Tariq Kataria Glasgow Review

Breaking News.....Breaking News.....BEARMAGEDDON

2012-02-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

Breaking News.......Breaking News.......Breaking News......Breaking News...

Bearmageddon latest....

WARNING , THIS POST IS A REAL TEARJERKER! , have ample tissues ready!

It seems Scotland may be able to drag itself from the 17th to the 21st century after all....

( Click on the image for full quintessential quality)

More info from a TV programme due to be broadcast tonight should bring tears to a glass eye:

The Official Credit Rating latest Statement from Fitch is issued in Inverness:

Rangers Fans are no happy "so it is".Yesterdays Match at Home to Dundee United was like a Fancy Dress Party , the players dressed up as dud footballers and most of the loyal fans dressed up as empty plastic chairs.

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Check the poor guys faces in the link below , who says they dont get irony , they think they are at a wake , though a wake is usually a celebration of a great life , the game was more like idling about on death row:

Rangers Ultras Like to party (The copyright on these photos belong solely to the owner).

These are the kind of things ourlike may never ( hopefully) see again:

Celtic Fans Official reaction to the plight of the other half of the discredited concept of The Old Firm:

"Wouldn't it be great if Thatcher died the same day, wot a fecking party that would be

RFC RIP"

SirCustacCant

So the present looks like this:

What future now for ibrox , could this be it:

WOODY SEZ at the TRON

2012-01-28T13:32:00.000-08:00

Legendary inspiration for such greats as Bob Dylan , Bruce Springsteen , John Cougar Mellencamp and Steve Earle was born a century ago.It was fitting Glasgow hosted a illuminating and poignant musical showcasing of the life and times of the premier chronicler of the great cultural music and social heritage during the birth pangs and craven injustices of the worlds first global superpower.A story so censored , we can only really get to know it from great novels of the likes of Steinbeck ( there were more than one occasion when there were formal book-burning of his novel "Grapes of Wrath" in California alone) and the songs of the generation of Guthrie ( blacks , of which Leadbelly was a supreme inspiration to Woody himself , were more or less off the radar) whose fellow musicians , such as Pete Seeger , were more or less blacklisted for recording and performing under the blanket ban on suspected communists or people with even a mild suspicion of communistic leanings.You could rightly say , Guthrie spoke for a buried , suppressed and forgotten generation in the 20s and 30s in the US as Europe was deprived by the physical decapitation of a whole generation in the first World War.The common denominator was Capitalism going through the first steps of globalisation , treating the mass of humanity as either excess waste matter or expendable machine fodder.

The show is a precious and balanced mix of music and narrative , capturing the times and contexts of the have-nots plight in our modern age.Star David Lutken describes the background story to one of Woody Guthries most famous and profound songs , inspired by John Steinbecks character Tom Joad in the Book "Grapes of Wrath".Woody Guthrie had performed in Fundraiser for The John Steinbeck Committee to Aid Farm Workers , the Ballad perfectly captures the book , prompting John Steinbeck to say about the song " Woody has written my novel in 17 verses"

Though aligned with it , Woody was never a formal member of the Communist Party ( even though in the US it was perpetually in hiding , or had so many plants and infiltrators on behalf of the authorities they out-numbered bona fide members ) which allowed him to escape the absurd period during the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact when the Party could not overly criticise fascism.

Once the pact spectacularly collapsed with the nazi invasion of the Soviet Union , Woody could finally vent his contempt for all forms of fascism , he took to wearing a label of his guitar "This Machine Kills Fascists" and wrote a whole host of hard hitting songs , including this one titled " All You Fascists Bound To Lose" , what is odd about this and other songs he recorded at this time is the musical brotherhood contained in the recording line-up , Harmonica is played by Sonny Terry , this is at a time when the US had full segregation in the military ( with separate regiments for blacks) and the US Air Force failed to honour in any way the most successful flight squadron in the Second World war because it was composed of Black pilots , they were only given medals in the 1990s after a long campaign of publicity and recognition.

And last of all here is a full rendition of The ballad Of Tom Joad.

3 THE MAGIC NUMBER

2012-01-28T02:54:00.000-08:00

I hope shes old enough to know it is the cake and not your fingers you are supposed to cut.

The knife has been removed ,nothing a pink balloon and some pressies cant cure.

RUSSIAN RED at CELTIC CONNECTIONS GLASGOW

2012-01-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

Lourdes Hernández is her real name , and she comes from Mad-reed ( as our Spanish cousins say).

She goes by the name of Russian Red, named after her favourite shade of lipstick.The celtic Connections programme hailed her as a "Spanish Indie sensation" , now what self-respecting music lover is not going to buy a ticket for that.

Add to that her second album was produced and recorded right here in Glasgow by the legendary producer Tony Doogan , famed for his work with Belle and Sebastian and Mogwai amongst others.Her band was also to be joined by two members of Belle and Sebastian.

I asked a Good Friend of mine living in Spain if she had ever heard of her and if the hype was correct.My Friend mostly likes to communicate via telepathy , to add spice she sometimes does a Lord Lucan and disappears for long periods of time.I never have the heart to tell her , us men arent as skilled at mind-reading as the fair sex , the best we can do is ever inaccurate second-guesses which yield "interesting" and occasionally "very interesting" results.To her credit she got back to me and was kind enough to use formal channels.She had not seen Red Russian herself , but a Friend of hers did and found her not play for long and to deal only in medleys , all in all they were not impressed.

Well Russian Reds ears must have been burning , because she seemed to take all that on board and gave full renditions , and what renditions , of her best songs and a long set to boot.

My take on this is her Friend may have seen her as part of an outdoor festival type format , rather than a full indoor show ,Or , more importantly , having two members of Belle and Sebastian on stage may have lifted the professional standards and brought tautness to the set.Whatever the reason , we were treated to a superb show and i hope Lourdes will continue to maintain these exceptionally high standards for the rest of her career.

Lourdes best quality was the strength of her voice ( you get the impression listening to her videos that it could pack up at any time, but not a bit of it).She is also a fine guitar player of great merit.

Nature and the heart are never far away from her songs:

Here is a song of hers dedicated the the great Spanish all class-embracing passion:

Here is my favourite song with a wonderful calypso laced with rock feel: ( be sure to skip the add):

Like Steve Earle a while back , Lourdes also stated Glasgow is always on the lips of Spanish musicians when they get together to talk shop and discuss music scenes and audiences, and a full house for her first gig in the city is ample evidence she will be most welcome back.

And last , and not least, a fine song on a favourite theme.

One last piece of advice to Lourdes i can give is,,,,never,never,never , ever cancel a concert in MALAGA again...its not worth it!.

RACHEL SERMANNI at CELTIC CONNECTIONS

2012-01-23T06:58:00.000-08:00

Rachel Sermanni is a wonderful voice for the Scottish Folk Music scene , combining all the good points of the past heritage with modern touches which will give it a dynamic universal appeal ushering a great present and an even better future.

Her music is a rich mixture of true celtic mythical love odes to ultra-surreal transcendent experiments in voice and instruments.

Here is a beautiful example called Breath Easy:

Another sweet delightful song in her set was Waltz:

She finished proceedings with a racy paced song from her new EP called Fog:

You can her what will be a rewarding and productive career in her new website.

SPIRITAID CHRISTMAS COMEDY SPECIAL featuring Kevin Bridges / Frankie Boyle / Greg McHugh (Gary Tank Commander) at the ORAN MOR

2011-12-13T03:58:00.000-08:00

I was given a tip from a poster from the Celticminded forum for a charity comedy night for the brilliant SpiritAid Charity.The event was sold out in less than 30 minutes of him advertising it.That is the beauty of Celticminded , likeminded progressive people in all fields and outlooks.

When i got the tickets there was great disappointment for my Son , the event was for over 18s only.No matter his brave attempt to grow stubble and pass of as an adult there was no way i could take him.

Most of my Friends were out of town , so i scrapped the bottom of the barrel looking to drag someone along ; scrapped it again ,and realised that i had no option but to take my Wife.

Frankie Boyle is usually as funny as a kick in the balls ; followed by another kick in the balls and then a kick in the teeth thrown in for good measure.This time he was surprisingly funny , though he did lapse into his favourite subject ( raping kids) to let himself down.Frankie Boyle has a great political outlook and helps many fine Humanitarian and Charity projects.He will have to dispense with the brearthtakingly outrageous offensive celebrity "jokes" and become a sophisticated political satire commentator and critic in the mould of Mark Thomas.He has the ability to do it but i dont know if he will get where he can go.

Fred MacAuley was a superb compere for an all round brilliant night , i havent laughed so much for many a long year.

Gary The Tank Commander was just sensational , im still laughing thinking about him now.

Kevin Bridges was brilliant , i regret my Son not getting to see him this time round.

KASABIAN at the SECC Glasgow

2011-12-12T13:10:00.001-08:00

Kasabian were highly recommended by some i know to like Green Day , im really glad i took their advice and saw a unique show of all the majesty a modern band should be given the heritage of earlier classic and progressive bands.

I deliberately did not listen to any of their songs or watch videos of them prior to the concert.One relative who did said they appear to have no rhythmn , no beat , no structure to their songs.Information which endured me to them even more.

The band themselves have members of all of the ages of rock , the lead singer looks like an teddy boy , the co-lead vocalist and guitarist goes for the Aerosmith rock-god look , the brilliant bassist has the minimalist moody bastart arrogant casualness , the guitarist does his business with the instrument talking , the drummer looks like a session hired musician and they even had a poor forlorn looking guy with a trumpet who stood around like someone with all the enthusiasm and vibrancy of someone dragged of the street and put on community service.

But when they played it was electric; intense and fantastic.

The best way to describe Kasabian is quality rapping with a thundering technotronic beat and a solid rock foundation.

A good concert is like going to church should be like , an uplifting and wondrous spiritual experience that stay with you for a very long time , on this basis the concert was the best sermon ive had for a very long time.

Here is a song of theirs called Rewired:

The song below encapsulates just about everything about the bands diverse sounds.

Days Are Forgotten:

And below is a sensational powerhouse packet of devastating energy:

Switchblade Smiles:

KEITH JAMES at the GFT

2011-11-28T06:53:00.001-08:00

A special evening of an incredible musical project by Keith James performing his personal interpretations of the musical genius of Joni Mitchell ; Neil Young and Leonard Cohen.

Keith James holds a special place for taking on an earlier project commissioned by the trustees of the estate of legendary Poet Federico Lorca to transcribe some of his poems into musical arrangements.Elvis Costello had been initially asked to do so but had not managed to deliver.In stepped Keith James with 2 remarkable albums , in some cases translating the works of Lorca into English for the first time himself and then working them into a viable musical format.

The event started of with a documentary on the music and life of Joni Mitchell.Here is an emotionally charged uplifting scene from it relating Joni meeting her daughter ( who she had given up to foster parents many years before in a story similar to the experiences of Patti Smith)for the first time after nearly two decades of suppressed yearning.

The programme also included a rare never before transcribed poem of Leonard Cohens from 1956 ( when he was only 22)made into a musical arrangement for the very first time.

And Last , and definitely not least, a rare treat , a happy and uplifting paced song by Leonard Cohen , superbly sung by Keith.

DEEP PURPLE at the SECC

2011-11-28T06:10:00.000-08:00

Cheap Trick as a support act , i couldnt believe my eyes and ears.Apparently the State of Illinois has an Official Cheap Trick Day - April 1st , i for one believe it.Only halfway into their set did it sink in this was no imitation band.Very stylish rockers from the old school.

The beauty of Deep Purple is they have stuck to what they do best , they have become the best blues band on the circuit with an added rock bass.

Here is an example of where they originally came from and what they have gone back to:

Ian Gillan disappeared several times backstage , like a diabetic constantly needing a leak.His vocal performance and pitch were dead-on.

The generic outcrops of Deep Purple , namely Whitesnake used to skip the songs and go straight into the nauseating solos.The band now have cut this to a minimum , acceptable long intros would be a more accurate description.

The good thing about Deep Purple is they do not try to the repertoire they could only do several decades back.Instead they do a classic blues and rock show with a crisp freshness with subtle touches of the progressive rock they were masters of in the seventies.

The orchestra was an odd touch , it was like the law of the jungle on stage as the band gave no leeway or quarter to the orchestra who had to carve out a sound for themselves if and when they could.Some would say that is the best and only way to listen to an Orchestra these days.

Here is another example of their current brilliant blues rock style:

And just to show they have still got it here is an example of their ability to mix progressive rock with a blues foundation:

SMASHING PUMPKINS at the GLASGOW CARLING ACADEMY

2011-11-14T06:11:00.000-08:00

Quality rockers with modern lifestyle lyrics and a love for innovative musical expression , never completely abandoning the guitar in a small enclosed venue , a mix that keeps giving.

Like Green Day the Smashing Pumpkins attract three kinds of fans.The first are the types who always bemoan the line-up of yesteryear was better , the second want less exploration of the musical themes of the songs and more "hits".The former are arseholes who think they own the band , the latter think the band are nothing more than a three dimensional jukebox , a glorified ipod.And the third , thats me , are happy to see the band perform what they see fits the situation and times best as long as they do not disrespect the audience and are wholly sincere in what they do.A band , at the end of the day must express themselves honestly.

I managed to weasel my way to the very front , into that magical zone where the pushing and shoving is going on all around , leaving us to stand in the tranquil eye of the force and enjoy a modern spiritual experience.

At first there was a very disconcerting sight i have never seen before , the lead singer sticking earplugs on before commencing with the concert.The mix did not seem to work as his voice for the first two songs did not rise at all.Silent miming , it was like being in a crowd for top of the pops.

By the third song it had all fallen into place , an immense song called Starla:

Throughout the concert there was a burly bouncertype roadcrew member looking like an overfed Taleban with Mona Lisa type eyes that seemed to bore right into me no matter if i even tried to hide my head behind someone else , those eyes were still there glaring at me.The vibe of his stare seemed to say " you bastard , just wait to the end of the gig im going to get you".

The encore had the popular song Bullet with Butterfly Wings

Still those Mona Lisa eyes were laser trained on me , saying " you bastard , i know what your all about , concert nearly over , im going to beat the shit out of you."

And below is a video of the actual concert , featuring the song Martha.

And so we return to the attitude of those who could not enjoy the night in its own right because the line-up was not what it was a decade and a half ago , or there was to much guitar playing and not enough parade of older "hits".The former are the worst kind of snobs - Underground music snobs.The latter have to accept the band are entitled to showcase new material and not become a insincere tribute band to the beck and call to an insular musical attitude whose very breaking and challenging was what made The Smashing Pumpkins the band they became in the first place.They do not have a spiritual appreciation of music , rather a commodified liking of it.

The next time i go to a Smashing Pumpkins concert i will know that i will enjoy every minute of it as i will have the right attitude before the first note is even struck.

At last i made my way out an obscure side door and ran all the way home , never looking back.

YES at the CLYDE AUDITORIUM

2011-11-14T06:08:00.000-08:00

The Yes song "A Time And A Word" was the first time that music spoke to me in a meaningful way.It became my mission statement , as Martin O'Neil would say my "benchmark" for all projects.

Its been a long 27 years or so ive been waiting to see Yes.When i got into them they had just made Drama , and then stopped touring for what appeared to be ever.There were always tantalising rumours they might get back together , but always one or another was not up for it.

Eventually they got back with a brilliant triumphant return album called 90125 , this time with former lead singer Jon Anderson returning , only to have Steve Howe absent.And so it went on for many more years , with Lawyers becoming involved to "simplify" matters, at one stage the only official members of Yes were Steve Howe ( too busy with new band Asia) and Jeff Downes ( the other half of the Buggles).

Alas the years have not been kind to the external appearances of the band line-up

Steve Howe looks like he has just been interrupted from an indefinite spell of Somnambulistic therapy in a coffin , dusted down with as much mascara as John Lewis perfumery department could provide , then rounded of with a dusting of whiter than white cement from Perkins and Travis.

Chris Squire takes after the Giant Haystack on a eating crawl bender Look , he took no prisoners if any former-Yes member ever lost focus , now he appears to be doing the same with desserts.

Drummer Alan White looks in worse nick than Steve Howe and Jeff Downes looks like only a half member of the Buggles can.

But dont get me wrong , that is only a superficial comment on the worst aspect of the music business scene , the external appearances.Music is the Food of the Soul and these Musicians are , and especially tonight , beautiful in every long term Human way.

Though they have been doing full length versions of "Close To The Edge" on this tour the song they done from that Album was the majestically haunting harmony to all loved ones called "And You And I" from side Two.

Another glorious song they performed was from the incredible landmark Drama Album titled "Machine Messiah".

A Yes concert is first and foremost a Rock Show , with the progressive part being a most valued added factor of the Rock Show , that is why , no matter how their material may appear in the studio album format , a Live Yes concert is one of the greatest experiences in Art.

STEVE EARLE at the GLASGOW CARLING ACADEMY

2011-10-27T07:38:00.001-07:00

After many years of acoustic performances Steve Earle returns with his full rock backing band.

It was refreshing to hear his old time hits the way they are supposed to sound.

Here is a good quality footage of his current tour ( The song "someday" starts at the 2min 30 sec mark:

His ubiquitous high profile political comment of the concert concerned immigration , "Immigration is Americas past ; present and ,if it has one, the Future."

Here is a good example of the tight sound the band has from footage taken at the concert:

For the second night in a row , the other being James , the Barrowlands got a glowing mention.
Steve related when he gets together with many musicians to do session work or jam the topic of Glasgow being an extra special place for concerts always comes up.The proof this is not just patronising talk is in the pudding as they say , and this being Steve third visit to Glasgow in little over two years is ample proof of that.

Here is a recording of the song Copperhead Road from the tour:

JAMES at THE ROYAL GLASGOW CONCERT HALL

2011-10-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

A night of re-remembered favourites was how the Band advertised the evening , forewarning not to expect too many hits in the setlist.They will be coming in December if you want the classic rabble rousing roadshow.

James were accompanied by An Orchestra and Choir lending weight to the reworked songs.The good thing about the Show was the band had full instruments for the rock show , the Orchestral arrangements were genuine enhancers to the stock musicality of the band itself.

The video below gives a good example of the Orchestra giving depth , weight and added dimension to the bands material:

"This is a long way from the Barrowlands" was the statement the lead singer made , but this version of one song i did recognise certainly brought the Barrowlands back to the Royal Concert Hall.

ZAINAB AND ZOHAS DAY OF FUN

2011-10-20T06:48:00.001-07:00

An action packed day of Fun...involving Nature ; rioting and riotous assembly.( click on the images for full size pics).

Zainab does not give a duck about pondlife....

Zainab does her bit to contribute to the UK riots....alas it did not catch on in Scotland ( due to the inclement weather).

Band of Brotheresses , a Full Dress rehearsal minus the warpaint and creme eggs ,getting ready for an evening of Adult annoying and driving Parents up the Walls ( a.k.a. Halloween night).

MARGARET CHO at the STAND

2011-10-20T05:18:00.000-07:00

Margaret Cho is loud;brass;out-spoken and (very)occasionally funny.

This does highlight the very important point the differential of freedom to say what you want and being politically empowered are massive gaps in US politics.Money and privatised lobby talks , the right to free speech comes a long long second , if anything , serving as an anger dissipation tool.Hence why things such as facebook are seen as revolutionary instruments in places like the Arab World , but in the West are get-off-your-chest whinger distractions which cover impotent stunts against the real power sources in the West.

Margaret has talent to be a real cutting advocate , but tonight she crossed the line from entertaining educator that makes the audience laugh and think deeply to brazen vanity queen exhibitionist and kept going.

She could do with taking up Nancy Frasers challenge to make minority rights into a mass poverty issue , rather than a self-defeating labelling and cultural issue which is blocking progress on many fronts from Feminism to Child Poverty which can only be addressed by taking all these challenges to the economic forum.

Here is Margaret discussing issues of Race:

SNOOP DOGG at the GLASGOW CARLING ACADEMY

2011-10-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

In these days of cataclysmic economic crisis requiring new and innovative solutions for new and innovative problems David Cameron has come up with something bordering on genius , despite the sanitised name and spin giving the Chimera of depth and substance to the policy, he has come up with what amounts to a Shop-A-Darkey Scheme.Darkeys will be required to prove they are not illegal , and the Police will be required to following up any tip-offs that there is a Darkey in the neighbourhood.Its Political incorrectness gone mad.

A long time back i went to a Michael Jackson concert at Glasgow Green , i would never have normally gone but i was babysitting for my Nephew , accompanying him as a grown up chaperon.

Im glad i went as it was one of the finest shows you ever will see.The most striking remarkable experience was , despite his gyrating dance moves and incredible gymnastics , his voice was pitch perfect.I always felt if he had no visual frills to his show he would be rightly famous for being one of the finest singers of all time.

So nearly two decades later the very same nephew had a spare ticket for Snoop Dogg , an opportunity well worth experiencing even though im not a rap fan , except for Krazy by Tupac Shakur which drives me crazy.

I really liked the second support act , thundering bass and quality guitars.

Snoop finally came on , deliberately so late that he could only perform a 60 minute set before the curfew set in whether the crowd wanted encores or not."Shafted" is the word my nephew used.

After spending the first 5 minutes or so establishing that his motherfuckin name is indeed Snoop Dogg , he spent many more what his motherfuckin game is , apparently he claims to be a big hit with the ladies , though the only ladies on stage were being paid for the privilege.He also had a motherfuckin dog , like hoopy the hound (the Celtic Mascot), doing odd things with his tail.A motherfuckin fat guy would appear once in a while to give depth to the chorus segments.A brilliant PA gave out a great sound to the spare set.

Videos of his concert on youtube are not of the quality to do him justice , this is the best i could find:

Dont get me wrong , this was a great concert , just not enough pride to put on a show that was in the moment as it were.A small criticism on a great night.

THE RAGGED TROUSERED PHILANTHROPISTS at the CITIZENS

2011-10-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

This year is the hundredth anniversary of the passing away of Robert Noonan ( familiar to us as Robert Tressell).He died in the workhouse hospital and was buried in an unmarked paupers grave.

This year also sees a stage version of his book ( published after he was long dead) by a very talented duo playing the various characters of this classic iconic tale.

You can get a preview of the production in the video below:

Alas Noonan does have flaws representative of the UK left which it has failed to shake off , hence the reason , along with other left movements in the West and Continental Europe , the left have failed to be an effective counter-balance to the Right.

Noonan joined up with the Boers in South Africa to fight the British , the oddity of the conflict was both sides were fighting for the right to dominate the Natives and exploit the natural resources of the land for their exclusive benefit.

Noonans leadership of the Trade Union Movement brought to prominence his only high profile strike action , he led strikes to exclude Black skilled Labour taking the jobs of the Whites.

It is in this context his place as a Hero of the Working Man has to be seen , along with such other heroes as H.G.Wells ; George Bernard Shaw and others who wanted equal rights for the British Worker , but , as Edward Said has identified , had no intention of ever seeing the British Empire or the wealth generated from the Colonies put under threat , a position which reached its heights when the British Left almost universally supported the War Effort , including Noonan himself in what turned out to be WW1 on the basis that German expansion , especially Naval , would threaten British livelihoods generated from domination of the Seas and Trade Treaties resulting from imperial Empire policies.

Noonan is much to be admired for what he is , though he should not be elevated to what he was definitely not.The review of his Novel in the Guardian gives a good account of what the strength of the Book is , identifying the nature of industrial capitalism , though the article is deft to say the least on the counter-balance of the great money trick passage ("The Great Oration"), which reads more like a sales pitch for an Albanian Pyramid selling scheme than a world wide universal alternate to the unjust blight of capitalism.A White Labourers Manifesto would be a more accurate description.Unironically the play also misses out on the "solution" element of the "Great Oration" as well , though not a surprise to me at all.

The video below concerned a passage "The Great Money Trick" from his Book in which he is in his best element:

All of this does lead to a very serious point of the great fallacy of the Left in that its heroes of yester-century did have these un-universal views ( and therefore solutions) on Society and Justice.As E.L. Doctorow pointed out in his Book of Daniel an Activist is only as good as his Analysis , if the foundation rocks of the Lefts dogma are flawed , so will any projects , no matter how sincere to re-visit and re-invent Marxism be equally fundamentally flawed.

This is especially true in the preposterous romantic notions the left have based their mirages on based around 68 , as Eammon McCann has pointed out those events are best understood in the context of a global mass civil rights movement , not a cusp of a Trotskyite Revolution.The various Governments of the time were never really threatened with collapse , The British and French retained power in subsequent elections and in the US took a turn to the right.If anything the organised Left stiffled universal progress by joining up with the Right to restore block party political status quo at the expense of allowing the mass movements to grow organically.

If the Left want to leave the later 19th Century and challenge successfully in the 21st they best leave Marx in Peace and have a good look at Bolivar ( to do this they need to escape the cycle of Marx having wrote of Bolivar in disparaging terms , even though Bolivar was successful where Marx did not even get off the ground).A Good starting point for the would be to read Gabriel Garcia Marquezs "The General In His Labyrinth" and his views on Debt and External influences in developing Regional mass Movements with Universal Goals.

The Greens , with progress in Germany and our very Own Scotland show what can be done with good analysis and being a bone fide participant in a mass movement.Rather than the dismal performances of the Left and its pre-occupation of occupying and trying to control the public for their own dogmatic out of date ends.

THE MISSING at the TRAMWAY THEATRE

2011-09-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

This play is based on a book by Andrew O'Hagan about the ones that slip out of contention in the great Thatcherite no society project.

The Book is well worth reading is its own right:

A personal attraction for me is Andrew was born not far from where i grew up , haunts mentioned in the Book are very familiar playgrounds i knew very well.

In this article O'Hagan discusses the complex emotions when he tried to adapt the book to the dramatic format.

The video below gives good background rehearsal insights from the cast and the writer himself.

THE PRINCE: THE JOHNNY THOMSON STORY

2011-09-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

Those of you who were lucky to see The Celtic Story play marking the centenary by Wildcat productions ( and the later version in the late 90s with updated material covering the legendary bunnet and the souness years) will recall the general hilarity of proceeding is brought to an eerie sobering sentimental halt with the scene featuring the tragic accident during the old firm game in which John Thomson was fatally injured.The scene ends with a rendition of the eulogy at the funeral calling for an end to rivalry based on hate , with John Thomson being held as an example to all to follow.

This play is a tribute to John Thomson The Bhoy , Man and his all inclusive attitude to life , a tragedy with a truly noble hero.

The co-writer explains the background to the production in the video below:

The play was a first to last blub-fest , there wasnt a dry eye in the house, and that was just the ushers and usherettes.The night i attended was on the anniversary of Jock Steins death.Things began with a rousing one minutes applause and the fever pitch emotion never let up.The Family aspect of our Club was on full display in a manner in which any neutral would have instantly understood and also accept this is something uniquely special to Celtic.

A special mention should be made for Sam English , the unfortunate Rangers Forward who was involved in this tragic accident.When one watches footage of the incident one is taken by the utter Humanity of Sam as he , in great personal pain , limps up to check on his colleague and to frantically call for urgent medical assistance , showing no concern for himself.

Ultimately the lesson of John Thomson , his life and his death , is that If you truly try your best to do something worth doing , then you will never have regrets.

THE RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

2011-08-20T13:33:00.001-07:00

To kill some time before the train back to Glasgow i decided to go and see the new Planet of The Apes Film.

It was enjoyably entertaining , with graphics restricted to expressions of facial emotion of the apes.

I saw a lot of old haunts from San Francisco , especially looking down to the Embarcadero through Market Street.

But there should be an enquiry how the US Military with close Air Support and full spectrum Satellite Visual Intelligence coverage could not beat a bunch of monkeys with broken fence posts.But then again , the same mismatch is taking place in Afghanistan , with similar results.

Below is a thoughtful and perceptive review of the film from the Los Angeles Times:

TUESDAYS AT TESCOS

2011-08-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

Suffering somewhat from Fasting , i settled down on a bench near the Registrar of Scotland Building.

Reading Mona Lisa by Donald Sassoon i could hear the dulcet tones of Colin Fox trying to ferment revolution , next to him was a stall-installation of the Falun Dafa being glared at by Chinese tourists , with sniggering Japanese looking from afar and Koreans trying to mix it whilst pretending to be preserving the peace.All the while we had a bag-piper stressing everyone out with searing whining ear piercing atonal drones.

Simon Callow is the Maradona of actors , so it came as no surprise he is going to play a 24 year old girl in drag.The play he is starring in is based on a Parisian hit called Le Mardi a Monoprix.

Simon takes up the story in the video below:

Critics have queued up to miss the point , looking at the first glance visuals and not , as a good audience looks for the substance.The play is about acceptance and the pain when it is not offered by one when the other tries everything possible to fuse a severed bond.

On that front the play is a roaring success.

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL

2011-08-17T13:25:00.001-07:00

Zainab is very pwoud , typical girl she is actually looking forward to the first day at school.

She is pleased with her seating arrangements.

First lesson safely negotiated , but how to reach the plate whilst seated is a tougher conundrum?

Relaxing in the lounge after a hard fist day at school

TREE OF LIFE at the GFT

2011-07-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

"A flawed film that everyone should see" is about the best distilled description of this wonderful work.A genuine work of art in an age of flippant texting style communication and attention spans to match.

Music also plays a large part with touching , tender scores as seen in the video below:

Malicks Films obliquely phrase questions, leaving the responsibility of answering them to the viewer No one will be too exuberant in praising the execution of the plot in the film , but then again , how exactly do you phrase a spiritual question to a mainly modern secular audience.

According to Karen Armstrong take on George Steiners Real Presences what he call "the indiscretion of serious art and literature and music " , which " queries the last privacies of our existence".Such Art , Steiner argues , tells us in effect : "change your life".It is an encounter with a transcendent dimension that breaks into "the small house of our cautionary being".Once we have listened to the summons of such art , this house is not "habitable in quite the same way as it was before."

When Heidegger made the mistake in the 1930s , admittedly a very big mistake hard to live down,a becoming a full pledged Nazi replete with persecuting Jews in his sphere of academic influence , including his early teacher Husserl , his later work , especially in the fields of aesthetics and the nature of truth failed to have the influence , post-war that it merited.In its stead the work of Sartre took the lead , with the inherit weakness that it took an atheistic hue with the corollary negative attendant trapping of making the debate for truth in the post-modernist orbit into a materialist sphere , with the spiritual component being seen as an optional luxury add-on , a surplus and if needs be expendable dimension , but not essential to the pursuit of the essential nature of truth.

As Eagleton has observed , and Vattimo has documented , the eclipsing of Heideggers later correctives on Phenomenology by the likes of Sartre have yielded a very sorry birth to the likes of Dawkins and Hitchens , who have gone the whole hog in pursuit of materialism to an extent even the concept of Faith is an abomination to be railed against in the relentless drive to a material evolutionary road.In creating the very parody of the concepts they purport to erase , Dawkins and Hitchens have created a crass , gross and boorish atheistic fundamentalism preachermen set condemning all non-adherents into a secular Hell.Materialism has so infected their dogmatic ideology they have become an intellectual equivalent to what Monetarism has become to financial markets.It is no surprise that this elitist cabal of material atheists have taken advantage of the current governments policy to create an elite university charging the highest allowable rate , as opposed to joining the camp to spread universal access to higher education that a more altruistic philosophy would encourage.This rabid brand of atheism , which is actually related to and borne out of aggressive capitalism ( which makes some of their left orientated supporters position a little odd) is not a new concept , but an age old material contagion which Dostoyevsky explored in Demons, of a vanity ego-ridden self-declared elite claiming to champion the very people they despise.

Fortunately later Heidegger is making a comeback as Post-Modernism and its ertwhistle champions are being exposed as morally amd materially bankrupt.Terence Malick is a student of Heidegger and according to Hwanhee Lee "Malicks understanding of cinema seems to be influenced by Heideggers contention that it is a cardinal symptom of modernity...to apprehend reality as something to be differentiated from how it appears to a subjective consciousness and that reality is understood at its most fundamental level as something to be mastered."
This fundamental divergence of treating reality as a material to be mastered , rather than a grace to be revered has the ultimate fundamental weakness of recognising the Human as a commodity , rather than a material, moral and spiritual three-dimensional being.

Malick seeing "God in science and Science in God" presents no problems to a Jewish or Muslim audience , some of the more notable Jewish and Muslim scholars were also avant garde Scientists, but in the West the state ordained version of Religion , the Manichean dogma of the clerical elite and the early relationship between state and religion in Power politics has destroyed this most natural and harmonious symbiosis , pitting Church and science at odds with each other.One of the films most penetrating questions posed is can Science and Religion get their latent state harmonious symbiotic relationship back?.To Muslims and Jews this is a rhetorical question.

Below is a review of the film by Mark Kermode:

ROGER DALTREY at the CLYDE AUDITORIUM

2011-07-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

Roger wanted to perform the Pinball Wizard album in its entirety as he himself had only recently discovered what made the album unique at a time of concept albums pushing the boundaries of progressive rock.

The musicality of the Album is what he recently rediscovered , away from the circus that is a rock and roll show which had covered up the main attraction.

Daltrey was in fine voice and great physical shape , allaying false rumours , like Roger Waters before him , that he has lost his voice to perform the classics.

The song chosen below is because the view is the same as i had from the 4th row.Quite an achievement as the loyal Who Fan Club member who alerted me of the concert could only secure row K.

After the full rendition of the Album , the band performed many Who classics including my favourite Baba O'Reilly

This is the best ill get to seeing The Who , and from this concert i can see what all the fuss and passion of dedicated loyalist Who fans is all about.

JOHN MELLENCAMP at THE ROYAL CONCERT HALL

2011-07-04T02:43:00.001-07:00

After a two decade wait rock of hall fame legend finally made an appearance to our shores.

He was in fine gravelly voice , with a mixture of Johnson blues ; old country ballads ; new country rock and his old classics.

Here is version of a song that captures a Rushkinian sentiment about how empires which lose their perceived spiritual mission begin to fade.Also contained by a Fergusonian doctrine mentioned as far back as Thucydides about the balance sheet of an empire being a root indicator about how it will behave and fare to challenges.

The next song is about never shutting out your soul from your lifes overall mission.

KD LANG at the CLYDE AUDITORIUM

2011-06-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

The lady with the sweet Angelic voice was in tip top form.

As Oscar Wilde said good art , and a good artist , should spiritualise the audience.She does it with a nonchalant ease.

A voice like hers should not be wasted singing material which any decent semi-professional could knock off , so the concert did have that slight tone though her version of Leonard Cohens Hallelujah was of another world and dimension entirely and eternally.

Here is my favourite song of hers at the moment:

And this song of hers is my all time favourite performance.

WEANS

2011-05-24T13:36:00.001-07:00

Zainab and Zoha getting ready for a trip.

Zainab and Zoha on a trip.

Click on photos to enlarge.

ROGER WATERS THE WALL at O2 LONDON

2011-05-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Roger Waters spectacular updated legendary live Pink Floyd The Wall show hit London nearly 30 years after the original , featuring new advanced graphics and stage effects to add to the scintillating music which comes alive in a live rock show concert in a way that never can happen on the album , belaying the rock and blues heritage of classic Pink Floyd soundbeat.

Below is a video of the breathtaking finale:

RUSH at the SECC

2011-05-19T13:17:00.001-07:00

A Farewell to Kings Album recommendation made me realise what criticism should be all about.I was in a record shop fiddling through albums when a complete stranger said " get this album its fucking brilliant , mate".I did get it and it was fucking brilliant.It made me realise criticism should be simple and to the point.A good art critic should reduce a work to a parable , a parable to a proverb.No need for long-winded verbiage when "fuckin" will do.

In the 80s i saw Rush a few times , always finding myself in the front , a zone where all the pushing was going on around me and a circle of guys leaving us in a eye of the storm tranquil equilibrium to enjoy the concert in a spiritual serenity.

It was an all to familiar feeling seeing over half the crowd in the audience being younger than the last time i saw the band.

Rushs secret has always been , no matter how innovative and cutting edge the music has been throughout the decades , they are still a rock band with a blues ; jazz and strong reggae backbeat and jamming style.

Here is Spirit of The Radio from the recent tour:

And the evergreen favourite Subdivisions.

Here is a review of the concert.

CHRISTY MOORE at the BARROWLANDS

2011-04-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

After the pleasant and sedate pace at the Royal Concert Hall with an older opera type crowd we had the footy style rock crowd giving a raw energy only the Barrowlands can lend , hence its legendary status among performers and concert goers alike.

The first song of the night was a tribute to Allende:

Later we had a classic cover of a Jackson Browne song which has strong sentiments to the cavalier attitudes shown by the bankers just prior to the inevitable collapse of the system.

There was also the brilliant Wally page song to the murdered civil rights activist by the Apartheid regime in South Africa:

Of all the many occassions i have sen Christy at this famous venue this was by far the most crisp;sharp;incisive and melodic of the lot.The crowd was in great voice too.

MARK THOMAS at the CITIZENS THEATRE

2011-04-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

As promised Mark Thomas returned to Glasgow with his all Palestine experience set.

He played the Citizens Theatre on April 4 and 5.

"The others are early outings for a completely NEW show called "Walking The Wall"*

Never one to take the easy option, Mark decided to go rambling in the Middle East and walked the entire length of the Israeli Separation Barrier crossing between the Israeli and the Palestinian side.

This is the story of 300 000 settlers; a 750 km wall; six arrests, one stoning; too much humuus and a simple question...

"Can you ever get away from it all with a good walk?"

There will also be a new book telling the story of the walk, published Spring 2011."

He is a genuine World Class comedian and a passionate supporter of the Palestinians as well as excellent all round social justice politics.I would go as far as to say he is the best in the World.

Here is a video introduction to his latest project:

The tour is an epic journey around Britain as well , a whole year on the road and visiting spots all around where you would not imagine a strong captive audience.And the venues he is playing a big ones as well , town halls , large victorian theatres and venues where few comedians would dare to venture.Not only that but he is getting big turnouts and many completely sold out shows as the two in Glasgow testify.

Here Mark reads from the Book he has written of his travels in the areas devastated by the Wall:( you can get more parts of this reading from clicking the relevant videos from the side-header.

CHRISTY MOORE at the ROYAL CONCERT HALL

2011-04-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

Out of all the many pleasurable occasions i have seen him , Christy was in especially fine melodic voice this time.He has that rare quality of being reflective and crisply incisive at one and the same time , a magic quality which makes his concerts such wondrous experiences.

Among the back to back highlights were

Missing You:

The exquisite Richard Thompson song Beeswing:

And a poignant tribute on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster:

The performance ended with a scintillating rendition of No Time For Love:

STAND UP FOR PALESTINE at the KINGS THEATRE

2011-04-18T13:42:00.001-07:00

Frankie Boyles last appearance in a live format this year , and possibly the last time ever was rightly dedicated to the vast injustice and denial of basic Human Rights by the long neglected Palestinians.

Frankie Boyle himself organised the sell out fundraising show for the Palestine Legal Fund.As the blurb stated.You can get more details of the fund and its object from the Human Rights Legal Aid Fund website
"An all star line-up featuring Gary Tank Commander, Fred Macaulay, Susan Calman, Miles Jupp, Tom Stade and a special guest spot from Frankie Boyle in aid of the Palestine Legal Aid Fund (An unprecedented legal aid fund for Palestine, inspired by the successes of a similar fund during the South African anti-apartheid movement.)

The fund is dedicated to supporting Palestinians in accessing international justice, securing accountability and redress for human rights abuse. With stars of TV and radio lined up for the cause, this one-off show is sure to be one of the hottest tickets in the festival (and is currently scheduled to be Frankie’s only live appearance this year)."

It was good to see such a varied line-up and audience demographics supporting this very apt cause.

Here are two videos featuring Canadian funnyman Tom Stade and Scottish comic Fred MacAuley.

Tom Stade:

Fred MacAuley:

WILL HUTTON at AYEWRITE

2011-04-10T14:07:00.001-07:00

Will Hutton gave his take on how the present economic climate can give the UK an opportunity to re-structure the financial resource management system integration fundamental structurisation towards a more Human orientated mechanism veering away from the heartless practice of treating People as commodities rather than beings.

As with all economists his points were high on vision , low on substance.

A major point he did make was the UK debt , though high on paper , is secured over a long period ( 30 to 40 years) as well as favourable terms.On the other hand many countries on the Continent has very sort term loans ( 3 to 7 years) as well as high end repayment regimes.

KING LEAR AT THE THEATRE ROYAL

2011-03-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

A very fit and mobile Derek Jacobi give a performance which will live long for its austere minimalist majesty.

Though it is almost sacrilegious to say , Shakespeare has a dramatic lapse in conveying the graduation from top down aspirations to hand over absolute power to a troika of wards , albeit to his own blood.From self satisfaction to outright incurable rage does not quite happen convincingly.And less convincing are justifications that tyrants playing at being benevolent would behave in that way , but there is a certain tone of our bard can do no wrong about their argumentation.

This point is worth remembering because King Lear , of all the major roles of Shakespeare , is one in which the actor has to get past this in order to proceed to the much stronger balance later in the play without it appearing to be a melodrama rather than a study of the closest of universal familial and close knot social society themes this otherwise great work explores.

Derek does a great job as the role he plays is more emotional than overtly political , which is the easiest get-out way to look into the role , with bombast and hysterics replacing the substance.

Derek takes the role full on and shows his class by achieving all the good points with an almost nonchalant degree of ease.

RAJA SHEHADEH AT AYEWRITE

2011-03-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

Humanitarian lawyer and author Raja Shehadeh has a long established connection to Scotland.I first saw him at the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2003.Since then he has collaborated with Scottish playwright David Greig to have a stage adaptation of When The Bulbul Stops Singing performed in the same city , it won the Amnesty International Award for Best Human Rights Themed Play for that year.

Raja is an eloquent, understated , highly effective articulator of the genuine Human Right for the Palestinians to be treated equally before the great court of Universal Justice.

His latest Book is on the material and transcendent them of land and time.The Rift in the title is a play on the geographical location of Palestine in the Great Rift Valley , beginning in present day Turkey , going along Lebanon to the Jordan Valley , the Dead Sea ( the lowest point on Earth) and all along Eastern Africa.Raja Great Uncle , like Raja was born within the great mountain ranges on either side of the Valley , though at a point North of Ramallah hence the continuum through space and time of their relative experiences , one fighting the later Ottomans , todays taking on the bitter ender zionist colonialists.

The Rift in time , is no rift at all but another continuum , generations before him saw of external empires , and so will the children of today.

One point worth bearing in mind is Rajas statement the Ottoman Empire in its 400 year reign was tolerant of religion , allowing all communities to co-exist without one dominating the other.Debt and bureaucratic decline in the later years is where problems set in.Israel , on the other hand is systematically tied to domination , to the point , which will be reached within a decade or so , of using artificial ethical gymnastics to ensure domination of an area in which non-Jews will be in the majority.

One continuum Raja has learned from his Uncle of the past is that the region can only live in Peace if there is equality and complete Freedom of movement within the region for all its population , including the right of return for those unjustly expelled in the traumas of 48 and later.

In the video below Raja talks about his walks in todays Palestine , what comes out is that all that is seemingly lost is remembered and will will return no matter what perverse policies are persued totake the Humanity in the Region.

AN APPOINTMENT WITH MR.YEATS THE WATERBOYS at the RCH

2011-01-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

This unique long awaited project to translate some of Irelands legendary poet work into an album of music by Scottish musician Mike Scott of The Waterboys came to Glasgow.

According to Scott the appeal of WB Yeats through time and cultures is his universal themes of Love;Politics;Mysticism;Celtic love of the land as part of the body;Soul and that remarkable thing called the Human Experience.

Here is a version of The Stolen Child from the album:

And from the actual concert itself , a magnificent version of Dont Bang The Drum which presented the poetry reading like no other could be.

And last but by no means least is a version of Politics , this poem was the last one in the last collection published by Yeats before his passing at a vital phase in a juncture of history that meant so much in 1939.A prescient and fitting way to go.
This recording was made at a series of concerts at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin which Yeats helped to set up.You can get a review of the show from the Irish Times.

The Scotsman Newspaper has a review of the Glasgow Concert ,a concert , as she correctly states, was 20 years in the making and well worth it for the audience, though Fiona Shepherd does get the object of the video incorrect as it shows images from Iran during the last elections and not in this case Iraq.

THIN LIZZY live at the CARLING ACADEMY GLASGOW

2011-01-04T04:16:00.000-08:00

I missed them in their heyday for a reason so trivial i can barely recall what it was , something like only having £6 in my pocket when the tickets were £7.A big regret in my life which i hoped to rectify in this tour.

A sensational performance it was , most striking was to hear fairly placid songs like "waiting for an alibi" as thundering live experiences along with the classics.

This is a video of the electric Cowboy Song/Boys are back in Town.

You have got to catch these bands while you can these days.Thundering live experiences bringing some of the old magic back to what live music is all about.

When they played my favourite song i was thinking of Tommy Sheridan and how he would love to rock and sing-a-long-with -it.

This interview with lead singer Ricky Warwick describes the experience and positive feedback of the tour

BIG COUNTRY live at ABC GLASGOW

2010-12-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

A good end to a bad year would be an understatement on both levels to the last night concert for a first night of a mini-tour from a great live band.

Stuart Adamson is , alas , dead and so we have to live to hear great music fronted by the very able Mike Peters of Alarm fame , a quite brilliant frontman from a superb live band in the 90s.

Having read the recently published biography of Stuart Adamson by Allan Glen , an overpriced , at £14.99 , book of just over 200 pages well worth getting from the nearest public library , there is a story predicating the choice of Mike Peters being very obvious as the band did consider co-opting him as the frontman whilst Stuart was still around but being AWOL during his difficult days and nights before his sad passing away.

Any person who has had the privileged unique pleasure of seeing Big Country live will need no convincing whatsoever that it is a experience quite ineffable as to the magic that is live music.As the comments on the featured youtube videos testify there are fans in Colombia who were there in spirit.No surprise to anyone who has been to one of their concerts.

There are a surprising number of videos of this performance in youtubistan , but the best two are below:

The first is Porrohman , a song Adamson wrote based on a piece by H.G.Wells , an arresting and engaging mystique laden music poem:

The next is a well known rabble rouser:

The next one was also performed but i cant find any videos that do it any kind of justice so i have included the studio version.It is so good i cant bear to leave it out.

HAMLET at the GFT

2010-12-17T15:22:00.000-08:00

This production has been receiving glowing glittering tributes for very good reason.

The problem with some players of the title role is that they approach it as if they are playing King Lear , to properly play the character of Hamlet you require to imagine a youthful mind coming to terms with the dirty mechanics of power and the added pressures on the psyche which go with the weight of idealistic expectation of being thrust in struggles not of your making for the first time , rather than an old man revisiting the past from the edge of a cliff as a result of many decades of unresolved neglected responsibilities.

The success of this production is the soliloquies by Rory Kinnear are uncluttered , sparsely delivered in a simplified manner. Not with the histrionics showcasing the range of emotional melodrama gratuitously exhibiting proof the actor attended six years of drama academy just in case the audience did not realise it , and throwing in some lavish arm waving for good measure just so no one appears to be short changed from what Olivier may have done at the pictures a while back.This gives Shakespeares actual piercing stark meaningful words a rare and deserved centre stage and a deserved sharp focused spotlight action louder than any distracting gesture.

As Kinnear allows the words to do the talking , so the minimalist stark set also allows the concepts behind the words to step to the very fore , where they enter the mind of the audience without visual distraction , becoming the real drama , rather than dramatics , to play in the head long after the play ends.

The winner is Shakespeare as this version gives his art centre stage , making the audience a listener first , viewer second.

This review is typical of the welcome the broadsheets have given Kinnear performance.
And here Billington gives a concise view of the enduring appeal of Hamlet as a universal meditation.

WHO GOES THERE ? SYMPOSIUM ON DEMOCRACY AT THE TRAMWAY

2010-12-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

The symposium event based around the highly stimulating and timely Artur Zmijewski’s Democracies exhibition posed to examine current questions which must be preying on minds like who are the radicals or activists of the future? along with other burning topics of great concern such as...Is our current model of democracy in crisis? Does sanctioned protest have any impact? How will democracy evolve in the future? Can art play any meaningful role in effecting political change or does it merely offer aesthetic commentary?

The Chair and compere for proceedings Kirsten Lloyd quoted Fujiyama , now, premature declaration of the victory of liberal democracy , therefore the end of History.Also quoted was Zijek observation that China proves the link between capitalism and democracy is not essential , if anything capitalism required a non-democratic tribute bearing empire providing minerals at sub-wholesale costs ( as well as ready access)) and the supply of cheap factory fodder labour.It is therefore ironic only in an unironic way the first ports of call for UK Prime Minister in the crisis within capitalisms banking system where to the antithesis of democracy heartlands of Saudi Arabia and China.Though attributed to Zijek this observation is hardly new , Thucydides was asking this question in a rhetorical manner since almost pre-history.Democracy by its very nature can only be a privilege for the few , with the rest playing the role of labour service , sometimes useful but ultimately expendable.The current unelected democratic policemen states have a far longer track record of actively denying democracy for the "service" nations than promoting it.Iran in the 50s is prime example of ridding a democratically elected government which threatened to gain sovereign control of its assets to assist its own population rather than provide the , literal, cheap fuel for the King states of the democratic West.

The first speaker was journalist and broadcaster Iain McWhirter.Iain McWhirter has a vested interest in this process as he is the current , and highly pro-active rector of edinburgh university.
In his blog he lays out a direction to defend no-fees in Scotland (see it in the link below)
http://iainmacwhirt...er2.blogspot.com/His strategy is to put pressure on the SNP to reject the paper ( his sources suggest a backdoor tuition fee mechanism will be proposed - though it is likely to be rejected by the SNP).
There after the next scottish election becomes a referendum on tuition fees with a straight fight between the SNP and Labour/the rest who will be Westminster fifth columnists within Holyrood.
The other pro-active strategy for Glasgow Uni is to put up a credible anti-cuts and cross-party approved candidate for early next years Rector elections to dispose the highly embarrassing lib-dem charles Kennedy to to replace him with someone similar to Iain McWhirter.
These are 2 immediate strategic goals faculty can get to work on for the present.

It can be a good fusion point for the tantalisingly close though not quite fused meeting point that brings academia and students together in a way the UCU and NUS cannot quite do.
It can be a platform in which ...faculty and students work in the close cohesion that is necessary for an ultimate pro-active winning result.
It can also be a excellent way for academics and students to communicate as equals and not through the imperfect conduits of UCU and NUS.
If done well it could be a model for other universities to follow as admin will only yield when they are facing a joint faculty/student opposition , otherwise divide and rule will be a battle admin are comfortable with.

He may be over hasty and complacent in declaring a "result" but does identify the cabal of Uni Vice-Chancellors bearing (un)wise prophecies of this alleged £300M funding shortfall.
These figures are likely to be seized upon by Labour for the May elections and it may be the next point of defensive attack for academics to scrutinise and show these figures as a discreditable fallacy before they become the "truth" as the media gang up on the SNP/Greens before the elections.

Iains view is that students act as a weathervane for society's concerns as they can have an idealistic posture and manifest it by protests as they have no immediate pressures of mortgages , Family commitments and paying taxes.The Marketisation of the Universities being proposed and administered is in a way designed to put a very real debt burden on students , making them todays financial equivalent of the cannon fodder of yesteryears.

Next up was Professor Sarah Oates of Glasgow University , her take was the state has abandoned us , thinks she means academics , the student fees are a small manifestation of a far larger problem.It did seem odd she used the very labelling which the administrators of the cuts are applying in that she regards faculty and students as separate entities rather than a whole which can team-up to defeat the process.The impression one got was sincere sympathy from academics for the student cause , but it did not seem if sentiment translating into action has wholly entered as an effective idea whose time has come.

In her discourse on the internet , images, and politics of the future she showed photos from google image searches of the recent students demonstrations , described the use of images in the private media in creating a intellectually pre-aligned thematic agenda setting , this allows them to readily manipulate a narrative which submits to a theme in the public domain that conforms to portray the discussion on their parameters.This is not always successful and the British Public have systematically refused to be swayed to a concerted attempt to give way to the politics of fear.
As for independent news sources such as blogs ; social networks and internet in general , her take is the internet has not permeated the process to understand the other in a major way.Internet users use such facilities to connect with like-minded people and viewpoints , so what we end up with is partisanship sectarian bonding , not so much cross-communication.

Tone Olaf Nielson presented on "Can art offer any more than aesthetic commentary?" , at first her presentation was akin to an engineer trying to powerpoint their way to win consent for a construction project.The whole charade seemed to be like being transported to Geneva to see a stellar pitch from nations bidding to win the world cup nominations.Things were becoming dry , it did not bode well at all.

Then , suddenly , she completely captured the audience by dropping the stale theory and went on to describe her work in Denmark.Trampoline House , is based on usership rather than spectatorship, the object is to create a trust between refugees requiring shelter,advice,assistance and tools to navigate the system , and the media,politicians and members of the public who wish to be informed.This whole process creates that elusive understanding of the other which alternative forms of art and communications cannot effectively bridge.The project model is predicated to permanency ( a remarkable responsibility of all the artists who undertake to volunteer for the centre).Here we have a remarkably astounding prime example of art providing a service that should be the responsibility of the state , a more interactive form of art you cannot imagine.

A litmus test of how well the profound talk went is the final Q & A session involving all the participants found all the audience questions directed towards Olaf , with Iain and sarah only getting a few perfunctory questions from the compere to make them feel included.

Olaf describes herself as a Trans-National Feminist , rightly identifying Woman bear the brunt of globalisation , it is refreshing to see a European Feminist advocating supporting Women in other parts of the world to develop a Feminism based on their own terms , and not a have a Euro-Feminist perspective template hoisted upon them whether they like it or not.

The value of Olafs brand of this trans-national feminism is it makes the support of Woman an universal fight , not the imposition of one minority cultural model being forced on those that want regional solutions without unhealthy external unwelcome interference which could make the ideas of these dogmatic Euro-Feminists too close to Imperial colonist projects for comfort to those right minded supporters of Universal Human Rights.

But the last word should go to the individual responsible for getting the participants together.Here he gives his take on the massacre by Israeli Commandos of innocent unarmed Human Rights Workers delivering much needed aid in International Waters.

RONNIE KASRILS AT GLASGOW UNIVERSITY

2010-12-09T02:59:00.000-08:00

Ronnie Kasrils addressed the 2010 Mandela-Tambo Lecture and launch of the book
“The Unlikely Secret Agent” written by himself about the courage and role played by his wife in the military campaign against the racist corrupting apartheid regime at University Chapel within the square.The book is about the underground activity
of his late wife, Eleanor, in the early 1960s in apartheid South Africa.

As John Le Carré states, “This is a wonderful book about a courageous and extraordinary woman who was
highly principled, yet endowed by nature with all the clandestine skills.”

Ronnie Kasrils was Deputy Minister of Defence in Nelson Mandela’s government, then
Minister for Water and Forestry Affairs and, until 2009, Minister of Intelligence for
South Africa. Prior to that, Ronnie was a leader in the armed wing of the African
National Congress, Umkhonto we Sizwe.

Kasrils was a major player in the military wing of the ANC , a necessity created when the bloody massacre of innocents protesting at Sharpeville in 1960 after that response to peaceful protest by the South African forces it became blindingly clear resistance to Apartheid would have to incorporate a campaign to attack the economic foundations of the violent Pretoria Government.

The South African Communist Party adopted an enlightened position which put its European counterparts to extreme shame when it put International revolution of the Workers Proletariat led by an Intellectual dictatorship of European educated emigres on hold , and make the dismantling the racist ideology of Apartheid the primary goal of its focus.The result of this all to rare genuinely progressive mature position was to enable the Communist Party become a genuine highly effective constituent of a all encompassing mass movement , not an opportunistic entity doing more harm than good to the very constituency they purported to be labouring for.

The theme of the lecture , and hence the tribute to his wife,was courage , individual and collective, a type of courage which helped achieve one of Humanitys greatest successes of the last century , as well as an inspiration for those striving for Justice in this.His wifes Family came from Kilmarnock.

You can hear the whole lecture , a glorious highly engaging tale of an unassuming woman heroine , in the video below:( it comes in 5 parts).

THE HABIT OF ART at the ROYAL THEATRE

2010-12-08T11:54:00.001-08:00

After having seen the NFT beamback version i managed to press-gang my wife and son to see this magical drama live on stage.I managed to get front row tickets which is very useful as the play has a lot of humour reflected with subtle rolling of eyes and slight facial gestures make for an experience which simply cannot be sensed from further back in the theatre.

The play is very much like watching an episode of frasier live on stage , which for me would be a dream come true, though with a philosophical depth which only comes at you when you ponder themes much later than when the initial laughter has passed away.Then you realise how very profound this production really is.

This review from The List captures the play quite well.

Channel Four produced an amazing documentary that captures the deep background of the personal experiences of Auden and Britten and the extraordinary creative process and collaboration between playwright and director that was involved in this brilliant artwork.You can see it by clicking HERE An incredible story well worth spending 50 plus minutes over.

ARTUR ZMIJEWSKI "DEMOCRACIES" SCREENING AND CURATORS TALK

2010-12-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

Polish born artist,actor and documentary visual film maker Artur Zmijewski has had a video installation showing at the Tramway called Democracies.

His films very much capture the whole of the being of the participants involved as individual and group figures in the method , as the publicity states , which demands that portrayed persons integrate their political , religious and historical beliefs and personality into a powerful single evolving work that forces them and the viewer to question profoundly the inner meaning of the subjects both internally and externally.

In this screening and curators talk the first film was KRWP which shows former soldiers of the Polish Army Guard of Honour perform a formal drill ceremony , then almost seamlessly we see them performing a dignified patriotic duty without their clothes on.Through the laughs and banter one senses not only the former proud soldiers have been stripped of their dignity , whilst giving the impression they are somehow progressing from staid backwardness to an appreciative posture which will ingratiate and somehow integrate the subjects to the outer world.This could be viewed as a representation of how the whole of Polish society has been stripped bare by exposure to the West in which the benefits of exploiting the local talent pool has benefited the West , leaving the negative scraps of capitalism , namely debt and abasement as the bitter fruit left for the Poles.

Singing Lessons II is the second film of this chronological curator perspective , it follows a choir of death children rehearsing for a live performance in Leipzig , the piece portrays the opposite dimensions of the first film as we have a heartwarming confluencial showcase when resources and ability are put at the service of bringing out the best in society and its less privileged members to create a harmonious cohesive whole to the betterment of all stratas of the community.

Them is the most unusual and stimulating part of the artwork , this brings into the same space four groups from warsaw , one represents a Catholic Womans Group , another Polish nationalists of the old school ( though young members), some Jewish students and so called freedom loving socialists with an alleged live and let live patina.The groups are then allowed to critique;debate and even adjust/deface the displays of the others , the artist seeks to show how they may interact and communicate even when faced with apparently incompatible differences of ideology , and how they may resolve it.The ironic thing is most of the intolerant , bigoted and destructive interlocutors are the so-called freedom loving libertine socialists , they go about verbally slandering , physically desecrating others displays in a wanton immature fashion , and then burning displays when they failed to rationally win their points.The other groups , to their credit spent most of the time repairing the damage to their displays and restoring symbols damaged by the tolerance slogan chanting socialists , whilst engaging in debate with the other groups in a composed dignified way.

The nest short was 80064 brings an ex-inmate of Auschwitz ( we have to remember Auschwitz was in Poland , usually guarded by Lithuanians) agrees to have his detainee number freshened up, some in the audience found the scene harrowing and contrived , the artists contention is the participant did agree to go through with it beforehand , you can judge for yourself:

Two Monuments has Polish and Irish unemployed in Dublin working to co-produce two works of sculpture that enable them to exchange views on the changing nature of Polish/Irish worker relations.What comes out is the , to the participants , barely perceptively nuanced petty attitudes of racism from the Irish towards their Polish colleagues , an odd juxtaposition in that Irish history is replete with the very experiences of migration and seeking to make a living in a hostile environment just like the Polish are going through in Dublin and elsewhere at this time.The curators did say many of the participants on the Irish side did object to the filmed representation of themselves when the inner hostility of the views came out in sharper contrast in the film than was perceived in the casual conversation format.

The last film , made this year , Artur used the philosophy and group teaching methods of the famous Bauhaus in Liverpool.The director remarked the British artists did not come forth in any numbers , only 2 volunteers , to a group art project which is common in mainland Europe.This may be due to the concept of individual enterprise has permeated our society more so than in Europe , where group solutions to problems still holds sway.The result of this is Thatchers "no society" vanity drives individualism is entrenched , this is vital to understand as the fight against cuts that can only be addressed in unison and not individual " ill fight the system my own way" passive aggressive , ultimately impotent symbolistic phyrric victories that closely resemble humiliating defeats.

There is a very apt review of the democracies display from Simons teaching Blog including a brilliantly clear understanding of his palestine segment:

In relation to this understanding of democracy, Zmijewski’s films of demonstrations against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank appear to represent something appropriately democratic. The Palestinian people of the West Bank village of Bil’in do not live in a democracy of even a liberal kind. Rather they are ruled through military law by a state that denies them the suffrage and citizenship that it gives to Israeli citizens living within the Green Line and to Jewish settlers within the West Bank itself

HOWARD JACOBSON at WATERSTONES

2010-11-29T16:10:00.000-08:00

Ever since the Salman Rushdie affair ive held to the principle i will not read anything i did not intend to read just because it gets publicity from manufactured contrived happenings.From what little ive heard from those who felt obliged to read the ersatz weak in fact , flimsy in circumstance drivel have certainly concurred with my judgement.

Howard Jacobson , journeyman author and mawkish , dressed up as funny , column writer was pretty scaving of "corporate" awards such as the Man-Booker as well , until he won it , now , hence the mawk in mawkish , he can see some tantalisingly , cant quite put your finger on it ,integral value in it.It is an authors equivalent of a committed socialist life long champion of trade unions accepting a peerage in the House of Lords.Jacobson likes to , glibly ( his defence shield and substance and artistic integrity), compare himself as the Jewish Jane Austin , though he would be more accurate in comparing himself as the literary John Prescott.

What what its worth below is a video of what the prize winning Book , The Finkler Question.

It does seem the dumbing down factor in attention spans is coming into play , less than four months from the awarding of the prize , and the obligatory free inches of column space only the spin-doctors of the publishing corporate powerhouses could generate , it seems the novelty is waring off.I purchased a ticket for myself a couple of days before the event , advertised by massive poster campaign in the shop which was hard to miss , and noticed a large thick as a fist batch of tickets unsold.My wife desired to go , so i went the next day thinking the tickets would be whittled down to at least a one finger thickness,but no , not one ticket had been sold from the last one a bought the day before , even though author events in the same week had SOLD OUT displays all around.

Alas the event itself had a pitiful turnout , having heard Howard Jacobson i was less desirous of reading the Book than i was before , as was my Wife.He did make a decent point about the drop in standards in teaching literature in the Universities , citing the lecturers themselves are incapable of reading challenging Books , yet alone encourage their pupils to do so.According to Jacobson the rot started when the concept of relevance was brought into the educational system , this meant Books in the curriculum had to be "easily" readable for the kids , which in turn meant any Book deemed as challenging was replaced by ones which had a likeability factor.And now we are reduced to lectures as well as pupils who determine from page one if they "like" a Book and if not leave it and go onto the next one , "like" in this instance being a euphemism for a Book challenging the reader to confront a Book which compels them to think for themselves how to counter the views in a Book with their own well argued concepts which can stand of the scrutiny of societies top down ideals.

As for Jacobsons political views , there is not much to add to the observations of Belinksy over a 150 years ago.They can be summed but as an ill-fitting pastiche of weak intellectual oxymoron's and philosophical non-sequitors masquerading as informed opinion.All in all a very juvenile effort from someone pitifully lightweight in matters of perspicacity if you are being kind or mendacious malfeasance if you want to attribute logic and a thought out motivation to his stance.I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt , though from the attendance and the piles and piles of his latest offering lying about as if waiting for a black bin bag to take them on their final journey i wonder if Glasgow has not sussed him out ahead of the pack.

EAMONN McCANN at the GFT

2010-11-22T12:57:00.000-08:00

In a brilliant and piercing lecture entitled "The Legacy Issue: Putting the wrongs of the Northern Ireland conflict to rights" Eamonn McCann traced the way a local campaign against injustice and inequality in Derry sparked a more generalised revolt against the State and led on to 30 years of Trouble. He assessed the extent to which the events which detonated the Troubles can be seen as part of the global upsurge of ‘60s radicalism and whether, if at all, the subsequent course of the Northern Ireland conflict fitted into any wider pattern. Was “the struggle” always a matter of communal rivalry and hostilities? If the Good Friday Agreement is now seen as the answer, what was the question?

Eamonn McCann came to prominence during the civil rights campaigns and marches in Derry during the late sixties.The campaign coincided with the international struggles for civilian rights in the US and mainland Europe.

It is an ironic contention the struggle for the rights of the citizens of Derry were not attained by the actions of Westminster ( where the strong block , sometimes amounting to the balance of Power , of the Ulster Unionists) prompted the failure to deliver equal rights for the minority Catholic community of Northern Ireland , but rather was achieved from the directives and equal opportunity legislative processes emanating from the EU based in Brussels and Strasbourg.A valid case can also be made crediting the EU in diffusing as well as militating the militant posture of central to regional government conflicts in the Basque to to some extent the Catalan as well as points of potential conflict in Italy.In all these cases the elected civilian governments were so composed as to be unable to deliver these rights whilst maintaining a cohesive central stability , the process could only have been done by a supra-national entity like the Common Market.

According to Eamonn McCann all this led to the Good Friday Agreement , a name that does not feature in the document , but has been given this label so there is an almost sacred element to the process.

McCanns objection to the agreement is it is based on the same model the french devised for Lebanon , and we all know how that turned out.The question to ask is , why should a classic divide and rule model designed to foster incohesion to make Lebanon ever dependent on foreign external interference from parties which have everything to gain from internal instability, tension and conflict to seen or presented as a model to bring permanent peace to Northern Ireland.Answering that question will go a long way to explain just what the old waring sectarian parties , the Uk and the US have to gain from the process.

The ground reality, as Eamonn Mccann sees it , is the most sectarian parties are the biggest gainers in the process , leaving the centreground and the parties that ought to command a bi-partisan non-sectarian constituency high and dry , this is due to a manufactured and fostered separation of both communities into devolved sectarian pre-labelled blocks , leaving no ground and thus void from recognition those that wish to transcend sectarian labels and create a large middle ground based on shared economic and social welfare issues which straddle both divides.This artificial delineation of communities with no middle-linking ground heightens the fear of both communities which in turn vote for the most sectarian elements to square upto the most sectarian elements being voted for by the other community , this in turn feeds an already negative cycle.The fear of both communities continues to heighten, rather than dissipate , as encouraged by the agreement, who in turn vote for hardline politicians who will counter-balance the hardliners of the other community.This means sectarian tensions are more , not less , pronounced.Whilst even in the 70s there were large swathes and urban estates which had Catholic and Protestant families living interspersed with each other , now , the demarcation is a fait accompli with a clear separation with no meeting points.Looking by this light the remarkable images of McGuinness and Paisley ( Sn. and Jnr.) sitting at the same Cabinet Table can be seen as a negative result of polar interests representing entrenched views rather than the superficial surface impression one may get of former enemies in a harmonious coming together.

Quite rightly , as McCann acknowledges himself, ten years of peace is not a prize to be taken lightly or considered as less than a favourable outcome to the calamity of the troubles.But he does rightly point out with the artificial boom times being over and a long period of economic downturn in the offing the negative points , issues and faultlines of the process may begin to unravel , it is in this context the support from the disaffected , underemployed , Catholic young for the increasingly militant Real IRA should be seen as an expected trend to be urgently addressed and not , as portrayed , an aberration to be casually glossed over.

One disconcerting factor for the community of Derry when the Good Friday Agreement was signed was the absurd nature of the economic peace dividend for the mainly Catholic Community after 30 years of struggle , one of the first factories built ( it was supposed to create some 150 jobs , though only some 30 materialised)was for the arms manufacturer Rayatheon , the maker of the very bombs used to destroy civilian buildings and lives in Palestine and Lebanon by US and UK supported Israeli forces.The bombs including the killing of innocent civilians in Qana in 2006.

Eamonn Mccann led a delegation to Southern Lebanon and laid a memorial tribute in Qana on behalf and in solidarity with the people of Derry to the victims of the qana atrocity.Mccann also praised the integrity of US singer Patti Smith who wrote a moving tribute song called , appropriately Qana.

Here is a poignant video featuring Patti Smith singing about Qana:

And here is Eamonn McCann giving a rousing passionate speech about the importance of the Palestinian cause in the struggle for universal justice:

SEA AND LAND AND SKY by Abigail Docherty at the TRON

2010-10-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

The blurb on the website states the Nurses whose diary entries feature in the Word War 1 drama were sent from Scotland to the Russian ( not the Western) Front as stated in the description:

"1916. Three young women from the Scottish Women’s Hospital are sent to the Russian front to support the war effort. Ailsa is working class and determined to make an impression on her superiors, Millicent is a self-confessed hedonist and Lily is searching for her lost husband. Unprepared for what they witness, each must find a way of coping as they fight to survive an experience that will change them forever..."

This does not seem to be the case in the play itself where they very much feature in the Western Front with English officers and Scottish loafers.This disorientation does take the intrigue factor and culture clash of the story away , from then the play does not quite recover.

The nurses switch from ordinary civilians out for escapism and adventure to completely incurable grade A nuthouse mad in an instant without any graduation of the accumulation of stresses and strains whatsoever thus cutting any dramatic effect out the production instantly and leaving the audience more baffled than pertubedly sympathetic, this is entirely due to the abandoning of the real hook of the play , a story meshed around the diary entries of the three nurses featured , the play rolls along fine until this device is disregarded and the plot is literally lost from there onwards , as well as the audiences sincere attention.The play could have done with more diary entries taking the lead in the narrative throughout the play, especially when the Nurses arrive at the battlefront sectors rather than leaving the diaries when they are still on the ship taking them over , by far the best part of the play , and jettisoning the diary interest for "raw" emotional drama which does not quite work , the main reason being two out of the three nurses are instantly so "mad" as to not have any control of their lost faculties , thus becoming more morbid implausible curiosities than characters with an engaging story to tell.

Certainly a re-visit to this play with more diary entries and less effects could make this excellent idea into a quality production with lasting appeal.

This review from The Guardian is fair , but unsatisfactorily ungenerous in that it does not suggest very slight adjustments which would make the play a long lasting success.

BONNY SCOTLAND v SPAIN

2010-10-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

This match had sentimental and nostalgic appeal , the very first match i went to was Bonny Scotland v Spain in 1975.The crowd was 90,000 in the days football allowed drink , copious amounts at that , into games.At half-time there was something as famous as the great "Hampden roar" , the great pissing ceremony , the crowd would go to the large wall at the top of the stand and pish on the wall.This would release a cascade of rich warm steaming liquid flowing down to the bottom of the stand.If you were a skilled veteran you could pish at the top and be back in your seat to see your own pish seeping past your shoes like the river of gold going though the supporting pillars of a bridge.At night the floodlights would turn blue to cut through the fog.This light gave a multi-toned kaleidoscope of rainbow colours to the pish rolling down, thus giving an early science lesson on the diffuse nature of light as well as the properties of gravitational motion of liquid.Strangely , being a wee nipper i remember the lessons of pish and its properties more than the game.What little i remember of the match was the crowd would stand as soon as Scotland got anywhere near 30 yards of the Spanish goal in swathing heaps of animated anticipation.Being small i could not see a thing when that happened ,eventually Scotland scored , all i could do was look at the floodlights and get lost in a passionate reverie of triumphant noise.Spain came back to win 2-1 , thus introducing me to the other aspect of Scottish/Celtic culture - the glorious and brave failure , heroism without the unnecessary inhibitants like success that just increase your responsibilities, which spoil the romance.I remember nothing of the Spanish goals , only one which was given offside - a philosophic lesson which i learned for the first time , that it could always be worse.So that was laws of science , the culture of a national identity and a philosophic lesson , and the humbling aphorism that success is fleeting as well as the value of devoting a life to pish and its many values , not bad for a 90 minute game of football.

This time my Son pestered me to get tickets to see Scotland take on the popular and deservedly highly acclaimed World Champions.Being a good Scottish lad of the 90s reared on La Liga football there was only one team he wanted to see.As the time of the game approached he was somewhat disappointed when the Spanish and Barca genius creative midfielder pulled out of the squad due to injury , worse was to come only days before when Fabregas and Torres were also ruled out , and then a crestfallen Son reported Pedro was also out.The only consolation was we might see Casillas ass , the same view that the infamous Real Madrid Ultras see of him front behind the goal at matches in the Bernabeu.Casillas has also a special attachment to Hampden , this is the ground in which he made his first appearance in what is shaping up to be one of the best careers in World Football.

The game itself was highly entertaining with a typically brave nearly-nearly effort from Scotland.The match seemed to be over in the 55th minute when the World Champions went into a 2-0 lead through the worlds most gifted midfielder Iniesta.The Spanish must have believed they could pass out the game to a comfortable close and the players could then concentrate on domestic challenges in the La Liga.Bonny Scotland had other ideas , they came storming back into the match with 2 goals , the Spanish composure turned into scurrying about in a most unseemly manner of organised panic before they took the lead to a loss of concentration by the Scotland defence.In the end the game , instead of being a glorified training session for the World Champions , had them working up to the last moment to secure the win.It must be a long time since Spain conceded 2 goals in a competitive match.

All in all honour was saved for both teams , Bonny Scotland got there brave heroic romantic win , and Spain got the 3 points.A very Tartan win-win situation.

But Scotland most impressive win was the allegiance of my Son , he started out wanting to see his Spanish La Liga heroes hammer some minnows , he left the ground sad he has witnessed the first time "his" team had lost a match that he attended.But , as a true Scottish lad , it was a defeat to be celebrated and savoured more sweetly than a mere win.And not everyone can claim they have seen Casillas arse with their own eyes.

Iker Casillas Arse , as seen by the Ultra Sur and my Son

Europe-Japan Dialogue Public Lecture 'International Aid for a Water Project'

2010-10-09T06:14:00.000-07:00

Director for Development Planning at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Mr Okaniwa was responsible for Japan's "Water and
Sanitation Broad Partnership Initiative" announced in March 2006.Consequently, he was posted at The Embassy of Japan in Jakarta in charge
of Japan's aid programme from 2006 till 2008. Dr Dorea was also engaged
in activities in Indonesia through a humanitarian water aid programme
(with Oxfam GB) when the country was hit by tsunami in 2004 and more
recently through his research activities (Bali, 2009).

The good thing about this joint teaming was the potential for conflict of interests from the government to government ( via corporate and IMF filters) resourcing and the experience of NGO operatives on the ground liaising with the target communities.But the whole thing did not really manifest.

Firstly , Japanese Government aid is only 14% in grants , 86% is in the form of loans ( which by their very nature are to be paid back with due interest.).This fascinating article on the two major factors which makes Japan the largest donor of water "aid" in the region of Africa reveals the two prongs of the prime motivations 1) it allows Japanese corporations to enter Africa in areas of development other than military hardware which is denied to Japanese Industry and 2)It is a vehicle for projection of Japanese government "soft" power for Japanese Financial and Banking Houses , ( you will notice that Japanese "aid" has been given over to the private sector).

The conflict of interest is that it is in the interest of the Japanese program is to encourage either large macro-projects which provide its corporations with big contracts or to promote expensive systems of clean water generation which may not be the best cost efficient option for the unique requirements of the recipient communities.The other major disadvantage is the option for the aid receiver to shop around for the most cost-effective generic products on the market can be over-ruled in favour of products made by the corporations which have a major say in the wording ; terms and conditions and ultimate renewal of the aid package.

ARDAL O'HANLON at the PAVILLION

2010-10-03T05:10:00.000-07:00

Ardal is a skilled and accomplished comic offering good clean entertainment all Family Members and ages can enjoy.You get the impression he could easily step-up and get into a political mode with a seamless gearchange.

A generous , though accurate review in the telegraph gives a semblance of the seemingly light paced though taut and controlled performance.

This review from The Festival Magazine points to the lack of depth in the routine , though making a critical error of believing Ardal could not raise the game if he was playing to a more political audience.The references to a lot of Zaltzman lurking within the surface of the routine is highly accurate , the Zaltman connection was even more obvious in the maternity sketch in which the male protagonist increasing the longevity of labour by pressing the babys head back into the womb.

The irony is the whole performance could be turned into a highly comical satire with great philosophical weight if the end references to the difference in Celtic fairytales of fighting against adversity to the optimistic English ones and Hopeladen American was to be a starting point to the show with an extrapolation of these divergences in the handling of modern challenges making the full body of a theme which challenged the likes of Wagner for many decades.

The video below gives a good example of his show:

DIRTY PARADISE by Leann O'Kasi at THE TRON

2010-10-03T02:27:00.000-07:00

Based very loosely on a short story by Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez called "i only came to use the phone" this play written and performed by Leann O'Kasi is part of the cultural and artistic contribution to the Scottish Mental Health Week 2010 Arts and Film Festival going on in many venues across the city.

The background details of this delicate and touching performance is given The List article by director Alison Peebles.

When we read about people who hear voices inside their heads, it is usually in grim news reports involving severe psychiatric illness. Like many medical complaints, however, ‘auditory hallucinations’ exist across a whole spectrum of intensity. This was a revelation to director Alison Peebles and writer/performer Leann O’Kasi when they came to prepare for Dirty Paradise, a play about a woman trying to escape her voices.

‘You’d think that people who hear voices are all schizophrenic, but they’re not,’ says Peebles. ‘Some people just hear these voices – they sound as if they’re in the room or in the street with you, speaking to you, shouting at you or arguing with each other. There can be a whole conversation going on. It’s just extraordinary to think that people have got that going on in their head.’

The quality and depth of the play could be seen in the faces of individual audience members as they would tense up when a feature of the troubling observations of the character would hit a personal aspect of their private internal struggles and then , like a psychological spotlight,suddenly ease with relief as the spotlight veered away to another person who would go through the same short;sharp; shock turmoil.The lesson to be learned is that Mental Well Being , if not Health is a spectrum , not a demarcation.

Unlike the trend in stories of stress and anguish of Mental Health issues this story finishes in a resolution and uplifting ending , to the relief of the character and a large part of the audience as well.

THE MILLENIUM QUARTET at Glasgow University

2010-09-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

The first in the lunchtime concert series for this Academic year was from The Millennium Quartet , accomplished alumni of the prestigious Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra from Venezuela.Since 2000 the orchestra has received substantial state funding in a programme to raise a million children from poverty to having a high degree of educational vocations including international class mastery of music.The state provides about 80% funding and early results hold much promise.

In a show of solidarity , and to prove ideas to improve the lot of the less privileged is not a one way process the Quartet are in Scotland to take the Sistema idea and help establish and guide the Venezuelan model in Scotlands educational institutes.It is ironic whereas in Venezuela the programme is state funded , in Scotland it is an independent charitable effort.

As the Sistema Scotland website states the goals are:

We are on a mission to transform lives through music.

Sistema Scotland is a charity set up in the belief that children can gain huge social benefits by playing in a symphony orchestra. We use music making to foster confidence, teamwork, pride and aspiration in the children taking part - and across their wider community.

We take the Sistema name from the orchestra movement established in Venezuela in 1975 by Maestro José Antonio Abreu.

We are very proud to be official partners with the original organisation in Venezuela. We seek to benefit from the South Americans’ expertise, while adapting their methods to suit conditions in Scotland.

Sistema Scotland exists to develop orchestra centres on the ground in Scotland. These are known in the community as Big Noise. The first is in Raploch, Stirling. We have plans for further centres across Scotland.

The first quartet was Mozarts in D minor K421 , as pointed out by a professor many years ago German orchestras play Germanic pieces with a naturalness other orchestras rarely emulate , even after years of trying.It is as if music also has an inbuilt language intonation which can be passable mimicry by others but does not quite hit the mark , even the ones that do get close one will find that it is by hiring the services of a german trained composer.In this way the quartet hit all the right notes but the passion did not materialise.

The second quartet , however,by a splendidly South American fusion of an Argentine composer born of Italian Mother and Catalan Father is played so naturally and with such heartfelt evocative sympathy one could be mistaken for thinking the piece was especially written for them.The piece is Quartet No.1 Op.20 by Alberto Ginastera.

The Herald Scotland has a fairly accurate appraisal of the Ginastera piece in this review.

Here is a very delicate performance of Ginastera by the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra captured in London:

In the interview below the founder of the El Sistema project Jose Antonio Abreu gives an inspirational talk about the value of this type of project:

SOUTH OF THE BORDER by Oliver Stone

2010-09-22T02:56:00.000-07:00

In the UK at any rate there was a disingenuous misleading perception to this documentary about Oliver Stone being a well meaning though politically naive who is put right by a mature Tariq Ali script.In actual script , if you pardon the pun , Oliver Stone is a highly skilled film-maker who knows his constituency and how to stimulate them to just the right degree.The purpose of this film is to present to an American audience ( the starting point for an American and European audience is quite different because of the overt partisanship of the mainstream corporate US media as opposed to the slightly less overt coverage we have in Europe).Understanding these two starting points is important before levelling the lazy charge of lack of political depth to the documentary.Oliver Stone has a task of presenting a Human face and casual playfull side to demonised leaders to the American audience , to show the US viewers these maligned "enemies" are leaders that look and think like the People they represent , in all cases democratically elected.

Oliver explains the underlying reasoning in the interview below:

The documentary succeeds in presenting the shades of Human experience in todays South American leadership from the indigenous leaders of Venezuela and Boliva ; the realist elite in Argentina and the liberation theologists and trade unionist leaders in Ecuador and Paraguay ,and a non-interfering tolerating leader from Brazils trade union and business partnership , a cross section of leaders trying to extricate the region from the Monroe doctrine , but hardly left pin-up boys as is the equally one dimensional perspective of the European Left , a true Bolivarian cross section of genuine mass movement leaders not allied to any constriction brand of exported European thoughts but coming up with regional solution to local concerns.

Check-out this video at the 1m35sec mark about the economic advice Bush gave to Argentinian president Kirchner.

As an excellent companion piece to the documentary itself is this episode of Democracy Now , a four-part piece which acts as a informative,detailed appendix to the documentary itself which shows Oliver Stone , as well as Tariq Ali , looking in-depth into the background issues to the superficial themes of the documentary itself.

What stands out is just how perceptive and sophisticated Oliver Stones understanding is.

One major question is just how established and long lasting this process will be when the US tries to , as it inevitably will , re-strengthen the Monroe Doctrine.The major reason these South American leaders have defied the US is that America has had a decade long commitment of nearly 200,000 troops in far away continents.In the next few years the troops will come back and if you have read the telling observations of Eduardo Galeano on "The Open Veins of South America" are to be relied upon then it normally taken only from 11 months to just under 3 years for normal service to be resumed.

FRANKIE BOYLE LIVE AT THE STAND GLASGOW

2010-09-18T06:48:00.001-07:00

Tickets for a series of gigs for a week were sold out in only 90 minutes.What really appealed to me was all proceeds for the appearances would go to Palestinian charities.

These were preview practice concerts to try out material for his upcoming series tramadol Nights in front of a live studio audience.

Wednesday 15 September Frankie Boyle: Tramadol Nights Warm-ups
Doors 17:00 | Show: 18:00 | £10.00 full | £10.00 conc | £10.00 members
SORRY SOLD OUT!
Frankie Boyle returns to The Stand to warm-up for his up-coming TV show 'Tramadol Nights'. Be the first to see this brand new stand up material!
Please note that tickets for this show are only available online, so please don't phone the box office to book. Tickets are strictly limited to 4 per customer - no exceptions. Please note that photographic ID in the name of the person who booked must be presented on the door when collecting tickets. All ticket proceeds go to Palestinian charities.
THE STAND HAS A STRICT POLICY AGAINST TICKET TOUTING. Any touted tickets will be cancelled. You have been warned...

Having found about it much later in the evening they went on sale and receiving a series of SOLD OUT messages i philosophical reserved myself to not being fated to attend such a neat way to give the Palestinians money.

On the day of the first performance a friend of mines managed to get a precious returned ticket.On the very off chance i asked him if the Stand could offer a carer ticket so that he can have assistance to get into the venue.The Stand rightly said no-chance , only to phone my Friend an hour later to not only offer a ticket but a free one to boot.

Unlike Theatre and Musical concerts it is never a good idea to sit at the very front for a comedian performance , unless you enjoy being humiliated in public, to do so for Frankie Boyle is really asking for it , and he never fails to deliver.

I have to admit im not really a fan of his deeply offensive humour , but he does give the impression he could change tack and be equally effective at other modes of comedy with a simple gear change.Anyone who is willing to stick up for , and support the Palestinians is much to be admired.

Here is an example of him doing self-depreciating Scottish jokes:

And here is him in his element with a flurry of offensive jokes:

THE SEVEN SAMURAI at the GFT

2010-09-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

This all time great film is commonly compared to the Western film it inspired "The Magnificent Seven".Though there are two aspects which give the original more meaning and depth.Firstly is the richly detailed characterisation of all the individual members of the samurai , with special emphasise on the code of honour and the passing of the traditional chivalry into an uncertain age of less certain and stable values systems.In transitional Japan of the 1950s this would be a vital and current valid study of rapidity of change , its desirability and where would it lead.

The other is the presence of guns , the samurai have to take on the bandits with sword and guile whilst the other party have guns at their disposal.

Here is an excellent video review of the drama and central theme of the film:

This excellent review gives a detailed background to this amazing work of art.

Kurosawa had more influences than just The Magnificent Seven , he also inspired the Fistful of Dollars series and was , ultimately uncredited , light in the Japanese segments of the ground breaking film Tora!Tora!Tora!.

The video below gives an indication of the vast Influences and Inspirations Kurosawa gained from Western Literature and Arts as well as his own contributions to Western Films and genres we now take for granted:

LUNCHTIME FOR GAZA COMEDY FUNDRAISER at the STAND EDINBURGH

2010-09-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

Veteran Comedian Ivor Dembina has been presenting a revised version of his own remarkable solo show about the conflict entitled ‘This is Not a Subject for Comedy’.I first saw the earlier version of the show way back in 2004 at a benefit fundraiser at the Stand in Glasgow.

In between a busy schedule Ivor organised this sell out benefit for Gaza ( monies going to the DEC joint charities appeal fund) along with Jewish Socialists' Group ,Established for over forty years, the JSG celebrates diversity and campaigns for peace with justice for the Palestinians and supports Israelis working for a future based on equality. It supports the right of all minorities to feel secure wherever they live, and rejects the subordination of diaspora Jewish communities to the demands of the Israeli state and the confinement of Jewish identity to a religious or Zionist straitjacket. , of which he is a member and Jews for Justice for Palestinians , a 1600 strong network of Jews who are British or live in Britain, who oppose Israeli government policies that destroy the livelihoods, human, civil and political rights of the Palestinian people. JfJfP campaigns for an end to the Israeli Occupation and for the Palestinians' right to a state in the territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.

The Show was an absolute sell-out , a great credit to Ivors ability to attract influential top rate comedians to give their services and time to this great Humanitarian cause.

First up was the hilarious Lynn Ruth Miller :

She is 77 at the moment and getting better.

Then we had the rascally Daniel Kitson :

Followed by Andy Zaltzman and then the low-key genius Stewart Lee himself:

A very entertaining and successful show , a credit to the organisers ; participants and the very helpful house-staff.

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES ( EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS) at the GFT

2010-09-11T07:49:00.000-07:00

This joint Argentinian/Spanish collaboration is based on a Novella by Eduardo Sacheri.

The subtle pacing gives an added depth to the emotional undercurrents of the characters and plot.Like most films dealing with thew age of dictators in Spain and Latin America the past is portrayed in a dreamlike reverie from another universe always just beneath the surface but can only be looked at through a prism , never directly , which occasionally shakes the suppressed pent feelings crying out for resolution.

To highlight just how many layers of barely perceptible deep thought have been put into this project check-out the detailed and careful attention given by director Juan Jose Campanella into the hardly noticeable background music to one of the scenes:

As you can see from the video below the reviewers the World over are , quite literally , raving about this masterpiece , and rightly so.

In this segment of an interview given by Campanella the real crime the Film deals with is the Past , and it is the way each character strives to solve it which has such meaning for the audiences which have loved this film.

THE MAN FROM STRATFORD featuring SIMON CALLOW

2010-08-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

An excellent one man Show about Shakespeare called "The Man From Stratford" by Simon Callow ( who was one the performers in the famous waiting For Godot production we saw in Edinburgh).

You can get more details about Callows work and career in this link , especially his unique work on Dickens.I can vouch for every one of the comments in the piece now that ive had the pleasure to see it myself.Not one of them are exaggerated.

The whole experience is less like a play , rather an enthralling entertaining masterclass from a world class scholar-actor to be enjoyed by all ages.

Below is an eloquently told background to this stunningly successful project from Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate:

You can also get Simon Callows inside views of the immense project from the plays dedicated youtube channel.

You can also get background and rewiews to the play in the wonderful official website for the production.

The play brings a deeper understanding of the world of Shakespeares age as well as his personal development through life.

Especially enlightening is the type of education he would have received.It consisted of rote Latin to English ( at the time an undeveloped language) and translating back to Latin , day in day out.Also was instilled the discursive argumentative writing contained in the purist line of Rhetoric as espoused by the Aeneid of Virgil and the Greek and Latin Masters , this consists of bringing out the positive values of both arguments and then presenting the enhanced positive value in the conclusion of your argument rather than the negative of running the other argumentative position down in a negative way , a best and better way of looking at options as opposed to partisan support of an entrenched ideological position.When you look at Shakespeare from this understanding one can sense his style was consistent with demands of his age.

As Jonathan Bate states , one of the feelings you will come away with is the wonderful thing about this show that when you go away from it you will not be scared or imtimidated by Shakespeare as the set texts of todays education and unfamiliarity of language may make appear.

ANDY ZALTZMAN at the Edinburgh Stand

2010-08-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

I first saw Andy Zaltzman in 2004 , Celtic had just beaten Barcelona and Shaikh Yassin had just been assassinated , oh and the Madrid Bombings.

A brave man made light and comedy of the situation unlike much of the audience , well two hecklers who , having gone through the rigmarole of buying tickets for a night of comedy suddenly developed a faux mocked outraged drunken offence.Admirable , was that Andy was a signatory of the Jews for Justice for Palestinians and , remember there was a full blown intifada going on at the time, held fundraiser evenings for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.This was when he was far from "making it" and could have taken a less principled road to success by getting short of the politics and taking the least resistance path to the observational dollar.

Today Andy has "made it" , and has still not forgotten those less fortunate , he will be doing a fundraiser for Gaza later in the month.

The name of his Fringe residency show is 'Andy Zaltzman Swears To Tell The Truth, Half The Truth, And Everything But The Truth.A "thesis" as he describes himself , about the non-truth and lies you hear from politicians and media.

A very funny and accomplished show fulfilling the promise from 6 years back.

Below is an example of his understated dry witty penetrating humour , when addressing some young lawyers:

IMRAN KHAN at Tramway Theatre

2010-07-25T02:24:00.000-07:00

Imran Khans sacrifice comes from a simple and devastatingly clear premise.The Human Being is concerned with Empathy and Justice.The Animal Kingdom is concerned with Might is Right and Survival of the fittest.

To his credit Imran has put himself up for the crushingly responsible task of taking Pakistan back from the corrupt elites even though he is best placed to take up the luxuries and delights of being at the top crust of the top elites stripping the wealth of the nation to fund a lifestyle only the Royalty of centuries past could enjoy.

Whilst the elites have made Pakistan one of the most corrupt places on Earth , the poorer classes have put Pakistan at the top of the league of individuals who contribute to charity.Imran Khan has a plan to get the later to the top and bring the early promise of first generations Pakistanis , like himself , hope to mould a nation independent and being a role model , like it was to Malaysia and Singapore in the 50s and 60s , as to how a post-colonial society that can forebear the excesses of the ever-dependent Capitalist Powers.

His plan is to make the Judiciary genuinely independent ; the Police accountable to the Judiciary and the Civil Service answerable to the People they purport to serve.

All he needs from the diaspora is lip-service and a small commitment of about £10 per month so his party can build offices in every large institution in Pakistan , even now in all the campuses and educational institutions his party is by far the biggest grouping , out-numbering the pre-established feudal ridden parties.

His plan may seem grand , unattainable but then again , his prediction that Military Ruler Musharraf will be out of office in less than a year had the same incredulous ring about it.

Some , if not all , cynics will say if Zardari ever goes then Nawaz will come into the frame , leaving Imran ever-sidelined , and this was borne out in that more than half of the committee which welcome Imran Khan were also equally ecstatic in laying out the red-carpet to Benazir Bhutto , the Negroponte sponsored page 3 gall , when she rolled into Town.

WORLD CUP 2010

2010-07-14T10:25:00.001-07:00

And did you notice Greens wikipedia entry below ( click on image for full size)

Apparently it only lasted last night for an our , which is 15 minutes longer than Englands campaign

Below is a short history of US Presidents:

1966

2010

But Green has already been signed up for sponsorship:

And Beckham , of course , is in the big league: ( Again click on image for full size)

Its good to see Maradona getting into the spirit of things.

The Spanish Press have been taking the set back against Switzerland in the composed;emotionally-detached;rational reflective manner of that part of the world.

The analysis of the coach who won then Euro 2008 is that the team were too slow and lacked an extra defensive mid-fielder to take the pressure away from the creative midfielders who played most of the tippy-tappy possession football to deep to cause problems.

In the spirit of blaming the ball , a viable excuse is that the slow pace may have been due to the games being played in the afternoon , whilst the next 2 will be in the evening.A lame excuse i know.

They are not happy that the roles of Xavi ( the best play-maker ) is swtiched with Alonso ( ex-Liverpool , need i saw more!) , and advocate a switch which should make all the difference.

The English Press are suggesting Capello gets a retro English classic makeover.

At least hes already got the surname for it

Rooney has got loyal support from the Animal Kingdom , though one comment did astutely suggest he should have completed the sentence by adding "you wanker".

England "Hero" Rooney has bad-mouthed the fans , but after consultation with his corporate attunned agent , though better of it.To me his apology did seem a tad insincere.

This the secret of New Zealands adapting to South Africa conditions:

The Spanish need motivational inspiration and here is the one song to raise Spanish spirits:

The Italians bow out in a whimper , looks like lady Karma caught up with them.

At least the Italians are consistant , they are graceless when they win and graceless when they lose.

And then they poke one in the chest with their jabbing finger as they give a lecture on how well-mannered;cultured and sophisticated they are.

England meet Germany and its time to duly come home.

Good to see Roy Keane giving the realist counter-analysis to the BBC/ITV/Sky band of tell-them-what-they-want-hear saxon-wanabee irishmen.

It gets good at the 1m15sec mark.

One commentator said before the match yesterday he would pick only 2 Germans who could cut it in the English squad.

I cant think of a Single German who could match the standard of the English squad.

We Germans have a hard time keeping possession of the ball like them.

Spain beat Germany , this is how Madrid celebrates:

Below is an earlier video of Spanish commentators during an earlier victory:

The less passionate one on the left is ex-Spanish captain Camacho.

Spain win the World Cup , this is the celebrations from a quiet bit of Malaga:

Del Bosque and Son:

Spain's national soccer team coach Vicente del Bosque (L) is congratulated by his son Alvaro (C) during a meeting with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero at Madrid's Moncloa Palace, July 12, 2010. Spain stunned the Netherlands to win their first World Cup on Sunday in sensational fashion with a goal in the last minutes of extra time.The Son featured suffers from some form of disability , i think Downs , but had made a vow to join his dad on a victory tour if he came back with the trophy.

THE WORLD CHAMPIONS:

Pique ( 20 sec mark) re-opens wounds that ought to be enshrined in an over-lapping happiness , hopefully the Nation will rise above it.

GREEN DAY LIVE at SECC

2010-06-26T05:44:00.001-07:00

Green day model themselves as the best live band in the world whose goal is to provide the greatest show the audience has seen.They achieve it quite easily.

The audience was treated to the unique special treat of seeing a full blown Stadium Tour geared for massive arenas like Wembley within the indoor setting of the SECC , they were quite blown away by the experience.

Some say the band are not what they were at the start and have sold out to being a bring all the Family band , these People are usually the ones who failed to get tickets.

Hamzah made the incredibly courageous sacrifice of missing the Spain world cup match to attend only his second concert , the other being Bruce Springsteen.After a debut like that he in for a very disappointing concert career as much else will be downhill.

The first song of the evening was 21st Century Breakdown:

A spectacular show of almost 3 hours also contained great favourites like Boulevard of Broken Dreams:

And the riotous delight Know Your Enemy:

The evening ended on an easy paced acoustic reflective note which gave a poignant end to the show with a version of Time of Your Life:

Being short-changed in not a feeling you get when seeing a Green day Concert.

JACKSON BROWNE and DAVID LINDLEY at GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL

2010-06-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

Amongst Jackson Browne and David Lindleys other great exploits in the field of Music , the most ingenious of them has been his long time collaboration with Warren Zevon on many records and outstanding ground breaking projects.Along with Stevie Nicks , Jackson and Lindley provide the hypnotic background singing in "Under the Eaves" which is said to represent the steady hum which sends the subject of the song into a dreamy reverie.

Best of all David Lindley comes of with arguable the best guitar solo ever in the Zevon song "Play it All Night Long".

You know you are in for a very nice treat when the first song of the evening is a Warren Zevon cover and the next a Springsteen song about the after-plight of the Vietnam vets.

Below is the cover of the Springsteen song , played during the first set which was acoustic:

The second part of the concert was played with a full band , which is Sheryls Crows band which has been touring with Jackson on this tour.

Among the many highlights was this version of the quality "Before The Deluge" , a song about Hubris which has many connotations with the current Banking Crisis.

From his newer work the best one that stands alongside his perennial classics is the wonderfully harmonious "Giving That heaven Away" which harkens back to his memories of the 60s and how easily some precious things worth keeping can be given away cheaply for a trifling price.

TARTUFFE by MOLIERE adapted by Liz Lochhead

2010-06-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

The sign of a truly classical play is that it can be adapted to local regional conditions yet retain a universal Human value that lasts for all times.

Molieres Tartuffe is one such play even though , and here is a testament to how good art can be treated at the time of making , rather like when good messengers are exiled from their home community, it almost failed to see the light when it was first performed.The King Louis banned it for general performances for the public he and his inner circle did like it and saw it on many occasions in private performance.The main reason of the ban by Versailles was the offence taken by the high church officials.

This version is adapted by Liz Lochhead uses the Glasgow vernacular to great comic effect , further enhancing the satire and universal message of the the abuse of power masquerading as virtue.

GIANNI VATTIMO BEING AND EVENT

2010-06-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

As any practitioner of Philosophy will know , philosophers have great difficulty getting to the point or making themselves clear ,this can be sometimes misconstrued as the pursuit of philosophical constructs being a complex ; complicated and specialised discipline to be understood by the very few, yet alone practised.

The honest Prof. Vattimo has a special Hegelian exit strategy when backed into a corner when any person who tries to separate the ideas from the terminal terminological jargons , he shrugs his shoulders and states "dum-de-dum-de-dum-de-dum-D-Dum" with a great knowing look.Students of Philosophy immediately understand exactly what he means and begin scribbling with great passionate frowns as if having a eureka moment.

For a lecture on philosophy Gianni fast tracked todays talk and caught us on the hop by getting to the point early , we were snapped out of our nap after only 51 minutes.But once he got to the point it was well worth getting up for as what he had to say about the place of Heidegger to todays student is worth recounting.

In the main the Heidegger point of divergence with Husserl was over the role of impartiality over Being.Husserl was of the view that external property was the stronger component whilst Heidegger argued Being was central and perception was the reality even more pronounced than reality.

Though Heidegger did not cover himself with glory when he took advantage of the Wagner laws in the early 30s which expelled Jews in public positions , including "Jews" who had converted , to allow his predecessor Husserl to be unseated from his University Chair , and then taking up the position himself.This double-cross was compounded with the ever alert to the judgement of History , Heidegger , joining the Nazi Party.

Vatimmos point was this bizarre chain of "mistake" should not cloud the judgement of students to some important points Heidegger took Phenomenology into the field of aesthetics , though understandably was somewhat chastened in making overt political points.

According to Vatimmo todays student should be "understanding" if not forgiving to the "bizarreness" of 1933 , in order to get full value from Heidegger doctrine which had a sound base in religion and contained many aspects which need not be rejected wholesale.

It is on this predication that the sidelining of Heidegger allowed Sartre to take over for a spell.Sartre give the philosophy to Phenomenology an overtly atheistic slant with which Heidegger staunchly disagreed , leading it into a Camusian dead end.The religious base was lost and Phenomenology as we knew it petered out , giving over to a crass and lurid chauvinist doctrinal parody diatribe which is a brass anglo-saxon Atheism as expressed by the weird and unwonderful Dawkins and Hitchens.

And so Vattimos lecture concluded with the "End of" reality.He left off this lecture series with the birth of Post-Modernism , the concept of leaving off the big questions of life and enjoying culture and superficial arts.The only problem with that conclusion is , according to Terry Eagleton , Post-Modernism was dead in its infancy if not still-born in the first place.And so it seems Faith , if not religion has to make a comeback in Human Life , though preferably not with a generation of religious grounded philosophers who see value and progress in National Socialism.

THE SEAGULL by CHEKHOV at ORAN MOR

2010-06-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

The venue of these lunchtime plays with accompanying Pie ( Quiche if you are a veggie) and Pint ( Irn Bru or Ginger Ale or some other soft drink if you are a non-alky) is in the basement of an old converted church on the corner of great Western Road and Byres Road.

The inside resembles the description in The Tin Drum when Gunter Grass describes a club in post War Hamburg in which the patrons go in and are served with a Plate;a Knife and an Onion.They find a suitable spot in which to sit , cut the Onions with the knife and start bawling their eyes out.The Glasgow lunchtime audience are a little more discerning than that , sure they take a plate no problem , can even be entrusted with a knife ( and fork to boot for that matter) without to many messy mishaps , but a pie and a pint has definitely got to take the place of a raw onion before they will part with the money.

Where the creators of this entertainment really hit the mark is , and where they follow away from the Hamburg model , the copying of an idea that really kicked of in Dublin of having a play rather than self-induced bawling and the Central piece of gratifying entertainment.

Director of the Glasgow Lunchtime Theatre Company David MacLennan , a veteran of superb Glasgow Theatre companies 7:84 and Wildcat , as well as the MayFest Festival which helped put Glasgow on the International cultural map explains the History behind the gloriously successful project in the video below:

A real point of success for this project which has now well over 200 successful production under its belt is that is is not an amateurs charter for a superficial form of blase entertainment , but rather a high calibre quality showcase for the very best experimental work of Scotland finest cutting edge creative writers;actors;producers to put to the public work which has profound deep-meaning ful value in a setting away from the self-censorship they would be obliged to give themselves to win the kind of funding from the ever-increasingly corporate bodies which are not partial to highly radical and hard-hitting politicised social dramas which the creators would ideally like to bring to the mainstream Theatre Market.

Todays production was a superbly adapted , incredibly acted , stunning piece of drama of Chekhovs Seagull.The production captured all the humour of Chekhov which is sadly the first casualty of any translation without allowing any of the profound points and themes to be lost.A very delicate and superbly carried of undertaking.

Because of the very high standards of commissionment and actors this project attracts , a large part of the audience is from within the theatre industry which helps fuel an ever self sustaining cycle which makes the project not only successful in the fields of substance and quality of themes , but also a very welcome inducement for all the community of actors and public to continue providing and attending work which is ever pushing out the boundaries.

You can get more details of this wonderful project in their website.

GIANNI VATIMMO - BEYOND PHENOMENOLOGY

2010-06-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

Though the term was originally coined by Hegel , the philosophical template of the discipline of Phenomenology is a recent development devised just over a century ago by Husserl.It is quite important to map out the cultural and macro-national state of the first decade to put the background to the idea of phenomenology into perspective and to see how it developed for what is a short though explosive part of the Human Experience.

Firstly , Hegel has brought about the concept of "End of" into the lexicon of thought and its consequences in doctrinal and material worldwide application circles , this is important to bear in mind as it made philosophy and its acceptance and rejection the matter of the whole of mankind as opposed to a regional matter , this meant schemes hatched for World domination where not only achievable ,on paper at least , but the block powers competing for it would have to get a "doctrine" on their side to project the scheme as a civilisational and civilising force.In short the introduction of "End of" created the stage of the ideologies of "isms" , a clash of great doctrinal , as opposed to merely tribal , blocks with the power to change the world in their image clashing , sometimes to the death , to do so.

So with a stage like that set we had the works as far as ideologies and doctrines go , ranging from Science being brought in to justify slavery and colonialism , the development of varies hybrids of communism , the clash of Phrenology and Darwinism , crank pseudo-sciences ( such as the serious and respected branch of science called "niggerology" which enjoyed esteemed patronage and whose foremost practitioners were among the founders and first Heads of The Royal Anthropological Society) , as well as the early forerunners of modern day Banking and Capitalism in the form of Corporate entities with treasuries as big as some States , and the political clout in high circles to match.

With all these Doctrines for Universal domination being bandied about the concept of Phenomenology came about at a time when the current World Order of the time was beginning to buckle , The Ottoman Empire was listing ; Russia had a revolution in 1905 which didnt quite succeed but was a harbinger of the one that would a decade later ; The British Empire had reached its zenith but the cracks of over-stretch were clearly visible in the Boer war troubles in South Africa.

In the Germanic Heartlands , as Germany as we know was not to come about until later, the initial steps to find a "holding " doctrine to a Germanic Empire of the Spirit were being thought about with a belief , also shared by Marx and Engels , that Germany was ready to take of the reigns of Empire in the 20th century from the collapsing current World Order , but with better maintainable land Empire not dependent on supplies from overseas which can be disrupted by rebellious colonies in far of continents.This Empire , like the Roman , could technically be serviced by land forces not necessarily requiring a Navy , hence being more stable and easier to keep united with permanent access to resources.

With all these "World Domination" doctrines and philosophies using the Human Being as a mass Commodity , Husserls Phenomenology came at the time to take the swing of Foucault's philosophical pendulum back to the literal centre of Being.The process was to take the grand centre of Human thought from external doctrines to the Human understanding and perceptions.

According to Vatimmo , Phenomenology suffered when Heidegger made a catastrophic mistake of joining the Nazi Party ( quite a boob to make), and thereafter Sartre took the concept to an overt Atheistic trait.Recent developments have brought the concept back by getting it into a liberation-theological footing thus re-taking the Foucault's pendulum back not only to the Centre of Being but the centre of a Spiritual Being.Which is a good thing as the "End ofs" eminating from the Neo-Cons and their ideolgues are out in force and need to be challenged using arguments from the very Centre of the Spiritual Moral Being.

GIANNI VATIMMO GIFFORD LECTURE at GLASGOW UNIVERSITY

2010-06-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

Italian Professor and politician gave a lecture on the Tarski logistical proposition 'p' is True if and only if p.

Vatimmo is a politician who recently signed a petition by Academics requesting the EU to recognise and negotiate with Democratically elected Hamas.

Giannis best points were made in the political applications to the principle.He very astutely perceived that there is no such thing as thought in an absolute vacuum.Every Philosophy and Philosopher operates in paradigm which can be substantially different in historical base from even a near neighbour , for example the Anglo-Saxon Paradigm has a radically differing filter than the Mediterranean rim , whilst the Slav Paradigm is from a character which would be unrecognisable from the Celtic Paradigm.This means , even within a small regional area such as Europe we would have substantially altered constructs to the Tarski Principle from the experiences and inter-relations of these , sometimes barely compatible Paradigms.

As can be surmised from this , the Anglo-Saxon paradigm has been on the rise for the past Century.This construct has been a savagely imperialist , domineering , non-negotiating , expansionist Paradigm reflected in this decade alone with the "Coalition of The Willing" being an axis of the US-UK and Australia , which pushed through roughshod its programme against all other objections of all the other Paradigms put together to kick start the Neo-Con project by invading Iraq.Alas , the Iraqi resistance , an overt clash of paradigms if ever there is one , along with the Anglo-Saxon Economic Block recession has somewhat neutered , though not entirely extinguished this haughty phenomenon

US MILITARY BASES IN JAPAN Lecture by Mr.Daisuke Tsuchiya

2010-05-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

As the video introduction below explains the Japanese electorate gave a mandate to the present Government to go further than any other administration to address the highly controversial deployment of US Military Bases as stipulated by the post-War constitution which came out of the occupation after Japans defeat in World War II.

Mr. Daisuke Tsuchiya is officially designated as Deputy Director Japan Information and Cultural centre , Embassy of Japan ( London , UK).This makes him a quasi-diplomat and , by , previous experience in his career as translator to 3 past Japanese Prime Ministers as well as a delegate to negotiations with the US Military about a host of Japan Civil/US Military covenants a highly skilled and consummate , gifted , political mine-field operator.

Normally a lecture even broaching , yet alone titled , the highly delicate , and ever contentious topic of US Military bases on Japanese Sovereign territory would be one that The Japanese Embassy would not openly discuss in a public setting with an open question and answer session to clarify the concerns and position of the Government of Japan to this post War arrangement.

But the recent elected Government in Japan was elected on a platform to address the serious matters of the Japan/US Military arrangement and also to resolve long standing resentments in Japan about the Strategic value and Civil disruption of the US presence.

So it was most welcome to hear this informative lecture from an Official with insider knowledge and understanding of this delicate and touchy topic.

The first issue to the understanding of US Military Bases situation is the current constitution of Modern Japan written after the War and applied in 1950 with Article 9 stating a formal Military posture in which the US provides for the shortfall of the Japanese commitment to never engage in forward posture warfare , nor to have a large Airforce , nuclear capability or a Naval regional strength.This means Modern Japan is in a dependency constitutional relationship to have a permanent US Military presence on its soil regardless of popular domestic support or not.

From the US point of view the strategic importance of the Island of Okinawa is of infinite military and forward force projection value as it can house a massive Air and forward assault combat Marine component to police an area of immense political value in terms of future US leverage in South East Asia and China.

Okinawa house more US military than nearly all the other Bases in Japan combined as far as active forces ready to intervene at short notice is concerned.At points over 75% of the Island was in effect US sovereign soil as Base Agreements with Japan make Japanese Law inoperable , in most cases even crimes , sometimes violent crimes like rape , perpetrated by US personnel outwith the Base confines cannot be acted upon by Japanese Law enforcement without the express consent by the US Military.

Okinawa was the only portion of Japan which was occupied by the US during World War II , in a massive battle which yielded a quarter of a million casualties , including over 100,000 civilians.The US used the Island to bomb the Japanese mainland and retained the Island under its protectorate until 1972 , when it was finally handed back into formal Japanese sovereignty.

The conclusion of the talk was that though the present Japanese Government may be able to extract some concessions from the US , over superficial matters such as reduction of night-time flying and noise pollution protocols the US arrangement with Japan in terms of Military presence is more an extension of the defeat in World war II , than a mature Joint Covenant for the 21st Century.This was borne out by the extremely intelligent questions in the Q&A session in which , one, asked if Japan could not still honour the stipulations of Articles in its Constitution by having Joint Military protection agreements with some other powers than the US.There was no need to answer that question.

Another question which was tactfully played with a straight bat was , is the US Military presence in the region a stabilising factor between regional agreement or a catalyst for perpetual and ever rising tensions.

KEITH JAMES AND ANDEE AT THE RENFREW FERRY

2010-05-22T03:02:00.000-07:00

I advertised this concert to my Friend James , nice name for a Glaswegian , as "The Mother of All Understated Concerts" and he was not disappointed.In fact he loved it so much he bought 2 cds right after.

The video below gives an indication of the superbly crafted songs which Keith keeps alive form the days of Davy Graham and early John Martyn.

Keiths most notable contributions have been his project to set some of the finest Poems of Frederico Garcia Lorca to Music.He has acheived this with such accomplishment a critic from BBC Scotland declared " Lorca Lives!" when reviewing one of the 2 Albums which this glorious artistic project has provided.Keith has even gone to the trouble of translating some of the work of Lorca himself to bring the Poems of Lorca to a grateful Musical Public.

This album also has its own dedicated and website , the beauty of this wonderful project is that it was not a self-indulgence by Keith himself but a commissioned endeavour by the niece of Lorca (Laura Garcia Lorca) which was initially offered to Elvis Costello , but then ultimately given over to Keith who did not let the Family name down.
You can hear some tracks from the album in this description and feature page of Keiths own website.

The reason the Lorca Family were so happy to approach Keith was from the success of his first album on Lorca which generated a tour of over a 100 concerts and received great critical acclaim.You can hear some tracks from the Album , including a full length version of Diamond which Keith played at the Renfrew Ferry Concert.

The Musical celebrations of Lorca are very timely and apt , especially as Lorca himself composed Music for some Canciones himself and appreciated the instrumental accompanyment element of the written poetic word.

Jimmy is certainly looking forward to the next visit in Autumn , hopefully Keith will be able to perform some more songs from the Magical Lorca project.

BUFFALO BILLS WILD WEST SHOW IN GLASGOW LECTURE

2010-05-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

Academic and Writer Tom F. Cunningham gave a fascinating presentation of the Historic visits of the Famous Buffalo Bills Wild West Show to Glasgow in early 1890s and 1900s.

Firstly the myth of whether the legendary Indian Chief Sitting Bull attended was , literally , laid to rest.He died about an year prior to the Show first arriving in Glasgow.

The other mystery as to why a whole generation of Indian Chiefs would subject themselves to what may appear to be a humiliating climbdown in dignity of participating for casual public entertainment was cleared up.After the Battle/Massacre of Wounded Knee the leadership of the Indians were held as a form of captives bound over to keep the peace.With the alternative of continuing in Captivity in a closed Zone under the watchful eyes of US Marshalls or joining up with the scheme of being led by Buffalo Bill Cody to tour the US and Europe , the appeal to be part of a mobile captive unit was a preferable and strongly appealing option.

Cunningham has written a Book about the Wild West Shows connections with Glasgow.

One notorious connect between The Wild West show and Celtic is the new years day match in 1892 between Celtic and Dumbarton as was the tradition of having New Years games being kick-off by a celebrity attraction.Celtic ended up losing the match 0-8 , a record defeat for the club.

Glasgows reputation as an avid supporter of cultural and theatrical events was proved when the week spent by the Wild West Show in 1904 raised the biggest attendance of any venue outside the Shows major US centre of Chicago.

The video below is rare archive footage of the show taken from circa 1902.

Ultimately the novelty and appeal of The Wild West style shows began to ware off with the advent of Cinema and other forms of popular entertainment.

Sadly , Bill Cody got caught in a spiral of debt which he was never quite able to shake off , he passed away with a decent though dwindling fortune in 1917.

RAMALLAH at the MAYFESTO at the TRON THEATRE

2010-05-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

The Mayfesto Theatre Festival at the Tron is the first year of an enterprise advertising what it says on the Tin , namely, Global Issues.Personal Responses.Astonishing Theatre.

The video below is an introduction to this highly perceptive , engaging , intensive , absorbing programme of hard hitting Social and Humanitarian plays.As the introduction from the director suggests the Glasgow Theatre audience being amongst the best in the world is not merely a easy going platitude from a snug politician but rather an astute observation which explains why this City punches far above its weight in the Theatre and Cultural scene.

The first play was by the talented and highly rewarded playwright David Greig.He wrote a play in conjunction with the Palestinian Human Rights Lawyer Raja Shehadeh a few years back which won the coveted Amnesty International award for the best Human Rights play at the world renowned prestigious Edinburgh International Fringe.

David also delivered a play to coincide with the setting up of the Twinning of Falkirk with the beleaguered Palestinian community of Jayyous which has been torn apart from the Apartheid wall being built by Israel which has been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice which advises the UN on matters of International Law.This event was launched in conjunction of the Human Rights Advocacy body called The Scottish Friends of Palestine.

The play Ramallah is adapted by David Greig from the ward winning Book by his friend Raja which won the 2008 Orwell Prize for Literature.

The play is about a chance encounter by the character portraying Raja with an Israeli Settler.

The Middle play is by Italian Feminist Franca Rame called , unsubtly , An Arab Woman Speaks.Even the Scotsman Theatre critic is impressed with the passionate delivery of actress Cora Bissett.

The third play is again a piece by David Greig and brings a quality programme to a close by bringing the tensions of International Political struggles into the impact of close Family Relationships.

DIRTY OIL at the GFT

2010-05-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

Canada is the Worlds largest supplier of Oil to the US.
The US consumes 20 times more gasoline than the second biggest user.

A lot of cheaply extractable oil in Canada is Tar Oil , surface sand containing more oil than any other oil field outwith Saudi Arabia.A lot of it is located in the state of Alberta on land designated as reservations for local Native Indians.The Film explores the Health and pollution issues affecting the region with local concerns coming up against massive foreign corporate investment.

Surprisingly the Telegraph has given the documentary a generous well considered review.

As a counter-balance the Riz Khan Programme on Al Jazeera has a multi-part documentary giving a corporate orientated geo-political energy reserve scholar that gives very illuminating macro-political views which so disconcertingly little regard to the long term plight of the most affected communities on the ground which have to suffer and deal with the long term health implications of the massive extraction process.

THE GLASS MENAGERIE by TENNESSEE WILLIAMS at the CITIZENS

2010-04-28T03:26:00.000-07:00

This quality Family Drama from Tennessee Williams captures the early magic that was to go into his later classics A Streetcar Named Desire ; A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Night of The Iguana yet also tellingly prefigures the tragedy which was to end the life of Williams as a neglected , forsaken alcoholic ebbing his last lonely days in a Hotel Room in New York.

The opening speech of the play captures the role of the dramatist "Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion."

The play was written during the second World War when Williams was contracted to write material for a film studio though it harkens back to his personal family experience in the depression laden 30s.

The pay is produced by the innovative production company Shared Experience who are working on a re-working of a 2005 production of the Famous Bronte Sisters.

This video gives a small taste of the brilliantly directed stage tensions.

Here is a highly illuminating interview with the director Polly Teale , in which she poignantly identifies the play as a Love Letter by Williams to his Sister , who ended up being given a state directed lobotomy in very unenlightened times when such an operation was considered a progressive option , Tennessee had a close loving bond with his Sister and a lot of his personal battles with alcohol and drugs are said to emanate from concern and guilt of her welfare.

THE HABIT OF ART by ALAN BENNETT at GFT

2010-04-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

There was a unique opportunity to see one of the years best theatre events at a local venue near your home , which is a good thing seen as the play is completely sold out for the entire first and second extended runs.

Many venues throughout the world gave a live performance of Alan Bennetts new completely sold out highly regarded and critically acclaimed play based on the life of Auden and Britten called The Habit of Art.

I was very vary of how a live theatre event can be broadcast onto a celluloid format without looking a laboured parody of a scintillating three-dimensional electricity you feel when at the Theatre.But this format was absolutely brilliant , you get a view from a front row perspective with the added delight of the cameras honing in and out the action on the stage to capture close up subtle facial expressions.This show was so good i would have no hesitation whatsoever to go and see a version of Hamlet ,which should be due out later in the season.

As for the play itself Critics have been falling over themselves to give it glowing triumphant reviews.Even the usherettes in the cinema were transfixed by the supreme quality of wit and perception showing the Full Majesty's of Alan Bennetts remarkable talent to speak in entirely subconscious subliminal understated manners things that ultimately brand , in a positive way , ones thinking for life.A Master at his Masterful Best.

The best review comes from the Telegraph , which captures the humble panache which is Bennett at his very best

You can get a review from the normally hard to impress Guardian critic and here is one from the Observer which touches on some of the humour element.

What all the reviews fail to mention is how funny the play is , it is like the very best of Blackadder and Fawlty Towers , with a touch of the Producers ( Springtime for Hitler) all rolled into one.

Alan Bennett has that extra special quality to make the audience laugh and be so entertained at the time , that it is only much later they realise they have been imparted a profound philosophical education without even noticing.Bennett is also a Person of Integrity , shunning new years honours from the establishment ,which the Acting Worlds other better members pant after like desperate dogs , twice.His proudest patronage being a lifetime Patron membership of the National Gallery , which allows him to visit the collection out of hours with private Friends.

Here is a small video about the production from one of the cast:

Here is an article by Alan Bennett himself wrote in 2007 when he was working on the play.It shows just how much research goes into a work we , the audience, watch with casual attention.

THE CHERRY ORCHARD by CHEKHOV at EASTWOOD PARK THEATRE

2010-04-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

Though i have walked past it on many occasions over the years this was my first visit to the intriguingly located Eastwood Park Theatre.It is set in a complex of newish buildings which also house a large swimming pool as well as the council and administrative offices for the district , all set within the grounds of a attractive park with lush flora with a country like expansive feel.

The play itself was completed in the final year of Chekhovs life , though he had intermittently written it in good periods and bad ones as Russian Society fluctuated between high points and low from the period of the initial emancipation of the Serfs to the period just prior to the great revolution of 1905 , he was weighed down by personal and social strife as well as illness.The plays is a kind of testimonial to characters which have appeared throughout his work , and a commemoration to the era from which the future is uncertain yet a return impossible and not desirable.A tension between realistic reform and the crashing momentum of snowballing change gives the play the effect of comedy laced with deep tragedy which shocked Chekhov when he saw it performed in Moscow as veering far to much towards the latter to be almost unrecognisable from the balance he was trying to capture.

Since then versions have either gone from one to the other , only rarely getting the mixture right.

The cast which performed the play were a good wholesome mixture of young and old and did justice to the work by not going for too much background symbolism , for example the cherry orchard is never seen , and letting the dialogue take the fore.

THE MINISTRY OF FEAR at the CITIZENS THEATRE

2010-04-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

This play is based on the wartime novel by Grahame Green.Green was part of a clutch of left of Centre establishment writers who became devout and orthodox Catholics as a result of experiences during the War.It was an odd choice for fairly libertarian spirits in view of the Pope during the War having links to the main players of Fascism.

Here is a fairly accurate though ungenerous review from the Guardian critic.Revisiting a Grahame Green Novel for theatrical inspiration can never be pointless.

JAMES at EDINBURGH CORN EXCHANGE

2010-04-06T05:41:00.000-07:00

James are not to be confused with other groups from decades back which are ambling and shuffling like glorified reality tribute bands trading on tired versions of a dated though romantically nostalgic back catalogue.

James are a blistering ; dynamic;active ; current live band with everything to offer and much to deliver in the present and future to add to the already well earned legendary status.

All the band members are highly fit , giving the impression they have never been away nor yet their best days are still not stretched before them with more live well thought out sophisticated musical statements to be made.

The videos on youtube just do not come close to doing justice of the power and energy of a live James performance.

Standouts among many highlights were Lullaby and Destiny Calling.The new material stood admirably up to the test of the classics and only unfamiliarity rather than lack of quality was a giveaway.

The newcomers as well as veterans in the crowd were given a wondrous time and none left disappointed , though all went with a vow to come back when James are anywhere near the vicinity.

The real secret of James lasting appeal is that they do not over-stretch themselves by doing venues which may be a little too big to accommodate a winning combination of quality stadium rock with the intimacy of a old fashioned rock club environment.This means fans young and old get memorable festival heyday gig performances in venues most stadium rockers would not normally consider.That is not to say they cannot handle festival gigs of which they have some planned in the summer.

THREE SISTERS by CHEKHOV at the CITIZENS THEATRE

2010-04-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

Chekhov wrote this play at the end turn of the 19th Century , living in Yalta , suffering from Chronic dilapidating ill health and contemplating marriage , though more in the form of acceptance of a sentence than the crowning flowering of a wonderful longterm match.

The theme is loosely based on the experiences of the Bronte Sisters , the eternal yearning to escape the suffocating restricting stultifying provincial air and escape to the Moscow of youth and promise pervades the whole drama.

This mature and understanding article captures the difficult balancing act any current performance of the play has to contend with in order to portray the hopeless constraints felt by the Sisters , yet to also give hope and vision to the audience that a societal wayout is to be found if there is a will to search for it by understanding and active pursuance to better oneself and those around them.

The first half of the performance does not give hope the deadening lead weight of the former criterion can come even close to transcending the difficult brief , but the second half is a masterful triumph with the scenes which feature the Sisters themselves without too many supporting encumbrances being very powerful moments well worth the early suffering.

Here the producers gives an insight into the background of this worthwhile staging:

And in keeping with the talented student theme here is an exquisite Life of Chekhov in less then 4 minutes video from an excellent 8th grade school project :

GERMAINE GREER at Ayewrite

2010-03-23T08:49:00.001-07:00

First things first , Germaine Greer can be best understood , and her vast experience imparted and listened too , when we realise she is not a feminist as such , she was in her time an advocate for sexual liberation , and later an inspiring passionate supporter of Human liberation ( including a keen supporter of aboriginal rights in her native Australia as well as a current Patron of the UK Palestine Solidarity Campaign.This means she was never a dogmatic ideologue , but rather a pragmatic loyal champion of genuine equality.

This is the 40th anniversary of the publication of The Female Eunuch.Germaine has , on and off , been involved in some or other anniversaries ( 10 years ; 15 years etc), she claims they seem to last about 3 years.

Germaine had a very deeply impactual and profound message for the Woman in the audience , a generation of which says she is very proud and regards as constituting the best generation of Woman in Human history.

Her talk asked so many questions it will take those in attendance the best part a couple of decades to correctly formulate them , yet alone begin to give telling answers.It was one of the most stimulating , yet humbling , experiences ive had.

Here Germaine gives the Winifred Mercier public lecture to a packed Gandhi Hall in Leeds , with special empathise on the role of Woman in Teaching.

A very telling message Germaine gave in the Glasgow talk was to pose to the audience if the rights of the last 40 years have been won by the efforts of Woman and their backers or have been GRANTED by the elite powers that be for their own agendas , namely , giving Woman the right to work when a large cheap workforce was required;giving Woman access to contraception when it was convenient for society to have less woman missing out on work ; giving woman the right to run for high office when corporate interests had the agenda bagged.And finally , what some imperceptive feminists regard as the supreme triumph , giving Woman a chance to have children , by artificial means , when Men do not want any responsibility for the care and support of Children and Mothers , in a sense they can have Children , but they are on their own.

TRISTRAM HUNT at Mitchell Library

2010-03-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

This event at the Ayewrite festival was in the Burns Room in the older victorian part of the library.It was fitting for a historian who has just written a biography of Engels to give his lecture of a man who was part of the duo who examined and analysed the potential extrapolation of the experience of life in industrialising Europe into a model for revolutionary change.

Engels came to Manchester to work in his fathers Family Cotton Business from Germany as many intellectuals theorised the great proletarian revolution would tale place in the northern workshops of England , it was also ideal as he was close to being incarcerated if he kept up his ideals and thoughts in the current climate in Germany, he also wanted to chronicle and catalogue what may happen in order to enliven his understanding for what would ultimately happen in continental Europe , mainly present day Germany.

Marx and Engels really wrote about , and expected , the great revolution to take place in the hodge podge that was more or less todays Germany , even in the 1890s when Engels was given his last pronouncements he would have been most surprised if a revolution of the type he envisaged was to happen in agrarian Russia.Even when the Bolsheviks took control in Russia Lenin and especially Trotsky still considered Germany to be the heartland for a true long lived Communist revolution and were urging the politburo to agitate and assemble a military force to assist and support the German proletariat.

One odd feature among many of the Marx and Engels critique was their view on the traditional Family. . Not surprising seen as Engels the class ridden combo of one "presentable" wife for his high society Friends ,with whom he got on well , and the mistress in a lovenest elsewhere in the city for his equality delights.

Engels , like Trotsky , enjoyed a bit of hunting and enjoyed his membership of the local hunt a great deal.One of his enduring passions was Fox Hunting.

In the end Engels was to be disappointed when the Manchester population he had carefully documented were given a chance to state their aspirations for their class and send a signal to the ruling masters.They ended up voting for the upper class Tory party candidates because of their bigotry and rivalry against the catholic Irish poor workers as opposed to recognising a common comradely plight and affinity with , if they read their Engels , follow working class brethren.

Engels used a great deal of his wealth to more or less permanently fund and subsidise Marx , ultimately moving to London to be near his dear Friend.

TARIQ ALI at AYEWRITE

2010-03-13T01:04:00.000-08:00

When asked straight up his opinion about the Obama Administration he said Obama is at the end of the day the head of an Empire like Rome , it is a matter of nuance whether he is a Caligula or Augustus.

Obamas variance with Senator Cain was a choice of War with Iran or a double-up play with a War in Afghanistan being extended into Pakistan , a population ten times the size of Iraq and at least three times that of Iran.John Major , hardly a diehard lefty , categorically stated a while back the British have suffered a long second in two wars in the region and are hardly likely to do much better this time round with less logistical backup.

Obama gave a clear intention of the way he means to go on when the first strikes of unmanned rockets into Pakistani territory ( which have had a 99% success rate in killing innocent civilians ) were fired barley 24 hours into his taking the oath of presidency.Meaning he did not even go through a semblance of a motion to having a stocking taking audit of the effectiveness for this highly inflammatory as well as controversially diminishing return crude tactic.

Here Tariq Ali gives a first balance sheet forensic audit for the first months of the Barack Presidency.

MICHAEL MANSFIELD at AYEWRITE

2010-03-13T00:54:00.000-08:00

Our old pal Ruth Wishart made the perfect introduction " Michael Mansfield is a man who threatens to give the legal profession a good name".

Michael Mansfield is a radical lawyer in the true sense of the word , seeking to go to the very roots of an issue in not only a technical legal sense but also in a philosophical moral justice manner.

He talked about many cases of injustice he has helped to resolve including the Birmingham 6 ; Lawrence;Belmarsh and the Bloody Sunday enquiry.

His basic theme of the talk was the politicians have failed in their duty ; the law profession as a whole has failed to protect the citizens rights and the only way you can get justice is to demand it yourself in an individual and collective manner.

Michael expressed a sentiment that the UK electorate would vote in such a manner as to give no one particular political party a clear mandate in the next upcoming General Election.

He cited two extraordinary examples of the state of play in the field of legal and political redress which have slipped under the radar of the medias duty to inform the public , the first is only 4% of trials today are conducted by jury , the other 96% are completely non-jury affairs and the other was the passing of the Enquiries Act in the mid-2000s which mean enquiries like the Chilcott enquiry into the Iraq war can only be commissioned by the Prime Minister who can solely decide on the need for one ;parameters of the enquiry ; how far it can go ; and who Chairs it.

Here you can see the interview Michael Mansfield done for the BBCs Hardtalk programme.

And here is a quite remarkable must hear talk by Michael Mansfield on the harrowing ongoing plight of the Palestinians: ( it comes in 5 parts)

GODS HOUSE: MUSLIMS WHO SAVED JEWS DURING WWII

2010-03-08T10:20:00.000-08:00

When the Nazis occupied Albania in 1943, not a single Jew was betrayed by its mostly Muslim citizens.

A remarkable achievement when we compare the records of France;Lithuania;Hungary and many other European nations.

This clip below shows as much heart-warming heroism as you can fit into 4 minutes.

"Whats unique about Albania in particular , there are more Jews alive after World War 11 in Albania than before World war 11 , there is no evidence of any Jew being turned over to the Nazis" so says Jewish film-maker Norman Gershman explains more about a story of Heroism you wont find in the mainstream media.

The article also highlights the role played by Turkey in facilitating the escape of 100,000 Jews from Nazi Persecution.

The Article also reveals some of the hypocritic machinations of US Zionist diehard organisations showing they are adept at moral gymnastics in favouring Israel over and above the Jewish Diaspora.

This film showing was preceded by The Imam and The Pastor , a tale of two former rivals who have become a model for peace and reconciliation in the troubled former colonial parts which form the troubled Heart of Nigeria.

You can catch a portion of the tale of forgiveness conquering fuelled rancour in the clip below:

These Shows were put together as part of the Salaam Scottish Film Festival.

PAUL PRESTON at AYEWRITE

2010-03-07T06:23:00.000-08:00

Paul Preston is the foremost and highly respected Historian on the Spanish Civil War.His take on the History of the Region is that the Spanish Peninsula was a platform on which failing older empires and the newer protagonists tested each others nerve.It came in three types of segment.The British and French imposed an arms embargo which clearly favoured Francos Army in the guise of non-interference in Spanish Internal Affairs , Fascist Mussolini and Hitler saw how far they could get away with without appeasement turning to a genuine effort to stop Fascist expansion ( the reason for this was Britain had a hopelessly unprepared military which would not be in any form of fighting shape , it would not be ready until 1940 whilst France was in heavy debt), and the Soviet Union tried to see if it could get a foothold in Western Europe.The Catholic Church did not miss out on the act by declaring Francos crusade as legitimate cleansing.None of these external powers had Spains best interests at heart.Preston rightly concludes that the reconquest of Spain by Francos military coup against a democratic government undermined by so-called extreme socialist partners was the first Battle of WW11 , the loss of which to the Fascists ushered in the World war which may have been prevented earlier.

Preston expressed a fear , though only shared by a minority of the sell out audience , that the History of Spain may turn out to be a "dead" history like the French Revolution of 1789 rather than a living lesson which should serve as a beacon and warning to the pitfalls which yield fascist tendencies and the rise of the hard core right.

Preston regards journalism as the first draft of History , with the the supreme responsibilities this entails on the profession , and has recently written a Book on the legacy of foreign Spanish War correspondents.

The reason Preston gives for the alleged British dominance in the field of Spanish Civil War History , even though some 20,000 or more Books have been published about the Civil War by Spaniards , though most cover regions and single towns experiences rather than an overview of the whole experience and its consequences is the British Historian is free to specialise in foreign History without having to first graduate in a "national" "official" history which is not always the case on the Continent , this means they can access archives and come to conclusions which local Historians would find difficult to get past inhouse self-censorship.

One extremely important point Paul made was on the issue of objectivity in Journalism and consequentially History that should be well learned by the BBC with their absurd Gaza Charity Appeal debacle as well other other newsfeed managers.He quoted Martha Gellhorn , the poor broad who was Hemmingways girlfriend and 3rd wife ,As a journalist she abhorred what she referred to as "objective bullshit", believing that there was a right and wrong side to every conflict, and that it was her job to separate the bastards from the decent people.

MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE at the CITIZENS THEATRE

2010-03-05T12:29:00.000-08:00

When first performed in London , zionists being zionists made a crude , and highly illuminating , show of attempting to rubbish the memory of courageous Human Rights Peace Activist Rachel Corrie , at best they called her a naive dupe , at worst an aiding and abetting supporter of Terrorism.There efforts came to little avail because they merely generated more publicity and a greater general interest in the public mind to find out why the Israeli State and Military would wish to murder an innocent unarmed American Girl in cold blood.The Israelis may have wrongfully killed Rachel but they failed to kill her Humanity and , especially the heartfelt message she wished to convey to her community at home as well as the World at Large.They killed her body only to waken her memory , as the play title suggests all who are interested in politics and Human Rights now know her name thanks to Israeli Brutality.

I had tickets to see the London and Broadway highly acclaimed play at the Edinburgh fringe festival about 3 years ago but due to a slight misunderstanding over the 24 hour clock , which i blame on the info the ticket seller gave me , but my accompanying Friends on that humiliating excursion put down to a touch of Non Compos Mentis on my part.The net result was we arrived confidently at the venue when the audience was streaming out.And so it took all this time to finally see it , getting the embarrassing episode out my system.

The production is a superbly produced affair about a remarkable person in an extraordinary situation.It is an intense and emotionally charged testimony that will be a veritable charge sheet of the crimes of the Israeli Army and State in the court of Providence and Opinion of future generations.It is all the more Powerful in that it is told by an Ordinary American Girl in the language which every household there can readily relate to.

Here is the Directors view of the production:

Watching it makes it hard to believe the Actress is making her debut in a One Woman Play.The Performance is quite brilliant , taking the audience in hand and spiritualising them to the truth in hand , in a way Oscar Wilde would have understood when he praises the virtues of the Theatre Actress to the character Dorian Gray in thew short story of that name.Here she explains the process of playing Rachel and what the portrayal meant to her:

You can get the background of Rachels life and the legacy of her passing in this excellent website representing the Rachel Corrie Foundation set up in her memory and honour.

When the Israelis killed Rachel they did not realise this cruel and outrageous act would bring the American Consciousness to Life.

Here is the irrepressible and compassionate Alice Walker doing a tribute reading of some of the sensitive and deeply moving journal entries made by Rachel before her being Killed by Israelis using US Corporate made Machinery:

Here are some more of the journal entries which make up a good portion of the play.

Here is a moving emotional tribute poem to the life Rachel choose:

TERRY EAGLETON GIFFORD LECTURE : THE GOD DEBATE

2010-03-04T07:22:00.000-08:00

According to the official Gifford Lecture website "The prestigious Gifford Lectureships were established by Adam Lord Gifford (1820–1887), a senator of the College of Justice in Scotland. The purpose of Lord Gifford's bequest to the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, St. Andrews and Aberdeen was to sponsor lectures to “promote and diffuse the study of Natural Theology in the widest sense of the term—in other words, the knowledge of God”."

For over a century the Gifford legacy has attracted genuine world class masters in their fields to give lectures free of charge for ant member of the public interested and able to register in a timely fashion.I first became aware of this kind hearted enterprise when Noam Chomsky came to lecture a few years back.

The lectures are offered by the 4 older universities in Scotland and Terry Eagleton gave a fascinating lecture as part of the famous Gifford Lecture series at Edinburgh University entitled the “The God Debate”.It perceptive ; amusing and eloquent debunking of the most dangerous religion on the planet – Atheist Fundamentalism , and especially its chief high priests Dawkins and Hitchens.

Right from the off Eagleton identifies a spurious " have you seen the yeti , if not it doesnt exist" almost zealot driven deeply polemic agenda espoused by Ditchkins ( as Eagleton lumps the duo).Whilst Dawkins seems to be driven from the perpective that God , rather than he , is the centre of attention , Hitchens is a decidedly pernicious concoction aligned with the neo-con agenda trying a masquerade as a great universal leftist civilising cause.Hitchins goes further than Dawkins in having an objection to Faith itself as a Human Condition.

Very early he puts Atheist pin-up Saint in his place in this review.

In the case of Hitchens one can also add Levy and a plethora of French leftists to this list.

The common link seems to be a Colonial attitude that European ideals are supreme , all others are deemed inferior;null and void.

It is something Bolivar identified nearly 200 years ago , and something Edward said commented upon when analysing the “leftness” of the likes of H.G.Wells and others who had no strong objection to European states maintaining empires.

Most certainly an ambivalence to Empires and/or colonies is a fundamental continuum that the Left has not been able to shake off.

Here is Eagleton giving a Lecture on The God Debate in the US a couple of years back:

At the very core of the problem is the acceptance that the state concept as developed in Europe is a workable model rather than something to be utterly rejected as an imperial project.The history of states in Europe itself has been a disaster since the early 1820s onwards , and has only been partially cured by the EU which became a region of rights rather than a state as such.

In the former Soviet republics, the middle east, the sub-continent, africa and even central america states were specifically designed to engender lack of cohesion and dependency on an outside power.

The acceptance of the state as a model that can be worked with means the Left can either be three things

1) Utterly ineffective and marginalised
2) Guilty of trying to export a failed revolution
3) Become cheerleaders for neocon projects using spurious Humanitarian and “progressive” arguments.

The ultimate flailing failing of Ditchkins , according to Eagleton is they have turned the debate into a clash of dogmas rather than a serious discussion on Faith as a Human Condition that has much to teach to the ultimate long term benefit of all.

NANKING CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH

2010-02-26T07:51:00.000-08:00

This film had been rejected for the Venice and Cannes Film Festivals , it suddenly burst into a deserved popularity when it won a top honour in the San Sebastian Film Festival.

The issue of the Nanking Massacres is hotly contested in Japan and academia there has sullied itself by coming up with denials which border on the desperation we see in Europe from some holocaust denying apologists and latterly champions of Israeli military actions in Lebanon and Gaza.It is a profoundly disconcerting phenomenon when Zionists are reduced to espousing re-hashed tired discredited excuses used by Nazis and the Japanese Imperial Army to justify their unspeakable actions against civilians as well as medical and food distribution infrastructures.

From a film-making point of view the subject has been hard to portray as it is still seen as a national humiliations within China , and a brutally painful reminder to how exposed was the fate of China to external machinations of foreign powers, at the turn of the 19th Century China was under the yoke of military occupations from over a dozen nations , as well as civil wars among the imploding old ruling dynastic groupings, not to mention an unhealed long-running festering wound because it has never been recognised by Japan or the International community at large in the same way that Germany have been made to atone for the actions of the Nazi rule.

You can see the trailer of the film below , it formally comes out in late March and April.

One of the main stumbling blocks which prevent Japan to even accept the massacres today , and the West to side with China in this issue stems from the fact that the Japanese Imperial Army at the time of the rape of Nanking was commanded overall by Price Asaka , not only the relative of Emperor Hirohito , but directly appointed by him to take command of the Army as it prepared to take Nanking in 1937.When the war was over and Japan signed the unconditional surrender to the US , Emperor Hirohito and his relatives , including Prince Asaka were give full immunity from prosecution as well as given the right to remain as Emperor for the sake of continued stability as post -war Japan was brought in the the US orbit.It stems from this that for Japan to admit , or recognise the crimes of Nanking will be tantamount to accusing the current Emperor through his ancestors of war crimes worthy of appearing in court , even though the Emperor in 1937 had signed a declaration stripping all Chinese from the protection of International treaties to which Japan may be liable.From the side of the West it would be seen as abandoning modern Japan and siding with Communist China if they openly recognise the Nanking massacres and put any undue pressure for Japan to accept and play its part in rectifying past wrongs.

The film can be viewed in its entirety on youtube , see this link.
If you look at the Nanking massacre information on the internet you will be taken aback by the many entries from the Japan media side which do not recognise any undue killings over and above military operational casualties , In fact the whole period in Japan is only referred as the Nanking INCIDENT.

It is in this background one must appreciate the unique achievement of making this film at all.It has drawn condemnation within China for giving a Human Face to some of the Japanese soldiers , the reaction from Japan has been a massive propaganda exercise to put doubt on and nullify any evidence China has garnered and put in the public domain.The best evidence from International investigations is that the Chinese total of 300,000 killed by the Japanese Imperial Army is not far of the mark , certainly nowhere near the numbers claimed by some Japanese commentators today of less than 40,000 which are disrespectful to the memory of those killed as well as being academically deeply insulting.

Here is a particularly moving scene , as well as extraordinarily brilliant cinematic direction.It begins with the Japanese hero shooting a woman in the form of a mercy killing at her own request , you have to recall this is as good a bout of heroism a member of the Japanese Imperial Army during the reducing of a enemy city can be likely to display.Then we have the triumphant Victory March of the victorious Imperial Army through the devastated streets of Nanking looked upon by the few living relatives of those killed by the thousands, todays equivalent would like the British Army doing a victory parade in the streets of Derry accompanied by the Orange order to celebrate the Derry massacre.

CAPITALISM A LOVE STORY at the GFT

2010-02-25T08:24:00.001-08:00

From the very beginning Michael Moore asks the question - Is Capitalism evil , a host of life experiences after , general considerations of the administrators in the game and testimonies from Religious authorities later he comes up with the obvious answer that the original question is a rhetorical one.And whats more , there is not much counter-argument you can make to his premise.

This moving film is based mainly on the experience of capitalism as it affects People within in United States , it does not even begin to explore what keeping the only world superpower at the top of the tree means in terms of overseas interference and military actions , apart from a telling reminder that capitalism needs to completely obliterate other rivals industrial base once in a while to keep up differentials.

The Guardian Newspaper has an excellent and highly thoughtful review from the opening night at the Venice Film Festival.

Michael Moore also gave a deep and interesting interview on the film and its themes for the alternative internet news channel Democracy Now.It comes in five parts and is very worthwhile to watch and learn..In it he gives out harrowing figures such as a repossession notice goes out every 7 seconds in the US today , and the vast majority of repossessions are due to People being unable to make medical care payments.He also discusses his deeply held religious faith and principles.

And below is a trailer which only skims the very surface of a brilliantly crafted and deeply searching film.

JAMES EARL JONES in Conversation at the GFT

2010-02-23T03:11:00.000-08:00

James Earl Jones was very kind to grace us on his day off from a London production in which he is starring in a version of Cat On a Hot Tin Roof.

James had the experience of playing the stage role , for which he won a grammy award , for the play The Great White Hope into a film version.He found the transition from the stage to celluloid strips the performance of the poetry you get in the theatre but does not translate to the screen.The stage is the place where the bond between performer is alive and all there.

He has been a powerful Shakespearean actor for many decades and would be one of the most qualified to judge the role of Othello.His take on it is the Woman who have directed the many productions he has acted in have come up with the best results in that they have a deeper understanding of the conflicts of Desdemona which most Men see as trifling superficial concerns.

He started life being a stammerer and a mute , an astonishing beginning for someone who has the most famous voice in film history.To him this is not unusual as strengthening the weakest muscle often results in the very weakpoint becoming the strongest dedicated worked on component.

The video below tells of the details of his upbringing:

The advice he had for People who suffer stagefright in that it is there to assist you and not trip you up.Over time such a naturally recurring condition will help to re-focus one into giving richly satisfying performances.

Below is a reading from his best role Othello:

AMERICAN THE BILL HICKS STORY at the GFT

2010-02-21T03:59:00.000-08:00

Bill Hicks draw and appeal many years after he died can be can be summed up in the fact this screening of a British made documentary was completely sold out.Im glad i managed to get tickets quite a while beforehand.

Like many Jazz and Blues Singers of previous generations , Bills art was so far ahead of what the American mainstream could palate that is was more valued and understood in Britain than the States.The British quite simply got him, having seen the success and failings of Empire and knowing victory does not last forever and crippling defeat is sure to come.

A true comedian is really a philosopher as opposed to a gagteller , the role of a comedian in our society is to tell the truth politicians do not want the public to realise.

Bill , after many adventures , reached a special boundary a genuine true artist reaches when the inner self is at communion with the external expression.He was in , as they say , the zone at a time when the country to which he had the patriotic duty to tell the basic truths , which are always universal and last forever , was not prepared to countenance or even listen.

This documentary is , ironically , an attempt by devoted British filmmakers to make Bill Hicks as big and respected a figure in the US as he is here.

After the showing there was a Q&A session with the filmmakers who stated the film was eventually whittled down to a manageable length from over 325 hours of taped video interviews.

One final late tribute to Bill Hicks was when the one show that gave a mainstream platform but then unfairly cut his set because they felt is was too much for the audience to handle made a very belated amends by airing , 15 years too late , the very sketch that was cut.In a way it is an emotional reminder to how much Bills legacy has pierced the mainstream and also how much the demand for the alternative non-establishment narrative the American Public craves has changed what the Big channels are willing to broadcast.

It comes in 3 parts:

THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR by GOGOL

2010-02-15T03:55:00.000-08:00

A quite brilliantly adapted and directed performance of a play that has been making audiences laugh , and directors getting shot , as happen to one by Stalin during 1940 , for over a 170 years.

The supreme quality of this play is that is captures universal Human traits.
The play has a unique place in the cannon of the dramatic arts as it was the first expression of a trend in which there is no specific central love interest and there are no heroic virtuous characters.

This is why the brilliant direction of Gerry Mulgrew can have individuals playing with familiar regional dialects , like the geordie one of the health commissioner , to give the audience more ownership of the sentiments of the play yet be still true to the ageless universality of the greedy power lust of the characters portrayed.

A PROPHET at the GFT

2010-02-06T06:18:00.000-08:00

This superb piece of quality dramatic theatre put on celluloid will keep French filmmaking , if not the whole of Europe going for a couple of decades at least.Already it has heightened the reputation of the ability for non-US cinema to produce excellent quality scripts allied with faultless matching behind the camera production and all -round technical expertise.On the back of this one film many European based film makers should have the confidence to see projects they could only dream about come to a miraculous profound fruition.

The film has rightly garnered a host of top awards and the debut performance of lead actor Tahar Raham is , albeit ironic considering the title of the film, a revelation.

You can see a trailer of the film below:

Reviews have followed almost a political line with those finding the theme that Europes 2nd and 3rd generation Muslims can find salvation by going back to their Islamic roots finding much of the film to be unbelievable and unimpressive, and those who see a less dogmatic way of resolving social issues seeing much heartwarming redemption.

You can also see the website for the film , it true French style the headers appear at the bottom of the page.

KIDS OF TODAY

2010-01-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Zainab.
She now speaks excellent English and is also an accomplished French Speaker.
As you can see she has also learned to drive , both vehicles on the road and Adults up the wall.

Zoha has also started to perfect her assertiveness talents and is on the brink of graduating from teeny weeny Finishing School.

ANGUISH WITH POSIE at the TRON

2010-01-22T04:20:00.000-08:00

One of the side-effects of seeing so many International and World Class events is that one forms a very low tolerance to shite.This can come across as arrogance , but is genuinely a capacity to unappreciate works that are not trying hard enough to get their points across.There is nothing more disrespectful to an audience than perceived lack of effort.

Therefore a "blind date" visit to the theatre can turn out a be quite a dicey experience , if the effort is there you can enjoy a work without in any way being taken by the point it makes , but to know you have been respected and invited to take the stimulation challenge by the work is something one is grateful for.At the very least you know the point of "The Other" is a valid one from their perspective and should be a considered input when you are trying to understand a situation as part of a whole and not a partisan angel bordering on dogma.

Before the play i had a meal in Bar Cosshack , a very nice and filling salmon dish of the highest calibre.It will now become my default pre-Tron theatre visit eatery.

The play was a short notice " i have spare ticket" invite which i duly took up.It was a very pleasant and over-neat glorified theatre workshop affair which i enjoyed a great deal.A very nice performance from Nicola Daley and a low key "mind on other things" by Ian Macpherson.

In the event we got what may be euphemistically be describes as a lighthearted in the moment entertainment for an evening.I have to admit i am a man of profoundness and like works that can last in the psyche a little longer than an evening.

Overall a good night out with a plot which could go a lot further in breadth and scope.

MARK THOMAS at the GLASGOW STAND

2010-01-19T07:43:00.000-08:00

I only found out about this appearance when i was doodling around and came across the date in his website.The stand website said it was SOLD OUT but trying Telephoning on the off chance.By the off chance i managed to get 2 tickets so so did my friend James.

Mark was on excellent form using a similar , though entirely freshened up , format to his edinburgh festival appearances last year.He said his next tour will be based on his trip to the West Bank which should bring mark back from the current project to the sharp-shooting sabre-rattling very best satire with a deep political cutting edge.

Here are two examples of what he really does better than the rest , and what he will be returning to.

And this extra special performance that puts the Zionists in their colonial place in no uncertain terms.

THE ROAD at the GFT

2010-01-09T05:36:00.000-08:00

The Film version of Cormac McCarthys apocalyptic , though hopeful novel was always going to be a difficult and intriguing challenge.The real crux would be if the film is tempted to give a greater role to the woman ( mother) than the barely one sentence in the original novel.When Charlize Theron was slotted for the role things did not look too good at all on that front.But , in the end , the appearances of the woman are very well done in the form of Proust like flashbacks triggered by the odd object bringing back a flood of touching recollections of happier times.If anything the film gives a value added element to one aspect of the Book which appeared to be weak in the novel.namely that the Mother , a little like Ma Joad , would probably take the lead role in bringing the Family out of crisis and into safety physically and emotionally intact.

A very worthy film in which hope triumphs over the complete devastation brought on by artificial social engineering.

It is also a reminder , especially in these economic climate times, that the state and civilisation in general may not be up to the task of giving welfare from cradle to grave , if anything they may destroy more than they create , but the old fashioned values and institutions like the Family will always be there to pick up the pieces from collapsed civilisations.

Star Viggo Mortenson also runs a very progressive publishing and art project that promotes young social justice orientated writers publish relevant far reaching work that would struggle to surface in mainstream corporate publishing circles.

SIMPLE MINDS at the SECC

2009-12-13T11:39:00.001-08:00

Veteran Rockers were performing with support from OMD.

My favourite album is Real Life , here are two hits from it:

See the lights:

and Real Life:

Like most bands with vast archives they cannot perform everything , this included the brilliant Mandela Days.

STEVE EARLE at The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

2009-12-05T10:09:00.000-08:00

The last time i saw steve earle was at the celtic connections festival in 2007.He looked lot different from his mid-eighties persona , clean shaven and determined looking.

This time round he is sporting a huge beard ; excess mass , but , and this is very important , he looks more content and at tranquility with his state than he has been at any point in his life.

The songs were mostly from his latest tribute album to his youthful hero and inspiration Townes van Zant.

This wonderful song captures just about everything Townes meant to Steve:

He did perform a very inspirational version of Someday.It is very hard to capture quality acoustic resonance in the audio available of mobile cameras these days and videos posted on youtubeistan either has good visuals and poor sound or nice sound with jumpy visuals , below is about the best i could find on the net.

He had a lot to say about the wave of disappointment about Obama and his foreign policies , the first artist to be forthright about the dissipation of early promises.

On Afghanistan , he said he hoped Obama was only bullshitting when he made campaign allusions to increase troop involvement in the region and would think better of it once in office.

Steve rightly postulated this will have a bad ending for the US , as previous experience shows the British Empire in its zenith failed in afghanistan , the soviet empire collapsed in the region and even Alexander " the fuckin" Great ( his words , not mine) suffered defeats there and had to turn back without establishing permanent long term influential roots.

MERCURY FUR at the Ramshorn

2009-11-21T03:31:00.000-08:00

An extraordinarily intense power packed play went on for two hours straight without any letup , brilliantly acted by a fine young dynamic caste.

The the genre has been explored in a last few years , notably in Cormac mccarthys The Road , this play was written in 2005 , at just about the first time in which questioning the direction and moral depth of progressive western values in the mainstream media was on the brink of establishing itself from the self-imposed guideline censorship imposed by self elected moral guardians operating in the cultural field.The history behind the writing and performing of the play ,in which the writer lost friends and was almost friendly-blacklisted from his publishing house which refused to publish it , a very odd counterbalance to those who preach over the right to publish when it come to Rushdie but then refuse to publish anything that questions if the western world is going in the right direction.

The play itself has two emerging themes , the state can not look after the citizen from cradle to grave , if it ever could , and will ultimately let everyone down , and , there is always hope with family bonds finally picking up the pieces and delivering and ultimately saving those let down and betrayed by current transient civilisation.