Wait until next year

May 13, 2014

You Like Potato – Matters of taste from Woody Allen to Céline Dion

In Woody Allen’s Manhattan the protagonist Issac Davis talks into a tape recorder, listing what he believes makes life worth living. It is a key scene and a clever device. The list gives us an insight into Davis’ personality, his motivations, his desires:

“Why is life worth living? It’s a very good question. There are certain things I guess that make it worthwhile. Like what…okay…For me, I would say… what, Groucho Marx, to name one thing…and Willie Mays…and the second movement of the Jupiter Symphony…and Louis Armstrong, recording of Potato Head Blues…Swedish movies, naturally… Sentimental Education by Flaubert…Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra…those incredible Apples and Pears by Cezanne…the crabs at Sam Wo’s…Tracy’s face…” Read the rest of this entry »

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Video | April 19, 2014

Saturday Night Movie: The Battle for Britain’s Breakfast

A documentary about the early days of breakfast television might not immediately sound that promising. But this is excellent, and has quite the tale to tell. Sure, it ticks a few nostalgia boxes for those of us who were up early in the 1980s, but it also is a telling case study of how the same mistakes can be made again and again, that boardroom shenanigans can destroy the best intentions and the fine line between being considered a creative genius and creating a flop.

And if you find this enjoyable, then do check out the book “Morning Glory: A History of British Breakfast Television” by Ian Jones – a brilliant read that fills in a lot of the gaps, and also takes the story into the early 2000s…

April 16, 2014

A few words about Steven Gerrard, football, etc

Winning is one thing. How you go about it is quite another. Read the rest of this entry »

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April 15, 2014

Hillsborough

25 years on from such an awful tragedy and it still feels impossible to fully comprehend or articulate anything about the event. 96 people going to a football match and not returning is terrible enough. That they were failed by those who should have kept them safe, is worse. That the day would be followed by lies and cover-ups from those in authority is unbearable. I guess all we can hope now is that the families, friends and loved ones of those who died, along with those who survived that day, will finally see some sort of justice from the current independent inquest. And that hopefully that will bring them at least some degree of peace.

We must never forget.

If you want to read more about this, and you should, then please take a look at Steven‘s posts on the subject, here and here.

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Video | March 25, 2014

Thirty years on from the first Merseyside Wembley final…

…this documentary has been doing the rounds. Made in 1984, it is centred around that year’s League Cup Final – the first time Liverpool and Everton had met in a Wembley cup final. But it is about a lot more than the game. It is a fine document for illustrating how sport can genuinely bring meaning and joy to our lives. It is also a reminder of the rapidly fading link between football and the working classes. Thirty years on we have the same unemployment, the same feelings of isolation, the same rundown communities. But now you can’t even afford a ticket to the football.