Brian Wilson RIP

June 11, 2025 by Leave a comment

Sad news today about the passing of archetypal tortured genius Brian Wilson.

If anyone asked I would of course say that Pet Sounds is my favourite Beach Boys album, but if I was being really honest I would have to admit that I probably like their earlier, more surf-centric stuff a bit better.

Thinking of songs like Surfin’ USA has reminded me that around the start of the year I was considering taking a trip to LA this summer. I decided against it, because of the general unfriendly vibe at the US border these days, and also the whole city-catching-on-fire thing, but I’m regretting that now, as I feel I should be there showing some solidarity in these difficult times.

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VE Day 2025

May 8, 2025 by Leave a comment

The last few days have seen an extended commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2 in Europe, with street parties, military parades, and gala concerts. We’ve noted previously that, as the conflict has all but passed out of living memory, these acts of remembrance can seem to say more about the preoccupations of the present moment than the actual historical events, but the mood around the country this week has been generally somber and reflective. I guess that, with the world the way it is, it’s hardly surprising that the nation might wish to look back on a time when the Americans and the Russians were our allies in the fight to defeat fascism and build a new world.

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April inactivity

April 30, 2025 by Leave a comment

So, it looks like I’ve slipped back into the routine of posting an otherwise content-free piece at the very end of the month, just to keep the streak going, which is a bit depressing.

It’s not like there’s been nothing to write about recently, just the opposite in fact, but I’m wondering if that is part of the problem. Wry comments in my whimsical blog seem like an inadequate response to the alarming state of the world at the moment.

Oh well, there’s always next month. May 2025 will see our 18th anniversary, which I like to think makes us a blog of record, so I guess I should embrace the responsibility of sharing my thoughts on current events, for the sake of posterity if nothing else.

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Oscar predictions 2025 revisited

March 3, 2025 by Leave a comment

Three out of seven for my predictions this year, a slightly better score than last time around. I’m a bit surprised that Anora did so well; I enjoyed it, but The Brutalist did seem more like the kind of movie that the members of the Academy would deem worthy of honour. None of the other awards were too outrageous I guess, apart perhaps from Zoe Saldaña picking up Best Supporting Actress, though I suppose she did give the one of the better performances in the otherwise wildly overrated Emilia Pérez.

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Oscar predictions 2025

March 1, 2025 by Leave a comment

Having managed to see around half of the movies in contention, and at least read something about most of the others, here is my semi-confident forecast of how the main awards will be distributed tomorrow evening:

  • Best Actor
    • Timothée Chalamet
  • Best Actress
    • Mikey Madison
  • Best Supporting Actor
    • Kieran Culkin
  • Best Supporting Actress
    • Felicity Jones
  • Best Director
    • Brady Corbet
  • Best International Feature
    • I’m Still Here
  • Best Picture
    • The Brutalist

That’s what I think will happen, and pretty much what I think should happen too; the main exception being that I would pick Nickel Boys over The Brutalist for Best Picture (and Hundreds of Beavers over both of them had it not, inexplicably, failed to gain a nomination).

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Manchurian Trump

March 1, 2025 by Leave a comment

I wrote in a post last month that it would probably be some time before we could really make sense of the actions of the new US administration, but it turns out that I was wrong. It wasn’t hard to read the meaning of the Trump/Vance beatdown of Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday, televised live from the Oval Office to a shocked world; we are now back in an era of Great Power politics, where nations have no permanent alliances, only permanent interests, and Emperor Trump will grant no favours to those who do not cower before him.

In such circumstances even a peacenik like me doesn’t need much convincing that rearmament is a sensible policy, though obviously I’d be in favour of paying for it by taxing the rich rather than cutting aid to the poor. Strengthening ties with more reliable allies like France and Germany seems like a no-brainer too.

One question that might have to wait for history to answer is whether Trump is an active agent of Vladimir Putin, or merely a useful idiot. Perhaps he was brainwashed during his infamous Moscow trip, then sent back to infiltrate the White House and do the Kremlin’s bidding, though it does seem more likely that Putin, like the rest of us, can scarcely believe that Trump has managed to con his way into power, but isn’t going to let a lucky break like that pass him by.

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Go Birds

February 10, 2025 by Leave a comment

I finally managed to come up with an accurate sports prediction, though I have to admit that backing the Eagles to beat the Chiefs wasn’t too much of a stretch, if one looked at the actual numbers rather than buying in to the “invincible Mahomes” narrative.

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Superbowl LIX prediction

February 9, 2025 by Leave a comment

I must admit that I rather lost interest in the NFL last month, as my adopted team stumbled towards the end of a disappointing season, but I have paid enough attention to have an opinion on who will win the final game tonight; Philadelphia.

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Longitudinal Trumpism

February 8, 2025 by Leave a comment

One of my favourite quotes is Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai’s 1972 comment “It’s too early to say”, uttered in reply to a question from Richard Nixon on the significance of the French Revolution. It has subsequently been reported that, due to a translation error, Zhou was under the impression that Nixon was referring to events in Paris in 1968 rather than 1789, so he wasn’t taking quite such a long-term view as had been thought, but still, I think that the general principle that one should hold off on making judgements until sufficient time has passed is essentially sound.

I’ve been thinking of this as I’ve watched the flurry of activity that has unfolded in Washington since Donald Trump’s second inauguration last month, every day bringing news of some fresh lunacy. Is it all part of a cunning strategy, a smokescreen to distract us from the real villainy? Or is the performative cruelty and transparent grifting actually as much of a plan as Trump and his acolytes have?

I guess time will tell, though, if I ignore my own advice against giving instant opinions, I would lean towards the view that they don’t have much of a blueprint beyond pushing the boundaries until someone makes them stop, or, failing that, until reality intrudes upon their fantasies.

I suspect it may be several years before we can really make sense of it all though – perhaps whoever is running China in 2225 will feel they have enough perspective to offer a verdict.

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David Lynch RIP

January 16, 2025 by Leave a comment

Sad news today of the passing of film director David Lynch, undoubtedly one of the finest auteurs of his generation.

My first exposure to Lynch’s genius was seeing Eraserhead when I was still at school, and I’ve followed his work ever since. As I’ve noted previously, Twin Peaks was a major influence on my cultural outlook during my student days. On my initial visit to Los Angeles in the early 90s practically the first thing I did was to track down a copy of the LA Reader, so that I could cut out The Angriest Dog in the World; that comic strip, now yellowed with age, is still a prized possession. Mulholland Drive became my favourite movie the first time I saw it back in 2001, and has remained so ever since, its phantasmagorical beauty beguiling me anew with each viewing. Of all Lynch’s creations I am perhaps fondest of Rabbits, which is incomparable in its unsettling incomprehensibity.

I could go on all night with examples – Dennis Hopper as Frank in Blue Velvet, the costume design in Dune, Lynch’s masterful use of music – but for some reason I feel a sudden need for some coffee and cherry pie…

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