November 15

I served the King of England – Jiri Menzel’s take on Bohumil Hrabal just after the Prague Spring.

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I got the distinct feeling all the way through I served the King of England, that i was missing the “in” joke. It’s entirely likely of course – I’m not Czech, and I’ve never read the book. There is something deeply beautiful about Jan Dítĕ (Ivan Barnev) despite his rather appalling opportunism. Jiri Menzel made this […]

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November 14

Is Genre fiction art? Pt 1: Why do so many of us want to write? (Article)

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  More than ever before, if a person wants to write a book, they can. The changes to publishing brought about by the digital age are something we are constantly discussing. We have seen these changes affect film and music before writing, but one of the differences between the previous artistic mediums and writing is: 1. Everyone thinks they can write […]

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November 14

Pith and Amber – the watery words of Carah A. Naseem (Book review)

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I’m not even sure what compelled me to purchase Pith and Amber. Perhaps I was entranced by the idea of the beautiful cover?  I wanted to read some books from Fugue State Press who publish beautiful works of experimental fiction, and for some reason I purchased this book. The first thing that strikes me when […]

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November 14

Puff up the Volume – Talibam! Music as a refusal. (Music review)

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I’ve got a soft spot for the Talibam! guys.  You can see from my previous review I was very taken with their Launchpad Series. For me their music is an assault on the weird appropriation that goes on with music.  The “music is mine!” principle.  It belongs to me! Amid the fun and exuberance a […]

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November 14

Solaris – The film Tarkovsky didn’t like.

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I had a lot of help with this review by reading M. Dawsons wonderful review here, on Left Field Cinema. I watched Solaris a few weeks back for the first time – what an enormous pleasure it is to be able to watch films like those made by Andrei Tarkovsky. In an oh so clever move, […]

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November 13

Try I Bark – Patrick Farmer and the delicate brush against the surface of all things.(Book Review)

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“This book is written to be read out loud and outside” Patrick Farmer I had not planned in not planning   to meet anything other than myself- I write so I can be silent though silence begs to be heard Beauty exists. Just as beauty exists in the depths, the fissures, the unplummetable and the unfathomable, […]

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November 13

Omni – Hideki, Akiyama and Nakamura move away from the conventional aspects of time. (music review)

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Omni is a Latin prefix meaning “all” or “every.” Omni the album is two tracks, one coming in at 40:10 and one coming in at 05:02 minutes long. The trio of musicians are Japanese, Kato Hideki, Tetuzi Akiyama and Toshimaru Nakamura. Hideki plays electric bass with prime number tuning, bass synthesizer.  Akiyama plays prepared electric […]

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November 13

Seven Psychopaths Review – Martin McDonagh goes cute n’ clever on the art of the screenplay.

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Seven Psychopaths is one of those really cute and really clever takes on the Hollywood screenplay.  I have to say up front that Martin McDonagh (who writes this as well as directs it) is giving Tarentino the elbow here in a film that is sort of homage sort of pay-out, sort of frustrated attempt to […]

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November 12

Great Expectations (theatre review) – Bakehouse lives up to the perils of ambition

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“Love her, love her, love her! If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces – and as it gets older and stronger, it will tear deeper – love her, love her, love her!” Miss Havisham. Great Expectations is my favourite Dickens – I love […]

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November 12

Your Breath on my Lips – Jim Denley and the intimacies of the natural.

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One of the most exciting things about watching Jim Denley live is that he practises “circular breathing”.  That’s something we’re familiar with in Australia because our Aborigines use it when playing the didgeridoo. For those of you who are not so familiar, here’s the wiki: Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to […]

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