Noam Chomsky's down under

Journalism This still hasn't drifted over the horizon. The Sydney Morning Herald covers the Emma Brockes/Noam Chomsky interview controversy. Including the Blogger point of view. I am not quoted for some odd reason.

Kicking

Film I like Dennis Quaid. I think he's an unsung actor who's been cruelly forgotten because of the odd poor career choice. But really his new movie is getting a kicking from the US critics. Yours, Mine & Ours currently runs with 6% at Rotten Tomatoes and whilst the mainstreamers are being pretty reserved, the onliners are really going to for it: "A pro-abortion propaganda film. No one in their right mind would breed with the foreknowledge that they would grow up into these brats." Shame too that when Rene Russo finally makes a new film, it has to be this....

Scary

TV "Well my memory of Doctor Who isn't of it being funny or camp or any of those things, or silly. I remember watching it as a child, terrified, absolutely terrified of it. It was a scary, scary dark show in which lots and lots of nice people died without mercy or reprieve, and that's what I remembered and wanted it to be. Y'know when you start watching it later and you realize that actually it wasn't as scary as you remembered it, that's not important. What mattered is that when I was eight it was the scariest thing out there and that's what I wanted to write." - Steven Moffat, Doctor Who: Season One: The Empty Child DVD audio commentary

Anything on?

TV The BFI's Screen Online has a massive section about television with essays about all of the major British TV over the past sixty odd years.

Choreography

Theatre Laura Fraser (sort of) does panto.

Death by tv listings magazine

Music "Singers Tom Jones and Cilla Black were among those to recall (John Lennon), who was shot dead in New York on 8 December 1980, for Radio Times magazine." -- a slip of a comma reveals the real truth surrounding the death of the Beatle. [via]

Pan back

Liverpool Life George Frampton's Peter Pan statue, taken into storage and restored by the good people at The Conservation Centre is returning to Sefton Park. It won't be returning to its original spot, which is a shame but understandable, but instead in the secure area around the Palm House. This is a replica of the statue in Kensington Gardens, London.

Alas Alias

TV Alias ends. That's a shame -- but then again after watching Season Three ... at least with a clear date to work towards and some notice JJ Abrams and friends can hopefully wrap up the story properly. Assuming he's not too busy on MI3. The Washington Post has some interest commentary.
Blog! "The other night I learnt the most beautiful new word: "spiracle". Isn't it lovely? Spiracle. Like a cross between a spire and a pinnacle, or some sort of eyeglass, or an exotic boat heading off down the misty Nile on a mysterious adventure... Sadly, it's actually an airhole in the side of a wasp. Not quite as glamorous." --- Who knew that Jayne Nelson (formerly Dearsley) of SFX magazine and Total Film had a blog?

Dali Llama

Spiritualism "oh, and by the way, i hugged the dalai lama." -- Caro reveals an excellent conversation.

"my love, my only hope and care" -- Romeo (& Juliet)

Shakespeare Remember the initiative in which some Professor who should know better decided to translate lots of literature into txt mssgs? This beats him. It's the story of Romeo and Juilet told entirely in Emoticons. :)

Vwoorp! Jingle! Vwoorp! Jingle!

TV The Christmas Invasion. Isn't it funny home posting on some blogs lightens when a new dvd boxset is released vaguely related to some sci-fi or fantasy series. Who would have thought that this year it would be TARDIS shaped?

Homework

Life I always said that I would travel to Manchester every day for college work. So I'm working from home today. The place is emptry, I can enjoy the silence and I can finish writing an essay and completed some reading in peace. I feel rested and happy for the first Tuesday in weeks.

Review 2005 update

Review 2005 "Some people are like Slinkies: not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs." -- which is from the email signature of Pete who has agreed to take part in Review 2005. Thanks mate for that and the laugh. I've decided that I will be sending out reminders a week before the closing date (so this Thursday), thanks for the advice. Now all I need to do is work out what to say ...

You know, if you take a step back...

TV "Suffice to say that had any one of us been told, 10 years ago, that Sunday night entertainment for the 2005 masses would involve watching Margaret Thatcher's daughter micturate while Jimmy Osmond and that woman off Food and Drink slumbered in neighbouring sleeping bags, there is the slimmest of chances we would not have believed it." -- Marina Hyde

Tru Falling

Not News Gary takes on the Harriet Miers nomination with these lost strips. The man from Doonesbury works ahead of schedule doesn't he? [via]

When's it on?

TV Bleb offers a tv listings search service - for example you want to find out when there's some Shakespeare on this week.

'Feels so good .... ' -- The Beautiful South

TV / Music / Film The Bubble Burst. Whatever happened to ... sample entry, Monica Lewinsky.

Blu Angel

Film I'm not at all surprised that the first Blu-Ray film is Charlies Angels: Full Throttle. As I always take great joy in reminding everyone the first dvd release in this country was Batman & Robin. But it got better here didn't it?

Skipping

TV I thought this was worth highlighting. Some people at the Doctor Who Restoration Team discussion board are reporting an error with the second disc of the new Season One boxset. To quote:

"I was watching World War Three, as i made my way through the set, and at the moment that the Doctor says "sorry" to the dead government guy in the cupboard, it suddenly jumps to the next chapter with Mickey and Jackie in Mickey's bedroom. I've played it on my dvd player and computer and the same thing happens." (Warren Andrews)

Then later in the thread:

"Just checked mine against my off-air DVD recording. There is about 2-3minutes missing where you say. Looking on my dvd counter (standalone & PC) it isn't jumping on.. the section is missing completely." (Matthew Forrester)

I was going to buy my copy tomorrow. Have any of our readers who have received the set early spotted this issue? I'm reluctant to part with my birthday money now if there is something wrong...

Or as I've taken to calling it (in an American accent) 'The Oh Looord'



TV Yes, so lately I've been watching The L Word. It's good. Really, really good. Even taking into account my flirtations with Star Trek: Enterprise, its been a while since I've taken to a programme in this way. I think it's because it treats the audience with some respect and assumes some intelligence of us. In the last episode I watched there was a Godart reference and before then 'googling' was mentioned. All we need now is for Shane to start writing an blog. It's not often I've heard this in a drama, especially something mainstream. Which I don't really think this ... but I digress. The acting is suburb as is the writing, and not since Firefly have I seen something so free and easy with its story structure and character development.

The reason I'm diving in and finally posting about it and recommending it to you is that apart from anything else is a wild hive of odd guest casting. In the first season alone, I've counted at least four main players from Battlestar Galactica (Crewman Cally, Col. Saul Tigh and Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol), Snoop Dogg, Anne Archer and Rosanna Arquette (doing what appears to be an impression of Sarah Michelle Gellar). But in the middle of all that is Devon Gummersall (My So-Called Life's Brian Krakow) playing Lisa - the male orientated lesbian. I mean really. If anyone has been wondering what happened to Brian after the whole Angela/Jordan/letter incident, the answer was right here ...

Breaking the fourth wall: The L Word: Losing It

Photography


Breaking the fourth wall: The L Word: L'Ennui
Originally uploaded by feelinglistless.

In what is an extraordinary piece of acting Mia Kirshner portrays her character Jenny's drop off the rails. In the middle of all the crying she happens to look into the camera for a few frames, just long enough to make the viewer jump back in surprise.

Noam Chomsky's Win

Journalism The Guardian has pulled the Noam Chomsky interview from their website. The Corrections and clarifications explains the issues that the writer had with the piece and corrects any agreed errors. This interview is still online here and also oddly enough on Chomsky's own website. Alistair offers some commentary on the affair.