A conversation I had with my friend

A Barthian Encounter

A comic I made detailing my first encounter with Karl in October 2011

Karl and I

French Cinema according to the internet

In a moment of unrestrained procrastination I spent some time looking for Joss Whedon interviews on the awkward subject of the Alien Resurrection script.  I stumbled upon a piece about Alien resurrection written by someone called Big Ross at a website called CC2K. I know nothing about 'Big Ross' or this website, but in the course of skimming his article I noticed a particularly brilliant analysis of French cinema:

'Jeunet was given creative control over what this new alien would look like, and he was adamant that it should not only look more human, but that it should have a mix of male and female genitalia.  Really, this should come as no surprise.  Have you ever seen a French film?  Intellectual dramas with doughy, middle-aged actors and actresses lounging around naked having conversations.  They didn't just finish having sex, they're not about to have sex, they're not even talking about sex.  They just sit on couches smoking and talking politics, or about the economy, or the damned weather while sagging breasts and flaccid penises are on display for all to see for no sensible reason whatsoever.  I concede I'm no expert on French cinema, and this assessment may be overly stereotypical.'

http://www.cc2konline.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1801

Mark Stewart (Paul Simon guitarist) gives a great TEDx talk

Mark Stewart is a remarkable musician.  I recently had the pleasure of seeing Paul Simon at Hyde Park for the 25th anniversary of Graceland.  Paul played the entirety of Graceland with the original line up of African musicians (more or less), but he also played a repertoire of new and old tracks with his regular band.  Mark plays guitars, saxophone and a few other bits and pieces for Paul.  He's such an engaging musician to watch, and his playing is inspiring.  Here he gives a really entertaining talk on using home made instruments. enjoy.

L

oxfam bookshop

The marvelous thing about a good charity shop is that you enter the doors of that eclectic tat merchants with out any comprehension of what goods you will come out with.  Of course, most charity shops sell little of interest unless you like women's clothes.  I do like them, on women.  But for my own browsing, I prefer books.  I particularly like a small Oxfam bookshop on Blatchington Road in Hove.

Last week i popped in and found The Parables of Jesus by Joachim Jeremias (a significant scholar of the twentieth century - even though this book may not be as up to date as Craig Blomberg's, and no doubt more recent ones still, Jeremias is a voice worth hearing on Jesus related issues).  I also found At the Drive-In's incredible album from 2000 - Relationship of Command.  Most albums that generated a nostalgic warmth as I think back to my days as a teenager are quite frankly embarrassing to listen to now.  Relationship of command is one of those albums that is both nostalgic and still remarkably brilliant.

I never expected to find either of these items, but it was a joy-invoking discovery.  It set me back a total of about £4.00, which is quite reasonable.

The question is, why go to some shiny emporium of mass produced nonsense, when you know exactly what sort of low grade dross you will find there?  Go to good charity shops and find treasures.