Stuff, Wotsits and Thingies

The Taking of Peckham 123

// July 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // films, photoshop

Smile of a stranger

// July 28th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // waffle, writing

Book in hand I open the front door and the sun burns a smile on to my face. I glance to the left as I lock the door and catch the eye of a guy walking down the terrace path. He’s young, early twenties, not Irish, maybe Polish. I turn to the right and head to the canal for my hour of solace. His footsteps behind me are silent, like mine, the Nike generation.

I cross the road, one turn left, one turn right and I am alone on the street that leads to the canal. As I cross a final road, a guy appears from the right and walks in front of me. He’s young, early twenties, not Irish, maybe Polish. He stops at a door and turns to the right as he inserts the key. He catches my eye and smiles. I smile back, and nod to acknowledge the joke of our mirrored exchange.

He’s younger than I thought I ponder. Give him a few more years and he’ll stop smiling at strangers. Strangers who will easily, and understandably miss such subtleties, and strangers who will think him strange for smiling. But I cherish the moment, and the canal is all the more soothing that day.

Moon

// July 21st, 2009 // 4 Comments » // movies

I got to see a few new releases recently that didn’t involve (kill me, kill me now) talking animals. Here’s my Bruno summary: very funny in places, but a bit too staged in others. I saw it, laughed, left forgot it – but now keep hearing much bullshit on the radio. Surely anyone who saw the Borat movie knew to expect more shock value toilet humour? I can’t believe some of the debates I’ve been hearing on the radio. Missing all the points, guys ‘n gals.

Anyway, I saw moon last night and it’s really quite good. Gorgeous space opera cinematography and perfect set design, you just can’t go wrong with retro-white interiors. The difference between a film that looks great and a film with great special effects is a deep deep chasm.

Moon owes much to the sci-fi classics, particularly 2001: A Space Odyssey but this time’round Hal is called Gerty and sports hilarious Emoticons. Though on the opening scene I was reminded more of Alien and Bladerunner. Dingey, dirty, used. One of the best ideas in the design of Bladerunner is that the future isn’t new, it’s very old, and filthy. Ancient buildings crumbling everywhere. Moon isn’t *that* crumbly – but things you’d expect to be used and scuffed are, unlike those crisp clean space suits you’re used to seeing.

So Moon is taking notes in all the right places. And Sam Rockwell is perfect. I’ve always liked him but he seems to either do bit parts, or stars in films that don’t quite cut it. Great to see him in a role like this.

Here’s something I’ve just realised; I think sci-fi TV and movies can be quite shit in general – yet a lot of my favourite movies are sci-fi, reminding me that the only relevant genres are good and bad. The good sci-fi movies are one’s that are more about the human condition than all that whizz bang rocket blast boof boff bullshit.

I’ve just read one other review of Moon, and they have it nailed on cinematical, and I also agree with their closing line “I can’t quite say I think Moon is knock-me-down, you-gotta-see-this brilliant; at the same time, I can say I’m still thinking about it, and in an age when most big-budget science fiction films are made by people with no respect for science or fiction, it’s a welcome pleasure.“

Rude boy rock

// July 16th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized, photos

Speaking of things that look like things, I noticed this rock by a stream in St. Annes park recently.

Count me out

// July 10th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // atheism

A friend of mine became a hero when he told me the lengths he went to to officially leave the catholic church years ago. That makes it sound like he was a priest. Nope, the Church still count you as a catholic, regardless of the fact you have since started writing atheist, jew or jedi on your census form.

To be no longer counted as a catholic he had to jump through several hoops, being passed up the ranks from one dog collar to the next and eventually to an archbishop or bishop who told him to come back when he was 16, which he did, and eventually got stricken from the records!

Well now there’s a new web site to make the whole process much easier. Whoever set this up, you’re my new hero;

Count me out.

p.s. Have a think about the notion that they deemed him to young to make that decision at first. The hypocracy is stunning.

Breaking news: stuff that looks like normal people!

// July 9th, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Uncategorized

Reports have started coming in of objects that look like regular people. We don’t yet know if it’s some crazy coincidence or just a whole new way of thinking. Jessie Swinson, of Milwalkee US took a bite of her Kit Kat when she suddenly noticed an image of a man with a beard. “I showed it to Jed and said now if that isn’t the spit of Jake from the post office than I don’t like to suck molasses!” – “And you don’t think it looks like Jesus?” we asked. “No no no, it’s Jake alright. Any it’d just be damned stupid to call every image of a bearded man Jesus.”

And in a similar story, Mary Heath-Vehorn bought this watermelon at the Farmer’s Market in Asheville, North Carolina. It wasn’t until she got it home that she noticed her cousin Joshua right there on the melon. “Other people have suggested that it’s Jesus to me but I don’t know I mean I never met this Jesus guy, but cousin Joshua passed on recently, and I think it’s his way of making up for never visiting me.”

Meanwhile, some morons in Limerick, Ireland are congregating around a tree stump that hardly looks like a woman, never mind ‘Our Lady’. Shopkeeper Séamus Hogan says “People have been coming from Kerry and Clare to see this tree, which we believe shows a clear outline of Our Lady,”.

Jesus wept.

It rubs the lotion on its skin

// July 8th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // music, video

I love this. Take some great quotes from a great film for the lyrics, and use the scenes from the film for the music video. I stumbled across this years ago, and just again recently.

Gran Torrino

// July 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized, movies

Gran Torrino – worst movie title in ages. I avoided like swine flu until I realised it wasn’t starring Vin Diesel jumping rooftops in a fast car.

Watched it last weekendand it’s jam packed with all the racial movie cliches you can think of.  Like the all time classic “Racist guy whos’ good guy at heart and not really racist at all” and their was a brieft cameo from “white boy who likes to get down with the homies but is actually a total dork“.

But despite all that I still really enjoyed it, Clint is an especially amusing grumpy old man who had me chuckling away. He breaths some life into a predictable scribe with every cackley rasp.

He still hasn’t bettered Unforgiven by a long mile though. Now THAT is a movie.