project nim (2011) - james marsh

What a great, yet depressing documentary Project Nim is. An attempt to teach a primate (in this case a chimpanzee that was named 'Nim Chimpsky', it was flawed from the very start. To me, the worst offender was the professor (Herbert S Terrace) who instigated the project, as it was not supervised properly from the start, had no great plan of action, achievable and recordable aims, and he was also pretty quick to change assistants (probably with a view to getting more shags), tactics and settings, and then suddenly ended the project, leaving Nim to be shipped off and forgotten about. Nim ended up in a research facility, but, mainly due to the persistence of one of the earlier helpers (Bob), and the involvement of newspapers and lawyers, was eventually rehoused in a sanctuary. Unfortunately, Nim was in  a cage by himself, without companions and stimuli, even if the sanctuary had good intentions when they 'rescued' him.  When new owners took it over, Bob was allowed involvement again, and other chimps were added to Nim's environment, so at least he had a happier end to his life.
The extra on the DVD about Bob's story was also tear inducing, but at least it was positive, with his standing in his families eyes rising due to his involvement and persistence.
If project such as this are to be undertaken, the assistants should be there for the duration, plus the chimps should be signed at all through their lives, and encouraged to pas on the signs to their offspring, and that progress (and other offsprings) monitored in an non invasive and enjoyable way for the chimps, who should also be living in an open environment.
Then there is the issue of cattle prods - good or bad?
More or less the same as 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', except in the movie, the apes escape to take over.
Only a matter of time.....


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some recent national geographic photographs

A Storming Victory by Mitch Dobrowner

Candles at Petra, Jordan by Behaven Jani

Deer Blossoms in Japan by Hisao Mogi

The Charles Bridge, Prague by Scott McGarvey

Moonlight night at The Matterhorn by Nenad Saljic

Whale Shark by Thomas P Peschak

Here are some of the recent photographs that have been featured in National Geographic. As usual, some tip top images that put my feeble, limp wristed and cock eyed shots to shame.
Damn their eyes and curse them all to Hell and back!


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in our name (2010) - brian welsh

A British soldier 'Suzy' comes back from Iraq to discover her home town is like a war zone, her partner is a 'nutter', and she keeps having flashbacks and nightmares. As she slowly cracks up, the violence escalates, the paranoia rises, and she endangers her own child. There is also a grim meeting with a Pakistani taxi driver from 'The Boro' and a childrens talk that goes a bit pearshaped. Some of 'In Our Name' was pretty believable, but parts were pretty far fetched to my jaded old peepers. Joanne Froggatt as Suzy was pretty good, as was her partner (Drew Horsley), but it's the plot l had trouble with. Would her psycho partner really be talked to by his mates the way they did, knowing he was likely to kick off every two seconds? I doubt it, and l live near, drink with, and know these kind of people only too well. At least l watched it all the way through, even enjoyed a fair bit of it, but wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it (in fact l just wouldn't - full stop).

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tubbs is ziggy stardust

What a turn up for the books. It seems as though the original Ziggy Stardust was not David Bowie, but our idiot rabbit Tubbs. Who would have thought?
Enlarge the album cover to see for yourselves.
Other 'supposed' originals are at the 'I am Ziggy Stardust' site, where you can insert your own face.
The title of the site reminds me of a certain car crash l was involved in which involved the immortal lines 'I am Keith Richards', but that's for another time.

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men without hats - safety dance - new version

Good stuff - l think l prefer the new words

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why we suck - a feel good guide to staying fat, loud, lazy and stupid - 'dr' denis leary

By 'Dr' Denis Leary, Why we suck - a Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid was pretty good, albeit a bit controversial at times (read his views on Autism).
From a working class Irish Catholic family, he pontificates about various subjects, taking the piss, and states his (exaggerated for comedic effect) views on how to solve them (mainly, take some responsibility for your own actions, stop moaning, takes some risks and get on with enjoying life).
Sentiments l can mostly agree with.
Funnier than l thought it would be, and he is obviously not a brainless idiot (although he loves Oprah Winfrey).

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soichi noguchi photographs

Soichi Noguchi is a Japanese astronaut who had been snapping away while training and floating around in the space station. Stone me - what a life.
His subject matter puts my crappy pictures of the idiot rabbit, the garden and Corfu (to mention some recent ones) to shame.
His Twitter account (with more photographs) is here.
Jammy Git.

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romanzo criminale (2005 film) - michael placido

The Romanzo Criminale film, although highly praised and award winning, was a bit of a disappointment for me, as l felt it did not have the same impact as the series of the same name, which was outstanding.
The story is still based on the real life exploits of the Magliana gang and the book by Giancarlo De Cataldo, but it is also different in places as to what is depicted in the series, and in the series, the events and characters have more time to develop so the tension slowly gathers as a result of that. It has however, made the FPO want to watch the series now, which, fortunately for her, has just started to be repeated on Sky.
A good film, but it would have been better if l hadn't seen the series first.

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the long walk - slavomir rawicz

The Long Walk is supposedly true story of an escape from the Russian Gulags, by walking to India via Mongolia, the Gobi desert and the Himalayas. On the way, some of the escapes die, and they also get to view a pair of Abominable snowmen for a couple of hours.
While reading the book, l had my doubts about some of the episodes and the books validity generally, and on researching it a bit afterwards, it seems l am not the only one.
That's not to say the book isn't interesting, as a lot of it would no doubt have been based on true events, and probably other peoples tales. Slavomir Rawicz still tells an amazing (if somewhat repetitive) tale, and l know a lot more about the Mongols and the Russian / Polish hatred of each other than l did before.
Interesting, but certainly to be taken with a large pinch of salt.

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just kids - patti smith

I read this Patti Smith autobiography while lazing in the sun last week, (amongst other books).  It mainly tells the story of Patti's relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, and their support for each other as they tried to produce art that would be of significance.  Plenty of name dropping and reverence for past artists, and an enjoyable read if you like music, art, or even just want to know what the New York City scene was like back in the day.
It also makes you want to go out and listen to some of the songs mentioned, or explore some of the artists she name checks, and that is definitely a good thing.


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back to the home routine

Oh yes, l'm back home alright.
Myself and the FPO ate all of the Ruffles, and drank all the wine (and Ouzo) l bought back from Corfu last night, and the idiot rabbit is back in his usual place, sitting between my legs watching TV (watching Punk Britannia).

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bee sting photograph

This great award winning photograph of a Bee sting was taken by Kathy Garvey and shows the bee, the sting,  plus the bee's abdominal tissue.
Very good indeed - more information here.

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amy winehouse's house is up for sale

Got a bit of spare cash floating about? How about making a bid on Amy Winehouse's old house in Camden Square, London. It's only £2.7 million.
I might have a look for some spare change down the back of the sofa and make an offer myself.
More details and photographs are here.

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back from corfu

It's a hard life and all of that, but l am now back from the work trip to Corfu, where it was blazing sunshine every day, and l got to do a lot of reading (and some work).
I also managed to catch the football and get a great tan, but l got bitten by mosquitos (which was not so good) as there were swarms of them on a couple of nights (the little spitty blood sucking bastards).
Pretty pleased it has been pissing down in England while l have been away, as l don't want other people enjoying themselves, but it could do with stopping now that l am back. The bloody grass in the garden will be 10 feet tall soon.

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off to corfu later tonight

It's going to be a long night, as l am getting picked up at 2.30 am to head to work, then off to Newcastle Airport for a trip to Corfu for a week. I've just been packing my gear, and no doubt l will have left something behind, but as long as l've got everyone's passports, tickets and money, things will be fine (they foolishly entrust me to take care of everything).
I think l may be a bit hot in the outfit above, so l may have to re jig the old suitcase and stick in something more suitable.
(It's actually Oscar Wilde, aged 46,  in 1900).
See you suckers in a week - l'll be back before you know it (and in time for England's second game).

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sarcastic t-shirt

One of these days l'll have to get around to making or buying these.
This one would suit me down to the ground.

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