Monday, October 08, 2007
Welcome to Pynchon's Political Corner, where the hot political questions of the day are asked and answered.
Today's question.
By deciding not to go for an early election, did Gordon Brown bottle it?
Today's answer.
Yes. Er... I mean No. I don't know. Maybe. If David Cameron (or Tony Blair or John Major or The Witch or James Callaghan or Harold Wilson, et al) had been Prime Minister, they would have made exactly the same decision. Only an insane Prime Minister would call an election when they didn't have to, if the polls showed a chance that their party might lose. Why risk it now?
So, bottling it? Maybe only making the only decision that could be made at the time.
Thanks for visiting. Pynchon's Political Corner will return... er... sometime.
******
Yesterday I saw "Michael Clayton" starring big (allegedly) George Clooney. Here is a nice picture of him, just for Katy. Poor guy. He's looking a bit tired, isn't he?
I liked "Michael Clayton" a great deal. It is a good, old fashioned, corporate conspiracy thriller that, 30 years ago, would have been headlined by someone like Robert Redford or Warren Beatty. Crucially neither gentleman would have been any better than George Clooney is in the starring role. I think that this is a tribute to how far George Clooney has come. He is now a bona fide movie actor as well as being a bona fide movie star. My lord, whisper it... He might even get an Oscar nomination for "Michael Clayton".
George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, shadowy fixer for a high powered law firm. You got a messy problem? You got an awkward situation? You need a cool head in your corner, and the problem tidied up quickly and smartly? Clayton is your man.
When a senior lawyer at the firm, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), working on a several billion dollar lawsuit, goes into serious mental meltdown, Clayton is called in to sort out the situation. What Clayton doesn't know is that Edens has been disturbed by certain evidence he has found while working on the case. Certain evidence that other interested parties most definitely do not want to come to light...
"Michael Clayton" is a great thriller. Smart, intelligent script and direction by Tony Gilroy (as tight and claustrophobic as the "Bourne" films). Great, multi-layered performance by George Clooney, and just brilliant support from Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton.
A proper grown up film. They do not make them like that anymore. You must see it.
******
I am now reading Philip Pullman's first novel in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, "Northern Lights". I have been desperate to start it for weeks, as the movie adaptation "The Golden Compass" opens on 5th December 2007, and I never like to watch a movie adaptation of a book I have only just finished reading. Months ago, Lorraine had lent the whole trilogy to a girl at work and she only returned it last week. She said she had never got around to reading it.
Silly girl.
I am about 100 pages into "Northern Lights". So far I think it is a great book. I am off now to read some more of it.
Later.
Today's question.
By deciding not to go for an early election, did Gordon Brown bottle it?
Today's answer.
Yes. Er... I mean No. I don't know. Maybe. If David Cameron (or Tony Blair or John Major or The Witch or James Callaghan or Harold Wilson, et al) had been Prime Minister, they would have made exactly the same decision. Only an insane Prime Minister would call an election when they didn't have to, if the polls showed a chance that their party might lose. Why risk it now?
So, bottling it? Maybe only making the only decision that could be made at the time.
Thanks for visiting. Pynchon's Political Corner will return... er... sometime.
******
Yesterday I saw "Michael Clayton" starring big (allegedly) George Clooney. Here is a nice picture of him, just for Katy. Poor guy. He's looking a bit tired, isn't he?
I liked "Michael Clayton" a great deal. It is a good, old fashioned, corporate conspiracy thriller that, 30 years ago, would have been headlined by someone like Robert Redford or Warren Beatty. Crucially neither gentleman would have been any better than George Clooney is in the starring role. I think that this is a tribute to how far George Clooney has come. He is now a bona fide movie actor as well as being a bona fide movie star. My lord, whisper it... He might even get an Oscar nomination for "Michael Clayton".
George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, shadowy fixer for a high powered law firm. You got a messy problem? You got an awkward situation? You need a cool head in your corner, and the problem tidied up quickly and smartly? Clayton is your man.
When a senior lawyer at the firm, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), working on a several billion dollar lawsuit, goes into serious mental meltdown, Clayton is called in to sort out the situation. What Clayton doesn't know is that Edens has been disturbed by certain evidence he has found while working on the case. Certain evidence that other interested parties most definitely do not want to come to light...
"Michael Clayton" is a great thriller. Smart, intelligent script and direction by Tony Gilroy (as tight and claustrophobic as the "Bourne" films). Great, multi-layered performance by George Clooney, and just brilliant support from Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton.
A proper grown up film. They do not make them like that anymore. You must see it.
******
I am now reading Philip Pullman's first novel in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, "Northern Lights". I have been desperate to start it for weeks, as the movie adaptation "The Golden Compass" opens on 5th December 2007, and I never like to watch a movie adaptation of a book I have only just finished reading. Months ago, Lorraine had lent the whole trilogy to a girl at work and she only returned it last week. She said she had never got around to reading it.
Silly girl.
I am about 100 pages into "Northern Lights". So far I think it is a great book. I am off now to read some more of it.
Later.
Labels: Movies, Politics, Reading
Thursday, May 03, 2007
A couple of days ago I finally finished reading "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. From the cows in the field to the slaughterhouses to the smiling (or scowling - a special Hi there! to the employees at Burger King in Martineau Square, Birmingham) staff serving you the crap at your local McDonalds/Burger King/Kentucky Fried Chicken . Shocking stuff, it must be said. Much more shocking than the movie "Super Size Me", because I thought the argument of that movie was pretty bloody obvious unless you were retarded. If you eat nothing but McDonalds food constantly for 30 days obviously you would make yourself ill. Everybody knows that, don't they?
No?
Oh dear. The human race is fucked then.
Even after reading "Fast Food Nation" I don't think I could ever become a vegetarian. I like meat, but from now on I will endeavour to eat a better quality of meat. I have stopped eating the ground up, dodgy meat slop that they constantly serve up in The Company canteen. No more burgers, chilli, bolognaise, etc. It's shit and I've always known it.
Lecture over. I'm not on a mission to save to world, but I don't intend to go into a burger joint ever again. Not lovin' it.
(The movie adaptation of "Fast Food Nation" starts in the UK today on limited release, but sadly not in Birmingham. I think the MAC has it in June.)
I am now reading something lighter. "Equal Rites" by Terry Pratchett, which is the 3rd in the "Discworld" series. Very good, so far, but it is early days yet. This year I intend every 3rd book that I read to be a "Discworld" novel. We have 11 of the buggers on the shelf and Lorraine has read 10 of them. The one she hasn't read is "Hogfather", but that is only because it is number 21 in the series and she hasn't read the first 20 yet.
Lorraine and I have voted. She claims she voted Green Party, but I think she is a closet Liberal Democrat. Me? I voted Labour, to keep the Tory scum out.
Forgive me.
No?
Oh dear. The human race is fucked then.
Even after reading "Fast Food Nation" I don't think I could ever become a vegetarian. I like meat, but from now on I will endeavour to eat a better quality of meat. I have stopped eating the ground up, dodgy meat slop that they constantly serve up in The Company canteen. No more burgers, chilli, bolognaise, etc. It's shit and I've always known it.
Lecture over. I'm not on a mission to save to world, but I don't intend to go into a burger joint ever again. Not lovin' it.
(The movie adaptation of "Fast Food Nation" starts in the UK today on limited release, but sadly not in Birmingham. I think the MAC has it in June.)
I am now reading something lighter. "Equal Rites" by Terry Pratchett, which is the 3rd in the "Discworld" series. Very good, so far, but it is early days yet. This year I intend every 3rd book that I read to be a "Discworld" novel. We have 11 of the buggers on the shelf and Lorraine has read 10 of them. The one she hasn't read is "Hogfather", but that is only because it is number 21 in the series and she hasn't read the first 20 yet.
Lorraine and I have voted. She claims she voted Green Party, but I think she is a closet Liberal Democrat. Me? I voted Labour, to keep the Tory scum out.
Forgive me.
