I'm an avid X Factor watcher. For those who know me well that seems to sit incongrously with my other TV habits. I do tend to avoid 'trash TV', love Question Time, Late Review, Newsnight, documentaries and independant films. But, once a week, as the nights close in and the heating's turned up, I turn my brain off and immerse myself deep within the SyCo soap opera.
I'll admit I get suckered in to the sacharin back-stories, "I want a better life for my kids", "This is all I've dreamed of since the day I was born" (What? Before you had consciousness and knew what singing and fame were?) And, my eyes get glassy when the cheesey boyband song plays in the background, swelling to an emotional peak just as the contestant becomes overwhelmed and wipes a slow-mo tear from their cheek.
Outside of the actual show, my brain switches back on and I'm aware instantly what an utter pile of drivel it all is. Posh karaoke at best, and I LAOTHE karaoke, with a passion. If it's on in a pub I'll walk out. So, I don't undersand my love of the show. And, I don't need to. It's just pure escapism. A bit of cheap glam beamed into my home just as the chill of winter looms outside. X Factor got their scheduling of the show just right. A couch and a cuppa watching X Factor is far more appealing than trudging around amongst the weekend pub throng in rain or snow. Would it be as successful in the summer months I wonder? Hmmm...
Anyway, despite absolutely knowing that X Factor is trash TV, I intensely dislike the elitist, snobbery, that surrounds it sometimes. People on Facebook and Twitter whinging about others interupting their feeds and timelines talking about it. As if, somehow, the minutia of THEIR day (Woke up, had coffee, walked dog, etc) is so much more fascinating and cerebral. I'm fully aware that it's mindless telly but I'm not an elitist snob about it.
One main insult levelled at the show is that it's 'just' a pop singer factory, churning out crooners to sing other peoples songs. They say this like it's a really bad thing. Yet, I'd put money on those people loving Motown artists. Just saying like. I'm not sure Frank Sinatra ever wrote a song either, nor Elvis. I'm not exactly putting Leon Jackson in the same class as those people but you get my gist.
This year though, I'm annoyed with X Factor. First the autotune 'scandal' and now the Katie Waissel and Mary Byrne 'scandals'. Katie Waissell can be found all over the internet in various guises or 'stage names'. Katies Waissel is actually Katie Vogel and Lola Fontaine. And according to this article: http://www.anorak.co.uk/256750/tv/how-the-x-factor-and-sony-bmg-fixed-it-for-katie-waissel-aka-katie-vogel.html Katie has already been singed with Sony BMG, a company which has 'associations' with Cowell. Here also is a YouTube channel for a reality show, Green Eyed World, in which she starred:
As for Mary Byrne, "Tesco Mary" as she's now being 'affectionately' dubbed. Well, she's also all over YouTube under another name. Mary Lee. Under which, she won Nollaig No.1 a sort of Irish X Factor type show.
Tesco's in Ireland is certainly different to Tesco's in England that's for sure Mary!
I have no problem with the fact that both Katie and Mary have had previous tastes of 'fame' nor that, for whatever reason, it didn't work our for them. What makes it all so sinister, to me, is the lack of any mention of it on X Factor. Why the secrecy? Why hide it? Why lie? Why the name changes? Instead of being honest, young Katie 'just needs a shot, a chance' (She's had one already, a big one) and humble checkout lady Mary has 'never had anything like this happen to her before' (bullshit). Why are we being fed this garbage? We're being led to believe that this is all so new to them both!
SyCo are insulting the intelligence of their audience and that is a dangerous thing to do. I doubt any of this will affect the show nor the prospects of Katie and Mary but for some viewers... trust in 'the brand' is dwindling.
Now, I loathe Rupert Murdoch and all that he and his companies stand for. Sky telly for starters. Y'all PAY to have telly in your home which is already heavily commercialised. It's like double-dipping. If ITV or Channel 4, TV companies paid for by advertisers, started charging us there'd be riots. Besides that, politically Murdoch is a rightist, power hungry and corrupt man. I refuse to contribute a single penny to a man/company that uses that money to gain the power to corrupt and manipulate our police, our media and our government.
That heavy stuff aside, I have to say Sky's Must Be The Music seemed a more genuine 'talent show' (along the lines of Fame Academy). Looking for people who could write and perform their own material. It wasn't about who could belt out someone elses song the best, rather who could express themselves in their own unique way. Much more to my taste, though, I only saw snippits on YouTube. Emma's Imagination won that show this year and I'd actually consider buying her album.
I've NEVER considered buying an X Factor winners single or album. As I say, it's fun to watch but I don't take it seriously as a talent contest.
Anyway, talent show rant over.
On with Sunday.
*Edit* Oh, and up pops another one: http://www.theblueroom.me.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=29512
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
L'arnacoeur
I went to see L'arnacoeur (Heartbreaker) at a pre-release preview screening yesterday. I didn't know it was subtitled, but the fact that it was signified good things to me. Firstly, if a subtitled film makes it to the Odeon and not just the Tyneside Cinema (my local Indie cinema) then that means it's had impact of some sort (or that it has a powerful distributor behind it). Secondly, it signified that I was about to see something quirky and I like quirky, so I was happy enough. I watch a lot of foreign films, subtitles don't put me off at all. However, about eight, maybe ten, people walked out within the first fifteen minutes!!! Obviously, the print-off preview tickets didn't have the original French title on them so people were thrown. Still, once there, why leave? Are subtitles really so off-putting to some?
Comment and discussion is most welcome, cuz I'm well confuddled.
Incidentally, it was a cute, outré sort of film. Better, I'd say, than the average American Rom-Com. Same ending, of course, but the story was told in a more whimsical, off-beat, way.
NB: The female lead is played by Venessa Paradis and I have to say, oftentimes, she looked a little like her other half in his Mad Hatter role. All wide-eyed and gap-toothed. Just saying. Perhaps, like some pet owners start to look like their dogs, then some girlfriends start to look like their boyfriends' film roles? Or vice-versa.
Comment and discussion is most welcome, cuz I'm well confuddled.
Incidentally, it was a cute, outré sort of film. Better, I'd say, than the average American Rom-Com. Same ending, of course, but the story was told in a more whimsical, off-beat, way.
NB: The female lead is played by Venessa Paradis and I have to say, oftentimes, she looked a little like her other half in his Mad Hatter role. All wide-eyed and gap-toothed. Just saying. Perhaps, like some pet owners start to look like their dogs, then some girlfriends start to look like their boyfriends' film roles? Or vice-versa.
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Nice Rock Stars? No ta!
I was thinking recently about how peope really don't like Chris Martin and, therefore, Coldplay. Though most people I know own hard or soft copies of at least some of their stuff. I got to thinking about how this disliking of them, but mainly him, came about. At first everyone loved Colplay and Chris Martin, didn't they? It felt like they did anyway. Then, I caught on to a flicker of a notion in my wee brain and it hit me. It's just cuz he's nice innit? That's all. And we don't like our rock stars nice. As soon as Chris Martin aligned himself with worthy causes and showed himself as an altruistic type, all credibility for Coldplay seemed to wane and Chris Martin slagging became a national sport. He's not the first to suffer this fate. If we trace the careers of a handful of other upopular types a pattern emerges. Think about it, Sting, rock god of the early eighties, became the person you sniggered and rolled your eyes at the moment he appeared on Wogan with his new bezzy mate, a Peruvian jungle dweller with a saucer stuck in his bottom lip, and ranted on about the Rainforests. Jagger, was probably sat at home watching in his pants, joint hanging out of his gob, a woman at each side, drinking JD neat and giggling as the death knell rang out over Sting's popularity. Next to hear the mighty clanging knell of doom was Bob Geldof. Mad, bad, lead singer of under-acheiving band The Boomtown Rats, decides to become Mr. Charity himself and single handedly invents Live Aid. Nobody would ever buy a Boomtown Rats record again and Geldof became known as "That awld twat". Even his prime-time, live TV, swearing antics couldn't save him now. Ding. Dong. Cling. Clang. Who's next? Why, Bono, of course. U2 used to be the coolest rock band on the planet. They did. Honest. Then Bono started appearing in photos next to Prime Ministers and Presidents, shaking their hands, telling them he spoke for all of us. His 'big thing', his cause, his Raison d'être, became Third World Debt. Overnight, one of the rockingest lead singers ever became known as a bit of an eejit. Liam Gallagher laughed so hard he blew a gram of coke off a mirror. It's a shame that caring about stuff makes a rock star a git, yet, you can be a pop star and do 'charidee' stuff and still be loved. We're odd beasts us humans. Odd beasts indeed. But at least we're not that c*nt Chris Martin, eh? That'd be shit.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Bigotgate
Oh, deary me. Gillian Duffy has got even the most erudite and objective of you bemoaining Gordon Brown's gaff, but let's face it, that's all it was. A gaff. Calling a bigotted old lady a bigot is hardly crime of the century is it? How many of us have been caught gossiping about someone just as they entered the room? How many of us have accidentally sent a bitchy text to the person we were bitching about? Humans gossip and bitch, usually in private spaces and, sometimes, we get caught. Being Prime Minister seems to make these things almost criminal acts.
I'm not a Gordon Brown 'fan', though I'd rather see him stay as PM than have that snivelling toff David Cameron in. However, despite not being a Brown supporter, I can still see reason, can still view him as a human being, a man. A tired, stressed, drained, workaholic, who in a few seconds of self-doubt, proclaimed a debate with a voter "a disaster" despite having actually won her over. He was angry at himself and snapped, in private, about someone he thought he'd never see again. In fact, one could say it's the most human, and least plastic, he's seemed all campaign. And that self-doubt, is what was at the centre of his little bitch about Gillian Duffy being a bigot, which let's face it, she probably is. She is of a generation where many do have a 'them and us' view of 'all these foreigners coming in', etc. It's old-fasioned and it does stink a little of simmering bigotry. "Where are all these Eastern Europeans flocking from?" she asked Gordon. I wish he'd been allowed, as a human being, to say, "Erm, I'd put money on Europe, probably the Eastern part." But we don't want our politicians real do we? We want them plastic.
I can't wait for Duffy to sell her 'story', make a mint and retire to Spain. Whereupon some Spanish pensioner will be heard saying, "Where do all these whinging awld Brits come flocking from?" Rochdale apparently love.
So, all I heard was a shattered man, thinking he'd failed, bitching to an aid. So fucking what? The press would have him publicly hung for it?
I wouldn't be surprised if Sky had set the whole thing up. Sky is Murdoch owned and Murdoch is an out-an-out Tory supporter. Imagine if Brown had said something more serious? Imagine if he'd talked about sensitive Governmental issues? Sky releasing the recording was a disgusting act and, to me, was far worse than a tired, stressed, man calling the the pot black.
All this stunt has done, is shift some Labour voters over to the Lib Dems which, of course, I'm all for, but under these underhanded circumstances it just seems dirty. And, what if it leads to this bumbling oaf getting in?
Brown needs to stop apologising and everyone else, particularly the press, should put their pitch-forks down and concentrate on what matters. POLICY.
An Eastern European living in Newcastle tells how Gillian Duffy made HER feel: http://elmyra.livejournal.com/498792.html?view=1389160#t1389160
I'm not a Gordon Brown 'fan', though I'd rather see him stay as PM than have that snivelling toff David Cameron in. However, despite not being a Brown supporter, I can still see reason, can still view him as a human being, a man. A tired, stressed, drained, workaholic, who in a few seconds of self-doubt, proclaimed a debate with a voter "a disaster" despite having actually won her over. He was angry at himself and snapped, in private, about someone he thought he'd never see again. In fact, one could say it's the most human, and least plastic, he's seemed all campaign. And that self-doubt, is what was at the centre of his little bitch about Gillian Duffy being a bigot, which let's face it, she probably is. She is of a generation where many do have a 'them and us' view of 'all these foreigners coming in', etc. It's old-fasioned and it does stink a little of simmering bigotry. "Where are all these Eastern Europeans flocking from?" she asked Gordon. I wish he'd been allowed, as a human being, to say, "Erm, I'd put money on Europe, probably the Eastern part." But we don't want our politicians real do we? We want them plastic.
I can't wait for Duffy to sell her 'story', make a mint and retire to Spain. Whereupon some Spanish pensioner will be heard saying, "Where do all these whinging awld Brits come flocking from?" Rochdale apparently love.
So, all I heard was a shattered man, thinking he'd failed, bitching to an aid. So fucking what? The press would have him publicly hung for it?
I wouldn't be surprised if Sky had set the whole thing up. Sky is Murdoch owned and Murdoch is an out-an-out Tory supporter. Imagine if Brown had said something more serious? Imagine if he'd talked about sensitive Governmental issues? Sky releasing the recording was a disgusting act and, to me, was far worse than a tired, stressed, man calling the the pot black.
All this stunt has done, is shift some Labour voters over to the Lib Dems which, of course, I'm all for, but under these underhanded circumstances it just seems dirty. And, what if it leads to this bumbling oaf getting in?
Brown needs to stop apologising and everyone else, particularly the press, should put their pitch-forks down and concentrate on what matters. POLICY.
An Eastern European living in Newcastle tells how Gillian Duffy made HER feel: http://elmyra.livejournal.com/498792.html?view=1389160#t1389160
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Kick-Ass: Review [No Plot Spoilers]
Rather obviously, Kick-Ass most definitely has comics at its heart. After all, it's based on Mark Millars comic series of the same name and many millions of geeks and nerds will be queuing for tickets this coming weekend, when the film goes on general release here in the UK. However, this quirky little gem seems intent on turning every comic book convention on its head. Now, I don't read comics, so I don't know if the comic is as mischievous and ironic as the film, but almost every scene flipped what I expected to happen arse over tit with mature, referential, gut-wrenching, humour. I'm sure that, like me, the comic fans, nerds and geeks will love it all the more for that. I'd seen a trailer, so thought I knew what to expect, and I did get that, but with the dial turned up to... eleven (à la Spinal Tap).
So, to the premise. What would happen if someone very ordinary tried to be a superhero? Well, had this film been scripted at the hands of an LA writer, you'd know the outcome, right? An average Joe, a loner with a grudge, who through sheer, unfaltering, inner strength, willpower and purity of heart (and maybe a few million in the bank) rescues damsels in distress and kicks criminals to the kerb. All the while, spending what little free time he has, puffing out his ample chest and pouting seriously as he surveys his city, hands on hips, from a precarious vantage point way above... you get the picture. The world is changed. For the better. However, this screenplay was co-written by Matthew Vaughan and Jane Goldman. The two cheeky Brits responsible for Stardust with it's cast of quirky chumps, including disgruntled dying star, a closeted gay pirate sailing the skies and a witch who refuses to age gracefully. So, Kick-Ass will NOT be The Dark Knight part deux. Nor, for that matter, will it be anything else part deux. It's just… different. It’s not the plot that makes it different, don’t get me wrong, that's a lesson in linear, good versus bad, cliche. It’s how the story’s told that’s different.
The Dark Knight is lauded as the best comic-based adaptation of recent years. And, for its type and genre, I guess it is one of the best. But, I'd argue that Kick-Ass kicks it's comic-based... well... ass. The Dark Knight took itself rather seriously. How could it not? With the woefully self-absorbed Christian Bale brooding around in every other scene. Thank heavens for Heath Ledger to break my almost perma-frown whilst watching. Yeah, Kick-Ass is more to my liking. Can you tell? It has all the kinetic action of a top-notch superhero or action flick, it has the central good versus evil cog whirring away nicely and a little obligatory romance, but here there's also a whole heck of a lot of laughs too. Had the screenwriters taken themselves as seriously as Christopher Nolan, this film simply wouldn't have worked. But, it wasn't and it does. It's gorgeously, gigglesome, self-referential, capital 'F' for fun, FUN! What’s bizarre, though, is that the gags don’t render it simply a silly ‘comedy’ either.
Aaron Johnson plays self-conscious geek Dave Lizewski with humble subtlety. He's a handsome young chap, but as Dave, you sorta believe that the pretty girls wouldn't look twice at him. And you utterly believe that once he has his gaudy green Kick-Ass wetsuit on that he CAN do anything. It's actually Dave who eventually realises he can't, not the audience, not me anyway. I was willing him to jump that gap. (You’ll know what I mean when you see it). His supporting cast of nerdy friends played by Evan Peters and Clark Duke help you believe in the awkwardness of his character even more fully. They may not be in that many scenes, but they make Dave's world all the more rounded and real.
But for me, the star of the show is Chloë Moretz who plays Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl, daughter to Nicolas Cage's Damon Macready/Big-Daddy. Cage is on top form again. He's always at his best when playing marginally unhinged men. But, his pre-pubescent killing machine of a daughter is tougher and smarter than anyone else in the film. Moretz manages to portray an adept, clinical, killer whilst also being a very human, warm, child when not in her Hit-Girl gear. Despite her potty mouth, you find out she likes marshmallows in her hot chocolate dontcha know? It's just that she also likes to drool over Gatling guns before bed too! She swears like a navvy and flails a blade around with the aplomb of O-Ren Ishii. There's been controversy about such a youngster playing such a foul-mouthed and violent character. I'm not going to enter into that debate. Daily Mail writers and readers have already got their big M&S knickers in a tizzy about that, so I’ll leave them to rant. Yes, she's a little girl. Yes, she says "cunt". It's a FILM! Fuck off and buy a DVD of Last of the Summer Wine and watch that to you hearts content if you don’t like it! Suffice to say, I loved the character. She does slay with a smirk, but Moretz somehow manages to make this NOT feel uncomfortable. It's a mature, accomplished, performance for one so young. The whole film seems to pivot around her character and not Kick-Ass. It’s rather like when Will & Grace should really have been called Karen & Jack, cuz they stole the show. This film should really have been called Hit-Girl. It’s her you keep wanting back on screen and her story you want to follow once the credits roll.
Tarantino's mark on modern action films is felt here. Child assassins, samurai swords, unapologetic violence and gore, and balletic fight scenes set to cheerful ditties. In one case, blood sprays all around to the sound of the Banana Splits theme tune. It's a homage to comics, to Tarantino, and in Nicholas Cage's case, there's even a referential nod to the aforementioned scowling of Bale in The Dark Knight. However, despite all that post-postmodern parody, homage and intertextuality, this film still manages to feel like something entirely fresh.
The comic was written by a Brit, the screenplay was co-written by two Brits, many of the cast are Brits. So, my one gripe would be to wonder why it wasn’t set in the UK? Say, for instance… in Newcastle. Now, THAT would’ve made it perfect.
It's strange to say this, as I'm sat here writing a review about it, but I'd recommend you don’t read any reviews or watch any trailers before seeing this film. The less you know about it, the more fun it'll be (hence no plot spoilers). But, you foolishly read this far didn't you? Still, go see it. You'll love it. I did.
Let me know what you thought.
So, to the premise. What would happen if someone very ordinary tried to be a superhero? Well, had this film been scripted at the hands of an LA writer, you'd know the outcome, right? An average Joe, a loner with a grudge, who through sheer, unfaltering, inner strength, willpower and purity of heart (and maybe a few million in the bank) rescues damsels in distress and kicks criminals to the kerb. All the while, spending what little free time he has, puffing out his ample chest and pouting seriously as he surveys his city, hands on hips, from a precarious vantage point way above... you get the picture. The world is changed. For the better. However, this screenplay was co-written by Matthew Vaughan and Jane Goldman. The two cheeky Brits responsible for Stardust with it's cast of quirky chumps, including disgruntled dying star, a closeted gay pirate sailing the skies and a witch who refuses to age gracefully. So, Kick-Ass will NOT be The Dark Knight part deux. Nor, for that matter, will it be anything else part deux. It's just… different. It’s not the plot that makes it different, don’t get me wrong, that's a lesson in linear, good versus bad, cliche. It’s how the story’s told that’s different.
The Dark Knight is lauded as the best comic-based adaptation of recent years. And, for its type and genre, I guess it is one of the best. But, I'd argue that Kick-Ass kicks it's comic-based... well... ass. The Dark Knight took itself rather seriously. How could it not? With the woefully self-absorbed Christian Bale brooding around in every other scene. Thank heavens for Heath Ledger to break my almost perma-frown whilst watching. Yeah, Kick-Ass is more to my liking. Can you tell? It has all the kinetic action of a top-notch superhero or action flick, it has the central good versus evil cog whirring away nicely and a little obligatory romance, but here there's also a whole heck of a lot of laughs too. Had the screenwriters taken themselves as seriously as Christopher Nolan, this film simply wouldn't have worked. But, it wasn't and it does. It's gorgeously, gigglesome, self-referential, capital 'F' for fun, FUN! What’s bizarre, though, is that the gags don’t render it simply a silly ‘comedy’ either.
Aaron Johnson plays self-conscious geek Dave Lizewski with humble subtlety. He's a handsome young chap, but as Dave, you sorta believe that the pretty girls wouldn't look twice at him. And you utterly believe that once he has his gaudy green Kick-Ass wetsuit on that he CAN do anything. It's actually Dave who eventually realises he can't, not the audience, not me anyway. I was willing him to jump that gap. (You’ll know what I mean when you see it). His supporting cast of nerdy friends played by Evan Peters and Clark Duke help you believe in the awkwardness of his character even more fully. They may not be in that many scenes, but they make Dave's world all the more rounded and real.
But for me, the star of the show is Chloë Moretz who plays Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl, daughter to Nicolas Cage's Damon Macready/Big-Daddy. Cage is on top form again. He's always at his best when playing marginally unhinged men. But, his pre-pubescent killing machine of a daughter is tougher and smarter than anyone else in the film. Moretz manages to portray an adept, clinical, killer whilst also being a very human, warm, child when not in her Hit-Girl gear. Despite her potty mouth, you find out she likes marshmallows in her hot chocolate dontcha know? It's just that she also likes to drool over Gatling guns before bed too! She swears like a navvy and flails a blade around with the aplomb of O-Ren Ishii. There's been controversy about such a youngster playing such a foul-mouthed and violent character. I'm not going to enter into that debate. Daily Mail writers and readers have already got their big M&S knickers in a tizzy about that, so I’ll leave them to rant. Yes, she's a little girl. Yes, she says "cunt". It's a FILM! Fuck off and buy a DVD of Last of the Summer Wine and watch that to you hearts content if you don’t like it! Suffice to say, I loved the character. She does slay with a smirk, but Moretz somehow manages to make this NOT feel uncomfortable. It's a mature, accomplished, performance for one so young. The whole film seems to pivot around her character and not Kick-Ass. It’s rather like when Will & Grace should really have been called Karen & Jack, cuz they stole the show. This film should really have been called Hit-Girl. It’s her you keep wanting back on screen and her story you want to follow once the credits roll.
Tarantino's mark on modern action films is felt here. Child assassins, samurai swords, unapologetic violence and gore, and balletic fight scenes set to cheerful ditties. In one case, blood sprays all around to the sound of the Banana Splits theme tune. It's a homage to comics, to Tarantino, and in Nicholas Cage's case, there's even a referential nod to the aforementioned scowling of Bale in The Dark Knight. However, despite all that post-postmodern parody, homage and intertextuality, this film still manages to feel like something entirely fresh.
The comic was written by a Brit, the screenplay was co-written by two Brits, many of the cast are Brits. So, my one gripe would be to wonder why it wasn’t set in the UK? Say, for instance… in Newcastle. Now, THAT would’ve made it perfect.
It's strange to say this, as I'm sat here writing a review about it, but I'd recommend you don’t read any reviews or watch any trailers before seeing this film. The less you know about it, the more fun it'll be (hence no plot spoilers). But, you foolishly read this far didn't you? Still, go see it. You'll love it. I did.
Let me know what you thought.
Sunday, 14 February 2010
V Day
So, in advance of today’s celebration of all that is soppy and heart-thumpingly 'mantic, I planned two surprises for someone special, like you do. I'm now a restaurant deposit down and am sat alone staring at a brand-new object that I will never use. (Rather ironically, it all adds up to a return train fare).
What's it all about? All this Valentine's stuff? Yeah, all the cynics holler that they don't need a calendar date to remind them to be loving, but the truth of it is, that most of us do need a li'l nudge every now and then. If not a nudge, then an excuse to do something lovely for someone you care about.
Had my expected guest arrived, my plans for the weekend were much nicer than had my guest been coming another time. Dinner out, something we haven't done yet. A gift to open. Wine to drink. That's not to say I'm not usually romantic, cuz I am, I think. It trickles out of me, when I trust that I'm 'liked'. But a date in the calendar, that makes some people a li'l more honest, caring and appreciative, well, I don't see what's wrong with that. It can be tacky and overly commercialised, but you don't have to enter into that side of it. Hand-made gifts and cards are nicer and breakfast in bed, a few nice words whispered in an ear, and a walk in the woods, are all that's required to make a day 'romantic', even if a calendar has poked you in the ribs to remind you to NOT think about work, the bills, or the soaps, or whatever else gets in the way of a lovely eye-staringly, melty, moment.
I was one of the usual cynics. Probably because, for the majority of my adult life, I've been single on Valentine's Day (don't say a word!), but when I think of what my weekend and today could've been like, I can't get cynical. It just makes my heart ache a teeny bit for that other day, that I'm experiencing with my invited guest, in some other dimension, in a parallel life, cuz I didn't get scared and the train fare from Dundee to Newcastle was magically free. And, I'm a wee bit sad and a wee bit jealous of that other me... being loved that little bit more today, just cuz it's Valentine's Day.
I hope you're all getting the love you deserve and that you all feel appreciated by those you appreciate.
What's it all about? All this Valentine's stuff? Yeah, all the cynics holler that they don't need a calendar date to remind them to be loving, but the truth of it is, that most of us do need a li'l nudge every now and then. If not a nudge, then an excuse to do something lovely for someone you care about.
Had my expected guest arrived, my plans for the weekend were much nicer than had my guest been coming another time. Dinner out, something we haven't done yet. A gift to open. Wine to drink. That's not to say I'm not usually romantic, cuz I am, I think. It trickles out of me, when I trust that I'm 'liked'. But a date in the calendar, that makes some people a li'l more honest, caring and appreciative, well, I don't see what's wrong with that. It can be tacky and overly commercialised, but you don't have to enter into that side of it. Hand-made gifts and cards are nicer and breakfast in bed, a few nice words whispered in an ear, and a walk in the woods, are all that's required to make a day 'romantic', even if a calendar has poked you in the ribs to remind you to NOT think about work, the bills, or the soaps, or whatever else gets in the way of a lovely eye-staringly, melty, moment.
I was one of the usual cynics. Probably because, for the majority of my adult life, I've been single on Valentine's Day (don't say a word!), but when I think of what my weekend and today could've been like, I can't get cynical. It just makes my heart ache a teeny bit for that other day, that I'm experiencing with my invited guest, in some other dimension, in a parallel life, cuz I didn't get scared and the train fare from Dundee to Newcastle was magically free. And, I'm a wee bit sad and a wee bit jealous of that other me... being loved that little bit more today, just cuz it's Valentine's Day.
I hope you're all getting the love you deserve and that you all feel appreciated by those you appreciate.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Christians -v- Na'vi
So, the Vatican is ranting again. This time about Avatar. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/vatican-slams-avatar-prom_n_419949.html
"Pseudo-doctrines that turn ecology into the religion of the millennium." Feckin' nutters. 'Worship' of, or belief and 'faith' in nature are the ONLY things that will rescue us after centuries of slowly trying to kill our own planet. Worshipping their sky fairy hasn't done us any favours has it? Holy Wars, sexism, homophobia, institutionalised paedophilia... all in the name of their 'God'. Our pagan ancestors had it right. Nature propagates life, all the bible propagates is hate and fear. IF, and it's a big if, Jesus ever did exist, I think he'd hate the book. Any peaceful, loving, message he may've wanted spreading, has been twisted so absolutely that he wouldn't recognise much of it as his voice.
What I like about the Vatican article, however, is that the 'the church' actually saw deeper levels of meaning in the film, something A LOT of people didn't. (I also like the image of a bunch of cardinals and bishops chomping on popcorn in the dark in those new IMAX 3D glasses. And those hats!!! You wouldn't want the seat behind them would you?) Anyway, some people have said the story is weak and it's all about the effects!!! I reckon any film that has the church bleeting on... can't be weak.
Anyway, I'd rather believe in the Na'vi story than the Christian one. They're both fairytales, but one has more truth and hope in it than the other.
Hey-ho!
"Pseudo-doctrines that turn ecology into the religion of the millennium." Feckin' nutters. 'Worship' of, or belief and 'faith' in nature are the ONLY things that will rescue us after centuries of slowly trying to kill our own planet. Worshipping their sky fairy hasn't done us any favours has it? Holy Wars, sexism, homophobia, institutionalised paedophilia... all in the name of their 'God'. Our pagan ancestors had it right. Nature propagates life, all the bible propagates is hate and fear. IF, and it's a big if, Jesus ever did exist, I think he'd hate the book. Any peaceful, loving, message he may've wanted spreading, has been twisted so absolutely that he wouldn't recognise much of it as his voice.
What I like about the Vatican article, however, is that the 'the church' actually saw deeper levels of meaning in the film, something A LOT of people didn't. (I also like the image of a bunch of cardinals and bishops chomping on popcorn in the dark in those new IMAX 3D glasses. And those hats!!! You wouldn't want the seat behind them would you?) Anyway, some people have said the story is weak and it's all about the effects!!! I reckon any film that has the church bleeting on... can't be weak.
Anyway, I'd rather believe in the Na'vi story than the Christian one. They're both fairytales, but one has more truth and hope in it than the other.
Hey-ho!
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