Random musings from someone slowly leaving the Angry Young Man phase of his life

[Insert lazy regurgitated "snouts in the trough"-metaphor here.]

2009-05-16T12:17:51Z

So it looks like the MPs expenses scandal will run and run and run for the foreseeable future, with the Daily Telegraph releasing information on a drip-feed basis. Good. It really is quite astounding how angry people are about this, but it's an anger which is justified, long overdue and, needless to say, shared by yours truly. When Stephen Fry gesticulates on television about a "journalistic made-up frenzy", he fails to see that many people regard this the final straw. We've reached the stage where people can no longer contain their anger against their political leaders.

While there are admittedly legitimate concerns about the state of democracy, such as Parliament not able to fully function while this saga continues, as well as a protest vote causing some very unpleasant parties like UKIP or the BNP breaking the 10% barrier at next month's EU elections, I suspect these problems will only concern us for the short term. In the long term, we should hopefully see more transparency in Parliament, and while not necessarily a death knell to the concept of- then at the very least less acceptance of career politicians; the sort who, through their avarice, opportunism and lack of political conviction, helped put British democracy into the calamitous state it is presently in.

Plus we are now looking at the very real possibility of the next General Election causing a major realignment in British politics not seen since 1918, with Labour relegated into third place and the Liberal Democrats replacing them as the main progressive force in Parliament. Which would be a very positive development, especially when taking into consideration that Labour have been anything but progressive since Blair was elected party leader, what with their embracement of neoliberal supply side economics/Thatcherism, their clamping down on civil liberties, their increasingly autocratic and authoritarian behaviour, you name it. Oh yeah, and wholesale incompetence. That too. Now the recession has well and truly kicked in, the middle income groups which Blair charmed in the 90s have fled back to the Conservatives wholesale, while Labour's once-core support, the working classes and the poor, are so unbelievably pissed off with New Labour's illiberalism that they will vote for anyone but the party that has taken them for granted for too long. If anything, the expenses scandal is one of many nails in the coffin, which is why Labour are currently hovering round the 20% mark in the polls, with the Lib Dems closing in, and while a change of leader might help avert total catastrophe for Labour, given that Brown is possibly the most unpopular PM in history, I doubt that anybody in the party's file and rank would currently want to hold the poisoned chalice of guiding his party to a surefire landslide defeat.

But coming back to the expenses fiasco, there's something journalists have not looked at in enough detail, but really ought to, namely the fact that MPs like Hoon, Darling, Burnham and Blears were able to purchase property using taxpayers' money, renovate them using taxpayers' money, and then sell them off at a profit, while the very same government they belonged to introduced deregulatory policies that caused the biggest housing bubble the country had ever seen. In 1998, the average house price was 3 times the average national salary, in 2008 it was eight times that. Which is all you need to know about New Labour's legacy in introducing "fairness and equality" to Britain. It's fairly obvious, to me at least, that far from being blinkered to the situation, New Labour deliberately didn't do anything about the housing bubble because they were enrichening themselves on it alongside estate agents, buy-to-let landlords and other assorted parasites.

Of course not much will happen to major players like Hoon or Darling. The fall guys will continue to be junior ministers, backbench MPs and other bit-part-players who are easily expendable, while cabinet members can simply wave a cheque and say sorry for something that would land the rest of the population in court and quite possibly prison.

Ways in which news media could make swine flu coverage even more unnecessarily panic-stricken

2009-05-01T07:49:05Z

1. Rename it "swine plague" for added histrionics.
2. Hand out a free copy of 28 Days Later with every paper, "to prepare for these difficult times".
3. Have "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE" flash up during news broadcasts every ten seconds.
4. Run a top ten list of "other horrible diseases that ~~could~~ will kill you".
5. Show archive images of people running in panic that have nothing to do with the pandemic, but should hopefully whip more people into a frenzy.
6. Continue reminding people that if swine flu won't get them then the terrorists, nuclear weapons, climate change, or some other disease most certainly will. (Oh, and don't forget, we're all gonna lose our jobs and homes and starve during the ~~recession~~ depression).
7. Most certainly continue running comparisons to the 1918 epidemic, as if things hadn't changed an iota since then. Like, we still have outdoor toilets and haven't discovered Tamiflu, right? Right?

I'm not saying this may not be a serious issue, but... come on.

desh79 @ 2009-03-26T00:23:00

2009-03-26T00:46:11Z

It's very difficult to keep a clear head during this recession, this being the first in an era where the internet has enabled pretty much everyone and anyone with a modem and the ability to type to add to the mass discussion that has come to accompany it in the form of blogs, discussion fora, you name it. Not only has this created an utter cacophony of sheer, unrelenting commentary, it has also democratised discourse* to such an extent that one can no longer tell the amateurs from the experts (especially since a lot of the "experts" have, in the run-up to this crisis, proven utterly useless - I was having discussions about the impending recession, and how the house price bubble could only cause economic disaster, in 2004/05 when the likes of Greenspan were still singing the praises of the now-finally-empirically-proven idiocy of trickle down economics).

Thus it's difficult who and what to believe. Apparently, this will be the Great Depression II. Or this will be the worst depression ever. No, this will be over by 2010. Obama is making a mess of it. Obama is sorting it out. Obama should sack Geithner. Obama should keep Geithner. Britain is entering hyperinflation. Britain is entering deflation. Britain is entering stagflation. Gordon Brown has saved the world. Gordon Brown is the worst PM ever. House prices are rising again. House prices are still falling. Britain will see riots this summer. OMG BIRTAIN WILL SEE CIVIL WAR!!!11 We will all be eaten by a giant albino dragon called Steve.

I would add my own two cents or pence or whatever, but my head hurts too much at the moment, though needless to say that I'm inclined to subscribe to the "Gordon Brown is a f***ing idiot and has totally sold this country down the river"-school of thought, Not that the Tories will make a jot of difference in government, either way this country is completely and utterly rimjawed, though not to the extent that some of the doomsayers on sites like HPC are suggesting (ie. we'll all be stabbing each other for food and queing up for £10.000 loafs of bread this time in 2010). Neither will we turn into a Social Democratic paradise, humanity is simply too dumb for that.

Yeah, my head hurts just a little.

*No bad thing in and of itself, but democracy in its purest form can be pretty chaotic (QED). Swings and roundabouts.

Millennium Actress

2009-03-14T02:26:36Z

Directed by Satoshi Kon, 2001

This is quite frankly one of the best films I've ever seen. Since it's anime it will probably find itself plagued with geekboy magnet status instead of getting the accolades it truly deserves, and that means resting alongside Citizen Kane and 2001: A Space Odyssey as one of cinema's great milestones, but that's history's loss, not mine. At the very least this is a highly enjoyable piece of work.

For the other parts:
Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

My first IMDB credit!

2009-01-06T14:56:10Z

Ta-daa!

Alright, so it's only as "script reader" for a minor feature, but it's a start.

I'm still pestering Christine to get "Star", which I edited (as well as audio-mixed and colour-graded), up on IMDB to ensure I have something slightly more impressive by way of a credit, but from what I'm told they're being awkward (the title is "too generic", apparently) so I'm not holding my breath. I may still defy her by putting it up on Youtube and sharing it with all and sundry, though, so keep your eyes peeled, watch this space etc etc.

Updateupdateupdateupdate!

2008-12-23T21:26:21Z

I guess an update of sorts is in order, and since we're just in time for the end of the year here's a little retrospective to fill the void.

One of the reasons I haven't updated this LJ in yonks, aside from good old-fashioned lethargy, is that, basically, a lot has happened. There's the fact that I've been all over the shop this year - Poland, France, Germany (twice) - which was definitely a positive. All in all, I did not anticipate travelling so much this year at all. Cannes was a highlight, as was Markus's wedding in Hamburg, not to mention meeting Sima's parents in Mayence (awesome little town, by the way).

Also, things on the job front improved dramatically. At the beginning of the year I was working for a tiny two-bit company in Acton whereas now I'm an assistant at The Mill, one of the biggest and most definitely coolest post production outlets going (click here for an example of some of the stuff we get up to). That's also a positive.

Then there's Sima, who I won't say much about apart from the fact that she's great and lovely and cuddly and sweet and kind and everything I could hope for in a woman.

Oh, and of course there's the small matter of a reasonable human shockingly voted in as US President. I had quite a hangover the following morning, and I suspect I'm not the only one. Generally the highlight of the year (Obama's victory, not the hangover).

However, while 2008 was a wicked year all around, I'm rather more pessimistic about the prospects for 2009. Actually, that's an understatement. Like a lot of people, I wonder whether my job will survive the oncoming recession, which I believe will turn into a depression; and, if the response of the British government is anything to go by (headless chicken doesn't even begin to describe it), could well result in hyperinflation in the UK. I also worry about the wider social consequences this recession is going to have - crime is already a big problem in London and I anticipate it getting worse.

But who knows. In any case, if I get round to it you can expect more lists and such, perhaps I'll also muster the will to make a little list of my favourite albums and films of 2008 (a pretty good year for film all around, and yes Jesse, No Country For Old Men DOES count as a 2008 film in the UK ;-) ). I won't, however, continue the 100 films list for the simple reason that since starting it I have seen so many new films that could easily quality for the top 20 or top 50 that I feel it's a little self-indulgent of me to create a "definitive" list like that when I haven't even reached my 30s. I may well wait until I'm old and grey before endavouring something like that again. Ho hum.

So... Happy New Year!

London Underground, 31st May 2008

2008-06-01T23:56:37Z

In a cheap headline-grabbing stunt, Boris Johnson decides to ban drinking on public transport. Londoners decide to protest by having a massive party on the Circle Line the night before the ban takes effect - resulting in the worst drink-related chaos ever seen in London's stations and trains.

We're only one month into Boris's tenure as Mayor, lord knows what the next four years have in store.

Off to Cannes

2008-05-12T21:39:49Z

This is what is apparently expecting me tomorrow afternoon. In any case, wish me and our short film, Star (official entrant in the Cannes Short Film Corner, no less) best of luck for the Cannes Film Festival, and I hope to see you all again in a week's time.

Chris Marker's La Jetée (1962)

2008-05-10T14:11:16Z

This is one of the best films ever made, and at a mere 26 minutes worth every second of your time.

The Fat Lady sings (kind of)

2008-05-09T19:26:44Z

It's decided. More or less. After much toing and froing, the May 6 results in Indiana and North Carolina have made it mathematically impossible for Hillary Clinton to overtake Obama's delegate count and win the Democratic nomination (barring her desperate ploy to count the biased votes in Michigan and Florida succeeding, which is looking increasingly unlikely), thus all but confirming Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee to face John McCain. Phew.

Additionally, ABC News suggest that Obama at present has 267 superdelegates confirmed compared to Clinton's 265 - give or take a few superdelegates here and there, this adds to Obama's tally of 171 required "regular" delegates to Clinton's 328 (Source); and so the debate turns to Obama's potential running mate: the Guardian suggests Clinton, while I personally think it will be one out of Bill Richardson, Bill Bradley, Jim Webb and Kathleen Sebelius - Claire McCaskill's name has also been touted, but I doubt she lacks the necessary experience and gravitas, whereas John Edwards (another oft-quoted name) would make a fine Attorney General but doesn't necessarily add enough balance, specifically with regards to his and Obama's background - they're both lawyers, both could fall prey to cheap charges of 'elitism' in spite of their working class origins. An Obama/Clinton ticket also strikes me as rather unlikely - it would be the equivalent of Ford picking Reagan in 76 or Eisenhower choosing Taft in 52; a nice unity/reconciliation ticket in theory but in reality there's simply too much animosity between both candidates and both sets of supporters. Though I am free to be proven wrong there.

And so we look at an Obama v McCain race in November. While the now-zombified Clinton campaign would no doubt like to suggest otherwise, the media narrative has altered accordingly; with McCain already starting the to-be-expected Roveian slurs by nonsenically suggesting that Hamas would welcome an Obama victory, to which Obama's response has been nothing but succinct.

Now, this is no doubt going to read like a political broadcast, but I make absolutely no bones about this - I am thoroughly biased in Obama's favour and have been since the days before he announced his candidature. It was obvious from his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention to anyone who watched that this guy was clearly something special, and while not many would have predicted such a rapid rise within four years, he is precisely what the United States - and thus the world - needs at the moment: not merely a rejection of Bush's politics, his overt reliance on supply side economics and an aggressive, bellicose foreign policy, but also someone who can bring forth constructive alternative ideas which won't fall on deaf ears. I've always been of the opinion that the vast majority of Americans are not the gun-toting, flag-waving rednecks many people around the world would like to believe (I would venture the guess that the idiot/intelligent person ratio in the States is no different to that in Europe or indeed most other parts of the world, though I draw the line at Australia (JOKE)), and that indeed they are perfectly happy to embrace progressive or - dare I say it - liberal ideas; it's just that all it takes is someone with the charisma and humility to convey these ideas, as opposed to goons like Gore or Kerry.

Republicans for a long time understood how to put their ideas across and mastered political PR during the Reagan era, understanding precisely how to appeal to voters' instincts - in some cases ensuring that people vote for policies which would work entirely against their interests, vis-a-vis Reagan's dismantling of the manifacturing sector in the 80s, to quote one example - because it was not what policies you presented that matters, but how you shrouded those policies and what language you used to sell them. This I suspect is partly where Obama's oft-misjudged (if admittedly clumsily worded) "bitter"-remark came from, and a malaise which has also been addressed in books like What's The Matter With Kansas.

Any kind of symbolic value put aside, in terms of their policies the contrast to McCain really could not be starker. Where Obama wants an energy policy that puts less emphasis on oil and gasoline and more on renewable resources (and even made a speech to the automobile lobby in Detroit calling for more investment in energy-efficent cars, which takes some real cojones), McCain wants to stick with the same reliance on oil that has dominated America's policy on energy and in the Middle East for the best part of the last half-century, which, suffice to say, has brought little more than misery. Where Obama intends to hold talks with Iran other rivals, McCain jokes about bombing them. Whereas Obama wants to herald a new age in politics (for want of a less cliched phrasing) that dispenses with cheap slurs and relentless negative attacks (from Bush 88 onwards), McCain - as witnessed in his "Hamas"-comment - seems to be espousing more of the same.

Either way, I'm probably veering on the edge of wishful thinking, but I do expect an Obama victory this November. It won't be a landslide, and it certainly wouldn't surprise me if we're looking at another tight race a la 2000 or 2004, but it will be a landmark result in the vein of 1932, 1960 or 1980. Which is somewhat apt, given that Obama basically mixes the charisma of JFK with the telegenic appeal of Reagan and the intellect of FDR.

Did I say "phew"? Either way, it was probably premature, because now the election proper begins.

(Apologies if some of this was shoddily written, I wrote this on a Friday evening after a very tiring week at work.)

Send in the Clown

2008-05-03T22:55:37Z

So it’s done. Boris Johnson has been elected mayor of London, and from this point onwards Londoners no longer have a right to make condescending jokes about George W. Bush, since we have proven just as capable of downright gullibility when confronted with a “likeable” right-wing buffoon whose apparently endearingly ridiculous demeanour masks some unpleasant reactionary views and an unashamedly Thatcherite agenda.

As a matter of fact, it’s really quite ironic that, just as the people of America now appear at the very least willing to elect an unashamed progressive like Barack Obama into office, Europe’s overall voting pattern has become increasingly reactionary and right-wing, as witnessed in Italy recently (Berlusconi making yet another unfathomable comeback and Rome electing a Fascist as Mayor), and now in the British local elections, in which the Tories took 44% to Labour's quite pathetic 24% (one percentage point behind the Liberal Democrats).

I will admit this much: I regard Boris Johnson as a highly skilled politician, quite affable, and someone who might even prove more conciliatory and unpartisan in office as some have suggested. But the issue isn’t necessarily about Johson the personality, but the consequences of his election; what it will do for transport in this city, for house costs (bye bye plans to build 50% affordable housing as envisaged by Livingstone), and the overall quality of life in London. Notwithstanding some of the downright racist things he has said and written in the past (the infamous “piccaninnies”-comment, for instance), which most certainly do not bode well for one of the most multicultural cities on Earth, and I can only guess what his tenure in office will do for race relations in this city. I’m not optimistic, put it this way.

In any case, I could rant and rave about the result, the fact that the majority of people voted for someone who did not present us with a SINGLE DETAILED POLICY (and who kept skirting the issue whenever he was asked in numerous debates, as he did in this Newsnight debate), about the Standard’s absolutely disgraceful campaign against Livingstone, about how Andrew Gilligan, who peppered readers with one vindictive, borderline libellous anti-Ken article after another, was on Boris Johnson’s payroll just after losing his job at the BBC following his dispute with the Labour Party, thus creating a rather obvious conflict of interest; how Londoners have just gone from the frying pan into the sewer (if you think Ken was bad, well, in the words of another famous right-wing buffoon, you ain’t seen nothing yet). But in a way I’m too tired, too disillusioned, and in a way it’s now reached the point where I’m beyond caring. I guess I can take some heart from the fact that Johnson is bound to make such a phenomenal fuck-up of things that he will suffer a crushing defeat in 2012, but that is a bittersweet sentiment. Certainly more bitter than sweet, considering the effects.

On a wider national scale, the current malaise the Labour government finds itself in is entirely self-made. Yes, the current economic troubles are primarily due to global forces and thus not entirely the fault of Brown and his cabinet; but it does bear reiterating that Brown, in his tenure as Chancellor, did make a considerable contribution by irresponsibly helping to create a credit- and housing bubble that was simply begging to burst; and as such his current woes as Prime Minister are a simple case of the proverbial chickens coming home to roost. Oh, the irony to see Gordon Brown going down in history as Anthony Eden mk II – a distinguished public servant in the shadow of a politican titan (Brown/Blair, Eden/Churchill) who, when after years of waiting, finally gets the job he desires finds himself completely and utterly inept in every respect. Barring a miracle, Brown runs the risk of going down in history as Labour’s most ineffective Prime Minister ever - that means worse than Ramsay Macdonald or James Callaghan, which would be no mean feat by any stretch of the imagination.

But that aside, leftists and progressives should take heart from the election results since they have basically sounded the death knell for New Labour; that ill-fated experiment to mix social democracy with Thatcherite policies; the fatuous idea that you can somehow pretend to be a leftist while at the same time espousing supply side economics. In that light, I do suspect that a Tory government would be a blessing in disguise because it would remind people precisely why they booted these people out in the first place, by which time hopefully Labour will have regrouped and for David Milliband or David Lammy (you read it here first) to sort things out come 2014/15.

The main problem Labour faces now is this – its handling of the economy has driven the middle class right back to the Tories in droves, while the base vote, the working class and progressives, are either staying at home or voting for fringe parties like the Greens, Left List, or (ugh) the BNP instead.

Vis-à-vis the Tory revival, of course it begs the question why people, aghast at the consequences of what is effectively a centre-right social- and economic policy, should flock to a bunch of guys who are even more right-wing and who actively represent the interests of the very people who got us into this mess in the first place (City brokers, the mega-rich, etc). But democracy doesn’t work like that. When people look at their shopping bills or electricity and gas bills, they won’t be thinking “I gather the current rise in food costs and energy prices are due to the maligned practise of trickle down economics which has caused economic stagnation as salaries stagnate yet overall cost of living increases and will require a progressive government to regulate the economy in order to create a more balanced distribution of wealth, vis-à-vis the economic theories outlined by Adam Smith”. They will think “Holy fuck!” and vote in the other guys.

This bears reiterating: people never vote for an opposition, they, as a rule of thumb, vote against the government. This is how British democracy works and will continue to work – you always vote in the opposition with a sense of “better the devil you know”, because you never quite know what you’ll get, you just know you’ve had enough of the guys currently in charge. This was the case in 1997, it was the case in 1979, ditto 1974 and 1970, and the same will occur in 2010.

Still, it’s truly remarkable how history keeps repeating itself and how people continue not to learn from past events, for they patently fail to see the pattern that arises every single time lassez faire- or suppy side economics, that is to say any kind of economics that holds naked profit before regulation and wealth distribution, inevitable ends with a crash and/or a recession; the most noteable example being the 1929 Wall Street Crash, partly a consequence of Harding’s- and Coolidge’s lassez faire economics; or the 1987 recession which occured at the tail end of Reagan’s Presidency. Alas, more often than not it requires a leftist government to eventually sort things out (witness the New Deal or the Scandinavian reforms of the early 1990s), and I suspect we will witness the same pattern of events in this country, and suffice to say that the next decade will not be easy on most people. The days of plenty are over.

But coming back to the London elections, I for one hope the people who voted for Johnson will enjoy the next four years; because I rather suspect I won’t.

The Romanian Revolution of 1989

2008-04-21T12:39:46Z

In the light of what is currently happening in Zimbabwe, here's what will hopefully turn out to be a historic parallel: Ceausescu's last speech and the moment his despotic regime fell apart. At the start, the crowd are still cheering his name, no doubt aware of the implications if they don't; however, halfway through, frustration and anger finally give way to booing and jeering and a more widespread protest that would eventually kickstart a revolution and Caecescu's eventual execution a few days later. The look on Caeucescu's face, when he realises what's happening, is priceless.

More information here.

Garfield minus Garfield

2008-03-22T14:50:28Z

"Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb."

More here.

Obama v Clinton

2008-01-31T13:13:55Z

A lot of people who know me are probably aware that I'm a firm supporter of Barack Obama's presidential campaign (as much as one can be a firm supporter when you're a mere onlooker from the other side of the Atlantic). There are various reasons for this, which I'll get into later; though there's one which has been accurately picked up on by Jonathan Raban in an excellent commentary he wrote in today's Guardian (and which I hasten to add is worth reading in its entirety):

"[In the] Nevada caucuses, Obama narrowly lost to Clinton because he failed to carry Clark County, site of Nevada's only big metropolitan city, Las Vegas, with its enormous population of Hispanic voters. But in more rural counties he beat Clinton decisively - 63% to her 37% in Elko, 51% to 34% in Humboldt, 50% to 40% in Washoe. [...] Obama's victory over Clinton in rural Nevada says something important about his ability as the apostle of national reconciliation. To win against Clinton in Elko County (black population: 0.8%), he had to convert not only white Democrats, but a large number of independents and people who had voted Republican until caucus day; a feat he pulled off with dazzling facility. Any Democrat nominee who can do that, deep in Republican country, is likely to gain the presidency; and Obama has proved that he can. Clinton, laden with the moral, cultural and political baggage of the 1990s, is likely to fare as badly in Elko County as Kerry did in 2004, when he collected just 20% of the vote."

However, Raban also mentions how race unfortunately (but perhaps somewhat inevitably) has become an issue in this campaign, and to some extent I predominantly blame the Clinton campaign, particularly the ways in which Bill Clinton has gone out of his way to indirectly portray Obama as the "black candidate", by drawing comparisons with Jesse Jackson's campaigns in 84 and 88 (pointing out that Obama's win in SC didn't matter because, hey, so did Jackson), and thus attempting to undermine Obama's attempts to portray himself as a "post-racial" candidate, ie. someone who can appeal to all parts of society, no matter what their ethnicity or social origin. It probably goes without saying that Clinton's rhetoric is somewhat counterproductive since it merely serves to undermine a progressive agenda which he and his wife, supposedly, profess to be a part of. Which brings me to another point:

I believe that, this year, many liberals and progressives, especially those supporting Obama, have seen a side to the Clintons that hitherto only Republicans had been faced with, and that is the side that will do ANYTHING to get into power - be it to lie, to smear, to cheat, to patronise your opponent or undermine their standing. We've already seen it, whether it's through "anonymous" leaflets in NH which presented factual inaccuracies (lied) about Obama's stances on abortion or the economy; Hillary's deliberate misquoting of Obama's Reagan comment; Bill Clinton calling Obama's anti-war stance a "fairytale" (also a lie); aforementioned Jesse Jackson comparisons - Roveian tactics which make me wonder whether a) Mr. Rove himself isn't somehow involved in the Clinton campaign since some of the tactics employed by them, the smears, the whispering campaigns, are PURE Rove, and b) whether there's a classic chicken-and-egg question arising inasmuch that Clinton's tactics in the 92 election quite obviously predated those of Bush in 00 and 04. Admittedly, it backfired in SC last week, but whether the same will apply on Super Tuesday remains to be seen.

All said and done, and this is where I run the risk of delving in character assassination myself, there is something really rather eerie to Sen. Clinton in the manner in which she doesn't simply set out to beat her opponents, but to destroy them completely, a vindictive, Machiavellian edge that evokes Nixon more than any candidate I have seen since Tricky Dick's ill-fated Presidency itself, and I suspect that a Hillary Clinton Presidency would go much the same way. So here we have it, with Obama inspiring countless comparisons to JFK, as far as historical analogies go we are currently witnessing a rerun of Nixon v JFK 1960.

I'll drive the Nixon comparison even further - remember Hillary's "tears" in New Hampshire, which supposedly turned the primary in her favour? What I never understood was that a lot of people, and inevitably the media, portrayed it as somehow illustrating that Hillary had "feelings" or "passion". The exact same thing happened when Margaret Thatcher was booted out of Downing Street and couldn't help shedding a tear, with people saying similar things, how it was asounding that the Iron Lady could be so emotional. The trouble is, she was crying for herself, and only herself. It was self-pity, the last refuge of the narcissist. Same with Hillary in Iowa. Who was she crying for? For herself, and for the nation for being so silly not to pick her. Do they not realise that they need her? Add the fact that since her NH victory, the Clinton campaign went truly nasty, as I illustrated above. The sentiment of it was clearly "I am destined to be President. I must become President. But there's this guy... this Obama! How dare he stand in my way! I must beat him, no matter what the cost." Say what you like, that's pure Nixon, right there.

On another note, the issue isn't really whether Clinton's campaigning style makes her unelectable - on the contrary, with anti-Republican sentiment at its highest ebb since Watergate and the GOP in complete disarray as the unholy alliance between evangelicals, neocons and economic libertarians that was formed in the Reagan years is unraveling, this really is the Democrats' race to lose. It's not a question of Can Hillary Clinton become President, but rather What will she be like as President, and it brings me to a point Anonymous Liberal already made very eloquently, but which I think bears reitereating: If Hillary Clinton wins the nomination and therefore the Presidency, the Democrats would have missed the opportunity of a generation. Obama has evoked countless comparisons to JFK due to his conciliatory, optimistic message and perceived youthfulness, and I think it's a comparison to stands up to scrutiny, but his oratory skills, not to mention his tendency to draw in people from other parts of the political spectrum and thus potentially shift the political centre of gravity, brings another ex-President to mind, namely Ronald Reagan. Just as there were "Reagan Democrats", we are now seeing "Obama Republicans" surfacing (coupled with Raban's observation I quoted above), and just as Reagan was able to shift political discourse in America to the Right and consequently drive positions that had hitherto been seen as on the fringe (witness Goldwater in 64) into the political mainstream, Obama can achieve much the same for progressives and liberals. In Obama, Democrats have a candidate who only turns up once in a generation - genuinely likeable, charismatic, able to draw in people from all sides of the political spectrum, and perhaps hopefully put an end to the hyper-partisan style that has plagued American politics and poisoned political discourse for decades.

The problems America faces right now (the impending recession, the so-called War on Terror, global anti-Americanism) suggest that the last thing that's required is yet another President half the country cannot stand and who would most likely be a mere continuation of the same old partisan-driven politics where left and right hate each other's guts and nothing gets done in the process, and suffice to say that Hillary Clinton would be that kind of President. Even if she intends to undertake a conciliatory style comparable to Obama's, too many conservatives deeply dislike her for this to ever bear fruit. Needless to say that none of the Republicans present a viable alternative either, whether it's Romney's corporationist economics and groundless Europe-bashing, Huckabee's frankly frightening social conservatism, or McCain's hawkish stance on Iran; not to mention how relieved I am to see the back of Rudy Giuliani's jackboot after his disastrous performance in Florida. Obama is the only viable candidate right now from any of the parties, and indeed has been for a while. Call me melodramatic, but he might be America's last chance.

Paprika

2008-01-26T14:00:26Z

Remember how I said that Control was the best film of 2007? Well, skip that, because I hadn't yet seen Paprika at that point. To think that an anime with a goofy name would not only turn out to be Satoshi Kon's best film since his debut Perfect Blue (another benchmark anime with its forays into realism and psychoanalysis), but indeed arguably one of the definitive films of the decade. For the sake of being rather malodramatic, Paprika might not be widely celebrated at this moment, but I suspect it will eventually come to benefit from that I call the "Blade Runner/Donnie Darko-effect": a film that is largely ignored upon its initial release, only for word of mouth to grow and, give or take a few years, to be regarded as an all-time cult classic by all and sundry. This film is simply too good to be seen as anything else.

Useless as I am at providing synopses, I'll give it a try regardless - Paprika is set in the more-or-less near future whereby a machine called the DC Mini enables psychiatrists to see into the dreams of their patients. One such psychiatrist is Chiba Atsuko, who under the guise of a plucky young girl called Paprika, enters her patients' dreams to interact with them. However, things are thrown into disarray when the DC Mini is stolen, causing all hell to break loose as reality and the dreamworld merge, making any distinction utterly meaningless.

But such a short synopsis does little justice to this film, because visually this is one of the most astounding movies out there. It really is the kind of film that makes you stare at the screen long after the credits have rolled, completely baffled and in amazement, thinking "What the f*** have I just seen?". That's not to say that Paprika is just a random array of wonderfully surreal imagery, because it's fairly obvious that Satoshi Kon, as with Perfect Blue, has applied a clear and distinct dream logic to it and that, once you realise who is dreaming what, everything makes perfect sense to anyone who has even an iota of an understanding of Freudian and/or Jungian theory. In fact, you could argue that Paprika is the logical conclusion to Perfect Blue's merging of dream and reality where it became virtually impossible to tell the difference, since it doesn't just apply one character's dreams, but indeed everyone's.

The ending of Paprika has attracted some criticism for "reducing" itself to a Godzilla-esque level between good and evil over a cityscape, but far from bowing down to some kind of inevitable cinematic formula by which there HAS to be a biblical conflict of sorts that is eventually resolved in favour of the Good guys, I personally feel that Satoshi Kon actually added this on a far more deliberate scale, because on a more subtle level the astonishing finale of Paprika also continues Perfect Blue's sociocritical tendencies; however, whereas the latter was a critique of the cult of celebrity and the nature by which celebrities are dehumanised and stripped of any personal wants or wishes but are instead reduced to playthings and mere objects of desire for their fanbase and the media, Paprika attacks popular culture in general, because here we are, in our own collective subconscious where we can finally live our dreams as and when it suits us - and the best we can come up with are robots, giant China dolls, and, indeed, a Godzilla-esque fight that is straight from the movies (entertaining as it is).

On another note, I have to say that it absolutely drives me up the wall when people say they won’t watch a movie or aren’t really interested in seeing it because it’s animated, and I wish I had a penny for every time I recommended something like, I dunno, Grave Of The Fireflies or Spirited Away to someone, only to be met with a derisive reply of "Yeah, but it's... animated!", as if animation was some kind of bastardised, lower form of entertainment. What kind of an attitude is that? Do they refuse to look at a Picasso painting because he wasn’t a photographer? Do they dismiss Michaelangelo for the same reason? Of course, it's an unfortunate fact of life that some people are so narrow-minded they are utterly unwilling to look beyond their little parochial viewpoint and thus cannot acknowledge that animation can be more than just silly little doll-like entertainment for the wee young ones (a purely Western viewpoint for very obvious reasons, ie. Disney), but instead a challenging and wildly interesting art form that can show you things that would otherwise be simply impossible to convey via live action. However, at the end of the day, it shouldn't really matter what aesthetics you choose to express something, whether it’s animation, live action film, literature, music, you name it, because great art is great art, and Paprika is living proof of that.

Musings and rants from your truly aside, Paprika is, simply put, brilliant. It's visually astounding, with an immersive storyline and great ideas, and has everything I could possibly hope to find in a film. As a matter of fact, I haven't had so much fun watching a movie in ages. See it.

Persepolis - Trailer

2008-01-19T21:26:34Z

An early contender for best film of the year, Persepolis is the autobiographical story of Marjane Satrapi's childhood in 1980s Iran and her subsequent exile in France. It's already out on limited theatrical release in the United States and on general release in the UK on 11 April 2008.

Official website here.

Tomb Raider III

2008-01-17T22:30:50Z

Y'know, I've just come to the realisation that, for all the reviews (for want of a better word) I've written in this here LJ, be it of films, albums or video games, most of them usually end up gushing fanboy appraisals which are about as subjective as, well, a gushing fanboy essay can be. I guess it's high time to redress that imbalance and write an open critique of what was, to me at least, one of the most painfully disappointing experiences not just in my life, but indeed the history of all humanity - the third instalment in the much-lauded Tomb Raider series. Click on the link below for an uncharacteristically scathing review... and some pretty pretty screenshots too. How can you possibly resist?

In the glory days of the late 1990s, the first two Tomb Raider games were what I guess you would call a beacon of innovation and quality. Admittedly, I never got into the first TR as it was released during the hiatus years inbetween 1994 and 1997, when my much-maligned but ever so awesome Atari ST had joined that great big silicon heap in the sky after I "accidentally" whacked it just that bit too hard during yet another fiendishly impossible mission of X-Out. Farewell, my plucky little ST, that most undervalued and uncelebrated of all computers. To me, you always kicked the Amiga's great big overrated glittery arse.

Fast forward to 1997 and yours truly spends many a smoke-filled night playing video games with his schoolfriends down the road. Two games in particular attract our protagonist's (mine) attention and will eventually play no small part in ensuring that his parents are held at gunpoint over Christmas on the demand to find a Playstation under the christmas tree come December 25th, or else. The games in question? Oddworld and Tomb Raider II.

Looks impressive, but seconds after this picture was taken Lara fell to her painful death thanks to a mixture of crappy controls and impossible-to-solve puzzles. And no more frigging save crystals left in her inventory.

You were starting to wonder where the hell this was going, weren't you? Alas, Tomb Raider II was a revelation to my feeble little impressionable mind. You know when you played Grand Theft Auto III for the first time and were absolutely gobsmacked at the freedom of movement that you had? This feeling that you could really go anywhere and everywhere without limitations? A whole city at your disposal? IN 3D?! Well, Tomb Raider II was a little bit like that too, just without the triads and the cars and the PS2 graphics. And Fernando's New Beginnings of course. Still, it was dead cool, roaming through the streets of Venice or the mountains of northern China. Swimming, ducking, diving, jumping your way to the holy grail or whatever the hell it was you were searching for (please do bear with me, it's been a while since I last played this game): video games simply did not DO this before. The Sierra- or Lucasarts games of yore did make you feel like you were part of a believable (mostly), fictional world, but you didn't have that sense of freedom to feel like you could explore anywhere; in Leisuresuit Larry, dare to veer too far outside the world given to you and you are mugged, stabbed, killed. In Police Quest 2 and other games, they weren't even that imaginative; they simply did not let you walk further than the screen allowed at times.

Lara missed every single shot because of the game being so frigging dark she couldn't see a bloody thing. And the luminance was cranked up to the max too.

Ok, ok, so what the sodding heck does this have to do with Tomb Raider III, I hear you shout and bellow, like the impatient harpies that you are. Be patient, I was just getting to that point. You know when a sequel is bad, so bad, so teeth-grindingly deliriously awful that it completely takes the shine off its predecessor(s)? Take Batman Forever. I can no longer watch the classic Tim Burton Batmans without the knowledge that, unfortunately, these two great films went on to influence some absolute stinkers, like the Riddler and Two-Face doing a little Vegas jig while Gotham is covered in dayglo by the oversized camp disco troupe from Hell. I probably remembered that bit wrong, but that's what it seems like in retrospect. Alright, so Christopher Nolan went on to rescue the franchise with Batman Begins and the no-doubt-bound-to-be-brilliant Dark Knight, but let's not lose sight of the bigger picture here, because right now we are fast forwarding again to Christmas 1998 and our plucky hero (who else but me), one year senior, is rummaging through yet another vast array of presents under the christmas tree (he was always a spoilt only child, even at the ripe old age of 19), and finds, much to his delight, Tomb Raider III amongst them. He is overjoyed, runs into his room, slams the door shut, safe and secure in the knowledge that he shall spend the next three days at the very least guiding Lara through wild forests, diving, ducking, jumping, skiing, chasing geese and whatnot. Goodbye civilisation, here comes Tomb Raider III.

And so the game begins. Ok, ok, interesting intro sequence. Let's get started. Ok, so Lara's on top of this slidy type thing. Ok, let's just go down. Lara slides down... and dies. Ok, let's try again. Lara slides down... and dies. Lara slides down... and dies. Forth attempt. Right, so finally we're past this bit at last. What's that? Am I seriously supposed to shoot a defenseless monkey?!

Moving on. Got this behind us. Cool. Wait, I can't save my game? I need something called a save crystal? Hmph. Nevermind. Let's carry on with this... Lara walks around a corner. Lara dies. Oh shoot, now I gotta start again on top of the slidy thing. Sliding down... killing the money (and not feeling any better for it... what's that? I actually DIDN'T have to shoot the monkey? Curses!)... at the bottom... Lara walks around the corner. And dies. Lara walks around the corner. And dies. Lara walks around the corner. And dies.

And you know something?

THE WHOLE SODDING GAME IS LIKE THAT.

This isn't much bettered (is that a legitimate word? Truth be told, I neither know nor care) by the fact that aforementioned save crystals are few and far between. Now, to be fair, I can see why they did that - in TR2, the temptation to cheat in the middle of a difficult mission was always there. Say, Lara's on an obstacle course, you make the first jump, save, make the second jump, save, and so on, until you're at the end. The save crystal system alleviates that kind of thing because it genuinely makes you think twice before saving. However, the problem is that, a) there simply aren't save crystals to go around (roughly two per levels - big levels, dangerous levels, levels FULL of frigging obstacle courses!), and b) there is nothing more frustrating than dying because you accidentally jumped into a trap that was IMPOSSIBLE to see because EVERYTHING IN THIS GAME IS SO FRIGGING DARK NO MATTER HOW HIGH YOU CRANK THE LUMINANCE UP, and c) You can die for the silliest of reasons, as illustrated in point b. Tomb Raider III is not fun, it is relentlessly, tediously frustrating.

He's behind you, Lara. HE'S BEHIND YOU! TURN! TURN, GODDAMMIT!! HURRY UP... AAAH NOOO, she's dead. Damn those crappy controls.

Not to mention the levels themselves. In Tomb Raider II you felt you were walking amidst something that resembled a living, breathing world. There were big, empty rooms in Venice, for instance, but it still felt like it was serving in purpose. Most of the worlds in TR3, be it the vast empty deserts of Nevada, or the caves, rivers, forests, jungles, you encounter seem little more than space-fillers. They are just there, not to be explored, but to give you the impression that there's actually more in this world than there ought to be. But there isn't a reason for it. There isn't this sense, "Oh, what's over in that corner, let's check it out", it's more a question of "Ah well, another vast array of random foliage, what a surprise".

Not to mention that very little has changed since TR2, which is understandable given that there is only 1 year between the games, but that itself makes me wonder whether TR3 was a genuine addition to the series, or not simply a mere cash-in, there to make Eidos a quick buck out of the series' then-unparalleled popularity, but ultimately dismaying lots of gamers in the process. I was doubly amazed when the UK's official Playstation magazine awarded this game a perfect 10 out of 10 - admittedly, whether something, be it a game, film, book, whatever is good, bad or average is mostly in the eye of the beholder, but to suggest a game is perfect when it has such glaringly obvious flaws is simply mind-boggling and I can't help but wonder whether exchanges of vast sums of money were involved in the process. (Disclaimer: The previous paragraph was written for the intent of comic relief, albeit quite probably unsuccessful, and thus includes a heavy load of hyperbole. I am not seriously suggesting that anybody at the UK's Official Playstation Magazine was bribed for giving Tomb Raider III a good review.... even if that would make a whole lot of sense.)

"I am arresting you for crimes against gameplay."

The verdict? Lazy. Lazy lazy lazy. Lazy programmers, lazy fans for not being vigilant enough in their criticism; but then they would eventually pay with Angel of Darkness, a game so mind-numbingly awful that absolutely no-one could deny it - ladies and gentlemen, what did you expect? Tomb Raider III was the warning shot. Our alarm bells should have been ringing like there was no tomorrow, but we kept shtum, thought things had improved for better when The Last Revelation and Chronicles turned out to be a-ok, only for the franchise to disappear into the depths of sheer, undisputable awfulness when Angel of Darkness reared its ugly head. Had we said something then, maybe things would have been different and Eidos would have heeded it, but alas, alas.

IMHO and amen.

Gdansk - Pictures

2007-12-27T21:28:10Z

Here are the pictures I took during my trip to Gdansk and Gdynia, 14-16 December 2007.

The place I stayed in (called Hotel Przy Targu Rygnym - no, I have no idea how to pronounce it either).

A canal in Gdansk.

A market hall in Gdansk.

Along the main street in Gdansk.

The central rail station in Gdansk. Off to Gdynia we go!

A bar in Gdynia.

Same bar.

A pier at night, Gdynia.

Back in Gdansk - a view across the canal, the historic gate in the background.

The gate from closeby.

A side passage, leading to...

A side street.

A cross between Tudor- and Hanseatic architecture.

On the other side of the canal.

Anyone up for telepizza?

Contrasting the old with the new.

Contrasting the old with the new mk2.

The Gdansk skyline. The building in the foreground was bombed in WW2 and left as a memorial.

The Gdansk skyline from another perspective.

An imposing gate.

A church, with workers building a stage in the foreground.

The central market square.

Art gallery with fountain.

Feeding the pigeons.

The church decided to act all imposing on me.

A pedestrian shopping district.

Gdansk is full of churches, in case you haven't noticed.

And gates.

A side street.

Old Old Gdansk.

Old New Gdansk.

New New Gdansk.

A man on a horse.

I would get bored of all these churches if it wasn't for the fact that they're rather quite beautiful.

The view from my room.

And that's it!

Gdansk - Observations

2007-12-27T17:57:57Z

Huzzah! (It's my word of the month.) Now that I finally am able to upload the pictures I took during my brief but worthwhile stay in Gdansk, I can take the opportunity to reminisce and draw back on some of the observations I made during my stay there.

First things first - I did not spend enough time in Gdansk. My flight there on Friday was ridiculously early at 6am, but even that only left me two whole days to spend before leaving again on Sunday morning. The flight itself was smooth, and I do suspect that I am now so used to flying that it simply doesn't freak me out as much as it used to (knock on wood).

Anyway, the arrival in Gdansk was slightly confusing (I'm always confused when I've just come off a plane), but smooth. I took a cab, paid 50 Zlotte (cheap by Polish taxi standards, apparently - a Scottish fella I met at the hostel told me that they initially wanted him to pay 130 Zlotte before he protested enough for them to put it down to 100), and as soon as I arrived at the hostel, I made my way into town to explore, but not without having something of a minor panic upon realising that my mobile phone did not work, did not connect to the Polish equivalent of 3G (at least not until the day after, as I was to discover), thus making contact with my friend Asienka, to tell her that I've made it safe and sound, impossible. This caused me to hurry to the nearest phone box, whereupon I realised that you can't just insert your credit card, dial the number, and off you go, oh no, you had to get a special Polish phone card (called telefonaska karta or something or other), which you had to buy at the post office. I did so, paid my 20 Zlotte whilst politely telling the lady in the queue in front of me who, while waiting in line, pointed at me, smiled and said something in Polish, that unfortunately I could not understand a word she was saying. One thing I did find about people in Poland, generally, is that they appear very glum and depressive at first, but once you've scratched the surface a little, they are, without exception, extremely friendly and polite. While I'm aware that I only had a brief period by which to achieve such an impression, and therefore it may not be entirely accurate, I am purely speaking from my experience, and it was a positive one in that regard.

Gdansk itself makes up part of what is called the Tri-City (or Trójmiasto in Polish) - the three cities of Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot, which adorn the Baltic coastline and have more or less grown together over the years (comparable to the Ruhr Valley in Germany or British metropolitan areas like Greater Manchester or Greater London). Gdansk is the historical anchorpoint while Gdynia is more modern and affluent and more or less dominated by the new Polish middle class which has emerged since the days of the Walesa Presidency. Sopot, the smallest of the three, is a seaside resort in the vein of Brighton, with a similarly popular nightlife, but not much else going for it from what I could gather. I found that, on average, people in Gdynia tend to be a lot younger and more affluent than in Gdansk, and there was a confidence about the place that seems to sum up most of contemporary eastern Europe in this day and age.

I've noticed that there are three dominant styles of architecture prevalent in Gdansk - there is the Hanseatic style, mainly dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries; the Brutalist style of the Communist era; and the more modern style that is prevalent in most western countries. Most of these styles sit very uneasily next to each other, but it's illustrative of the fascinating history of the place. With regards to the Hanseatic style, my friend Asienka noted that the buildings look very similar to Hamburg, which kinda makes sense when you consider that both cities belonged to the Hanseatic league and did much trading together over the centuries. I guess it bears mentioning that you’ll encounter a similar architecturial style in other erstwhile Hanseatic cities like Lübeck or Stralsund. As much as anything, Gdansk is a testament on how central European cultures have fused and amalgamated with each other over the centuries (as well as knocked each other senseless in more wars than one would care to mention, of course).

Saturday was spent walking around Gdansk, taking lots of pictures (briefly taking time out in one of the restaurants to have an absolutely delicious cray fish soup for the bargain price of 13 Z, which is something like £3 - well, it's a bargain by London standards), while in the evening I met up with my friend Asienka. We walked around Gdynia and checked out the nightlife before visiting her grandmother, who lives nearby the city centre. She's an absolutely lovely lady who went out of her way to provide me with some delicious Polish homemade pancakes and rather potent Slovakian herbal liquer. Since she spoke perfect English we managed to have a lengthy chat about the history of Gdansk and Gdynia, the second World War, the historic Solidarity movement of the early 1980s (which started in Gdansk and was arguably the onset of the anti-Soviet struggle in eastern Europe which, in a rather extended domino effect of sorts, culminated in the 1989 Leipzig demonstrations and the fall of the Berlin Wall), as well as her family (part of her family lives in the States). The 1920s apartment she lived in was absolutely astounding; massive rooms with beautifully adorned high ceilings, just the way they were built in most of central Europe during that period (it actually reminded me of my old flat back in Hamburg). Me and Asienka then spent the rest of the evening watching Bicycle Thieves before I made my way back to Gdansk by taxi. The next morning it was back to London. Alas.

As I mentioned before, I definitely did not spend enough time there, and I intend to return at some point in the New Year, time and money permitting. On a final note, I wish to thank my friend Asienka for showing me around and taking the time off her busy schedule. I had a really lovely time.

Pictures to come.

Movies Of The Year 2007

2007-12-22T17:28:54Z

Huzzah, here’s what the entire world has been waiting for - my favourite movies of 2007! I promise to carry on with my top 100 movies list next year and give the baying hordes at my gate, screaming in woe to find out what my top 20 favourite movies of all-time are, finally what they want, but for now you will have to contend with some more retrospective posing on behalf of yours truly.

#5 The Counterfeiters
Die Fälscher
Germany, Stefan Rutzowitzky

"Yay, just what the world needs, another Holocaust drama." Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking, but bear with me on this one. Now, obviously it wasn't the case that German cinema never directly dealt with its country's difficult past, and it was particularly during the glory days of the New German Cinema in the 1970s that directors like Fassbinder, Schlöndorff and Herzog dissected the Nazi era with films like The Tin Drum or Lili Marleen; but the Holocaust was still something of a taboo, and I suspect it was the excellent Downfall and that biggest of taboos being broken, a direct interpretation of Adolf Hitler by a German-speaking actor, that served as something of a liberating wedge, and now we are finally seeing German film-makers dealing with the Holocaust in an honest manner. That aside, I am also glad to see lead actor Karl Markovics, who for years had endeared himself to domestic German audiences with his role as bumbling detective Rex, getting the international recognition he deserves.

#4 Sicko
USA, Michael Moore

Yesyesyes, Michael Moore is a ruthless demagogue who makes highly manipulative pseudo-documentaries, but, frankly, I applaud the man for legitimising with Fahrenheit 9/11 what had, for a brief but very unpleasant abberational period in American history, been a highly unpopular viewpoint. People forget just how poisonous the political atmosphere was in the days preceding the 2004 election, and how even the slightest whiff of criticism towards the Bush administration was regarded as something approaching treason. It's debatable whether Fahrenheit 9/11 really changed all that, but it did serve to pervade a perspective that was more liberal and certainly more critical of the government.

Equally, Michael Moore seems to have achieved a similar feat with Sicko - in my view, Americans for years have been subjected to something of a scam in the shape of their health system, yet the right had constantly skewed the debate by portraying any critical viewpoint or suggested alternatives as somehow equating "socialized medicine" in order to spook the American public out of demanding a fairer system. Yet, here too, Moore alleviates some of the myths the corporationist right has propagated, such as that British hospitals are sh**holes or that French doctors are underpaid, and hopefully, here too, Moore may have shiftered the emphasis of debate to a more reasonable position, albeit through unashamed demagogery.

That aside, I've often made the point that we are currently going through a golden era for the documentary format, simply judging by the sheer mind-boggling amount of brilliant documentaries that have surfaced in the past five years or so (When The Levees Broke, The Fog of War, The Power of Nightmares, Outfoxed, Control Room, all being cases in point - in my opinion these are must-see films that should not be missed), and needless to say that Sicko is another addition to that list.

#3 Hot Fuzz
United Kingdom, Edgar Wright

Without a doubt the funniest film of the year, but also a brilliant amalgamation of action-, and western pastiche as well as satirical critique on Middle England. I often whine and whinge about the state of the British film industry and the apparent lack of imagination that seems so prevalent (compared to what's currently happening in places like Russia or South Korea), but Hot Fuzz serves as an more than welcome exception to the rule.

#2 The Lives of Others
Das Leben der Anderen
Germany, Florian Henckel von Donnersmark

Having grown up in West Germany, I still find it hard to believe what went on on the other side of the Iron Curtain, literally a few kilometres away. Of course, in the light of the so-called "War on Terror" and some of the, shall we say, questionable decisions undertaken to make widespread wiretapping and surveillance easier for our masters and protectors (chortle), it is often tempting to delve in hyperbole and talk about a descent into a police state - and while it wouldn't be entirely unreasonable to suggest as much, it is also worth watching Lives of Others to remind ourselves of what it REALLY was like to live in a police state, a country where virtually everyone seened to spy on each other and the idea of privacy and political freedom was so ambivalent as to be virtually non-existent. Yet at the same time it serves as a warning of what can happen when freedoms are gradually undermined, and looking at the atmosphere of paranoia that immediately followed 9/11, it is easy to see how a society can fall prey to perpetual suspicion and mistrust. In any case, The Lives of Others is a masterpiece, both as a retrospective assessment of "wasn't it horrible then", but also a warning of what could be if we're not vigilant.

#1 Control
United Kingdom, Anton Corbijn

I've already written a gushing "review" of sorts in this entry, but suffice to say that Control was everything I hoped for. Corbijn had for long been one of my favourite photographers of his generation, and it was great to see him translate his style to the cinema. Film of the Year!

Lest we forget...
2006 Lady Vengeance (Chinjeolhan Geumjassi, South Korea, Park Chan-Wook)
2005 3 Iron (Bin-jip, South Korea, Kim Ki-Duk)
2004 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (USA, Michel Gondry)
2003 Oldboy (South Korea, Park Chan-Wook)
2002 Russian Ark (Russkiy kovcheg, Russia/Germany, Aleksandr Sokurov)
2001 Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi, Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)
2000 Joint Security Area (South Korea, Park Chan-Wook)
1999 Audition (Japan, Takashi Miike)
1998 Hana-Bi (Japan, Takeshi Kitano)
1997 Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-Hime, Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)

The Dark Knight - Trailer

2007-12-19T23:27:04Z

LIEK OMG CANTWAITCANTWAITCANTWAITCANTWAITCANTWAIT

Back from Gdansk

2007-12-16T19:23:31Z

Huzzah! I got back from Gdansk earlier this morning. The flight there and back was surprisingly smooth (either that or I am finally over my fear of flying), and I had a brilliant time while I was there. Anyway, I've taken lots and lots of pictures, which I shall upload once I can find the bleeding firewire to connect my camera to my computer. Hmph.

Oh, and in case anyone called Idetroce comments on your blog and you wonder what the deal is with that guy, I cast your glance to this article here. Hooray for serial comment spammers, eh?

Albums Of The Year 2007

2007-12-10T20:20:14Z

Huzzah! It's that time of the year again where I can find license for some retrospective posing, so here are my top ten albums of the year 2007.

#10 God Is An Astronaut Far From Refuge
2007 has been a pretty darn good year for post rock. For instance, God Is An Astronaut (a band I was meant to see live this year but missed due to a fever - curse the English winter! Curse it!) followed up the excellent All Is Violent, All Is Bright with one of the most underrated albums of the year. Far From Refuge is so wonderfully dark and apocalyptic it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Best song: Radau

#9 Radiohead In Rainbows
In Rainbows received more publicity for its innovative merchandising campaign (meself, I paid £4) than for its musical content, but probably unfairly so, since some of the songs here, particularly 15 Step, are among their best songs in a decade; however, as a whole entity, the album still falls short of Kid A and OK Computer, albeit only slightly.
Best songs: 15 Step, House of Cards

#8 Of Montreal Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Mixing the eccentricity of Devo with the aloof of Fischerspooner, this album underlines how Of Montreal remain one of the most interesting acts of the decade.
Best song: Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse

#7 M.I.A. Kala
Her first album, Arular, in spite of critics getting palpitations over it, was promising, but it really was just that in my view. Kala is an entirely different kettle of fish, an accomplished, innovative work that marks her out not merely to be the best mainstream hip hop act in Britain, but one of the best solo artists around, period. And this isn't just me showing solidarity with a fellow Actonite, nuh-uh.
Best songs: Jimmy, $20

#6 Githead Art Pop
A brilliant follow-up to their debut Profile, but then the term "debut" does it scant justice given that Colin Newman and Malka Spigel are musical pioneers and amongst some of the most influential musical artists of the past three decades; so in that light it's difficult to regard Githead as a "new" band in that sense. But even so, Art Pop is another excellent minimalistic masterpiece from start to finish. And I'm still giddily looking forward to the forthcoming Wire album.
Best songs: Drive By, Space Life.

#5 iLiKETRAiNS Elegies To Lessons Learnt
I saw them live and they rocked. And Spencer Perceval is the best song of the year. There's not much else to say that I haven't already said here.
Best songs: Twenty Five Sins, Spencer Perceval, We Go Hunting

#4 65daysofsatic The Destruction of Small Ideas
This work is far more convoluted than their previous efforts, far less straightforward, and there are times when it's almost tempting to reach the point of frustration with the seemingly constant change in mood and tempo which accompanies this album (not to mention some admittedly rather pretentious song titles), when all of a sudden, in I guess what you could call a moment of clarity, everything makes sense and you just get lost in the beauty of it all. That and their collaboration with Circle Takes The Square, The Conspiracy of Seeds, is simply awesome.
Best songs: Don't Go Down To Sorrow, Music is Music as Devices are Kisses is Everything, The Conspiracy of Seeds

#3 Les Savy Fav Let's Stay Friends
I guess this is what they call a "sleeper". Hardly anyone noticed when it was released, and hardly anybody notices still, at the end of the year. But remember the silence that greeted Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplance Over The Sea back when it was released? Actually, you won't remember, because you didn't notice, you bloody philistines. Ditto this album. I dare say that, ten years from now, Let's Stay Friends will be regarded as an all-time classic, the way other classic albums that went unsung in their time (Astral Weeks and Bryter Layter are two other examples I can think of). And if you don't fall in love with them upon hearing Comes & Goes, you are a bad person and I shall never speak to you again.
Best song: What Would Wolves Do?, Comes & Goes

#2 Arcade Fire Neon Bible
Music critics often write about the "difficult third album", but in my opinion the second album is far more substantial. It can make or break a promising band, either building on a successful debut to ensure some kind of posterity (think Meat Is Murder or Led Zeppelin II), or it ultimately disappoints and condemns a band to the horrors of One Hit Wonder-dom (eg. Room on Fire by the Strokes). For the sake of using a hopeless cliche (ok, another one), Arcade Fire are gearing up to be one of the defining bands of our era, and Neon Bible merely underlines that claim: while it's a seething sociopolitical statement on one level (made obvious by its title, illustrating both the rise of the religious right and the way a corporate thiefdom of sorts has replaced organised religion as the all-encompassing, controlling aspect of our lives), it maintains the bizarre but somehow appropriate mixture of virulent despair and downright optimism that made Funeral such a fantastic, energetic and endearing work. Not just among the albums of the year, but one of the best albums of the decade.
Best songs: Intervention, My Body is a Cage.

#1 Tocotronic Kapitulation
Surprise! You expected me to put 65daysofstatic, iLIKETRAINS or some other post rock act at the top, didn't you? Certainly not some indie group from Hamburg. Alas, I was surprised myself when I heard Tocotronic's latest effort, because up until now their output, spanning the best part of two decades, had been rather lacklustre. However, this is anything but. Of course, you won't have heard of this album if you're outside German-speaking territories (and even there they are still relatively obscure), but trust me when I say that their lyrics are among the most enthralling and perceptive out there, whether it's a walk in the park which transforms into a descent to the gates of Hell (in Harmonie ist eine Strategie), an ode to fame which slowly reveals itself to be an allegory to the insecurity and alienation which are among fame's children (Aus Meiner Festung), and where all failed relationships are ultimately a case of self-sabotage (Verschwör Dich Gegen Dich). Kapitulation is a fantastic album, a more than welcome revelation for German rock music, and the best album of the year without a shadow of a doubt. And no, you don't need to understand German to appreciate its brilliance, just as you don't need to speak Icelandic to appreciate Sigur Ros.
Best song(s): Verschwör' Dich Gegen Dich, Harmonie Ist Eine Strategie, Aus Meiner Festung

Lest we forget...
2006 Joanna Newsom Ys
2005 Sigur Ros Takk...
2004 Arcade Fire Funeral
2003 Explosions In The Sky The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
2002 Agalloch The Mantle
2001 A Silver Mt. Zion Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upward
2000 Godspeed You! Black Emperor Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
1999 The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin
1998 Neutral Milk Hotel In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
1997 Spiritualized Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space

Phew. Coming up - my favourite movies of the year. :D

Taquito Tuesday!

2007-11-27T19:08:42Z

More at Sinfest.

Going to Gdansk

2007-11-24T16:17:22Z

This is where I'm headed this December.

I can't wait. :D