Posts by Craig Ranapia
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I wonder if the American fear of/disdain for "the public" is at work here? A single bomb in a single public place (say, a train station, or airport) in the US would cause a mass abandonment of plans, and avoidance of that type of place
And you think a bomb in Wellington Railway Station - which is part of a major bus-rail hub literally a stone's throw from Parliament - wouldn't? Look, I think it's got more to do with the very simple physical reality that London is a very big city, and there are hundreds of thousands of people for whom commuting to work is a necessity not a lifestyle choice.
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The apparently resolute British desire not to panic after the weekend's close shaves with murder and mayhem is to be admired.
Couldn't agree more, but I wish the reaction to Salman Rushdie's knighthood didn't prove quite so vividly that there are still English folks, right across the political spectrum, who don't really respect freedom of expression.
I've not changed my opinion since 1989 that Rushdie is a genuinely talented, but vastly over-rated, writer' but nor have I changed my view that it is totally unacceptable in any civilized country to burn books, or call for the murder of a citizen of that country because he wrote a book that offends your religious or political sensibilities.
Sadly the usual suspects on the loony left and the rabid right haven't changed their minds over the last 18 years either. I just hope Gordon Brown will prove to be a damn sight less mealy-mouthed than Thatcher and Blair.
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Campbell Live replayed the same footage that night, too. He had on Robert Thompson, Professor of Popular Culture at the University of Syracuse, New York who correctly called them out on doing a story about 'why is everyone so fascinated by Paris' as a pretext to running a story about Paris without appearing to endorse her celebrity. Campbell had the good sense to laugh it off with "you've totally blown our cover!"
But, InternationalObserver, am I the only one who remembers when John was telling anyone who'd listen that Campbell Live was, well, going to be a little smarter and more substantial than the competition? I think Russell has said it before, and better, but Campbell Live is really looking more and more like a wasted opportunity - not least to show Campbell's genuine talents to best advantage. I'm not saying every night has to be a graduate school seminar on macroeconomic issues in Ulan Bator, but sorry...
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An occasional series of new Jane Austen adaptations begins on TV1, starting with Mansfield Park, starring Billie Piper's bosom, according to Kathryn Flett in the Guardian.
Oh. FFS... I watched the thing last night, and to be honest even this hardcore Janeite thought it was a piss-poor adaptation of her weakest novel. Certainly not Ms. Piper's finest hour.
But, to be honest, I do find it rather weird, well, just how sexist so much London media feminism sounds. Also a wee bit ironic considering Flett's own CV: fashion editor of The Face during the height of 'heroin chic' (which might explain why Flett doesn't like the sight of women with tits and arses), then moving on to Arena, just as it was morphing into Maxim with pretensions.
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Bert:
Well, here's a few words I'd like carved into the foreheads of every politician and journalist:
CORRELATION, IF IT EXISTS, DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION
As for folks who aren't that big on scientific method, when your conclusions should be based on a well-designed hypothesis, evaluated against the collection of data through observation and experimentation... rather than the other way round? Well, you can say that's human nature. Bad public policy doesn't become any better when it's slathered in pseudo-science and junk statistics, like a badly cooked roast downed in a rich, highly spices sauce.
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Looked like an open-and-shut case for a dose of STFU to me ...
Well, I'm sure this sounds super-freaky, but I want to be fair to the guy too. I cannot even imagine what it's like for any parent to buy a child who committed suicide, and I don't blame the man for making teen self-harm a hobby horse he's ridden very hard. I'd also note that The Bridge (as the linked story did point out) has received mixed reviews, inspired a legitimate (if low-key) ethical debate, and certainly isn't on my festival must-see list. But I do wish Anderton would be a little more careful; and to be fair to (most) researchers on this topic, they're hardly to blame if the carefully qualified conclusions (not least that a correlation does not imply causation) and methodological subtilties get lost in the rush for a soundbite.
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Looks like I won't have time to update our own Public Address Radio podcast until the weekend, but we have a good show in the can for tomorrow
*cough* And while we're in whorish self-promotion mode, I'm also pareodying, satirising and denigrating the Parliamentary Standing Orders Committee while I still can. :)
As odd as it feels, I'm going to defend Anderton again. I've talked to a few people about this, and my impression is that he does actually pay attention to evidence.
Up to a point, but I do wish he'd really stick to the day job and avoid trying to program film festivals :
Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton says the inclusion of a film showing people committing suicide in this year's International Film Festivals is disturbing and irresponsible.
The Ministry of Health is to contact festival organisers about during screenings providing viewers with phone numbers to call for help.
Documentary The Bridge, directed by Eric Steele, was filmed in 2004 and shows 23 fatal leaps from San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.
The director then interviewed family and friends of those who died. It screens in this year's film festivals starting next month.
"When you do this stuff you take a very grave risk that you are lifting the potential for other people who have not yet committed suicide to think about doing it in a similar way," Mr Anderton said.
Once more, Mr. Anderton should be a wee bit more scrupulous when citing research that is, to put it politely, highly contestable.
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I always thought it was compulsory for the Doctor actor to change... oh sorry, 'reincarnate'... every series.
Russell T. Davies is the executive producer and head writer - and Doctor Who has been through a few of those over the last forty three and a bit years. The odd thing is that, as originally conceived, The Doctor was a human being from the far-future - not an alien, and certainly not one who could 'regenerate'. They were just stuck in the bind of having an enormously popular show with a lead actor who, to put it bluntly, was not in the best of health and it showed. (They could have just pulled a Bond, and have nobody notice the full-body makeover. But where's the fun in that?)
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Joanna:
Oh hell, yes - and seventeen years later, I'm still surprised that ABC's standards and practices folks didn't just say 'if you think that's going to air, you're high". Tad Friend did a fascinating __New Yorker__ profile that goes into some detail about the increasingly bizarre notes from the network around the pilot of Mulholland Drive.
Smoking was apparently a particular cause for anxiety. But you've got to wonder about people who commission something from Lynch and find (shock! horror!) it's elliptical, dark in every sense, politically incorrect in the very best sense, and like nothing you've ever seen before.
Anyway, already booked my festival tickets -__Inland Empire__ looks like a bit of a mess, but it shouldn't be boring.
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Any truth to the persistent rumour that RTD is quitting after the next series?
RTD himself has said much as he loves it, he doesn't want to do Doctor Who for the rest of his life. I'd take what the guy says at face value: He's always been hired on a series to series basis, he's far too busy working on series four to even think about series five, and as far he's concerned Who is not dependent on him anyway. And, much as I love the guy's work, he's right.
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