The Hall of Fire

I just watched the Eric Garner video. Deeply shocking.

As is the decision not to indict the officer concerned, despite the city examiner's findings.

This is one of my very favourite chapters, and one I will reread, over and over again. :) The effect on me is spiritual: almost like a devotional exercise, such is the intense beauty and restorative, healing power of this sequence. The creation of the Elves in The Silmarillion has the same effect on...

Filmmakers: Keep Keira "one expression" Knightly away from these adaptations, and you'll start off at an advantage. Word. :D (I feel bad about dissing her as she does come across in interviews as a nice person, but ... I will never love her acting.) I find the zombie thing disturbing and ...

I've recently read Longbourn by Jo Baker. So have I! :) I liked it a lot. The author has a lovely writing style. Sarah's story is central, and in telling her tale, Baker places Austen's protagonists in the wings, and their doings become equally peripheral and even opaque. Baker uses the story as a ...

For us, God created earth and decided to run this particular scenario here that we have: Adam, Eve, original sin (Catholics aren't the only ones who believe that. Not sure why the author makes it seem that way in the interview. :scratch: ), Jesus died for our sins and rose again. But this is not to...

<osgiliation> Why sexist? Is it because you're assuming one man, multiple wives? What about the reverse, or multiple guys, multiple gals? </osgiliation> Jewel said it. ;) Simply because traditionally polygamy has been part of a patriarchal society. Although if women in another culture are happy wit...

Thanks for this thread, Impy. I share your deep unease regarding the niqab/burqa, but at the same time I feel unease about it being banned. I'm going to go out on a limb and admit that I also find it confronting to be approached by a woman in a niqab or burqa. This may be simply because I'm not accu...

One for 'hearts, not heads'.

Personally, I have very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I think "romanticism" and "dignity" should not be scoffed at, and if most Scots believe that they will "feel" better as an independent nation, then that's a big deal (which is why I dislike the "v...

A friend of mine on Facebook came up with this: Scotland: "I'm leaving you." England: "You can't." Scotland: "I'm leaving. It's over!" England: "I'm pregnant!" :rofl: Humour. It helps. Meanwhile, the banks are pulling out the heavy guns: :shock: http://www.the...

It's not just 'aristocratic' Scots who are against independence ;) - the No vote includes Scots on the political left. But there are more younger Scots who are pro-independence. I listened to a brilliant live debate from Glasgow tonight on Radio 4 between the Yes and No camps. One of the most powerf...

Thank you so much, V-Man and Cerin. :). Your sympathy and interest are much appreciated! Jude, :hug: Inanna - the Celtic dream of independence from the political and cultural hegemony of England goes back a long way, obviously. ;) I understand it, and respect it. But a) I don't think Scotland can af...

It's a romantic notion, but independence from the yoke of Westminster has such a tremendously symbolic meaning. Yes, of course it does. Although tell that to my (culturally Protestant) birth relatives in Northern Ireland. ;) But the stakes are way too high for romance and symbolism. People need to ...

I know I don't post much these days but having posted this on Facebook I'll also bring it here. I thought this might be of interest to people here. It is certainly of great interest to me, since I am looking, right in the face, the very real possibility of my nation breaking up. :shock: :( I always ...

Currently playing at the Old Vic, London, until September. I saw it last night. The critics have raved about it, and about Armitage's performance, and the hype is well deserved. An amazing theatrical experience, phenomenal. A thrilling, scary, heart-breaking production of an immensely powerful play....

The worst is very far from over. When they eventually manage to escape the 'mountain of death', where do they run to? Hundreds have had to either leave their loved ones behind or been separated from them. The situation is absolutely desperate for Iraq's beleaguered minority communities: the Christia...

If I were in NZ ... This reminds me. Some years ago I went to the permanent Holocaust exhibition at London's Imperial War Museum. Extremely powerful. Took me about two and a half hours to walk through it. I wrote down my reflections and then forgot to post them. Now might be the time. (Will do so wh...

Speaking of females, Aerin is an interesting character from the little we see of her. Burning Brodda's hall down is pretty awesome. Oh hey, yeah, I loved her. :) That WAS awesome. 8) And it gets even worse if you continue after the ending! :( Húrin himself might be the saddest part of all. He survi...

I've never understood why people glorify FOTR so much. I think it has some of the worst (and most OTT) scenes of the five films so far. Wizard Fu. The falling stairs of Moria and the ridiculous spider Orcs (and the OTT cave troll and Watcher battles), the horrible Weathertop scene, just to name a f...

The late, great Ingmar Bergman would have been the perfect director for CoH.

Heavenly Creatures is PJ's best film! No crass humour whatsoever. And real tension and horror at the end.

SV, you're a caution. :p