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Category: Pictures Page 31 of 46
In case you thought I was being a bit excessive here, I would politely point you towards the front cover of today’s Sun…
If only I could turn this power to the lottery numbers, eh?
Welcome, all, to post 666 on the blog.
Whether this is necessarily somewhere where you can get your kicks, as the picture suggests, or if that a person who has understanding will count the number of the blog to be 666, I don’t know.
Either way, I hope you don’t find the blog to be evil in any way, and that if you can’t get your kicks here, that you may at least find something of interest.
Something I’ve discovered – which I didn’t know last Remembrance Day – is that my great-grandfather fought in World War I.
I’m still researching it further, but from what I’ve gleaned so far, he joined up in 1914 as one of the ‘Pals Battallions’ which were formed in Liverpool. As I understand it, these were formed because Lord Kitchener believed that the key to winning the war was sheer force of numbers, and so it was made possible for people to sign up with their friends and work colleagues, and serve alongside them. This was a very successful idea, as within several months over 3000 people signed up, and it appears that my great-grandfather was among them.
It’s obviously rather lame – though probably predictable – that knowing one of my ancestors served in WWI has made it feel slightly closer to home, but I think that’s probably for two reasons, really; firstly, reading about him and trying to track down further details of my great-grandfather has meant I’ve learned new things about events of his life (and indeed lifetime), which has made me more aware of them, and brought them to life for me.
Secondly, and less personally, I think it’s often the case that we learn more or feel more about major events by looking at it on a personal or human level; for me, one of the reasons why Anne Frank’s Diary Of A Young Girl is so powerful a document is because it speaks so clearly of emotions and feelings which we can all understand and relate to – fear and loneliness to name but two – and then, when you consider that her experience, and worse, was one which was shared by millions of people, it’s like a punch to the gut.
So, in the past few months, I’ve perhaps felt a greater empathy for those people who are brave enough to fight for their country, and a greater realisation of how we owe them a debt we can never truly repay. In tandem with this, unfortunately, I feel a growing sense of anger that all too many politicians seem to see war as little more than a way to gain approval points or political prestige – many of the improvements in the country set up after WWII (such as the NHS and education) are constantly being whittled away, and it seems all too clear that all of the ‘WMD’ nonsense before the invasion of Iraq was simply that – nonsense – to justify going to war. I find myself wishing that the bravery of those who are willing to fight in wars was in even partly matched by honesty on the part of the political masters who put them in harm’s way.
I respect anyone who’s willing to fight for their country, as it’s something I’m not so certain I could do. In remembrance of those who have fallen, and as a parting shot at those who seem all too willing to incite conflict, I’d like to leave you with a quote from Rudyard Kipling, specifically his Epitaphs Of The War:
‘If any question why we died,
Tell them, because our fathers lied.’
If you, or those you care about, have served in the forces, or are currently serving, I’d like to express my admiration and thanks – the comfort and safety of my daily life, I am all too aware, was bought at a high cost.
Neil Patrick Harris as Dr Horrible, and Jack Knight as DC Comics’ Starman.
One baddie. One goodie.
And, it seems, one goggle supplier in common.
That’s right, even the lampposts are made by Chanel.
I, for one, certainly see no reason why Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.
(Pictures taken from our wedding firework display)
You know it makes sense.
I’ve written about National Novel Writing Month here before, and crikey o’blimey if November hasn’t come round again.
For those of you who haven’t heard of it, the basic idea is – yes – that you write an entire novel in a month; for the purposes of NaNoWriMo (as it’s known), a novel is anything upwards of 50,000 words, which works out at about 1500 words a day.
I’ve never really done it properly – I usually cheat and use it as a springboard to get on with a novel I’m already working on, and even that with mixed results – but I think it sounds like a great way to just get the ever-problematic first draft done, and there are lots of people around the globe doing it at the same time, which removes the isolation that often comes with writing.
It’s based in the USA, but it’s more International than National, with groups meeting up for ‘write-ins’ all over the place (there were definitely meetups here in London last year, for example).
So, if you fancy taking up the challenge, click on the link above to find out more – it costs nothing to participate, and all you need is something to write on/with and a willingness to be honest about your wordcount. I won’t be doing it as I have non-novel writing (there’s an ambiguous turn of phrase) to get on with, but if you do join in, let me know how it went – I know Laura‘s taking part, but are there any other takers?
NaNoWriMo runs until the end of November, so (glances at watch) you’ve only lost a minute so far (and we could attribute that to the time taken to read this post, right?)…
Dreams on Spec is a 2007 documentary which follows three writers as they work on spec film scripts.
The three writers – David, Joe and Deborah – are at different stages; David works at a talent agency and has sold one of his scripts, Joe’s been working on a script for a number of years whilst day-trading and looking after his autistic daughter, and Deborah used to work for a creative agency and is now trying to find funding to film her first script. As well as being at different stages in their careers, their screenplays are on wildly diverse themes – David’s is a modern take on the slasher film, Joe’s written a coming of age piece, and Deborah’s film is described as a ‘gory commitment comedy’.
We don’t get to learn too much about the content of their scripts, but the focus of the film is more on their attitudes and perseverence; David’s concerned about losing control of the script as it goes into production, Joe’s meetings with a script advisor suggest it’s almost ready to be sent out, and Deborah is trying to pay the bills whilst hoping that money’s forthcoming to make her film. Intercut with their three tales are short ‘talking head’ spots with established screenwriters like Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher and Ed Solomon, all of whom talk in a realistic way about the nature of working in the film industry, and the ways they’ve been treated by studios in the past.
The film’s about 90 minutes long (plus an extra 30 minutes of material featuring the established writers), but I found it seemed much shorter than that, as it was very engaging; it’s an interesting insight into the often mundane reality of writing (that is: re-writing, and re-writing, and so on), interspersed with some very amusing insights. The three writers were well presented – for example, it’s hard not to feel for Joe when he asks his wife to read his latest draft, and she sharply replies that she’s already read several drafts for him.
The direction, editing, and general film-making on this documentary are pretty much perfect – by which I mean that it’s as good as invisible; whilst it’s very professionally made, there are no flashy or obtrusive directorial tricks, and so it just gets on with telling the story – and it’s a story which, if you’re interested in writing, is an interesting one. In a way, the film could be seen as a bit of a litmus test to establish whether writing’s for you – given the stated unlikelihood of succeeding (it’s likened to the chances of winning the lottery), the film makes one either feel that there’s little point in applying pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), or rather stirs the feeling that trying harder is the way to go (you can probably guess which camp I fell into).
I don’t know if this film has been shown on UK TV (More4 or BBC4 seem the most likely channels for a broadcast of it), but it’s available to buy on R1 DVD, and I certainly recommend it – if nothing else, it’s nice to see that there are people in the same boat as you are. You can buy the DVD from the official website, or from Amazon, and I think it’s well worth watching.