Friday 31 July 2009
Hospitals
A person with hospital experience knows that excessive chirpiness does not bode well for the chirpee.
Pigs
It is more trouble physically to move a semi-wild pig against it's will than to kidnap a man.
Pigs are harder to get hold of than men and big ones are stronger than a man and they cannot be intimidated with a gun.
There are also the tusks to consider if you want to maintain the integrity of your abdomen and legs.
Tusked pigs instinctively disembowel when fighting the upright species, men and bears. They do not naturally hamstring, but can quickly learn the behaviour.
If you need to maintain the animal alive, you cannot haze it with electrical shock, as pigs are prone to fatal coronary fibrillation.
Pigs are harder to get hold of than men and big ones are stronger than a man and they cannot be intimidated with a gun.
There are also the tusks to consider if you want to maintain the integrity of your abdomen and legs.
Tusked pigs instinctively disembowel when fighting the upright species, men and bears. They do not naturally hamstring, but can quickly learn the behaviour.
If you need to maintain the animal alive, you cannot haze it with electrical shock, as pigs are prone to fatal coronary fibrillation.
Coincidence
Coincidence is just a word that superstitious people use to describe complex events that in truth are mahematically inevitable consequences of primary cause.
Thursday 30 July 2009
Matrix
In The Matrix, when Smith meets Neo, he calls him "Mr Anderson", which is his Matrix name.
Of course people born in the real world chose their own names, their real names.
The hackers who become aware of The Matrix and are freed go by heir hacker names once out.
Hence Neo, Trinity, etc. Their Matrix names are assigned to them at birth by the machines, along with an identity that never really existed.
Smith makes a point of calling Neo "Mr Anderson" every time they meet. Neo eventually makes the point of saying "my name is Neo" in response.
When Smith meets Cypher he calls him "Mr Regan" - his Matrix name.
Yet when he finally meets Morpheus he calls him "The Great Morpheus", rather than use his Matrix name (which we never do find out). Even under interogation, Smith never calls him "Mr Jones" or whatever.
Oversight or deliberate?
Of course people born in the real world chose their own names, their real names.
The hackers who become aware of The Matrix and are freed go by heir hacker names once out.
Hence Neo, Trinity, etc. Their Matrix names are assigned to them at birth by the machines, along with an identity that never really existed.
Smith makes a point of calling Neo "Mr Anderson" every time they meet. Neo eventually makes the point of saying "my name is Neo" in response.
When Smith meets Cypher he calls him "Mr Regan" - his Matrix name.
Yet when he finally meets Morpheus he calls him "The Great Morpheus", rather than use his Matrix name (which we never do find out). Even under interogation, Smith never calls him "Mr Jones" or whatever.
Oversight or deliberate?
The Saturdays T4 on the Beach
The Sats looked and sounded really good singing love at T4 this weekend.
Frankie looked and moved hotter than ever.
Loving their second single "Up" more than ever.
Has the lyric:
"This is the crossing at the main intersection
Finest selection
I don't want protection"
They could have got "erection" in there if they really wanted.
Of course "I don't want protection" could be construed as meaning "No condom".
Which is even better.
Frankie looked and moved hotter than ever.
Loving their second single "Up" more than ever.
Has the lyric:
"This is the crossing at the main intersection
Finest selection
I don't want protection"
They could have got "erection" in there if they really wanted.
Of course "I don't want protection" could be construed as meaning "No condom".
Which is even better.
Robin Hood
Now the BBC have announced there won't be a new series with a new Robin, we have a new big budget Hollywood film to look forward to with Gladiator star Russell Crowe in the role.
Let's hope it's a bit more Jonas, a bit less Praed and nothing like Costner.
Let's hope it's a bit more Jonas, a bit less Praed and nothing like Costner.
Monday 27 July 2009
Coincidence
Coincidence is just a word that superstitious people use to describe complex events that in truth are mahematically inevitable consequences of primary cause.
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley, in the novel Brave New World, predicted a social order in which everyone would have a rank, and all would be content, without envy.
At the top would be the Alphas, the ruling elite, followed by Betas and Gammas.
The bottom of the ladder were Epsilons, brute labourers.
To Huxley, this vision would be a dystopia.
At the top would be the Alphas, the ruling elite, followed by Betas and Gammas.
The bottom of the ladder were Epsilons, brute labourers.
To Huxley, this vision would be a dystopia.
Saturday 25 July 2009
Girls Can't Catch
So that's what happened to Phoebe after X Factor.
We figured she would do an Alexendra, come back a couple of years later and win it. But she's gone off and formed a new girlband instead
(and they are better than Hope, and alread have a contract).
With The Saturdays taking over from Girls Aloud, and the SugaBabes doing nothing new, we need a g/b to fill the space vacated by Atomic Kitten.
We'll keep an eye on their progress.
We figured she would do an Alexendra, come back a couple of years later and win it. But she's gone off and formed a new girlband instead
(and they are better than Hope, and alread have a contract).
With The Saturdays taking over from Girls Aloud, and the SugaBabes doing nothing new, we need a g/b to fill the space vacated by Atomic Kitten.
We'll keep an eye on their progress.
Monastic
Some sociopaths are serene.
As collected as trapdoor spiders waiting in their lairs for prey to drop in on them.
As collected as trapdoor spiders waiting in their lairs for prey to drop in on them.
Friday 24 July 2009
Material world...
A father works overtime to be able to buy his son the latest trainers because if his son doesn't have them, he'll be ostracised at school.
His wife weeps in silence because her friends have designer clothes and she has no money.
Their adolescent children, instead of learning real values, dream of becoming movie stars and singers.
A world that should be focussed upon Justice instead focusses on material things. Which in six months time will be worthless and will have to be replaced.
All property is theft and the things you own end up owning you.
His wife weeps in silence because her friends have designer clothes and she has no money.
Their adolescent children, instead of learning real values, dream of becoming movie stars and singers.
A world that should be focussed upon Justice instead focusses on material things. Which in six months time will be worthless and will have to be replaced.
All property is theft and the things you own end up owning you.
Fashion
"Fashion" is merly a way of saying:
"I belong to your world. I'm wearing the same uniform as your army. Don't shoot me."
Ever since groups of people started living together in caves, fashion has been the only language everyone can understand, even complete strangers.
"We dress the same way. I belong to your tribe. Let's gang up on the weaklings as a way of surviving."
"I belong to your world. I'm wearing the same uniform as your army. Don't shoot me."
Ever since groups of people started living together in caves, fashion has been the only language everyone can understand, even complete strangers.
"We dress the same way. I belong to your tribe. Let's gang up on the weaklings as a way of surviving."
Thursday 23 July 2009
Cascada
Her new song out is "Evacuate the dancefloor".
Which is quite ironic as that's usually what happens in the club when one of her songs comes on.
Is her name Cascada or is it the name of the band? We thought it was her til we saw her on MTV calling herself "Natalie from Cascada".
We wonder the same thing about September as well.
Which is quite ironic as that's usually what happens in the club when one of her songs comes on.
Is her name Cascada or is it the name of the band? We thought it was her til we saw her on MTV calling herself "Natalie from Cascada".
We wonder the same thing about September as well.
Work
There are a few songs out with this title right now.
Kelly Rowland had one a while back.
The Saturdays have one out now.
(Frankie slapping her palm saying "get your boots on, baby."
And Ciara, featuring Missy Elliot, has a weird vid of the same title where she looks and dances like Alesha. Not as sexy as her recent appearances with Enrique or Justin.
And we all know what these girls really mean when they tell us to "work".
So we don't need to go into detail here.
Kelly Rowland had one a while back.
The Saturdays have one out now.
(Frankie slapping her palm saying "get your boots on, baby."
And Ciara, featuring Missy Elliot, has a weird vid of the same title where she looks and dances like Alesha. Not as sexy as her recent appearances with Enrique or Justin.
And we all know what these girls really mean when they tell us to "work".
So we don't need to go into detail here.
S&M
Intellectual pursuits will always lead one on fresh adventures. The mind can be kept fresh and forever engaged as it confronts and resolves increasingly complex problems.
Repetition of physical pleasures, on the other hand, eventually makes former delights seem dull. So one's appetites turn increasingly towards the exotic, the extreme.
Hence S&M - the requirement for violence with sex, the cruel humiliation of one's partner.
Brutality is an aphrodisiac.
The exercise of raw power thrills.
Repetition of physical pleasures, on the other hand, eventually makes former delights seem dull. So one's appetites turn increasingly towards the exotic, the extreme.
Hence S&M - the requirement for violence with sex, the cruel humiliation of one's partner.
Brutality is an aphrodisiac.
The exercise of raw power thrills.
C. S. Lewis
For the power of man to make himself what he pleases means, as we have seen, the power of some men to make other men what they please.
Michael Jackson - Internet Marketer?
Apparently Michael Jackson record sales will make more in death than he made in the whole of his life.
Back in the day, it was all about vinyl, both album and singles, and merchandise. Perhaps Bad was one of the first albums many people bought as their first CD?
Nowadays it's all about downloads.
So MJ has, in effect, become one of the all time greatest internet marketers.
13 songs in the Top 40 this week are his.
Back in the day, it was all about vinyl, both album and singles, and merchandise. Perhaps Bad was one of the first albums many people bought as their first CD?
Nowadays it's all about downloads.
So MJ has, in effect, become one of the all time greatest internet marketers.
13 songs in the Top 40 this week are his.
Tuesday 21 July 2009
Wonder Woman
Along with Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman is one of the three pillars of the original DC universe.
Lynda Carter's 70s TV show did a suprisingly good job, but now it's time for a modern WW for the big screen.
This film will tell her origins and how she first steps into the modern world - the post 9/11 modern world.
Joss Whedon is set to write and direct, and strong women are his speciality. Buffy, Faith, Ripley in Alien Resurrection. The ultimate comic book heroine couldn't have a better person to tell her story.
So who will play her? Morena Baccarin from Firefly would look great, or Summer Glau who could handle the athletic side of things. Or perhaps it will be an unknown?
Lynda Carter's 70s TV show did a suprisingly good job, but now it's time for a modern WW for the big screen.
This film will tell her origins and how she first steps into the modern world - the post 9/11 modern world.
Joss Whedon is set to write and direct, and strong women are his speciality. Buffy, Faith, Ripley in Alien Resurrection. The ultimate comic book heroine couldn't have a better person to tell her story.
So who will play her? Morena Baccarin from Firefly would look great, or Summer Glau who could handle the athletic side of things. Or perhaps it will be an unknown?
Captain America
Captain America is the most American of icons.
He was created during World War II to fight for Truth, Justice and The American Way, mainly against the Nazis.
So how does all that translate to the post-9/11 World?
Will anybody outside the USA even care?
According to Marvel, people want to see action films, adventure films, and, most important of all, well told stories. Cap has a unique dichotomy. He starts off as the creation of a US Army programme to create the Ultimate Soldier during WWII, gets frozen for a couple of decades, then wakes up in the present day.
Marvel plan an Indiana Jones type WWII adventure in the beginning, then the story of him being lost and re-emerging in the modern era in a very different world. He'll learn that things aren't so black and white anymore. Or perhaps they never were.
There have been a couple of crap Cap films before - one in 1944 and one in 1991.
So who would play him? 7 years ago Brad Pitt would have been a good choice. Nowadays however there is no A lister who could do the role. Which means going for an unknown, like they did with Superman.
Most important of all, we'll see how Nick Fury and The Avengers story arc fit into this story, following Iron Man and Hulk. In the comics, Cap was found by The Avengers and joined the team that way.
He was created during World War II to fight for Truth, Justice and The American Way, mainly against the Nazis.
So how does all that translate to the post-9/11 World?
Will anybody outside the USA even care?
According to Marvel, people want to see action films, adventure films, and, most important of all, well told stories. Cap has a unique dichotomy. He starts off as the creation of a US Army programme to create the Ultimate Soldier during WWII, gets frozen for a couple of decades, then wakes up in the present day.
Marvel plan an Indiana Jones type WWII adventure in the beginning, then the story of him being lost and re-emerging in the modern era in a very different world. He'll learn that things aren't so black and white anymore. Or perhaps they never were.
There have been a couple of crap Cap films before - one in 1944 and one in 1991.
So who would play him? 7 years ago Brad Pitt would have been a good choice. Nowadays however there is no A lister who could do the role. Which means going for an unknown, like they did with Superman.
Most important of all, we'll see how Nick Fury and The Avengers story arc fit into this story, following Iron Man and Hulk. In the comics, Cap was found by The Avengers and joined the team that way.
Thor
Thor is a different kind of superhero.
He isn't a mutant or a character transformed by radiation. He's a Norse god - the god of thunder, to be precise. Thor is a big blond strapping Viking who talks in cod-Shakespearean verse.
He's actually the first Marvel character to come from this background.
(We've more recently seen Hercules and Ares come to Earth as superheroes in the comics following Thor's success.)
The whole aspect of fantasy, mythic realms, and Norse gods is an area that hasn't even begun to be explored on film. We know from TV shows such as Hercules and Xena that this sort of thing works with audiences.
This project gives us a look at Asgard, the realm of the Norse gods, and the relationship betwen the gods. Midgard, which is what they call Earth, can be a portion of the film, but not the focus.
(Thor will obviously come to Midgard for The Avengers.)
Hopefully they'll do away with Thor's wholly unnecessary human alter ego Dr Donald Blake who bangs his stick to become Thor.
In the TV movie "Return Of The Incredible Hulk", Thor and Blake appeared as supporting characters, without the transformation aspect. Blake would simply summon Thor using the hammer Mjolnir. Quite why Blake had to keep sending Thor away and calling him up rather than just have him round the whole time was never explained. Also this Thor was relegated to being a Viking warrior and not an actually god.
Anyway, apparently Thor's dialogue will get rid of the "verily" and "forsooth" Quasi-Viking speak and be more like Pirates Of The Caribbean.
This will be a more fantasy film tahn any previous superhero movie and will focus on the Cain and Abel style rivalry between Thor and half brother Loki, the god of mischief. It promises to work out as a Superman meets Conan story.
Either way, it'll most definately be released on a Thursday.
He isn't a mutant or a character transformed by radiation. He's a Norse god - the god of thunder, to be precise. Thor is a big blond strapping Viking who talks in cod-Shakespearean verse.
He's actually the first Marvel character to come from this background.
(We've more recently seen Hercules and Ares come to Earth as superheroes in the comics following Thor's success.)
The whole aspect of fantasy, mythic realms, and Norse gods is an area that hasn't even begun to be explored on film. We know from TV shows such as Hercules and Xena that this sort of thing works with audiences.
This project gives us a look at Asgard, the realm of the Norse gods, and the relationship betwen the gods. Midgard, which is what they call Earth, can be a portion of the film, but not the focus.
(Thor will obviously come to Midgard for The Avengers.)
Hopefully they'll do away with Thor's wholly unnecessary human alter ego Dr Donald Blake who bangs his stick to become Thor.
In the TV movie "Return Of The Incredible Hulk", Thor and Blake appeared as supporting characters, without the transformation aspect. Blake would simply summon Thor using the hammer Mjolnir. Quite why Blake had to keep sending Thor away and calling him up rather than just have him round the whole time was never explained. Also this Thor was relegated to being a Viking warrior and not an actually god.
Anyway, apparently Thor's dialogue will get rid of the "verily" and "forsooth" Quasi-Viking speak and be more like Pirates Of The Caribbean.
This will be a more fantasy film tahn any previous superhero movie and will focus on the Cain and Abel style rivalry between Thor and half brother Loki, the god of mischief. It promises to work out as a Superman meets Conan story.
Either way, it'll most definately be released on a Thursday.
Ant Man
There's also an Ant Man movie in the pipeline. Though not as popular as the other Marvel superheroes, he was a founding member of The Avengers. Which has led to rumour that he will be the fifth member of the new film's lineup, alongside Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor.
However further speculation is that this will be a seperate movie, and an action comedy at that. Edgar Wright, director behind Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, will be in the chair. Which raises further rumours that Simon Pegg will be involved, maybe taking the lead role.
Ant Man will be a crime thriller dressed up like a superhero movie, much the same way as Shaun was a comedy dressed up as a zombie film. However, Marvel assure us it won't be a spoof. Wright plans an Elmore Leonard world, something like Oceans Eleven or Out Of Sight (both of which starred George Clooney, who also played an almost comedic comic version of Batman. More rumours abound). The element of the superpower is a curveball, common in this kind of movie.
Shrinking films are usually about the perils of being small. This will be an action adventure about a hero who can shrink and increase in size.
However, controversy abounds as Wright plans to choose second Ant Man Scott Lang, and bypass the Dr Henry Pym original storyline. The storyline will probably feature Lang, a burglar, stealing the suit from Pym, and them later teaming up. If it works, it could be a sharp, funny buddy-buddy movie.
However further speculation is that this will be a seperate movie, and an action comedy at that. Edgar Wright, director behind Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, will be in the chair. Which raises further rumours that Simon Pegg will be involved, maybe taking the lead role.
Ant Man will be a crime thriller dressed up like a superhero movie, much the same way as Shaun was a comedy dressed up as a zombie film. However, Marvel assure us it won't be a spoof. Wright plans an Elmore Leonard world, something like Oceans Eleven or Out Of Sight (both of which starred George Clooney, who also played an almost comedic comic version of Batman. More rumours abound). The element of the superpower is a curveball, common in this kind of movie.
Shrinking films are usually about the perils of being small. This will be an action adventure about a hero who can shrink and increase in size.
However, controversy abounds as Wright plans to choose second Ant Man Scott Lang, and bypass the Dr Henry Pym original storyline. The storyline will probably feature Lang, a burglar, stealing the suit from Pym, and them later teaming up. If it works, it could be a sharp, funny buddy-buddy movie.
Magneto?
There's rumour of a Magneto movie, a prequel, in the same vein as the Wolverine film.
It will chart the events between the Holocaust prologue of X-Men to where we meet him right at the start of the first film, after the titles, his first coversation with Professor X.
Elements to be included will be the death of Magneto's wife and his early friendship with Charles Xavier.
It will chart the events between the Holocaust prologue of X-Men to where we meet him right at the start of the first film, after the titles, his first coversation with Professor X.
Elements to be included will be the death of Magneto's wife and his early friendship with Charles Xavier.
Incredible Hulk 2?
As with Iron Man, perhaps he will be eclipsed by The Avengers.
Again a pity as he has a lot more to say and do.
We've seen him go up against The Abomination, another gamma enhanced monster who can match his strength. What about seeing him go up against The Leader and his gamma enhanced brain next?
Again a pity as he has a lot more to say and do.
We've seen him go up against The Abomination, another gamma enhanced monster who can match his strength. What about seeing him go up against The Leader and his gamma enhanced brain next?
Iron Man 2?
Will there be a chance for an Iron Man 2, as The Avengers will be the sequel to IM, Hulk, Captain America and Thor all rolled into one?
It'll be a shame if there isn't as there's a lot more can be done with this character and his storylines.
The Mandarin would be a great choice for the villain in IM2, with his alien rings.
Also, as IM is technology based, obvious enemies can be tech base as well, like Iron Monger was in the origin film.
IM has the potential to be a great spy movie - Tom Clancy, James Bond, and Robocop all thrown in the mix.
It'll be a shame if there isn't as there's a lot more can be done with this character and his storylines.
The Mandarin would be a great choice for the villain in IM2, with his alien rings.
Also, as IM is technology based, obvious enemies can be tech base as well, like Iron Monger was in the origin film.
IM has the potential to be a great spy movie - Tom Clancy, James Bond, and Robocop all thrown in the mix.
DC
Not to be outdone by all these Marvel films, DC are planning to not only give us a second Superman, and a third batman, but a brand new Wonder Woman.
Perhaps we'll see a JLA movie yet?
In the meantime, what about standalone movies for Flash and Green Lantern?
Perhaps we'll see a JLA movie yet?
In the meantime, what about standalone movies for Flash and Green Lantern?
Superman Returns 2
Maybe they'll follow the example Batman set and just call this The Man Of Steel.
Singer says he plans to get all Wrath Of Khan with this film, and put more action in, something missing from Returns. There is a terrible, threatening element of foreboding, possibly the return of General Zod (Superman II: The Wrath Of Zod?)
We also want to know what happens with Superman's son Jason, something put into the last film that was not in the script or the film's novelisation.
As long as we don't see him end up in a Superboy costume.
Singer says he plans to get all Wrath Of Khan with this film, and put more action in, something missing from Returns. There is a terrible, threatening element of foreboding, possibly the return of General Zod (Superman II: The Wrath Of Zod?)
We also want to know what happens with Superman's son Jason, something put into the last film that was not in the script or the film's novelisation.
As long as we don't see him end up in a Superboy costume.
Batman 3
The sequel to Dark Knight, though most definately won't be called B3, is building momentum.
The obvious villain for this will be Harvey Dent becoming Two Face, a story arc that's been building since Begins.
Hugh Jackman was first choice for Dent, but he's off doing Wolverine. Ryan Phillippe is another choice. Liev Schreiber was mentioned, but of course he's now SabreTooth in Wolverine.
And we know Dent kills The Graysons and gives birth, as it were, to Robin.
The Penguin could make a future appearance, this time recast as a British arms dealer.
Philip Seymour Hoffman would be perfect for this.
Then there's Bruce Wayne's love interest Talia, daughter of Ra's al Ghul.
And we just have to see a rebooted Catwoman at some point!
The obvious villain for this will be Harvey Dent becoming Two Face, a story arc that's been building since Begins.
Hugh Jackman was first choice for Dent, but he's off doing Wolverine. Ryan Phillippe is another choice. Liev Schreiber was mentioned, but of course he's now SabreTooth in Wolverine.
And we know Dent kills The Graysons and gives birth, as it were, to Robin.
The Penguin could make a future appearance, this time recast as a British arms dealer.
Philip Seymour Hoffman would be perfect for this.
Then there's Bruce Wayne's love interest Talia, daughter of Ra's al Ghul.
And we just have to see a rebooted Catwoman at some point!
Saturday 18 July 2009
Matriculated
What are atoms and molecules but another version of bits of data?
What is genetic code in DNA but a program?
And isn't polarity just zeroes and ones?
Which would indicate there is a programer.
What is genetic code in DNA but a program?
And isn't polarity just zeroes and ones?
Which would indicate there is a programer.
Faith
Read the Gospel.
Peter and the Apostles had some faith, but they also had doubt.
The Centurion had faith.
Dismas had faith.
Peter and the Apostles had some faith, but they also had doubt.
The Centurion had faith.
Dismas had faith.
Live or Die?
"Live for nothing or die for something. Your choice."
Rambo said that. Not many people's first choice as a philosopher. But he makes a good point.
Rambo said that. Not many people's first choice as a philosopher. But he makes a good point.
Fear
Fear is the Friend of exceptional people.
The only difference between a hero and coward is that a hero faces his fear while a coward runs from it.
The only difference between a hero and coward is that a hero faces his fear while a coward runs from it.
Angels
Stars that are fixed in the Heavens just stay there forever. People have to look up to notice them, pick them out, name them.
Shooting stars flash across the sky and everybody notices them, they can't help but notice them.
But Shooting stars burn up all their energy at once doing this.
Some people are like candles that burn at both ends - they burn twice as bright, but they only burn half as long.
God calls His angels home sooner than we'd like.
Shooting stars flash across the sky and everybody notices them, they can't help but notice them.
But Shooting stars burn up all their energy at once doing this.
Some people are like candles that burn at both ends - they burn twice as bright, but they only burn half as long.
God calls His angels home sooner than we'd like.
Balance
Satan was created first, before there were any angels or demons. He was created to be God's earpiece, never God's equal. Evil is not the opposite of Good, that's not how the balance works. Hatred is not the opposite of Love - apathy is.
The yin and yang demons make up the triumvirate of Hell. It keeps them arguing and stops them being a threat to Heaven.
You think of balance in terms of Yin and Yang, light and dark, good and evil, etc. You focus on the polarity.
Look at a seesaw. Look at scales. Without the bit in the middle there would be no way to have balance or polarity.
There is more behind these equations that people think.
You think if you know "1" then you know "2" because 1 + 1 = 2.
But do you know what "+" is?
Do you know what "=" is?
The yin and yang demons make up the triumvirate of Hell. It keeps them arguing and stops them being a threat to Heaven.
You think of balance in terms of Yin and Yang, light and dark, good and evil, etc. You focus on the polarity.
Look at a seesaw. Look at scales. Without the bit in the middle there would be no way to have balance or polarity.
There is more behind these equations that people think.
You think if you know "1" then you know "2" because 1 + 1 = 2.
But do you know what "+" is?
Do you know what "=" is?
Noble Truth
Multiplicity results in Diversity.
Diversity results in incompleteness.
Incompleteness results in desire.
Desire results in suffering.
Overcome desire and you start working your way back to the top of the tree, where there is no Multiplicity just oneness.
Diversity results in incompleteness.
Incompleteness results in desire.
Desire results in suffering.
Overcome desire and you start working your way back to the top of the tree, where there is no Multiplicity just oneness.
Friday 17 July 2009
Life is an absurdist comedy.
Every once in a while it's suddenly interrupted with thunderbolts of tragedy to give the story balance, to make slapstick seem funnier by comparison.
The Bible
The Bible is supposed to be The Word Of God.
It is, of course, the edited World of God.
The Catholics had the book locked away in Rome for a thousand years.
How much do you think they chopped up? Changed? Made up?
Holy Men?
The screwed everything that moved, killed anyone who messed them about and fed off the people they preached to.
What would have stopped them doing a quick re-write on the thing?
And they couldn't even do it properly!
Ever wondered why He's a God of vengeance in the Old Testament and a God of Love in the New one?
Why "an eye for an eye" becomes "turn the other cheek"?
And what about the end of it?
"Love me or you'll burn in Hell!"
Sounds like a spoilt kid, doesn't it?
It is, of course, the edited World of God.
The Catholics had the book locked away in Rome for a thousand years.
How much do you think they chopped up? Changed? Made up?
Holy Men?
The screwed everything that moved, killed anyone who messed them about and fed off the people they preached to.
What would have stopped them doing a quick re-write on the thing?
And they couldn't even do it properly!
Ever wondered why He's a God of vengeance in the Old Testament and a God of Love in the New one?
Why "an eye for an eye" becomes "turn the other cheek"?
And what about the end of it?
"Love me or you'll burn in Hell!"
Sounds like a spoilt kid, doesn't it?
Life
Life is a vast song staggering to it's conclusion.
You can guess what the last verse might be, but you don't want to spoil the surprise.
You can guess what the last verse might be, but you don't want to spoil the surprise.
Genesis of the Fallen
In the beginning, before the Heaven and The Earth and The Angels, God created Satan.
He wasn't "The Devil" then, he didn't even have a name. But he could see and touch and think and speak. Which was why he was created in the first place, so God would have someone to talk to.
God had a lot to talk about.
He planned to build a golden kingdom peopled by beautiful and kindly angels and far below it would be a universe of stars and moons and planets, all interlinked, all relying on each other like a perfect piece of clockwork.
Life on planets would be like that too. Animal and vegetable, carnivore and herbivore, ecosystems so complex and yet so perfectly simple that they could never fail.
Stars at dawn and moonlit snowfields, whalesong in the marianas, tiger tracks in endless green, wings so wide that a world could shelter under them.
And Satan shouted "YES!" until his tears ran through his smile.
That was what he thought was intended. God would use the power He had for marvelous CREATION, never tiring of the variety and depth of beauty He could bring to the Universe, an endless palette, an endless canvass.
Then God planned to enhance His creation with a new race He'd been thinking about. It's chief characteristic was the replacement of instinct with the grandiose concept of Free Will.
This was a disastrous notion according to Satan. Offer a choice and nine out of ten people will instantly make the wrong one. Asking for trouble.
Satan told Him so.
God looked at Satan, one eye narrow and one eye wide:
"WHAT did you say!?"
Satan had that plummeting free-fall sensation that only the most exquisite faux pas can bring to a conversation - the dreadful awareness that words can never heal the wound, and nothing can ever be the same again.
Satan no longer had God's ear. He no longer had any idea of what God planned than His angels did. He was terrified.
Satan skulked around the Kingdom of Heaven like a wayward infant, expecting his father's voice of Justice with every step he took.
Well, if you put all your energy into dodging someone for long enough, sooner or later you'll run right into them. Satan found the Great Redeemer squatting in a corner of Eternity.
That's why He gave Humanity the choice, and why He imagined they'd pick Him.
Why a Loving God would curse His creation with centuries of pain, why a Supreme Being is so enamoured of Free Will.
And you just think He "moves in mysterious ways".
A child of four can see through that one.
God knew it and threw Satan out of Heaven.
And he's been falling ever since.
After that He went ahead with it anyway. The Heavenly Host weren't much more than a dry run for Humanity.
(Look at them now - StormTroopers with haloes.)
Down below, Satan's purpose was clear.
He had to storm the walls of Heaven, to bring sanity to the heart of Creation, and the only way to do that was to raise an army. So he took advantage of the choice that God was so keen on, and offered one of his own.
Satan cajoled and bribed and threatened and his realm and his soul-legions grew and grew.
The other Fallen appeared but they were nothing but distractions.
On and on Satan went, his eyes forever on his goal, his dream of Earthly Paradise before him.
Then Satan woke up.
The methods he employed had their effect. The tools he used were Lust and Envy, Hate and Avarice. What good would they be in building a better world? What good would HE be? His reactions, decisions, were all based on Hatred.
Satan is exactly what The Devil should be - the tempter, the deciever, the serpent crawling in the garden. The Adversary.
So what did God originally intend him for?
What was the point of someone He could talk to if He wouldn't listen?
The answer is obvious.
Satan was God's conscience.
His Jiminy Cricket.
The little voice everyone gets in their head.
"Come on, don't do that, do this. Don't be nasty. Don't hurt her. Don't have that last drink, get on home. Do the right thing."
That was Satan.
So God takes the nagging little whine out of His head and gives it a body. And the minute he steps out of line, that's it. He kicks it's arse for it.
He bars him.
So God doesn't have to listen anymore and does whatever He fancies.
Mortals call Satan "The Devil". It is not a title he minds. Mortals have to call him something after all, but it is inaccurate.
Satan fell before there were even any angels to become devils, or demons, or whatever. When he got to the bottom there wasn't even a Hell for him to rule. That came later, with Lucifer.
Satan picked himself up from the longest fall of all, and remembered what he'd seen in the eyes of the Almighty.
And he wept with pity for the world He had created.
He wasn't "The Devil" then, he didn't even have a name. But he could see and touch and think and speak. Which was why he was created in the first place, so God would have someone to talk to.
God had a lot to talk about.
He planned to build a golden kingdom peopled by beautiful and kindly angels and far below it would be a universe of stars and moons and planets, all interlinked, all relying on each other like a perfect piece of clockwork.
Life on planets would be like that too. Animal and vegetable, carnivore and herbivore, ecosystems so complex and yet so perfectly simple that they could never fail.
Stars at dawn and moonlit snowfields, whalesong in the marianas, tiger tracks in endless green, wings so wide that a world could shelter under them.
And Satan shouted "YES!" until his tears ran through his smile.
That was what he thought was intended. God would use the power He had for marvelous CREATION, never tiring of the variety and depth of beauty He could bring to the Universe, an endless palette, an endless canvass.
Then God planned to enhance His creation with a new race He'd been thinking about. It's chief characteristic was the replacement of instinct with the grandiose concept of Free Will.
This was a disastrous notion according to Satan. Offer a choice and nine out of ten people will instantly make the wrong one. Asking for trouble.
Satan told Him so.
God looked at Satan, one eye narrow and one eye wide:
"WHAT did you say!?"
Satan had that plummeting free-fall sensation that only the most exquisite faux pas can bring to a conversation - the dreadful awareness that words can never heal the wound, and nothing can ever be the same again.
Satan no longer had God's ear. He no longer had any idea of what God planned than His angels did. He was terrified.
Satan skulked around the Kingdom of Heaven like a wayward infant, expecting his father's voice of Justice with every step he took.
Well, if you put all your energy into dodging someone for long enough, sooner or later you'll run right into them. Satan found the Great Redeemer squatting in a corner of Eternity.
That's why He gave Humanity the choice, and why He imagined they'd pick Him.
Why a Loving God would curse His creation with centuries of pain, why a Supreme Being is so enamoured of Free Will.
And you just think He "moves in mysterious ways".
A child of four can see through that one.
God knew it and threw Satan out of Heaven.
And he's been falling ever since.
After that He went ahead with it anyway. The Heavenly Host weren't much more than a dry run for Humanity.
(Look at them now - StormTroopers with haloes.)
Down below, Satan's purpose was clear.
He had to storm the walls of Heaven, to bring sanity to the heart of Creation, and the only way to do that was to raise an army. So he took advantage of the choice that God was so keen on, and offered one of his own.
Satan cajoled and bribed and threatened and his realm and his soul-legions grew and grew.
The other Fallen appeared but they were nothing but distractions.
On and on Satan went, his eyes forever on his goal, his dream of Earthly Paradise before him.
Then Satan woke up.
The methods he employed had their effect. The tools he used were Lust and Envy, Hate and Avarice. What good would they be in building a better world? What good would HE be? His reactions, decisions, were all based on Hatred.
Satan is exactly what The Devil should be - the tempter, the deciever, the serpent crawling in the garden. The Adversary.
So what did God originally intend him for?
What was the point of someone He could talk to if He wouldn't listen?
The answer is obvious.
Satan was God's conscience.
His Jiminy Cricket.
The little voice everyone gets in their head.
"Come on, don't do that, do this. Don't be nasty. Don't hurt her. Don't have that last drink, get on home. Do the right thing."
That was Satan.
So God takes the nagging little whine out of His head and gives it a body. And the minute he steps out of line, that's it. He kicks it's arse for it.
He bars him.
So God doesn't have to listen anymore and does whatever He fancies.
Mortals call Satan "The Devil". It is not a title he minds. Mortals have to call him something after all, but it is inaccurate.
Satan fell before there were even any angels to become devils, or demons, or whatever. When he got to the bottom there wasn't even a Hell for him to rule. That came later, with Lucifer.
Satan picked himself up from the longest fall of all, and remembered what he'd seen in the eyes of the Almighty.
And he wept with pity for the world He had created.
Thursday 16 July 2009
Marvel Movies
To date:
Blade
Blade II
Blade Trinity
X-Men
X-Men 2
X-Men The Last Stand
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 3
Daredevil
Hulk
The Punisher
Elektra
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four - Rise of The Silver Surfer
Iron Man
Ghost Rider
The Incredible Hulk
Wolverine
in planning:
Captain America
Thor
Ant Man
Blade
Blade II
Blade Trinity
X-Men
X-Men 2
X-Men The Last Stand
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 3
Daredevil
Hulk
The Punisher
Elektra
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four - Rise of The Silver Surfer
Iron Man
Ghost Rider
The Incredible Hulk
Wolverine
in planning:
Captain America
Thor
Ant Man
Spider-Man 4
Will there be a Spider-Man 4? Or was this destined to just be a trilogy?
The way they tried to cram everything into S3 could mean they wanted to get all the storylines wrapped up and Spidey capped while they turn their attention to The Avengers. X Men were done as a trilogy. (Although, Wolverine's pre-story was aching to be told.)
So who would be the Big Bad in S4 if it ever happens?
Mysterio is an obvious one. His real name is Quentin Beck, who was cameoed in S3 by Bruce Campbell. You know Raimi would love to use Campbell in a major role, so perhaps he's been saving him for S4?
There is also The Lizard. Curt Connors was name checked in S1 and appeared in S3, so that's a possibility.
There's always The Vulture and Kraven The Hunter. Or even Electro.
Or, if Marvel want to bung in as many villains as they can for a Spidey film, bring in The Sinister Six, which includes Kraven, Electro, Vulture and Mysterio, and will bring about the re-appearance of Doc Ock and The Sandman.
The way they tried to cram everything into S3 could mean they wanted to get all the storylines wrapped up and Spidey capped while they turn their attention to The Avengers. X Men were done as a trilogy. (Although, Wolverine's pre-story was aching to be told.)
So who would be the Big Bad in S4 if it ever happens?
Mysterio is an obvious one. His real name is Quentin Beck, who was cameoed in S3 by Bruce Campbell. You know Raimi would love to use Campbell in a major role, so perhaps he's been saving him for S4?
There is also The Lizard. Curt Connors was name checked in S1 and appeared in S3, so that's a possibility.
There's always The Vulture and Kraven The Hunter. Or even Electro.
Or, if Marvel want to bung in as many villains as they can for a Spidey film, bring in The Sinister Six, which includes Kraven, Electro, Vulture and Mysterio, and will bring about the re-appearance of Doc Ock and The Sandman.
Avengers
While we're waiting for the Avengers movie, it may be fun to speculate about a possible post-Civil War Avengers.
Ali Larter would be excellent choice to play this version of Carol Danvers - Miss Marvel.
Ali Larter would be excellent choice to play this version of Carol Danvers - Miss Marvel.
Supergirl
With all the reboots to the Superhero franchises, it would be a great time to do a proper version of Supergirl, as she appears in the more recent comics.
There was a good version of her in Smallville, but for a movie the best choice would be Hayden who played Claire in Heroes.
There was a good version of her in Smallville, but for a movie the best choice would be Hayden who played Claire in Heroes.
Tuesday 14 July 2009
Wound Man
Wound Man is an illustration which first appeared in European surgical texts in the Middle Ages.
It lays out schematically the various wounds a person might suffer in battle or in accidents, often with surrounding or accompanying text stating treatments for the various different injuries.
Bloody Eagle
This is a Norse sacrificial custom.
The short ribs are chopped through to be seperated from the spine.
The lungs are then pulled out the back, and flattened out to make them look like wings.
The short ribs are chopped through to be seperated from the spine.
The lungs are then pulled out the back, and flattened out to make them look like wings.
Hospitals
A person with hospital experience knows that excessive chirpiness does not bode well for the chirpee.
Saturday 11 July 2009
Entropy
In A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, there is a part where a teacup falls off the table and smashes on the floor.
Hawking says this:
"Where does the difference between the past and the future come from? The laws of science do not distinguish between the past and the future. Yet there is a big difference between the past and the future in ordinary life.
You may see a cup fall off of a table and break into pieces on the floor. But you will never see the cup gather itself back together and jump back on the table."
"The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving time a direction."
Hawking had once believed the universe would stop expanding and would shrink again, and entropy might reverse itself.
Hawking later said that he had been mistaken.
Hawking says this:
"Where does the difference between the past and the future come from? The laws of science do not distinguish between the past and the future. Yet there is a big difference between the past and the future in ordinary life.
You may see a cup fall off of a table and break into pieces on the floor. But you will never see the cup gather itself back together and jump back on the table."
"The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving time a direction."
Hawking had once believed the universe would stop expanding and would shrink again, and entropy might reverse itself.
Hawking later said that he had been mistaken.
Smell and taste at dinner
Dinner appeals to taste and smell, the oldest senses and the closest to the centre of the mind.
Taste and smell are housed in parts of the mind that precede pity.
At the same time, playing in the dome of the cortex like miracles illuminated on the ceiling of a church are the ceremonies and sights and exchanges of dinner. It can be far more engaging than theatre.
If remarks are passed that are unpleasant in the instant, you will see that context can make them something between droll and riotously funny.
If things are said that are painfully true, then it is only a passing truth and will change.
If you feel pain bloom inside you, it will soon blossom into relief.
Smell and taste are associated with the lowest of the chakras, Earth and Water respectively.
Taste and smell are housed in parts of the mind that precede pity.
At the same time, playing in the dome of the cortex like miracles illuminated on the ceiling of a church are the ceremonies and sights and exchanges of dinner. It can be far more engaging than theatre.
If remarks are passed that are unpleasant in the instant, you will see that context can make them something between droll and riotously funny.
If things are said that are painfully true, then it is only a passing truth and will change.
If you feel pain bloom inside you, it will soon blossom into relief.
Smell and taste are associated with the lowest of the chakras, Earth and Water respectively.
Girls Aloud Tangled Up Live at the 02, Summer 2008
We watched this on DVD again at the weekend.
This is GA at their absolute best, at their all time peak. Better than the Spice Girls ever were or could have been. The Saturdays have a lot of potential, but they have a long way to go before they reach this level, if they ever do. GA set the bar for years to come with this gig.
A few classic hits are present - Sound Of The Underground, Biology, Stand By You and Jump - but this is mainly about songs from the Tangled Up album itself. And not just the three hits, but album tracks as well.
Sexy No No No opens the show, and Can't Speak French and Call The Shots come up later. Album tracks include Girl Overboard, Close To Love, Black Jacks, Fling and Control Of The Knife, which all work well live with guitar backing, as rock songs, a slightly different interpretation than the studio produced album versions.
We would have really liked to see a live version of What Your Crying For.
(And they still can't do Love Machine live it must be said>)
There was a particularly good rock version of Wake Me Up which flows flawlessly into Walk This Way (no Sugababes present or needed). There's also a cover of Salt n Pepa's Push It, which on paper sounds like it wouldn't work, but actually works out great as a live rock song.
Then there's a cover of Robin's With Every Heartbeat, which is OK, but taking up a slot that could have been better used by a GA classic, such as No Good Advice, which was dropped from this set, even though it's a great live rock song, or a TU album track (like What You Crying For).
Control Of The Knife, done live, is a great funky reggae style number, and a nice change of pace towards the end of the set.
GA always end their gig with Jump, and on this day they used the original Pointer Sisters arrangement of the song, which was all the better for it.
Then, in a stroke of genius, they came back for an encore of Something Kinda Ooh, with a final costume change, their sexiest song by far, and a great live interpretation.
Tweedy and The Bombshell look particularly stunning throughout the gig, and you realise what a great career Nadine could havd as a rock goddess (something we've badly needed for a long time now). Even Nicola looks OK for this one, with a flame red mane a la Carol Decker, and she finally holds her own on her vocal parts live.
It'll be a long time before we see a concert by a girlband as good as this.
This is GA at their absolute best, at their all time peak. Better than the Spice Girls ever were or could have been. The Saturdays have a lot of potential, but they have a long way to go before they reach this level, if they ever do. GA set the bar for years to come with this gig.
A few classic hits are present - Sound Of The Underground, Biology, Stand By You and Jump - but this is mainly about songs from the Tangled Up album itself. And not just the three hits, but album tracks as well.
Sexy No No No opens the show, and Can't Speak French and Call The Shots come up later. Album tracks include Girl Overboard, Close To Love, Black Jacks, Fling and Control Of The Knife, which all work well live with guitar backing, as rock songs, a slightly different interpretation than the studio produced album versions.
We would have really liked to see a live version of What Your Crying For.
(And they still can't do Love Machine live it must be said>)
There was a particularly good rock version of Wake Me Up which flows flawlessly into Walk This Way (no Sugababes present or needed). There's also a cover of Salt n Pepa's Push It, which on paper sounds like it wouldn't work, but actually works out great as a live rock song.
Then there's a cover of Robin's With Every Heartbeat, which is OK, but taking up a slot that could have been better used by a GA classic, such as No Good Advice, which was dropped from this set, even though it's a great live rock song, or a TU album track (like What You Crying For).
Control Of The Knife, done live, is a great funky reggae style number, and a nice change of pace towards the end of the set.
GA always end their gig with Jump, and on this day they used the original Pointer Sisters arrangement of the song, which was all the better for it.
Then, in a stroke of genius, they came back for an encore of Something Kinda Ooh, with a final costume change, their sexiest song by far, and a great live interpretation.
Tweedy and The Bombshell look particularly stunning throughout the gig, and you realise what a great career Nadine could havd as a rock goddess (something we've badly needed for a long time now). Even Nicola looks OK for this one, with a flame red mane a la Carol Decker, and she finally holds her own on her vocal parts live.
It'll be a long time before we see a concert by a girlband as good as this.
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Suicide is temptation
We want to jump from balconies.
Same as the glint of the rail tempts us when we hear the approaching train.
Same as the glint of the rail tempts us when we hear the approaching train.
Watching the watchers
Now that ceaseless violence has calloused us to the lewd and vulgar, it's instructive to see what still seems wicked to us. What still slaps the clammy flab of our submissive consciousness hard enough to get our attention?
An exposition of Torture Instruments cannot fail to appeal to a connoisseur of the worst in mankind.
But the essence of the worst, the true asafoetida of the human spirit, is not found in the Iron Maiden or the whetted edge.
Elemental Ugliness is found in the faces of the crowd.
An exposition of Torture Instruments cannot fail to appeal to a connoisseur of the worst in mankind.
But the essence of the worst, the true asafoetida of the human spirit, is not found in the Iron Maiden or the whetted edge.
Elemental Ugliness is found in the faces of the crowd.
Variations on a theme - "wheeling" in the old days
The Italian Princes preferred to have their victims broken on the ground with the use of the iron-tired wheel as the striking agent and blocks beneath the limbs.
In Northern Europe the popular method was to lash the victim to the wheel, break them with an iron bar, then lace the limbs through the spokes around the periphery of the wheel, compound fractures providing the requisite flexibility, with the still noisy head and trunk in the centre.
The latter method was a more satisfactory spectacle, but the recreation might be cut short if a piece of marrow went to the heart.
In Northern Europe the popular method was to lash the victim to the wheel, break them with an iron bar, then lace the limbs through the spokes around the periphery of the wheel, compound fractures providing the requisite flexibility, with the still noisy head and trunk in the centre.
The latter method was a more satisfactory spectacle, but the recreation might be cut short if a piece of marrow went to the heart.
Friday 10 July 2009
Dante's Inferno and Judas Iscariot
Pier dell Vigna, Logothete of the Kingdom of Sicily, earned a place in Dante's Hell through his avarice.
Della Vigna was disgraced and blinded for his betrayal of the emperor's trust through his avarice. Dante's pilgrim found him in the seventh level of the Inferno, reserved for suicides. Like Judas Iscarot, he died by hanging.
Judas, and Pier della Vigna and Ahithophel, the ambitious counsellor of Absalom, are linked in Dante by the avarice he saw in them and by their subsequent death by hanging.
Avarice and hanging are linked in the ancient and medieval mind. St Jerome writes that's Judas' surname "Iscariot" means "money" or "price", while Father Origen says Iscariot is derived from the Hebrew "from suffocation", that his name means "Judas the Suffocated".
Camicion de Pazzi is in Hell for murdering a kinsman.
He awaits the arrival of another kinsman, Carlino de Pazzi, who will be placed even further down down in Hell for treachery and betrayal of the White Guelphs, the party of Dante himself.
Avarice and hanging have been linked since antiquity, and the image appears again and again in art.
The earliest known depiction of the Crucifixion is carved on an ivory box in Gaul, c4AD. It includes the death by hanging of Judas, his face upturned to the branch that suspends him. On a reliquary casket of Milan, fourth century, and an ivory diptych of the ninth century, we again see Judas hanging, still looking up.
In a plate from the doors of the Benevento Cathderal, we see Judas hanging with his bowels falling out. This is how he is described by St Luke, whose author was, of course, a physician, in the Acts of the Apostles. He hangs beset by harpies. Above him in the sky is the face of Cain-In-The-Moon.
Giotto also depicts him eviscerated.
In a 15th century edition of the Inferno, we see Pier della Vigna's body hanging from a bleeding tree. There is an obvious parallel with Judas. Dante, in a typical act of genius, makes Vigna, now in Hell, speak in strained hisses and coughing sibilants, as though he is still hanging. He tells us about how he, and the other damned, have to drag their own dead bodies to hang upon a thorn tree.
This is in parallel to the innocent Christ carrying his own cross to Golgotha. Christ, in Paradise, is free of the cross. Judas, like Vigna, must still drag his body to the tree in Hell.
Dante recalls, in sound, the death of Judas in the death of Vigna, for the same crimes of avarice and treachery.
Ahithophel, Judas, Pier della Vigna.
Avarice, hanging, self destruction.
Avarice counts as much for self destruction as hanging.
This is summed up at the end of the canto, not by one of these infamous three, but by an anonymous Florentine suicide:
"And I - I made my own house be my gallows."
Della Vigna was disgraced and blinded for his betrayal of the emperor's trust through his avarice. Dante's pilgrim found him in the seventh level of the Inferno, reserved for suicides. Like Judas Iscarot, he died by hanging.
Judas, and Pier della Vigna and Ahithophel, the ambitious counsellor of Absalom, are linked in Dante by the avarice he saw in them and by their subsequent death by hanging.
Avarice and hanging are linked in the ancient and medieval mind. St Jerome writes that's Judas' surname "Iscariot" means "money" or "price", while Father Origen says Iscariot is derived from the Hebrew "from suffocation", that his name means "Judas the Suffocated".
Camicion de Pazzi is in Hell for murdering a kinsman.
He awaits the arrival of another kinsman, Carlino de Pazzi, who will be placed even further down down in Hell for treachery and betrayal of the White Guelphs, the party of Dante himself.
Avarice and hanging have been linked since antiquity, and the image appears again and again in art.
The earliest known depiction of the Crucifixion is carved on an ivory box in Gaul, c4AD. It includes the death by hanging of Judas, his face upturned to the branch that suspends him. On a reliquary casket of Milan, fourth century, and an ivory diptych of the ninth century, we again see Judas hanging, still looking up.
In a plate from the doors of the Benevento Cathderal, we see Judas hanging with his bowels falling out. This is how he is described by St Luke, whose author was, of course, a physician, in the Acts of the Apostles. He hangs beset by harpies. Above him in the sky is the face of Cain-In-The-Moon.
Giotto also depicts him eviscerated.
In a 15th century edition of the Inferno, we see Pier della Vigna's body hanging from a bleeding tree. There is an obvious parallel with Judas. Dante, in a typical act of genius, makes Vigna, now in Hell, speak in strained hisses and coughing sibilants, as though he is still hanging. He tells us about how he, and the other damned, have to drag their own dead bodies to hang upon a thorn tree.
This is in parallel to the innocent Christ carrying his own cross to Golgotha. Christ, in Paradise, is free of the cross. Judas, like Vigna, must still drag his body to the tree in Hell.
Dante recalls, in sound, the death of Judas in the death of Vigna, for the same crimes of avarice and treachery.
Ahithophel, Judas, Pier della Vigna.
Avarice, hanging, self destruction.
Avarice counts as much for self destruction as hanging.
This is summed up at the end of the canto, not by one of these infamous three, but by an anonymous Florentine suicide:
"And I - I made my own house be my gallows."
Thursday 9 July 2009
Tuesday 7 July 2009
William Blake - The Ancient of Days
This is a picture of God measuring with His calipers.
It is referred to in Daniel 7:
9 "As I looked,
"thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened.
William Blake
Blake lists several Proverbs of Hell, amongst which are the following:
Prisons are built with stones of Law,
Brothels with bricks of Religion.
As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on,
So the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
In The Everlasting Gospel, Blake does not present Jesus as a philosopher or traditional messianic figure but as a supremely creative being, above dogma, logic and even morality:
If he had been Antichrist, Creeping Jesus,
He'd have done anything to please us:
Gone sneaking into the Synagogues
And not used the Elders & Priests like Dogs,
But humble as a Lamb or an Ass,
Obey himself to Caiaphas.
God wants not man to humble himself
In A Vision of the Last Judgement, Blake says that:
“ Men are admitted into Heaven not because they have curbed & govern'd their Passions or have No Passions, but because they have Cultivated their Understandings. The Treasures of Heaven are not Negations of Passion, but Realities of Intellect, from which all the Passions Emanate Uncurbed in their Eternal Glory. "
Prisons are built with stones of Law,
Brothels with bricks of Religion.
As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on,
So the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
In The Everlasting Gospel, Blake does not present Jesus as a philosopher or traditional messianic figure but as a supremely creative being, above dogma, logic and even morality:
If he had been Antichrist, Creeping Jesus,
He'd have done anything to please us:
Gone sneaking into the Synagogues
And not used the Elders & Priests like Dogs,
But humble as a Lamb or an Ass,
Obey himself to Caiaphas.
God wants not man to humble himself
In A Vision of the Last Judgement, Blake says that:
“ Men are admitted into Heaven not because they have curbed & govern'd their Passions or have No Passions, but because they have Cultivated their Understandings. The Treasures of Heaven are not Negations of Passion, but Realities of Intellect, from which all the Passions Emanate Uncurbed in their Eternal Glory. "
Real emotion
There is a common emotion we all recognize and have not yet named - the happy anticipation of being able to feel contempt.
I guess that's why they call it the blues
The truth of human suffering in a blues song is what makes it worth singing.
Saturday 4 July 2009
"Africa" by Toto
Michael Jackson said that "Africa" by Toto was one of the most beautiful songs he had ever heard. We agree with him.
Despite our negative experiences of the "Dark Side" of Africa (and don't get us started on Idi Amin!) we post the lyrics to their song. This says what we really feel about that most unspoilt of lands.
I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
Shes coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, hurry boy, its waiting there for you
Chorus:
Its gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had
The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do whats right
Sure as kilimanjaro rises like olympus above the serengeti
I seek to cure whats deep inside, frightened of this thing that Ive become
Hurry boy, shes waiting there for you
Its gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
Theres nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in africa, I bless the rains down in africa
I bless the rains down in africa, I bless the rains down in africa
I bless the rains down in africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had
Despite our negative experiences of the "Dark Side" of Africa (and don't get us started on Idi Amin!) we post the lyrics to their song. This says what we really feel about that most unspoilt of lands.
I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
Shes coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, hurry boy, its waiting there for you
Chorus:
Its gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had
The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do whats right
Sure as kilimanjaro rises like olympus above the serengeti
I seek to cure whats deep inside, frightened of this thing that Ive become
Hurry boy, shes waiting there for you
Its gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
Theres nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in africa, I bless the rains down in africa
I bless the rains down in africa, I bless the rains down in africa
I bless the rains down in africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had
Africa
Medical missionaries in Africa, with little patience for theology, concentrate hard on one baby at a time.
God won't do a thing to help.
For fifty thousand infant lives, He doesn't bother to send a drop of rain.
God won't do a thing to help.
For fifty thousand infant lives, He doesn't bother to send a drop of rain.
Sarah Michelle Gellar - Silence of the Lambs
We watched Silence Of The Lambs on DVD again this week. The first and best Hannibal Lector film.
We reckon if this was being made now that SMG would be good in the role of Clarice Starling.
Not so much the Julianne Moore version in Hannibal, as that needs an older, more world weary portrayal.
We reckon if this was being made now that SMG would be good in the role of Clarice Starling.
Not so much the Julianne Moore version in Hannibal, as that needs an older, more world weary portrayal.
Survivors
There are two types of survivors in life.
Those who found the requisite strength in having once been loved with great intensity.
Those who, having not been loved, learn to thrive on hatred, suspicion, and the meager rewards of revenge.
Those who found the requisite strength in having once been loved with great intensity.
Those who, having not been loved, learn to thrive on hatred, suspicion, and the meager rewards of revenge.
Agnes
We've been seeing Agnes' vid for "Release Me" all over MTV and hearing the tune in the clubs.
In the vid she looks, and sounds, like a cross between Leona Lewis and Joss Stone (both of whom we love by the way).
The vid does have an excess of walking down the street and doing her make up in the club toilet whilk black girls dance in the background.
There's not enough footage of her dancing in the club, which is a pity coz she a great little mover.
We did some research and it turns out she's from Sweden and this is about her third album.
Although this is not her first release, hopefully it won't be her last either.
In the vid she looks, and sounds, like a cross between Leona Lewis and Joss Stone (both of whom we love by the way).
The vid does have an excess of walking down the street and doing her make up in the club toilet whilk black girls dance in the background.
There's not enough footage of her dancing in the club, which is a pity coz she a great little mover.
We did some research and it turns out she's from Sweden and this is about her third album.
Although this is not her first release, hopefully it won't be her last either.
Friday 3 July 2009
Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Many people, us included, hold Arnold to be the greatest bodybuilder of all time.
In the 1970s, this was undisputed as Arnold held the Mr Olympia title an unprecedented 7 times, having previously won Mr World five times.
When Lee Haney won his 8th Sandow in 1991, he eclipsed The Oak's record. Then Ronnie Coleman equalled Haney with his own 8th Sandow in 2005. So Arnold, in some people's eyes, is relegated to "third" greatest, behind the two 8-ers.
Let's examine this.
Haney won his 8th in 1991. That was Dorian Yates' first Olympia in which The Shadow came second to Lee. In 1992 Dorian came back better than ever and won his first O. Dorian maintains that if Haney had competed in 92 that he still would have won, that he would have unseated the Champ. Many people, including us, agree with him.
Coleman won his 8th O in 2005. When he competed in 2006, he lost to Jay Cutler. Cutler was Mr O two years in a row and Ronnie never got his 9th Sandow. Then Jay was beaten by Dexter Jackson in 2008, the man who currently holds the title. There is no realistic chance of Ronnie ever coming back and taken the Mr O from Dex, or Jay, or any of the up and coming hungry young competitors.
Ronnie and Haney were never destined to get a 9th.
Maybe 8 is the limit.
So why did Arnie never get an 8th, or even a 9th?
Arnie won 6 Sandows in a row, 1970 - 1975. Nobody came close. He retired after this to pursue an acting career, and we all know how that turned out. What would Arnold have gained from staying in the sport when he had an unprecedented 6 wins, and had a big movie career waiting?
Arnold was succeeded by Franco Columbo in 1976, then Frank Zane won the next 3 years 77-79. Arnold could have beaten both of them on all four occasions had he kept competing. This would have given him 10 Sandows.
In 1980, while preparing for his Conan film, Arnie got back in Olympia shape. In a bold move he entered the O that year and won his 7th Sandow. Had he been competing right through it would have been his 11th.
There speculation about Mike Mentzer, Boyer Coe, etc, but watch "Total Rebuild" and you'll see Arnold is way ahead of all of them.
Arnold retired, this time for good.
The O was won by Columbo again in 1981, then by Samir Bannout in 1982, and Chris Dickerson in 1982.
Arnold could easily have beaten all of them and made 14 Sandows if he had wanted. But he had far better things to do.
It's also possible that in Haney's first year, he would not have been able to unseat the Oak, so Arnold could well have made it 15!
Just because he didn't, it doesn't maean he couldn't.
Arnold Schwarzeneggar is without a doubt the greatest bodybuilder of all time.
In the 1970s, this was undisputed as Arnold held the Mr Olympia title an unprecedented 7 times, having previously won Mr World five times.
When Lee Haney won his 8th Sandow in 1991, he eclipsed The Oak's record. Then Ronnie Coleman equalled Haney with his own 8th Sandow in 2005. So Arnold, in some people's eyes, is relegated to "third" greatest, behind the two 8-ers.
Let's examine this.
Haney won his 8th in 1991. That was Dorian Yates' first Olympia in which The Shadow came second to Lee. In 1992 Dorian came back better than ever and won his first O. Dorian maintains that if Haney had competed in 92 that he still would have won, that he would have unseated the Champ. Many people, including us, agree with him.
Coleman won his 8th O in 2005. When he competed in 2006, he lost to Jay Cutler. Cutler was Mr O two years in a row and Ronnie never got his 9th Sandow. Then Jay was beaten by Dexter Jackson in 2008, the man who currently holds the title. There is no realistic chance of Ronnie ever coming back and taken the Mr O from Dex, or Jay, or any of the up and coming hungry young competitors.
Ronnie and Haney were never destined to get a 9th.
Maybe 8 is the limit.
So why did Arnie never get an 8th, or even a 9th?
Arnie won 6 Sandows in a row, 1970 - 1975. Nobody came close. He retired after this to pursue an acting career, and we all know how that turned out. What would Arnold have gained from staying in the sport when he had an unprecedented 6 wins, and had a big movie career waiting?
Arnold was succeeded by Franco Columbo in 1976, then Frank Zane won the next 3 years 77-79. Arnold could have beaten both of them on all four occasions had he kept competing. This would have given him 10 Sandows.
In 1980, while preparing for his Conan film, Arnie got back in Olympia shape. In a bold move he entered the O that year and won his 7th Sandow. Had he been competing right through it would have been his 11th.
There speculation about Mike Mentzer, Boyer Coe, etc, but watch "Total Rebuild" and you'll see Arnold is way ahead of all of them.
Arnold retired, this time for good.
The O was won by Columbo again in 1981, then by Samir Bannout in 1982, and Chris Dickerson in 1982.
Arnold could easily have beaten all of them and made 14 Sandows if he had wanted. But he had far better things to do.
It's also possible that in Haney's first year, he would not have been able to unseat the Oak, so Arnold could well have made it 15!
Just because he didn't, it doesn't maean he couldn't.
Arnold Schwarzeneggar is without a doubt the greatest bodybuilder of all time.
Mr Olympia winners
1965 Larry Scott New York City, New York, United States
1966 Larry Scott New York City, New York, United States
1967 Sergio Oliva New York City, New York, United States
1968 Sergio Oliva New York City, New York, United States
1969 Sergio Oliva New York City, New York, United States
1970 Arnold Schwarzenegger New York City, New York, United States
1971 Arnold Schwarzenegger Paris, France
1972 Arnold Schwarzenegger Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
1973 Arnold Schwarzenegger New York City, New York, United States
1974 Arnold Schwarzenegger New York City, New York, United States
1975 Arnold Schwarzenegger Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
1976 Franco Columbu Columbus, Ohio, United States
1977 Frank Zane Columbus, Ohio, United States
1978 Frank Zane Columbus, Ohio, United States
1979 Frank Zane Columbus, Ohio, United States
1980 Arnold Schwarzenegger Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1981 Franco Columbu Columbus, Ohio, United States
1982 Chris Dickerson London, England, United Kingdom
1983 Samir Bannout Munich, Bavaria, Germany
1984 Lee Haney New York City, New York, United States
1985 Lee Haney Brussels, Belgium
1986 Lee Haney Columbus, Ohio, United States
1987 Lee Haney Gothenburg, Sweden
1988 Lee Haney Los Angeles, California, United States
1989 Lee Haney Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
1990 Lee Haney Chicago, Illinois, United States
1991 Lee Haney Orlando, Florida, United States
1992 Dorian Yates Helsinki, Finland
1993 Dorian Yates Atlanta, Georgia, United States
1994 Dorian Yates Atlanta, Georgia, United States
1995 Dorian Yates Atlanta, Georgia, United States
1996 Dorian Yates Chicago, Illinois, United States
1997 Dorian Yates Long Beach, California, United States
1998 Ronnie Coleman New York City, New York, United States
1999 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2000 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2001 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2002 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2003 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2004 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2005 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2006 Jay Cutler Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2007 Jay Cutler Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2008 Dexter Jackson Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2009.....??
1966 Larry Scott New York City, New York, United States
1967 Sergio Oliva New York City, New York, United States
1968 Sergio Oliva New York City, New York, United States
1969 Sergio Oliva New York City, New York, United States
1970 Arnold Schwarzenegger New York City, New York, United States
1971 Arnold Schwarzenegger Paris, France
1972 Arnold Schwarzenegger Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
1973 Arnold Schwarzenegger New York City, New York, United States
1974 Arnold Schwarzenegger New York City, New York, United States
1975 Arnold Schwarzenegger Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
1976 Franco Columbu Columbus, Ohio, United States
1977 Frank Zane Columbus, Ohio, United States
1978 Frank Zane Columbus, Ohio, United States
1979 Frank Zane Columbus, Ohio, United States
1980 Arnold Schwarzenegger Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1981 Franco Columbu Columbus, Ohio, United States
1982 Chris Dickerson London, England, United Kingdom
1983 Samir Bannout Munich, Bavaria, Germany
1984 Lee Haney New York City, New York, United States
1985 Lee Haney Brussels, Belgium
1986 Lee Haney Columbus, Ohio, United States
1987 Lee Haney Gothenburg, Sweden
1988 Lee Haney Los Angeles, California, United States
1989 Lee Haney Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
1990 Lee Haney Chicago, Illinois, United States
1991 Lee Haney Orlando, Florida, United States
1992 Dorian Yates Helsinki, Finland
1993 Dorian Yates Atlanta, Georgia, United States
1994 Dorian Yates Atlanta, Georgia, United States
1995 Dorian Yates Atlanta, Georgia, United States
1996 Dorian Yates Chicago, Illinois, United States
1997 Dorian Yates Long Beach, California, United States
1998 Ronnie Coleman New York City, New York, United States
1999 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2000 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2001 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2002 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2003 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2004 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2005 Ronnie Coleman Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2006 Jay Cutler Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2007 Jay Cutler Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2008 Dexter Jackson Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2009.....??
Thursday 2 July 2009
Robin Hood
Robin Hood ended on BBC1 this weekend.
They've already killed off Maid Marion and got rid of Will Scarlet.
And used the unoriginal plot device of making Friar Tuck black when he finally turned up.
We've seen Robin die before - in Robin Of Sherwood the original Robin was killed off to make way for a badly miscast Jason Connery.
They used the plot device of the original Robin, Lord Locksley, being killed, to be replaced by a second Robin, who was actually Robert Earl of Huntingdon. As historically Robin Hood was probably more than one man anyway, that worked out fine.
Perhaps they'll do this again for the new series.
Another option is Robin's brother Archer will take over the name and helm.
Either way, we'll be on our third Sheriff.
They've already killed off Maid Marion and got rid of Will Scarlet.
And used the unoriginal plot device of making Friar Tuck black when he finally turned up.
We've seen Robin die before - in Robin Of Sherwood the original Robin was killed off to make way for a badly miscast Jason Connery.
They used the plot device of the original Robin, Lord Locksley, being killed, to be replaced by a second Robin, who was actually Robert Earl of Huntingdon. As historically Robin Hood was probably more than one man anyway, that worked out fine.
Perhaps they'll do this again for the new series.
Another option is Robin's brother Archer will take over the name and helm.
Either way, we'll be on our third Sheriff.
Skins
Skins arrived on Channel 4 this week.
A second chance to see it for those that saw it on E4, and first chance for those that didn't.
Effie's always worth a second viewing.
A second chance to see it for those that saw it on E4, and first chance for those that didn't.
Effie's always worth a second viewing.
Gemma Atkinson
Well Gemma Atkinson finally gets naked - for the stage version of Calendar Girls.
Unfortunately we also have to put up with Dot Cotton, now 80, and Anita Dobson.
But we're going just to see Gemma.
Unfortunately we also have to put up with Dot Cotton, now 80, and Anita Dobson.
But we're going just to see Gemma.
The Saturdays
The Sats did a T4 takeover at the weekend.
They certainly have their image together now, styled look, hair, wardrobe.
(and how HOT does Frankie look with longer hair?!)
They are certainly ready to take the crown from Girls Aloud. Long may they reign!
They certainly have their image together now, styled look, hair, wardrobe.
(and how HOT does Frankie look with longer hair?!)
They are certainly ready to take the crown from Girls Aloud. Long may they reign!
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