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Babel
I was not impressed by Babel. It's closer to 21 Grams, which I didn't like, than to Amores Perros, which I liked. The Iñárritu style is present as ever: washed down colour to almost black-and-white, long shots, plot consisting of separate stories that are somehow connected; but while this worked in Amores Perros, here it felt awkward and boring. ( Read more... ) -
LRB analysis on Russia
Interesting article from the London Review of Books.
"The country is a ‘managed democracy’: that is, one where elections are held, but the results are known in advance; courts hear cases, but give decisions that coincide with the interests of the authorities; the press is plural, yet with few exceptions dependent on the government. This is, in ( Read more... ) -
State Britain
Brian Haw's London antiwar protest has been turned into an art exhibit by Turner prize winner Mark Wallinger. Londonist explains:
Now former Turner Prize nominee Mark Wallinger has recreated the protestor's camp, and his banners, in the Tate ( Read more... ) -
Britain continues to perplex me
My Australian colleague was just telling me that in order to apply for a certain type of UK work permit extension she has to produce 12 payslips (apparently the cumulative numbers on the last one are not good enough) as well as proof that her first degree in Australia was obtained at a university where the language of instruction was English. ( Read more... ) -
Liquids fiasco update: terror charges dropped in Pakistan case
And so the BBC tells us today a Pakistani court has dropped terror charges against a Briton accused of planning to blow up transatlantic flights. Apparently the evidence -- two bottles of hydrogen peroxide -- was not enough for a terror case, and so the whole thing is now downgraded to a criminal case instead ( Read more... ) -
Casino Royale
Go see it! -
Beloved signs of China...
... gone?
According to the BBC, signs like this (from Flickr) are in danger due to the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
( Read more... )
