It’s always amazed me how much we take the internet for granted. When I first sampled this new technology back in 1995, I was gobsmacked at what was possible, but it seemed that everybody else went overnight from saying “it’s just a nerd toy” to “My dialup is so slow. The internet sucks”. I feel the same way about mobile phones, which are as close ( Read more... )

(A potted history of Metropolis. Feel free to skip if you know the story.

Lunatic savant Fritz Lang made Metropolis in 1926 and in the process managed to spend ALL THE MONEY IN GERMANY. It premiered in Berlin in January 1927 and received lukewarm reviews. The producers panicked because Lang had, in their eyes, wasted ALL THE MONEY IN GERMANY ( Read more... )

Back in February, I caved to public pressure and went to see Avatar. I hated it, a bloated corpse of a movie with an almost offensive lack of storytelling. But I knew it was going to be like that before I went in. What surprised me is that I didn’t even think it was any good visually. Sure, the technology is impressive, but who cares when all they’ ( Read more... )

I did a screenwriting course back in February. I learned some very practical things about how to try to sell ideas, especially how to tell the difference between a good pitch and a bad pitch. A good pitch, for example, is “It’s Heroes meets Skins!” A bad pitch would go like this ( Read more... )

Dear Werner Herzog ( Read more... )

I’ve quite enjoyed the reboot of Doctor Who since it started in 2005. I never saw the original when I was a kid and I’m not a big fan of TV sci-fi in general, but the first series was witty, pacey and very much aware of how utterly daft the whole Doctor Who concept is. The David Tennant years started to lose some of the vigour of the Chris ( Read more... )

America is a country in trouble. George Bush broke America and the country that promises “one land, indivisible, with freedom and justice for all” in the sales brochure has looked increasingly paranoid, reactionary and sclerotic. 2010 is the year that showed Obama to be a false dawn. I still think he’s a great man, but he lacks the Clinton ( Read more... )

(I'm doing an end of year list. It's a list of stuff that's entertained or amused me in 2010

Why has a novelty rap song about horses, peppered with heroic levels of swearing, captured the imagination of almost everyone in Ireland?

In the last week, Horse Outside has had 1.5million views on YouTube, almost 250k shares on Facebook and looks certain ( Read more... )

* froze my tits off: dudes. Seriously. It's only October. What's going on?
* more learning of things from A History Of The World In 100 Objects: a really terrific find deeply soothing, hugely informative and dazzlingly philosophical. I’m up to object 36 now and it’s become part of my daily ritual. I’ll miss it so much when it’s over.
* despaired at ( Read more... )

* couldn't get up. I don't get SAD but my body does really hate getting out of bed before the sun is properly up. I stayed in bed until about 8.40 this morning. Joey seemed quite grumpy too although she cheered up when we left the house.
* listened to Joey reminisce. Yes, you can be wistful even when you're 3. She kept saying things beginning with " ( Read more... )