Owner: domeheid URL:http://domeheid.blogspot.com Join Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:29:05 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: My life as a MacGuffin: something you've never seen before, and are never likely to want to see again. The Walter Mitty years; and in between, some film reviews. Site statistics:Click here
First Forays into Blogs 2002-08-18 03:30:00 Today I slept in again. It's nice being on holiday, methinks. Didn't have too bad a phlegm attack this morning, so I had no reason to get up straight away to "wash this [gunk] down with a tasty beverage". Methinks I was first woken by my brother, Richard (or the sounds himof), taking out the recycling. I had agreed yesterday to help him, but as I was still in bed, he didn't disturb me: shame. He was getting the house ready for the return of my parents from their fortnight's holiday in Alsace (where they make Alsatian dogs, although that's no way to talk about their mother-in-laws). I've done my fair share of house work this week (well, clearing the dishwasher twice and doing a load of washing), whereas my other brother, Gregory, has done Jacques Merde. I bedlogged the first part of the day, reading Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue. Had a lazy brekky, and was just having a shave (electric variety) and about to pop in the doosh when my parents arrived (at 4pm-ish). (They always seem to Read more:First
, Blogs
Publications 2007-03-21 03:24:00 Academic journals"The Tenth Annual Trieste Joyce School", James Joyce Literary Supplement, 20.2 (Fall 2006), 16-17.Journalism: features"Fresh-Faced", Oxford Student, 11 October 2001, Week 1, Michaelmas term [accessed 21 March 2007]."Euro the One I Want", Oxford Student, 10 January 2002, Week 0, Hilary term ; [accessed 21 March 2007]."Capital Culture", Oxford Student, 26 April 2002, Week 0, Trinity term [accessed 21 March 2007]."Under Surveillance", Isis, Hilary term 2003, 26.With Silaja Suntharalingam, "Towering Ambition", Cherwell, online exclusive, 17 October 2003 [accessed 21 March 2007]."Behind the Scenes: The Media on Film", LIP, Media Issue, Summer 2006, 46-7 [short extract only; accessed 21 March 2007]. Journalism: film reviews"Poshly Posturing" (AKA), Oxford Student, 17 October 2002, Week 1, Michaelmas term [accessed 21 March 2007].Dogville, Oxford Student, online exclusive, 12 February 2004, Week 4, Hilary term [accessed 21 March 2007].Journalism: sport"Nothin' New" (Ne Read more:Publications
Found by a man walking his dog 2007-03-21 02:49:00 Why is it that whenever somebody is found dead in a field or by some railway tracks that the body is always reportedly found by "a man walking his dog"? Why is it always a man? I can see that the dog might be crucial to the situation - it is the one, after all, most likely to sniff something out; but the media almost always use the same, anonymous formulation. It's like those other journalistic formulae, such as "the boy, who can't be named for legal reasons" and "Partick Thistle 0". Maybe it's a governmental code, a trigger signal, like the complicated system of flaps and pats that baseball coaches use to tell the batter when to bunt, when to swing to help the runner on first steal second, when to fly out and so on.I bet it was a man walking his dog who found Dr David Kelly dead in the woods near his home in Oxfordshire. Kelly, remember, was the government weapons inspector killed by over-exposure in the media in July 2003. Actually, I think it was the police who found him, but of
Gauguin and van Gogh 2007-03-22 16:08:00 Gauguin walks into a bar and sees van Gogh sitting by himself."Alright Vincent, mate," says he, "Fancy a pint?""No thanks, mate," says van Gogh, "I've got one ear." Read more:Gauguin
Nice legs! 2007-03-22 01:12:00 At the end of every rugby match I referee, I give out two report cards. In senior games, I ask the captains from each team to fill them in. With juniors, I ask the coaches. Last Sunday I refereed Wallingford vs. Chipping Norton U15s. Below is the report card I received from the Chipping Norton coach. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I was embarrassed when I first read it, thinking it was some sort of come-on from the coach, until I realized the name and phone number were for Roz Fox. I wonder if she knew about it. I'm also unsure if it's sarcastic. I may be fit, but I'm hardly bronzed, being a pasty Scot. I don't see how it will help me become a better referee. They're supposed to give feedback on my performance and point out areas where I can improve. Read more:Nice legs
Varsity boxing 2007-03-19 15:17:00 The 100th Varsity boxing
match heavyweight bout between Oxford captain J. Webster (Oriel) and Cambridge captain E. Andrews (St John's), Thursday 15 March 2007, York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, E2.Round 1: Round 3: The judges' decision:
The Football Factory (2004) - ickleReview (DVD) 2006-10-05 22:58:00 Adaptation of John King's books about life as a Chelsea football hooligan. The film is updated to the present day, whereas the book was set in the early 90s. Captures the nastiness of these men who arrange to fight on matchday using their mobile phones, with young boys as scouts on the lookout. Infectious levels of swearing in cockney and an impressive ruckous scene between Millwall and Chelsea. Doesn't do any favours for the reputation of English football fans, but at least it tries to justify their behaviour by putting it in the context of Britain's history as a warring nation. (Still, not everyone acts like this.) Some of the characters are a little 2-D, but that's because the narrative is told from the perspective of Tommy Johnson (Danny Dyer from Human Traffic (1999)).In the violent genre of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000) but with a different feel from another football hooligan film, I.D. (1995), in which the fighters actually bothered to go to th Read more:Football
, Factory
Eeking into the top 10 in the world 2006-09-04 06:31:00 My housemate Emma-Kate Lidbury, a journalist at the Oxford Mail, only started competing in triathlons a year ago. Now she has finished 8th at the World Triathlon Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. Well done, Eek! I wonder if she'll make it to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when she'll only be 28.
Skydive 2006-07-20 02:20:00 I jumped out a plane back in March 2003. Here's the proof.
The bollock(s) they print in the local rag... 2005-08-12 00:27:00 Here is a picture published on page 54 of the Oxford Mail on Wednesday 10 August 2005. It's the men's steeplechase at the World Athletics Championships currently being held in Helsinki."So what?" you might ask. "It's just a picture of some guys clearing the water jump."Well, here is a loose reconstruction of what seemed like a routine call to newsdesk."Hello, Oxford Mail newsdesk...Yes, sir...Page 54...I see...Okay...Thank you. I'll let the editor know...Good bye."[Puts phone down.]::Guffaws::Newsroom buzzes with intrigue. Has another nutcase phoned in to compain about the "wogs" on the front page? Has another ticket agent scammed the innocent public, expecting to hear light opera (no reduced fat)? Have Oxford United signed another no-hope striker or sacked their sixth Latino manager in four days?No. It's just bollocks.Or one bollock, to be precise. (Journalists are wont to get their facts right.)Now look more closely at the Moroccan athlete on the right of the frame. Notice anyth
Finding Forrester (2000) - ickleReview (DVD) 2005-07-24 04:04:00 Gus Van Sant directs this good-looking New York story about a 16-year-old black kid from the Bronx, Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), who wins a scholarship to a good private prep school in Manhattan. Sean Connery plays William Forrester, a writer who becomes his tutor and mentor. Forrester has published only one book, which Jamal's new English teacher, Robert Crawford (F. Murray Abraham) claims is the great twentieth-century novel. A number of other story threads show through, but merely hint at a wider tapestry, thereby avoiding any over-familiar dead-end alleyways.The central relationship between Forrester and Jamal develops slowly (Connery playing the eccentric recluse role he practised elsewhere in movies such as Entrapment and The Rock). Brown's performance is remarkable for its natural warmth. His is a real and positive portrayal of a smart kid from an underprivileged background who shines when he is given an opportunity. It's cool to be bright and well read with a switched on attit
Strictly Ballroom (1992) - ickleReview (TV) 2005-07-11 02:51:00 Baz Luhrmann dancing romp, which starts off like a documentary about an Australian ballroom dancing contest and turns into a delightful feelgood comedy. The Antipodean Dirty Dancing, without the ponce and certainly without taking itself too seriously.Luhrmann makes it visually arresting with his fast cross-cutting and set-piece lighting. The script is sharp and magnetic, with a predictable but nevertheless satisfying arc.Paul Merurio plays Scott Hastings, a young dancer with high expectations, but who suffers from the same anti-establishment scorn which his father received for inventing his own steps. He loses his partner but gains another in the frumpy but sleeping beauty of the Spanish-blooded Fran (Tara Morice), whom he first dismisses as a beginner, but then grows to love. Together they take their daring routine to the big championships, but the dancesport big-wigs don't intend to make it easy for them.Nugget: a great bit of fun and well worth listening to the advice (which you'v Read more:Ballroom
lowercase titles 2005-02-13 20:45:00 I noticed that The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner has lowercase titles at the beginning of the film. I thought this aesthetically pleasing phenomenon had sprouted from the text message revolution. It seems it has been around for a while. That's the earliest example (1962) that I've noticed so far. I'll see if I can predate that. Any bids?
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) - ickleReview (DVD) 2005-02-09 20:19:00 Free cinema, black and white British-made film about Colin Smith (Tom Courtenay), the son of a Nottingham labourer who gets caught robbing a bakery and is sent to a borstal. Its portrayal of what is now called a young offenders' institution is much more positive than, for example, Alan Clarke's Scum (1979). Based on the eponymous short story by Alan Sillitoe, Director Tony Richardson's film combines documentary realism with lyrical exterier shots of Colin on the run. The governor of the borstal (Michael Redgrave) encourages Colin to train for the cross-country race that is to take place between Ruxton Towers borstal and Ranley public school. We are shown in intercut flashbacks Colin's home life, leading up to his arrest: his father's death, his mother's fancyman, Colin's friend Mike (James Bolam, later one of "The Likely Lads") and their seaside excursion to Skegness with a couple of girlfriends.
Nugget: the simple poeticism of German Cinematographer Walter Lassally is really w Read more:Runner
When We Were Kings (1996) - ickleReview (DVD) 2005-02-08 02:00:00 Documentary about The Rumble in the Jungle: the 1974 world championship fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire. Promoter Don King did a deal to get both fighters $5 million each from President Mobutu. The fight took place at 4am in the morning so that it could be show on American television. Ali taunted the bigger, stronger and younger Foreman with twelve right leads in the first round (an insult to a fellow professional). Foreman snapped and punched himself out within five rounds as Ali played the dope on the rope: absorbing Foreman's formidable thuggery like a sponge under water. Yet this film is not just about the boxing; it's about Ali the politician, the entertainer, the statesman and the black hero; and the soul train that played its way through Africa in a festival of black solidarity, with James Brown, B. B. King and others on board.
A superb DVD with the whole fight added on as an extra as it appeared on the television broadcast, as well as the infamous late
Chariots of Fire (1981) - ickleReview (DVD) 2004-09-22 14:34:00 Set in the 1920s, the first group of students at Caius College, Cambridge matriculate after the war. Among them are some keen athletes, one of whom, Harold H. Abrahams, is a Jew with a chip on his shoulder. His main rival for gold at the Olympic Games in Paris is Eric Liddle, a devout Scottish missionary, whose sister disapproves of his running, and who refuses to run on Sundays. The script is a bit hammy, as these based on a true story films can sometimes be. Another excuse to use lots of British character actors and raid the period dress department.
Nugget: not as good as I remember it.
The Color of Money (1986) - ickleReview (DVD) 2004-09-18 23:29:00 The sequel to The Hustler, only nowhere near as good, even though this one's directed by Martin Scorsese. Can't believe Newman won an Oscar for his performance. I guess it was one of those lifetime achievement awards from the Academy looking in retrospect, because I don't rate him in this one. The good thing about this movie is its bathos: it goes with the whole spiel of the protégé (Tom Cruise), giving the old guy a second wind, while keeping him on his toes. Only it shrinks from the big one-on-one showdown, and there's no razzamatazz at the end. Just a rather belittling portrayal of the game of pool and its hustlers, who take themselves, and the green baize, too seriously.
Nugget: not essential viewing.
Read more:Color
, Money
we live in a capitaless society 2004-02-25 11:28:00 Something has happened to our capital letters. Lost in the matrix of text messaging, IMing and emailing, the capital letter has ceased to be the standard way to start a sentence or even spell a proper noun. People sign themselves with a small letter, merging their name into the indecipherable background of the modern, metropolitan palimpsest.
The Whalen Offload Hits Amsterdam 2002-11-20 21:02:00 Oxford University Rugby...News Archive 30/09/2002 - Under 21's Tour
The Under 21's won their first match on the their tour to Holland on Friday evening against Delft Students by 38 - 3. Try scorers were Dave Sherwin, Tom Buttle, Shaun Stafford, Guy Reynolds and Mark Lynagh who also added 2 penalties and 3 conversions. They also won their second match against the Dutch Under 20's National team by 50 - 0, try scorers were Chris Whalen 2, Shaun Stafford 2, Tom Buttle, Adam Rendle, Joe Clarke and Mark Forth who also added 5 conversions. Read more:Amsterdam
Dr Spock's ears 2007-03-23 00:51:00 Q: How many ears does Dr Spock
have?A: 3 - one left ear, one right ear, and one final frontier.(Source: my housemate Daf, again.)
The Great Global Warming Swindle (2006) - ickleReview (TV) 2007-03-23 00:14:00 I heard about this programme on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze. I was keen to see it because apparently my party, the Liberal Democrats, had tried to prevent it from being show on Channel 4 television. It is a rare example of a dissenting position against the majority consensus that climate change is man-made and is caused by carbon dioxide emissions. Opponents of this consensus have been portrayed as heretics and deniers (with distasteful connotations of Holocaust denial). Although the science is partly a forecast, the majority of us have faith in what we are being told will happen. The belief in man-made climate change is starting to look like a religion or an ideology.Now I myself am quite happy to buy into this belief. It fits with my naturally lefty, liberal, environmental, anti-capitalist (or at least anti-relentless economic growth) bent. I do not agree, however, that programmes such as this should be gagged because they offer a different point of view. I'm not sure it's comple Read more:Great
, Global
, Swindle
, Global Warming
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Warm 2007-03-19 19:24:00 John Lanchester writes in "Warmer, Warmer", a long article on climate change:"It is strange and striking that climate change activists have not committed any acts of terrorism. After all, terrorism is for the individual by far the modern world’s most effective form of political action, and climate change is an issue about which people feel just as strongly as about, say, animal rights. This is especially noticeable when you bear in mind the ease of things like blowing up petrol stations, or vandalising SUVs. In cities, SUVs are loathed by everyone except the people who drive them; and in a city the size of London, a few dozen people could in a short space of time make the ownership of these cars effectively impossible, just by running keys down the side of them, at a cost to the owner of several thousand pounds a time. Say fifty people vandalising four cars each every night for a month: six thousand trashed SUVs in a month and the Chelsea tractors would soon be disappearing from our Read more:Learned
Limmy's World of Glasgow 2007-03-26 03:58:00 Pure fuckin' magic, right. Get yoursel' listenin' tae this cunt: Limmy's World
of Glasgow
. John Paul is the best. He'll fuckin' chib ye, ya dafty. It's a Weegie retort to Devvo.
Orlando 2007-03-26 01:37:00 Here's an interesting article from National Geographic about "exurbs" in the Orlando
metropolitan area.
Hollywood Ending (2002) - ickleReview (HD) 2007-03-26 00:07:00 Woody Allen movie about a has-been auteur film director (played by Woody Allen) who is hired by his ex-wife (Téa Leoni) to direct a film set in New York called The City That Never Sleeps. Just before shooting begins, he goes blind and has to bluff his way through the entire movie.This wasn't released in the UK. It's quite a harsh satire on Hollywood
- amusing rather than funny, although there are occasional craicing jokes.Nugget: not a bad film, but compared to the rest of his oeuvre, it's middling. Some good ideas. Features Debra Messing (Grace from Will & Grace) and Tiffany Thiesson (from Saved by the Bell). Read more:Ending
Chocolat (2000) - ickleReview (TV) 2007-03-26 00:00:00 Sweet film set in a pious Catholic French village. The comte (Alfred Molina) compels his citizens to fast during Lent. A mother and child arrive and turn the empty patisserie into a chocolaterie, bringing passion and courage back into the lives of the villagers with their secret recipes.Juliette Binoche is wonderfully charismatic as the chocolate-maker traveller, befriending the friendless, bringing people together, blessing with compassion (not unlike Amélie but with less subterfuge). Judi Dench is reliably accomplished as a grumpy old lady who is forbidden by her daughter (Carrie-Anne Moss) from seeing her grandson. Chocolate brings out the best in people. Johnny Depp then shows up to provide the third act complication and love interest.A charming film, which seems to have been hack-sawed in the editing room. Characters disappear for longish sections - or are not fully dealt with e.g. in their reaction to a death.Nugget: sweet like chocolate.
ALF 2007-03-30 03:01:00 Not the Animal Liberation Front, but the first episode (1986) of one of my favourite TV shows when I was growing up in Germany (the others were Knight Rider and Dougie Howser). ALF stands for "Alien Life Form". The German actor who dubbed the voice of Willie Tenner also did James Bond! I think I prefer the German voice for ALF. His "nul problemo" was better than "no problem". ALF's name - and I didn't know this before - is Gordon!clipped from www.dailymotion.com
Mark Thomas 2007-03-31 05:17:00 Listen to this before next Thursday. It's sooo funny. Read more:Thomas
The Lives of Others (aka Das Leben der Anderen) (2006) - ickleReview (cinema) 2007-04-01 22:23:00 Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with this tale about the Stasi state security in Eastern Germany in 1984. It is so perfectly composed, I don't want to spoil it for you by revealing too much about it.Sebastian Koch plays the publicly loyal East German playwright, Georg Dreyman, whose beautiful girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), plays his leading female stage roles. Two Stasi officers, Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur) and Wiesler (the wonderful Ulrich Mühe), suspect Dreyman of insurrection because of the company he keeps with other, more openly anti-state, artists such as the black-listed theatre director Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert). With the permission of the government minister Hempf (Thomas Thieme), who has hinted to Grubitz that he may be favoured for a promotion, the Stasi wiretap Dreyman's apartment in the hope of finding some evidence against him. Wiesler is put in charge of the monitoring operation.This film is beau Read more:Lives
, Others
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