In The City

Lowry Centre, from Pevsner Architectural Guide

Been away in Manchester for a couple of days, and I have to pay tribute to a couple of things about the place:

1) The music. This goes without saying - let's just start with The Buzzcocks, Joy Division, The Fall, New Order, The Smiths, Happy Mondays and imagine where it goes from there.

2) Redevelopment. Photo above shows the Lowry Centre at Salford Quays, which as well as being a modern piece of architecture also houses the Lowry collection. Beautiful all round.

3) The Fab Cafe. Where else can you dance to the Pixies in front of a Dalek with "E.T." playing on TV screens round the bar? (?Mike Joyce - really?)

I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour....which reminds me:

The Denial Twist

More that's great about Manchester - the Manchester Passion was one of the most audacious and thought-provoking things on TV over Easter this year (or any year).

The scene was set (also on YouTube, via a "behind the scenes" video) to "You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side" by Morrissey, and the vid above ("Love Will Tear Us Apart" sung by Jesus at the Last Supper) was silencing.

Other highlights (if that's the right word) were Judas (played by James' Tim Booth) singing "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now", and then Jesus singing "Sit Down" and rescuing it from the lame student anthem it has become - investing it with meaning. Tim Booth must have been very happy...

Rock Lobster

Lobster creels, photo by VikingChild

This one is fairly simple - I live in a seaside (fishing) town, so here are some lobster pots stacked outside a shed.

I like the fact that our fishing heritage has not been completely lost to oil, and that such things are caught (and eaten) near here, with many good fish restaurants dotted round the North East coast - just some are the Silver Darlings, Creel Inn, and the Tolbooth.

Back to literature - the Silver Darlings is named after the Neil M. Gunn novel of 1941 about uprooted crofting communities of the Highland clearances turning to the sea and to fishing. Perhaps there's a message too about adapting to circumstance, as now fishing communities adapt and change. A Scots classic, and worth a read.

Hairstyle of the Devil

B.L.Zebubb. Picture from Wikipedia (under "Fair Use")

There's a certain song, by a certain band (clue: yesterday's post). First time I heard it, I knew that the voices were taken from a cartoon I remember from - ooooh, way back when - but what was it? The cartoon (thank you, Google) is called "The Devil and Daniel Mouse". The main theme is the familiar Faustian one of selling a soul to the Devil, for fame, in this case. The voice of B. L. Zebubb is wonderful (even without the pictures) and downright scary in parts. Witness:

"According to our contract, at precisely midnight, at the moment of her greatest triumph, the party of the first part, that's you, agrees to render up her soul now and forever more to the party of the second part, that's me. "

(it's not the same without the voice, though - go find the song, if not the cartoon)

A bit more digging (thank you Wikipedia) has enlightened me. OK, there is a direct line to Faust, but a more direct one to a short story published in the US in 1938 by Stephen Vincent Benét called "The Devil and Daniel Webster". The themes therein are even more intricate, exploring US patriotism, the problem of slavery and of course the concept of the Devil himself. It was turned into a film, and won an Oscar for Best Actor (Walter Huston). Not only that but the Simpsons turned it into a parody (The Devil and Homer Simpson) in which Homer sold his soul for a donut. AND there's a new version (directed by Alex Baldwin) sitting on a shelf somewhere.

See, TV and rock music can be educational! I now find myself more educated and informed. Now I have to read the short story...it's a Penguin Classic, still available.

Bela Lugosi's Dead

Call the fashion police, there's a vampire around...

I'm a sucker for a vampire flick (ha ha, see my joke there??) . Today we had the treat of going to a one-off showing of the Lost Boys at the cinema. Now, I'm of the opinion that if you were a certain age in 1987, you are divided into two camps: those that liked "The Lost Boys", and those that liked "Dirty Dancing". No guesses as to the camp in which I decided to hammer my tent pegs.

So, 19 years later, the verdict? Well, the fashion is, at the very least, frightening. If you've ever seen the episode of Friends where Chandler and Ross are 80's throwbacks (The One With All The Thanksgivings), then you're half-way there to the real horror at the heart of this film. The mullets are unforgivable - Alex Winter (later "Ted" of Bill & Ted) was later tried by the fashion police and sentenced to starring alongside Keanu Reeves for his crimes against hair. The background music is 80's electro-clunk. The band at the Santa Clara gig are more-hair-than-talent-rock. And they saved up their effects budget ($7.50 by the looks of it) for the final scenes.

BUT....it's still a cracking film. My remembrance of the film was dominated by the feeling that Keifer Sutherland had been miscast - but I have now changed my mind. I'd forgotten the strong performances by the younger cast members (the two Coreys, Haim and Feldman, in particular), the Jaws-like structure (it's a long time before the "reveal") and the great tongue-in-cheek comedy, played absolutely straight. Two examples:

Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman): As a matter of fact, we're almost certain ghouls and werewolves occupy high positions at city hall.

Sam Emerson (Corey Haim): My own brother a goddamn, shit-sucking vampire! Oh, you wait 'til mom finds out, buddy.

There is a direct line from Lost Boys to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series, let's ignore the film) in terms of the humour, the use of a strong young cast and the use of a vampire mythology without patronising the audience. No "quick, we must get some holy water which is anathema to these creatures of the night" moments.

All together now: (dum, dum, dum, dum) People are strange, when you're a stranger, faces are ugly, when you're along....

Here Comes The Rain Again

Tornado in the Wizard of Oz

Well, it has rained all day. Sheesh, it has rained all week. Of course Wimbledon is not so far away, so the rain will be building up especially to cause anxious moment for the schedulers, but being Brits we love to talk about the weather.
The truth is this: our weather is not so bad. We don't get mad extremes, just enough to make us conscious of the seasons passing. There is a joke that if you don't like the weather here, wait an hour - and we do get all 4 seasons in one day. But extreme weather is extremely rare, unlike in...

...Mid America - the tornado belt. The first time we drove through North Dakota, we drove through an amazing thunder & lightning storm only to discover the next day a tornado had passed through nearby. Then, two years ago, when we were driving across the US, we were in Iowa (near the Field of Dreams). We had left a stormy Chicago behind, and the rain had followed us, but suddenly the radio cut out and a loud alarm sounded (the 1050 Hz tone, below), followed by an electronic voice (think Stephen Hawking): "Extreme Weather Warning". Apparently there was cyclical activity in the clouds and everyone was advised to get indoors (and into the cellar immediately). This was not really an option for us! It also didn’t help that we didn’t really know which county we were in at any particular time. Once the warning was passed the local DJ showed his ironic side by playing the song title of this post.

Found these guidelines (albeit for Colorado, but same idea).
"Only the most imminent life- and property-threatening hazards are broadcasted with the SAME signal and 1050 Hertz warning alarm tone, where the public has to take immediate action to protect themselves and their property. An operational guideline is that messages are alerted only for hazards urgent enough to warrant waking people up in the "middle of the night" or otherwise interrupting someone's activities at any time."

OK, I'm scared now.

Toto...we're not in Kansas any more - and that's maybe a good thing, we're safer with our standard rain here!

Hoppipolla

Extra post to finish off the Iceland series, dedicated to natives Sigur Ros! Some of the pictures are in posts elsewhere, with more explanation - see the sidebar for my travel posts.

Sometimes this disappears if I've edited, so apologies.

Hail TV!

I enjoy the "formulaic" or "procedural" American dramas - stuff like CSI (original, Miami and New York), Without A Trace, House - you get the idea. Most of these (save WoT) are on Channel Five here, which unless we watch it through Sky is a bit of a snowy picture...

The premise is that the program is based more on the procedure. For example:

1) CSI - crime committed, evidence collected, evidence analysed, suspects questioned, wrong avenues explored, breakthrough, crime solved.

2) House - Someone falls ill with unexplained illness. Dr. Gregory House gets involved. Is rude to all involved, upsets family. Usually whiteboard produced for "differential diagnosis". First diagnosis seems to be correct, but ultimately makes things worse. Few more false starts, then unlikely solution arrived at, patient nursed back to health. Mostly.

3) Without a Trace. Whiteboard again. The person has, in fact, left "a trace" so they get found. (I have one problem with WoT and that's the memory of Anthony LaPaglia in "Frasier" with the worst accent ever ever ever - worse than Dick van Dyke in "Mary Poppins" - AND he should have been from Manchester and he won a blinkin Emmy for it and ......[sniiiiiip]).

I like these because they "do what they say on the tin". They're also not as procedural as claimed - in CSI we find out about Grissom's background slowly, his hearing loss is revealed in bits early on - but no big reveal. In House, we know he is a big grump with a bad leg and a dependency on self-medication, but slowly we find out more about this until one big reveal episode. So there is some humanity there as well, but it's more like being at work where you find about people in fits and starts - and some people you may never know.

Adam Faith's last words were (allegedly) "Channel Five's all shit, isn't it?" Not quite all, Adam.

China Girl

Steamer of Dim Sum, photo by Vikingchild

Back to food! This time Dim Sum, and the photo is rushed because I couldn't wait to wire into it. It's usually a daytime snack meal, in which (a bit like Tapas) you can order lots of dishes to share, which is also a nice thing about it. My earliest experience with Dim Sum was in London, and I remember once going with a large group of friends - sitting round a huge Lazy Susan so that we could effectively share the treats.

The restaurant we went to then, and still continue to frequent, is Chuen Cheng Ku in Wardour Street (Soho). It looks quite small from the outside, but is massive inside, with many linked rooms so it doesn't feel too cavernous. It's speedy, busy and chaotic, service is brisk and efficient (some web sites say rude, but they're missing the point).

We're not too cut off in the frozen North. A couple of years back there was a great place locally, in the basement of a more conventional Chinese Buffet restaurant. It felt like a hidden place, a secret, somewhere you only knew about through word of mouth. Unfortunately it's gone now, but there is a new replacement which also has the advantage of being next door to a huge Chinese/Oriental supermarket (you can take the treats home!). Thank God for multiculturalism.

Rage Hard

Larry David, from HBO

I love "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Actually I hate "Curb Your Enthusiasm". I watch from behind my hands, cringing at every embarrassing moment. To the uninitiated, Larry David was the co-creator of Seinfeld, but in this series he plays a version of himself, in wildly exaggerated and slightly offensive form. Think Basil Fawlty living in LA. The show is somewhat improvised and relies on a wonderful cast, but follows a general story arc. This arc can take time to develop - Series 4, in which Larry is cast in the live musical verson of "The Producers", is particularly satisfying in this respect.

I love "Curb Your Enthusiasm", and will cringe along to it as long as it continues its high standards. I love the fact it is on HBO and is allowed to be the way it is. Thank you to More4 in the UK for showing it (and also the Beeb for the early series). Any Brit who sneers at US comedy should lie down in shame before this. Ricky Gervais is a huge fan, I'm glad to say.

The consequences when Larry files an obituary for his "beloved aunt" make me laugh to this day, and makes me thank HBO (or the powers that be) that censorship hasn't quite invaded every corner of our society. Hoorah!

A Rock and a Hard Place

Basalt colums descending - Photo by Vikingchild

Back to the Iceland travelogue! The picture above shows the formation of basalt columns at the beach near Reynir, in the south of Iceland (near Vik). These form from lava flow and can be seen in places such as the Giant's Causeway in Ireland and the Devil's Postpile in California

I love the formation of the hexagons. When crystals form, they tend to have a shape that reflects the underlying structure at the atomic scale (the crystal structure). However, in this case, we're talking big and we're talking about geology, and lava, and things that aren't chemically pure. Basalt is far from pure! So the formation of the big hexagons doesn't reflect the underlying symmetry, but the forces of nature. As the lava cools, there is natural shrinkage, which leads to strains and cracking. Nature likes hexagons (see: honeycomb) as hexagons conveniently pack, or tesselate. That's why many tiling patterns - lino, paving - comes as hexagonal. So, cracking of the lava into hexagonal columns is an easy way to relieve the strain whilst minimising gaps. There you go.

It's also nice to look at even if you don't know how it forms! But this reminds me of the story of when Richard Feynman was once told that science makes things dull. Read his response here...

Ride A White Swan

Swan Lake, photo by Vikingchild

I think if I was to be a bird, I'd want to be a water bird. Being able to fly and swim (and walk, kinda) seems like a fair deal. So perhaps I'd want to be a swan...

We watched these swans on Saturday as we were having a meal at the Riverhouse restaurant in Stirling (highly recommended, by the way). There is a small pond outside, and as we went in a male swan was sitting at the side of the water, quite content. After a while he got on into the water, and went out of sight. He then appeared, gliding forward, the wife and six kids behind him, all in a row. All those sitting by the window stopped to watch!

They saw off a few ducks, but then a larger threat came in the shape of an Alsation (German Shepherd) dog on the land. The dog didn't mean any harm, but it was there. The male swan slowly approached the dog, who was a bit dim and didn't seem to be aware of the threat the swan posed until the white bird started to make itself large. At this point the dog did a good bit of slinking off, trying to save face.

I like the idea of swans. They more or less mate for live, grieve for their mate should one die, bring up the young together and of course they look so graceful. Except when they do that weird thing of sticking up a leg and putting it under their wing!! The Swan Sanctuary in the UK has an FAQ full of interesting swan info.. And yes, the Queen owns all the mute swans here!

I Am The Fly

A Midgie: SEM Image

We spent the weekend with my in-laws in Central Scotland, the beautiful area around Stirling. I love the area, and Stirling itself is beautiful - the flat plain around it from where you can see both the Castle and the Wallace Monument. The history is all around - of course, it's the Bannockburn area, the whole "Braveheart" thang and the 1314 date which is imprinted on all Scots. However, though yesterday was nice, today the weather was dreich all day, and mild, which led to the appearance of my friend above - the dreaded Scottish midgie.

Now, I grew up in coastal town, blissfully unaware of these beasties. I was also, typical of most Scots, a gentle shade of blue and therefore unattractive to most biting creatures. Thus even when camping in Arran I wasn't bothered by the little creatures. However, now I'm older and more succulent they like to bite me. Grrr.

They love still, damp, warm conditions so central areas (remote from the sea) are ideal for them - and the west coast is notorious for midge attacks. It's so bad they've even started a "midge watch" in one of the newspapers, a bit like the pollen count....

Don't go out, there's a midge about! It ruins holidays, it ruins otherwise nice summer evenings. It's a war.

Bigmouth Strikes Again

Let's set the scene. George Bush is doing a press call in the Rose Garden. Surrounded by more Star Spangled Banners than you can shake a Texan at, he conducted the whole affair in a matey style, addressing reporters by name, "like the tie, Eric" kinda vibe. Peter Wallsten of the LA Times is the next reporter to ask a question...

Bush: "Are you going to ask that question with shades on?"
Wallsten: "I can take them off"
Bush: "I'm interested in the shade look.....seriously"
Wallsten: "All right, I'll keep it, then."
Bush: "For the viewers, there's no sun."
(Some laughs).
Wallsten: "I guess it depends on your perspective"
Bush: "Touché"

Peter Wallsten is registered blind.

Feel free to cringe for a while.

The apology was swift... but to be fair Wallsten was sanguine about the gaffe, pointing out that he doesn't like to be treated differently. Good on him.

The Passenger

Scottish train journey (OK, it wasn't like this!)

It's been a mad week. Yesterday I went to Glasgow for the day, by train. I like the train in the summer (as long as it's not mid-day and boiling hot) and yesterday morning was beautiful. The views down the coast reminded me of what a beautiful country this is, and made me feel a bit of a tourist, which is always nice.

As we cut across country, we entered the rolling hills of central Scotland, green and lush still, with the sun glinting off rivers and burns. It was nice to not be on the road, especially through rush hour. On approaching Perth we did that weird thing you do on trains - sneak past people's back gardens. I alway find this strangely voyeuristic (which I suppose it is). Snap-shots of scenes get imprinted on your memory, and my particular one of yesterday was a cat in a greenhouse, back arched, tail standing upright like a toilet brush, jaws wide open and teeth bared. What at, of course I couldn't tell!

On approach to Glasgow another imprint was half an Action Man stuck in a siding.

The top half.

I Travel

From world66.com: Create your own personalized map

Just getting to the stage of planning our holiday this year, to the US and Canada. The map above shows where we've already visited - in red (although my other half hasn't been to N. Dakota, we've been to all the others together). It's maybe from this obvious where we'll go this time - spot the gap!

Couple of years back we drove across the US, from Boston to San Diego, which is where we picked up most of our states, although a north-east trip also collected a number as well. Great experiences and very varied experiences too.

It's not about collecting states, of course, but rather seeing things, whether it's the natural beauty (Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, the plains of Iowa), man-made wonders (Mt. Rushmore, Las Vegas) or cities (New York, Chicago, San Francisco). My love of San Diego will no doubt find its way onto this blog at some point! But this year we desert San Diego for the north-west. Perhaps after Iceland we need to see the "equivalents" in the US - Lava Lands, Yellowstone (including Old Faithful) and also edge across the border as well. We've been to Seattle and Vancouver before, so as well as revisiting these beautiful cities we will probably drift towards Snoqualmie and North Bend for a damn fine cup of coffee. And if you don't know what that means....

Five Years

Shanksville, PA, from Reuters on September11.com

Went to see "United 93" last night. On first hearing about it, I went through the (probably) predictable reactions: "It's too soon"; "Why make entertainment out of this?"; "What will the relatives think?"; "I won't be able to watch it"...and so on. I really didn't think that this, general release, film, would add anything to the general information (and existing documentaries) already in the public domain. Having been in the US on 9/11, I didn't think I could cope.

But the reviews were stellar. Empire magazine gave it five stars. I became intrigued.

So armed with a handful of hankies, we went to see it...

Wow. This is a stunning, stunning film. It is, of course, distressing. But the tone, the execution, the whole thing is excellent. The director (Paul Greengrass) has managed to highlight the mundanity of flight (you almost feel like one of the passengers, hearing snippets of conversation, recognising, but not knowing the names of, fellow passengers), contrasting this with the audiences knowledge of what it going to happen. Like Titanic, we know what is going to happen. But the reflection of the confusion on the ground, the panic and misinformation, was spot on. It recalled perfectly the feeling we had watching the events unfold on CNN - the initial confusion over what had happened to the first tower, the dawning realisation of the true horror, the panic over how many aircraft were actually involved... There is no "Hollywood-isation"....save a rather unfortunate depiction of a European of some flavour. We don't get to know the names of the passengers, although some are recognisable from coverage at the time (Todd Beamer, Tom Burnett, Mark Bingham for example). Many of the ATC staff are playing themselves (including the FAA's Ben Sliney), which is also a master stroke - and it isn't dumbed down, they use the language of their jobs. Much like "West Wing", we might not understand every word, but we get the drift.

Harrowing - yes. Entertainment - no. Necessary - most definitely.

We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful

It must be something in the air. Perhaps it's the smell of degree results coming out, or the fear involved in that process, but in the past week I've run into 3 former students. All very different - 2 got 1sts, the other a PhD - but they are all doing well, and contrary to the title of this post I'm delighted.

Degree result time is a stressful period - not only for the students! Everything is agonised over, argued over, discussed and dissected. Then a month later - graduation, and the feeling that your children are leaving home. Sometimes you never see them again, but when you do it's nice to find out what they're doing, to see them developing, changing.

Then I think back and remember that it was once me...

Sympathy for the Devil

The original scary kid

The Omen 666. A very faithful cover version...but I still jumped a mile when the dogs attacked.... and the beheading was very, erm, imaginative....

OK, the comment. I like horror films. Sheesh, I like films. But I have to ask about what's going on. Sitting through the trailers recently, we get (for example): Omen 666 (remake), MI-3 (sequel), Poseidon Adventure (remake), Superman (?sequel), Casino Royale (remake/sequel). Spot a trend?

Then again, having sat through the Omen 666 with the majority of the audience being too young to remember the first one (heck, technically I'm too young to remember the first one), you can see the point. They don't want to see some "old film", even if it has more merit. Shine it up! FX it up! Make everyone in it younger! What was the original about again?

I remain unconvinced.

Dancing In The Street

Yesterday was the first Saturday in June, and round these parts that means only one thing: the Stonehaven Feein' Market. The origin of this lies in the strong farming community, and the market was to bring together farmers wanting to hire help, and those looking for work. All would get together (and for many looking for work this meant a long journey) and haggle hiring prices, or fees (hence the name). Many towns had such a thing, so those unlucky ones could move on to a similar event elsewhere.

Those days are long gone now, but the tradition continues with a celebration days, market stalls, music, dancing and food and a festive atmosphere. Many stall-holders dress up in an olde style to hark back to the historic roots. It seems to be getting bigger each year, possibly with the concomitant revival in Farmer's Markets round the country - so "professional" marketeers rub shoulders with local amateur groups! My favourite is always the stall that serves stovies, this year the Kinneff Young Farmers - thanks, guys...!

Release the Bats

Photo from the BCT

Out in the garden this afternoon I found a bat which had fallen into a bucket of water, and was desperately trying to get out. Goodness knows how long he had been there, bearing in mind they are a nocturnal species, but I got him out and he was obviously exhausted, sat panting on the ground for a while. Have left him to dry out a bit, but bats are protected species (and I'm a big softie at heart) so I may have to get something done to help him. There is a national "bat phone" (the Bat Conservation Trust) for information, so I'll add more details once I know more.

Update 1: As he was on the ground, it was necessary to move him in case a cat got hold of him. It's normally illegal to handle bats, but not if it's a matter of saving it. Took advice from the BCT web site. So he's now sitting in a little house, on a glove, on top of our pergola (height needed for flying). He has a rag (for snuggling into) and a dish of water. It's raining, so he won't want to fly away yet (especially as he is still very bedraggled).

Update 2: Billy, as he came to be known, stayed the night in his comfy little home, and was still there next morning, all fluffed up and lively. It was still lashing rain in the morning, but once it cleared up and dried out he flew away. Good luck, Billy!

No More Affairs

Richard E. Grant, Photo from NT

Saw the film "Wah Wah" last weekend. Written and directed by Richard E. Grant, it's a barely disguised autobiographical tale. It's told through his eyes as a young boy, growing up at the end of the British rule in Swaziland, watching the disintegration of both the British community, as it faces independence, and - more importantly to him - his parents marriage. The title comes from his American step-mother, who described all the English "hoity-toity" talk as "wah wah".

It's got a wonderful cast: Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson (at her icy best), Emily Watson (playing the aforesaid American, against usual type), the ubiquitous Julie Waters and her Acorn Antiques sparring partner, Celia Imrie (playing a wonderfully horrid "Lady") and is a beautifully observed piece of film-making, filmed on location, with subtle themes woven within the main story.

Go see.