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Thursday, June 15, 2006

Anuradhapura: there are better ways than bombs, surely?














Moonstone at the entrance to one of the monks' seminaries in ancient Anuradhapura. (Photo by Susi.)
At least 61 people have been killed after a civilian bus was struck by a mine in northern Sri Lanka, police say. Another 45 people were wounded in the explosion in Anuradhapura district, 200km (125 miles) north of Colombo. Full story at the BBC web site.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Dear David ...

Part of my note to a much admired friend, David Arronovitch, who writes well and thoughtfully (even though we disagree deeply about the war in Iraq) for The Times in London.

... By the way, I was a little surprised to read, in your second Indian article, puzzlement at the varying weight of responses you anticipate on the different topics of Kashmir, on the one hand, and the Middle East on the other. Perhaps one needs to be raised in a Christian family, as I was, to be not surprised in any way, as you seemed to be, by the conclusion that Christ has something to do with it all. Well, of course, he has. It's such an important component it's almost taken for granted, like the sun rising, by people born into the fold.

One does not need to believe (as I do not) to grow up with the sense that the Holy Land is at the centre of the known universe. I imbibed with my mother's milk (almost literally) the fundamental pillar of Christian wisdom that the greatest event since Creation itself, bar none, took place near a hill outside of Jerusalem when a tomb was discovered to be empty and a man was proclaimed the Son of God, not just a prophet or a charismatic leader or an iconoclastic heretic, but actually the Lord made flesh; a truth we learned everywhere and at all times in the Presbyterian Scotland I grew up in: There, by the Sea of Galilee, walked one dimension of the Holy Trinity. The fact that I am not persuaded that Jesus of Nazareth was anything but a man makes no difference to the ease with which one can identify with, relate to or be engaged / repelled by trouble on or near the soil that is for us, metaphorically speaking of course, as well trodden as the streets of Glasgow's south and east where I was born and raised. Rightly or wrongly (probably the latter) anywhere else, Kashmir in the case you cite, struggles to be anything other than not-in-Kansas-Toto to the likes of me raised in a completely ordinary setting under Christian hegemony. And that's before one pauses to reflect on the truly bizarre and scary people who seek to hasten the rapture by fulfilling what they see as the prophecies of the Book of Revelation, wherein, of course, one finds a pointer to a place called Armageddon. What chance in conventional or received wisdom does poor old Kashmir have, or East Timor, against a place long ago foretold as the location of the last battle between God and Satan?

None of which was part of my intention to articulate when I hit the 'new message' button. I had just finished reading your latest piece in The Times. Your points are well made. Professor Tulloch sounds too simplistic, perhaps even too close to events, to offer insightful thought. And your observation about the distinction between the watery rock and the hard place of dear old Odysseus is valid. However (there had to be a however, didn't there?) ...

The President of Iran is a man I like to believe I would oppose and the regime he heads-up is not one I would endorse in any way, for reasons you cite. He's neither the Hitler of David Hare's powerful imagination, however, nor a true successor to the historical Fuhrer. I fear that if our leaders were to plan based on that miscalculation (and praise the Lord for Jack Straw and Condoleezza Rice that they have not... one pauses to weigh that arresting thought before moving on) those pursuing routes to Armageddon as both the literal and metaphoric place of reckoning would be closer to achieving their mad, mad goals. I concede, of course, that it's easier for me to believe the above than, let's say, a Jewish mother of three living in Israel. The man's a zealot, yes, and dangerous but he's not about to invade a neighbour as the first stage of a plan to establish a new world order. Make that mistake and we're doomed.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

British Tories Stay As Mad As Ever

Julia Day, Radio Correspondent of The Guardian, wrote the following in an article published today:

"Conservative leader David Cameron has claimed that BBC Radio 1 encourages knife and gun crime by playing music that glorifies violence. Mr Cameron said the music Radio 1 plays on Saturday night - believed to be a reference to Tim Westwood's hip-hop show, which runs from 9pm-11pm - has contributed to the growing problem of knife and gun crime in the UK. "I would say to Radio 1, do you realise that some of the stuff you play on Saturday nights encourages people to carry guns and knives?" he said last night in a speech to the British Society of Magazine Editors."

Tories are quite mad you know. I submitted the response below:

I cannot say how much I applaud The New Leader’s view of the pernicious broadcaster spreading its filth: Sir Tom Jones and Delilah? Ban it! Old Blue Eyes’ version of Mac The Knife? Chop it! As for that Radio Three, well excuse me but it just encourages the youth of today to duel to the death every time that damn Mascagni and his Cavalieri Rusticana take to the nation’s airwaves.

Right on DC. What’s next … Oedipus Rex and that damn fool Sophocles?




Oedipus Rex by Max Ernst

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Da Vinci Code

It's silliness on a stick. Approach it as if it is the latest Carry On film and you'll find it quite entertaining. I definitely want to see all of the movie that Paul Bettany escaped from. He certainly wasn't in the same feature as the rest of the actors. Sir Ian was bonkers, Audrey Tatou was gorgeous, and Hanks's haircut was unkempt, in need of a trim and some contemporary styling, just like the whole movie really.

As posted on The Guardian Unlimited film site on 6th June, where my hair reference achieved "Quote of the week" status.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Wah Wah

We're just back from a "special" screening of Wah Wah, "introduced" by its writer and director Richard E. Grant. There was great anticipation in the hall as screening time came then went. A few bewildered late arrivals wandered around the auditorium in a futile search for a seat. It seemed we were over-booked. A dozen or so white, plastic chairs were purloined from somewhere on which disgruntled movie buffs sat themselves down with talk of complaining and it being "not good enough". Free tickets at the end of the show may have placated them.

When we were all finally seated, Mr Grant entered to a sprinkling of applause as recognition spread with each step he descended to the front of the auditorium. Standing before us, the unmistakable thespian looked somewhat bemused. When he spoke, he put that down to jet lag.

Then he "introduced" his film with words to this effect: Hello, my name's Richard Grant. I'm the director of Wah Wah. The movie is all true. Everything happened more or less as you see it, although for the purposes of the film we've condensed 10 years into 3. So here it is, my whole life laid bare before you. I hope you enjoy it.

And with that the lights dimmed, as Richard departed, leaving us to enjoy his movie, which we did (even those on the plastic seats). I guess we might all have wished for a more substantial introduction but that's a minor grumble from a fan in the cheap seats.

Good job Mr Grant. 3.5 out of 5. Worth seeing for more than just the loving way in which it's shot but that alone would make it worth the ticket price.