The never ending days of being dead - Marcus Chown

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...

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

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

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

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.

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

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.