Category Archives: culture

Forthcoming films I wanna see…

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This one looks promising

This one for the special effects and such like

This one has assembled a good cast if nothing else

Potential to be a classic sf film:

And finally this one might be really cool.

Of course, these are just the low-brow ones. I’m a boy. I like explosions.

Not alone

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Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth
You pull on your finger, then another finger, then cigarette
The wall-to-wall is calling, it lingers, then you forget
Oh, no, no no, you’re a rock ‘n’ roll suicide

You’re too old to lose it,
too young to choose it,
And the clock waits so patiently on your song
You walk past a cafe but you don’t eat when you’ve lived too long
Oh, no, no, no, you’re a rock ‘n’ roll suicide

Chev brakes are snarling
as you stumble across the road
But the day breaks instead so you hurry home
Don’t let the sun blast your shadow
Don’t let the milk-float ride your mind
They’re so natural – religiously unkind

Oh no love! you’re not alone
You’re watching yourself but you’re too unfair
You got your head all tangled up but if I could only make you care
Oh no love! you’re not alone
No matter what or who you’ve been
No matter when or where you’ve seen
All the knives seem to lacerate your brain
I’ve had my share, I’ll help you with the pain
You’re not alone

Just turn on with me and you’re not alone
Let’s turn on and be not alone
Gimme your hands cause you’re wonderful
Gimme your hands cause you’re wonderful
Oh gimme your hands
cause you’re not alone

(David Bowie)

Better off (Eric Brende)

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This is a very intriguing, interesting and challenging book. Eric was a high-flying MIT post-grad who was becoming more and more disillusioned with the way in which human society had shifted to serving machines, rather than being served by them. So immediately after his honeymoon, he and his wife take the plunge and join an Amish community to see if they can survive without ‘labour-saving devices’. They don’t just survive, they thrive. A remarkably optimistic fable for anyone who is concerned about Peak Oil, and what the lack of available energy will mean. Human society can flourish with much less energy – indeed it will have many, many untellable blessings – but the problems will come from those who try to hang on to what God is taking away. They will experience the wrath.

Highly, highly recommended.

Cool

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The downside is that it gives the impression that ‘Happy Motoring’ can continue on the scale it is now. It won’t – and the transition away from it will be ugly – but it’s a sign of what might be possible at the margins. After all, if you were designing a transport system from scratch, you wouldn’t design it around the car – and that’s effectively the situation we’ll be in after Peak Oil really kicks in. Cars will once more be for the rich; most people will take the train. Or walk. Or cycle…