If there’s one “truth” we are told growing up that needs some serious re-examination if we are to have any hope of getting through life with our sanity and emotional good health intact, it’s the idea that there is something inviolable about the good things that happen to us. Were Continue Reading
Comics review: Asterix and the Chieftain’s Daughter by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad
What first attracted me to the books of Asterix all those years ago in a town of 5000 whose library had a delightful inclination to stocking European children’s authors of every imaginable stripe, was the sheer, good-humoured insanity of it all. Here was a rich, clever take on history which Continue Reading
Star Trek: Picard review: “Et in “Arcadia Ego, Part 1” and “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2” (S1, E9 & E10)
SPOILERS AHEAD … AND TRUST … AND OLD FRIENDS … AND THE END OF THE UNIVERSE? Picard is, especially in its epic, edge-of-your-seat finale that sees the fate of the universe hang once again in the balance, proof positive that it is not only possible to go back but to Continue Reading
Weekday pop art: Classic album covers receive the social distancing treatment #COVID19
SNAPSHOTSocial distancing is the new normal and it will be for a while. 6 feet or 1.8 meters is the distance that experts recommend we keep between each other. We will rock again soon. Just remember to keep the 6 feet distance. It will save lives. (synopsis via Laughing Squid) Continue Reading
Book review: The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson
Every good thing, so the saying goes, must come to an end, driven by a harsh chronological reality which has no place for favouritism, sentimentality or once transcendent power. Whether the Emirate of Granada on the Iberian peninsula is one of those good things is entirely dependent on whether you Continue Reading
Book review: The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart by Margarita Montimore
Books with quirky premises are always a challenge to execute successfully. Either you don’t make the most of the idea underpinning the narrative and the story falls flat, taking the ascendant expectations of your readers along with it; or, you over-egg the concept and the book ends up feel so Continue Reading
COVID-19 retro movie festival: Adult Life Skills #MovieReview
With COVID-19 cutting a swathe through just about everything worldwide, it’s no surprise that cinema is being as affected as anything else. In just one day, one of my favourite cinema chains temporarily closed, the Sydney Film Festival was cancelled, the French Film Festival was postponed and my other favourite Continue Reading
COVID no more! A mash-up of film and TV clips that playfully address life in a time of pandemic
SNAPSHOT“Here’s a fun little video I cut amongst these strange weird times we’re in.” (producer at Austin, TX post-production house Cut to Black) We live in wild and crazy times. A single powerful virus is currently taking the lives of thousands of people who deserved many more years with their Continue Reading
Re-sleeving again: Thoughts on Altered Carbon 2
In a world where changing your appearance is as simple and as dispassionate as taking your “Stack”, which houses the essence of who you are, and placing it into another “sleeve” or body, cultivating and retaining a sense of self is a very real and vital thing. Especially if you Continue Reading
The COVID-19 sitcom you’ve been waiting for: Staying at Home
COVID-19 is really making a mess of our world at the moment. One of the many consequences of its unceasing trampling of normalcy are the lockdowns which have taken place in countries as diverse as India, France and the UK, forcing people used to a life of restaurants, farmers’ markets Continue Reading