quinze
This is a still from Amelie, one of my favourite films both because of its story about dreamers and its unusual red-and-green palette – perfectly illustrated by this shot of Paris looking down from Montmartre…
null island
Once upon a time there lived a man on an island drenched in the tang of spray and scent of pine where the forest river ran into the cove, in a rivulet silvery-grey…
creative self-portraits
I've used flickr for nearly a decade as a convenient way of sharing my photos. But as well as using it to share my own work, I also participate in flickr groups…
anti-Fabianism
If you search the web to find out about the Fabian Society, among the factual websites you will find a number of web sites aimed at alerting the world about the dangers of socialism, and especially about Fabianism…
then again, who does?
It's too bad she won't live... but then again, who does? (Gaff in “Bladerunner”)…
axes of political philosophy
Some of my social media contacts have recently been playing with a political co-ordinates test. It asks 36 questions and sorts you onto a two-dimensional grid, where the two axes are Left/Right and Communitarian/Liberal. It gives some examples…
bucket lists
I keep stumbling across “bucket lists” (things to do before you kick it) on the internet. Evidently it's a big, popular thing. I suspect most of them are made by young people, just setting out on their adult life. Travel…
indulge me
DECKARD: What's that going to prove? TYRELL: Indulge me. (from “Bladerunner”) I love how this film is so rich in tiny details. When Dr. Eldon Tyrell says “indulge me” he makes the sign of benediction to Deckard. It's so momentary…
cycling on TV
As I settle in to watch some of this year's Giro d'Italia on satellite TV, I feel lucky to have enough time to spare to watch road races unfold live, rather than relying on "highlights" (inevitably focussing on the end…
virtual worlds
Virtual worlds have come a long way since I first got access to computer networks in the second half of the 1980s. MUDs were like the text adventure games I enjoyed (and had written a couple of on my BBC…
pardon my yawn
As an alumnus of three UK universities, I regularly get communications from them written in a tone of breathless excitement about some new development concerning their organisational structure. Birmingham University constantly reorganises, renames and rebrands itself and throws abbreviations at…
peace
Peace is the only battle worth waging. -Albert Camus…