Monthly Archives: January 2004

Make Me Write

Inspiring me to write today is Matt Haughey’s A Whole Lotta Nothing. Thanks for the following:

  • A link to the Abandoned Bicycles of New York photo blog which is strangely compelling and makes me think that somebody must come up with a way of using bicycles in London that is easy and safe.
  • An item about the hypocrisy of Dick Cheney and his stance of gay marriage: What kind of father goes out on a national stage and says he doesn’t believe his own daughter deserves the same rights in her life that he enjoys with his own marriage? [Source]

On this day…

2006: links for 2006-01-12
2005: Garden State
2005: links for 2005-01-12
2004: Hiddent Stuff
2003: Entitlement Cards

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Return of the King posterI have finally managed to see the final part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King. To be honest, I am not sure if I was a little disappointed or not in the last part. Nevertheless, there are many, many more good things than bad and, regardless, it is a superb film. The battle sequences are truly ‘epic’ and, in the case of the catapulted heads, a little horrific. The acting is superb, the bonds between the characters are, at times, tear-jerking. The settings are stunning (and Minas Tirith exactly as I imagined it), the story is edited in an edge-of-the-seat way and the effects that created Sauron’s massive Orc armies are incredible.

Although the effects are really brilliant it is the acting that makes this film (and in that respect it is sad that Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies do not have a bigger part to play and that Christopher Lee – Saruman – does not get anything at all). Elijah Wood is great as Frodo, tormented by The Ring to the very end, but in that partnership it must be Sean Astin who deserves some kind of award. I am not sure there were many dry eyes in the theatre. And how will Ian McKellen every play anything other than Gandalf?

On the downside, Arwen’s decision to become mortal is really not played out (which is a shame) and does leave the very end of the film a little limper than the book.

When I read the book, I was very conscious of Tolkien’s multiple ending points. You felt it went on beyond it’s natural end. You can also say the same about this film (although it doesn’t get dragged out quite so much) and yet I am disappointed that the return to The Shire was not faithful to the book as it really shows the changes that have taken place to The Hobbits. That is, however, a minor complaint. This is a stunning film and Peter Jackson deserves all the praise that has been heaped on him.

On this day…

2003: You Spin Me Round

Thoughtless, Instant, Throwaway Marriages

I don’t want to beat my own drum but, at last, I’ve found a serious article which picks up on my thoughts about Britney’s marriage. I was interested to read that, ” For the first thousand years of Christianity, the church didn’t want anything to do with marriage, which was about property, not spirituality”.

Britney’s little leap is a reminder that a marriage doesn’t have to be sacred to be legal. The law is no holier than a $40 trip at the Tunnel of Vows Drive Through in the Little White Wedding Chapel [Source]

Interestingly, maybe the article does actually get to say that Britney’s little weekend joke does harm marriage in a way no gay man has ever done!

On this day…

2005: Polar Express

Today

I wanted to write something today that didn’t mention delayed trains, the weather in London (it’s very windy and rainy right now), student fees or American visa requirements: I want to say something about all of them but they’d mainly be moans and I don’t want to moan today! So, off for soup is a great idea then.

On this day…

2005: Love In The Song Title

Hello Dermot and Mark Fans

There is another silly reality TV show on Channel 4 at the moment – Shattered. I am not following it except to know that Dermot O’Leary is presenting it and that always means activity on the Dermot pages at Man of the Moment section picks up. So, a warm welcome to Listen to Musak to all the Dermot fans who are dropping by.

While on the subject of Man of the Moment, Mark Owen’s entry remains top of the tree for comments. That’s a weak link to point to an article over at Manchester Online about Mark and his Music. There’s an interesting comment suggesting Mark’s under-rated album, Green Man, is being critically re-appraised right now – which is excellent for it is a fantastic album.

On this day…

2006: Brokeback Mountain
2006: Gotta Go Back In Time
2005: 2004 In 100 Pictures
2004: Oops, She Did It
2003: Jeremy Vine
2003: Poison Find
2003: A Blog?

Oops, She Did It

So, Britney got married, her people denied she’s had a little too much to drink (sorry, she wasn’t ‘inebriated’) and the wedding was annulled sometime yesterday (various reports put a different number of hours on the wedding but it seems it was a two day thing). Apparently it was a joke that went too far (although comment on the Torontro Star wonders if it was a PR Stunt).

As I watched this story unravel over the last few days (the mad grab for pictures, the interview with the ex-husband) I wondered what message this was sending out about the concept of marriage and have been surprised and the lack of comment (The Times did discuss it today).

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not about to beat the drum about religion and marriage too hard but if marriage is just a joke that can be entered into (and got out of) so easily, is there really much point to the whole thing?

There are some of us in this world who would like the ability to marry (or, at the very least, have some official recognition of our relationships) but can’t. Britiney doesn’t know how lucky she is to be able to treat the whole institution so lightly.

Could I argue that it’s an amusing aside to the whole business that a heterosexual woman brings marriage into disrepute? Maybe not.

On this day…

2006: Brokeback Mountain
2006: Gotta Go Back In Time
2005: 2004 In 100 Pictures
2004: Hello Dermot and Mark Fans
2003: Jeremy Vine
2003: Poison Find
2003: A Blog?

Same Sex Partnerships in 2004

And so we say welcome to brand new year and I thought I would have a look around the news to see what the might come our way in 2004 in the light of the promised partnership bill. I see we’re still in for the same old arguments.

On a positive note, there has been some coverage over the last few days about the National Trust’s decision to allow same-sex couples to hold commitment ceremonies on their premises. As I suspect they don’t discriminate when it comes to taking money from people for entry or to be members then it’s about time they caught up and let everybody use the many fine buildings around the country.

Of course, some can’t hide their distaste. Ann Widdecombe said it was a “terrible idea” and the Christian Institute seems also to think it’s a bad idea. As The Gay Vote points out, their ideas are – sometimes – a little contradictory. Still, not as odd as Peter Luff’s thoughts (he’s the Conservative MP for Mid Worcestershire) who applauds the use of National Trust properties for civil unions but was “against the ceremonies becoming legal marriages”. Ah well, this year will be interesting when the partnership bill comes before parliament.

Of course the Pope continues his battle to keep marriage tied to religion and ignore the many people who opt for civil unions today. The church continues to believe that civil partnerships for same-sex couples will, somehow, undermine the family. This is one that I have spoken about before and the logic of this argument is still not clear to me. Still, you don’t need a crystal ball to see that the next few months will be full of such nonsense from the church again.

On this day…

2006: Who Are You?
2003: LBC Back On Air

Honoured for HTML

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Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee

Worthy of note – and not covered by a lot of the media – but Tim Berners-Lee has been awarded a knighthood for his work on developing HTML which allowed the web to become a useful tool for millions of people. Whatever you think of the Honours List I think this recognition is certainly deserved. [FT: Unsung heroes dominate UK honours list]

On this day…

2006: Resolution
2005: The Incredibles
2005: Shaun Of The Dead
2004: Unexpected Movie Gems
2004: 2003 In Summary
2003: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2003: Mirror Picture

Unexpected Movie Gems

There was something of an 80s flashback over the Christmas period which set me thinking about my teenage years – although I am not suggesting you should now read my regurgitated teenage angst. The flashbacks came in the form of three films on free-to-air television that I caught by accident (by which I mean I didn’t know there were on until I flicked past them).

picture of kevin bacon in footlooseFirstly, we had the excellent Footloose (Kevin Bacon, dancing) which is a film I must have seen several hundred times and never get bored. It’s those standing up for you rights and proving your responsibility moments that resonated with people of a certain age when it was released. It’s helped by the fact that the 80s electro-pop soundtrack was pretty good (for the time) and Kevin Bacon is moody and supports a tight fitting vest at one point!

Then, on New Years Day, we had another teen angst film in the shape of The Breakfast Club. From the John Hughes stable (he made one of my all time favourite movies, Some Kind of Wonderful) this was a teen film with a difference. The film is – almost entirely – dialogue driven and there is very limited action. It’s set in the detention room on a Saturday where a small group of students (of all the stereotypes) must spend the day together as punishment for various misdemeanours.

Again, we are treated to the teen isolation, the misfits and the stupidity of the adult world. And, it also features a soundtrack that instantly brings to mind the mid-Eighties including Don’t You by Simple Minds – which is possibly the only Simple Minds track that I can listen to again and again.

Sandwiched in between Footloose and The Breakfast Club and shown sometime in that almost-dead period between Christmas and New Year was the first Back To The Future movie (which again has a soundtrack of it’s time featuring Huey Lewis and The News, Eric Clapton and Lindsey Buckingham). What struck me about it (apart from the now dated effects) was how good a film it really was. There are some superb performances in it (Christopher Lloyd and Crispin Glover) and it was a real combination of teen and sci-fi movies. It was also the first film I can recall going to the cinema more than once to see – it must really have inspired me as a 15 year-old. Superb stuff.

So, despite the fact that you can be critical of television over this past Christmas period, I really think that it served me some unexpected movie gems. And for that, I am grateful.

On this day…

2006: Resolution
2005: The Incredibles
2005: Shaun Of The Dead
2004: Honoured for HTML
2004: 2003 In Summary
2003: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2003: Mirror Picture