It just reminds me of the fact that I have never studied that period of history properly. My elder son is however; his History “A” Level course has spent three terms studying modern Russian ( & hence Soviet History). This is what attracted him, as the school has for many years visited Russia, sadly for his year, they decided to stop it. Actually the film was made in 1971 at the height of the cold war and is very dated in its production values, let alone its politics. …
Dr Who & Utility Computing
1st episode of Dr Who for 20? years – finished about an hour ago. My Vote – great! (You can also see the BBC Site here….)
Despite the casting of Billie Piper as the assistant and some of Chris Ecclestone’s previous parts which hardly qualify him to play the Doctor, the BBC’s investment in love, script, humour and effects just brings back the best. Ecclestone’s mercurial, manic & mysterious performance is reminiscent of Tom Baker, the fan’s favourite, and maybe Sylvester McCoy, one of my favourites. (I don’t count Paul McGann as a Doctor, and neither does IMDB). While my son (18) asks how the shop dummies suddenly obtain machine guns up their arms, I jumped out my seat when the wheelie bin attacked Rose’s (Piper) boy friend. …
Dragon’s Den & Flying Cars
The BBC are showing a TV program series called “Dragon’s Den”. Despite my interest in fantasy, this is about venture capitalism, not sword & sorcery, albeit with a very British spin. Yesterday, a show went out which sums up the crapness of British industrial management. Each week the show gets a bunch of self-made rich tossers into a loft and asks would-be entrepreneurs to beg them for money to invest in their business.
Yesterday, Kestrel Aerospace, who are building a personal air vehicle based on a proprietary and innovative engine within a craft that looks a bit like the aircraft flown by Arnie in the fim “The 6th Day”. …
Writing in English
I wrote an article at blogs.sun.com called Writing in English about web resources and jargon. Not really worth bringing forward. So I haven’t.
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Sugar & Spice
In the UK, we’ve just had two reality TV series where school kids have been put through a 1950’s style education. There have been two series, one following kids into a 50’s grammar school and the second has been about a Secondary Modern. …
Australia & England, a sporting rivalry!
In the Guardian, a journalist quoted an Australian Olympic sportsman as saying “You ****** poms, you can only win medals in sports where you sit down”. Looking at the Great Britain’s medal tally, he had a point. Sailing, Cycling, Rowing, Canoeing & Riding.
It does ignore Kelly Holmes winning the women’s middle distance races, but its a great piece of abuse, with enough truth to make it hard to ignore. I love Australians! …