Fabian Perez: Neo-Emotionalism

Last Saturday Sarah and I went over to Whitewall Galleries in Cheltenham to see the latest exhibition by South American superstar artist Fabian Perez.

This collection, "Neo-Emotionalism" features more of Fabian's signature beautiful women and cool, sharp-suited men...

 Although we didn't buy anything this time ( unlike last year when we bought a signed print and book from the great man ) we just enjoyed the artwork, the free wine... and the chance for a photo op with the man himself...

And here's some more of Fabian's ravishing artwork:

The 8th Doctor ( Slight Return )

The BBC have released an online prequel to next week's Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special, starring the ever-wonderful Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor. This "minisode", The Night Of The Doctor, is the first ( non-audio ) appearance by McGann's Time Lord since his one-night-only turn in the 1996 TV movie. In this short episode we finally get to see the 8th Doctor's regeneration... but not into Christopher Eccleston...

It was a genuine surprise and pleasure to see McGann reprise his role of the Byronic, heart-on-sleeve 8th Doctor, albeit one clearly older and damaged by the Time War. Back in 1996 his interpretation of the character was definitely the best thing about the Anglo/American compromise that was the TV Movie. Sarah and I were instantly captivated by McGann's fresh take on the Doctor and were, along with many others, absolutely gutted that the episode turned out to be a false dawn for Doctor Who. The 8th Doctor's story continued in original books and audio plays, but not in the hoped-for TV series.
We would have to wait another nine years for new Who on TV but, of course, the Doctor was recast and the show moved on, with only the occasional, brief flashback to the previous incarnation. So, it was really lovely to see this fleeting return of an old friend in such an important year for the show. And, obviously, somewhere out there in time and space the 8th Doctor is still having adventures. Maybe he could drop in on us again sometime? How about it, BBC...?

In Flanders Fields

 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae, May 1915

 

"In Flanders Fields" is one of the most poignant and iconic poems to come out of the mud, misery and mayhem of the First World War. It's certainly one that I always recall on Remembrance Sunday. I've also found out today that its author, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, was an ancestor of MD Jackson  -  hugely talented artist, writer, blogger and friend of TGWS. Mike told me that, as a child, he used to read this poem at school Remembrance Day assemblies, because of his family connection. Then, as today, beautiful works of literature or art such as this poem were and are  indispensable means of connecting our modern world, however briefly, to past generations and their unimaginable sacrifices. We must never forget...

Thor: The Dark World

Great Odin's Raven! Thor's back... and this time it's "dark". Well, of course it is  -  there seems to be an unwritten Hollywood law that all blockbuster sequels have to be bigger and darker. Luckily, this second visit to Asgard is a Marvel Studios production which means things don't get too dark and there's still room for some good, old-fashioned fun...

 After the Rainbow Bridge was destroyed in the first movie, the Nine Realms have erupted into chaos and the Asgardians have been busy keeping the peace, which is where we first encounter Thor and his allies, the Warriors Three and the lady Sif, defending peasant villages from marauders. In a nod to Thor's origin story waaaay back in Journey Into Mystery #83 our Asgardian prince even takes on one of the Stone Men from Saturn and reduces him to rubble...

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Thor's physicist girlfriend, Jane Foster, stumbles across another of those ancient, cosmic power-sources that always seem to be waiting to be discovered in the Marvel Universe. This MacGuffin, the Aether, belonged to the Dark Elves, an evil race from the dawn of time, who were defeated by the Asgardians before they could plunge the cosmos into darkness. The discovery of the Aether is a wake-up call for the Dark Elves' leader, Malekith ( Chris "The Doctor" Eccleston ), who promptly emerges from his ages-long sleep, assembles an army and heads to Asgard for vengeance.

Thor: The Dark World is, as I said above, a load of fun. Plenty of world-hopping action and mayhem, Chris Hemsworth proving again to be an effortlessly charismatic Thunder God, a couple of pleasing cameos ( one being from Stan The Man of course ), a surprising amount of humour ( Thor takes the Tube? ) to counterpoint all the apocalyptic chaos, beefed-up roles for Renee Russo and Idris Elba, and a far greater time spent in the fantastically well-realised Realm Eternal than in the previous movie. And then, of course, there's Loki...

Yet again, Tom Hiddleston almost hijacks the whole movie as the scheming, lying, charming God of Mischief. His scenes with Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman are a delight and there are a couple of third act twists and turns involving his character that are worth the price of admission on their own. Chris Eccleston, however, as main bad guy Malekith is not so well served and could have done with a few more scenes to really make an impact. The same goes for the Warriors Three and Jaimie Alexander as warrior maiden Sif  -  please can we have more Sif next time, Marvel execs? She's awesome and it's about time she made a move on our favourite Thunder God. Anyway, these are only minor quibbles. I enjoyed the film immensely ( gotta rate it Four Out Of Five Uru Hammers )... and so did James, whose comment as we left the cinema was "That's another one for Blu-Ray..."
So sayeth we all!

Soundtrack: So Much For The City by The Thrills ( whatever happened to them...? )

Happy Halloween!

Lou Reed

Very sad tonight to hear of the death of the great Lou Reed at the age of 71. Of course, you don't need me to tell you about Lou Reed, do you? The man was a true legend of rock music. Songwriter, Velvet Underground leader, grumpy old curmudgeon, reluctant popstar, Andy Warhol collaborator etc. etc. From the anti-Summer Of Love experimentalism of the Velvets' Venus In Furs and White Light / White Heat, through the unexpected pop success of Walk On The Wild Side, right up to the recent, controversial collaboration with Metallica, Reed was always going his own way and pushing at the boundaries of music / art / performance.

 Here he is with friends and fellow rock outlaws / spacemen David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Bowie at the time was one of the biggest stars on ( or off ) the planet but owed a hell of a lot to Lou and Iggy, who had blazed a trail that the former David Jones had followed to become Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane etc. As well as producing the Stooges' Raw Power album, Bowie also produced and played on Reed's classic Transformer.

And here's a very groovy pic of the Velvet Underground and Nico, the band that famously sold something in the region of bugger-all records during their brief existence but inspired countless future musicians to put on dark glasses and write hymns to nihilism and excess.
 Lou Reed was a true innovator and unique artist and will definitely be missed in this age of corporate-sponsored, bland, take-no-risks rock stars. I'll leave you with one of my favourite Reed songs from 1989's angry, political New York album...



RIP Lou Reed ( 2nd March 1942 - 27th October 2013 )

And back at the Wiltshire Pedro sits there dreaming
He's found a book on Magic in a garbage can
He looks at the pictures and stares at the cracked ceiling
"At the count of 3," he says, "I hope I can disappear
And fly, fly away..."

Scratchy old 45s

The Cost Of Living EP / Radio Clash / This Is England / The Magnificent Seven / Straight To Hell / White Riot by The Clash

C'mon Everybody / ( I'm Not Your ) Stepping Stone / Black Leather / Holidays In The Sun / God Save The Queen / Something Else by the Sex Pistols

Kick Out The Tories / Mindless Violence by the Newtown Neurotics / Flares 'n' Slippers EP by the Cockney Rejects / Into The Valley by the Skids / Kids On The Street by the Angelic Upstarts

California Uber Alles by Dead Kennedys / All Out Attack EP by Blitz / The Serenade Is Dead by Conflict / Puppets Of War by Chron Gen / Reason For Existence, Demolition War, Religious Wars by Subhumans

 

No More Heroes by the Stranglers / Stand Strong EP by Vice Squad / Into The Abyss by Sex Gang Children / Warhead by UK Subs

Sun Is In The Sky by the Seers / XX Sex by We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Going To Use It / You Trip Me Up by the Jesus & Mary Chain / Lean On Me by the Redskins / Catch by The Cure / Being Boiled by the Human League / Kiss by The Age Of Chance

( And just to prove my old singles collection isn't all about Punk and indie... )

Fascination by the Human League / Bang Zoom! Let's Go Go by The Real Roxanne and Hitman Howie T / Pump Up The Volume by MARRS / Saving All My Love For You by Whitney Houston / Sue Sessions EP by Ike & Tina Turner / Kiss by Prince & The Revolution / If Your Heart Isn't In It by Atlantic Starr ( really... )

Gotta have some Adam Ant to finish:

Deutscher Girls / Young Parisians / Antmusic / Cartrouble / Zerox / Dog Eat Dog / Stand And Deliver / Prince Charming / Friend Or Foe

Steven Moffatt, Emma Thompson and Sebastian Faulks at the Cheltenham Literature Festival

After years of somehow missing it, I finally managed to get to the Cheltenham Literature Festival this year. I took James along to see Doctor Who head honcho, Steven Moffatt, at Cheltenham Town Hall last Sunday. His talk, entitled "The Doctor, Sherlock And Me", was delivered to a sold-out hall of Whovians, Cumberbitches... and real people...
Moffatt talked with his usual mix of dry wit, self-deprecation and megalomania ( how does he do that? ) on his two massively successful TV shows, before answering questions from the audience. Although managing not to reveal anything much about the forthcoming new episodes of either show, Moffatt was hugely entertaining and addressed such subjects as the Doctor's supposed regeneration limit, not targeting Doctor Who at an American audience, the megastardom of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, the original pitch he and Mark Gatiss made for Sherlock and, as they say, much more. One of the most memorable moments came when he was asked by a member of the audience about the "message" of his shows. Moffatt said he didn't like built-in messages and, in any case, wouldn't go to TV writers for the meaning of life... but, if the shows had a message it would be "Clever is good and kindness is strong..." That'll do :-)

It was good to hear Moffatt talk candidly about the creative process and production realities of making TV shows as well as good-naturedly shooting down some of the more obsessive fan theories. And it was definitely a pleasure to feel such a friendly, warm atmosphere in the room, far removed from the often bitter, nasty and unrealistic comments directed at Moffatt online from so-called "fans". James and I both enjoyed the talk hugely and it was fun to be a part of something like this during the good Doctor's 50th anniversary year.

 To demonstrate the diversity on offer at the Festival, on the previous Sunday Sarah and I went to a talk given by actor / author Emma Thompson on her continuation of  Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit stories. The lovely Ms. Thompson charmed us all with her story of how she had grown up with the "tails" of that mischievous rabbit and then found herself, unexpectedly, being asked to carry on his adventures. The publishers had sent her a box, tied up with string, containing some half-eaten radishes and a note from Peter Rabbit himself, asking her to tell his stories. Of course, she couldn't resist.

As well as talking about what an honour it was to follow in Potter's footsteps Thompson also discussed Beatrix Potter's life ( especially her conservation work ), with digressions into the subjects of movies and kids' TV. ( When she mentioned her father, Eric Thompson of The Magic Roundabout fame, Sarah and I started a round of applause for the great man which soon spread around the marquee. ) As an extra treat, Thompson read from her second book, The Christmas Tale Of Peter Rabbit, enchanting children and adults in the audience alike...

As a total contrast I also went to see author Sebastian Faulks discussing his classic World War I novel Birdsong. In conversation with radio presenter James Naughtie, Faulks proved to be a warm, witty and eloquent public speaker, holding his audience spellbound. I read Birdsong last year and was absolutely knocked out by Faulks' brilliant evocation of the horrors of life in ( and underneath ) the trenches, as well as his portrayal of a passionate, forbidden love affair in pre-War France. The book became an instant favourite for me so I was extremely pleased to hear the author speak so movingly about his experiences researching the novel, visiting former battlefields and interviewing old soldiers. Faulks said that, at the time he was writing the novel, the First World War seemed to have been largely ignored in the public consciousness and he wanted to remember the sacrifices that had been made through his fiction, while the War was still in living memory. ( In fact his American publishers at the time  -  unbelievably  -  urged him to rewrite the wartime sections of the book and relocate them to a more modern conflict. Quite rightly he refused. ) Twenty years later, Birdsong is an acknowledged modern classic, taught in schools at A-Level, and the old soldiers are all gone. Faulks also mentioned the recent BBC TV adaptation ( which he was politely positive about ) and a potential movie version which has seemingly foundered. Of course, the book is the important thing and I'm sure no adaptation could capture its wounded humanity and shattering impact...

So, three very different talks from three wonderful writers. I'll definitely have to make the effort to go again next year. I'll leave you with a few random photos from the Festival...

The Three Doctors

The BBC have posted some new images from the forthcoming Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special, The Day Of The Doctor, on their official site. I particularly like this one of Smith, Tennant and Hurt, all trying to out-grump each other. Cheer up boys... it's your anniversary :-)

And here's a nice pic of Jenna Coleman and Jemma Redgrave too...

You've got to dig it to dig it, you dig?

Some sage words of advice on playing music from the late Thelonius Monk...

Click on image for like, largeness, man...

Reading update: Ringworld

It's been a long, long time since I've posted anything about books here at TGWS. It's not like I don't read any more but I certainly haven't read as much fiction this year as I would have liked. There are many books sitting on my shelves, staring balefully at me, waiting for their turn, feeling dustily neglected. As well as more recent purchases by the likes of Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter and Brian Aldiss I have several trees' worth of classics by DH Lawrence, Victor Hugo, Edith Wharton and many more that are all filed under "to be read... one day..."

David Bowie's recent, highly-publicised Top 100 books list has been all over t'internet in the last couple of days, creating much debate. I have to admit I've only read four books from his list ( well, I say "books"... but one was only Viz... ) and, at the rate I've been reading lately, there's not much chance I'll catch up with the Thin White Duke any time soon.

Something I have read is Larry Niven's Ringworld, one of Gollancz's series of SF Masterpieces. It's a novel I've wanted to read for a very long time and I have to say I was disappointed by it. It's a classic case of a Science Fiction novel bursting with concepts and hard science but lacking in more of a literary quality. The Ringworld itself is one of the ultimate Big Dumb Objects: a mind-bogglingly huge construct  -  a whole solar system used as building materials and forged into a colossal ring, with a surface area larger than thousands of Earths, and set spinning around a star by unknown aliens. A team of four explorers  -  two humans, a humanoid tiger known as a Kzin and the utterly bizarre Puppeteer, Nessus  -  crash land on the Ringworld and fight for survival as they try to cross vast distances to find a way back home.

Niven sets up this huge canvas on which to tell his story and presents us with some initially interesting characters ( the long-lived Louis Wu, the unfeasibly lucky Teela Brown, the warlike Speaker-To-Animals, the insane Nessus ) but seems content to just let his explorers wander the Ringworld and constantly lecture each other on physics and interstellar politics... when they're not fighting amongst themselves. The long, long journey with unlikeable characters was a real struggle for me and the book felt far longer ( there's that word again ) than its 280-odd pages. Niven's prose is very matter-of-fact and failed to convey the sense of wonder I would expect from a story set in such a fabulous world, unlike Arthur C Clarke's similar Rendezvous With Rama which I definitely preferred. I'm glad I finally got round to visiting the Ringworld but I wouldn't want to stay there...

As a further update, I've just started reading Christopher Priest's The Separation and will have to post a review when I'm finished. Hopefully it won't take the months (!) it took me to read Ringworld ;-)

Soundtrack: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel