July | 2005 | chez dafyd 2005 July | bienvenue, internautes

July, 2005

Thought for the Day

July 30, 2005 by dafyd

Thursday’s _Thought for the Day_ (Listen Again) on _Today_ was, I thought, a particularly good one. It was one of those that don’t scream “God would do this” at you, but which works as a message to ask us to look at ourselves properly.

It was by the Rev. Dr Giles Fraser, probably the Bishop of Somewhere*:

NASA have calculated the probability of a fatal accident on the latest Discovery space mission as 1 in 100. Imagine what it’s like to live with odds like that. The news that a small piece of protective tiling fell from the shuttle at its launch can only have increased the anxiety. Its not often explicitly mentioned, but it’s clearly there behind the chewed fingernails and ashen faces: the crew undertakes this journey in the full knowledge they are facing the possibility of their own death. It must take extraordinary courage to agree to such a mission.

But facing the reality of one’s own death isn’t just morbid fear – it can become something that transforms the very way we think about ourselves.

There’s a spiritual exercise I undertake every year I was taught by a Jesuit friend. I compose my own obituary. Writing up the life you hope to have really focuses the mind.

First drafts are often very stupid. Giles Fraser became the Archbishop of Canterbury, he married a Danish model and played football for Chelsea. That script quickly goes in the bin. And then you start to concentrate more. What is it I really want to be? What is important? What is it I want to do with my life? It’s an opportunity to think big and not be distracted by the petty projects that so commonly consume us.

And when you’ve written all this down, describing a life that you would be genuinely happy with, the next question is the real clincher. Are you going about your life in such a way that the story you have imagined for yourself is a real possibility? In other words, does what you want to be really connect up with who you are? It’s a devastating question that can change everything. After all, no one’s written the obituary for you. And so, asking yourself if you’re really going to become this person is simply facing the truth about who you really want to be.

Part of what makes the New Testament so focused a work of moral imagination is that it was written under the belief that the end of the world was drawing close. It was written with a huge sense of impending danger that created a form of concentration that burnt away the trivial. Facing the end puts all things into perspective.

When bombs went off in central London, my first thought was for the safety and whereabouts of my family. I was instantly reminded of what I really love and care for, what’s important. It’s all too easy to trundle through life without properly taking stock, focusing instead on domestic worries about the mortgage or the next promotion at work. Real danger can come as a wake up call for the unreflective life.

*Actually, it turns out that “Dr Giles Fraser is vicar of Putney and lecturer in philosophy at Wadham College, Oxford” … and a jolly sensible chap.

Category 1 | Tags: radio4 | Comments Off

Mad dog

July 26, 2005 by dafyd

Crumbs, looks like it’s meme day today…

Spotted this on both Jeremy and Lemurgirl‘s blogs:

Category 1 | Tags: humour | 1 Comment

d.a.f.y.d

July 26, 2005 by dafyd

Ooh: my name in pretty pictures. Spiffy.

(Refresh for different letters – it’s automagic!)

Images from flickr, generated by Meta | ateM.

(Via AboutThisBoy)

Category 1 | Tags: flickr | 1 Comment
Godspeed Discovery

July 26, 2005 by dafyd

Well I guess that you probably know by now -
I was one who wanted to fly,
I wanted to ride on that arrow of fire right up into heaven.

And I wanted to go for every man,
Every child, every mother of children,
I wanted to carry the dreams of all people right up to the stars.

And I prayed that I’d find an answer there,
Or maybe I would find a song,
Giving a voice to all of the hearts that cannot be heard.

And for all of the ones who live in fear,
And all of those who stand apart,
My being there would bring us a little step closer together.

They were flying for me.
They were flying for everyone.
They were trying to see a brighter day for each and everyone.
They gave us their light.
They gave us their spirit and all they could be.
They were flying for me.

STS-114 Discovery has successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first shuttle launch for 2-and-a-half years, since the Columbia disaster in 2003.

I am a huge supporter of all nations’ space programmes – simply because I believe it is very much in our basic nature to want to explore. We have explored our planet, and now we have to look elsewhere to satisfy our lust for knowledge.

But space also serves the purpose of bringing everyone together. Nobody owns space. There is no conflict in space. Even during the Cold War, Soviet and American astro/cosmonauts met up in space, the Soviet/Russian _Mir_ space station even being called Peace (in Russian).

But of course space exploration brings with it dangers. The Apollo 1 disaster, Apollo 13‘s narrowly avoided tragedy, and the two shuttles, Challenger and Columbia, all demonstrate perfectly the incredible risks that the few brave astronauts take, to further our understanding of the universe.

The lyrics at the beginning of this post are from John Denver’s moving song Flying for Me (MP3 here) – which has always been a favourite of mine, simply because it echoes so many of my own feelings. It was originally a tribute to the Challenger crew, especially Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space, but I think the sentiment of the song fits well as a tribute to all those who have given their lives while “flying for me”.

Discovery, though, has not yet encountered any problems on this third _Return to Flight_ attempt – and I sincerely hope the success of this mission motivates the US to continue to push the boundaries of extra-terrestrial exploration, and other countries to try the same.

The monetary cost is worth it. And to end the programme would be no tribute at all to those who died trying to further it.

Category 1 | Tags: discovery | 1 Comment
Give over, already

July 21, 2005 by dafyd

What on Earth do these people think they are going to achieve?

London has been through a lot over the past few decades.

The Luftwaffe didn’t succeed.

The IRA hasn’t succeeded (yet).

What response do they honestly expect to get? If anything, I’d say that the fact that they felt the need to have a second go shows that the first attempt didn’t work.

So give up.

Category 1 | Tags: london | 1 Comment
Pottering about

July 19, 2005 by dafyd

It’s all over. The wait. The hype. The mass hysteria. All finished. For another couple of years, at least.

Was the wait for the Half-Blood Prince worth it? I think so. The excitement on the faces of the kids who had been queueing up for a couple of hours when we started counting down from 10 to the “grand reveal” of the piles of books that we had spent hours setting up made everything worth it, if you ask me.

I can’t post pictures of the event here, unfortunately, but there are photos of myself and the other staff floating around somewhere at work, which I will endeavour to hunt down as soon as I can. The Evening Post has a fairly decent article (imaginatively titled “Hurry Potter”) about the launch at Waterstone’s Bridlesmith Gate, but their site doesn’t include the fantastic photo that accompanied the article. EDIT: …but I’ve scanned them in: here’s Sue and Helen (who were, basically, in charge) with the kid who won the competition to get the first copy of Potter, and here’s our queue at about 11.30, with Waterstone’s staff in the black “Muggle” t-shirts or fancy dress.

And I have the piece that BBC East Midlands Today did on our launch – featuring bits of me no less than three times – somewhere. I’ll try and upload that in a bit.

But the most important question: is the book any good? Undoubtedly, yes! It seems a lot sharper than the last couple of books – everything has a purpose. It is clear that everything is being set up for the ultimate face-off between Harry and Voldemort in the final book, so in a sense this book seems unfinished. But the ending is certainly fitting – and rather moving.

But enough of what I think – read the book yourself! It’s shorter than both the Order of the Phoenix and the Goblet of Fire, so you have no excuse. And when you buy it from Waterstone’s for £11.99, you get a free book. How good is that?!

Category 1 | Tags: waterstones | Comments Off
Potter-tastic

July 14, 2005 by dafyd

Tomorrow (well, technically Saturday, but I’m thinking of it as tomorrow – you’ll see why in a bit) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released.

Bloomsbury expect to sell 3.2 million copies of it in the first two days.

Waterstone’s Bridlesmith Gate (mine) today received 3,500 copies.

It has been in first place on Amazon(.co.uk)’s bestseller list since it was made available for pre-ordering seven months ago.

Nowhere in the world is allowed to physically sell a copy of the book or otherwise display it to the public before 00.01 BST on Saturday morning.

More than 130 branches of Waterstone’s will be opening at midnight tomorrow night to start selling the book.

Including Waterstone’s Bridlesmith Gate.

Where I’ll be.

Dressed up.

Working.

So, I’m working tomorrow night from 5.30pm to 2am, and then again on Saturday from 1pm to 7pm.

So, one question – when am I going to read the book?

Category 1 | Tags: waterstones | 4 Comments
Pah

July 12, 2005 by dafyd

Hmmph. Having hyped tonight’s Tarantino-directed series finale of CSI as the best episode ever for the last fortnight or so, five have decided not to show it, because of “this afternoon’s developments“. Piffle.

It must have been a snap decision – even the five TV guide shows tonight’s CSI as the Tarantino one. I can understand that it might have been insensitive to show it – but surely they must have known that last Thursday? To continue advertising it – right up until the advertised start time – and then to postpone it for a week is silly.

Call me a cynic, but I’d guess they had near record viewing figures (for five), and wanted to cash in on that again.

Yours sincerely,

Disgruntled, Tunbridge Wells

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It’s hot.

July 12, 2005 by dafyd

Very decadent, but oh-so-very nice. Better than melting, anyway.

Category 1 | Tags: heat | Comments Off
Films x 3 : The Return

July 12, 2005 by dafyd
Batman Begins
- Official Site
- Metacritic Rating: 70
- My Rating: 9/10
To say the very least, Batman Begins is a lot better than I expected it to be. Looking at the pre-release photos (a weird Batmobile, Liam Neeson playing, umm, Liam Neeson), I was a little concerned about what was happening to a franchise that started incredibly well with the two Tim Burton films, but had gone considerably downhill by the time George Clooney finished with it. I needn’t have worried.

Yes, the Batmobile is weird. That’s the whole point. Instead of Batman appearing on the screen already a superhero, here we get to see how and why Bruce Wayne felt the need to be “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”. It was fascinating to see how Bruce’s skills were honed to the level we expect from the Caped Crusader – this certainly isn’t just a billionaire with good after-school self-defence courses.

Christopher Nolan, the director, seemed to actually focus on making a good movie regardless of whether or not this was a comic book hero. The humour – a crucial part of all Batman films – was very well executed – Michael Caine, a surprising hit as Alfred, having the best one-liners. Christian Bale is a truly brilliant Batman – possibly the best yet (or maybe a close second to Adam West…) – playing the two sides of the character with equal flair.

Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman both add dignity and gravity to the film in their supporting roles as Bruce Wayne’s only confidantes. Cillian Murphy is a great villian – although his character is perhaps not as developed as it could have been – not really surprising, though, given that the whole film is devoted to developing the Batman character. Liam Neeson resumes his role as Qui Gon Jinn, to play Bruce Wayne’s mentor – although anyone who fails to spot the massive twist involving his character should be taken out and forced to watch a few M. Night Shyamalan films.

I know that most people I have spoken to about Batman Begins didn’t particularly enjoy it. I don’t understand why – it ranks among the best comic book adaptations, and certainly in the top two Batman films. Just don’t expect it to be your normal film of brave billionaire derring-do…

War of the Worlds
- Official Site
- Metacritic Rating: 72
- My Rating: 9.5/10
Forget the novel. Forget Jeff Wayne’s musical. And forget the 1950s film. Spielberg has reimagined the classic War of the Worlds story, to make it, frankly, better suited to CGI-enabled, post-9/11 cinema. Sure, the story follows the same theme – Martians want Earth, Earth doesn’t want the Martians. But apart from moving the action from London to the USA, and shifting it 100 years in the future, Spielberg also concentrates a lot more on the characters here than any of the previous incarnations. This is very much Tom Cruise’s character’s war, just as Saving Private Ryan concentrated on the Tom Hanks character.

That’s not to say that the aliens aren’t important – of course they are, and ILM, as ever, has created a stunning range of Martians that stay true to HG Wells’ original vision, updated to 2005. The set-piece action scenes are pulled off incredibly well, as are the early scenes when we’re waiting for them to appear.

But, as I said, it is the characters that are important. This is shown best in a scene when Tim Robbins and Tom Cruise are hiding in a cellar – but any more from me will spoil the scene for you. Suffice to say that Tim Robbins steals the movie in those 30 minutes – and Spielberg demonstrates why he is at the very top of his trade. Cruise and Dakota Fanning have a great dynamic as almost-estranged father and daughter, although the constant screaming does get a little annoying… Morgan Freeman, narrating the beginning and end (including the iconic “Who would have thought…”), is perfect to bookend the film.

Spielberg has managed to pull off a brilliant movie, perfect summer popcorn movie material. My only criticism is the ending – it is rushed, and unless you know the novel, you don’t really know what’s going on. Even if you do, it’s a bit mangled and unexplained. But don’t let that put you off: see it!

Oh – and the tripods look fantastic.

Kings and Queen (Rois et Reine)
- Official Site
- Metacritic Rating: 83
- My Rating: 8/10
Ah ha. A French film. And yes, this is one of those stereotypical French films – talking, talking, little absurdist comedy, and more talking.

But this is different: it manages to splice comedy and tragedy together masterfully, approaching themes like death, madness, emotional detachment and neglect in a manner that succeeds in not leaving the audience too drained.

Most importantly – from my point of view, anyway – this film is a fairly loving nod to the films of the Nouvelle Vague. It’s hard to watch and not spot the references to A Bout de Souffle or Les 400 Coups – but this is not so pervasive that it leaves the film empty if you don’t understand them (see The Dreamers for an example).

The characterisation is very well done, with the audience feeling drawn to certain of the characters instinctively – but enough mystery surrounds them to keep the story going to the end. The story seems a bit convuluted and bizarre, but being an arty French film, I’d say that’s to be expected. Basically, Nora’s a single mother who comes to care for her terminally ill father, while holed in up in mental ward, her ex-lover Ismael, a brilliant musician, plots his escape. Strange, I think you’ll agree.

If you do chose to watch Rois et Reine – and I do recommend it – be aware of what you are about to experience. And it might be worth watching A Bout de Souffle (Breathless, in English) first…
Category 1 | Tags: reviews | Comments Off

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