I’ve got the remembrance thing on BBC1 on, because I can’t quite reach the remote. It’s quite odd. Archbishops really do look ridiculous in their full kit though, with the entrance money worth it for a laugh at the hat alone.
Off Topic The Review Thread
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Just finished watching Ted Lasso. It's a comedy about an American Football coach, bought in to manage an ailing Premier League side (AFC Richmond) and help save them from relegation, even though he's never even played football. The owner took over the club as part of her divorce from the previous chairman and she wants to destroy the club to get back at him. Some of her plans pay off - some don't.
It's ten half hour episodes which are an easy watch. Back stories about players shenanigans, shagging models, bevvied up fans and underhand journos keep the story going. It's not going to win a boatload of awards, but it's certainly entertaining for football fans and I really enjoyed it.
It's ten half hour episodes which are an easy watch. Back stories about players shenanigans, shagging models, bevvied up fans and underhand journos keep the story going. It's not going to win a boatload of awards, but it's certainly entertaining for football fans and I really enjoyed it.
I thought the Festival of Remembrance on BBC last night was very moving. It’s not something I would usually stay and watch as it can be overwhelming as everything builds towards Remembrance Sunday, but Covid and lockdown seems to have changed that this year. Completely re-designed due to COVID they did a fantastic job and the recollections, writings, letters and poems were heart-wrenching. The poem by the Canadian John Gillespie Magee (High Flight) who died at 19 years of age was absolutely magnificent. Particularly liked that they referenced the Korean wartime and the role of the services and NHS in battling Covid.
Well done all involved.
I remain humbled and shall not forget you.
I have just discovered the work of Swedish film maker Roy Andersson. I don’t think it is open to much questioning that it is a very acquired taste, which I became addicted to instantly, but can easily understand the complete opposite ‘what pretentious crap, take it away now’ response.
From a background of making commercials, every scene in his films is a single take shot from a fixed point, no camera movement or close ups, so, in effect each scene is a living picture. All shot in his studio, with largely amateur actors. Every scene over multiple films (about six in all) is an absurdist essay. Here’s a taster, from his latest and possibly last film, About Endlessness. Also recommended You, The Living and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence. Love it or hate it, you’ll remember it. Doesn’t kick in until about 40 seconds.
From a background of making commercials, every scene in his films is a single take shot from a fixed point, no camera movement or close ups, so, in effect each scene is a living picture. All shot in his studio, with largely amateur actors. Every scene over multiple films (about six in all) is an absurdist essay. Here’s a taster, from his latest and possibly last film, About Endlessness. Also recommended You, The Living and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence. Love it or hate it, you’ll remember it. Doesn’t kick in until about 40 seconds.
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An excellent first episode!
The cinematography, especially in Cittagazze, is beautiful and the CGI for the talking animals is superb. A couple of subtle drifts away from the book - things that probably wouldn't work so well on screen - but overall very happy with the script.
Roll on next Sunday!
Just finished series 2 myself and really enjoyed it too. Started well and got more enjoyable. The last 3 episodes were brilliant. Karl Urban does a brilliant job and eventually has almost everyone saying ****. I look forward to series 3 whenever it eventually gets released.
Just finished that as well, having watched the trailer I thought it was going to be a bit rubbish but got to say I’m disappointed it’s finished, some proper laughs and footy stereotype characters. Very easy to watch.
I believe they are making a second series which they will start filming in January
what a night
what a band
and I only knew 4 of the songs
the support act RACING were bloody good too
REVIEW: Wellington’s tweenie pop fans had their post-lockdown night out at Benee, alt-rockers got The Beths, and on Friday it was Oldies’ Night Out as seminal Kiwi band Th’ Dudes kicked off their rescheduled Th’ Bliss tour at the TSB Arena.
Fans had been waiting a long time for this gig after Covid-19 bumped the original April date. Many had been holding tickets for over a year.
And boy, could you tell. This crowd – and in fairness, there were plenty of young ‘uns in there too – was ready to rock, and have a whole lot of fun.
For many, this was the first big night out in more than six months, and certainly the first standing cheek-to-jowl with a bunch of sweaty, shouting people
That was partly responsible for the jovial atmosphere, like everyone was best mates before they even turned up, but let’s not overstate it: The night belonged to Th’ Dudes.
“Wellington,” said frontman Peter Urlich as he took to the stage, and the words “How are you?” were drowned out by whoops and cheers from the assembled crowd.
It easily spanned two generations, and every punter was as excited to be there as the one next to them.
In order to please them, Th’ Dudes, formed in 1975 by Urlich, Dave Dobbyn, Ian Morris, Bruce Hambling and Peter Coleman (later replaced by Lez White), had a very specific mission for this show, the band’s first since 2007: Deliver the hits and get the crowd pumping.
They did that, and then some.
The audience was there for Bliss. It was there for Be Mine Tonight. It was there for singing along to songs that have been part of New Zealand’s cultural architecture for four decades, the ones where you know all the words and have no idea how.
That’s exactly what Th’ Dudes delivered, and goodness, did they seem happy to be doing it.
Peter Urlich has always been the consummate frontman and neither his charisma nor his energy has diminished one iota. He spent the entire hour-and-three-quarters of the gig running around the stage, playing air guitar and singing with the lungs of a man at least half his 64 years.
He had the audience in the palm of his hand from the moment the band kicked off with 1979 single Right First Time.
Overall the show was a jovial affair, but it wasn’t without its moments of poignancy.
This is the first time Th’ Dudes have performed without founding member Ian Morris, who died in 2010.
He is replaced for this tour by his younger brother, Rikki, also a significant Kiwi songwriter, performer and producer.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ls_live_0611
“This is f...... huge for me,” Morris said, equating the gig to playing with his favourite band. He then launched into an emotional acoustic rendition of the Morris brothers’ 1987 hit Nobody Else, with ethereal harmonies from Lucid 3 frontwoman and frequent Dobbyn collaborator Victoria Girling-Butcher.
Earlier, Urlich had dedicated the gig to Ian Morris’ memory, and the band played a raucous cover of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders’ The Game of Love, which Morris recorded during his solo career as Tex Pistol
Anyone who came along under the misconception that Dobbyn would be front and centre was disappointed; although he has had arguably the most illustrious career of all the Dudes following their few years together, in this, his first band, Dobbyn mostly kept to the background, crippled with stage fright.
That was the case on Friday too. Urlich even took lead vocals on Dobbyn’s mega-hit Loyal (although the crowd was louder than anyone on stage), but Dobbyn did step up to the mic for All My Lovers and, of course, Be Mine Tonight.
Sandwiched between Walking in Light and Bliss, that song made up a powerhouse trio of classic hits that finished the show off with the crowd in the air, yelling the words out at the top of their lungs.
“Th’ Dudes,” said Urlich as the band walked offstage for the final time. “Wellington. You were there.”
Hell yeah they were.
what a band
and I only knew 4 of the songs
the support act RACING were bloody good too
REVIEW: Wellington’s tweenie pop fans had their post-lockdown night out at Benee, alt-rockers got The Beths, and on Friday it was Oldies’ Night Out as seminal Kiwi band Th’ Dudes kicked off their rescheduled Th’ Bliss tour at the TSB Arena.
Fans had been waiting a long time for this gig after Covid-19 bumped the original April date. Many had been holding tickets for over a year.
And boy, could you tell. This crowd – and in fairness, there were plenty of young ‘uns in there too – was ready to rock, and have a whole lot of fun.
You must log in or register to see images
For many, this was the first big night out in more than six months, and certainly the first standing cheek-to-jowl with a bunch of sweaty, shouting people
That was partly responsible for the jovial atmosphere, like everyone was best mates before they even turned up, but let’s not overstate it: The night belonged to Th’ Dudes.
“Wellington,” said frontman Peter Urlich as he took to the stage, and the words “How are you?” were drowned out by whoops and cheers from the assembled crowd.
It easily spanned two generations, and every punter was as excited to be there as the one next to them.
You must log in or register to see images
In order to please them, Th’ Dudes, formed in 1975 by Urlich, Dave Dobbyn, Ian Morris, Bruce Hambling and Peter Coleman (later replaced by Lez White), had a very specific mission for this show, the band’s first since 2007: Deliver the hits and get the crowd pumping.
They did that, and then some.
The audience was there for Bliss. It was there for Be Mine Tonight. It was there for singing along to songs that have been part of New Zealand’s cultural architecture for four decades, the ones where you know all the words and have no idea how.
That’s exactly what Th’ Dudes delivered, and goodness, did they seem happy to be doing it.
Peter Urlich has always been the consummate frontman and neither his charisma nor his energy has diminished one iota. He spent the entire hour-and-three-quarters of the gig running around the stage, playing air guitar and singing with the lungs of a man at least half his 64 years.
He had the audience in the palm of his hand from the moment the band kicked off with 1979 single Right First Time.
You must log in or register to see images
Overall the show was a jovial affair, but it wasn’t without its moments of poignancy.
This is the first time Th’ Dudes have performed without founding member Ian Morris, who died in 2010.
He is replaced for this tour by his younger brother, Rikki, also a significant Kiwi songwriter, performer and producer.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ls_live_0611
“This is f...... huge for me,” Morris said, equating the gig to playing with his favourite band. He then launched into an emotional acoustic rendition of the Morris brothers’ 1987 hit Nobody Else, with ethereal harmonies from Lucid 3 frontwoman and frequent Dobbyn collaborator Victoria Girling-Butcher.
Earlier, Urlich had dedicated the gig to Ian Morris’ memory, and the band played a raucous cover of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders’ The Game of Love, which Morris recorded during his solo career as Tex Pistol
Anyone who came along under the misconception that Dobbyn would be front and centre was disappointed; although he has had arguably the most illustrious career of all the Dudes following their few years together, in this, his first band, Dobbyn mostly kept to the background, crippled with stage fright.
You must log in or register to see images
That was the case on Friday too. Urlich even took lead vocals on Dobbyn’s mega-hit Loyal (although the crowd was louder than anyone on stage), but Dobbyn did step up to the mic for All My Lovers and, of course, Be Mine Tonight.
Sandwiched between Walking in Light and Bliss, that song made up a powerhouse trio of classic hits that finished the show off with the crowd in the air, yelling the words out at the top of their lungs.
“Th’ Dudes,” said Urlich as the band walked offstage for the final time. “Wellington. You were there.”
Hell yeah they were.
Just watching the film Snowpiercer on Amazon. Quite mad and utterly compelling. Tilda Swindon having great fun. Really don’t understand how I’ve missed this, it was made ages ago. A truly international project as well. Great stuff.
Is that the one on a train? I've caught bits of it but not seen it all the way through
Yes, it definitely worth the effort. Based on a French graphic novel, directed by a Korean, with a mixed Korean, English and American cast, including John Hurt, Ed Harris and Chris Evans. I think the cast were given a lot of leeway with how they wanted to play it. Can be viewed in lots of different ways, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Apparently there is also a TV series, but my son says the film is much better.
Just watched the David Olusoga interview of Barrack Obama, ostensibly about Obama’s memoirs.
Very disappointing. Obama is without doubt a very interesting man and a very good speaker. He has a fair bit of charisma also an obvious sense of humour. Just for who he is he has made history.
But he’s not perfect and sadly Olusoga gave him a very easy ride, barely asking a question, but when he did focussing on the evils of division, and essentially how awful everything is now that Obama has gone. The ex president played along with it. Perhaps this opportunity required a proper journalist/interviewer rather than a softly spoken (and excellent in his field) historian. I would like to have asked if Obama felt any responsibility for the conditions which made Trump and the rise of the conspiracy driven right in America possible. But no chance in this PR exercise.
Very disappointing. Obama is without doubt a very interesting man and a very good speaker. He has a fair bit of charisma also an obvious sense of humour. Just for who he is he has made history.
But he’s not perfect and sadly Olusoga gave him a very easy ride, barely asking a question, but when he did focussing on the evils of division, and essentially how awful everything is now that Obama has gone. The ex president played along with it. Perhaps this opportunity required a proper journalist/interviewer rather than a softly spoken (and excellent in his field) historian. I would like to have asked if Obama felt any responsibility for the conditions which made Trump and the rise of the conspiracy driven right in America possible. But no chance in this PR exercise.
Sorry, didn’t mean to spoil it. My expectations might have been too high, with two people I instinctively like.
They’ve just repeated it on radio 4, I listened again to see if my initial reaction was too harsh. Sadly not, Olusoga just not the man for this particular job. It’s nice not to have a traditional confrontational political interview, but this required a little more bite than he was prepared or able to give.
Interestingly they have followed this with an old recording of David Frost interviewing Joe Biden in 1987 during one of his failed earlier presidential bids. I’m not sure what Frost was like as a person but he was a ****ing brilliant interviewer - calm, polite, but pointed, really getting below the surface. I suppose he had time and was happy to treat his interviewees as intellectual equals rather than adversaries or someone to catch out. He actually listened to what they were saying. Contrast with Peston on TV last night, dealing almost exclusively in sound bites, shouting over his guests, getting confused because his producer was talking in his ear, amateur hour.
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You've probably already seen it, but if you haven't, watch Frost/Nixon. Brilliant performances from Michael Sheen and Frank Langella.