walter freeman and lobotomy

While myself and the FPO were at Robbo and Kerry's on Friday, after the celebrations had abated (Kerry's 40th and a gain of 5 pounds), we were discussing lobotomies (as you do in polite society), and more importantly, the work of Walter Jackson Freeman.
For those that don't know, he pioneered the transorbital ( ice pick) frontal lobotomy, and then got carried away with it, performing them extensively (he kept records of 3,439) over aprox 30 years, including on John F Kennedy's sister Rosemary, until there were too many deaths, and he stopped in1967. This was all without any formal surgical training. Basically, it's put an ice pick up a tear duct and tap it into the front of the brain, wiggle it about, then repeat under the other eye.
Amazing (and no thanks).
There's an interesting sound bite about what it was like to have a lobotomy by Freeman here.

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yet another dodgy comic panel

Sometimes l wonder if the letterers/story-writers meant to put this kind of stuff in.


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bicycle diaries - david byrne

This book reminded me a lot of Robert M Pirsig's 'Zen And The Art Of Mortorcycle Maintenance', which l read many years ago, when l was a fresh faced young hippie. Both books deal with journeys, but are mainly full of philosophical ramblings about various subjects, but both deal with epistemology.
In David Byrne's Bicycle Diaries, the thoughts mainly concern architecture, city planning, and what makes human behave in certain ways. A bit like the Bill Bryson travel books in fact, but Byrne meets lots of arty types along the way (and doesn't go rambling in the rain).  This may sound unbelievably tedious, but it wasn't, and l found the book to be a lot better than l was anticipating, not being a huge fan of Talking Heads, nor cycling (just huge).
Bicycle Diaries has very nearly inspired me to buy a folding bike, but let's face it, that is not going to happen in a million years, although l may start cycling to work again once the weather improves, after all, l've gotta keep my buttocks like walnuts (or am l getting confused with my testicles?). Either way, I will have to dig out the old 'Zen' book again and re-read that at some stage (and that book made me want to get a motorcycle and ride across America).
Altogether now...Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm  (and don't Bogart the joint)

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clint eastwood in joe kidd posters

After the post about Clint Eastwood in Joe Kidd, here are some posters for it. Once again, like the lobby cards, l just like the artwork.

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the stone roses show their age

And talking of being an old git (see last post), l was looking at this photograph from  The Stone Roses reformation that was announced recently.
I have blogged about how l wasn't too enamoured about the reformation before, but this picture just made me think about them (and everyone else of course) ageing, as they're certainly not the sprightly young whipper-snappers they used to be.
Then again, who is? After all, it was 20 years ago when they were top of the world, and no-one could expect them to look the same, in fact it would be freaky if they did (look at Cliff Richard).
It does however, make one pine for the days of unblemished youth, innocent times, and a rosy future ahead.


Hold on, l can't ever remember living in that time.
It must have been the drugs - l blame The Stone Roses (tidied that post up nicely).

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once upon a time in the midlands (2002) - shane meadows

Blimey, it's like we're having a Shane Meadows season in our house at the moment.
Once Upon A Time In The Midlands is set (once again) in a (you guessed it!) Midlands town (but filmed in Nottingham).
Robert Carlyle (Jimmy) is a loser up in Scotland, who sees his ex partner Shirley (Shirley Henderson) being proposed to on TV, but then turning the suitor (Dek) down.
After a bungled robbery, he decides to head back down south to try and win her back. Henceforth, there is a struggle to win the affection of Shirley between Dek and Jimmy, with Jimmy and Shirley's child being caught in the middle.
There were some great (albeit stereotypical) performances by Kathy Burke and Ricky Tomlinson, and Robert Carlyle was his usual brilliant self.
I would never (ever) class myself as a fan of Rhys Ifans, but his portrayal of Dek was really good, just eliciting the right amount of sympathy for him, without it becoming too maudlin. Dek started off being a right sad git, but became more likeable as the film went on, so at the end, you were rooting for him to win his girl (and family) back.
The FPO was weeping, so it must have ticked the correct boxes for her (unless of course, she was just re-evaluating her life with me, which would explain why the tears went on for so long).
Anyway, l digress. Definitely worth watching, but still no-where near as good as 'This is England', as Shane Meadows has just got better and better as time has been moving on (unlike the rest of us old gits).

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joe kidd lobby cards

I wasn't keen on the film, but l can still appreciate the artwork.

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joe kidd (1972) - john sturges

This is one of the few Clint Eastwood films l can't remember seeing when l was a kid. Then again, maybe l had just forgotten about it, as it is not one of his better ones.
Clint Eastwood plays the titular Joe Kidd, an enigmatic ex bounty hunter, who gets persuaded to join a posse looking for Luis Chama (John Saxon), a rebel Mexican leader, who is uniting the Mexicans to fight against the landowners. Good old Clint eventually decides he is on the wrong side, and then cajoles Chama into giving himself up, and fighting for justice through the courts.
The film, even though it was written by Elmore Leonard, was pretty unexciting, and it didn't exactly keep you on the edge of your seat. The killings seemed to mean nothing, and there was no dramatic tension, although there were the odd humorous moments.
Clint Eastwood however, was his usual cool, sexy, rugged and good looking self, playing an independently minded maverick (for a change).
The acting (including the other actors) wasn't really the problem, as it was fine. It was just the film itself, it certainly lacked something, and couldn't hold a candle next to some of Eastwood's other westerns.
It all could have been soooo much better.

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megaupload is taken down by the evil empire

Megaupload, the file sharing service has been taken down by the USA today and it's founders assets have been seized (Ooh, l bet that hurt).
It is a service l (amongst millions of others) have used and it does exactly what it says it does, shares files quickly and easily, and at no cost at all to the individual user, if they so wish (a better service is available for those that wish to pay).
The thing is, obviously it is also used for illegal file sharing and pirating material. This is why the FBI have shut it down on behalf of the large music/film industries, but l also suspect that Megaupload were targeted more because of their recent video promoting the service, which featured various stars endorsing it.
The video was taken off YouTube at first, then re-instated after complaints that it did not infringe upon any copyrighted material (full story here and here). I bet it put a few industry heads backs up (that sounds difficult), as they must have felt as though Megaupload were taking the piss out off their collective positions and copyright stances, therefore, revenge was sought .
The people behind Megaupload made shit loads of money out of it, and good luck to them all, l hope they hire some quality lawyers who will get the case thrown out. They certainly have the money available to hire them, as demonstrated in the photograph of the Megaupload mansion that has just been raided.
The trouble with this kind of action, is that the internet truly is a Pandora's box, in that once something is out there (a service, an idea, a file), it will not go away, as others will duplicate it to the nnnth degree, especially if they feel they have a justified cause, or there is money to be made out of it.
Look at Napster and the outcome of it's shutdown. That didn't exactly stop anyone downloading illegal files by any stretch of the imagination. It was just a minor inconvenience for the people using Napster at the time, until they went to another site (such as Megaupload itself, which was started after the demise of Napster).
More sites will appear offering the same kinds of service (others are already available at the moment, such as Mediafire and Rapidshare), and much as l dislike the SOPA bill that the USA is trying to get passed, l still hold out hope that it will just encourage rebellion amongst internet users, so that the sites become so widespread, they cannot be controlled, unless the internet itself is shut down.

Support the pirates!!!

                                                           

The megaupload mansion in Australia

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the costa concordia and the captain

Obviously it is sad for the families of the people who lost their lives in the Costa Concordia disaster off the Isola del Giglio by Tuscany, but it is one shipwreck l would have survived from.  I am a crap swimmer, so in normal circumstances l would have no chance. On the other hand....even l could have swam to the shore from this. I would have bet a fine and bountiful wager on being able to float over to land on my back, eating my evening meal off my stomach (like an otter) as I bobbed towards the shore.
I would also probably have floated past the captain by the sound of it. At the moment, there are coastguard recordings telling him not to leave the ship, while he is claiming he fell into a lifeboat. There are reports stating he buggered off in a taxi, and he sailed too close to the Island, as he wanted to wave at a friend who he was on the phone to.
Now this all sounds remarkable and somewhat hilarious, but l would also be wary of attaching blame straight away, as there is the chance he might be getting set up to take the rap for it all and is being portrayed in a bad light at the moment, to take the heat away from others (The ship owners/builders for example?).
Remember what the press had to say about Hillsborough straight after it happened. It's understandable to want to find out as much as possible following an event like this, but conclusions should be made once the true facts have been established.
Never trust the media!


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a really (really) drunk drummer

Now that is what l call drunk!  Respect!

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sopa explained by gif

Thanks to Oatmeal

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small time (1996) - shane meadows

Also watched around Christmas time, but not put up as the passwords were playing up. Small Time deals with loyalty towards friends and family, and the day to day realities of just trying to survive by ducking and diving are highlighted. It is the first of Shane Meadows films, and it shows.  The characters are more stereotypical, it is not so believable, and it does not manage to bridge the gap between comedy and tension.  It is obvious that Meadows has talent, which he proved with his later films and TV series, but here, he is just finding his feet (and voice). Interesting to watch knowing what goodies Meadows would come up with late, but not that good.


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