Sites I like
Paisley week - Ooh, I love purple!
Remember the diminutive singer who turned Sheena Easton into a naughty girl, sorted out most radio stations' playlists in the lead up to the (wrongly placed) celebrations for the new millennium, and who was the soundtrack to Jack Nicholson's Joker destroying Gotham museum? Well, he tried so hard to make paisley fashionable by starting up his own record label called Paisley Park but, not being known as a style icon, didn't manage to get the pattern back in every designer's catwalk show. Still, Paisley Park itself sounds like an interesting place if his lyrics are anything to go by: "The smile on their faces, it speaks of profound inner peace ". Not one of his better lines. I much prefer: "Now move your big ass 'round this way so I can work on that zipper, baby".
Posted on February 28, 2004 | Comments (1)
Paisley week - Dalmatians
Just when I thought ideas were going to be thin on the ground for the rest of the week, I discovered Paisleyland, home of the Paisley Dalmatian. My god these fellas are cute! If Chris could find the time to 'shop one of these pics for the
While we're all sat waiting for an adaptation of one of these lovely photos (I know which one I'd choose), here's some really bad anagrams of Paisley... EASY LIP, AYE LIPS, AYE SLIP, AYE LISP, YEA LIPS, YEA SLIP, YEA LISP, SAIL YEP, LAYS PIE, SLAY PIE, LAY PIES, YAPS LIE, PAYS LIE, SPAY LIE, PAY ISLE, PAY LIES, PAY LESI, YAP ISLE, YAP LIES, AS YE LIP
Posted on February 26, 2004 | Comments (8)
Paisley week - Town facts
- It is the largest town in Scotland with a population of over 79,000
- Its growth in the early 19th century was because of the textile industry
- Paisley was also known for its shipbuilding and engineering industries
- One possible meaning of the town's name is "moist pasture-land"
- It is the administrative headquarters of the Renfrew District of Styrathclyde
- Paisley has had a university since 1992
- The university has a student population of over 10,000
- Paisley Abbey was founded in 1163 and its stained glass is currently being restored
- Poet Robert Tannahill was born in Paisley in 1774
- It is also the birthplace of the slightly more famous artist and playwright John Byrne
Posted on February 25, 2004 | Comments (2)
Paisley week - Politics
Years ago, when I was doing GCSE coursework, I had to do a project on the conflict in Northern Ireland. That year, a small child was killed and so our cuttings books all contained tabloid front pages with a photo of a soldier carrying a small coffin covered in a union flag. I remember that photo and I remember how seemingly impossible this problem had been to get our heads around, and so I have given very little thought to politics in that region until today. In an effort to stop Paisley week from turning into a rant about the patterned fabric that is to be found in branches of Tie Rack everywhere, I actually looked up the name Ian Paisley.
My search told me that the Reverend Dr Ian Richard Kyle Paisley has been a prominent figure in Ulster politics since the 1960s and is now the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. Labelled by many as a bigot for his outspoken views on the Catholic Church, he once said no to Margaret Thatcher and has described line dancing as 'sinful'. Much as I'd like to seem educated and go into greater detail here, I can't be bothered, and I suspect no one is reading this now anyway. I must pick a more interesting theme for next week.
Posted on February 24, 2004 | Comments (9)
Paisley week - Paisley pattern
The famous comma shaped pattern we now know as 'paisley' did not actually originate from the Scottish town of the same name. The pattern was used on shawls made in Kashmir which were brought to Britain by the East India Company in the mid 18th century. They quickly became the latest 'must have' item for any fashionable lady of the time but, due to the short supply, were far too expensive for most. Seeing the obvious demand, British textile manufacturers imitated the design and sold a great deal of these copies for considerably less than the originals. Rather than a direct copy, the motif itself was reinterpreted and developed to conform to British tastes (as would happen with Indian cuisine a couple of centuries later). The designers and weavers working in Paisley were extermely skilled at the production of this fabric and, as their fame spread, the design itself adopted the name of the town. Thankfully, for people with taste in the 21st century, the design is no longer fashionable; but it's only a matter of time before Top Shop decide to inflict it upon us once more. You have been warned.
Posted on February 23, 2004 | Comments (1)
Film week - Big screen vs. small screen
As the news breaks that yet another TV show is to be made into a movie, I can't help but wonder what sort of scriptwriting genius it takes to transfer a 30 minute chunk of small-screen wonder into a couple of hours of big-screen bliss. South Park made the leap so prospects for The Simpsons could be good but, although classic TV series can sometimes make the jump to remake territory with reasonable success, I don't know if using a movie to tie up the final loose ends of a current show like Sex and the City will necessarily work. I'm sure there are a lot more concepts that have gone the other way though, with varying degrees of success - the most notable being Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So, let's get creative. What TV show would you like to see on the big screen and what film would make an interesting small screen series? I'd like a movie of CSI and a reality TV show based on School of Rock. Hey, it couldn't be any worse than Back to Reality.
Posted on February 21, 2004 | Comments (1)
Film week - Antici... pation
It's a while since I was interested in news about a film in pre-production (probably the last Bond outing, in fact), but every snippet that filters through about Batman: Intimidation manages to grab my attention. After the unashamed fromage of the 1960s TV series, Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne inhabiting Tim Burton's Gotham seemed like perfection before Joel Schumacher took over, giving the dark knight's world a nasty neon glow. I thought the horror that was Batman & Robin had killed the franchise off completely but, when Christopher Nolan (director of the wonderful Memento) was announced as the man behind the camera for Batman 5, things started to look good again. Now we also have a new Batman (Christian Bale), Alfred (Michael Caine), love interest (Katie Holmes) and bad guy (Cillian Murphy), I actually can't wait for them to get the damn thing filmed.
Is this anticipation a good thing though? I got so excited about Matrix Reloaded from the gradual build up of hype that my disappointment on first viewing the film was perhaps inevitable. Would I have cared so much about Halle Berry's breasts being the only redeeming feature of Die Another Day if the build up to the movie's release hadn't been so big? In a way, it's like the marketing of singles these days - over a month of teasing with airplay before you can buy the things in an attempt to get those all important first week sales. The opening weekend box-office takings are such a big thing now that we hear a lot about films years before we will ever see them, which I assume is an attempt to make us desperate visit the cinema at the first opportunity. I suppose that's what makes discovering a movie only after it's been released (e.g. Donnie Darko), even more thrilling.
Posted on February 20, 2004 | Comments (8)
Film week - Top 100
Why do lists of favourite movies, even when voted for by hundreds and thousands of people, differ so much? OK, so The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption will always be lurking around the top, but the rest of one list could be remarkably different to another. Take the top 100 as voted for on the IMDb (as I shall be watching most of the top 50 this year, it's a fine example), and compare it to the top 100 as voted for by readers of Empire magazine*. There's so many films I haven't seen in the IMDb list, yet so many I have in the Empire list. Is it that IMDb voters are from all over the world, that Empire readers vote again every year, or that film students don't vote in magazine polls? What does make a good film anyway?
*I didn't realise the Empire list wasn't on the website when I started to write this entry so I've reproduced the magazine's listing below.
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
4. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
5. The Shawshank Redemption
6. The Godfather
7. Pulp Fiction
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
9. Fight Club
10. Jaws
11. Jurassic Park
12. Blade Runner
13. Goodfellas
14. The Godfather Part II
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark
16. Grease
17. Raging Bull
18. The Usual Suspects
19. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
20. Taxi Driver
21. Donnie Darko
22. Citizen Kane
23. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
24. Casablanca
25. 2001: A Space Odessey
26. Schindler’s List
27. Kill Bill Vol. 1
28. Gladiator
29. Lawrence of Arabia
30. The Big Lebowski
31. American Beauty
32. Aliens
33. Back to the Future
34. It’s a Wonderful Life
35. Apocalypse Now
36. Magnolia
37. Moulin Rouge!
38. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
39. Memento
40. Leon
41. Seven
42. Heat
43. L.A. Confidential
44. Gone with the Wind
45. Vertigo
46. Forrest Gump
47. Seven Samurai
48. Some Like it Hot
49. Reservoir Dogs
50. Saving Private Ryan
51. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
52. Dr Strangelove
53. Scarface
54. The Shining
55. Singin’ in the Rain
56. The Matrix
57. Titanic
58. Ghostbusters
59. Die Hard
60. Fargo
61. Once Upon a Time in the West
62. Trainspotting
63. Once Upon a Time in America
64. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
65. Withnail and I
66. Amélie
67. Stand By Me
68. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
69. Good Will Hunting
70. The Third Man
71. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
72. Psycho
73. The Silence of the Lambs
74. The Terminator
75. Alien
76. Rear Window
77. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
78. Grosse Point Blank
79. The Deer Hunter
80. True Romance
81. Chinatown
82. Cinema Paradiso
83. The Searchers
84. The Wizard of Oz
85. The Great Escape
86. The Wild Bunch
87. JFK
88. North by North West
89. The Graduate
90. 12 Angry Men
91. Annie Hall
92. Spider-man
93. Ben-Hur
94. Platoon
95. Toy Story
96. The Blues Brothers
97. The Exorcist
98. Braveheart
99. The Untouchables
100. City of God
Posted on February 18, 2004 | Comments (2)
Film week - UK industry
There have always been a handful of British films that have been incredibly successful around the world but, in recent years, there has been another cinematic boost to the UK economy with more and more Hollwood productions coming to the UK for filming. This brings a fair bit of money into the country (rather a lot for a few days of filming the Alfie remake in Manchester last year I seem to recall - I'd be more specific if I could find a link to the damn story), so why on earth does this government of ours think that scaring all these nice rich film makers away is a good thing? Closing a tax loophole that rids the UK of some nice Hollywood cash and Johnny Depp? What were they thinking?
In other news... I'm collecting favourite films over in the forums. Pop by and add yours to the list.
Posted on February 17, 2004 | Comments (2)
Film week - BAFTAs
In the first of four planned theme weeks, aiming to take my mind off how dull the start of the year can get, I'm going to attempt to entertain you with some musings on the motion picture industry. Having just finished writing an article for the F-Word on women in Hollywood, I'm in the mood for a bit more movie writing and the logical place to start this week is with last night's BAFTA ceremony in London. Now situated before the prestigious Academy Awards on the Hollywood calendar, these British awards like to think that they are an indicator of possible success at the Oscars but, unless they really do know how their American counterparts are thinking, I suspect the word 'possible' is the most important. Still, the wins by Scarlett Johansson (Best Actress), Bill Murray (Best Actor) and Renee Zellweger (Best Supporting Actress) were well deserved, but I can't comment on the recipient of the Best Director award as I didn't see Master and Commander. Although I would have tipped Peter Jackson for that, I would guess he is far more pleased with the Best Film award because it honours everyone who worked on Lord of the Rings and he seems like the kind of bloke who'd much rather share the glory.
No matter how many times I say that award ceremonies are pointless industry backslapping, I still can't help but be a teeny bit interested in them. It's nice to see people who have worked very hard get recognition for their efforts other than simply by getting paid. Of course, the most important awards are the ones that no one is really interested in - the ones for editing, production design and the like. The ones where the winners don't get the fame and stratospheric salaries, so an award means that much more to them. Of course, without the famous faces, no one would be interested in the ceremony at all... especially not Heat magazine!
Posted on February 16, 2004 | Comments (5)
Courtney Pine - Manchester Academy 2
Walking down the side of the Student Union building towards Kro Bar for some food, the sound of a jazz saxophonist warming up for his gig wafted over rooftops and mingled with the bustle of people and traffic from Oxford Road, reminding me of the Simpsons episode where Lisa meets Bleeding Gums Murphy. Later, in the SU bar, we mingled with a crowd who were there to see the other gig of the night - Scissor Sisters - and marvelled at their almost universal 'styled by Kelly Osbourne, hair by Kajagoogoo' look. The jazz fans weren't quite as easy to spot. We moved upstairs to the venue and joined an absurdly enthusiastic crowd enjoying the last of the support act's accomplished Spanish-style guitar music. One of the duo explained that the title of the track they were about to play means 'fire' in Catalan and they weren't taking the piss, they just didn't think they'd be playing any English-speaking countries again. Support bands aren't supposed to be good or get you in the mood, surely? I thought they were just there to make the main act look better.
Courtney Pine and his band came on stage pretty much exactly as billed at 8.50pm and, after some introductions, started to impress straight away. A funky mix of jazz and various related styles, the set was extremely enjoyable whilst also leaving me stunned with their sheer talent. A couple of really special musicians in the band were given their chance to shine with Pine putting down his sax to give them centre stage for a few songs. Cameron Pierre was excellent on guitar playing the first song I recognised, a jazz version of Michael Jackson's Human Nature, but the real star turned out to be the guy with the trombone. If you like your jazz funky, you really must check out Dennis Rollins - who could have guessed the 'bone could be so exciting!
All in all, the evening was so good that even the trio of mad dancing stoners near where we were standing couldn't spoil it. A couple more songs that I recognised appeared in the first encore (surprisingly Melanie C's Never be the Same Again and Shanks & Bigfoot's Sweet like Chocolate) and, if it hadn't been for the 11pm curfew, I think they could have played all night. At the end of the set Courtney Pine thanked us for supporting UK jazz but, on this evidence, I can't understand why more people don't.
Posted on February 13, 2004 | Comments (2)
A new hope
I thought they might wait until after Episode 3, but Lucasfilm have surprised me by announcing that the long-awaited arrival of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD will be in September this year. It will be a 4 disc box set, so my dreams of having each of the three films in both original and special edition format may now be a little far fetched, but the fourth disc promises "a feature-length documentary said to be the most comprehensive ever produced about the Star Wars saga", according to the BBC, so there should be plenty to keep me happy. It won't be as comprehensive as the 4 disc set for Return of the King which should be out the following month, but then George Lucas is no Peter Jackson.
As I've been lacking in inspiration for posts this last week or so, I'm thinking of having a few themed weeks. The obvious choice for week one would be films - can any of you come up with some more suggestions?
Posted on February 11, 2004 | Comments (12)
Fame at last?
I've just found out that my first submission to A Picture's Worth is now up on the site. It's a really great idea for a project - submit a photo with an accompanying essay - that works really well. We all have at least one photo that means a lot to us and tells a story, so why not submit one of your own and tell everyone what it means to you.
My little web/photo project is going well too. We have 19 people signed up to the forums at lomomanchester.org now! Do you lomo? Come on, you know you want to.
Posted on February 08, 2004 | Comments (4)
Oblivious?
Sometimes I worry that the world is passing me by as I sit here in a daze, oblivious to what is going on around me. I may not be 100% alert at every waking moment, but at least I don't share my living space with a corpse for 18 months without noticing!
Posted on February 05, 2004 | Comments (5)
Now I remember why I don't drink
Most of the time, I choose to drive rather than drink. This choice stems from a time when I was the only one of my friends who could drive so I would collect them, take us all to the pub and drop them off at the end of the night, making a bit of petrol money and an entire evening's worth of free soft drinks into the bargain. As the years went on, the idea of hanging around in the cold at the end of an evening for a taxi whilst sobering up just enough to make the wait appear that much worse, seemed like a bad plan compared with taking my lovely warm car complete with own choice of music. Also, the cost of alcoholic drinks plus taxis compared to soft drinks plus parking (if I can't find somewhere for free), made sure that I became used to having a good time without drinking. Sometimes, however, I reckon it might be worth not driving. Most of those times, including last night, I am wrong.
We got to the bus stop to find out that the next one going in the right direction was thirty minutes away, so began walking towards Chris's place instead. I'm very unfit and so a plan to walk all the way there was quickly shelved in favour of a bus that smelt like sweaty changing rooms, and we only arrived ridiculously late rather than stupidly so. Turns out that this was a proper cocktail party full of well-dressed people, so I decided that plenty of alcohol was needed to calm the nerves brought on by totally underestimating the phrase 'smart casual' and only knowing three people out of (what seemed like) the hundreds that were there.
I don't remember much of what happened next. I do remember listening to Pink Floyd and sipping excellent whisky at about 2am whilst some of the group tried to show the rest of us how to tie a Full Windsor knot. I also remember walking half of the way home in the pouring rain, giggling like a fool because Topper was jumping triumphantly into giant puddles on the roadside, much like a small child would do if given half the chance. Today has been spent nursing a small but steady headache while trying to dry Topper's water-logged shoes out in front of the fire. He's still in bed.
Next time, I'm driving. Maybe.
Posted on February 01, 2004 | Comments (8)