05.11.05
Business as unusual
Sometimes things seem to flutter around you like butterflies. No, better, like those shiny bits of paper at the end of The Crystal Maze. Here, then, rather than thinking of it as sticking insects with long pins, I’m catching bits of gold leaf:
Hundreds of movie title screens
Why Tintin never grew up: a scientific study of the repeated head traumas suffered by the Belgian cub detective who tucks his trousers into his socks.
Before take-off the cabin crew perform a strange folkloric rite that involves synchronised arm movements and warnings of fire and our possible immersion in water, all presumably part of an appeasement ritual whose origins lie back in the pre-history of the propeller age. The ceremony, like the transubstantiation of the host, has no meaning for us but is kept alive by the airlines to foster a sense of tradition.
- Who else but JG Ballard?
My favourite tiny moment of PR genius (via the keen eye of Kevan. National Be Nice to Nettles week (18th-29th May) is kicking off with ‘WeedStock’:
An absolute feast for all nettle and weed fans! Stalls, Plays, Games and even a mini opera on all of gods weeds! With special guest confirmed (John Nettles).
Finally:
The Sopranos has been described by some as the finest television series ever made but, for various reasons, I never quite got round to watching it. I confessed my predicament to a friend, who introduced me to the DVD revolution; the entire first series of The Sopranos in one boxed set. It has lain on my shelf for nearly a year, unviewed. This week, I decided to hand it back.
- Armando Iannucci on learning not to worry about the amount of stuff that you’re missing. This resonated particularly with me as I too have the first series of The Sopranos on DVD courtesy of a well-meaning friend who couldn’t believe I hadn’t watched it. Time, I think, to return it.