Thursday 31 December 2020

ohyesididohnoididntandsomefilms


watched the Wolsey pantomime - oh no I didn't, well actually I did but live streamed from Ipswich into my house meant that it really wasn't the same - the covid context of its production was really considered but there is nothing like shouting out boooooo when the villains arrive surrounded by people who have all made the effort to be in the same place  - hopefully next year. films this week include the terrible - Best man and Best mans holiday, Sky fire - utter nonsense CGI overload, Color out of Space - made no sense. the ok - The vast of night - slow but with good character acting. Nightmare before Christmas and Wonder woman 1984 and the good - Soul https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2948372/ really quite beautiful, Host - really well done and scary reflection on how we engage with each other, The sound of metal https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5363618/ 
- heartrendingly beautiful journey into trusting oneself,  Bacurau - wonderful psychedelic madness and finally the ever-present Die Hard. Chalie Brooker's Screen wipe 2020 was disappointing, effectively a list of terribleness without the usual acerbic comment, only Hugh Grant's character could save it. John Cooper Clark's I wanna be me is an raucous upbeat read that I consumed with a wry recognition. 

Wednesday 16 December 2020

twowalksandtherest

walks at the end of the day are the way I'm making sense of where I am at the moment - Walberswick looking both ways at the river. its that time of the year so teaching at NUA is all about admin, timetables and creating content for either/and/or online and face to face teaching depending on..................factors. ok - screens - so Tenet in its second viewing is neither better or worse just different - I would recommend it though so maybe the experience is worth it. The Song of Names moves along, although there are so many gaps/flaws in the characters developments. Prom is a case of leave whatever brain you have left somewhere, get on board and hang on for the ride. Superintelligence looks lightly at the surveillance state (very lightly). admitting that I actually did laugh at Freaky just feels wrong. Small Axe continues to be solid. the distressfully unpleasant characters in Industry and the actual process they are engaged in is impenetrable, both these factors don't help to make it watchable but it is car-crash-can't-look-away-TV.  

Wednesday 2 December 2020

somestuffffutsemos


looking forward to receiving my anniversary tea towel from Focal point - https://www.fpg.org.uk/printed-matter/30th-anniversary-tea-towel/ - if I had any older relatives left alive it would be on my list of presents! But maybe my children will be getting something in their stockings! The first online session, structures 1. Experimental non adhesive binding structures, for Leicester Print works went well, I think. They are now working on their set task developing a 'family tree' of book forms, exploring their inherent qualities. LPW are thinking of creating a short course so if you are interested in making books, but not as you know them.....(apologies to Turn the Page) check out their site. The assessments went smoothly at NUA. Looking at work online is both sad in that the work has touch and feel at its core and also so much smoother and direct as students target their submissions to the Learning Outcomes and assessment criteria.  meanwhile
 Hillbilly Elegy - no, The Undoing - yes but the ending - bad people are just bad, Tenet - yes, my head is still wonderfully spinning. The series Small Axe is totally glorious, the sensual and focused camera work at the dance in episode 2 was beautiful, I could of walked into a gallery and watched the 11 minute sequence of Silly Games on a loop all day. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08vxt33 thank you.