Posted on Mar 24, 2003
My last posting has reminded me of one of the many lives tragically lost on 9-11. On that unimaginably fateful day the New York artist MICHAEL RICHARDS died. The following paragraph is from his obituary in the Independent Newspaper, dated 24 September 2001:
Michael Richards was probably working in his studio on the 92nd floor of the World Trade Centre north tower on the morning of 11 September. According to a colleague Richards’s last two sculptures were bronze versions of himself pierced by airplanes and accompanied by meteors and flames.
It seems as if time is indeed a relative concept and when you strip away all the illusions, we are all just dead on arrival.
Posted on Mar 23, 2003
On an interview with a US Military Officer at Umm Qasr I saw the phrase “Shai Hulud” penned onto the front of this Officer’s helmet. I wondered what it meant, it seemed familiar; I googled it and found:
Shai-Hulud
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it is gone past me I will turn to see fear’s path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
…which is, (as any Frank Herbert fan will note), the Fremen prayer at the passing of Shai-Hulud – a sandworm. I won’t go into the details of what a sandworm is or the story of Frank Herbert’s classic Dune trilogy but suffice it to say that sandworms are representative of the wealth beneath the sands.
Some interesting coincidences are the name of the planet in Dune – Arrakis which at a stretch sounds a little like – Iraq, the function of the spice melange that emanates from beneath the sands of Arrakis, which is vital for transportation in that galaxy and that the despotic ruler of that galaxy is named the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV !!!
Posted on Mar 22, 2003
I’ve just witnessed General Tommy Franks’ first press conference since the beginning of the war and as a BBC reporter has just stated, it was interesting how the American Press Corp’s questioning seemed so docile as compared to their “foreign” counterparts’.
It supports the opinion I’m forming regarding the US’ much vaunted ‘freedom of the press’, an opinion that is further bolstered by an article, ‘State media asked to handle war news carefully’, found in the Bangladeshi Daily Star. It seems that not only has the Bush Administration managed to co-opt the obsequious US Media but is exerting pressure on weak developing nations’ governments to do likewise.
Anyway, here’s what Webster’s says is a definition of a bully:
Main Entry: 1bul?
Posted on Mar 21, 2003
I finished the runners job in Birmingham yesterday and am a bit knackered now, but it’s okay, I’ve prescribed myself a movie for the afternoon to aid the healing process.
As I’ve mentioned, the job was for a promotional video commissioned by the Birmingham City Council in order to support Birmingham’s bid to be ‘European city of Culture 2008′ … (good luck to Brum, is all I have to say!). I had to ferry Maria, (the AP), Charlotte, (the Director/Camera) and sound guys around Brum for two days. No easy task on the first day as I was doing all of this in my little Fiat Panda! I managed to borrow my sister Pam’s Punto for the second day, much to the crew’s relief.
Basically the shoot was of food people and places in Birmingham and using this as a metaphor for the cultural diversity of the city. Charlotte kept mentioning to people that the shoot was to support Brums bid to be ‘Multicultural city of Europe 2008′ hence this approach but it didn’t make any difference and I reckon it’s going to be very good. Apparantly it’s one of six three-minute films commisioned.
So for two days I was driving between Soho Road, the ‘Balti Triangle’, our Chinese Quarter, (more of a sixteenth really), and the Jewellery quarter; lugging bags and tripods to various restaurants, supermarkets and other food outlets.
It was instructional working with professionals and I guess I learnt a lot but realise that you can get away with quite a lot as compared with that which is taught at the Lighthouse. (I expect it’s different if you’re doing things for the hoity-toity BBC).
All of which should prove useful for the Theatre Prod. shoot with Jaimie which will be sometime next week. Having spoken to the sound guys at the shoot, (coincidentally, one knew Sue and Hammy, two old friends from Glossop), I really feel going freelance is the way to go.
Posted on Mar 19, 2003
The stockmarkets were rampant yesterday. I myself may have to spend a pound or two on bolstering my impoverished pension plan with a few sharply timed purchases. Let’s see; defence stocks, (of course!), insurance companies, medical supply companies, [re]construction companies and not least of all, oil stocks.
Now that’s a portfolio that will yield a tidy profit for all those who have the backbone not to be dissuaded from the financial opportunity merely by the site of the blood of just a few tens of thousands of arabs. Not our fault if they don’t have the sense to get out of the way of depleted uranium bullets or have the misfortune to find themselves in the vicinity of all those saintly bombs we’re going to lob at them.
I’ve had a thought, given the lessons learnt from that unfortunate incident involving young Rachel Corrie, (who wrote a lot of emails), I think I may suggest a new strategy to the Allied forces. Lets do away with all those clever munitions with their million dollar a piece price tags and instead, equip our gallant warriors with just a handful of Israeli bulldozers.
