Entries by tag: videos
- Why I Will Not Cast My Electoral Vote for Donald Trump - NYTimes.com
- A Republican elector writes.
(tags: uspolitics ) - Russia's Top 5 Myths about NATO (PDF)
- Just in case you weren't aware.
(tags: Russia nato politics ) - Share of households owning at least one cat in the EU in 2014, by country
- Romania top, Slovakia bottom.
(tags: cats statistics eu ) - Hamildolph (An American Christmas Story)
- Hilarious!
(tags: christmas hamilton videos ) - UK will have under 18 months to reach deal, says EU Brexit broker
- Barnier's timetable.
(tags: ukpolitics eu brexit ) - The European Regions Where Women Earn More Than Men
- Eastern Poland, and the South and Islands Regions of Italy.
(tags: eu italy poland sexandgenderandsexuality ) - Why Russia is using the internet to undermine Western democracy.
- Brilliant by @mariafarrell.
(tags: internet politics russia )
- How Trump Could Be Blocked at a Contested Republican Convention
- Not pretty. Could it work? #fb
(tags: uspolitics ) - The Paradox Of European Defence Strategy
- Talking the talk without walking the walk. #fb
(tags: eu ) - Openness can pay off: the economic impact of migrants
- Actual facts. #fb
(tags: eu migration ) - Mapped: The world's nuclear power plants
- Interesting! #fb
(tags: maps nuclearpower ) - Welcome to the ‘Debt Star’
- The EU's Star Wars parody. #fb
(tags: eu sf funny ) - EU referendum: Stephen Hawking and 150 Royal Society fellows warn Brexit would be 'disaster for UK science'
- The genius vote.
(tags: eu ukpolitics ) - President Obama’s Interview With Jeffrey Goldberg on Syria and Foreign Policy
- The last seven years. #fb
(tags: uspolitics syria ) - The HAMILTON/STAR TREK Parody No One Was Asking For
- Not throwin' away my Spock!
(tags: sf music videos ) - Why Am I Right-Handed?
- Good question! #fb
(tags: biology ) - Here’s what has to happen for Bernie Sanders to win
- A dose of reality #fb
(tags: uspolitics ) - My Favorite Stories Don't Get Nominated
- Why Joe Sherry loves the Hugo Awards. #fb
(tags: sf ) - B&N Nook Is Failing Because They Make Customers Hate Them
- Glorious rant. #fb
(tags: ebooks ) - Pope imposes financial oversight for saints after abuses
- The cost of canonisation #fb
(tags: religion )
- I am Big Bird
"I'm still playing a 6-year-old, although I'm 81." Aww!
- Come to the Clarke Award ceremony, and get 20% off the shortlisted books!
On 6 May.
- Britney Spears, Beyonce & Pink - We Will Rock You (Pepsi)
This is one of the best advertisements of all time.
This was a brilliant Worldcon talk (one of only two single-speaker events I was able to attend, the speaker at the other one being me). It was the keynote speech for the academic track of programming, and basically involved Karen Hellekson talking us through a theory of fanvids - comparing and contrasting (as I had never thought to do) the various attempts to reconstruct lost episodes with some of the reinterpretations of the Whoniverse undertaken by the fan community. These were my favourite three of the dozen or so that she showed:
An alternative trailer for the 50th anniversary, by VG984:
"Papa Don't Preach", the story of Jack Harkness becoming pregnant by the Master but staying with Ianto despite the Doctor's disapproval (36MB download)
and Wholock, which speaks for itself.
Enjoy.
An alternative trailer for the 50th anniversary, by VG984:
"Papa Don't Preach", the story of Jack Harkness becoming pregnant by the Master but staying with Ianto despite the Doctor's disapproval (36MB download)
and Wholock, which speaks for itself.
Enjoy.
- 'The Hunger Games' Explains Political Protests in Egypt, Russia
Ivan Krastev on the global question.
- The new European Commission: which president, and what priorities?
Charles Grant against the Spitzenkandidaten
- Democratising the EU in post democratic times
Jon Worth supports the Spitzenkandidaten.
- An insder view of a dishwasher cycle
Because you needed to know.
- Power Struggle Europts Between European Parliament and EU Leaders
Der Spiegel on the Spitzenkandidaten crisis.
- Documents Show How Russia’s Troll Army Hit America
AstroTurf by the numbers.
- Obama Just Did What No Other President Before Him Has Done
Bypassing Congress to act on climate change.
- Cambridge vice-chancellor Leszek Borysiewicz attacks immigration curbs
Sensible man.
- Re-examining Somaliland’s relations with neighboring states
A former foreign minister writes.
- Statistical detection of systemic election irregularities
...especially in Russia and Uganda.
- What the 1960s Got Right—and Wrong—about Today's Tech
Arthur C. Clarke scores best.
- Two Andrew Wilsons elected in Antrim
The people have spoken. Or something.
- The Best of BBC One's Walk On The Wild Side
From 2010. Hilarious.
- Car-to-car talk: Hey, look out for that collision!
What my brother is working on.
- Letters on women in science fiction
The young Isaac Asimov wanted to keep women out.
- The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D.
A bit optimistic...
- Potent Pro-Israel Group Finds Its Momentum Blunted
AIPAC in trouble?
- Merkel makes U-turn, backs Juncker for Commission job
Enda Kenny as dark horse?
- Former UKIP spokesman was kidnapping gang 'boss'
You couldn't make it up.
- Gagauzia Voters Reject Closer EU Ties For Moldova
It's a tough sell in Comrat.
- Holding Sri Lanka to Account
New York Times calls it right.
- Buy-to-let property supremo shuts door on housing benefit tenants
Britain's war on the poor continues.
- Interactive geospatial map of the Roman Empire
Wow!
- The Fatal Floor
30 seconds of terror, narrated by Patrick Troughton.
- What Do Y'All, Yinz, and Yix Call Stretchy Office Supplies?
The New Yorker spoofs the dialect quiz.
- The intense world theory of autism
Rings a lot of bells for me.
- "Ugly and stupid"
@TimFarron hits out at Tories on immigration pandering.
- Immigrants are not the problem
Unemployment and benefit cuts *are* the problem.
- The Geopolitics of the Gregorian Calendar
Unusually good article from @Stratfor about the length of the year.
- Where Will We Live?
The UK's housing catastrophe - caused by all parties, esp Tories.
- Why the Passenger Pigeon Became Extinct (@thenewyorker)
"The short answer is that it tasted good."
- Our Airport, Your Airport
The Brussels airport feelgood video. Really.
- Russian Officer: We Would Intervene In Karabakh Against Azerbaijan
The frozen conflict heating up another notch.
- 1912 eighth grade exam: Could you make it to high school in 1912?
I got 86%. One round was particularly good for me.
- The Straight Dope: What did Alice B. Toklas have to do with Alice B. Toklas brownies?
This is funnier than I expected.
- Drilling Platform Video Camera Reveals a Horrifying Mega-Squid
More Kroll than Cthulhu!
- 10 Surprising Facts About How Our Brains Work
Nothing sensational, but interesting to note.
- Inside America's Plan To Kill Online Privacy Everywhere
@columlynch publishes the key document.
- Kony "in surrender talks" - BBC
Hooray!
- Association Européene des Jeunes Entrepreneurs, by @JonWorth
Strasbourg astrorturf!!!
- ▶ Doctor Who Animation - 50 Years in Time and Space
Nice.
- Does pursuing investment protection in TTIP signal more transatlantic mistrust?
A corrective to Monbiot.
- Spain's foreign policy
Interesting piece by @YoungsRichard.
- Terry Pratchett on Doctor Who
"The hero can fail, or die... It's an important lesson."
- Browsing history: A heritage site is being set up in the room the first Internet message originated in
Where it all began.
- Street musician sings - original singer comes and joins him
Jimmy Somerville's comeback!
- Restoring Trans-Atlantic Trust
A sensible summary from the sensible Wolfgang Ischinger.
- How to hijack an aid program
Lessons from Canada - for Australia, but could be anywhere.
- Post-Shutdown America by @SlaughterAM
Wrong to say that US constitutionalism works better, right to highlight role of women.
- A great language update
Statistics from the quiz.
- Turn Around
Original Who fanvid - wobbly but nostalgic.
- What Isaac Asimov Thought 2014 Would Look Like
Some hits, some misses.
- Hey Jude
na, na na na-na-na na! na-na-na na!
- Seven reasons why Africa's time is now
Harvard Business Review; but some very interesting statistics.
- Anatomy of a spam
Desperate measures!
- Belgium takes over Europe
Not before time!
- Syria and the United States: Intervention options on the two-year anniversary of the conflict
Non-violent options to help.
- Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe
The Economist reports this sordid story.
- Common / People - a William Shatner, Kirk & Spock slashup
Glorious (includes suggestive footage from the animated series).
- JN-T: The Life and Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson
Matthew Sweet's review in the Guardian
- Peter Robinson meets the Game of Thrones team
My two worlds collide.
How on earth did I miss this?
Delighted hat-tip to
sunnytyler001. Also delighted to see my cousin and his wife at 0:35 and 3:04. But it's the moment at 2:40 that really got me.
Delighted hat-tip to
sunnytyler001. Also delighted to see my cousin and his wife at 0:35 and 3:04. But it's the moment at 2:40 that really got me.Here's a series of songs with seven beats to the bar:
The Beatles, "All You Need Is Love" (the verses only, the chorus seems to be in 4/4):
Rather more frantically, "Mother", an early song by The Police:
On a different plane, the chorus "Old Joe Has Gone Fishing" from Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes:
Probably even more famous than "All You Need Is Love" (and qualifies better for this list since it is mostly in 7/4) - "Money" by Pink Floyd:
If you watch none of the others, do watch Dave Brubeck's joyous "Unsquare Dance":
The Beatles, "All You Need Is Love" (the verses only, the chorus seems to be in 4/4):
Rather more frantically, "Mother", an early song by The Police:
On a different plane, the chorus "Old Joe Has Gone Fishing" from Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes:
Probably even more famous than "All You Need Is Love" (and qualifies better for this list since it is mostly in 7/4) - "Money" by Pink Floyd:
If you watch none of the others, do watch Dave Brubeck's joyous "Unsquare Dance":
The Tenth Doctor and Donna go back to the future Earth to find Susan. A brilliant piece of work by
karli_meaghan aka wicked_visions.If you haven't seen it yet, and you're not in a work environment, and you have at least heard of Ray Bradbury, you will love this:
( Read more...Collapse )
Rachel Bloom is obviously a name to watch out for in the future.
( Read more...Collapse )
Rachel Bloom is obviously a name to watch out for in the future.
Getting myself in the mood for last weekend's Doctor Who, I am revisiting its writer's first great hit:
( lyrics and musicCollapse )
( lyrics and musicCollapse )
For years I have been fascinated by the Gliding Dance of the Maidens chorus from the Polovtsian dances of Borodin's opera, Prince Igor. That earwormy tune has been subject to various interpretations over the decades since it was first produced. ( Here are several of them.Collapse )
This entry is long enough, and if you have listened to even one of these clips you are probably thoroughly earwormed for the rest of the day, but I just want to give one last shout out to Natasha Morozova, here performing in Sydney. I'm off to enjoy the good weather now.
This entry is long enough, and if you have listened to even one of these clips you are probably thoroughly earwormed for the rest of the day, but I just want to give one last shout out to Natasha Morozova, here performing in Sydney. I'm off to enjoy the good weather now.
Saw both of these on the f-list over the last few days, can't rememeber where, sorry for not hat-tipping but these are too good not to share.
Salvador Dali on What's My Line, some time in the 1950s
Frank Zappa conducts Ravel's Bolero, 1988
Salvador Dali on What's My Line, some time in the 1950s
Frank Zappa conducts Ravel's Bolero, 1988
1) Odd Man Out (1947)
I'd been wanting to see this since reading about it in Ciaran Carson's The Star Factory, for purely personal interest reasons - the setting in Belfast, the connection with Doctor Who - but it really is a brilliant film in its own right. Even though you pretty much know what is going to happen right from the very beginning - terrorist bank raid goes wrong, the wounded leader staggers around the city pursued by friend and foe alike - the tension is maintained throughout. James Mason is superb as the central character, suffering angst and flashbacks, inspiring loyalty and love; and the whole thing is beautifully directed with great background music.
The approach to Belfast is ... peculiar. The film starts with a fantastic establishment shot from the air, coming in over the Lagan and zooming in on the Albert Clock and High Street (also the setting of the climax); but at one point we see the police inspecting a map of a completely fictional unnamed city on the edge of the fictional Fernagh Lough. However the trams in this city clearly go up the Falls Road! And while most of the adult actors seem to have southern Irish accents (basically because they were recruited from the Abbey Theatre in Dublin) the extras are definitely from Belfast - there's a beautiful scene with a dozen kids who the BBC was trying to track down recently.
And there's William Hartnell - only in two scenes, as Mr Fancy, the barman in charge of the "Four Winds" saloon (clearly based on The Crown, but equally clearly a studio set rather than the real thing), and sixteen years away from becoming Doctor Who: he none the less has a couple of very characteristic moments. His second scene has been Youtubed here and here: look at the way his eyes are moving about 1:25 into the first clip - we've certainly seen that before! - and listen his rant for the first half-minute of the second clip - very Doctor-ish until he uses the unnervingly colloquial word "quid"!
Anyway, a good start to the year's viewing.
I'd been wanting to see this since reading about it in Ciaran Carson's The Star Factory, for purely personal interest reasons - the setting in Belfast, the connection with Doctor Who - but it really is a brilliant film in its own right. Even though you pretty much know what is going to happen right from the very beginning - terrorist bank raid goes wrong, the wounded leader staggers around the city pursued by friend and foe alike - the tension is maintained throughout. James Mason is superb as the central character, suffering angst and flashbacks, inspiring loyalty and love; and the whole thing is beautifully directed with great background music.
The approach to Belfast is ... peculiar. The film starts with a fantastic establishment shot from the air, coming in over the Lagan and zooming in on the Albert Clock and High Street (also the setting of the climax); but at one point we see the police inspecting a map of a completely fictional unnamed city on the edge of the fictional Fernagh Lough. However the trams in this city clearly go up the Falls Road! And while most of the adult actors seem to have southern Irish accents (basically because they were recruited from the Abbey Theatre in Dublin) the extras are definitely from Belfast - there's a beautiful scene with a dozen kids who the BBC was trying to track down recently.
And there's William Hartnell - only in two scenes, as Mr Fancy, the barman in charge of the "Four Winds" saloon (clearly based on The Crown, but equally clearly a studio set rather than the real thing), and sixteen years away from becoming Doctor Who: he none the less has a couple of very characteristic moments. His second scene has been Youtubed here and here: look at the way his eyes are moving about 1:25 into the first clip - we've certainly seen that before! - and listen his rant for the first half-minute of the second clip - very Doctor-ish until he uses the unnervingly colloquial word "quid"!
Anyway, a good start to the year's viewing.
It has been widely reported that Al Gore is the first person to win both an Oscar and Nobel prize in the same year, though apparently this is technically incorrect (as the Oscar did not go to him personally). Here is a Youtube clip of the one person who indisputably did win both an Oscar and a Nobel Prize, speaking at a dinner to introduce Albert Einstein, on 27 October 1930, in the type of Dublin accent that one really doesn't hear any more:
Napoleon and other great men of his type, they were makers of empire. But there is an order of men who get beyond that. They are not makers of empire, but they are makers of universes.
And when they have made those universes, their hands are unstained by the blood of any human being here on earth.
Ptolemy made a universe that lasted 1400 years. Newton, also, made a universe which has lasted three hundred years. Einstein has made a universe, and I can't tell you how long that will last.
I was going to do a serious post about the new EU reform treaty, and how the UK's political discourse around it is totally absurd and lopsided. But then I decided to write about this important topic instead (I have been brewing this post for almost three years, since stellanova inspired me). I hope these entertain you as much as they entertained me.
German
Ernst Busch, 1931. Everything else has to be measured against this.
The original Lotte Lenya. Illustrated with only still photos of her and Weill, and her on her own, but aurally gripping.
Ute Lemper. At least, she sings in the background while a couple in Ghent have an argument.
SLUT, 2006. This Bavarian indie band just get it so absolutely right, converting the Brecht/Weill original into at 21st century idiom.
Brazilian musicians, 2006. Valiant attempt to create a proper 1930s feel, riffing off other great Weill tunes in the process.
Other languages
Miloš Kopecký, 1964. My God, this is superb. (In Czech.) For other languages, see also Hebrew and Italian.
English (apart from Liberace)
Nick Cave, 1997. This is the performance of a tortured artist who loves this song. If it had been directed by someone prepared to rein him in, it would have been fantastic. As it is, it is memorable but painful.
Liberace, 1960s. Much better than I had expected - almost variations on a theme of Weill. No singing, just piano.
The Achordants, 2007. 15 blokes doing the male voice choir thing. Works rather well.
The Cotton Club of Hungary, recently. An arresting performance, by three men and two women singers.
Dinah Shore and Pearl Mae Bailey, 1960. Hilarious.
Bobby Darin, 1959. Very much a fifties "big band" style production. Joyous to listen to, but to be honest a little embarrassing to watch. Inspired many others, including:
Louis Armstrong, 1962. The performance that inspired a hundred imitators, none of whom could match either Armstrong's trumpet-playing or his more understated menace.
Ella Fitzgerald, 1965. Cuddly Ella sings a nice song which shows off her superb voice very well. (We'll just forget that it's about murder, rape and violence, OK?)
The Jimmy Smith trio, 1962. Adventurous. Almost works.
Robbie Williams - at least not offensively bad.
Westlife, 2006. Certainly the worst of the performances in terms of getting the song. Although they are in tune, they seem to be reading the lines of the autocue at various points. The rolling subtitles of trivia about Westlife's personal history add extra shallowness to what is already a superficial performance.
Blake Lewis, 2007. Out of tune and just horrible.
A rather hilarious compilation including some of the above and some others. Audio, with still photos. Another compilation, from the same source.
stellanova inspired me). I hope these entertain you as much as they entertained me.German
Ernst Busch, 1931. Everything else has to be measured against this.
The original Lotte Lenya. Illustrated with only still photos of her and Weill, and her on her own, but aurally gripping.
Ute Lemper. At least, she sings in the background while a couple in Ghent have an argument.
SLUT, 2006. This Bavarian indie band just get it so absolutely right, converting the Brecht/Weill original into at 21st century idiom.
Brazilian musicians, 2006. Valiant attempt to create a proper 1930s feel, riffing off other great Weill tunes in the process.
Other languages
Miloš Kopecký, 1964. My God, this is superb. (In Czech.) For other languages, see also Hebrew and Italian.
English (apart from Liberace)
Nick Cave, 1997. This is the performance of a tortured artist who loves this song. If it had been directed by someone prepared to rein him in, it would have been fantastic. As it is, it is memorable but painful.
Liberace, 1960s. Much better than I had expected - almost variations on a theme of Weill. No singing, just piano.
The Achordants, 2007. 15 blokes doing the male voice choir thing. Works rather well.
The Cotton Club of Hungary, recently. An arresting performance, by three men and two women singers.
Dinah Shore and Pearl Mae Bailey, 1960. Hilarious.
Bobby Darin, 1959. Very much a fifties "big band" style production. Joyous to listen to, but to be honest a little embarrassing to watch. Inspired many others, including:
Louis Armstrong, 1962. The performance that inspired a hundred imitators, none of whom could match either Armstrong's trumpet-playing or his more understated menace.
Ella Fitzgerald, 1965. Cuddly Ella sings a nice song which shows off her superb voice very well. (We'll just forget that it's about murder, rape and violence, OK?)
The Jimmy Smith trio, 1962. Adventurous. Almost works.
Robbie Williams - at least not offensively bad.
Westlife, 2006. Certainly the worst of the performances in terms of getting the song. Although they are in tune, they seem to be reading the lines of the autocue at various points. The rolling subtitles of trivia about Westlife's personal history add extra shallowness to what is already a superficial performance.
Blake Lewis, 2007. Out of tune and just horrible.
A rather hilarious compilation including some of the above and some others. Audio, with still photos. Another compilation, from the same source.
Second week of school is always bug week, and both F and U went down with colds on Wednesday, which was also the day I went to London for two days of work meetings - thanks very much to clanwilliam and gmh for your hospitality!
By the time I was on Eurostar on Friday evening my throat was feeling pretty raw as well, and I got home to find Anne in pretty much the same state. And yesterday B (who returned home a week ago) started the morning by gently puking upstairs. By the late afternoon U was in misery, and her temperature had soared to 40.8 (105.8 in your antiquated counting) so we called the doctor, who prescribed antibiotics and suggested we take her to hospital for a lung X-ray if she hadn't improved by today. (F has recovered fully.)
However; things have improved. I cooked a large chicken curry last night, and B, despite her earlier stomach complaints, dug into it gleefully, with no apparent ill effects (indeed, if anything, the reverse). That cheered me up as well; communicating with B is not easy and I feel that cooking her food she enjoys is one of the special things I can do for her. And by the end of the evening, U had also perked up, helping us watch classic music videos off YouTube; this one sent her into peals of laughter. Which is reassuring, at least on most levels.
My throat is still sore but improving. Why is it these bugs usually hit you at the weekend?
clanwilliam and gmh for your hospitality!By the time I was on Eurostar on Friday evening my throat was feeling pretty raw as well, and I got home to find Anne in pretty much the same state. And yesterday B (who returned home a week ago) started the morning by gently puking upstairs. By the late afternoon U was in misery, and her temperature had soared to 40.8 (105.8 in your antiquated counting) so we called the doctor, who prescribed antibiotics and suggested we take her to hospital for a lung X-ray if she hadn't improved by today. (F has recovered fully.)
However; things have improved. I cooked a large chicken curry last night, and B, despite her earlier stomach complaints, dug into it gleefully, with no apparent ill effects (indeed, if anything, the reverse). That cheered me up as well; communicating with B is not easy and I feel that cooking her food she enjoys is one of the special things I can do for her. And by the end of the evening, U had also perked up, helping us watch classic music videos off YouTube; this one sent her into peals of laughter. Which is reassuring, at least on most levels.
My throat is still sore but improving. Why is it these bugs usually hit you at the weekend?
Comments
Yeah, and…
I’ve been obsessed with “A Boy and His Dog” for as long as I can remember, and I look for new scholarship and articles on the novella (and the film) regularly, just to keep up to date…