- Tiger Triplets a Great Achievement for Taronga Zoo - ZooBorns
- Life In A Day A unique collection of videos from around the world, all filmed on the 24th of July, 2010
- android dreams Stunningly beautiful time lapse film of Tokyo set to music from Blade Runner. Watch this in HD and full screen.
- Barry Feinstein (1931-2011) You might not know the name, but you will recognise some of the most iconic photos from the 1960s
- The Royal Society Archive All of the Royal Society archives, now online
- The Museum of Obsolete Objects
- How big was the world's population when you were born? I am somewhat flabbergasted that the world population has more than doubled in my life time. Yikes.
- Zombie in a Penguin Suit a poignant short film
- The Evolution of the Spacesuit
- Dare you join the seance? Listen to this on headphones, with your eyes shut ... if you dare!
- Haunted Air Halloween Photos 1875-1955
- Shape Type A game based around typography and font design? Sure, why not?
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday Links
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Riding the Low - Rock and Roll's Best Kept Secret
Friday nights at the Leadmill provide a raw, lo-fi alternative to the usual mix of music to be found on a night out in Sheffield. They open a stage to a wide range of local bands and ones from further afield to belt out some tunes and have a good time, and in doing so drag the audience along with them.
The first band that I saw on this occasion were Jukebox Memory Loss playing their last ever gig, apparently. This is a crying shame, because they were really rather good - bouncy indie-pop with a cheeky sense of humour to the lyrics.
Finally, the band I had come to see took the stage.
I had been blown away the first time that I saw Riding the Low and they managed to up the ante this time with a superb set featuring plenty of songs that were new to me as well as a couple of familiar favourites. Some of the new ones have a dark edge to them ("What has the universe done for me lately" and "Piss Parade" which is "about those people that like to piss on your chips") in contrast to the slightly more sentimental "This Gun Wants You Back" and "Beer Tears". Lead singer Paddy Considine promised to close the set with twenty minutes of heavy rock 'n' roll, and he didn't disappoint with solid support from a band that really know how to let rip.
I get the feeling that Riding the Low could easily command a much bigger stage, if they wanted to, but while they are happy to play the Leadmill there is no better place to see them.
The first band that I saw on this occasion were Jukebox Memory Loss playing their last ever gig, apparently. This is a crying shame, because they were really rather good - bouncy indie-pop with a cheeky sense of humour to the lyrics.
 |
| From Riding the Low 28/10/11 |
In contrast, The Wynells are still going strong and brought along a sizeable contingent of fans and friends with them. Somewhat heavier than the preceding band with a touch of metal in the guitar solos, but very engaging and worth a listen, I would say.
 |
| From Riding the Low 28/10/11 |
Finally, the band I had come to see took the stage.
 |
| From Riding the Low 28/10/11 |
I had been blown away the first time that I saw Riding the Low and they managed to up the ante this time with a superb set featuring plenty of songs that were new to me as well as a couple of familiar favourites. Some of the new ones have a dark edge to them ("What has the universe done for me lately" and "Piss Parade" which is "about those people that like to piss on your chips") in contrast to the slightly more sentimental "This Gun Wants You Back" and "Beer Tears". Lead singer Paddy Considine promised to close the set with twenty minutes of heavy rock 'n' roll, and he didn't disappoint with solid support from a band that really know how to let rip.
I get the feeling that Riding the Low could easily command a much bigger stage, if they wanted to, but while they are happy to play the Leadmill there is no better place to see them.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Podcast Thursday
- Blogging for the Blind Michael Legge produces an excruciatingly funny mini-podcast / audio blog sort of thing using Soundcloud, which is well worth a listen despite the appalling name. It's also on iTunes too, if you want to subscribe.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Deus Ex Machina
So, that's Deus Ex : Human Revolution done and dusted.
It's something of a curate's egg of a game. The near-future dystopian cyberpunk setting, with computer hacking, bionic augmentations and amoral corporations replacing nation governments is hardly original. However, it's well done, particularly in the details found in numerous emails, ebooks and newspapers that can be picked up and read as you progress from a post industrial Detroit to the Blade Runner-esque sprawl of Hengsha in China. The game gives enormous freedom in tackling each encounter, from stealthy sneaking to furious firefights, which may be helped or hindered by the augmentation upgrades that you choose to enable.
The bad parts are the repetitive nature of some of the environments. I know that we live in a global village, but will a toilet in a convention centre in Detroit be exactly the same as the one in an apartment building in China, down to the video screen by the hand basin and the identical ventilation shaft behind the second cubicle to crawl through? Similarly, every computer, everywhere in the world has the same lock screen wall paper with the only difference being the layout of the file structures that you hack through to gain access. The final third of the game, after the openness of the earlier city based environments is disappointingly linear, but the most egregious fault is the boss fights which remove every option except an overblown shoot out with an angry cyborg.
However, on balance the good points far outweigh the bad, and it is a polished, engaging experience with a lot going for it.
The next question is, what am I going to play next? I've dabbled with Mass Effect, but it just hasn't grabbed me in the same way as Deus Ex did as a role playing experience. Grand Theft Auto V has been announced, so maybe it's time to revisit GTA IV? After reading rumours that the new game is going to be set in Los Angeles (or at least Los Santos), I fired up GTA:San Andreas and spent a happy hour riding a motor bike from Las Venturas, down the coast to Los Santos, through the back woods up in to San Fiero and then back through the desert to where I started. Listening to Country & Western songs. Aces
It's something of a curate's egg of a game. The near-future dystopian cyberpunk setting, with computer hacking, bionic augmentations and amoral corporations replacing nation governments is hardly original. However, it's well done, particularly in the details found in numerous emails, ebooks and newspapers that can be picked up and read as you progress from a post industrial Detroit to the Blade Runner-esque sprawl of Hengsha in China. The game gives enormous freedom in tackling each encounter, from stealthy sneaking to furious firefights, which may be helped or hindered by the augmentation upgrades that you choose to enable.
The bad parts are the repetitive nature of some of the environments. I know that we live in a global village, but will a toilet in a convention centre in Detroit be exactly the same as the one in an apartment building in China, down to the video screen by the hand basin and the identical ventilation shaft behind the second cubicle to crawl through? Similarly, every computer, everywhere in the world has the same lock screen wall paper with the only difference being the layout of the file structures that you hack through to gain access. The final third of the game, after the openness of the earlier city based environments is disappointingly linear, but the most egregious fault is the boss fights which remove every option except an overblown shoot out with an angry cyborg.
However, on balance the good points far outweigh the bad, and it is a polished, engaging experience with a lot going for it.
The next question is, what am I going to play next? I've dabbled with Mass Effect, but it just hasn't grabbed me in the same way as Deus Ex did as a role playing experience. Grand Theft Auto V has been announced, so maybe it's time to revisit GTA IV? After reading rumours that the new game is going to be set in Los Angeles (or at least Los Santos), I fired up GTA:San Andreas and spent a happy hour riding a motor bike from Las Venturas, down the coast to Los Santos, through the back woods up in to San Fiero and then back through the desert to where I started. Listening to Country & Western songs. Aces
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
The Biggest Horizon
So, a fun weekend.
Sunday morning saw me up (somewhat) bright and (relatively speaking) early to meet up with various peeps from uk.games.video.misc to drive down to Nottingham for a games playing meet up. We arrived at the venue - an impressive victorian pile of a hotel - where things were already being set up. We had a video projector, screen and a full blown PA which made playing Rock Band 3 an impressively visceral experience - so much so, that the hotel offered us the use of the ballroom rather than the smaller meeting room we had booked to avoid disturbing the other guests. Aces.
So, in the big room, we got cracking on even more games, both on the big screen and also a variety of other retro titles ranging from a eye-popping Virtual Boy to a twin keyboard 'Typing of the Dead' on a Dreamcast and even a genuine pong system from the 70s, still in good working order. Board games were also on offer, and my contribution of Waddington's Formula One was fun although probably too long winded with six players. Other highlights included playing Space Channel 5, Child of Eden with Kinnect and the excellent Pac Man Vs which is a superb multiplayer game that makes use of a Gameboy Advance SP as a second screen.
In addition to the games, beer was drunk, a buffet lunch was devoured and talk was talked.
Good times.
Sunday morning saw me up (somewhat) bright and (relatively speaking) early to meet up with various peeps from uk.games.video.misc to drive down to Nottingham for a games playing meet up. We arrived at the venue - an impressive victorian pile of a hotel - where things were already being set up. We had a video projector, screen and a full blown PA which made playing Rock Band 3 an impressively visceral experience - so much so, that the hotel offered us the use of the ballroom rather than the smaller meeting room we had booked to avoid disturbing the other guests. Aces.
So, in the big room, we got cracking on even more games, both on the big screen and also a variety of other retro titles ranging from a eye-popping Virtual Boy to a twin keyboard 'Typing of the Dead' on a Dreamcast and even a genuine pong system from the 70s, still in good working order. Board games were also on offer, and my contribution of Waddington's Formula One was fun although probably too long winded with six players. Other highlights included playing Space Channel 5, Child of Eden with Kinnect and the excellent Pac Man Vs which is a superb multiplayer game that makes use of a Gameboy Advance SP as a second screen.
In addition to the games, beer was drunk, a buffet lunch was devoured and talk was talked.
Good times.
Sunday Links
- The 20 Cutest Baby Meerkat Pictures On The Entire Internet
- Yes, PENGUIN SWEATERS Seriously.
- Cell Phone Guide for Occupy Wall Street Protesters (and Everyone Else) Useful advice, if you are planning on getting involved
- The United States of Scary Things A state by state map of things to be frightened of
- Be a part of a toast to Christopher Hitchens An excellent opportunity to pay tribute to the great man
- The Revolution Will Be Digitised This looks like an interesting book
- The Burning House What would you save?
- The birth of the iPod Technology and design aesthetic, in one device
- Connectors Quiz! How well do you know your plugs and wires?
- Visualizations from Information is Beautiful
- The Bad Faith Awards Vote now, for your favourite peddler of irrational nonsense! (PS Vote Nadine!)
- Interactive Periodic Table of Swearing Extends Your Rude Vocabulary Oh, this is wonderful
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Podcast Thursday
- Sci Five Just the one podcast this week. This is a new discovery for me, but it's a goodie - it's a sci fi podcast, supposedly lasting for five minutes but generally going on for longer in the ones I've listened to from the archives. There's a good variety of stuff on there and they are approaching their fiftieth episode which is going to be a countdown of the top fifty things in sci fi as suggested by the listeners, so this is as good a point as any to jump on board.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The power of words
There's been something of a twitter-storm going on over the last couple of days. It started when the comedian Ricky Gervais posted a series of tweets using the word 'mong' as an insult, usually accompanied by a picture of Gervais pulling a gurning face. When a large number of people pointed out that this was offensive, hurtful and not in the least bit funny, Gervais complained that the humourless PC brigade were out to censor his right to free speech. He encouraged his followers to post more of the offensive material and a lot of it has been sent directly to anyone who had complained about the original posts.
So what is going on here?
Contrary to some people's belief, there are limits to what you can say online. You can be charged with a criminal offence for inciting hatred, violence - as several would-be rioters found to their cost when they posted their plans to riot on Facebook. Does Gervais step over the line of legality in this case? I am not a lawyer, but I would say no, although some of his followers are treading a lot closer in their use of threatening language.
So, what are his justifications for using the word? He says that he is reclaiming the word in the same way as other hateful words have been reclaimed. However in this case, he is not a member of the minority being offended, so this doesn't really stand up.
A more valid defence is that the usage is making a serious point through humour. I strongly believe in the value of offensive comedy as a powerful tool to puncture the pomposity of the powerful. When we hear something shocking, it can force us to re-evaluate something that we had taken for granted or simply not considered. On this occasion, Gervais is operating on the juvenile level of a school yard bully, picking on the weak and vulnerable. It's not big, it's not clever and it's certainly not funny.
The final line that has been spun is that the complaints are mere 'political correctness'. To this I would say that if people tell you that a word is hurtful, then it is simply polite to apologise and stop using it.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Haikusday
Robots controlled from
A hacked security hub
Divert attention
Copying classes
Within classes, recursion
Causes confusion
A rash decision
Not to wait at the crossing
Momento mori
Neon landscapes drift
Beneath sinuous highways
You will forever drive
A hacked security hub
Divert attention
Copying classes
Within classes, recursion
Causes confusion
A rash decision
Not to wait at the crossing
Momento mori
Neon landscapes drift
Beneath sinuous highways
You will forever drive
Monday, October 17, 2011
Our office is next to a busy bit of road. There are three lanes of traffic merging from different directions and heading off on to the motorway or local roads. It's gives rise to a dangerous combination of some cars speeding up as they get near to the motorway ramp and others switching lanes at the last minute as they realise they are going the wrong way.
This morning I was heading round the Leeds inner ring road towards our car park when the traffic ground to a halt for half an hour, followed by the sound of sirens and blue flashing lights in the distance. I inched my way round and got diverted via the back streets to our other car park and headed to the office on foot.
It seems that somebody had tried to nip across the road rather than walking twenty meters or so to the traffic light controlled crossing, and had been unfortunate enough to get hit by a lorry. It must have been serious as the road was closed and taped off for several hours before the lorry was moved.
Not the best start to a Monday morning, not least for the luckless pedestrian and the lorry driver, and all to save a few seconds in crossing the road.
This morning I was heading round the Leeds inner ring road towards our car park when the traffic ground to a halt for half an hour, followed by the sound of sirens and blue flashing lights in the distance. I inched my way round and got diverted via the back streets to our other car park and headed to the office on foot.
It seems that somebody had tried to nip across the road rather than walking twenty meters or so to the traffic light controlled crossing, and had been unfortunate enough to get hit by a lorry. It must have been serious as the road was closed and taped off for several hours before the lorry was moved.
Not the best start to a Monday morning, not least for the luckless pedestrian and the lorry driver, and all to save a few seconds in crossing the road.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Sunday Links
- Miniature Burro Makes An Entrance! - ZooBorns
- All Hallow's Read A campaign to start a new annual tradition of giving scary books for Halloween. This site has lots of ideas, including a free copy of The Raven as a mini book to print out.
- Escher/Portal remix I would *love* this picture as a poster
- Otway The Movie Following a hit single and a world tour that never quite got off the ground, John Otway's next ambition is to star in his own movie. He must be confident, because he's already booked the Odeon Leicester Square for the red carpet premiere ...
- SFE: Science Fiction Encyclopedia The venerable SF encyclopaedia is now available online - it's in beta at the moment, but this looks as if it will be an invaluable resource for geeks everywhere.
- 10 Awesome Online Classes You Can Take For Free
- Chocolate Chip Pi A tasty approach to learning calculus
- Blackboards in Porn Only nerds would watch porn and worry about the equations on the blackboards - surprisingly safe for work!
- A Closed World This looks interesting - an online fantasy role playing game dealing with LGBT issues
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Thor
I am Thor!
Tho am I, after latht night!
Thor is something of an oddity in the Marvel universe - a second string superhero who happens to be a bona fide deity with the whole pantheon of Norse mythology lurking in the background. An interesting challenge for a writer to come up with stories that co-exist with oppressed mutants, defrosted war heroes, space pirates and gamma radiated green monsters. Anyhoo, as is inevitably the case, the character has been brought to the silver screen by no less a director than Kenneth Branagh, so how could it possibly fail?
The answer is quite easily, actually.
The pacing is dreadfully, horribly wrong for starters. The first half hour of the movie is set in a shiny, plasticky, CGI Asgard with a welter of characters introduced in rapid succession which must be thoroughly confusing for anyone without a good working knowledge of the ins and outs of the aforementioned Norse mythology. Thor and his buddies go haring off to start a war with the frost giants (who don't actually seem all that giant, to be honest) in a noisy and confusing sequence that looks like an extended trailer for the video game, although without the score and life meter on the top of the screen. Eventually, Thor gets banished to Earth until he learns some humility, which forms the one section of the movie that works - Chris Hemsworth in the title role makes for an engaging and amusing fish out of water as he adapts to life on Earth.
However, the movie nose dives again as it suffers from the same basic fault as the Supergirl movie. If you cast your mind back, Superman had to protect the whole of Metropolis from Lex Luthor whereas Supergirl just got to fight it out in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Thor gets barely a single street to smash up when fighting a sort of walking furnace cum suit of armour monster in the set piece fight scene.
The final third returns to Asgard for more shiny CGI and scenery chewing from Tom Huddlestone as Loki, in a finale that doesn't really make sense.
Ah well, at least the trailer for the Avengers looks a bit more promising.
Tho am I, after latht night!
Thor is something of an oddity in the Marvel universe - a second string superhero who happens to be a bona fide deity with the whole pantheon of Norse mythology lurking in the background. An interesting challenge for a writer to come up with stories that co-exist with oppressed mutants, defrosted war heroes, space pirates and gamma radiated green monsters. Anyhoo, as is inevitably the case, the character has been brought to the silver screen by no less a director than Kenneth Branagh, so how could it possibly fail?
The answer is quite easily, actually.
The pacing is dreadfully, horribly wrong for starters. The first half hour of the movie is set in a shiny, plasticky, CGI Asgard with a welter of characters introduced in rapid succession which must be thoroughly confusing for anyone without a good working knowledge of the ins and outs of the aforementioned Norse mythology. Thor and his buddies go haring off to start a war with the frost giants (who don't actually seem all that giant, to be honest) in a noisy and confusing sequence that looks like an extended trailer for the video game, although without the score and life meter on the top of the screen. Eventually, Thor gets banished to Earth until he learns some humility, which forms the one section of the movie that works - Chris Hemsworth in the title role makes for an engaging and amusing fish out of water as he adapts to life on Earth.
However, the movie nose dives again as it suffers from the same basic fault as the Supergirl movie. If you cast your mind back, Superman had to protect the whole of Metropolis from Lex Luthor whereas Supergirl just got to fight it out in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Thor gets barely a single street to smash up when fighting a sort of walking furnace cum suit of armour monster in the set piece fight scene.
The final third returns to Asgard for more shiny CGI and scenery chewing from Tom Huddlestone as Loki, in a finale that doesn't really make sense.
Ah well, at least the trailer for the Avengers looks a bit more promising.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Haikusday
Remote server fail
Exceeded max number of
Allowed connections
The desks closing in
Like "The Office" as written by
Edgar Allen Poe
Obsidian waves
Breaking on implacable cliffs
A dream of drowning
A conspiracy
Woven into hacked email
Hidden in plain sight
Once more we see a
Ministerial spider
In his web of lies
Exceeded max number of
Allowed connections
The desks closing in
Like "The Office" as written by
Edgar Allen Poe
Obsidian waves
Breaking on implacable cliffs
A dream of drowning
A conspiracy
Woven into hacked email
Hidden in plain sight
Once more we see a
Ministerial spider
In his web of lies
Monday, October 10, 2011
Back Bone
After the lovely weather of the previous weekend, we are now back to the seasonal norm of cold, damp and miserable. Still, it was a good weekend on the whole with number one daughter home for her 21st birthday as well as my mum and dad to join in the celebrations. Sunday lunch was gourmet burgers at 'The Handmade Burger Company' - very nice indeed, and so filling we didn't get around to eating birthday cake until after ten o'clock at night.
In health news, although the frequency of coughing has decreased somewhat, it is still violent enough to have pulled a muscle somewhere in my back, adding an extra piquant twist of agony to the affair. I was also awake in the night after falling asleep on my left arm and then being unable to move for some considerable time until the pins and needles had worn off.
Monday morning was the predictable haul into work followed by the aftermath of the first phase of the grand reorganisation at work. Our team is not actually moving, although the QA desks behind me have been shuffled forward to create room for another bank of desks beyond them. This was achieved by moving a bookcase and dumping it immediately behind me. Sigh.
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Sunday Links
- Meet Poco the Paca ZooBorns
- Go Behind the Scenes of Portal With This Aperture Science Documentary
- If Dr Seuss had written The Call of Cthulhu
- The Feynman Series Thoughts on beauty
- Joyce Carol Vincent how could this young woman lie dead and undiscovered for almost three years?
- Steve Jobs: How to live before you die Video on TED.com
- Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011) Iconic Photos
- The Curse Of Tina Part Two BBC - Adam Curtis Blog: Essential viewing
- Beauty and the Blob Oddly beautiful slime holds
- Haunted House Silhouettes An excellent (and cheap) way to scarify your house for Halloween
- The Binary intriguing text adventure game, based on a repeating loop of time. If you enjoyed the movie 'Source Code', then this will be of interest.
Saturday, October 08, 2011
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Podcast Thursday
- The Brave Little Toaster A podcast short story, read by the author
- How Psychology Solved The Mystery Of A Lost Shipwreck NPR at its best, in this short documentary
- Collings & Herrin Pretend Podcast 5 The penultimate "Tugwell Tape" left me feeling rather nostalgic for the halcyon days of this duo, not least because I get two mentions on this podcast. Woo!
So long, and thanks for all the magic
Before the ZX-80, before the Commodore PET, before the BBC micro, the first personal computer that I ever laid hands on was the Apple ][ at a Games Day show in London, thirty odd years ago. Even back then I knew there was something different with this machine - a philosophy that encouraged empowerment and experimentation, as opposed to the safe conformity of IBM et al. Apple computers found a comfortable niche in creative fields over the years, but it was only with the advent of the iMac, iPod and iPhone that they reached a critical mass in the public imagination as designers of devices that worked without imposing an arcane user interface in the way.
Would Apple have achieved the same perfectionist ideal if Steve Jobs hadn't been in charge for most of its history? Who can say. However, he clearly did make a difference to the way we view technology and has changed the world in ways that we don't even realise yet.
Thank you Steve.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
New Cities in Ancient Lands
I actually managed to sleep through the whole night last night without coughing, and my morning cough didn't start until after I had got out of bed, which is a modest improvement. It's properly dark in the mornings now as the Indian summer fades into a grumpy Cowboy of an Autumn.
Work has been irritating today (and yesterday), with planned items being shelved for panic items coming out of the QA testing and the clients. One typical issue was a issue that only showed up in the rare case of opening a window, closing it without making any changes to the form and then having an automatic action to authorise the process in the background which couldn't authorise anything because there wasn't anything there to authorise, giving a somewhat unhelpful warning. This behaviour has been in the system for years without being spotted, so it's hardly a show stopping bug to worry about four days before the service pack is due to go out.
In games news, Deus Ex continues to hold my attention. My character is majoring in hacking skills, so I am enjoying breaking into computer networks to rifle through people's emails and data stores in search of useful information. The graphics range from things being very familiar (every computer has the same wallpaper and the toilets in China are identical to those in Detroit) to satisfyingly different - the pod hotel that I have just been investigating in search of a rogue hacker was crammed with entertaining details.
Work has been irritating today (and yesterday), with planned items being shelved for panic items coming out of the QA testing and the clients. One typical issue was a issue that only showed up in the rare case of opening a window, closing it without making any changes to the form and then having an automatic action to authorise the process in the background which couldn't authorise anything because there wasn't anything there to authorise, giving a somewhat unhelpful warning. This behaviour has been in the system for years without being spotted, so it's hardly a show stopping bug to worry about four days before the service pack is due to go out.
In games news, Deus Ex continues to hold my attention. My character is majoring in hacking skills, so I am enjoying breaking into computer networks to rifle through people's emails and data stores in search of useful information. The graphics range from things being very familiar (every computer has the same wallpaper and the toilets in China are identical to those in Detroit) to satisfyingly different - the pod hotel that I have just been investigating in search of a rogue hacker was crammed with entertaining details.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Haikusday
Waking up slowly
Cautiously drawing a breath
Coughing in the dark
Leaves blown on the wind
Skitter in tight, bound spirals
Evading the rake
Investigate process bug
May be linked to creators
Opened and then closed
Process tries to find
Its number from a closed form
Misleading error
Cautiously drawing a breath
Coughing in the dark
Leaves blown on the wind
Skitter in tight, bound spirals
Evading the rake
Investigate process bug
May be linked to creators
Opened and then closed
Process tries to find
Its number from a closed form
Misleading error
Monday, October 03, 2011
Back in Black
Just one coughing fit in the night, last night, and I also managed to sleep flat on my back for most of the rest, so I struggled into the office this morning. I got through the day on a combination of paracetomol and codeine tablets, honey and lemon menthol cough sweets, strong coffee and a very nice strawberry cupcake from a tray of same that one of the consultants had baked and brought in. Nom.
I think that last night must have been the first time that I have been to the cinema in well over five years. Fortunately the Showroom beats the generic mega-plex on just about every count - comfy seats with an uninterrupted view of the screen, no numpties talking on mobiles during the performance, crystal clear sound at a reasonable (i.e. not apocalyptically ear splitting) volume and no poxy 3d nonsense. Even better, there's a bar that lets you take beer into the film if you so choose. Last night's film also started bang on time without the usual slew of trailers and adverts beforehand, although that may have been just a feature of the preview screening. I think that we may well be going again.
I think that last night must have been the first time that I have been to the cinema in well over five years. Fortunately the Showroom beats the generic mega-plex on just about every count - comfy seats with an uninterrupted view of the screen, no numpties talking on mobiles during the performance, crystal clear sound at a reasonable (i.e. not apocalyptically ear splitting) volume and no poxy 3d nonsense. Even better, there's a bar that lets you take beer into the film if you so choose. Last night's film also started bang on time without the usual slew of trailers and adverts beforehand, although that may have been just a feature of the preview screening. I think that we may well be going again.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Tyrannosaur
Joseph is a man seething with barely suppressed anger. Most of the time he keeps it bottled inside by a supreme act of will, but every now and then it spills over into an act of brutal violence. At his lowest ebb, he takes refuge in a charity shop run by Hannah.
The two people appear to be polar opposites - he lives on a hellish estate, she lives in a nice house. She offers to pray for him and he savagely mocks her naive beliefs as being empty pretence. However, Joseph slowly comes to realise that Hannah is hiding something. She is being abused by her bullying and controlling husband, and has nowhere else to go.
This film is not an easy watch. Peter Mullan portrays an icy self control as Joseph and Olivia Colman finds hidden depths as Hannah. Director Paddy Considine allows the story to tell itself at an unforced pace and take unexpected turns where necessary. One scene in particular stands out for the way that it confounds expectations of the characters, and yet it makes perfect sense in the greater context of the story.
We were lucky enough to see this film at a preview screening, followed by a Q&A session with Paddy Considine himself. It was a rare treat to hear first hand about his influences and inspirations, in particular Gary Oldman who encouraged him to go ahead with making the film he wanted to make. He also explained that while he was influenced by social realism, he set out to make a film that would look cinematic and he has certainly achieved this, even with a budget limited to £750,000.
Well worth seeing, if you get the chance.
The two people appear to be polar opposites - he lives on a hellish estate, she lives in a nice house. She offers to pray for him and he savagely mocks her naive beliefs as being empty pretence. However, Joseph slowly comes to realise that Hannah is hiding something. She is being abused by her bullying and controlling husband, and has nowhere else to go.
This film is not an easy watch. Peter Mullan portrays an icy self control as Joseph and Olivia Colman finds hidden depths as Hannah. Director Paddy Considine allows the story to tell itself at an unforced pace and take unexpected turns where necessary. One scene in particular stands out for the way that it confounds expectations of the characters, and yet it makes perfect sense in the greater context of the story.
We were lucky enough to see this film at a preview screening, followed by a Q&A session with Paddy Considine himself. It was a rare treat to hear first hand about his influences and inspirations, in particular Gary Oldman who encouraged him to go ahead with making the film he wanted to make. He also explained that while he was influenced by social realism, he set out to make a film that would look cinematic and he has certainly achieved this, even with a budget limited to £750,000.
Well worth seeing, if you get the chance.
Sunday Links
- Eight Little Komodo Dragons To Winter at Phoenix Zoo Zooborns
- Music Games Rock Free ebook telling the story of the rise and fall of rhythm gaming
- who killed videogames? (a ghost story) The brutal economics of social gaming - a longish essay, but worth sticking with if you've ever been puzzled by the attraction of Facebook games.
- Outfoxed by Dylan Meconis A dark fairy tale of a fox and laundry girl, in web comic form
- The comedy of David Croft A lovely audio slideshow from BBC news celebrating the work of the late David Croft
- Zelda Summarized
- The Minecraft Version of the The Simpsons Intro is Amazing
- The Enigma Machine Explained
- Which of the Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books should you read next? A handy flowchart will point you in the right direction
- The RSPB Bird identifier
Saturday, October 01, 2011
Aqualung
Tap, tap - is this thing on?
The thing about taking a break from blogging, is that it is quite difficult to get started again. There are lots of things to talk about, but it's been a couple of weeks so I think the best thing might be a bullet point catchup:
Health
Movies
Books
Games
The thing about taking a break from blogging, is that it is quite difficult to get started again. There are lots of things to talk about, but it's been a couple of weeks so I think the best thing might be a bullet point catchup:
Health
- Somewhat better today, in that I've actually managed to get a couple of hours sleep laying down without feeling like I'm drowning in my own lungs. Still getting the occasional bout of painful coughing, but they are getting further apart.
Movies
- Attack the Block - gruesome, morbidly funny and sharp social observation from Joe Cornish (half of Adam and Joe).
- Winter's Bone - a seventeen year old girl with a mentally ill mother, and two young siblings in her care, is faced with eviction from her back woods Ozark home unless she can track down her delinquent, drug dealing father who has skipped bail and gone on the run. The community around her closes ranks and refuses to talk to her, but she is undaunted. Grim stuff.
- Norwegian Wood - a flawless and vibrant portrayal of student life in the Tokyo of the 1960s, based on the Haruki Murakami novel. Vibrant cinematography and languid story telling. Superb.
- Blade Runner - a rewatch of a classic. Astonishing to think that this film is now nearly thirty years old, but is still highly influential in it's visual style.
Books
- The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes short novella examines the fallibility of memory over the course of a lifetime as past events return to haunt the protagonist.
Games
- GP Story - The follow up to Game Dev Story, with the same cute pixel graphics and endless opportunities to tinker with the parts of a car to build the ultimate racing machine that can win the Grand Prix.
- Deus Ex - Involved, cyberpunk thriller rpg, that borrows very heavily from Blade Runner and William Gibson. Good stuff.
- Zelda - Four Swords - A freebie, multi-player Zelda game for the DSi and 3DS - I think so!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)