August 28th, 2006
The first time I saw the Thames Barrier was during a company boat trip in June but I didn’t get to know of its flood defence function until today.
We drove to the Thames Barrier Park for a stroll and I was surprised how quick the journey was. About ten minutes in a car, we arrived in this lovely, quiet park with plenty of green plants. A family even brought stools and blankets for a pretty full-on picnic while skateboarders took advantage of the open space and unintentional ramps. I must remember this place when we fancy a relaxing Sunday afternoon.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 27th, 2006
An animated adaptation of Philip K Dick’s sci-fi novel that is set in the near future in California. It reminded me of the darkness and conspiracy in Blade Runner; only this time the credit does not only go to the writer but also the director, Richard Linklater, for this brilliant presentation.
If you like the animation in Waking Life, you would be amazed by the improvement in A Scanner Darkly, which was shot like a normal movie before the 30-strong production team spent up to 500 hours to make one minute of the final animation.
It was good to see Winona Ryder in a quality movie again; Keanu Reeves played the same old character like he did in any other movies; Robert Downey Jr.’s neurotic character was by far the most interesting, and one that I would like to know more about.
Posted in Movies | 2 Comments »
August 26th, 2006
A renowned radio presenter, Xinran, shared her collection of stories which she’d heard during a journey of exploring and understanding women’s status over the past 50 years in China. It was an extremely touching and disheartening journey — I almost cried a couple of times while I was reading it on the train.
Most of the heroines Xinran had encountered were horribly abused and shamelessly used by men; some of these men were complete strangers while the others were closely related to the female victims. Some of women failed to find a way out of their unbearable situations and ended up losing thier minds or committing suicide; in the worst case both. The luckier ones were not even aware of the possibility of a different kind of life and saw history repeating itself with their daughters and granddaughters without a word of compliant…
Posted in Books | No Comments »
August 20th, 2006
A Greek snack bar opened a few months ago on Long Acre and it is certainly a great location near Covent Garden. The decor is simple and comfortable; the high ceiling helps create an airy atmosphere; and the staff are friendly and cheerful. Behind every sofa seat along the walls there are large windows to see and be seen. Most passers-by could smell the food and see in from outside.
I liked the saucy chicken souvlaki and refreshing little dolmades with pine nuts, but wasn’t sure if I would pay a tenner for the tiny little portions very often. I think most people would need at least two souvlakis and two mezedes for lunch. The peach frozen fruit daiquiri was okay.
I may go back for the comfortable atmosphere when I fancy a lazy, relaxing afternoon with some friends, but I would definitely have some lunch beforehand.
Posted in Food | No Comments »
August 15th, 2006
- FRATIRE
-
n. A newly popular genre of paperback literautre mixing elements of memoir and fiction, generally featuring college humour, cheap beer and softcore recreational sex. Sometimes called dick lit, it’s chick lit for men.
Source: Wired magazine - August 2006
A new piece of jargon I learnt from Wired magazine, which is quite timely as I had just finished reading Iain Hollingshead’s debut novel Twenty Something, a prefect example of Fratire.
A thirty-something female friend called it ‘lad lit’ (more English, I guess) without even reading through the first few pages, but you certainly don’t have to be a lad to enjoy it. Hollingshead’s satire and wittiness really made me laugh (out loud) throughout the book. His persona, Jack Lancaster’s city experience was equally as messed up as his (very) brief adventure in politics.
It is witty, funny and easy to read. The only criticism I have is the slightly cheesy ending; surely it wasn’t because we believe that good things happen in the New Year, in particualr to someone who had a tough year playing Jerry Maguire in the office, running around naked at a Polo game and ruining the reputation of the Conservative party single-handedly with a rude letter.
Posted in Books | No Comments »
August 14th, 2006
I went to see Fuerzabruta a couple of weeks ago with a friend who was staying with us for the weekend.
It was highly recommended by a colleague - his exact words were: "it sounds a bit wanky but really it’s not – great fun and you must see it before it closes." I ended up buying two tickets from another colleague who couldn’t make it to the show. I wasn’t disappointed.
It was a great experience; I say ‘experience’ because I’m not sure how else to describe it. It was a mix of everything; it has a story to tell, loud music, choreography, moving stages and lots of audience involvement. Within an hour, we were shuffled to different positions and busy looking at things happening from different perspectives. One minute, one of the main characters was placed in the middle of the venue apparently running away from something; next minute, the curtains around the venue were drawn and two women were running along the curtains - in the air! (they were suspended by wires of course). Meanwhile, the lighting was changed from strong to soft and dreamlike.
The performers were fully engaged and so were the audience. Another scene was two actors running (in the air again) while they were separated by a large silver disc, and were desparate to get connected to each other. Other cast members were exhaustingly swinging the disc, and the audenice (some of those could almost touch the dics) were astonished.
The most remarkable scene was when the stage was set directly above the audience. There was a large square plastic pool hanging in the air, which was filled with shallow water (not a lot but enough to create the most impressive effects). The performers then jumped up and landed flat on the water surface (it looked painful!), splashing the water whilst others laid on the water, being pushed by waves. I still have that scene vividly in my mind - the effect with the water, the natural movement of the bodies and the fantastic colour of the lights were beyond words. I will go to see it again if I get a chance.
Posted in Performance | 1 Comment »
August 8th, 2006
It is dark and depressing but beautifully written and addictive.
Musician-cum-novelist Willy Vlautin’s debut novel is an extraordinary description of the bond between two brothers, Frank and Jerry Lee, who tried to lead a normal life together after their young mother’s premature death.
I’ve never been to the mid-west USA, and I had never imagined what it would be like being permanent residents of motels. But I certainly felt like I’d known the place and the characters for years after finishing the book. The images of the story were so vivid in my mind that I was convinced I’ve seen the story in a film.
A sad ending was only realistic given their situation was so desparate but a light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t that far away either. I really want to know what happens next to the survivors as I care about them even though they are fictional.
4.5 stars out of 5 - sorry Dave!
Posted in Books | 1 Comment »
July 28th, 2006
A ‘girlie’ film but I loved it! I smiled at the sharp and familiar dialogue and liked it even more when it didn’t end with a cliché Hollywood ending.
Jennifer Aniston was on top form, althought her character Brooke was basically the likeable Richael from Friends. Unfortunately, Brooke’s boyfriend (played by Vince Vaughn) was even more clueless than Ross. The arguement of the lemons and dirty dishes really made me laugh as the description of the fundamental difference between men and women couldn’t have been more accurate.
It was weird to see the transformation of the cool ‘Mac’ from the Apple ads into a long-haired, over-the-top homosexual gallery receptionist - Justin Long’s performance is worth mentioning.
The Break Up is definitely my favourite Peyton Reed (director) film so far as I am not a fan of Down With Love and Bring It On.
Posted in Movies | No Comments »
July 23rd, 2006
Founded by the poet Andre Bréton in 1924, Surrealism was one of the most influential art movements of the 20th century. An admirer of the revolutionary ideas of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud, Bréton defined Surrealism as ‘Pure psychic automatism… Thought’s dictation, in the absence of all control execrised by the reason and outside all aesthetic or moral preoccupations.’
Source: Essential Design by Catherine McDermott
I didn’t need much encouragement to go to see the Undercover Surrealism exhibition as I have always been a fan of Salvador Dali.
However, the reality didn’t live up to my expectation. Although the Hayward Gallery was a great venue to host this exhibition - with a sense of darkness and mystery - the details were missing. I am no expert in Surrealism and would appreciate a bit more explanation and narrative on the collection. It was easy enough to curate the exhibition based on the Documents magazine founded by Georges Bataille, but I was hoping for more insight into the reasons behind the selection or some interpretations.
On the bright side, I’m pleased that I went to see it as it urged me to find out more about Surrealism and how it can apply to films and music. It’s always good to discover a subject that is worth investigation.
Posted in Exhibitions | 1 Comment »
July 22nd, 2006
A journal style novel which recalls a series of e-romances of Trevor’s cyber persona ‘Lord Brett Sinclair’. The attraction of a journal style novel is to satisfy our curiousity of other people’s lives; there are no unnecessary descriptions of detail and focuses on the incidents and feelings. This is exactly why Bridget Jones’ Diary was a big success - it was also due to the fact that Bridget was embarassing yet hilarious (a bit like David Brent in The Office), and Helen Fielding is a gifted writer with great sense of humour.
Unfortunately, Dave Roberts’ E-Luv is not in the same league. His ‘adventures’ might be a little unusual but nothing unheard of - if anyone who is ready to throw themselves into trouble like Trevor does, anything could happen. It was not witty when he invited his cyber lover and her daughter (from across the Atlantic) to move in with him whilst being dishonest about his appearance, medical situation and pretty much everything else. It was painful to read but not especially funny.
Two stars out of five - if it was published five years ago before the many ridiculous e-romances were exposed in tabloid media, it would have been more amusing.
Posted in Books | No Comments »