GORE VIDAL : UNITED STATES OF AMNESIA at the GFT

Once you get under the veneer of superficial showmanship seeking out publicity and attention in the addiction gallery of TV  with almost a parody of icon worship amply armed with his acerbic,caustic ,heavy-duty  sledgehammer wit  that the later Gore Vidal became , one suddenly finds the deep,reflective , highly perceptive chronicler of the descent of America into Empire with all the ills it brings at home and abroad , which seems  the truer version of the man.

In this documentary we see him discuss a version of Kennedy that rings true from the ideal of cult we have been fed , a leader who had lost the liberal , young and racial minorities support , initiated undermining of democracy in Brazil ,the failed Bay of Pigs in Cuba ,  started the process of sending troops to Vietnam which , according to Gore , would have had him bogged down as much as Johnson was without the advantage of being able to push through the civil rights laws that only a Southerner like Johnson could have managed , and escaped the Cuban Missile crisis by the skin of his teeth when the issue could have been resolved much earlier with less histrionics had he been less cavalier in dealing with Khrushchev in Vienna.



He also calls out Christopher Hitchens as an ideological shape-shifter  , drifting from faux-left to cheerleader for neo-cons and their spurious imperial projects and puts the arrogant , bloated ,pretender in his place.



This review from The Herald gives some taste of the various topics covered in this documentary , some spot on , others perverse and absurd.

"Jay Parini, his literary executor, describes him as "shy". It sounds surprising but one recognises its truth. Often, he was not easy in the company of strangers and seemed discomfited, which could lead him to utter something outrageous. Moreover, his manner was so imperious that it was hard to engage him in debate. Of small talk he had none"

He also was very dismissive of the prospects of genuine change under the Obama Administration , knowing how the Government works he suspected Corporate America would have bought any President ten times over before he got anywhere near the Oval Office.

METALHEAD at the GFT

Set in a small farming community in Iceland , this film deals with grief and pain of sudden tragic loss from a terrible accident.Being set around the time of 1983 it features a lot of music and songs that were amongst my very favourites like AC/DC , Black Sabbath , a little Iron Maiden ( i only really liked "Running Free") who were the very first Concert i attended at the Apollo and "Victim of Changes" by Judas Priest , with a little Ronnie James Dio thrown in as well.



As one of the comment in the video says "Metal has always, and WILL always be a culture of outcasts. Are you that close-minded to not realize how many fucking freaks there are who listen to metal? This movie is just one dramatic story on how one person became a metalhead. The point of the film is that metal helps one find strength in dealing with tragedy; the girl embodies the metal persona full-force to deal with her loss." .For me Metal was never about dealing with loss or ever depressing , it was a spiritual journey which i accomplished early on and enjoyed , and continue to enjoy to this very day.I certainly have no time for formulaic trash-metal , but quality , innovate heavy music will always have universal appeal.

This review gives a good synopsis of the film and its theme.

"Instead of moving on Hera remakes herself. She takes on Baldur's wardrobe, his black t shirts and leathers, takes up the guitar and channels her anger into a stereotypically abrasive, in your face attitude that masks - but only just barely - the fact that she is lost within herself and sinking fast. And it's not just Hera who's going down. Though her parents are more successful at putting on the polite facade the entire family is lost in their pain, each trapped in their own isolation.

Bragason tells the story of Hera and her family with a caring, incisive touch. Bragason is clearly an actor's director and he draws such a strong performance from first timer Thorbjörg Helga Dýrfjörd as Hera that it's a virtual certainty Bragason's fearless lead will have offers coming in from around the world in very short order. An impeccably crafted and beautifully performed film, Metalhead is a tiny gem very well worth seeking out."

THE BOOK THIEF at the GFT

Based on the Novel by Markus Zusak this film keeps faith by relating the events from the narrative of Death telling a story from the eyes of a child.

Though i pretend to be macho i have to admit it made me blub more than a few times.



This review rather misses the point , only proving that unperceptive arseholes can get jobs at The Guardian.He fails to understand that a film looking at a horrifying event from the point of view of a child is hardly going to give incisive academic extrapolations of the root causes of Nazism.Apparently he wants an entertaining story of life under the Nazis.Even the Prague Post seems to lose all sense of perception by singling out the sections of the film that are especially faithful to the Book. It takes an Argentinian in the comments sections to put these reviewers straight.

"This review is absolutely embarrasing. First of all, the main character doesn't fall in love with the jewish boy, their relationship is like the one of sibblings. Second, you can't judge a movie which is based in a book. This book wasn't a book about History and how the War had destroyed a lot of places and had killed a thousand people, instead of that, it is based in the story of a little girl and HER vision about that particular time, including the vision of the Death. I repeat, you can't judge this movie if you don't consideer the fact that it is not a documentalryit is not a movie about History. I apologize for my english, I'm from Argentina."

Geoffrey Rush rightly encapsulates the reasons the critics seem to be out of touch from the Audiences who have seen it - It has to be watched on the Big screen as it is a film of nuance and the wonder from the vision of children. including the subtlety of his character , Hans, hairstyle.

"I thought okay, this guy is out of work because he refuses to join the Nazi party, so he becomes a bit of a pariah within his community, that would have up until then been a close-knit community.
I suppose the stereotype of Nazi control was that the hair was always very severe and very shaped, to go with the uniforms. Research proved that to be correct, because the hair and makeup department art directors had hundreds and hundreds of authentic photos of what people in southern German towns looked like in the late '30s.
Of course [Hans and his wife] don’t have money to have a haircut every couple of weeks, so they were quite wild and woolly.
It appealed to me that, given Hans’s slight maverick political viewpoint, his musicianship and his layabout quality, that the hair would be subliminally a statement of mild anarchy."

THE 100 YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED at the GFT

Was lucky enough to watch the UK Premiere of "The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared" tonight , about 2/3 of the audience had read the Book , i havent.It was a superb , hilarious movie that got a spontaneous standing ovation at the end.Not one person moaned it was not as good as the Book.Highly recommend you take the time and trouble to see it if it comes to a screen somewhere near.

The home-grown Swedish film perfectly complements the Book by having believable characters performing in a setting that would have been familiar and true to the author.One gets the impression of ordinary down to earth ,almost natural homely acting in very extraordinary situations and fixes which adds to the ironic and thought-provoking drama unfolding.

The English sub-titles are unobstrusive and flow pleasingly on the undistracted eye. 

FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR ACCIDENT at STRATHCLYDE UNIVERSITY

In a bizarre news angle which says a lot about the BBC today the media hyped up the March 2011 earthquake and only the second nuclear plant disaster to register above 7 on the scale , the other was Chernobyl, as good news for the Japanese economy as it will provide stimulus for the stagnant Japanese construction sector.

The disaster , which is what most sensible quarters called it, led to some 18,000 deaths and 315,000 displaced homeless , of which over 130,000 are still classed as that today as they wait to return when it is safe to do so.

The power plant provided energy exclusively for the Tokyo conurbation some 200 kilometers away.This added to the historical tension of one of the more deprived areas of Japan being made to suffer a lot of the risk , but little of the rewards, to providing energy for the capital.The added dimension to the history was that in the late 19th Century Fukushima Prefecture supported the Tokugawa and was one of the last bastions of the old samurai order to resist the Meiji , thus it is still regarded as a renegade and rebel province even today.The suspicions go both ways , with the aftermath of the disaster extenuating deeper lying prejudices between the province and the centre.

Some 6 years prior to the disaster a request for the local University to set up Nuclear Department was denied by the Central bodies.This was seen as part of the past discrimination of the province by the Tokyo elite in which funding was always less than the average for the regions.

The nuclear debate in Japan , which has 54 plants , was a dominant issue for the recent elections.Opinion polls show two extremes , one for continuing with the programme and the other for complete abandonment with there being virtually no middle ground or consensus.The recent winners of the elections are pro-nuclear and have taken steps to begin to expand the programme.

The other major prejudice was the reactions and news control from the Central government which seemed to be entirely fixated to allaying the fears of Tokyo to the detriment of providing safety and accurate assessments for the local people in the epicentre to take appropriate precautions.It took the efforts of a diverse group from the local University to take reading which suggested the the area of contamination was way beyond the original Government designated danger zone.Had these individuals not got together to take the measurements of their own initiative and accord a lot more People would have been exposed to danger levels and a lot less would have been evacuated to safer distances from the plant.

The story of these Peoples experience is told in the Documnetary "Our Friends In Fukushima"

And The summary of Professor Yamaguchi’s talk ( who led the self-formed Fukushima University radiation assessment team is contained in this link.

"The absence of nuclear specialists seemed a problem at first, but it turned out that the multi-disciplinary nature of the Faculty, with diverse expertise to pursue the symbiotic relationship among human, industries and the environment, was an asset in creating, based on scientific methodology, a comprehensive radiation assessment map covering the whole Fukushima Prefecture.  At the time of carrying out an assessment for the map in late March 2011, there were two similar maps: a simulation map by the Japanese governmental organisation; and an aerial map by the US Army.   The Fukushima University team wanted to make a map on foot, dividing the prefecture equally into 2X2 km units and measuring radiation level at a point on a road in each unit at the same height from the ground.  The resultant map showed that the fallout was not uniformly distributed. Rather it was higher in the areas in the northwest of the nuclear plant, compared with other areas.  The map was presented, firstly, to the national government, and the government later changed the evacuation zone from a concentric one to the one based on actual, measured radiation level.  It was then provided to local municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture, which used it in delivering necessary measures for local residents. Finally, in April, it was made public through mass media and the team’s homepage.
http://www.sss.fukushima-u.ac.jp/FURAD/FURAD/data-map.html "

HISTORICAL RELATIONS BETWEEN JAPAN AND SCOTLAND at STRATHCLYDE UNIVERSITY

The first known recorded instance of Scottish involvement with Japan comes from a Portuguese Ships log in 1544 , they encountered a ship doing a triangular trade between Korea , Okinawa ( not then a part of Japan) and the Japanese Mainland whose navigator was a "ubiquitous Scotsman".

One very noticeable influence of Japan on Scotland was on the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh , who was born in the year of the Meiji Restoration as illuminated in this lecture by Glasgow School of Architecture Andrew MacMillan. .(The Japanese portion comes at about the 10 minute mark).One of Mackintoshs most famous pieces of furniture is called the Kimono Desk , based on the Japanese costume of the same name.

The Meiji replaced the Tokugawa Shogunate after decades of civil strife brought about by the crisis caused by the defeat of China by the British in the Opium Wars of the 1840s and 50s.The Tokugawan Foreign policy was isolationist based on the experiences of Foreign invasions from the sea , firstly by the Portuguese ( which was crushed in the 1630s) and latterly by the fear of Spanish Colonisation from Manila which was for a long time one of the largest garrisoned forts in the world.But after the British defeat of the Chinese and the notorious 1853 incident in Tokyo Bay which is referred as the Kurofune War .
The Humiliation of the Japanese by a few American ships sent shockwaves across society about the possibility of an imminent invasion and colonisation by the British and a major debate ensued about the viability of the isolationist policy as a tool to keep out colonialists.The main observation was the inadequacy of the small Japanese ships ( which were the only ones allowed by the regulations and restrictions of the Tokugawa Naval codes governing the design and size of ships) to engage with the larger vessels of the West.Japan had to get access to Western Technology to defend itself from Western domination and so the battle between the old isolationists and those who saw the necessity to access the outer world meshed with the external chess games of the imperial rivals -Britain and France.Britain sided with the Meiji , thinking it would open up Japan to Britains concept of "Free" trade whilst the French back the Tokugawa thinking they would benefit from being the only traders allowed to set up operations in Japan , replacing the Portuguese.The culmination was an "agreement " for the last Tokugawan Emperor to hand over control to the Meiji and in doing so the Japanese outlook to looking for inspiration and culture to China changed course to looking to the West as the inspiration and model to follow in the future, and even though in a later battle the Meiji managed to wrest all powers for themselves there was enough cohesion in Japanese society between the Samurai orders and the new holders under the Meiji to be able to set a course for Japan without making them a colony of either power.Rather sadly , it was this experience of interactions with the colonising powers that give a semblance of inspiration of Japanese regional colonial ambitions in the 1930s.

In 1859 Thomas Glover set up in the trade port of Nagasaki which was open to foreigners , he set up the first Western Style house in the city which is still an attraction to visitors from home and abroad to the city.Glover was among many foreigners that took advantage of the unbalanced , one-sided trade "agreements" that were imposed on the Japanese after the 1853 show of naval force by the Americans.This included , as in the Ottoman lands during the same period , immunity from Japanese law for foreign nationals.Glover was involved in selling arms to certain factions in Japan even though it broke treaty agreements.He was in what may be a convenient paradox for the British as he was exempt from Japanese prosecution and the British failed to apply their obligations to the letter as he was supplying those forces which Britain tacitly supported and would emerge as the Meiji rulers later on.Thomas Glover then enjoyed favourable relations with the Meiji and was close to the founders of the Mitsubishi Corporation in Nagasaki prefecture.

The influence of Glover also allowed the Chushu Five to leave Japan ( it was against the law for Japanese to travel abroad) to study in Britain.Most went to UCL where they were taught by the Scottish descendant ,German educated Professor Alexander Williamson , this is important to note as Oxford and Cambridge at the time were Anglican Universities and most Engineering and Science training was done in German or Scottish- German-orientated Universities following a German or Scottish curriculum.Of these five very influential graduates with a strong Scottish-German training Yamao Yozo went on to study in Glasgows Anderstonian Institute whilst working in the Shipbuilding Industry.After coming back to Japan he set up the Imperial College of Engineering following Scottish teaching and course methods which are still used in the College today.Considered the Father of Japanese Engineering and Technology ,he was also the head of the Japan Engineering Society for almost five decades.

One of the first Principles of the Imperial College was Scotsman Henry Dyer  , who set "The courses Dyer implemented at the ICE required the student to spend two years on general and science subjects, two on technical subjects in the student’s chosen field, and two more on purely practical work.
To provide practical training, Dyer helped set up the Akabane Engineering Works, the largest in the Empire of Japan. Many of the major engineering works carried out in Japan at the end of the 19th century were by his former students, and Dyer also sent many to Glasgow to complete their education.".Once the Japanese students were in Glasgow they saw an important role being played in the Glasgow Shipyards by workers who were Deaf and were also impressed by the standard of schooling for the Blind.This was an important Scottish transference to the Japanese about educating and bringing into the mainstream the Disabled by provision of specialised education facilities.

Another Scot who became "The Father of Japanese Lighthouses" was Richard Brunton
"Brunton was sent from Edinburgh in August 1868 to head the project after being recommended to the Japanese government by the Stevensons, and over seven and a half years designed and supervised the building of 26 Japanese lighthouses in the Western style, along with two lightvessels. (There had been Japanese lighthouses before then, but they were short and squat buildings, such as the old Shirasu lighthouse now in the grounds of Kokura castle in Kitakyushu.) Brunton was accompanied by his wife and two assistants.

The old pre-Brunton Shirasu lighthouse in the grounds of Kokura Castle

Brunton also established a system of lighthouse keepers, modeled on the Northern Lighthouse Board in Scotland.
He was consulted on other engineering projects, and significantly contributed to the waterworks and harbour design in Yokohama, where he is remembered by a commemorative statue. He also helped found Japan's first school of civil engineering."

Alexander Cameron Sim was also an influence on Japanese Pharmaceuticals and introduced the first carbonated drink into Japan , a lemonade which is still popular nationwide today. "In late 1869, he moved to Nagasaki, Japan, where he resided in the treaty port, but moved to Kobe in 1870, where he initially worked as a pharmacist for the foreign firm Llewellyn Shōkai. However, he began his own company, AC Sim Shōkai, later the same year. Sim's company specialized in the import and distribution of medicines and medical supplies. In 1884, Sim introduced a carbonated beverage based on lemonade to the Kobe Foreign Settlement. This drink, called "mabu soda" for "marble soda" due to the marbles placed in the bottle for opening action, soon became very popular with the local Japanese after it was advertised in the Tokyo Mainichi Newspaper as a preventative for cholera. The drink remains a popular soft drink, sold nationwide, under the name of ramune to this day."

The monument above commemorated Sim in the City of Kobe today.

All this development came at a price as foreign influence reduced Japanese Sovereignty and rule of law by treaties that were heavily weighted in the Wests favour in what can be said to be creeping colonisation of trade in which the Japanese would lose the independence of home markets yet only get very little access to lucrative exports in return.Without the power to effect the rule of law in the "free" ports , nor having the right to impose tax duties to protect local traders and finding the Chamber of Commerce to be a conduit to facilitating Western access to Japanese markets rather than an equal partnership body to promote harmonious mutually beneficial trade a lot of mainstream Japanese society and members of the ruling classes new and old reached the conclusion that it was impossible to negotiate with Europe.Ironically , the only antidote to this "soft" colonisation was to Modernise to the extent that Japan could in turn become one of the "West" , a policy that would succeed spectacularly only a few decades later in terms of technological catch-up but would have the seeds of the disasters of the the 30s and 40s as a sad termination of playing the colonial chess-game.

One such mission that failed spectacularly politically , but sowed the seeds to a successful boost to modernise was the Iwakura Mission of the early 1860s
"The purposes of the mission were twofold:

1. To renegotiate the unequal treaties with the United States, Great Britain and other European countries that Japan had been forced into during the previous decades.
2. To gather information on education, technology, culture, and military, social and economic structures from the countries visited in order to effect the modernization of Japan.

Of these two goals, the first one failed universally, prolonging the mission by almost a year, but also impressing the importance of the second goal on its members. The attempts to negotiate new treaties under better conditions with the foreign governments led them to go beyond the mandates set by the Japanese government, which caused friction between the mission and the government."

On visiting Glasgow the mission members declared the West End Park ( Kelvingrove) to be " the most beautiful in Europe".

Kaichi Watanabe has a connection to Scotland own grand work of heavy engineering , The Forth Rail Bridge , he was involved in the design and appeared in this famous photo at the time demonstrating the Cantilever Bridge Model as seen in the picture below

Not to be outdone in the fields of Engineering and Technology Aikitu Tanakadate was considered "The father of Science" in Japan as well as the Founder of the Institute of Seismology at Tokyo University , he was trained in Glasgow University under the tutelage of Lord Kelvin.

Te period  of the early Meiji was not one to be confused with a one-way process of Scots giving to Japan.In fact , the Japanese contribution to Scottish arts and outlook as well as the modern Scottish Consciousness is one of the most overlooked yet unique contributions to how we are today in the things we see, do and are proud of.This video gives an excellent synopsis of the Japanese influence to the modern Scottish architectural and cultural "National" heritage that we unwittingly regard as uniquely Scottish.