very drive to attain such success (getting world’s attention) was itself sourced in those father issues.

But all that is rather rudimentary, and a bit simplistic. It’s true that if I had succeeded as a scriptwriter/filmmaker in Hollywood, I wouldn't ever have written The Blood Poets. But on the other hand, I began writing film criticism before, or simultaneous with, writing film scripts (at about 14). In fact, some of the first “reviews” I wrote were imaginary ones of the films I would some day make (I recall one called Houses in Motion, starring Robert De Niro and Jessica Lange, the title taken from the Talking Heads song). . . . So the two drives co-existed from the start, which indicates that it wasn't frustration that led me to write the film books, but merely a natural alternative mode of expression that pertained to the same area, that of movies.

What actually inspired Blood Poets was re-reading Pauline Kael for the umpteenth time and thinking, “I wish I could do that.” The penny then dropped: "Hey, I could!" By that time (late 20s), I was less into movies, watching or making them, than I was into reading about them, and as already stated, I had more passion for Kael and her writings than I did for most, if not all, filmmakers. She was closer to a kindred spirit, let's say, than any filmmaker, presumably (in part) because I was more of a writer than a visual artist.

One of the things that most impressed me about Kael was how she could influence my own feelings about a movie. Films I liked I would grow cool towards after reading her totally demolishing them; films she admired I would give a second look. (Ironically, she was less persuasive in this direction, and rarely did one of her reviews change my mind about a movie I didn’t care for, while it was frequent occurrence for the reverse to happen.) Kael saw through the contrivances and conceits of filmmakers, and the gullibility of audiences, and exposed the hypocrisy and dishonesty at their core. Her influence was especially profound on me because I discovered her while I was still a teenager, so with movies that I would have grown out of/seen through eventually, she accelerated that process. (A good example would be Midnight Express, a film I loved at 14, so that I must have been disappointed by her trashing it at the time. Yet by the time I wrote about the film for Blood Poets, I found myself trashing it also, albeit in my own voice ~ because she had been right, it did suck as a movie!)

Yet underneath all this, my desire to write film criticism, and specifically to demolish films that were highly regarded and bring the filmmakers down to size, really pertained to a need to validate my reality.

It was pointed out to me recently that, since the filmmakers I criticized rarely read my criticism, it wasn't having any effect on the quality of filmmaking per se. This is probably accurate, and now that I think about it, the target of my vitriol was always less the filmmaker than the audience , who, by buying into such crap, were endorsing it and keeping the crapola machine running. If a talented filmmaker made a poor movie and was critically drubbed for it, I had no interest in mucking in. Why kick them while they are down? My target was always films that were crap but which audiences embraced as wonderful works of art, that won awards for their filmmakers despite being some of their worst work, films such as Wild at Heart, Silence of the Lambs, Barton Fink, Match Point. I wanted to show how, when a filmmaker gets praised for his worst work, he is likely to lose sight of his own gifts and never recover. Beyond that, I wanted, needed, to “set the record straight,” if possible, by persuading audiences who had let themselves be fooled into thinking a work had merit (just because it won awards) that it clearly didn’t.

(On the other hand, like Kael, I often went out of my way to praise, and even overpraise, works of merit that were being ignored, such as United States of Leland, some of Keith Gordon’s films, Hottest State, and so forth.)

Reality validation.

To this day, it disturbs me if I get the impression that only I can recognize something that isn't right. Recently, I watched Bad Lieutenant with Nic Cage. Halfway through, Cage begins to distort his voice and assume a very broad, almost cartoonish accent. I kept asking my wife if she’d noticed. It baffled me that he would do this deliberately, it was so obvious to me, and I became mildly anxious that maybe I was the only one who noticed it. Did the director even spot it? Why did he allow Cage to do it? (My wife did notice it, at least when I pointed it out, but she put it down to the character’s exhaustion.) Something like this might even cause me me to go online and do a Google search, just to make sure that other people spotted it. I find it unsettling, to say the least, if something very obvious to me, something that seems incongruous, isn't being commented upon.

As a child, there is one thing that was very obvious to me that others didn’t see: my brother’s bullying. There must have been countless other things also that I saw that weren't commented upon, even if they were obvious to all (my mother's madness, for example). I suspect that this is what’s behind my emotional need to validate my own perceptions about movies: if I can see, clearly, that a movie sucks, for example, it upsets me when people are talking about it like it’s something wonderful. This is especially the case when they are people close to me. One of the most uncomfortable social situations for me is if someone I respect brings up a movie which I hate, and starts praising it. (A recent example was In Bruges, a really mediocre movie that lots of intelligent people seemed to enjoy.)

Consider the following, an argument of my former self:

Dan Brown is a great author.

Opinion, or error of judgment?

Dostoyevsky is a great author.

Opinion, or statement of fact?

To my way of perceiving, neither of the above statements are opinions. One is a fact, while the other is an error. Most people here (at least if they have read the authors in question) will surely agree, intellectually at least, even if they have an emotional resistance to this position and perceive it as “tyrannical.” They might then argue (intellectually) that it is all relative, or whathaveyou (define “great,” etc, etc).

OK. Now try these ones:

Stanley Kubrick is a great director.

Opinion or statement of fact?

Stanley Kubrick is overrated.

Opinion or statement of fact?

Eyes Wide Shut is an underrated movie.

Opinion or statement of fact?

Eyes Wide Shut is a pile of horse manure.

Opinion or statement of fact?

As some of you know by now, I would consider the second statements to be statements of fact, the first ones to be mere opinions.

If given the time, I, or my former self, could show you why, whatever greatness is on display in some of his movies, and however much you may like his work, Kubrick certainly is overrated. I could also describe to you the sociological, and even conspiratorial factors (a culture that worships intellect, for example) that contribute to Kubrick’s false canonization, and the way the psychology of previous investment obliges Kubrick-devotees to defend a work of such shocking ineptitude as Eyes Wide Shut: in order to maintain their structure of beliefs around its maker.

The question is, however: why the Hell would I bother? Why would I care enough to try and change people’s minds about Kubrick, or anything else?

The answer is two-fold, like everything. First there are the patterns mentioned above, which cause me to feel threatened when my own perception of what-is isn’t being supported by other people’s perceptions.

This creates a rift. Keith is one of my closest associates; the fact that he adores Kubrick doesn’t come between us, as such, but that’s only because we don’t spend much time talking about Kubrick. In my mind, it is still there. I think, "Keith is great, but he does love Kubrick. Damn. That’s a real shame. I really need to do something about that."

Now, is that entirely because I want Keith to validate my perception of reality, and to be as much like me as possible?

Or is it also because I know that he has been hoodwinked, and want him to see something that he is unable to see?

When Kael exposed the dishonesty of a movie I liked, she also exposed my own complicity with that dishonesty. It was disillusioning, even painful, and sometimes infuriating; but it was also liberating. After all, I had “lost” an emotional attachment to a movie I’d liked, yes. She had "ruined" it for me. But then, I’d also found a more honest, accurate perception, one that allowed me to see that the attachment I’d forged wasn’t worth having. It was basically a lie.

So then, my desire to criticize movies and filmmakers and “set the record straight,” wasn’t just an emotional need to validate my perception of reality. It was also an impersonal drive to get to the truth, and to bring the truth to others, by exposing their own distortions to them.

In other words, just what I do at SWEDA!

Brief Encounter

2010-03-18T05:17:00.001-07:00

I have wanted to watch this classic for many years. The cover of the film encapsulates a lot about the film. It illustrates what to expect, the fact that it will have such beautiful and realistic dialogue (both for that period of time and arguably our own). Other films such as "The station agent" do a great job in proving you can judge a film by its cover and this was no exception.

We have all had either a romantic encounter or an affair of some sort. Some may not have enjoyed the excitement of such an affair, of those that say this, at least 50% of you are LYING!!! This film is structured flawlessly, from start to finish it manages to tell a story. It tells a story which is honest, brave, fair and remarkably poignant.

What I loved most about this film was the actress Celia Johnson. She is a very beautiful actress in a very safe and friendly way. By this I mean she isn't strikingly stunning or anything, she is a fairly normal looking woman, particularly for her time. But at certain moments in the film when she smiles, she has a really genuine beauty. It's attainable and very glamorous at the same time. When Alec Harvey teases her in the restaurant about killing a few patients in the morning, her face lights up with surprise which melts slowly into one of the most genuine smiles I have ever seen. It is precisely within its ability to make the deceit of an affair seem so honest, simple and unapologetic that the genius of this film lies.

The way Laura deals with the guilt of the affair is very true to life. In my own experience, women try to be the more practical of the two genders but ultimately fail to overcome the feeling of being alive and all the drama that comes hand-in-hand with such an affair.

The film tells the story in such an intelligent way that we can all relate it to our own experiences and, I would imagine, no matter what your position, you can't help but empathise with these characters. Without films as brilliant as this we would probably never have seen "Before sunrise & Before Sunset" and other romantic films that really grab your empathy for the characters and their situation. The film is so simple and yet so complicated. The locations used are both mundane and yet so exciting. The scene on the train after their final encounter is so similar to the scene at the end of Before Sunrise. When Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke sit on different trains playing the days events over in their head, we see a very similar look from Laura as she makes a very poignant summary of love by saying internally "Nothing lasts, neither happiness nor despair" This is one of Love's greatest revelations, it's what helps and hurts us inevitably in both the short and long term.

A fantastic love story that doesn't apologise for its honesty, but also doesn't fail at conveying its guilt and shame. A perfect depiction of the universal love affair within us all. Don't pass judgment, it could happen to you. I think this film just about makes my top ten based on its simplistic brilliance.

My mother said I never should - Directed by my wonderful housemates

2010-03-13T00:16:00.000-08:00

Last night I went along to Theatre 48 in Horsham to show my support to my housemates, who have directed a wonderful play about 4 generations of women. The last time I saw a play was last summer, when I went with Anthony Peake to see Time and the Conways, which also followers the generations of a family over the decades, exploring the change of dynamic between parents, children and siblings. Time and the Conways is more of a social commentary on the nature of time and life but the two plays do share a lot of similar themes.

I was absolutely blown away by the performance of Doris Partington (Great granny). The director told me her age and I have to say I have nothing but respect and admiration for the way this woman was able to move around the stage and give such a performance for two hours and change. She has that generic "nan voice" that we can all relate to. That sympathetic yet boarder line condescending "That's nice dear" nan-type response to anything you say! She commands respect not through bold, strong, loud gestures, but by being so sure of herself that others know she is a fountain of knowledge and experience. That really, is where the strength of this play lies; being able to show some general family memories and moments, in which anybody can relate to their own specific memories.

The young girl that plays the role of Rosie is fabulous. So energetic and live, exactly what is needed from the character. I would agree that she seems the most well-rounded in perspective of all the characters which, in a way, is the main goal for this chain of women.

Jackie's role is a challenging one, she conveys the sympathetic understanding of a battered daughter with great ease. Some of the earlier scenes showed off he ability to do a fabulous impression of the little girl played by Morwenna Banks from Absolutely. Even if it wasn't intentional, that's what it made me think of!

Margaret Bradley has a difficult role to pull of in that she had to convey her frustration through some rather cold-hearted and brutal moments with her daughter Jackie. It would be very easy to dismiss the circumstances brought to life by the play and hate her, but she manages to convey her own frustration at the choices offered to women in her own time and the harrowing fear that her daughter would take the same route.

I rather enjoyed the scene where Jackie and Doris are sharing a game of solitaire. My own mother used to play this game and taught me to play also. I almost bought her a set for Christmas this year but she lives in Spain and decided to wait until May when I see her again.

This made me reflect on my own memories of visiting my grandmother but from the perspective of my mother and what It must have been like for her. It's a very nice play that stays true to real life and the many layers of beauty that lie within the family dynamic. I must give a genuinely massive round of applause to both the cast as well as Lee & Toyah who have worked so hard on this. Well done, a fantastic performance was given by all.

Everybody's Fine

2010-03-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

Family is important. So people keep telling me. I don't have a particularly close family and I'm OK with that. I function perfectly well as a human being. I think. I will say though, this is the first film to really make me actually stop and think about this, properly. Father-Son scenes always seem to get me a little. It's disgraceful and I'm completely ashamed of myself, but I got very teary eyed during "The pursuit of happiness" Damn you Will Smith. Damn your quivering lips and puppy-dog eyes.

This film didn't have quite the same effect on my eyes but as I said, It did make me stop and think. My own mother lives in Spain and we rarely see her. My little sister hasn't spoken to her in about 8 years and I know she will regret this one day, such Is life.

The reason this film works is because De Niro is able to evoke real empathy for his character. Essentially, the role he's playing is one of a father who has pushed his children too far in life. Over the years of cinema this has often been a rather hated father figure type. But because we see it through the eyes of such an amazing actor, we understand he had the best of intentions. It is, at times, a rather sad and depressing film, but as an entire film it is actually quite inspiring for families that aren't close to realise how lucky they are.

It has similarities, in places, to the film "Flowers" with Bill Murray. A road trip with a goal will undoubtedly result in lessons being learned along the way. Although the ending of the film seems like a rather obvious place to finish, it also has the appeal of a new beginning.

Derren Brown - Some sort of Devil God.

2010-02-28T01:28:00.000-08:00

Wow! This was the 4th time I have seen the fabulous Mr Brown live and it was quite simply "The most impressive thing I have ever seen"

Even when you think he has lost control, he's just fucking with you. Even when you think you're asleep he's fucking with you. To summarise, Derren Brown, can fuck with you anytime he pleases. Oo Er.

A great performer, a great magician, a great story teller, a great comedian.

I hate him. I hate him in all the ways that women hate women that are prettier than they are. The only refuge I can take is that he is both taken and gay, although last night Derren, I think you may have "turned" me.

I won't talk about any of the funky tricks he does because some of you will still be going to see this devil-man in action. All I will say is WoW! Even if you have been following this man's career in the way I have for this long, he can STILL surprise you with just how fucking good he is.

I'm not joking, some sort of Devil-God.

The Science Festival in Brighton - Saturday 27th

2010-02-28T01:14:00.000-08:00

This was brought to my attention by Marcus Chown on Twitter about a week ago and I had the day off work for once so thought this would be a nice day out. Fantastic day out!

Had to get there for about 9am when it was opening at 10am because it was sold out and they only had about 50 extra tickets. There was a choice of lectures and presentations from two different theatres. We spent most of the day in Theatre two.

The Hero of the Zero - Fame lab Winner Tom Whyntie talks humorously about the Large Hadron Collider. He explains why finding nothing in this very expensive on-going project may turn out to be a very exciting and helpful result after all. This was a very informative and at times, rather funny look at science and the intentions behind this project. The possible outcomes we explained with honesty and genuine appreciation for all perspectives. A great start and I now understand quite a bit more with regards to what they're actually doing!

The Lying Ape - Brian King and Harry Witchel reveal the amount of deceit that surrounds us. These two, very sadistic men spend the first part of the lecture informing us how necessary and crucial lies are to holding our society together. Social lubrication I believe they refer to it as. THEN! They spend the second part of the lecture telling us how to spot a lie. What the hell are they thinking?? Interesting in places but they didn't go into too much depth with the concept which was a little disappointing, was expecting a little more. But still, a very interesting talk.

The Top 10 Bonkers thins about the universe - This was the main reason I came along to the festival. To meet Marcus Chown. Marcus is without a doubt one of my favourite authors. Having read "The universe next door" "The never ending days of being dead" and "We need to talk about Kelvin" I am always blown away with how interesting he can make certain concepts, but mostly, how accessible and easy to understand Marcus makes some of the heavier, more complicated science. Marcus gave his talk and I was able to chat with him for a while afterwards while he signed books. He is a very modest and humble man, far too humble in my opinion! I asked Marcus a few questions about his knowledge of Anthony's work and was surprised he knew so little. I gave him as much of a summary as one can give in a few minutes and we discussed several other things such as consciousness and it's effect on time and quantum variables. I must say It was a real pleasure to meet Marcus and I hope at some point he'll have the time to look at Anthony's work and drop by on the forum.

Science Story - Michael Moesly's BBC2 series, Science Story, gives us a summary of the evolution of scientific theory focusing mainly on Newton and Hooke. A very polished speaker (obviously) and great to listen to. He gave a great analysis of the famous apple falling from a tree story which has been amplified throughout the centuries because of its very reductionist appeal to years of hard work. Our society really is all about instant gratification forever isn't it.

Climbing the tree of Physics - Three young scientists (including Tom from the first talk) discuss how different branches of scientific theory need to come together to explain different things. I was expecting a lot more from this talk, we ducked out early of Michael Mosely's talk to come see this, not sure why. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as it should have been. Had I known about the last talk we were going to we would have ducked out early from this one too.

The Miller's Tale - Ben Miller is interviewed by Steve Mould about abandoning a PHD in quantum electro-dynamics for a career in TV. As well as fronting Armstrong and Miller he writes on science and takes place in science programmes. Ben discussed the struggle to include some science sketches in his shows, the idiocy of Homeopaths and his interest in the future of science. The night before we came here I had a fairly early night. I could have put on 1 out of 200 old videos full of old TV shows I had recorded but by some strange coincidence I put on Paul Merton the series from about 10 years ago. In some of these sketches was of course, Ben Miller. I stayed behind afterwards to chat with him which was a real bonus to finish the day on. He was very impressed that this was pointed out as he said this was his first ever job in t.v. We discussed the brilliance of Paul Merton. I pointed out how wonderful it is when Paul Merton starts any sentence on Have I got news for you with the words "Is it....(this)" or "is it.....(that)" which was appreciated and agreed with. Look out for his new book, if it's named "From infinity to one" I would like a bit of credit, in fact, all of it! I was tempted to ask him for some tips in blending science and stand-up but I didn't want to ruin the moment by becoming "that guy" = A giant man whore.

A fantastic day out for £10!! Shall definitely be going next year.

Horizon - What makes a genius?

2010-02-18T00:59:00.000-08:00

Best of the three episodes I've watched over the last few weeks. I was totally engaged with this last night, from start to finish it was absolutely rich in content and fantastically balanced. It left you feeling optimistic but deluded about what the human brain is capable of.

Part 1 - Maths Genius! Not quite sure about the process this guy used but it wasn't similar to Daniel Tammett! It was actually mathematically worked out.... amazing. He gave a very good explanation of how he does what he does. He says he's not a genius, a genius he associates with creativity, where as what he does is mechanical. He "plays the piano well and there is a difference between a skill and something that is immensely creative." This is similar to Matt Damon's character in Good Will Hunting. He says as far as he can remember he's just always been able to play. It's not so much creating art but more letting art flow through you because you are tuned in, where others aren't.

Part 2 - The experiment that tested the intuitive estimates of which colour has more dots on a screen was rather interesting. This test allows us to predict the mathematical potential of children and rather accurately too. It also indicates certain precognitive skills and ties in nicely with Malcolm Gladwell's work in Blink. Malcolm discusses snap decisions and how they often prove more accurate than thought out ones. The presenter actually stated when the analytical part of his brain fought the intuitive part he started to struggle. Was this because the intuitive was weakening and the analytical role was being forced due to necessity?

Part 3 - Learning gene identified in mice - Seems slightly cruel (probably not in comparison with some experiments they probably do) but necessary I guess.

Part 4 - Chess - Been playing a lot of chess lately, used to play a lot when I was younger. Obviously very good for coaching your brain to think 10 steps ahead in all realms of life. Are some people blessed or is it the wiring of their brain? Very interesting section about a former player that spent 20 years training to be a chess master, he never broke through and became obsessed with the reason why. He became a neural-scientist and researched brain activity and concluded that chess masters are born, not so much created. His final statement seemed a bit jaded but may have been fairly accurate. People can become great, but the status of genius has to have been something they were born with.

Part 5 - Spotting genius. The IQ test about the "termites" was something I read about recently. Can't remember where, may have been in Gladwell's work. This section helped to open the alternative viewpoint that we can mould our brain to fit our environment. We lose parts of out brain that are not used and strengthen neural pathways that are useful to us. Our brain in this way is like ever changing dictionary that will bring out new editions based on the life and times of its existence. We specialise for our environment but of course, there are some environments that because of our genes, we will excel in more.

Part 6 - Mozart/Stevie wonder - Derek is a remarkable piano player that can her a piece of music once or twice and know how to play it, adapt it slightly to his on whim. The superhero notion of other senses strengthening to compensate is something that has quite often been considered a myth. But it's more a case of the brain re-wiring to adapt in making sense of the world. There is another example of a lady later on who can see through sound. Much like the young boy (name forgotten) who could see through making clicking noises with his tongue and using the vibrations. The book I read on this indicated it could be possible to actually see through your skin based on re-wiring of the brain. Our senses are wired in a certain way based on evolution and it is not technically written in stone in terms of how our brain develops. It is versatile and undoubtably the most unique thing about all of us.

Part 7 - Smartening up through electricity and water! - Yeah I was a bit...errr as well! An experiment here to again improve cognitive skills and intuitive response time which helps to create new path ways as quickly as 30 minutes later. After about a day, it will become functioning. Structural alteration after a day!! Amazing.

Part 8 - Brain Plasticity - This section really complimented the book I read about Brain Plasticity about a year or so ago. A lady explains how she can see through technology that encodes sounds from her brain and allows her to produce images based on the re-wiring of her brain. These pathways have been there since we were babies. Evolution dictates a certain path because it is the most successful in survival for the majority.

Part 9 - The greatest minds combine Knowledge with creativity. "Imagination is more important than knowledge" Einstein. A man had a brain hemorrhage and has been painting ever since, literally. He can't stop, his description of this had a very similar feel to the TLE descriptions Tony has mentioned. This section boasts the paradox of Genius. You need to be open to many things to allow creativity to take effect, but closed enough to focus on that one piece of art, whatever form it may take. Dr Mark Lythgoe of university college London gives a very interesting explanation of this. The walls are higher for some people than others and this can cause problems at either end.

I plan to turn my wall into a window, 95% of it all will apparently go right through.. ;)

Best thing I've watched in a while, highly recommend it. Should be available on i Player. Go watch it. Now!

Gay Asylum UK Lauds Deratany's 'Haram Iran' - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

2010-02-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

Gay Asylum UK Lauds Deratany's 'Haram Iran' - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Deratany's Tour de force: London calling?

2010-02-12T08:34:00.000-08:00

I trust that my dear friend in London, Martin Huxter, will see the import of this theater news regarding an associate of mine, the illustrious Jay Paul Deratany; Chicago playwright, attorney , politician and human rights advocate.

Martin, this play would be marvelous on the London stage as well, and you with your dark and swarthy looks and acting ability would be perfect for one of the lead roles. Contact London stage friends!! You will be richly rewarded. ; )

Deratany's Tour de force: Chicago attorney rocks gay advocacy, human rights with play - smkovalinsky - Members - my.PinkNews.co.uk

Dead Of Night (1945) Dir. Cavalcanti/Crichton

2010-02-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

I watched this film last night.. WOW! How incredibly ahead of its time in many ways.

The ITALDian theme becomes apparent very quickly as Deja Vu, Precognition, Time dilation and many other ITALDian related concepts are discussed and explored. The style of the film itself is very engaging to watch as it explores many different stories within a story . This style of film-making has influenced many including Woody Allen, parts of this film reminded me of Deconstructing Harry because of the reasons mentioned.

The ventriloquist (Daemon?) story was indeed quite spooky. I think anything involving talking dolls gives people the chills, this may have gone on to influence films such as Child's Play. The conflict between open mindedness and the need for Scientific proof is acted out nicely by very different characters. The Dr being the voice of (scientific) reason, is the last to be convinced by the party of strange stories and experiences.

This film is also extremely funny in places. I think the Mirror story has a moment where the women turns to the man and says "Shall we dress up and spend lots of money?" Not necessarily hysterical but the delivery is perfect! There are also several other very funny moments in this film. I shall definately buy a copy soon and give it a second watch. Even the Golf story has CGI in it! Special effects in 1945?!!!??! Hitler may not even be dead yet and they're using special effects!!!! Incredible!!!!

The film ends or continues it's loop in a similar way to many other ITLADian films such as 12 Monkeys. The precognitions have been correct and his fate is unavoidable. There is a very nice touch at the end where he flips a coin in order to determine if he should go to the house or not, when the coin shows he shouldn't he ignores this and decides to go anyway illustrating an overwhelming force dictating his destiny.

A very impressive film for its time, both from an ITALDian perspective and just from the love of film/story telling.

*ITLAD = Is there life after death by Anthony Peake*

Me and Orsen Welles... and that Zak Effron guy.

2009-12-13T11:13:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed Richard Linklater's new film "Me and Orson Welles" and It's hardly surprising. From a guy that made Waking Life, Dazed and Confused and the Before Sunrise/sunset combo the challenge of making Zak Effron likable to me hardly seemed a challenge at all.

The scene where Richard and Gretta are discussing her short story was prectically identical to Linklater's scene in Waking Life where his character describes a novel where nothing happens, just real people have real experiences.

With regards to the film itself, Christian McKay is phenomenal in his portrayal of the arrogant and brilliant actor/director. Zak Effron's character has no struggle at all, he walks into a job and dazzles with minimal effort. There is no major arc for his character, he is as deeply rooted in ego as Welles but with less effort. His youth actually personifies his lack of character to the point where his talent becomes a disadvantage, You think he is there as a nice guy to compare the arrogance of Welles, in fact, it could be argued that Richard is there to remind us that nothing in life should be handed to us so easily, well certainly not if we expect it to taste as sweet as it possibly could. In many ways, Effron is perfectly suited for this role. It's a shame his character wasn't given a chance to show real frustration or anger at being misunderstood. He seems perfectly at ease with people accepting him as someone almost on a karmic pay out! Welles however, commands respect through the use of a reputation created and cultivated. Both these characters are at war with themselves and at war with each other.

Experience and genius vs youth and talent.... It's an explosive match up.

Van Gogh - Life ain't as sweet without the bitter

2009-11-26T03:22:00.000-08:00

It's interesting how the unhappiness of somebody's life can be celebrated from an acceptable distance if it brought entertainment and understanding to others. Van Gogh is a perfect example of this. Would we rather he was a happy, well adjusted human being with a comfortable, easy life? Or are we actually happy he suffered the misery he did as we celebrate his genius?

As a society we have no problems extracting the beauty without questioning the source, sometimes a little too lightly. Some obviously appreciate the entire package of Van Gogh's existence but some just appreciate the beauty without seeing the sadness, not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that.

I am fully aware of the importance of suffering throughout the arc of a person's life. Van Gogh experienced higher highs than most but as a result had to deal with the lower lows, many would consider this both a blessing and a curse. The majority of society lives in a mundane medium in which they rarely venture too far in either direction of happiness or sadness. We are all kept in our safe bubbles of content.

Personally I would rather be someone that experiences life to the full, someone who appreciates beauty and misery so much that they experience both bliss and depression in a fluctuating process. Anytime i drift to far into the middle I usually self destruct because feeling misery is still feeling something right? It's the not feeling anything at all that is the curse. Based on this logic, I certainly agree Van Gogh was the lucky one.

Assumed Familiarity

2009-11-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

Can't we all just get along? No, probably not. Often, we can all assume such a great deal from other people. We assume they are at the same point in life that we are and will automatically understand our point of view, which is shaped by a lifetime of unique and personal experience. I was born in 1981. You may have been born in 1969. What does this mean? It means that you are on a different path to me and will share similar experiences in recent times, but will have approached them from such a different perspective. This seems like such an obvious thing to point out, but it also seems to be society's biggest downfall, that being the lack of ability to empathise with others.

Then there are other times, particularly as we get older we develop a particular type of screening process. This actually helps us recognise that we have nothing in common with certain people and encourages isolation for many people.

Finding the balance between these two approaches will lead to a healthy outlook, if we deviate too far to either side then we'll probably have problems!

The problem of choice - Stranger than fiction

2009-11-24T03:16:00.000-08:00

Choice is supposed to be a liberating concept, it's supposed to free us from the shackles of a prisoned life where we are forced to follow only one path. But too much choice is cripling. If the person presented with this choice is an over analytical soul, then he will often reject this choice and self destruct. Why make a choice when you can simply drift along in life?

Well, making a choice, even if it takes you down a wrong path is indeed better than making no choice at all. There is a beautiful illustration as to why this is the case in the film "Stranger than fiction." In this film Will Farrell is advised by Dustin Hoffman to stay at home, not to answer the phone, door, post, basically to cut out all communication. By doing this, he can prevent the plot/storyline/HIS LIFE! from progressing in a way that he deems out of his conrol. What happens is a balldozer comes through his window, forcing the social interaction from him regardless.

The message? You can't run and you can't hide from choice. Make decisions before life makes them for you.

(The day I take my own advice will be the day you see a genius emerge! Untill then..)

2009-11-23T04:23:00.000-08:00

A lot of people ask me, where the fuck I've been at. I don't know....but I do know, I'm back now.

In Jest, there is Truth : The love that dare not speak its name | The News is NowPublic.com

2009-08-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

Link

UNI /Under New Influence | The News is NowPublic.com

2009-08-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

Link

Thank You, Martin Huxter

2009-08-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Thank You, Martin: For your lovely speech, and for your participation and presence at the Roosevelt Hotel event.

Waiting for Huxter

2009-07-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

The greatest dancer the world will ever know

2009-06-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

I challenge you to watch this and deny the man was a dancing genius...

MJ doing what he did best

Farewell to Michael Jackson - The world's brightest star will shine forever.

2009-06-27T09:12:00.001-07:00

It's been a strange few days for me. I never thought I'd ever become one of those silly people that get so upset over the death of a celebrity but Michael Jackson was a little bit more than that. Anybody in my general age bracket will recall his music throughout their childhood, he gave his so we could have ours in a way. What's upset me the most are all of the cruel and judgemental things being said upon his death. The man was never proven to have done anything. Even if he eventually is, I still don't subscribe to the levels of hatred that people choose to throw his way even before that day has come, or indeed after. Compassion is something he had and it's something the world needs to learn in order to deal with some of it's biggest problems. One person I know wrote "Paedophiles don't go to heaven" Aside from the fact that I don't believe in heaven and hell for many reasons including very problematic issues of morality and judgement, this is just blind hate. It gives no consideration for his kids that are left behind and that in itself is self-defeating and contradicting, if people really cared about the well being of children so much they wouldn't put so much hatred into the world.

Now this is very strange for me. I do, despite this level of compassion, have a very sick sense of humour. But that's because it's humour, the intention is to devalue meaning, some people actually seriously believe some things that are so simplistic it worries me. I actually cried for about 5 minutes watching some of his videos and this in itself tells me something.

The world is essentially just energy. There is positive and negative energy. Now people will say to me that I didn't know him the same way I will tell them the same thing, but you can just sense watching his videos that this man was a kind and gentle soul. The thing that really broke my heart was something my friend Nathan said: "He died thinking the world hated him" This is possibly one of the most upsetting things I think I've ever heard. To think what may have been going through his mind over the past few years is simply upsetting.

I grew up watching his videos, listening to his music, but the most influential thing of all was his dancing. Michael Jackson taught me how to dance and for that I will always love him. You have to be in the moment to be a dancer, you have to be one with the world and understand rhythm.Michael was rhythm, he made the beat come alive.

Thanks for everything you put out into this world Michael, your star will always shine. They can't hurt you now.

The Gun Seller - Hugh Laurie

2009-06-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

Hugh Laurie, Hugh Laurie, Hugh Laurie...WHY ARE YOU SO MODEST!!??? You are a fucking genius. This is one of the funniest, wittiest and most enjoyable books I've read in a long time probably ever.

"I hit him because he was trying to kill me," I said "I'm like that"

I heard that Laurie didn't even want to put his name to the book and hesitantly agreed after being told that it needed a name to sell it. Mr Laurie, when will you realise your brilliance? His romantic banter between particular characters is not only perceptive but comforting to experience on the page, he really writes some outstanding dialogue. I will more than likely give this another read very soon, just because laughter is every bit as comforting as realising the intelligence of a guy who deserves every single bit of success he's enjoyed...or should I say achieved

The Outsider - Colin Wilson

2009-06-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

I finally finshed this book the other day after taking my sweet-ass time to get to grips with its genius. There is a lot of referencing to books I haven't read which made parts of it somewhat tedious. However, the many sections about Nietzsche, Nijinsky, Van Gogh and Lawrence were thoroughly rewarding. Wilson takes us through a fair and balanced exploration of the outsider and all that it entails. Wilson also manages to summarise perfectly what I've been trying to articulate for many years about the effect film can have on an individual and how it is at best temporary:

...anyone can notice the same phenomenon when he comes out of a theatre or concert or cinema, having been completely 'taken out of himself'. No one would expect to pass through an intense emotional experience and not feel 'a different person' afterwards. But in a cinema you only pass out of your own life into other people's; you learn nothing about yourself; hence the change, the mental reflection, wrought by it can only be expected to last for more than a few hours

Wilson goes on from here but his point is extremely valid. The book can be considered somewhat gloomy but it's a very important book dealing with a very harsh reality of man's paralysis.

If salvation means self-knowledge, then it looks as if most men are pre-destinately dammed

My First Stand-up performance

2009-05-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

I did my first stand up performance last night at The Cavendish Arms in Stockwell, a brilliant place to get your feet wet in the world of comedy. I brought several friends with me and was lucky enough to have someone record it for me. Anyway...
HERE IT IS!!!

Pointless popularity contest....but

2009-05-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

Please vote for me. Basically, because It's fun to win stuff...Come, make me immortal!

1st stand-up spot

2009-05-14T02:12:00.000-07:00

I shall be attempting stand up on the 25th of this month at the Cavendish Arms in Stockwell. I think I am both excited and confident but I might be lying.

Advice for the month

2009-05-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

An insult gives you more satisfaction than praise, provided it smacks of jealousy. ~ Jean Baudrillard

MC Envy - Blinded by the lights.

2009-04-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

So I was at work at 2am the other morning doing very little except watching the NBA play offs and my friend Nikhil dropped in with his laptop and recording equipment to record a new track in our meeting room (It's soundproof!) Now 95% of the music he is involved with isn't my kind of thing. I like hip-hop and not so much the garage, drum and base stuff that quite honestly, just isn't my thing.

But this guy is remarkably talented and HE'S SOOOOO YOUNG!!! He's been doing it for years though and has a brilliant, positive and creative outlook on life. If you get a moment, give the guy a listen to, this is a really great track Envy - Blinded by the lights

ITLADian filmmaking?

2009-04-24T12:21:00.001-07:00

Well, after seven years procrastinating, The God Game series (six short digital films which I call surrealist documentaries) is finally going to be viewable online, thanks to the assistance of a member of the younger generation! All the films (and the final capstone work, Being the One: Document of a Delusion) will eventually be upload to my youtube channel, here

For a description of the God Game film project, which was actually completed back in 2002, you can visit my blog.

The premise of the film (surprise surprise) is quite ITLADian - it actually began with a dream I had, about being in an acting class and using a megaphone to create an after-death persona, who would comment on one's life from "the other side." This instantly gave me the idea of making a movie - combining documentary format with role-playing, with psychotherapy, in which I would ask players to imagine their deaths and reconcpetualize their lives, as stories, seen from this transpersonal (Daemonic) POV.

An idea ahead of its time? Let's hope so, anyhow, because it's taken seven years for the films to get "released"! But here they are....

The Fragmented Self

2009-04-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Martin & friends

Here's a recent interview I did as part of a Guardian project with the artist Mark Titchner

It covers various subjects, including schizophrenia, the environmental crisis, multiple personality disorder as relating to our moods, the personal self as Frankenstein's monster, Matrix Warrior, Fight Club, the primal self, mythic narratives of moden movies, and other juicy tidbits.

New Jersey Devils Playoff Game 1 with Kevin Smith and Jennifer Schwalbach Smith

2009-04-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

On the same day I saw the fantastic play God of Carnage I was extremely fortunate to be invited to a Hockey game with the Smith's and several other friends from the world of View Askew. We were grateful guests in the VIP box seats enjoying a spectacular view and wonderful company. Although the night was cut slightly short due to their fatigue of travelling from L.A. that morning, I had an extremely good time chatting with Jen and meeting Amy her husband and once again seeing Teejay. I'd like to thank them both for incredibly kind hospitality to me on my travels and a truely amazing evening. The devils won 4-1 and spirits were high on the train as I got the NJ Transit back to the city. Thanks Kev and Jen, was a pleasure meeting you both.

God of Carnage

2009-04-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

I was luckily enough to get tickets (not cheap!) to see the fantastic play God of Carnage during my stay in New York and I thought it was incredibly funny, truly an exhausting journey of humour and drama. Starring Jeff Daniels, Hope Davies, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Holden, this witty exploration of parental compromise is perhaps the funniest show I've had the pleasure to catch.

Perfectly paced, the pressure and tension build towards some hilarious climaxes, often at the expense of shortly lived pride and dignity. Gandolfini fluctuates brilliantly between rational and incredibly cut-throat honest. Jeff Daniels comedic timing is perfection and he enjoys some of the best interjections as the play progresses. At the beginning, Gandolfini plays the comedic beats to perfection, often waiting a good 10-15 seconds before replying with a simple one-word-retort. Hope Davies who has been fantastic on Six Degrees recently enjoys a humorous character arch. Her character seems to be the most repressed and when she finally unleashes the fury, the stage is brightened up with all sorts of mess. I hadn't seen much of Marcia Gay Holden before but she was remarkably likable. Her character was very raw, it was one that infected the other characters, she refused to compromise her position which fuels the fun and makes for some fantastic match ups. The chemistry between all four characters is outstanding as they take turns unloading on one another. Gender plays a part as the women take on the men, this is a short lived alliance though as it soon becomes a case of everyone for themselves.

Jeff Daniels monologue about the insignificance of anything we do is something I could relate to and I enjoyed it thoroughly. In the tradition of Peter Boyle's speech about "One guy gets sick, another guy gets well..." it points out how all we're doing is killing time before we ourselves are killed, it doesn't really make a bit of difference. Anna Paquin's speech at the end of my favourite film HurlyBurly is very similar.

Worth every penny, go see it if you're in New York. It's at the Jacobs Theatre.

Thank You to Martin Huxter

2009-04-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say a hearty thank you to Martin, for his company while he was in New York City last weekend. I t was wonderful to see you again, and to partake in your lovely conversation. My niece and son really enjoyed meeting you. Here's to many more such visits!

My Blueberry Nights

2009-04-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

I watched this for a second time the other night and I really, really like this film. It's a very unconventional romantic drama, in the way that it concentrates on the (eventual)couple's time spent apart, rather than their time together. The Cafe owner (Jude Law) that Elizabeth (Norah Jones) becomes close with tells her the story of the big bowl of keys. Customer's that have left their keys behind after having had too much to drink, also left a story for Jude's character to tell. That's really what the film is about. How we're all making impressions on each others lives, we become entangled with others and often we don't even realise how much. It's in this message that the film really appeals to me.

When we're gone, all that's left is the memories we leave behind in other people's lives.

Elizabeth writes to the Cafe owner she became entangled with in the first 15 minutes of the film. She is asked "Why not just pick up a phone?"

She explains that somethings are just better explained on paper. There is a real glimpse into the decline of romance in modern day times due to technology. The greatest romances include travel, separation, longing, suffering, letters and stories being told. With the invention of social networking sites today it's so much easier to stay in touch with people and also to find people who we sadly lose. This is a great and wonderful thing, but I believe it comes at a price of great story telling.

Imagine:

It was the greatest night of my life, we spoke for hours, we laughed and soaked up every minute of each other's company. Then suddenly, we were separated in the crowd and I couldn't find her. I was heartbroken. I made a promise to myself on the way home that one day I would find her. Half an hour later I looked her up on Facebook and found her, I sent her a message and heard back from her immediately. Then I ate some pie.

You see? Not quite as romantic is it!

But back to the film, Norah Jones and Rachel Weisz look EXACTLY THE SAME!! It's sneaky to put them in a scene together, even when they cross paths they can hardly believe it. Elizabeth gets into several adventures on her travels, forever becoming a part of the lives of several other people who are facing their own problems. She arrives back to the cafe a year later, a better perspective on love, life and anything else that matters. The film is a journey and it's an enjoyable journey.

Anthony Peake - Author of the month.

2009-04-05T19:50:00.001-07:00

My friend, the author Anthony Peake has been voted Author of the month on the Official Graham Hancock website. There are fantastic updates every day on there from the world of science and technology.

Please click here and go and show your support or simply soak up the wonderful discussions that are currently taking place there

Sideways

2009-04-05T00:43:00.001-07:00

Probably the best film from 2004 and another for my Top Ten which may have run into the teens in a somewhat strange fashion. It's the most generic method ever to simply take two characters that are very different, put them together and watch the hilarity, but this film is so much smarter than that. We've been both of these characters at different moments of our lives and they illustrate the plight and misery of all men, regardless of circumstance.

Miles (Giamatti)is a self destructive writer fresh off of divorce, clinging to the hope that his recently finished novel will sell and therefor make everything else in his life, seem that much better... Or perhaps just a little less shit. Miles is taking his long time friend Jack (Hayden Church) on a Wine tasting get away in the vineyards of Santa Ynez Valley. Jack is an actor with a sexual appetite that refuses to compromise with his impending marriage and all that this commitment entails. Jack is on the hunt for fresh flavour while Miles wishes to recreate moments of comfort and familiarity. We are given a glimpse of their differences early on when Miles stops by to pick up Jack and is asked to sample two different types of Wedding cake. One of them is light, one of them is dark. If pressed to make a decision, Miles chooses the dark, oh, yes he certainly does.

Before they begin their week, Miles takes Jack on a small detour to see his mother on her birthday. After getting annoyed at her constant meddling in his (ex) marital affairs and complimenting his friend ot the point of embarrassment, Miles believes he has received enough crap to justify stealing a healthy amount of money from his mother's underwear draw. The scene is nicely capped off by his mother asking if he needs some money... oops.

Finally arriving in wine country, Miles hesitantly points out Maya (Virginia Madsen)to Jack. She seems very pleased to see Miles and Jack is not surprised by this, he sees the good qualities in Miles and wishes his somewhat negative friend would attempt to do the same. Still before long he has his own agenda, Maya's friend Stephanie (Sandra Oh) who is a single mother with an appreciation for Jack's more care free approach to life.

What follows is a hysterical exploration of sex, deceit, friendship, a naked trip through an ostrich farm, golf course violence, disappointment, heartbreak and a lot of laughs. The running metaphor of wine is climaxed beautifully in a scene between Miles and Maya. Miles tell us the reason why he likes Pinot Noir so much, it has to be coached and encouraged to reach it's full potential, it can't be rushed and much patience is needed to see the beauty it has to offer.

Miles is a painful character to watch. We watch as he reaches several conversational crossroads and can see he has the ability to make the right choice displaying his many positive qualities, but time and time again we are subjected to him running scared into the familiarity and comfort of misery and failure. It would be rather depressing if it wasn't so funny. "Did you drink and dial?" Jack humorously asks after Miles gives us a display of self-pitying at the restaurant. Moments before they went in there Jack anticipates the fuck up and warns him not to ruin the night. It's at this point that Miles barks the quote of the film at his friend.

I am NOT drinking any FUCKING MERLOT!!!

Having read the book and loved it, I can honestly say that this film does more than do the story, characters and everything about it absolute justice. The type of colour the film is shot in is a distinctive one and really adds to the beauty of the Wine country these two characters embark upon. An absolutely classic film that really shouldn't be missed by anyone.

Agents of Chaos: Alan Moore's Alchemical Worshop, and an Authentic Miracle of a Movie

2009-04-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

Warning: the following review is likely to be somewhat “biased”: When I first read Watchmen in my early twenties, it affected me as deeply as any work of fiction ever had—it changed my life. So my responses to the movie—as described below—are going to be more than a little colored by a highly personal connection to the source material.

Watchmen, the movie, directed by Zack Snyder and adapted by David Hayter and Alex Tze, sticks remarkably close to the source material, the ground-breaking graphic novel written by visionary author Alan Moore (whose name isn’t on the film) and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Moore is a self-confessed magician and uncontested genius of comic books, and his twelve issue, 300+ page superhero epic is a stupendously ambitious work, not merely one of the great accomplishments of comic book writing, but an outstanding work of fiction in any field. (It made Time magazine’s 100 greatest novels—what more do you need to know?!)

When I first heard about the Watchmen movie, I was skeptical—to put it mildly. In fact, I was indifferent. And when I saw the first stills from the movie, I knew, absolutely knew, it was a bust, that they were turning it into something gaudy and noisy and messy and dumb—what Hollywood does best. Beyond all doubt, “the visionary director of 300”—a mind-numbingly vacuous live-action cartoon cum commercial for Spartan warfare—would debase the material by catering to the lowest sensibilities of the mass audience.

But within ten minutes or less of the movie, it’s clear that something else is happening. The film, like the graphic novel, starts with the murder of the Comedian. The perfect pre-credit sequence, it sums up the delicate resonance of the story by both keeping to genre conventions (for an opening action set-piece and plot-starting murder) while adding a whole new layer of emotional nuance and poignancy. The Comedian’s weary acceptance of his fate speaks volumes. He has been waiting for this moment, and he’s secretly relieved that it’s finally come. If he puts up a token resistance, it’s only because he doesn’t know how not to. He keeps up his end of the mythic narrative to the bitter end.

This is followed by the lovely, eerie frozen images of the credits, by which flesh and blood becomes comic book image, or vice versa. The credit sequence is inspired: both delightful—enchanting—and wryly amusing, it lets us know that we are in good hands and can settle back to enjoy the most fully satisfying and morally complex superhero enactment in the history of movies. Watchmen is an authentic miracle of a movie—the best of its kind (the philosophical action fantasy) since The Matrix came out ten years ago. (Plot wise, Watchmen is less ingenious than The Matrix, but morally it’s far more sophisticated.)

What’s really astonishing about this movie is that, in under three hours, it manages to capture not only the spirit of the novel but the full, epic breadth of its storyline. I’ve read the comic book at least a dozen times and yet I couldn’t even say which parts the movie misses out (except for the obvious, the parallel story within a story of “Tales of the Black Freighter”). The odds against a big budget Hollywood adaptation of a fiction masterpiece being almost 100% faithful, and at the same time managing to translate it whole into a new medium, are truly phantasmagorical.

Yet therein may be a problem: Watchmen is so completely true to its source that anyone not already enamored of the comic book may be unable to fully grok it. The storyline is straightforward enough, but the peculiar blend of social realism with the pulp roots of comics, and the idiosyncratic, poetic, magical genius of its creator, make Watchmen utterly unlike any superhero movie, or any movie, we've ever seen before. It’s a freak in the best sense of the word: a creature of unfathomable beauty so unique that some people may mistake it for ugliness. It creates its own aesthetic.

What’s perhaps most unusual about the film is its complete moral ambiguity, the way in which it steps entirely outside of the usual mythic paradigm of good and evil, spins off a parallel reality, and weaves its very own mythic narrative. Just as the graphic novel did within the comics field, Watchmen creates a new paradigm for the superhero movie. It’s a paradigm which I highly doubt other filmmakers will be willing, or able, to match, much less develop. There are no heroes in Watchmen, and no villains either. There are rather extraordinary (and extraordinarily flawed) human beings, struggling to make sense of a world in chaos, wrestling with their own complicity in that chaos. These are easily the richest and most affecting characters to ever grace what is ostensibly a fantasy movie. They are not just functions of the plot, as Neo and Morpheus are functions of the plot. As in all great writing, Watchmen’s story develops out of the characters and not vice versa. And these characters are nothing if not ambiguous.

The most dislikeable of the characters, Ozymandias, is driven by a seemingly pathological, philanthropist desire to save the world, and this he succeeds in doing. But we don’t admire him for it—we can’t admire him, because no end could justify these means. He’s an elitist, driven by intellect and a sense of his innate superiority, but devoid of heart. On the other hand, there is much to admire in the murderous vigilante Rorschach—who is all heart. His code of no compromise, his ruthless implacability, his deranged sense of justice, beneath which is a strange tenderness and a deeply wounded soul. Rorschach simply cares too much not to cause mayhem. Like Travis Bickle, his pain, rage and confusion spills out into the world—and he matches it atrocity for atrocity.

Dr. Manhattan, on the other hand, cares little for humanity’s plight: he’s moved beyond that. Was ever a god this chillingly disconnected, a superhero this utterly disaffected? Yet, as Billy Crudup (the only recognizable face in the movie) plays him, Dr. Manhattan is deeply touching. He’s human despite himself, and in his way he’s as lost a soul as the rest of these characters, because he is so utterly, completely alone. As written by Moore, Dr. Manhattan is the first fully believable depiction of a superhuman being—a god—in movies.

On the face of it, the Comedian is the most sheerly unpleasant of the characters: a rapist and child killer, the puppet of the military industrial complex (in a beautiful twist added by the moviemakers, he’s also JFK’s actual assassin). Yet, loathsome as his actions are, he doesn’t ever become hateful to us. None of the characters are defined—or limited— by their actions; they are far too alive for that. Moore’s genius is that he uses the very limited and limiting genre of the superhero comic as an arena—a sort of child’s playground, but also an alchemical workshop—to work through his philosophical themes and develop flesh and blood characters—like forging gold from lead. With Watchmen, he created a kind of feedback loop that expands the story from genre melodrama, into infinity—the realm of archetypes, of true myth. Paradoxically, by turning superhero archetypes into ordinary, believable human beings, ordinary beings are transformed into something extraordinary, something magical, transcendent.

Moore creates a world of impossible possibilities, and the movie recreates that world with breathtaking fidelity—the kind of loyalty and integrity that seems unimaginable in Hollywood, but that has somehow come to pass. Admittedly, the film does fail in one crucial area: that of mapping the endless series of synchronicities between images, words, events, that form the texture of the graphic novel, and that in a sense are what it’s really about. More than the story, or even the characters, Watchmen describes the texture and flow of mystery that living in a quantum universe entails, and what’s lacking in the film is the necessary plethora of fine details, of recurring motifs and themes. Besides that smiley face, I didn’t notice any repeating phenomena, and so the scenes aren’t woven together at this subtler, more esoteric level. The result, for those who aren’t familiar with the original story, may seem to be an almost straightforward, though complex, action movie; they may well miss the finer undercurrents moving beneath the gloriously gaudy surface.

There are other minor flaws: the sex scene to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” is something we could certainly have done without; perhaps more seriously, the extreme violence seems out of place here, largely gratuitous—it doesn’t add anything and may even detract from the dreamlike quality of the story (though with the Rorschach scenes a degree of savagery is probably intrinsic to the material). And sometimes what works in the graphic novel can seem mannered and contrived on screen (such as Night Owl’s question, “Whatever happened to the American Dream?”). Moore’s dialogue is often self-consciously clever, loaded, and this works better when we can hear it in our heads and give it our own inflexion. Actors can be all at sea with these multi-layered lines. There are also areas, such as Rorschach’s revealing the abyss of his soul to the liberal-minded psychiatrist, that need more time to be developed, that are rushed and hence diminished, and the film would probably have worked better, been less choppy and more textured, if it had been allowed an additional ten or twenty minutes of screen time.

But despite these flaws, the sheer joy and originality of the source material fills every frame. It animates every performance with an exuberance, audacity, and poetry, that is unique to the genre. I haven’t even begun to analyze the schizophrenic subtext of this film—perhaps another day?—but I can honestly say that, in thirty years of movie-going, I have never been so pleasantly surprised by a movie. Watchmen has every imaginable reason to crash and burn. Yet somehow, against impossible odds, it takes flight.

R.I.P. Andy Hallett

2009-03-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Andy Hallett, who starred as Lorne on the TV series Angel, died of heart failure last night at age 33. My thoughts go out to his friends and family.

Knowing.

2009-03-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

First of all I'd like to say that overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this film. I had heard a lot of bad things and it IS Nicholas Cage on his current run of awful films so, all things considered, it was pretty good. Don't get me wrong, Nicholas Cage is one of my favourite actors, he is capable of some outstanding performances; Bringing out the dead, Leaving Las Vegas, Matchstick Men and Face Off being just several to mention.

The film initially ponders the debate of Determinism vs Probabilistic theory with regards to the origin and fate of the Earth and its hosts, them being us. The factors are obviously hopelessly generic to support the storyline, Nicholas Cage is the son of a preacher who has lost his faith after his wife passed away. He finds comfort in the proceeding events as he learns there was nothing he could do to save her.

The catastrophe scenes with the plane crash and the subway are brutally hard-hitting and loud. Loud in noise, in rawness, they feel incredibly real and this is actually surprisingly scary. The angel people or whatever you want to call them are a freaky cross between James Masters and the "Hush" whisperers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The scene where one of them creeps into the boy's bedroom and points behind him out the window to a glimpse of the future is incredibly freaky, mainly because of the music which is rather unsettling.

The gift of death for Emily's daughter brings her the comfort that her mother was not crazy. She doesn't have to endure the pain of letting her daughter leave with the Spike looking Angel people sporting Matrix leather Jackets, unlike Cage's character. Also, It's always a brilliant idea when freaky shit is happening left, right and centre and the world may be ending, to drive to the middle of the forest and leave your children unattended to in the back of a car.

As many critics of Nostradamus have argued, by predicting something we can often make it happen. The ITLADian perspective that we create our own universe can be taken to the extreme view that these predictions become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Nicholas Cage comes into contact with these predictions yet by trying to stop them he merely allows them to follow their natural course. Such reflection is an inevitability, we think we are gaining control over our universe by learning physical laws and understanding it's past but it would seem we are only learning what we are spoon fed. As audience members we have the luxury of looking at the film from an outside perspective and being able to realise certain things that they can't. We are the people in the film and this realisation in itself, is actually rather paradoxical!

So what do we learn from this film? Well, we learn that Bunny Rabbits are regarded to be on a higher hierarchy than Nicholas Cage by Angels. As the kids are taken onto the spaceship they are told they can bring the Bunny Rabbits. The little boy tries to bring his father but soon learns that Nicholas Cage is not a desirable guest for where they're headed. So where are they headed? Well, it seems they are taken to a Weetabix advert to run through the fields. This modern day Adam and Eve run towards a tree which arguably has religious significance. The ending is a bit silly, it's almost as if it abandons its path towards the end and splits into about four different type of genre.

Bunnies yes, Nicholas Cage no.

Bright Lights Big City

2009-03-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

A brilliant film from 1988. So why is this one of my favourites as well? Well, In many ways this film is quite similar to HurlyBurly. It's sort of like HurlyBurly but with an actual storyline! Storyline, how conventionally boring right?

The film is about a young writer who is trying to make a name for himself, despite being trapped in a self-created world of drugs, a terribly mundane job as an editor and a world of pain at the loss of his wife to a career in modeling and his mother to cancer. The film appeals to me in the same way HurlyBurly does in that it celebrates and then condemns self destructive behaviour. Jamie Conway is on a path of destruction and before he can wake up, he must first go down in flames, he must hit rock bottom. His unwillingness to "wake up" on the words of Spike Lee's "School Daze" are shown in a running analogy throughout the film. The newspapers keep us updated on the situation with the "Coma baby" that seems rather stubborn to come out and join the rest of the world.

The film begins with a beautiful shot of Times Square at around 5-6am. Having experienced this view myself after a first date with a New York Girl it brings back wonderful memories. I also lived in the West Village where a lot of this is shot, there are shots of the "Village Cigars" store and the laundrette around the corner from where I lived 17 years after this film was made.

There is one scene with a ferret and Keither Sutherland that almost lowers the tone of the whole film but somehow, they manage to pull it off (literally) without hurting the film too much. The film takes place over the course of a week in the life of Jamie Conway, Sunday is humorously missed out due to a rather large hangover which induces a sleep running into the ever enjoyable Monday morning.

Michael J Fox is very likable and manges to provoke sympathy despite constantly making the wrong choices, he tries to stay in one night and write, however this doesn't last long and he's soon back out sampling some more "Bolivian marching powder" The dialogue is extremely funny in places and allows J. Fox to show off what he does best. His character is a kind of stepping stone from Back to the future to Spin City and he really captures the plight of Jamie Conway. There's something very enjoyable and interesting in living vicariously through others, especially when they're lapping up a life of such a hedonistic nature.

Great film that probably makes my top 10 favourites.

New York City to Welcome Martin Huxter

2009-03-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

As Martin Huxter's ( aka Hurlyburly) American associate, I just wanted to announce that Martin will be arriving in New York City on April 12. I, my 21 year old son, Andrew, and my 28 year old niece, Danielle, will be giving him a heartly welcome in Times Square, where he will be staying at the Hilton Hotel on 42nd street. We look forward to fine conversation with this lovely and illustrious British film critic and social satirist par excellence: Bravo, Martin! It will be a privilege to have your lovely British self in Times Square.

Living with Demons

2009-03-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from The Blood Poets: A Cinema of Savagery, vol. two, "Millennial Blues," by Jake Horsley

If the eye could see the demons that populate the universe, existence would be impossible.

—The Talmud

Demons come in all shapes and sizes; they can be metaphor or metaphysic, troll or goblin or gremlin or vampire, werewolf or poltergeist, serial killer or zombie. But, whatever they are, the horror film is a washout without them. Very few movies, horror or otherwise, have endeavoured to deal with demons in the true, theological sense of the word—that is, the inverse of angels, spiritual (therefore invisible) beings that populate the Earth and meddle in the affairs of men, specifically, to possess his body and/or torment his soul. Adrian Lyne’s overwrought but genuinely terrifying thriller, Jacob’s Ladder (1991), is the only, outstanding case I know of of a Hollywood mainstream movie (until Fallen, that is) dealing with “the problem of demons,” more or less directly and (what’s more) intelligently. The fact that, by the end of the movie, the whole story has proven to be no more (but also no less) than the hallucinations of a dying man does little or nothing to detract from the film’s intensity (though it may undermine its integrity somewhat). This is, after all, the story of one man’s soul, and its battle to come to terms with the life it has lived, to overcome the demons of the past that refuse to let it go. Jake’s doctor, played by Danny Aellio, quotes Eckhart on the subject:

The only thing that burns in hell is the part of you that won’t let go... Your memories, your attachments; they burn them all away. They’re not punishing you, they’re freeing your soul. If you’re frightened of dying and you’re holding on, you’ll see devils tearing your life away. But if you’ve made your peace, then the devils are really angels freeing you from the Earth. It’s just a matter of how you look at it, that’s all.

Although as a thriller, Jacob’s Ladder appears to be little more than medieval-gothic/new age hokum, at a more esoteric level, the film is surprisingly, at times disturbingly, persuasive. The writer, Bruce Joel Rubin (who went on to write the insipid Ghost and the loopy Deep Impact ), has obviously taken the time to research his subject, and the film achieves an atmopshere of occult menace and paranoia such as few horror films ever come close to (Polanski’s The Tenant, though a more obviously psychological thriller, is one of the few). Lyne’s direction is characteristically unimaginative, slick and assured but lacking either subtlety or sensitivity. Yet his commerical touch here (Lyne is yet another English filmmaker trained in advertising) is more suited to his material than in his other, uniformly lousy sex-orientated films (Flashdance, 9½ Weeks, Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal). He shows a horrifying flare for depictions of demonic presences and hellish landscapes, and the monsters here, which are the monsters of the protagonist’s mind—are amongst the most appalling ever put on the screen.

Lyne’s lack of empathy as a director is compensated for (as it isn’t in his other films) by the presence of Tim Robbins in the lead role of Jake. It’s Robbins’s first major role, and although he doesn’t do anything really suprising here, he’s sympathetic enough in what amounts to a difficult part (like Harry Angel, Jake is the fall-guy), and his proficiency carries the film along. The story concerns not merely demons of the spiritual kind, in fact, but also of the political and technological variety: it’s about a secret mind control drug used on American troops in Vietnam, designed to bring out the savage, aggressive side of the psyche (to tap into the liminal part of the brain?) and to turn the soldiers into “unstoppable killing machines.” The drug proves too effective by half, however, as even the most miniscule doses turn the troops into homicidal maniacs who tear into anything in sight, including each other. What’s worse, a side-effect of the drug is the onset of intense hallucinations, and a kind of sickly, encroaching paranoia. The survivors (of which Jake is one) suffer from the conviction that they are being persecuted by inhuman forces, and literally see demons on every side.

The trouble with the film’s resolution (that Jake is in fact dead) is that, if all this is just a dying man’s dream or vision, then how are we supposed to take it? As a creation of his own mind, or as a projection of a future which he might have lived, had he survived? The film seems to want to have it both ways. After all, we’ve watched the whole movie taking it to be “true,” then, in the last few minutes, we are asked to accept it as a dying man’s fantasy. Obviously, the first hundred minutes far outweigh the last two, no matter how much of a “revelation” they may be. And in actual fact, the last scene is a bust, anyway, because it doesn’t add anything to the film, really, but only takes (or attempts to take) everything we’ve just seen away from us. The film closes with a rather lacklustre caption informing us that, “the hallucinatory drug BZ was used in experimentation on soldiers during the Vietnam war. The Pentagon denied the story.” This—the fact of mind control experimentation by the government—is a reality that I trust most discerning American citizens are aware of by now, however dimly; but the film itself offers us no specifics, no authentic details, no single reason for us to take it as factual. The case it presents us with (even if it hadn’t just been exploded as “fictitious” by the film itself) seems flaky, not because it’s far-fetched or exaggerated (anything but, I fear), but simply because it is insufficiently well-researched, and therefore seems to lack plausibility. Actually, the whole script is a mess, because it seems to be unsure itself, as to whether the demons are an hallucination caused by the army drug, or whether the whole army-drug story is just an hallucination created by the demons, or whether it’s all just a metaphor anyway, created by the human mind, as it prepares to face its annihilation. Etc., etc...

Still, to a large extent, this chaotic lack of structure, of coherent intentions, works for the film and not against it, because it creates an appropriate level of uncertainty and mental panic in the viewer, provided of course that he’s prepared to suspend his disbelief and go along with the action, at a more emotional level; which is where the infernal presences and nightmare visions come in. Jacob’s Ladder is one of the very few recent movies (perhaps the first since The Manchurian Candidate) that successfully describes, or evokes, something of the despair, dread, paranoia and outright horror of modern life, in the age of psychological/germ warfare and shadow governments. It may even be that, with this film, “covert operations” became the modern version of “occult forces,” hence the use of theological terminology here meshes almost seamlessly with the espionage-paranoia plot. Jacob’s Ladder is an outstanding film of the ’80s, because it brings two very distinct kinds of horror together into a single nightmare: the nightmare of control. This effectively combines the ancient fear of possession (i.e., demons) with the modern fear of corruption (i.e., evil men, or government).

Jacob’s Ladder is like an update, for TV generations, of the Frankenstein myth. The hidden forces of the American government, and their Nazi-like doctors (standing in for the old Baron), are never seen in the film—as befits their covert nature—but their presence is certainly felt. No longer working to create life, modern science is now dedicated to conquering the human mind, to turning man into a machine that can be controlled and deployed, like a living weapon. And of course, in the process of harnessing this forbidden knowledge, the demons of the psyche are unleased. Once unleashed, these demons (like Frankenstein’s monster) cannot be placated, they can only be confronted. Knowledge, science, technology, in this myth they all equal disaster. In Lyne’s film, mankind itself, represented by the shadowy, omnipotent but wholly corrupt powers of the Pentagon, has become the modern Prometheus; while society, as the laboratory in which these infernal powers-that-be operate, has become the arena where the unspeakable consequences unfold. It has become Hell on Earth.

Jacob’s Ladder is an authentic apocalyptic vision of a society on the brink of devouring itself, of succumbing to its own insanity, and being overrun by its own demons. Like its protagonist, it walks the razor’s edge between madness and illumination, between paranoia and heightened awareness; and the awful, unthinkable visions it conjurs up are—far from being the deranged rantings of a diseased mind or mere chimera summoned up by blind hysteria—images of things to come. The Vietnam war was a bizarre and covert kind of sociological experiment, as much as it was a bid for power. Drugs were used (on both US and Viet Cong), not only in an insane attempt to win the war, but, more disturbingly, in order to test their properties and discover more about the workings of the human mind, ways in which it might be controlled, manipulated, reshaped, destroyed, and to discover just what the human being was capable of. The war itself was unlike any other war before it or since; none but the very few know what really happened there, or why, and those few aren’t talking.

For a Hollywood horror fantasy, Jacob’s Ladder draws on some pretty painful home truths. Its use of the supernatural, as the only feasible way to account for, portray, and above all do justice to, the kind of organized evil and insanity which government has become, seems to me to be neither arbitrary nor unjustified, but genuinely inspired. The human psyche is a dark and dangerous place, alright, maybe not unfathomable but certainly as-yet-unfathomed by modern man. Science and psychology, when in the service of governments, tend to plunder and pillage in precisely the same spirit as army troops in a foreign land—they are there to conquer, not to comprehend. The unmapped territories of Heaven and Hell, which in Rubin’s script are suggested to be strangely synonymous, are like areas of the human soul which we have been unable, or unwilling, to recognize in anything but metaphorical terms. Jacob’s Ladder literally brings the demons of the Vietnam war home to us, and makes no bones about designating the enemy: ourselves. And, by rediscovering the metaphysical dread that lies beneath our modern, urban angst, it presents possession (and corruption) not merely as a plausible reality, but as a fact of life, and one that we had better learn to live with, if we want to die right.

There’s so such thing as fucking demons!
—Jacob’s Ladder

The curious case of Benjamin Button

2009-03-19T01:49:00.000-07:00

Like so many films today, the film begins with a story being told by somebody on their deathbed, further supporting the theory that as we approach our death the playback of our lives begins, giving us access to all kinds of distant memories.

Entropy, the thermodynamic arrow of time and a whole bunch of other stuff that I occasionally manage to get my head around, indicate that time could run backwards in a particular set of circumstances but it is highly improbably, more than highly in fact, hence "the curious case!"

The concept of time pertains to man and consciousness, we are bound by it and our lives make sense because of it. Flipping chronology of life on its head as we know it makes for an extremely moving film that tackles many issues of our lives including perceptions on age, love, rites of passage, friendship and general expectations.

Lightning is a major mention in this film as it is in Francis Ford Coppola's Youth without Youth. Probability and inevitability are usually explored through miracles within film and arguably this is no exception. In the Coen Brothers film "The Hudsucker Proxy" Tim Robbins' character falls to his death and is saved as time stands still for him when an angel stops the clock. This idea that we step out of time upon our death is one explained by Anthony Peake throughout his work, helpfully explained with his "Sky Diver falling out of time." In this film though, a clock is intentionally made to run backwards in order to bring back casualties from the war, it's one of several indications towards our generalisations and assumptions of time and the way we take its nature for granted.

The film is beautifully shot and although enjoying the luxury of a fairly long running time, still manages to capture an entire lifetime in just a few hours on screen.

VALIS

2009-03-11T05:11:00.001-07:00

I just finished reading my first Philip K Dick book, that being the wonderful VALIS. Dick strikes me as someone that could have easily written in many different areas with ease, but for reasons lucky to us all, Philosophy and Science Ficition were the areas that allowed him to share his voice and his life best.

The mix of religion, physics, insanity, humour and just great story telling made this a real treat for me. The way in which VALIS is described is indeed extremely similar to that of the Daemon put forth by Tony, Or Anarch Peak!

"Kevin, inhaling deeply and gripping the seering wheel tight said, "She said that MY DEAD CAT...." He paused, raising his voice. "MY DEAD CAT WAS STUPID" ......

"My cat was STUPID." Kevin continued, "because GOD MADE IT STUPID. So it was GOD'S fault, not my cat's fault"

Pg 236

These two pages had me smiling very brightly. The way in which the book is structured is a perfect summary of the lengths to which individual search for meaning can be taken, but after all is said and done, we are left obliterated by choices and freedoms that usually leave us a bit perplexed (completely nuts!)

The story of his son who is saved by some information sent by VALIS kept reminding me of Anthony Peake's mention about the lady who was going to take those pills that would have harmed her baby, very similar and very interesting.

What engaged me so quickly was Dick's wit and humour, he is a very humorous writer, reinforcing my belief that the best comedy requires massive intelligence and perception about the world around you. As his world got more confusing, his humour and work obviously got more daring and from this, greatness was an inevitable consequence.

Next read from him?

The Anniversary Party

2009-03-02T17:49:00.000-08:00

This is another one of those little unknown gems that get found for a few pounds and turn out to be hidden treasures. I first saw this film a few years ago and loved it. Allan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh play the troubled couple who throw themselves a party on their sixth anniversary. The two of them wrote, directed and produced the film managing to capture beautiful and horrifically awkward moments of love and friendship.

The cast is outstanding, boasting Gwyneth Paltrow, Phoebe Cates, Kevin Kline and John C. Reilly... Oh and the neighbours! After the guests share their stories everyone drops some Ecstasy just to give the drama and conversation that little kick-start it needs! A fantastic film that may just about sneak into my top ten favourites.

The never ending days of being dead - Marcus Chown

2009-02-26T16:40:00.000-08:00

This morning at around 6am I would have like to have been asleep. Instead, I was finishing of one of the most enjoyable books I have read, that being Marcus Chown's "The never ending days of being dead"

The most interesting part of this book for me was learning about the concept of the "Omega Point Universe" This being a universe which contracts faster in one direction than all other directions. In such a universe, the temperature difference grow without limit, enabling an infinite amount of information processing before the universe ends in the Omega Point

I loved Chapter 11 - "The never ending days of being dead" and plan to look up more material from Frank Tipler as soon as possible. This particular concept is extremely similar to Anthony's Theory in many ways. Chown explores the possibility that we may already be in a computer generated reality brought about by the future fate of the universe.

I was also fascintated to learn more about "Omega" That being a number that cannot be generated by a computer programme shorter than itself. Far more interesting that I first anticipated. Chown's style of wrirting is so addictive and so easy to understand, he makes it enjoyable to learn as he has a great sense of humour about the topics he discusses.

Interesting insights also into the opinion that we should be searching for E.T in the computer rather than the universe. The entire book was an absolute pleasure, every bit as educational and enjoyable as "The universe Next Door". I will definately go out and get a copy of "Quantum Theory cannot hurt you" as soon as possible.

And the Oscar goes to...

2009-02-22T22:02:00.000-08:00

Couldn't have been more deserved. The man is one of, if not the greatest, actor of our generation. I feel for Rourke, but it's hardly a complete snub in light of the tremendous performance by Sean Penn in Milk.

So incredibley deserved

So great to see the beautiful Robin Wright Penn crying in the background.

On the Road

2009-02-14T21:49:00.000-08:00

I finished "On the road" a day or so ago. I really enjoyed it and can see why people were so enthusiastic about it's ability to capture a particularly era of adventure, freedom and search for meaning. The style of writing, although almost tedious at times, really allows the imagination to explore the adventure with Sal and Dean. I think I enjoyed part two the most, I'm positive another read of this at a later date would be complimentary to it's brilliance.

There were actually a few rather ITLADian quotes to enjoy - *

"Mankind will someday realize that we are actually in contact with the dead and with the other world, whatever it is; right now we could predict, if we only exerted enough mental will, what is going to happen within the next hundred years and be able to take steps to avoid all kinds of catastrophes. When a man dies he undergoes a mutation in his brain that we know nothing about now but which will be very clear someday if scientists get on the ball."

* ITLAD (IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH - PHYSICS AUTHOR ANTHONY PEAKE - SEE LINKS ON SIDE AND BOTTOM OF THE PAGE)

Incidentally, I find a striking similarity between the picture here and the rather famous shot of Marlon Brando? Anyone else?

Teachers - Andrew Lincoln

2009-02-13T20:38:00.001-08:00

What ever happened to this gem of a show? The first season was outstanding boasting the charming Andrew Lincoln and a whole cast of interesting and humorous characters. The second season was also fantastic until Andrew Lincoln left but the strong supporting cast managed to keep it interesting in his absence. By the third season the cast had changed much more noticeably and a brief return from Simon (Lincoln) brought back the old chemistry from previous seasons. After his absence though the show just went further and further downhill. A new term brought new teachers but we had lost interest by then. By this point the best of the show had either moved onto the hit film "Love Actually" or other projects. I think I recall seeing Lincoln in an old episode of Drop The Dead Donkey as Henry's nephew but have not seen much of his post-Teachers career other than Love Actually. Ben Chaplin should have been huge but has enjoyed massive success in film since "Game On" Hopefully we will see more from the charismatic Lincoln in years to come.

Igby Goes Down

2009-02-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

I may have to reconsider bumping this into my top ten after giving this another view tonight. The film is supposed to be very loosely based on Catcher in the rye and the similarities are there to be enjoyed. It has that adventurous nature about it. Igby is a rich kid kicked out of school, several schools in fact. His mother, a cold and rich woman played comically by Susan Sarandon, tries to straighten out Igby before finally sending him to spend some time with his rich Godfather. Igby, feeling that over analytical teenage confusion, tries to live the more care free life of the down and out but ends up mooching off of the social networks of which he has become surrounded by. It's like a social class safety net that keeps him from falling too deep into the streets. He stays with his rich Godfather, sleeps with his mistress, why not? Rich kids love the perks of room service without knowing any different. He shares some drugs and then some sex with the beautiful Claire Daines as she becomes too weak to resist his boyish ignorance and enthusiasm for confrontation/arrogance. Unfortunately for Igby his brother is slightly more her age. Ol' Holden Caulfield like to call his brother a prostitute and a sell out for whoring his work, Igby has similar thoughts for his brother's loyalty to his sleazy Godfather. His preppy image is enough to take Sukki away from Igby and spark the frustration that ignites his resentment for his more successful brother. In the same way we saw a visit to his teacher from Holden, we enjoy the rather humorous moment of Igby delivering drugs to his former teacher and her husband at their home. Even in this rather humbling moment he has to make up a hysterical tale of his brother becoming disfigured to deflect the annoyance of hearing complimentary enquiries about his brothers academic success.

Igby's father played by Bill Pullman, has left the family after suffering with mental illness. We see a series of flashbacks that show Igby's admiration as well as his fear of what his father has become. Between his father and his mother Igby has a well of dysfunctional behaviour to draw from. Even on her death bed, his mother jokes back and forth with Igby who gives as good as he gets in an exchange of very dark and dry wit. Keiran Culkin's acting is pretty fucking impressive to be honest as he does a fantastic job fluctuating from numb one minute to out-of-control-crazy the next.

Slumdog Millionaire.

2009-02-12T17:09:00.000-08:00

I was very impressed with this film, as many have been recently, the film has won many awards and It couldn't be more justified. At times the poverty-fuelled adventure of the characters resembles certain moments from "City of God" Few children slip through the cracks of the dangers they encounter, at times, it's almost a roll of the dice who makes it to adulthood and who doesn't. The film is essentially an underdog story but told in a way that manages to find hope through a world of suffering. The victory of the main character comes only at the expense of the misery of many others who aren't as fortunate as he is; he is the inevitable outcome of the poverty pyramid. The soundtrack is equally impressive, the moods of the film are echoed through the many wonderful songs used to compliment it. A great underdog story, the "Rocky" of it's Genre indeed.

7 Pounds

2009-02-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

This was a rather sweet and inspiring film although i did have issues with it in places. The film flashes a very slight resemblance to the film 21 Grams in it's subject matter but told in a very different way. I was reading a chapter in "The Happiness Hypothesis" about Altruism vs Selfishness in the evolution of humans. Self sacrifice is common with many animals and insects as they regard themselves as many cells in one giant organism. But despite evidence to show that the selfish people often prosper from a Darwinian viewpoint, Altruistic behaviour appears time and time again with Human Beings. It's a rather touching and inspiring film about redemption.

This film was very touching. I did have slight issues with the distribution of film time devoted to particular characters. Woody Harrelson's character barely saw more than 5 minutes of screen time despite being a very interesting actor/character to watch. The film seems to stop progressing about two thirds in with Will Smith struggling to do more than continue his portrayal of a strong silent type with a past to hide and a future to plan.

Despite being somebody who teared up watching "The pursuit of Happiness" I did manage to make it through this one without succumbing to the desire to shed a tear. The end scene brought me very close though, very close indeed. A fine performance by Will Smith, his acting ability never surprised me, ever since the often unknown performance he gave in "Six Degrees of Separation" I have seen the range that this superstar has. Bravo Mr Smith, keep up the good choices in roles, but next time, more of Mr Harrelson, he is rather underrated too.

Gridlock'd

2009-01-30T21:28:00.000-08:00

Vondie Curtis Hall (the man playing the Reaper) has written and directed an absolute gem of a film that you may have never gotten around to seeing yet. If you haven't do yourself a favour and go see it now. It's not about much, two Junkies trying to get into a detox-rehabilitation programme and having very little luck. Along the way they get caught up in the lifestyle to which they have become a custom to and all that it can entail. The beauty of the film can be found in the dialogue, the pacing, the frustration but mainly from how likable these to characters are, essentially it's a very unorthodox buddy movie. It stars the legendary Tupac Shakur boasting some of his best acting ever, he's stripped of his gangster image and able to show a much wider range of his acting skills. Tim Roth, who in my opinion can fluctuate from greatness to just painfully bad (although these may be more of a reflection of the actual films themselves) is hysterical throughout the film. It also features Thandie Newton, though we mainly see her through a series of flashbacks, the chemistry between these three actors is fun to watch as they remain upbeat, mainly through drugs and humour. Gridlock'd is also probably in my Top Ten films. The soundtrack is amazing and features some great tracks from 2PAC himself.

A fantastic indie film with a great performance from the actor who was just hitting his stride when he was taking away from us.

HurlyBurly - Misogynistic?

2009-01-29T20:32:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't personally consider the play or the film to be misogynistic really, some of it's characters act in such a way but face the consequences of their actions. It therefor, doesn't celebrate misogyny, instead it explores it through a journey in which the characters have become extremely lost in a sea of self destructive behaviour. It's message is not one that views women in a negative light, the three women in HurlyBurly are very different and very strong characters. Donna is the youngest of the women, but she is wise beyond her years. She is the one that Finally helps Eddie find peace with his thoughts, explaining to him that everything pertains to him, yet he has complete freedom on how he feels about things because the truth is, it doesn't make any difference what he thinks about anything. This complete futility actually brings him comfort. Finally realising that he has no control over anything is his epiphany as he says "I may never go to sleep again, I may stay awake forever"

There is a scene where all the guys are sat around drinking and chatting, Mickey is telling a very misogynistic story about Bonnie. We see the very different reactions of the three guys as they each deal with their disgust in very different ways. Mickey makes light of it as he always does with every thing, Phil shows no form of disgust as he looks for acceptance where ever he can get it and Eddie is the character who actually refuses to find any of it funny, he is repulsed by it and we sense there may be hope for him yet.

Darlene is the most adaptive and suitable to their world. She is a woman who has come between two friends and makes no apologies for her decision to play the field. Although seemingly the most "normal" of the three women, she is not necessarily the most respectable

Eddie Is up and down, all over the place. (HurlyBurly) He is the unification of all of the characters positive and negative qualities. Mickey Is Jaded, detached, manipulative and will continue to live a very guarded and numb existence. Phil commits suicide as he is the most miserable of them all. Phil's character is arguable repulsive and disgusting, but he has a very honest and raw edge to his personality. Each of these characters face a different reality based on the way they treat others, it does not celebrate misogyny in the slightest, it is actually a warning against it and the hedonistic lifestyle with which it is often associated.

To summarise. Just because there is misogyny present in the themes explored by the film, doesn't necessarily make the film misogynistic. How can you ever discuss and explore the negative aspects of misogyny without showing it in a film? You can't.

I stand by my opinion that HurlyBurly is a masterpiece and remains my favourite film of all time.

25th Hour

2009-01-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

Without a doubt, one of my top 10 films of all time, Edward Norton had been wanting to collaborate with Spike ever since He got Game. which Norton considers to be a personal favourite

As far as I know (which means the following information is as reliable as your neighbours account of seeing Lord Lucan yesterday) this is the first film Spike Lee was a part of as a Director where he did not write the screenplay. He knew it had enormous potential obviously, the cast alone is enough to spark interest. It's the story of Monty, a guy who has one more day of freedom before he serves a 7 year sentence for dealing drugs. If that wasn't enough to deal with, he is left to ponder who sold him out and has been giving his girlfriend Naturelle some very uneasy looks as of late.

Monty's two friends Frank and Jacob lead very different lives. Jacob is a school teacher fantasising about one of his students. Frank is a high roller on Wall street flexing his ego by making bold moves on the stock market. Neither is arguably any less deviant in nature than Monty, instead, their lives and behaviour reflect the choices they have made.

Monty's father played by the great Brian Cox is a retired fireman with a bar. Monty's loyalty to his father is reflected in his actions throughout the film, his father had put up his bar as collateral for Monty's pre-sentence freedom.

One of the most powerful scenes in the film comes when Monty gives his angry summary of New York city's neighbourhoods and it's residents of different backgrounds. It all begins with a "Fuck you" on the mirror, it ends with Monty's reflection telling him to take a better look at himself, to stop blaming others for his predicament and take responsibility for his choices in life. It's a scene that pertains to the film but is also a separate message, to New York but also to the world. At the end of the film we see a message left with a heart stating, "You can't stop New York city" It's very powerful. You must remember this is one of (if not the) first films released after 9/11. The view above Frank's apartment is the closest they could get to the remains of Ground Zero. Frank and Jacob bicker about Monty's predicament and display different levels of sympathy dealing with it as their own fears become more apparent. Frank in particular practically sentences Monty to death with his opinions yet later on in the club when Monty says similar things about his chances, Frank argues that this is nonsense and he'll survive just fine. The conversation with Jacob is the first in the film that really emphasises that Monty is a Dead man no matter what choice he makes between Suicide, running or facing the music. The film is about mortality and without the presence of death lingering in the limelight. The choices we make have real consequences. Monty asks Jacob to take dog that Monty saved from being left for dead. Monty identified with the little fighter and when Jacob questions the size of his apartment Monty replies in a suspiciously optimistic manner. The emotional distance of describing the himself through the dog gives him temporary comfort as he comes to terms with his fate.

Doyle's a tough dog, he'll learn to live in a small space, he'll survive

Spike has always liked his dolly shots and their is a real gem featuring Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the club, shortly after he imposes himself romantically (I say that loosely) on his student Mary, we see him moving in front of the camera with a look so indescribable it deserves a watch. Feel free to laugh as you feel sympathy for him!

As the three friends stare into the ocean in the early hours of dawn, Monty suggests living the life of working on a tugboat. It seems so nice because from the outside it looks like three guys discussing the possibilities of life, but it actually stings with pain as Norton is an hour or two away from prison.

It's followed by one of the most uncomfortable scenes I've ever witnessed comes from Monty asking Frank to beat him to the point of ugliness. Monty is scared and doesn't want to go into prison looking all pretty... arrogant much!?!? Kind of like the Scene in Gridlock'd where Tupac asks Roth to stab him, only without the humour! It's a horrible scene to watch but it's actually admirable in a repulsively sick way, how many people could actually do that to someone as a favour in the spirit of friendship? Not many I'd imagine, but I guess it doesn't come up that much...

One of the coolest moments of the film comes as Monty views all of the members of the neighbourhood that he insulted earlier. A young boy on the bus spells out his name in the window as Monty does the same. Tom (almost Monty backwards) takes off in the opposite direction both on the road and hopefully, in life.

The end of the film is very sobering, the consequences have seemingly been dodged as we believe Monty has decided to run at the last minute as his Father drives him to the West Coast to start a fresh. But he's still in the car, dreaming of a life that "came so close to never happening"

The Penn is mightier than the sword

2009-01-27T09:29:00.000-08:00

Got Milk?

One of the greatest actors of our generation takes on his most important and challenging roles yet (Other than HurlyBurly of course...)

I am yet to watch "The Wrestler" yet but Rourke's performance is going to have to be pretty weighty in order to top the sensational effort put forward by Sean Penn. Harvey Milk was another brave soul who was chosen to lead a fight against homophobia, civil-rights-violations and just general stupidity.

Towards the beginning of Milk's journey into politics he is sent a death threat which his lover is startled by and keen to put out of sight, Milk refuses to do so. Instead, he pins it to the refrigerator where it loses it's power to shock, scare and repulse. It's fitting that hate exposed by ignorance loses credibility from mass exposure, where as love, compassion, tolerance and acceptance of others is contagious and unstoppable when spread amongst people who exercise their rights to the most basic of freedoms.

Most of us live our lives in a comfortable, small world of love and hate which remains moderately safe for us. The great men that fight their causes are thrown into an amplified arena of love and hate that forces them to make great sacrifices, but yet, also leads them to make great changes for the benefit of society as a whole.

It's astounding to look back at times when voices of such ignorance and stupidity were elected to speak on behalf of the masses (Not so long ago I hear you say?). Milk was an inevitability of his time in America, a time when fear, a lack of understanding and acceptance were manifested in it's politics. America has always had a tendency to cry outrage about the threat to "Family values" and a "Christian way of life". These non-sensical phrases are brainwashing McTerms that have managed to influence a nation of people always on the look-out for a scapegoat.

Milk visits the Opera towards the end of the film and he knows his time is coming to an end as the fat lady does indeed begin to warm up her voice. His demise is shown to be rather theatrical, remaining consistent with his life's work, seeing the beauty of the world around him, even in the final moments of his death. Like Malcom, Martin, Tupac and other figures who predicted their own death correctly, Harvey Milk was aware that his life was a sacrifice made for the greater good. As he said, It's not about ego or personal gain, it's a movement for the preservation of the youth, to guarantee that they don't have to feel persecuted for simply being whatever they happen to be.

The film's best moments derive from observing Milk embarrass his political opponents with what seem to be very obvious facts about the nature of Homosexuality. I hope he would forgive me for saying the stupidity of his opponents beliefs and arguments seemed to personify his own ability to deliver fantastic one liners with such sharp wit. There should have been a bit more of this shown as it really does celebrate the essence of who he was, like watching an artist at work. You could see the pleasure he got from changing people's minds and influencing people to question certain prejudices. It would be fair to say that he was armed with such truth and support that charisma wasn't necessary to clinch his political victories, all he had to do is show up and allow his good natured intentions to shine through. The camera work does a nice job of capturing the era of a restless crowd rallying in the streets of San Fransisco.

I've found it extremely rewarding to read many reviews of this film. Mainly because there has been countless mentions from people that cannot usually stand the sight of Sean Penn who have been pleasantly surprised by his amazing ability to capture the essence of this historically brave man. I consider Sean Penn to be one of, if not the greatest actor of his generation so his performance is no surprise to me at all. Perhaps it is fitting then that two men who seem so desperately misunderstood (obviously to very different degrees of importance), merge into one character on the big screen to deliver such an important message to the world.

Dan White - Two guys can't reproduce

Harvey Milk - But we keep on trying!

Valkyrie

2009-01-25T11:55:00.000-08:00

I watched Valkyrie last night and was rather inspired and depressed simultaneously! It offers a very much needed insight into history and to the fact that not all German's should be held accountable for the horrors of Hitler's actions during world war II. A Jewish friend of mine tells me that Tom's character was actually very much a hater of the Jewish people that just so happened to also hate Hitler. Regardless of this, the film is necessary to remind people that there are always degrees of variance in people's beliefs and that the honourable and brave plights of the these particularly group of people should be acknowledged and respected. Cruise's performance was moderately impressive, the choice of roles was not a big stretch for him though in my opinion. I'd like to see if he could take on a self-destructive character, those being the more interesting ones to watch on screen!

It's arguably much like John Cusack's "MAX" which bravely attempts to put a human face on Hitler and explain his descent through social and economical circumstances. It attempts to do this rather than just reduce him to a character of pure evil, however much this may bring us a strange sense of comfort in our world of absolutes.

The concept of thinking "too much"

2009-01-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

Just reflecting on the better moments of my life so far, it would be a fair evaluation to say that many of those moments involved very little thought; "going with the flow" as people often say. Don't get me wrong, a feeling of connection with the world often comes from a certain degree of thinking about our situations we find ourselves in, but is there anything to be said for the argument that too much thinking can lead to insanity. There is a thin line between insanity and genius but are these conscequences of two very different schools of thought? From reading some of Anthony Peake's work alone it can be argued that individuals suffering from Schizophrenia for example, are experiencing an overload of influence from the Daemon, but could it also be argued that too much thought from the Eidolon will little Daemon guidence results in mental sickness? A wanderer with little guidence is much more likely to get lost perhaps?

Over analytical characters are the most interesting characters throughout all forms of entertainment, indeed, my favourite film HurlyBurly provides much insight to this. The main character learning that his hedonistic ways will lead to nothing but trying to find answers in the wrong place. So could it be said that it's not the amount of thinking that we commit ourselves to, but indeed, the value of the thought we give things? Then there's good ol' Holden Caulfield, perhaps one of the most popular "over-thinkers" in literary history. Why is it we adore sweet Holden so much? Holden clearly has an unhealthy mind, but there is something admirable and enjoyable about the way he thinks that millions have related to over the years. It's much more than just simple adolesance, it's coming to terms with the world and finding a way to cope with all the things that repulse us so much. In the Legend of Baggar Vance, a struggling alcoholic and golfer is trying to find his form again. Matt Damon's character learns how there is one perfect shot for every hole, allowing himself to become one with everything he is able to find this "perfect shot" This has been applied to all sorts of sports, throughout film in particular. As i've mentioned several times before, Basketball players descibe being "In the zone" as when they hit a certain rhythm that allows them to excell to standards above and beyond their competitors by just being in the moment and letting things happen. If you still believe thinking too much can be such a bad thing, then you need look no further than the performance of the England Football squad during those wonderful moments of penalties over the years! Even things as simple as planning a New Years eve celebration, too much thought, expectation and planning seems to put people off this holiday now, where as a spontanious evening that catches us off-guard seems to spark a great deal of pleasure in our often conditioned and routined lives.

This is clearly just a very superficial thing to point out but how do you all feel about this? Think about some of the best times on your life, did they come from feeling one with the elements, did they come from acheiving something through application of thought? Clearly there are times we experience both, but is there any link between these two very different ways of behaving and the Eidolon/Daemon roles we have observed?

Much like with the double-slit experiment where the act of observing effects the outcome, too much thought has blocked our ability to feel a oneness with the elements and just be. "Clear your mind" - At the same time, it's trite cliche that gets over used in movies! But also, it is practiced in Yoga and many forms of meditation that prove to be very beneficial.

Just a thought.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend. - Bruce Lee

A prophet or a self-fulfilling prophecy?

2009-01-22T19:41:00.001-08:00

Tupac Shakur was an incredibley talented and versitaile artist. Perhaps the greatest thing about him was his honesty as a human being, he was good bad, creative, destructive, he personified the entire human spectrum. Many people didn't not see this talent due to the gangsta rap image he went out of his way to create in order to hide his entirely intense female side.

There are many conspiracey theories regarding 2pac's death. For those of you that aren't familiar with his work, 2pac predicted his own death in his lyrics on a very regular occasion, he even acted it out in an extremely eiree music video "I ain't mad at cha". This is why he spent so much time in the studio and that over 10 years after his death he still has material being released. A year or two before he died, Tupac changed his name to Makaveli. It is a common misconception that Machiavelli faked his own death. There is no historical evidence that he did, despite this the connections were made and motives were established for this change of identity.

Are people that predict these kind of things tuned into the future, or are they simply creating it out of the need for attention or creative frustration? Or is there another link between creative writing and an ability to predict the future events?

In the event of my Demise
when my heart can beat no more
I Hope I Die For A Principle
or A Belief that I had Lived 4
I will die Before My Time
Because I feel the shadow's Depth
so much I wanted 2 accomplish
before I reached my Death
I have come 2 grips with the possibility
and wiped the last tear from My eyes
I Loved All who were Positive
In the event of my Demise

I recommend you check out a film called Gridlock'd starring Tim Roth and Tupac, he was an extremely talented actor who was just reaching his peak when he died! Tupac had an incredible talent for poetry, obviously as he wrote rap lyrics for a career. He has had several books of poems published that would surprise many, some dedicated to his mother, one dedicated to Marilyn Monroe.

If in my quest 2 achieve my goals
I stumble or crumble and lose my soul
Those that knew me would easily co-sign
There was never life as hard as mine
No father-no money-no chance and no guide
I only follow my voice inside
if it guides me wrong and I do not win
I'll learn from mistakes and try 2 achieve again.

Some more of his poetry here if you care to read it here

My favourite Tupac story was told by one of his entourage. Tupac was in the car listening to music and a young hip-hop fan of his came jogging up alongside the car to greet him. "What's this?" the guy said reffering to the music he was listening to. "Oh just the radio" replied Tupac. It wasn't the radio, it was a cranberries cd he liked.

I think this story beatifully illustrates his issues with worrying about his image and how it was one of his greatest qualities aswell as his biggest downfall.

Eternal Sunshie of the Spotless mind

2009-01-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

Blessed are the forgetful for they get the better even of their blunders - Frederich Nietzsche

Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet give their best performances to date in this beautiful story of a couple and their history. Depending on your criteria for what makes a good movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind could easily be argued as the best film of the past twenty or thirty years. Charlie Kaufman has written a screenplay that connects with memories you didn't even realised you had. Jim Carrey (Joel) has shed his cartoon character style persona and can act as well if not better than anyone. Kate Winslet (Clementine) has the versatility of any Oscar winning actress and has shown this to be true time and time again. All of these talented individuals combine for one of the greatest films you are likely to ever have the pleasure of watching. We all have memories, we all have dreams, we all have weird moments that defy explanation. No film has ever displayed these indescribable moments of lucid dreaming and the beautiful world of the mind in such a poetic manner. The movie defies words yet you get the feeling this is exactly what Kaufman had in his head while he was writing it.

Joel discovers that his ex girlfriend Clementine has undergone a procedure to have all memories of him erased, in a spiteful reaction to this he seeks to have the same procedure but changes his mind during the procedure while he's asleep. Trapped inside his mind, he must hide her in non related memories in order to evade the complete deletion of her memory. Due to the nature of the story, it is, at times, extremely sad. Like all great romances though, the couple defeat the odds and without knowledge are brought back together by an unknown force, a force some would define as fate, others, true love. The story may be surreal but the relationship between these two opposites is far more accurate that that of many others portrayed in film. When Elijah Wood's character Patrick tries to replicate a memory for the purpose of winning Clementine's heart, she becomes unnerved feeling that something isn't right. This goes to the very nature of life, our memories are our memories, they cannot be replicated, they cannot be substituted and more importantly they cannot be replaced.

The scene in which the final memory of the couple is being erased is one of the most saddest and surreal i have seen in any film. Ever had a dream about a dream? Ever woke up from a dream and realised you were still dreaming? If this kind of thing fascinates you, you may find this film to be the best film you've ever seen. You could compare it with Mullholland drive except it has much more of a concrete storyline, the dream sequences however, are equally impressive. Co Starring Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Tom Wilkinson, this movie does more than simply offer something different, it makes us appreciate the beauty of memories, dreams and that which we have experienced. The strength of this film is not in the message, instead it's the way the message is delivered. Movie's are all about the art of story telling and Charlie Kaufman can indeed tell a bizarre story and make it seem so familiar. The story is non-linear, this can be dangerous in the wrong hands, but because it is done so well it adds to the story beautifully The soundtrack plays a huge role in helping to create the right atmosphere for particular scenes, this film more than others, benefits from music as it transcends the bridge between dreams and reality. Romance is simultaneously a sad , beautiful and painful thing. All of the bad memories in our life are necessary signposts on the way to our happier times and they cannot be skipped, life is a journey and a short cut can leave us more lost than we ever imagined.

A Study of Masculinity in the Gangster Genre.

2009-01-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

After a great deal of hassle with scanning, I'm pleased to be able to post a copy of my Dissertation which I wrote in 2004.

A Study of Masculinity in the Gangster Genre - By Martin Huxter

Brain Plasticity.

2009-01-12T22:48:00.000-08:00

The other week I finished "The Brain that Changes Itself" By Norman Doidge.

I absolutely love this book, I found it fascinating. The book explores the wonder of "Brain Plasticity" - The Brain's ability to change and re-wire/restructure itself in order to compensate for damage, environment or change in culture for example. There are many interesting examples to draw upon that illustrate the complex nature of this subject area. I found Chapter Four "Aquiring Tastes and Loves" particularly interesting. Based on the well established belief that "neurons that fire together, wire together" this chapter gives an interesting perspective on sexual attraction, habits (both good and bad) and why the brain has the capacity to change itself, but for rather obvious reasons, rarely does.

Throughout the book, but particularly towards the end, there is a lot of Neurological information about the differences between left and right hemisphere. A young girl had been born with no left hemisphere and her brain managed to adapt, there were however noticable problems which illustrate the way in which the brain's tasks are usually divided.

The section regarding "Phantom limbs" and pain was fascinating, especially the ways in which some of these patients were eventually helped. The chapter that explored the imagination explains how thinking about certain forms of physical activity/movement can have the same effects as it uses the same areas of the brain which, quite often cannot tell the difference.

There is a great deal of information about mental Illness and potential ways that can treat various symptoms such as O.C.D. I can admit that it did (quite often throughout the book actually) seem to make these solutions a bit too straight forward and simplistic, but I thin that was a reflection of the tone of the book (positive) more than anything else. I think it does accept there are exceptions and limitations, but I was happy to bask in the positivity of it's message. All I could say is that it's a little bit too exclusive of the limitations some of these solutions have in some areas, but as a whole, the books gives out a brilliant message to keep the brain active by shaking up your routine and trying new things. Reading this in a week compunded with watching Yes Man at the cinema has seriously contributed to giving me a wake-up call with regards to trying and learning new things.