In January 2005 I recommended a story, Cold Blood, that aired in five parts on BBC7. You can read my original article here.
Well it’s available again on the Beeb’s Listen Again facility. Check out the audio while you can here. Part one will cycle off the list on Monday as programs are only available for seven days.
Many thants to Brotzie for the heads up.
Pale imitation. So I don’t understand why you would remake such an iconic movie and not do something completely different. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the original but it was pretty damn good and emotionally engaging. As Gregory Peck hurtled towards his fate you cared what happened to him.
With this version, who gave a toss? Neither of the leads was particularly engaging, though it was nice to see David Thewlis on the big screen. There were a couple of scary moments but not enough to recommend the movie.
If you want to see The Omen buy the original on dvd.
Current temperature 82F/28C
I am very sad to report that our favouirte ‘old lady’ died unexpectedly this weekend. She came to us as a very tiny kitten after her mother was killed on the nearby railway line. She and her two siblings were rescued by a neighbour in the days before our community had a local humane society.
Portia was the sweetest kitten and would fall asleep on my chest after a hard day of romping and evading the evil Dingle Fritz, our other cat at the time also known as the Spawn of Satan. (We cut Dingle a lot of slack because we suspect he was seriously abused by someone before we adopted him.)
As the years passed she very much became the lady of the house and was given to spending the evenings hanging out in my lap. She had the daintiest pose when sitting on the floor and would cross her paws in a most ladylike manner.
As I have posted here, more recently she’d grown a fierce heart and intrepid spirit and taken to roaming the undergrowth around our home. She did not see the need to roam as widely as her younger brother used to but seemed satisfied in watching the world go by sheltered in the shade of Phi’s wild prairie plantings.
This weekend it appears that she was attacked by another animal. The vet felt that the combination of the stress, her heart murmur and age resulted in her inability to survive the attack. I found her Sunday afternoon, hiding in the undergrowth, reluctant to seek help and in very poor shape. Later that night she died at the vet’s when attempts to improve her condition proved fruitless.
We are all very sad at her passing and hope those who knew her will remember her fondly. Read what Phi and Sub Evil Boy had to say about Portia’s passing.
Current temperature 82F/28C
Dutch Elm disease is a serious problem in Morris and the local authorities are very aggressive about removing trees. Last year our neighbours lost all their boulevard trees because of this pest and we had serious suspicions that we would lose trees at some point too. Well it did not take long and this year we have lost two trees from our corner lot. We still have an elm around the corner but we are not hopeful for it’s long term survival.
Losing the two trees has drastically changed the view of our lot from across the street and removed a lot of shade from our property.
It seems that the ash trees on our property are now under threat from a bug called the emerald ash borer, which is making its way west. Currently it is in Michigan but the local tree advisory board is recommending that people stop planting ash trees because they are likely to be wiped out. This is not a happy thought for us.
Current temperature 66F/19C
The World Cup reaches its climax today. What will we do with ourselves now? I was 50% right on the finalists, so we have an Italy vs France this afternoon. A few friends are coming over for munchies and to watch the match so it should be an enjoyable affternoon.
So who will win? That’s a tough question. My logical brain thinks the French are probably going to win the tournament. My emotional brain is cheering on the Italians. Either way I suspect we’re in for a humdinger of a match.
Current temperature 70F/21C
They had a good run for their money but tonight Sub Evil Boy’s little league team were knocked out of the playoffs. We’re so sad.
Current temperature 66F/19C
One of the items I submitted to the embroidery exhibit earlier this year was an anniversary sampler I stitched for my friends Clare and Ray.
The piece was designed by Barbara Rakosnik, though I made a couple of changes to include the date, text and bottom band. The materials are 29 count Glenshee Linen with Kreinik Soie d’Alger.
I really like Barbara’s deigns and classes. Her instructions are well written and very adaptable. I used another piece that she taught as a class, Rose Without Thorns, as a wedding sampler for friends. Sadly the couple did not remain together and after a stay of a year or so in Arkansas the piece has returned to me.
Current temperature 73F/23C
The 2006 Tour De France is on and it looks like all bets are off as to who will win. With the big names out due to events in Spain and a couple of likely contenders out due to crashes in the first few days, I think this could be a really exciting Tour. I suspect we’ll get a lot closer to Paris before we know who will win, which pleases me greatly. I love it when it’s competitive. (That’s why the Vuelta is my favourite of the grand tours.)
To get connected to what’s going on check out cyclingfans.com
Current temperature 73F/23C
Alas England has been knocked out of the competition by their quarterfinal opponents Portugal. Despite what the US commentators said it was a very exciting match. It sure had me on the edge of my seat. Sadly it was the penalties that did it for us again. The good news was that even though England played with 10 men in the second half, Portugal still couldn’t beat them even after overtime. In fact being down a player seemed to inspire them and they threw everything they had into scoring a goal. It was not to be, ce la vie.
Else where in the competion, Italy beat Ukraine 3-nil, which flattered the Italians more than they deserved. Germany were lucky to beat Argentina on penalties. Argentina looked the better team but the luck ran Germany’s way. As for Brazil versus France, well the French seem to be getting their act together and beginning to look like possible champions. They played with great skill and passion and made the Brazillians look like also rans. The Brazillians were the most disappointing team in the tournament as the final ten minutes of this game proved. Whneen the crunch came and they got serious about trying to score they looked magnificent but by that time it was too late.
So we have an all European pair of semis. I’m expecting we’ll see a Germany vs France final.
Current temperature 63F/17C
The following comes from the Centre for Victims of Torture (CVT). This is what you need to know about how torture is actually used in the real world of despots and repressive regimes. Clearly the current US administration lives in a whole other universe. (One might describe it as a fantasy land.)
What’s At Stake:
Based on CVT’s experience with torture survivors and understanding the systems in which they have been abused, CVT believes it is important that discussions about the U.S. use of torture and cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment not be shaped by speculation but rather through an understanding of how torture is actually used in the world.
Torture does not yield reliable information.Well-trained interrogators, within the military, the FBI, and the police have testified that torture does not work, is unreliable and distracting from the hard work of interrogation. Nearly every client at the Center for Victims of Torture, when subjected to torture, confessed to a crime they did not commit, gave up extraneous information, or supplied names of innocent friends or colleagues to their torturers. Such extraneous information distracts, rather than supports, valid investigations.
Torture will not be used only against the guilty.
Our clients are living testimony that once used, torture becomes a fishing expedition to find information. The estimate from the Red Cross was that at least 80 percent of those imprisoned at Abu Ghraib, for example, should never have been arrested, but were there because it was easier to arrest persons than to let them go (people feared letting go a terrorist more than protecting the innocent).
Torture has never been confined to narrow conditions.
Torture has often been justified by reference to a small number of people who know about the “ticking time bomb,� but in practice, it has always been extended to a much wider population.
Psychological torture is damaging.
When torture is defined as strictly a physical act, many believe that psychological coercion is okay. CVT’s clients say it was the psychological forms of torture that were the most debilitating over a long period. The source of their nightmares, 15 and 20 years later, was the mock executions or hearing others being tortured.
Stress and duress techniques are forms of torture.
Every democratic nation’s court system and international court which has reviewed them has concluded that they are forms of torture. (Source: Judgment on the Interrogation Methods applied by the GSS, Israeli Supreme Court, September 6, 1999)
We cannot use torture and still retain the moral high ground.The arguments we hear are not so different in form and content from those used by the repressive governments of CVT’s clients, and which the U.S. has refused to accept from other nations that have used torture to combat their real or perceived enemies. Torture is not an effective or efficient producer of reliable information. But it is effective and efficient at producing fear and rage, both in the individuals tortured and in their broader communities.
Current Temperature 75F/25C
