I speak of an insidious development that has crept up on us in recent years. The first time I remember this "innovation" was in the Athletics world championships which were held in Manchester a few years ago. At the beginning, and at the end, of each and every slow-motion replay the logo MANCHESTER was spread across the screen. After a few days the viewer would have seen the name writ across their screen a thousand times or more.
This June we were presented with a similar spectacle during the Euro 2012 football, when that coloured logo of the coloured blooms, growing out of a ball, of Poland and Ukraine flashed up at each end of every replay. Next we saw the tennis succumbing to a similar temptation as the logo of the All-England club filled the screen briefly before and after each replay (of which there were of course myriad)
Now I am watching the Open from Lytham, and here too the same practice has been installed, with the claret jug appearing almost every other second, not just book-ending the replays but between cuts of every kind. What's the chance of seeing "London 2012" adorning our screens a million times over the nest couple of weeks? A stone-cold certainty I would have said.
Doubtless this phenomenon has been inherited from America, the home of advertising and self-promotion, but here? Aren't we a bit more civilised than that? I fear the answer is no. Yet no one, to my knowledge at least, has ever asked the viewer whether he or she wants to be subjected to this form of (not so) subliminal product placement thousands and thousands of times. So here's the news: I don't, and I suspect I'm not alone. IT'S MADDENING AND I WANT IT TO GO AWAY! Is anyone listening out there? STOP IT!
Friday, 20 July 2012
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Keep looking over your shoulder, Mr Assad
COMMENT
Disaster came worryingly close to the Assad cabal yesterday, when an extremely well informed suicide bomber knew exactly where a crisis cabinet meeting was being held in what should have been one of Syria's safest places, the Department of the Interior HQ. Yet somehow they got through and took out the defence minister and Assad's own brother-in-law.
There seems to be a growing consensus that the situation in Syria is gradually unravelling, and that it won't be too long before Russia and China tire of their "allies" and cut them loose. And while the moneyed middle classes of Syria may be quaking in their boots (and remember, many of these are Christians, who are among the biggest land and property owners in Syria), I suspect for millions of ordinary citizens, it can't come a day too soon...
Disaster came worryingly close to the Assad cabal yesterday, when an extremely well informed suicide bomber knew exactly where a crisis cabinet meeting was being held in what should have been one of Syria's safest places, the Department of the Interior HQ. Yet somehow they got through and took out the defence minister and Assad's own brother-in-law.
There seems to be a growing consensus that the situation in Syria is gradually unravelling, and that it won't be too long before Russia and China tire of their "allies" and cut them loose. And while the moneyed middle classes of Syria may be quaking in their boots (and remember, many of these are Christians, who are among the biggest land and property owners in Syria), I suspect for millions of ordinary citizens, it can't come a day too soon...
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Walkies
Yesterday my wife and I journeyed to the Welsh border county of Gwent to walk a 12 mile track following alternately the graceful curves of the river Usk and the more linear path of the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal. Although the rain held off through most of the walk, the wettest June in modern history rendered much of it damp, soggy or sometimes awash with groundwater. The guide we followed suggested there was a "small mud patch" about 2 miles into the walk, but it had now expanded into a large morass more reminiscent of a battlefield in Paschendael, though thankfully free of the rotting corpses of horses and men.
I had selected white clothing for the journey, which proved to be unwise as about half way through I slipped and fell into the mud, coating my entire right side with the stuff. Fortunately I was in an equable mood and laughed it off. My washing machine will be busy today, however.
How did I stand up under the conditions and physical effort? Not too badly, it turns out. My buttocks still feel laden with lactic acid, and my early-arthritic hips are still glowing with internal heat, but with any luck I shall feel fine tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk 10 miles at 80, as the marquis in "Brideshead Revisited" aspired to: I'll settle for 5. And if I ever get to 90, which I doubt, I'll be happy if I can get from the living room to the kitchen under my own steam. I've always said I want to hang around as long as I can still operate my remote control; when I lose that, you can have me.
I had selected white clothing for the journey, which proved to be unwise as about half way through I slipped and fell into the mud, coating my entire right side with the stuff. Fortunately I was in an equable mood and laughed it off. My washing machine will be busy today, however.
How did I stand up under the conditions and physical effort? Not too badly, it turns out. My buttocks still feel laden with lactic acid, and my early-arthritic hips are still glowing with internal heat, but with any luck I shall feel fine tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk 10 miles at 80, as the marquis in "Brideshead Revisited" aspired to: I'll settle for 5. And if I ever get to 90, which I doubt, I'll be happy if I can get from the living room to the kitchen under my own steam. I've always said I want to hang around as long as I can still operate my remote control; when I lose that, you can have me.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
I'm ready to talk about my pain
It is only now, 72 hours on from the devastating disappointment the nation suffered om the pristine lawns of SW19, I feel able to speak about events.
True, history was made that day, as a Brit contested the final for the first time in 74 years. But we all knew that wasn't enough; we wanted so desperately for him to take it one stage further and avenge the accumulated humiliation we have endured even longer- 76 years. It is not until then that I can die a little happier knowing we have had at least one winner in my lifetime.
My bro tex me after the game saying what a shame, etc. I tex back saying I feared that, having failed to exploit the highly advantageous sequence of events that acted in his favour, specifically not having to meet Nadal in the semi-final, where he would surely have lost, he may never have another chance as good as this. My bro encouragingly reminded me that he did indeed have several more chances.
Murray is 25. That means he's got 4 more shots at Wimbledon, and of course 4 more shots at all the other Grand Slam events too. Do I detect a ray of hope, even of optimism breaking through my slough of Despond? Can I perhaps discern a continuum, an arc of improvement, with Murray sailing on it, dare I believe, all the wsay to the ultimate prize?
He's been to semi-finals, even a couple of finals and now he's even been in a final on the hallowed turf. Lendl seems a good influence, presumably reminding Murray again and again of what is required to win: concentrate on positive thoughts and to drive out any negative ones. It's what all great champions have mastered: they know it's the only way to win. In other words he must acquire that harsh, deeply ingrained grit that brings a player through the great tournaments because they want it more than anyone else and won't give up until they get it.
4 more chances. 16 grand slam events, 17 if you count the upcoming US Open. Could he win there? I wouldn't put it past him. I still have faith in the lad: he's got so much talent, if he can build the iron in the soul I still think he could make me die a slightly happier old git.
True, history was made that day, as a Brit contested the final for the first time in 74 years. But we all knew that wasn't enough; we wanted so desperately for him to take it one stage further and avenge the accumulated humiliation we have endured even longer- 76 years. It is not until then that I can die a little happier knowing we have had at least one winner in my lifetime.
My bro tex me after the game saying what a shame, etc. I tex back saying I feared that, having failed to exploit the highly advantageous sequence of events that acted in his favour, specifically not having to meet Nadal in the semi-final, where he would surely have lost, he may never have another chance as good as this. My bro encouragingly reminded me that he did indeed have several more chances.
Murray is 25. That means he's got 4 more shots at Wimbledon, and of course 4 more shots at all the other Grand Slam events too. Do I detect a ray of hope, even of optimism breaking through my slough of Despond? Can I perhaps discern a continuum, an arc of improvement, with Murray sailing on it, dare I believe, all the wsay to the ultimate prize?
He's been to semi-finals, even a couple of finals and now he's even been in a final on the hallowed turf. Lendl seems a good influence, presumably reminding Murray again and again of what is required to win: concentrate on positive thoughts and to drive out any negative ones. It's what all great champions have mastered: they know it's the only way to win. In other words he must acquire that harsh, deeply ingrained grit that brings a player through the great tournaments because they want it more than anyone else and won't give up until they get it.
4 more chances. 16 grand slam events, 17 if you count the upcoming US Open. Could he win there? I wouldn't put it past him. I still have faith in the lad: he's got so much talent, if he can build the iron in the soul I still think he could make me die a slightly happier old git.
Sunday, 8 July 2012
RIAT dispatch
That's the Royal International Air Tattoo to you. Held at the US airbase at Fairford in Wiltshire, it is touted as the biggest airshow in the world, though I am not certain this is true. But it is big. Dozens of interesting planes were on show for the the 50-odd thousand visitors to gawp at, including the strange P22 Osprey, an American VTOL (vertical take off and landing) plane which rotates its whole wing to direct the thrust from its twin propellers, though there seems to be a design fault, in so far as the propellers are so long that it cannot land as an aircraft usually does, and MUST land vertically. So if the machanism for moving the wings jams in flight, it's fucked.
There were other iconic planes on display, including the B2 stealth bomber, a plane so strange and un-worldly looking it is easy to see how it stimulated hundreds of UFO reports while it was under secret testing, and a B52 bomber, that huge and terrifying weapon of war that carried the US's strategic nuclear force from the 50s, right through to the Millennium, in addition to dropping more ordnance on Vietnam than the US did on Germany in the whole of WW2.
A slight problem for me was that I had to get right up to things to see them properly because of my eyes, and anything in the sky was invisible until I found it with my compact bins. Never has a pair of field glasses come in more handy than on this day.
The two highlights? First, a Dutch pilot putting an F15 Eagle through its paces in amazing little demonstration of power and grace. At one point, the aircraft headed straight up; then it actually seemed to stop still in the air for a second, before curving slowly back down into a gentle dive. The second and possibly the greatest moment for me: the flypast of the only remaining Lancaster bomber, with its two escorts, a Spitfire and a Hurricane. The sight, and especially the sound of those piston engines throbbing through the damp air of the aerodrome, brought forth a powerful surge of emotion from deep within me, as I remembered the brave men who fought and died for their country in these war machines, and the terrible destruction wrought by their actions.
There were other iconic planes on display, including the B2 stealth bomber, a plane so strange and un-worldly looking it is easy to see how it stimulated hundreds of UFO reports while it was under secret testing, and a B52 bomber, that huge and terrifying weapon of war that carried the US's strategic nuclear force from the 50s, right through to the Millennium, in addition to dropping more ordnance on Vietnam than the US did on Germany in the whole of WW2.
A slight problem for me was that I had to get right up to things to see them properly because of my eyes, and anything in the sky was invisible until I found it with my compact bins. Never has a pair of field glasses come in more handy than on this day.
The two highlights? First, a Dutch pilot putting an F15 Eagle through its paces in amazing little demonstration of power and grace. At one point, the aircraft headed straight up; then it actually seemed to stop still in the air for a second, before curving slowly back down into a gentle dive. The second and possibly the greatest moment for me: the flypast of the only remaining Lancaster bomber, with its two escorts, a Spitfire and a Hurricane. The sight, and especially the sound of those piston engines throbbing through the damp air of the aerodrome, brought forth a powerful surge of emotion from deep within me, as I remembered the brave men who fought and died for their country in these war machines, and the terrible destruction wrought by their actions.
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
June book and film review
BOOK
THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON, by Tom Clancy. President Jack Ryan finds an improbable bedfellow when China, covetous of a huge oil and gold find in nearby Siberia, decides to invade Russia to plunder its new-found riches. But in a post cold war world, the two unlikely allies find their armies seriously depleted... I only read this one book in June, but give me a break. I've been quite busy finishing off my own book and it is 1140 pages long, dammit. Tom is strong on technical detail, and the plot fairly races along; indeed, the ;ast 50 pages winds up into a genuinely thrilling climax. But his characterisations are weak, even juvenile, which detracts from one's enjoyment of this potentially fine book. Even his great creation, Jack Ryan, the ex-CIA agent become president, is worryingly one-dimensional. But perhaps I shouldn't knock it. Clancy has sold millions of books and made millions more from his high-octane narratives. So he can certainly be said to be tapping into some sort of zeitgeist...
FILMS
XALA (1975)D- Ousmane Sembene (Senegal/France). While Senegal celebrates its independence from France, a government minister expropriates funds to buy a new wife. Then he finds himself under a curse, or "Xala", which renders him impotent. A highly watchable film which provides a fascinating insight into the frightening world of West African domestic and political life. Recommended.
JOHNY MAD DOG (2008) D- Jean-Stephane Sauvaine. (Liberia/France) Inspired and encouraged by an amoral commander, a platoon of boy-soldiers slash, burn and murder their way through a Liberia torn apart by civil war. A truly terrifying portrayal of the lives of children who should be playing soldiers, but find themselves doing it for real. No wonder they put Charles Taylor away for life for his promotion of this most terrible form of warfare.
IN A BETTER WORLD (2010)D- Susanne Bier (Denmark) A Danish doctor divides his time between his family and his work in an African refugee camp. Meanwhile, his son decides to wreak terrible vengeance on the children who have been tormenting him at school. A sensitively made and gripping film about divided loyalties and when to make a stand. Watch it.
BATTLEGROUND 1949) D- William Wellmann. In 1945, a detachment of the US 101st Airborne division finds itself cut off behind enemy lines during the Battle of the Bulge. Wellman had already established himself as one of Hollywood's most thoughtful directors with films like "The Ox-Bow Incident", which is believed by some to be one of the finest Westerns ever made, and in this film he continues to show the human side of great events in his uniquely authentic and affecting style. As war movies go, this was one of the best at the time, and even today stands the test of time superbly.
A CRY IN THE DARK (1988) D- Fred Shepisi. A deeply religious Australian family takes a camping holiday near Ayer's Rock, but in the dead of night a dingo creeps up and steals their baby. Or was she murdered? A highly authentic portrayal of one of Oz's most famous trials, and one that only received its final disposition a few weeks ago when a coroner ruled that Lindy Chamberlain (brilliantly played by Meryl Streep) did indeed tell the truth more than 30 years earlier. My take: the price you pay when the media don't like the way you come over. We've seen it before and we'll see it again.
MARRIED TO THE MOB (1988)D- Jonathan Demme. An attractive woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) is pursued by a gangland boss, while an FBI agent (Matthew Modine), tasked with bringing him down, also falls for her. Modine had a brief time in the sun with his strong performance in "Full Metal Jacket", but this film really marked his last spell in the big league. I'm not sure why, because he was really pretty good, but other faces came along whose faces fitted more, I guess. But like other of Demme's films of this era ("something Wild", "Silence of the Lambs") this is highly entertaining stuff.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2010) D- Chris Sanders and Dean de Blois. Viking kids grow up in a World where dragons are a constant threat, and they are trained to kill them. Then one nerd makes friends with one of them and realises they ain't so evil after all... Superior animation from the Dreamworks stable, with excellent graphics and unusually good characterisation. Watch it with a kid as an excuse to see a rather good little effort.
X MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011) D- Matthew Vaughn. During the Kennedy administration, an evil genius uses his mutant super-powers to create the Cuban missiles crisis, hoping to plunge the world into nuclear megadeath. Prequels are all the rage these days (we're off to see "Prometheus" tomorrow, geddit?) and the X Men series are always fun. But what's with all these super-villains wanting to start WW3? It's the plot of countless movies, including several in the James Bond series, but it's never explained just why, and how they hope to profit from world-wide destruction. Just don't think about it too much I say, and sit back to enjoy this film's pace and ripping special effects.
THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON, by Tom Clancy. President Jack Ryan finds an improbable bedfellow when China, covetous of a huge oil and gold find in nearby Siberia, decides to invade Russia to plunder its new-found riches. But in a post cold war world, the two unlikely allies find their armies seriously depleted... I only read this one book in June, but give me a break. I've been quite busy finishing off my own book and it is 1140 pages long, dammit. Tom is strong on technical detail, and the plot fairly races along; indeed, the ;ast 50 pages winds up into a genuinely thrilling climax. But his characterisations are weak, even juvenile, which detracts from one's enjoyment of this potentially fine book. Even his great creation, Jack Ryan, the ex-CIA agent become president, is worryingly one-dimensional. But perhaps I shouldn't knock it. Clancy has sold millions of books and made millions more from his high-octane narratives. So he can certainly be said to be tapping into some sort of zeitgeist...
FILMS
XALA (1975)D- Ousmane Sembene (Senegal/France). While Senegal celebrates its independence from France, a government minister expropriates funds to buy a new wife. Then he finds himself under a curse, or "Xala", which renders him impotent. A highly watchable film which provides a fascinating insight into the frightening world of West African domestic and political life. Recommended.
JOHNY MAD DOG (2008) D- Jean-Stephane Sauvaine. (Liberia/France) Inspired and encouraged by an amoral commander, a platoon of boy-soldiers slash, burn and murder their way through a Liberia torn apart by civil war. A truly terrifying portrayal of the lives of children who should be playing soldiers, but find themselves doing it for real. No wonder they put Charles Taylor away for life for his promotion of this most terrible form of warfare.
IN A BETTER WORLD (2010)D- Susanne Bier (Denmark) A Danish doctor divides his time between his family and his work in an African refugee camp. Meanwhile, his son decides to wreak terrible vengeance on the children who have been tormenting him at school. A sensitively made and gripping film about divided loyalties and when to make a stand. Watch it.
BATTLEGROUND 1949) D- William Wellmann. In 1945, a detachment of the US 101st Airborne division finds itself cut off behind enemy lines during the Battle of the Bulge. Wellman had already established himself as one of Hollywood's most thoughtful directors with films like "The Ox-Bow Incident", which is believed by some to be one of the finest Westerns ever made, and in this film he continues to show the human side of great events in his uniquely authentic and affecting style. As war movies go, this was one of the best at the time, and even today stands the test of time superbly.
A CRY IN THE DARK (1988) D- Fred Shepisi. A deeply religious Australian family takes a camping holiday near Ayer's Rock, but in the dead of night a dingo creeps up and steals their baby. Or was she murdered? A highly authentic portrayal of one of Oz's most famous trials, and one that only received its final disposition a few weeks ago when a coroner ruled that Lindy Chamberlain (brilliantly played by Meryl Streep) did indeed tell the truth more than 30 years earlier. My take: the price you pay when the media don't like the way you come over. We've seen it before and we'll see it again.
MARRIED TO THE MOB (1988)D- Jonathan Demme. An attractive woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) is pursued by a gangland boss, while an FBI agent (Matthew Modine), tasked with bringing him down, also falls for her. Modine had a brief time in the sun with his strong performance in "Full Metal Jacket", but this film really marked his last spell in the big league. I'm not sure why, because he was really pretty good, but other faces came along whose faces fitted more, I guess. But like other of Demme's films of this era ("something Wild", "Silence of the Lambs") this is highly entertaining stuff.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2010) D- Chris Sanders and Dean de Blois. Viking kids grow up in a World where dragons are a constant threat, and they are trained to kill them. Then one nerd makes friends with one of them and realises they ain't so evil after all... Superior animation from the Dreamworks stable, with excellent graphics and unusually good characterisation. Watch it with a kid as an excuse to see a rather good little effort.
X MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011) D- Matthew Vaughn. During the Kennedy administration, an evil genius uses his mutant super-powers to create the Cuban missiles crisis, hoping to plunge the world into nuclear megadeath. Prequels are all the rage these days (we're off to see "Prometheus" tomorrow, geddit?) and the X Men series are always fun. But what's with all these super-villains wanting to start WW3? It's the plot of countless movies, including several in the James Bond series, but it's never explained just why, and how they hope to profit from world-wide destruction. Just don't think about it too much I say, and sit back to enjoy this film's pace and ripping special effects.
Monday, 2 July 2012
I hate to say I told you so...
Last Thursday we experienced a fall of "yellow rain", dust from the plains of Spain and perhaps also from the Sahara Desert, part of a "Spanish Plume". This was an unusual draught of hot air from southern climes which, when mixed with our cooler martime airfloow caused some incredibly dramtic weather in several parts of the country: thunderstorms, flash-floods, golf ball sized hail and even a tornado.
More evidence, should any be needed, that our weather is changing; specifically that our smmers are becoming wetter and windier.
Yet again the need for some really comprehensive flood protection to be constructed in a range of vulnerable locations around Britain has been underlined.
It is the duty of a government to protect its citizens- so get off your asses and start doing it!
More evidence, should any be needed, that our weather is changing; specifically that our smmers are becoming wetter and windier.
Yet again the need for some really comprehensive flood protection to be constructed in a range of vulnerable locations around Britain has been underlined.
It is the duty of a government to protect its citizens- so get off your asses and start doing it!
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