confessions / kokuhaku (2010) - tetsuya nakashima

A teacher tells her class before she leaves that she knows two of them have murdered her daughter, and she has taken her revenge on them (which they are shocked to discover).  The story then develops, giving alternate viewpoints and showing different time frames, until the unexpected twists at the end.  Confessions / Kokuhaku  is a Japanese film by Tetsuya Nakashama with English subtitles, and it is one of the best films l have seen.  It seems longer than it is, due to the interweaving and dark plot, and it certainly drags you in, gets you involved, and keeps you guessing.  Egotism, bullying, revenge, an Oedipus complex, love, grief, betrayal, inventions, killings, blood and gore, denial, the internet, a dog and some dance moves.  All are present and correct.  Even the soundtrack, featuring Radiohead and The XX (amongst others) is excellent.  What more could you possibly want from a movie?  Marvelous.

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where dalton trumbo liked to write

Yes, the picture is correct.  Dalton Trumbo, the rather magnificent author of 'Johnny Got His Gun' (amongst others) liked to spend hours in the bath, relaxing and writing.  No wonder l feel as though l can identify with him,  l've spent half my life in the bath (although for some reason, l still stink).  Now l need to get some kind of equipment like he was utilizing.  I'm impressed with his set up and forward planning, and I may even take up smoking and get a cigarette holder. It sure looks cool to me.

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the trial - franz kafta

I'd only ever read (but enjoyed) 'Metamorphosis' by Franz Kafta, so while l have got time on my hands due to being off work, l got stuck into 'The Trial', one of his uncompleted novels.  I'd heard a lot about it and knew the basic premise of the story, but it did surprise me.  Joseph K is arrested on his 30th birthday, but not charged.  He then spends the rest of the novel trying to find out what his charges are, how to get help, and what is the best way of bringing it to a conclusion.  Along the way he meets lawyers, painters, girls and priests, but is still non the wiser when he is taken out again on the eve of his 31st birthday.
There was some repetition about the trial that l found boring, and the end of the book was a bit sudden, but there was plenty of other stuff contained within to keep me interested and occupied.  At one stage l thought it all may be in K's imagination, and he was just going mad and fantasizing some events, as they were certainly illusory and semiotic.  Other parts certainly seemed to be religious (and confusing) metaphor's, (especially the part in the cathedral), but more than likely it (to me) represents guilt about past actions, how to acknowledge and deal with  it, and how to repent or pay for it ("Like a dog").
Then again, what the hell do l know?  I'm just a drunken opinionated fool.


toodle pip

baby trashing a bar (las palmas by johannes nyholm)

Watching Adam Buxton's 'Bug' tonight, he showed an excellent video by Johannes Nyholm of a baby supposedly trashing a bar in Las Palmas.  The above video is the shortened version, but the full (but still short) film can be seen here.  Funny and cute!  What a combination!

toodle pip.

the pete townhend book is nearly out!

The long awaited Pete Townshend (of The Who) autobiography is nearly out!  He has also promised that it will deal with his caution in 2003 for downloading child pornography (which he said was for research).
The book has taken over 15 years to complete, but he has done well to knock one off (so to speak) in such a (relatively) short amount of time.
After all, books take a long time to write when you have to keep pausing your research in order to delete your browser history.
And cookies.
And cache.
And hard drive.
And set fire to your office.
And flee the country.
(with thanxs to The Afterword and @Bobtheidiot)


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chalk farm graffiti

This graffiti around Chalk Farm in London is by Blu (via artofthestate), but l am not sure what l feel about the work.  In a way, it looks too amateurish for my liking (not that l can do any better) but there is also something surreal about it that appeals to me.  It doesn't take a lot to confuse me, and this graffiti certainly does that.  Time for another lie down - my head hurts.

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the sun - old mocked up covers

I'm not exactly a huge fan of 'The Sun' newspaper, but l have to admit that these are a good idea.  They are mock ups of historical events in the past, as though The Sun was reporting on them at the time.  Respect is due to whoever did them, as they are pretty good.  More covers are  here.

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a lord howe stick insect hatching

This video is the Lord Howe Stick Insect (Dryococelus Australis), which was thought to be extinct by 1930, but was discovered on  The Lord Howe Island group in 2001, and has been bred, notably at Melbourne Zoo, where the above video was taken.  That however, is not the only amazing thing about them.  The video goes on for a while, but it is worth the time viewing it, as the hatching of them is unbelievable.  How on Earth they manage to fit inside their shells before hatching beats me, and even after seeing it emerge, you still can't believe what you have seen.  They certainly can't have been comfortable, no matter how flexible they are.  Nature - it can be freaky.
More information is at Discovery magazine.

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drawing a realistic playing card

OK, I'm impressed.  Mark Crilley rips up a playing card and then does a realistic drawing of it.  Why?  Who cares, it's something l would love to be able to do, and it's an incredible skill.
Git.
From Boing Boing.

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soiled elvis undies for sale

Here's an unusual momento for all you Elvis Presley fans out there who want to own something personal of his.  It's a pair of soiled underpants that Elvis wore in 1977, and they are on sale with other Elvis stuff at Omega Auctions (estimate between £7,000 and £9,000).  For the fan who has everything.  Get some DNA off them and get him cloned!

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the new barcelona away kit

Who on earth designed and passed this monstrosity of a kit for Barcelona FC this year?  Where was the voice of reason when it was needed?  Don't people at the club have any eyes or taste?  Football - bloody hell  (not like when l was a kid etc......).

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the rainmaker (1956) - joseph anthony

There is a towering and lively performance by Burt Lancaster as Starbuck, 'The Rainmaker' of the title, a con merchant who is travelling from town to town selling his devices, until he meets and falls for Lizzie Curry (Katharine Hepburn), an idealistic and downtrodden daughter of a desperate (for rain) farmer father.  Starbuck gives her, the family (and himself) hope, and despite some of the hammy acting  by others, Lancaster and Hepburn manage to make the film interesting and watchable.  Does it rain at the end?  Do they live happily ever after?  That would be telling.

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the death of neil armstrong

 The iconic shot of the Earth rising in the shadow of the Moon

Armstrong back in the capsule (but still on the Moon) after his walk

For people of a certain age, the death of Neil Armstrong resonates because of the significance of what he did.  The first man ever to set foot on the moon (with Buzz Aldrin in Apollo 11).  That, let's not forget, is an amazing achievement, even if it was to be carried out now, let alone back in 1969.  Lots of things could have gone wrong, and he (with the other crew members) risked their lives and succeeded in pulling off an amazing feat.  Obviously l never knew the man, but by all accounts he was pretty modest about his achievements, but what a thing to experience.  It was amazing to see it on TV at the time, but to be able to look back on the Earth, step foot on another surface, and then return home in one piece, must have been mind blowing.  How can the rest of your life compete with that?  No wonder he looks so happy in the photograph above.

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johnny got his gun - dalton trumbo (1939)

A bit of an American classic this one, and well worthy of it's reputation.  Johnny Got His Gun tells the fictional story of Joe Bonham, who wakes up after being involved in an explosion while fighting in the First World War, only to slowly realise that he has had his limbs amputated, and also lost his sight, speech and hearing.  There is some great free flowing and hallucinatory writing from Dalton Trumbo, mixing thoughts and memories together, as our hero struggles to cope with his isolation and despair.  It's moving, emotional and political, and certainly anti war, and the joyous moments after Johnny realises he can be understood through morse code, up to the denial of his requests are some of the best passages l have ever read.  Trumbo was blacklisted and wrote under other names, and is probably best known for the screenplay to 'Spartacus', but this book has to be his crowning glory, and should be compulsory reading for schoolchildren.  Fantastic stuff.

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records being played today

For the first time since l have been off work, l haven't watched any films today.  That is because l have been reading and listening to music, specifically, the records above, and a fine days listening and reading it has been.  If you are wondering about my liking of Phil Harris, it's because he was Baloo in The Jungle Book, so all of his records pretty much sound as though Baloo is singing them, which can never be a bad thing.  It's a hard life (somewhere).

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chris evans has the chitty chitty bang bang car

I have no great interest in cars, but this is one little beauty l would have liked to own.  It's the car from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', a film which l loved when l was a kid, and was bought by Chris Evans for £500,000.  He has finished making it roadworthy, and can now drive it home from work.  It certainly makes my Rover look like a pile of crap.  I wish l had loads of money, but it's good to know Chris isn't wasting his anymore (the jammy git).  Pictures are from The Sun.

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prince harry being an idiot (again)

So, Prince Harry has been getting into trouble again, this time it's for playing strip billiards at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas,  then having naked photographs taken of him with other guests.   My opinion is, If he wants to be a normal 27 year old soldier and get pissed and naked, then he should be allowed to do so.  After all, the press are always trying to stress what a normal lad he is nowadays.  On the other hand, he should do it with his own money, not the taxpayers, and he should relinquish his claims to be King.  If he is going to take money because he is in the Royal family and has power and responsibilities, then he should get his act together and behave in a manner befitting of someone in that position, as he then has a duty to the country and his subjects.  I'm sick of tales of him and his buddies getting pissed around the world (when he is not out partying in London), drinking expensive booze and staying in flash hotels.  Where did the money come from for this little jaunt?  It's between £4,000 and £5,000 a night to stay in the rooms he occupied at the Wyatt.  Who funded that?  Even if he got it for free, it's because of who is is, which brings me back to the responsibilities he has.  He is no longer the young tearaway who dressed as a Nazi, he is a grown man who should have more sense. Plus, where the hell was the security or advisers to prevent this sort of thing happening?  I wish all the sponging royal bastards would bugger off and stop taking the piss, but l have a feeling that won't be happening in the near future.  They know where their bread is buttered, but us poor idiotic peasants paying for it?  They're having a right old laugh at our expense, and no wonder the toffs look down their noses at us.  Time for a revolution brothers and sisters.  As you can see, the pictures of Harry naked are from TMZ.

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puss in boots (2011) - chris miller

The story of Puss in Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas, before Puss joined the Shrek franchise in Shrek 2, this was really well done, and so much better than Shrek 3.  Maybe slightly too long for my liking, but it also had minor funny cameos, such as the cat that goes "OOoooo", and the cute girl cat was not an annoying distraction, but also funny. Friendship, trust, greed, revenge and golden eggs.  What more do you want?  Why weren't these sort of films out when l was a kid?
Mind you, we had 'The Jungle Book', so it wasn't all bad.

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cast a giant shadow (1966) - melvin sharvelson

The fictionalized story of how David 'Mickey' Marcus helped defend the State Of Israel in the Arab - Israeli war in 1948, with a top notch cast (Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Yul Brynner etc), the premise of Cast a Giant Shadow certainly sounds good. Unfortunately, it is pretty boring, too long, and has the dubious gift of making the non fictional aspects of the story look fictional.  Not worth wasting your time on.

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george best - style guru and madame tussaurds

My admiration for George Best as a footballer and sometimes style guru knows no bounds, but even he couldn't get away with the above outfit. Even in the 1960's, he was never going to make that work.  No wonder the watching girls look stunned.
Also on the George Best front, the top picture is of his waxwork at Madame Tussauds being taken down and replaced  by Johan Cruyff's.  Fair enough, as Bestie was past his best and Cruyff was fantastic, but take a look at the so called 'face' of Best.  It is crap, and nothing like him.  I would have been demanding my money back if l had gone to see a George Best waxwork and been shown that monstrosity as a representation, especially as they always (still do) went on about how life like the waxworks are.  They are better now (I was there a few years ago), but there are still some real horrorshows.

Anyone for The Beatles?

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aileen and jethro, cancer, and the right to die

This is a picture of Aileen Crimmings O'Brien Graef and her dog Jethro, taken yesterday, just before Aileen died of breast cancer (from Boing Boing). She is the sister of Miles O'Brien, who bought Jethro to the hospice to say a last goodbye, and who took this photograph.  Their mother also died of the disease and Miles' girlfriend, Xeni Jardin, has also been diagnosed. I'm sure this photograph will be reproduced a lot, as it is certainly moving, and I wish Aileen's daughters (Katie and Aileen) nothing but the best.  I don't know the circumstances around Aileen's illness and death, and the following views are just my own, nothing to do with the way she died (or chose to die).
My own mother died in a hospice through cancer, and it was an awful way to watch someone deteriorate and slip away.  If we could have given her something to speed up the end, and limit the suffering (as she would have wanted), we would have done, but were unable to do so (although l did consider putting a pillow over her face at one stage). It went on and on, until she was finally just (and l mean just) breathing.  Dignity in death was no-where to be seen (although the hospice itself was excellent).
On a related note, Tony Nicklinson, the man with locked in syndrome who last week lost his right to have doctors legally end his life, died today, peacefully at home.  He was going to continue his fight, and l agree that people should have the choice.  It's absurd that people have to suffer in a manner that an animal would not (as it would be put down).
Tony Scott was diagnosed with a brain tumor and jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge three days ago in Los Angeles.  Perhaps if he had been able to live out the rest of his life until it got too much, and was then given some kind of lethal painkiller, he might have decided to live longer (although there could be other reasons for jumping).  Lethal medicaton (or possibly Heroin) is certainly the way l would want to go if the aches and pains got too much, and if not, it will be a tall building  for me (probably dressed as Spider-man).  Don't think this is flippant talk and not taking the matter seriously.  I'm deadly serious and have spoken about this for many years.
If you want to leave things in God's hands - fine.  Myself, l want to have the choice, and if l'm not going to be able to make that choice when l am really ill, then l will do so beforehand.  I'm prepared to take my chances with the 'afterlife' and the consequences of my actions.

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how not to catch spiders

I don't know why l watch this sort of stuff, as it just freaks me out, but here are two failures when it comes to catching spiders. Bloody things - l hate them. toodle pip

cystic echinococcosis (hydatid cyst of the liver)

Don't watch this video if you are squeamish, as it's one of the most disgusting things l have ever seen.  It shows a liver being emptied after it had become full of Echinococcosis larvae (the round balls).  Humans accidentally eat the eggs and can become infected, and these can quickly grow inside the liver.  Urghh!
More information here.

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