Expanding my web of influence

I recently took on some paid work designing a web site for a client. The site, The Buzzin Bee -- made for a writer friend of my mum's -- is now feature-complete and has been handed over. The process involved designing the look of the site from scratch in Photoshop, hand-coding it using HTML and CSS, and setting up a Movable Type database to drive the entire site under the hood. I also have another paid design gig in the pipeline, which I hope to be able to tell you more about soon.

In the meantime, I've taken some steps towards establishing a profile for myself on the web as a designer and general jack-of-all-trades. I registered the domain michaelmackenzie.me a couple of years ago, but it has lain dormant since then, simply redirecting to my other site, Land of Whimsy. I've now put up a holding page of sorts, with a view to it ultimately becoming my professional presence online (whereas Land of Whimsy is more of a personal blog, albeit with an emphasis on reviewing Blu-ray releases). In addition to web design projects, that would also include the likes of my PhD thesis, my work for Arrow on the upcoming BLOOD AND BLACK LACE release, and samples of my reviews and screenplays.

Obviously, it goes without saying that, if you're in the market for having a web site built, or know someone who is, don't hesitate to get in touch! My rates are very reasonable and I've been told I'm a delight to work with. (Honest!)

It's Asterix, Jim, but not as we know it

The year is 50 BC. The haill o Gaul is occupied by the Romans... The haill o Gaul? Nae wey! Yin wee clachan o undingable Gauls aye hauds oot agin the invaders. And life is nae pairty for the Roman legionaries that gairrison the fortified camps at Benedettium, Capaldium, Vettesium and Paolozzium...

Asterix is a man of many tongues. He's been translated into over 100 languages and dialects, according to Wikipedia. There are, of course, the ones you'd expect -- English, German, Italian and so on. And then there are what I'd call the "novelty" translations -- i.e. translations into languages that only a small number of people speak natively, such as Breton, Frisian and Limburgish. Dead languages, too, are represented: you can buy Asterix in Latin and ancient Greek, as well as Esperanto (or at least once upon a time you could). He's been available in Gaelic for a number of years, and there are also Welsh and Irish translations of a select number of books. It wasn't until 2013, however, that he arrived in Scots, courtesy of author and translator Matthew Fitt and publishing house Itchy Coo.

Appropriately enough, the first book to be translated was the most recent adventure, ASTERIX AND THE PECHTS, appearing on the same day as its English counterpart, ASTERIX AND THE PICTS. I picked the Scots version up more out of curiosity than anything. I was somewhat disappointed by the English version, which I thought lacked the nuanced wordplay of earlier adventures, and was pleased to discover that the Scots version improved on it in a number of instances... and, probably in no small part due to Fitt's pro-independence leanings, included a handful of references to the then impending referendum, thereby giving it a bit of political bite sorely lacking in the English text. In one scene, a Pict standing for the position of new clan chief, blurts out a stream of slogans related to Scottish independence: "Vote aye! Vote naw! Better thegither! Pechtland free by 43 (BC). It's Pechtland's peat!" ("Scotland free by '93" and "It's Scotland's oil" being old SNP slogans from the 80s and 70s respectively.) The English version simply has "And you know me too, friends! I don't just talk off the top of my head. With me as your leader, we'll have a head start!" (The next panel has him being walloped on the head with a caber.)

ASTERIX AND THE PECHTS has now been followed up with translations of the first two books in the series, ASTERIX THE GALLUS (Asterix the Gaul) and ASTERIX AND THE GOWDEN HEUK (Asterix and the Golden Sickle). I saw them going cheap on Amazon and decided to pick both up -- in part because I was curious to see whether the Scots translation would match up to (or even exceed) the excellent English translation by Anthea Bell and the late Derek Hockridge. In general, I'd say the Scots versions are equally good as opposed to actually superior. Rather than using the English translation as a basis, Fitt has gone back to the original French, and as a result his solutions to wordplay that wouldn't work in translation (such as Goscinny's dreaded puns) are different to those of Bell and Hockridge.

The Scots vernacular lends itself rather brilliantly to punning and other forms of wordplay, perhaps even more so than English. The various puns about hair on pages 41 and 42 of ASTERIX THE GALLUS are hysterical, even outdoing those of Bell and Hockridge's original translation. ("Ah havenae got a baldie whit ye're on aboot" and "he doesnae hae the hairt tae tell ye" being my favourites.) Even the title itself, ASTERIX THE GALLUS, is a pun that's only possible in Scots ("Gallus" as in the Latin for "Gaul", "gallus" as in Scots for "bold", "daring"). It takes a little getting used to Gauls and Romans alike all speaking in broad Scots... which perhaps says something about cultural perceptions of the language, given that we don't bat an eyelid when we see these ancient French and Italians speaking the Queen's English. After a few pages, however, it ceases to be an issue. As an added touch, Fitt has the Gauls speak in broad Glaswegian while the Romans use Dundonian vernacular -- a distinction I'm not sure I'd have picked up on if it hadn't been pointed out in this interview in the Daily Rancid, but it adds another dimension to the text that's absent in its English (and original French) counterparts. Even better, the Goths who briefly appear in the first two volumes speak Scots with a German accent: "Gut! Ve shoot ze craw!" "But we're no ava tae bleiben ava!"

Where I think Fitt's text can be a bit shakier is with regard to the names. "Caius Bawheid" may be a hilarious name for the centurion in ASTERIX THE GALLUS, but it contravenes the golden rule, adhered to in every single Asterix book, that all Roman names end in "-us", and lacks the elegance of the English version's "Crismus Bonus". Whereas the English translators aimed to base their character names on complete words and phrases ending in "-ous" or "-ic", in many instances here, Fitt simply takes a word or collection of words and sticks "-us" or "-ix" at the end of them. On the other hand, "Sleekitrix" (sleekit tricks) in ASTERIX AND THE GOWDEN HEUK is very good, and, like the best Asterix names, also reflects the character's personality. (In the English version, he's "Navishtrix" -- knavish tricks.)

On the whole, these translations serve more interesting curios than an essential addition to your Asterix collection... though I suppose it might be different for someone who has a strong desire to experience their literature in bona fide Scots. While I can, for the most part, understand it, I'm not used to seeing Scots in a written form, so I do have to mentally process it in a way that doesn't apply to the English versions. Generally speaking, I would say that most Scottish people (at least the ones I know) speak English with a varying amount of Scots words and grammar sprinkled in as opposed to the "pure" Scots represented here, so I would be inclined to suspect that this is not going to be a "natural" way to read these stories for the majority of people. It remains to be seen whether Itchy Coo will publish the entire series of books or merely a selection (unlike their English and French counterparts, the spines aren't numbered, which suggests they might be hedging their bets), but I've enjoyed experiencing this slightly different take on the adventures of the indomitable Gaul, and certainly wouldn't be averse to reading more.

Obligatory Eva Green picture

Because reasons.

The darker side of a hero

Yesterday marked the fiftieth anniversary of the burial of Winston Churchill, a man who really needs no introduction. The media unsurprisingly devoted a great deal of time to this momentous occasion, much of it hagiographic in the extreme, including a repeat on the BBC of the network's 1965 coverage of his funeral.

There can be little doubt that Churchill is a hugely important figure in the history of both the UK and the world at large, and no-one should forget his vital role in both the safeguarding of these islands during the Second World War and the defeat of Nazism. There aren't many Conservative politicians, past or present, that I hold in high regard, but he would certainly be one exception.

However, I think it's also important that we remember that, like most people, Churchill was a man riven by contradictions, and there remain aspects of both his personality and his conduct in office that are rather less rosy than "official" accounts, and sufficient ink has been spilled documenting his more laudable achievements that I'm sure his memory will survive paying heed to the darker side of this war hero. Among other less favourable qualities, he was also an imperialist, a virulent racist and a supporter of eugenics, and strongly opposed votes for women.

In addition, today is the anniversary of another event closely connected to Churchill: the so-called "Battle of George Square". On 31 January 1919, workers in Glasgow occupied George Square to campaign for more favourable working conditions. When the police failed to disperse the protesters, the UK government sent in the army. Tanks and soldiers armed with machine guns invaded and occupied Glasgow, effectively imposing martial law until the threat of "revolution" had been contained and the leaders of the protest jailed. Local regiments were confined to their barracks in Maryhill out of fears that they would side with the protesters, with the soldiers instead being bussed in from further afield.

Who gave the order to send in the troops? One Winston Churchill, then the Home Secretary.

Common sense prevails

Earlier this month I posted about a petition asking for the charges to be dropped against two teenage girls, Sarah and Sophie, who stood their ground against Neo-Nazi thugs in George Square during the post-referendum rioting that took place in Glasgow on 19th September. Today, I was pleased to discover that common sense had prevailed and the charges had indeed been dropped.

As CommonSpace reports:

TWO young women caught up in the loyalist riot following the independence referendum will face no criminal proceedings.

Sisters Sarah and Sophie Johnson, ages 20 and 16, were in George Square on the night of the 19 September 2014 when British nationalists caused widespread disorder resulting in 20 arrests.

The Johnsons were threatened by the crowd forcing the police to intervene. They chose to stay in the square only for the police to arrest them on the grounds of ‘obstruction’.

In a statement to CommonSpace regarding the case, the Procurator Fiscal said: "After full and careful consideration of the specific circumstances of the case and the available evidence, the Procurator Fiscal instructed that there should be no criminal proceedings."

Sophie Johnson, as part of a full interview with CommonSpace, said: “They could have taken us home. It was out of line to arrest us for not moving as part of a protest, since no one else was being made to move. The people spitting at us or throwing things didn’t get the same treatment.” 

The fiscal’s conclusion will please the 10,000 people who signed a public petition in their support.

On the night of 19 September images and video footage of the Johnsons was widely shared as a symbol of peaceful protest in contrast to the uglier scenes of conflict in George Square. 

You can read the full interview with Sarah and Sophie Johnson ‘here’.

Of course, it's unclear whether or not the petition had any direct impact on the Procurator Fiscal's decision, and I note that the public apology called for in the petition has yet to materialise. Still, I'd like to think that people power does work, and either way I'm glad these two women can now carry on with their lives without the threat of criminal proceedings weighing over them.

The generation game

Further to yesterday's post on the Ipsos Mori poll that gave the SNP a whopping 52% of the vote in the upcoming general election, a breakdown of voting intention by age group has appeared over at SCOT goes POP! It makes for fascinating reading:

55+
41% SNP
31% Lab
18% Con
7% Lib

25-54
58% SNP
21% Lab
10% Con
7% Green
4% Lib

18-24 yrs
77% SNP
11% Lab
7% Scottish Socialist
4% Green

Put it this way: if all these voters were to retain these allegiances (unlikely, I know, but let's run with it for the time being), the Conservative Party would literally be extinct within a couple of generations. If that's not a reason to have hope for the future, I don't know what is!

Terrible, terrible damage

As the 2015 general election approaches, we've been getting voting intention polls on an almost daily basis. All seem to agree that the two "main" UK parties, Labour and the Tories, are hovering somewhere around the dismally low 30% mark. In Scotland, as I've blogged about previously, the picture is quite different, with the SNP, perceived as the "losers" following the defeat of the independence referendum, steamrollering ahead into first place. Virtually every single poll released has placed them ahead of Labour in terms of Westminster voting intentions -- a shocking turnaround, given that Scottish voters, however they might vote at Holyrood and local elections, tend to coalesce around Labour when it comes to Westminster elections. Still, there's now so much polling evidence that it seems impossible to avoid the fact that a shift has occurred in Scottish politics and that voters are now looking more and more to the SNP to stand up for their interests in London.

Today's poll, commissioned by STV and carried out by Ipsos Mori, puts the SNP on 52% of the vote -- i.e. more than that of every other party combined. For a party that polled just 19.9% of the vote in the 2010 election (albeit with a very different picture in the Holyrood election the following year), such a result would be nothing short of remarkable, and it must be stressed that this poll is at the extreme end when it comes to favouring support for the party. Indeed, I'm slightly suspicious of this succession of stories all predicting a near wipeout for Slab. I can't help but thinking that they're preparing the ground for being able to spin anything less than total annihilation as a victory for Labour's northern branch office.

Nonetheless, if these numbers were to prove accurate on polling day, this is what the Scottish electoral map would look like:

Source: STV News

As someone who desperately wants to see Labour and the Lib Dems punished for the myriad of offences they have committed in recent years -- not least (in Labour's case) the unlawful invasion of Iraq and the heinous actions both parties and the Tories committed during the independence referendum in order to secure a No vote that was, in my opinion, unfairly won -- such a prospect fills me with absolute glee. Quite apart from the schadenfreude angle, however, a large contingent of SNP MPs in Westminster would be good not just for Scotland but for the whole of the UK. They are by far the most progressive and left-wing of the large parties (the Greens are further to the left, but, much as I admire their ideals, the level of support they currently command just isn't going to translate into more than a seat or two UK-wide, more's the pity), and today the party's leader, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, signalled that they were prepared to abandon their long-held convention of not voting on matters devolved to the Scottish parliament. This, she said, means that if a bill was put to the house that would restore the English NHS to public hands, then the SNP would vote for it.

It's a curious state of affairs that the party whose raison d'etre has, since its inception, been to dissolve the Union could end up coming to the aid of the rest of the UK. Because let's be honest, they'll do more good than a similar number of Labour troughers ever will. So take heart, progressives in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: help could be on the way. As I've said before, we live in interesting times.

Is that a Trident in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?*

Every year, the block of SNP, Plaid Cymru and Green MPs get one day to set the agenda for the Westminster Parliament. Today was that day, and they chose to table the motion calling for the non-renewal of Trident -- a position I wholeheartedly support. Quite apart from its very existence being an obscenity, it is utterly ludicrous to contemplate pouring upwards of £100 billion into replacing a weapons system that, by its very nature, can never be used, when public services are being cut left, right and centre, a new food bank is popping up seemingly every time you blink, and public spending has been reduced to pre-war levels. To add insult to injury, these weapons are housed mere miles from Scotland's most populous city. My city. Oh well, at least if something were to go wrong, I'd probably be killed instantly.

The picture above shows how many MPs could be arsed to show up to the debate.

Labour's official line was that it was abstaining from what it called a "meaningless" debate. In reality, this was simply an act to save face, allowing them to avoid having their party's pro-Trident policy subjected to scrutiny, thereby dodging the issue in typical Red Tory fashion. Of course, that didn't stop them and the original Tories -- the blue ones -- from showing up in large numbers for the actual vote, ensuring that it was resoundingly defeated by 364 to 35.

A handful of Labour MPs, on both sides of the argument, did bother to turn up to the debate. In addition to the ever-reliable Dennis Skinner (the only MP who appears to treat his job as an actual job and turns up to work every day), Joan Ruddock, MP for Lewisham Deptford, gave a particularly impressive speech (viewable in two parts here and here). All in all, though, it was an utterly dismal showing, committing the UK to spending a fortune on a new generation of weapons of mass slaughter (and that is exactly what they are, designed to inflict as many civilian casualties as possible -- any "destruction" that occurs is merely a by-product) when families are struggling to put food on the table.

If you can stomach it, you can read the full transcript of the debate here, along with the Hall of Fame (those who voted for the motion) and Hall of Shame (those who voted against). In the interests of brevity, I'll simply record the names and constituencies of all Scottish MPs who bothered to turn up:

FOR
Katy Clark (Lab) - North Ayrshire and Arran
Michael Connarty (Lab) - Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Mike Crockart (Lib Dem) - Edinburgh West
Ian Davidson (Lab) - Glasgow South West
Stewart Hosie (SNP) - Dundee East
Mark Lazarowicz (Lab) - Edinburgh North and Leith
Angus MacNeil (SNP) - Na h-Eileanan an Iar
Fiona O'Donnell (Lab) - East Lothian
Sandra Osborne (Lab) - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock
Angus Robertson (SNP) - Moray
Mike Weir (SNP) - Angus
Eilidh Whiteford (SNP) - Banff and Buchan
Pete Wishart (SNP) - Perth and North Perthshire

AGAINST
Willie Bain (Lab) - Glasgow North East
Russell Brown (Lab) - Dumfries and Galloway
Margaret Curran (Lab) - Glasgow East
Thomas Docherty (Lab) - Dunfermline and West Fife
Brian Donohoe (Lab) - Central Ayrshire
Gemma Doyle (Lab) - West Dunbartonshire
Michael McCann (Lab) - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
Gregg McClymont (Lab) - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
Anne McGuire (Lab) - Stirling
Iain McKenzie (Lab) - Inverclyde
David Mundell (Con) - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
Pamela Nash (Lab) - Airdrie and Shotts
Alan Reid (Lib Dem) - Argyll and Bute
Jim Sheridan (Lab) - Paisley and Renfrewshire North

I hope the electorate remember how their elected representatives voted when 7th May comes around.

* Because ultimately, it really is nothing more than a penile extension, right?

Come on, Google, now you're just rubbing salt in the wound

That said, I can't pretend it didn't make me laugh.

Je suis Charlie

It's at times like this that I find this quote from Stephen Fry more pertinent than ever:

It's now very common to hear people say, "I'm rather offended by that." As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. "I find that offensive." It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. "I am offended by that." Well, so fucking what?

Petition mission: Public Apology to Sarah and Sophie

The night of September 19th featured some of the ugliest scenes I've ever seen in Glasgow, as far-right British nationalists, fuelled by alcohol and triumphalism over the No victory in the independence referendum, took to George Square, for the past week a hub of Yes activity, and proceeded to perform Nazi salutes and verbally and physically attack anyone they perceived as being a Yes supporter, gay or "foreign".

One of the most powerful images to emerge from that night was that of two teenage girls bravely holding a saltire while surrounded by a baying mob of Britain First/EDL types. There's some particularly upsetting footage doing the rounds on Facebook of one of the girls being knocked to the ground by an overweight skinhead, who proceeds to rip the flag out of her hands, dragging her along the concrete in the process.

The girls' reward for staging that stand-off was to be carted off by the police to spend a night in the cells. They're now facing charges for "obstructing the police".

The actions of these girls were perhaps foolhardy, but I fail to see how they can possibly justify such a response. A petition has been set up demanding a public apology for the way they've been treated and calling on the Procurator Fiscal to drop all charges against them. Whatever your stance on the issue of Scottish independence, I think most would agree that the way they've been treated by the authorities is totally out of order, and I would urge people to sign:

https://www.change.org/p/police-scotland-public-apology-to-sarah-and-sophie

Bullshit season begins

It’s election year in the UK, and the usual suspects (pictured above) are setting out their stalls, each founded on a pack of lies and cynically designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

It’s not an election I find it easy to get very excited about, due in no small part to the fact that I had hoped it would be an election that wouldn’t affect me. And, in many ways, it does feel like an election taking place in some parallel universe in which I have no part, what with the media’s blanket coverage of UKIP (a party with nothing more than a fringe following where I live) as a major force, the incessant demonisation of migrants and increasing anti-EU rhetoric (again, issues that don’t exactly figure large north of the border, at least as far as I can tell). These people speak a language that is utterly alien to me, and I find myself wishing I could just wash my hands of the whole affair and take nothing to do with any of it.

Still, affect me it does, and I can’t deny that this particular election is at least somewhat interesting due to how uncertain the outcome appears to be, with several wild cards coming into play with the potential to upset the apple cart. The two “main” parties, Labour and the Tories, are both polling at around a miserable 30%, with the remaining 40% spread among parties that were previously considered fringe groups. In Scotland, long considered a bastion of Labour support, the party’s vote share has -- seemingly in defiance of all logic -- plummeted like a rock in the aftermath of the independence referendum, with the supposed losers, the SNP, riding high in poll after poll. Psephologist John Curtice recently opined that, in the face of mounting evidence, there is nothing for it but to accept that every single Labour seat in Scotland is at risk of falling to the SNP in May, with the swing most pronounced in the constituencies that once recorded the highest support for Labour -- places like Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire, all of which voted Yes in the referendum.

Let’s examine the various possibilities. Assuming that the pundits are correct and that a majority for any party is extremely unlikely, I’m going to ignore the prospect of an outright Tory or Labour win and consider the various alternative permutations. I’ve also omitted the possibility of agreements between the Tories & SNP/PC/Greens and Labour & UKIP purely because of how implausible they are. The SNP, for instance, actually passed a conference resolution several years ago stating that they would never go into coalition with the Tories. That leaves us with:

Minority Tory government
Minority Tory government with supply and confidence deal with UKIP
Minority Tory government with supply and confidence deal with Lib Dems
Tory/UKIP coalition
Tory/Lib Dem coalition
Minority Labour government
Minority Labour government with supply and confidence deal with Lib Dems
Minority Labour government with supply and confidence deal with SNP/PC/Greens
Labour/Lib Dem coalition
Labour/SNP/PC/Green coalition

When you look at that list, it becomes... well, “exciting” is the wrong word, so instead I’ll say “unpredictable”. Looked at through the prism of what is best for the UK as a whole, I’d be inclined to say that a minority Labour government kept in check by and dependent on the votes of of the so-called “progressive alliance” of the Green Party, SNP and Plaid Cymru would probably be the option that would do the least harm -- not least because their conditions for support would include an immediate end to the austerity programme that both Labour and the Tories have so gleefully embraced. And then of course there’s the fact that Alex Salmond will almost certainly be heading back to Westminster (unless the unthinkable happens and he loses in his bid to win the Gordon constituency). I should probably begin stockpiling the popcorn...

That said, it should come as no surprise to readers of this blog that my primary goal remains an independent Scotland as soon as is humanly possible. I’ve given no small amount of consideration to how that would most readily be achieved, and have come to the conclusion that the most plausible scenario would be some sort of Tory or Tory/UKIP government holding a referendum on EU membership, with England voting to leave and Scotland voting to stay (for the purposes of simplicity, I’m not including Wales and Northern Ireland in the equation). Faced with Scotland being dragged out of the EU against its will, the Scottish Government would have the clearest possible mandate to hold a second independence referendum, with the likely result being a Yes victory -- partly because the majority of Scots are, according to the polls, pro-EU, and partly because a second Tory victory, coupled with the already clear failure of Westminster to deliver on the “near federalism” and “Devo Max” promises made in the days leading up to 18th September, would help focus minds. As infuriating as it may be, September’s No vote was quite clearly “No, but...” We know the majority of Scots want Devo Max. We know the majority of Scots want to remain in the EU. We also know, again according to polling carried out in the aftermath of the referendum, that the majority of Scots want another independence referendum within the next decade. If the south of England elects another Tory government and proceeds to drag an unwilling Scotland out of the EU, that could come a lot sooner than ten years from now.

There’s another possibility not listed above, and one that has, in the last couple of weeks, been seriously mooted by a surprising number of media pundits: a “national unity” coalition between the Tories and Labour, designed to freeze out what one journalist hilariously referred to as “the insurgents” -- meaning the SNP in Scotland and UKIP in England. Personally, I can’t see it happening. Don’t get me wrong, I suspect the Tories and Labour would work incredibly well together -- they did during the referendum, after all, and you can barely fit a fag packet between their respective policies -- but it would be electoral suicide for both of them. Both parties have retained their privileged positions by perpetuating, for more than half a century, the Great Lie that an election is a binary choice between the two of them. According to the Great Lie, the two parties are mortal enemies, Labour representing the left and the Tories representing the right. The sight of them working hand in glove in government would bring that illusion to an end in the wider UK... in much the same way that the sight of them working hand in glove during the referendum appears to have brought it to an end in Scotland. Again, such a scenario would almost certainly hasten rather than stall the break-up of the UK, and for that reason I can’t imagine the Tories or even Labour being so stupid as to actually do it. (Mind you, Labour thought they would suffer no ill effects from campaigning with the Tories for a No vote...)

So... here we go again. The scripts practically write themselves. Once in a generation opportunity... Only this party can deliver X, Y and Z... This time we really mean it... A vote for the SNP is a vote for David Cameron... No, a vote for the SNP is a vote for Labour... Pooling and sharing... Nick Clegg making another pledge... I can feel my eyes beginning to glaze over already.

That was the year that was

Well, another one's been and gone. For a variety of reasons, I can't say it's one that will go down in the history books as one of the all-time greats for me, though it contained a number of individual moments of sheer joy. Most of these involved the referendum we had in Scotland on the 18th September on the matter of independence -- or rather, the run-up to it. The result, a narrowish No vote, ranks as one of the most crushingly disappointing moments of my life, and it casts a shadow over the entire year. However, the campaign itself, and in particular the fortnight or so before it, when a bizarre and quite intoxicating euphoria seemed to grip Glasgow, are memories I wouldn't trade for anything. And if the immediate aftermath of the referendum has taught us anything, it's that September 18th was merely the beginning rather than the end of Scotland's journey towards independence. Much as the unionists wish it wasn't the case, the debate is going to continue to run and run. In any event, 2014 was a year of political firsts for me. I attended my first protest rally, joined a political party and voted on the constitutional make-up of the country I live in. The latter, I hope, is something I'll have the opportunity to repeat before too many more years have passed, hopefully with a more agreeable outcome.

I mention all this not simply to indulge in a bit of political tub-thumping but because of the impact it had on my film viewing. I hate to say it, but for a while the act of watching movies started to feel like a rather trivial pursuit and I found myself getting far more satisfaction out of spending a couple of hours reading the latest opinion pieces on the various independence web sites rather than sitting in front of the projection screen. As a result, my viewing figures -- 138 films seen, of which 108 were first watches -- are way down on last year's, and significantly short of my original target of 175 new films.

Still, heres's the full chronological list. (An asterisk designates a rewatch.)

January

1. The Croods (2013) - 1/1/14 - 5/10

2. Upstream Color (2013) - 2/1/14 - 3/10

3. Mud (2013) - 3/1/14 - 5/10

4. The Kings of Summer (2013) - 5/1/14 - 8/10

5. Trap for Cinderella (2013) - 7/1/14 - 6/10

6. Frances Ha (2012) - 9/1/14 - 8/10

7. Something in the Air (2012) - 10/1/14 - 7/10

8. Me and You (2012) - 11/1/14 - 6/10

9. American Hustle (2013) - 13/1/14 - 7/10

10. The World's End (2013) - 15/1/14 - 8/10

11. Cloud Atlas (2012) - 16/1/14 - 7/10

12. *Stoker (2013) - 17/1/14 - 4/10

13. In a World... (2013) - 17/1/14 - 6/10

14. Before Midnight (2013) - 18/1/14 - 8/10

15. Demons 2 (1986) - 20/1/14 - 5/10

16. *Zero Dark Thirty (2012) - 21/1/14 - 9/10

17. *Broken (2012) - 26/1/14 - 4/10

18. 12 Years a Slave (2013) - 28/1/14 - 10/10

19. *Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) - 31/1/14 - 9/10

February

20. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - 6/2/14 - 8/10

21. The Long Goodbye (1973) - 7/2/14 - 8/10

22. Babylon (TV) (2014) - 9/2/14 - 6/10

23. Heat (1995) - 18/2/14 - 7/10

24. The Lego Movie (2014) - 20/2/14 - 7/10

25. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) - 28/2/14 - 5/10

March

26. Dallas Buyers Club (2013) - 7/3/14 - 8/10

27. Page Eight (2011) - 16/3/14 - 8/10

28. Veronica Mars (2014) - 18/3/14 - 7/10

29. Under the Skin (2013) - 20/3/14 - 7/10

30. Turks & Caicos (2014) - 21/3/14 - 8/10

31. Salting the Battlefield (2014) - 29/3/14 - 8/10

April

32. Frozen (2013) - 1/4/14 - 7/10

33. The Book Thief (2013) - 3/4/14 - 5/10

34. *Gravity (2013) - 4/4/14 - 8/10

35. *The Counselor (2013) - 7/4/14 (with audio commentary)

36. The Interpreter (2005) - 10/4/14 - 7/10

37. Bug (2007) - 14/4/14 - 6/10

38. To Live and Die in LA (1985) - 19/4/14 - 7/10

39. Magnum Force (1973) - 20/4/14 - 8/10

40. The Enforcer (1976) - 21/4/14 - 5/10

May

41. Tracks (2013) - 1/5/14 - 8/10

42. In Our Name (2010) - 5/5/14 - 7/10

43. *Operation Crossbow (1965) - 12/5/14 - 7/10

44. The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears (2013) - 19/5/14 - 8/10

45. Sudden Impact (1983) - 26/5/14 - 8/10

June

46. Diamonds are Forever (1971) - 1/6/14 - 4/10

47. *Live and Let Die (1973) - 2/6/14 - 6/10

48. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - 2/6/14 - 3/10

49. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - 4/6/14 - 7/10

50. Moonraker (1979) - 8/6/14 - 2/10

51. *For Your Eyes Only (1981) - 9/6/14 - 7/10

52. Octopussy (1983) - 11/6/14 - 5/10

53. A View to a Kill (1985) - 14/6/14 - 3/10

54. *The Living Daylights (1987) - 15/6/14 - 9/10

55. *Licence to Kill (1989) - 18/6/14 - 8/10

56. Goldeneye (1995) - 21/6/14 - 7/10

57. Gangster Squad (2013) - 22/6/14 - 3/10

58. Lucie Aubrac (1997) - 23/6/14 - 6/10

59. *Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - 24/6/14 - 5/10

60. *The World is Not Enough (1999) - 29/6/14 - 6/10

July

61. Taking Liberties (2007) - 3/7/14 - 7/10

62. *Frozen (2013) - 3/7/14 - 7/10

63. *Hercules (1997) - 4/7/14 - 6/10

64. Non-Stop (2014) - 5/7/14 - 6/10

65. Out of the Furnace (2013) - 6/7/14 - 5/10

66. *Tangled (2010) - 8/7/14 - 7/10

67. Hunger (2008) - 13/7/14 - 8/10

68. Video Nasties: Draconian Days (2014) - 15/7/14 - 7/10

69. *Halloween (1978) - 17/7/14 - 8/10

70. In Fear (2013) - 18/7/14 - 6/10

71. *The Special Relationship (2010) - 20/7/14 - 7/10

72. Jeune & jolie (2013) - 21/7/14 - 7/10

73. Welcome to the Punch (2013) - 31/7/14 - 4/10

August

74. Shell (2012) - 3/8/14 - 4/10

75. Pusher (2012) - 6/8/14 - 5/10

76. The Seasoning House (2012) - 9/8/14 - 6/10

77. Insomnia (1997) - 10/8/14 - 7/10

78. *Opera (1987) - 11/8/14 - 9/10

79. The Congress (2013) - 15/8/14 - 5/10

80. Good Will Hunting (1997) - 15/8/14 - 10/10

81. Pioneer (2013) - 20/8/14 - 8/10

82. Scotland Yet (2014) - 24/8/14 - 7/10

83. Lucy (2014) - 25/8/14 - 8/10

September

84. Brick (2005) - 2/9/14 - 4/10

85. Before I Go to Sleep (2014) - 9/9/14 - 5/10

86. The Quiet Ones (2014) - 21/9/14 - 6/10

87. A Most Wanted Man (2014) - 22/9/14 - 9/10

88. The Guardian (1990) - 26/9/14 - 5/10

89. Halloween II (1981) - 28/9/14 - 6/10

90. A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014) - 29/9/14 - 7/10

91. *Excision (2012) - 30/9/14 - 7/10

October

92. *The Loved Ones (2009) - 3/10/14 - 7/10

93. *The Haunting (1963) - 3/10/14 - 9/10

94. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) - 6/10/14 - 7/10

95. Gone Girl (2014) - 7/10/14 - 8/10

96. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) - 13/10/14 - 6/10

97. Edge of Tomorrow (2014) - 14/10/14 - 8/10

98. *Halloween (1978) - 16/10/14 (with audio commentary)

99. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) - 17/10/14 - 2/10

100. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) - 18/10/14 - 4/10

101. *Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998) - 19/10/14 - 6/10

102. '71 (2014) - 21/10/14 - 7/10

103. *Halloween (2007) - 21/10/14 - 3/10

104. Halloween II (2009) - 22/10/14 - 4/10

105. Halloween: Resurrection (2002) - 29/10/14 - 1/10

106. The Babadook (2014) - 31/10/14 - 7/10

November

107. Nightcrawler (2014) - 4/11/14 - 10/10

108. *A Most Wanted Man (2014) - 9/11/14 - 9/10

109. *Suspiria (1977) - 12/11/14 - 10/10

110. The Hypnotist (2012) - 16/11/14 - 6/10

111. Oculus (2012) - 17/11/14 - 6/10

112. Interstellar (2014) - 19/11/14 - 7/10

113. Her (2013) - 22/11/14 - 4/10

114. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - 24/11/14 - 8/10

115. The Imitation Game (2014) - 28/11/14 - 8/10

December

116. Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s (2012) - 1/12/14 - 8/10

117. Grizzly Man (2005) - 3/12/14 - 7/10

118. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) - 5/12/14 - 8/10

119. Locke (2013) - 7/12/14 - 4/10

120. Haunter (2013) - 7/12/14 - 5/10

121. Grand Central (2013) - 8/12/14 - 7/10

122. The Two Faces of January (2014) - 9/12/14 - 7/10

123. The Double (2013) - 11/12/14 - 8/10

124. Calvary (2014) - 12/12/14 - 5/10

125. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013) - 14/12/14 - 7/10

126. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) - 15/12/14 - 4/10

127. The Fault in Our Stars (2014) - 16/12/14 - 5/10

128. Venus in Fur (2013) - 19/12/14 - 6/10

129. Withnail & I (1987) - 22/12/14 - 7/10

130. How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989) - 24/12/14 - 6/10

131. *Edge of Tomorrow (2014) - 25/12/14 - 8/10

132. *Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - 27/12/14 - 7/10

133. Two Days, One Night (2014) - 27/12/14 - 6/10

134. *Good Will Hunting (1997) - 28/12/14 - 10/10

135. Welcome to New York (2014) - 29/12/14 - 7/10

136. Enemy (2013) - 30/12/14 - 7/10

137. Paddington (2014) - 31/12/14 - 7/10

138. Saving Mr. Banks (2013) - 31/12/14 - 8/10

Best film I saw? Tied between 12 YEARS A SLAVE, GOOD WILL HUNTING and NIGHTCRAWLER. Worst film? Without a doubt HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION. Yeesh.

I also found time to read a handful of books, albeit a far lesser quantity compared to the number of films I consumed:

The Devil's Staircase - Helen FitzGerald

Dying Light - Stuart MacBride

Nordic Noir - Barry Forshaw

Driftnet - Lin Anderson

Rachel Cord PI and the "Bad Bitch Blues" - R.E. Conary

*The Devil Rides Out - Dennis Wheatley

I am Pilgrim - Terry Hayes

Dario Argento - L. Andrew Cooper

Broken Skin - Stuart MacBride

The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris

*Hannibal - Thomas Harris

The Negotiator - Frederick Forsythe

My Last Confession - Helen FitzGerald

*Garnethill - Denise Mina

The Girl Who Played with Fire - Denise Mina

The Argento Syndrome - Derek Botelho

This is Where I Am - Karen Campbell

The Night Hunter - Caro Ramsay

Stieg & Me - Eva Gabrielsson

The Secret Place - Tana French

*The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien

Red Fox - Gerald Seymour

The Annotated Hobbit - Douglas A. Anderson/J.R.R. Tolkien

Red Dragon - Thomas Harris

We'll see what 2015 brings. With any luck, rather more books read and movies watched, and a whole lot more political unrest. A better-paying job with more contracted hours would also be nice, not to mention making some headway on the writing front. Anyway, here's to the next twelve months. May they bring you good health and prosperity!

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals...

...and a Happy New Year!

Old habits die hard

Academy Originals, a YouTube documentary-style video series produced by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, has been posting a series of videos called Creative Spark. These focus on people working in the film industry, with a particular emphasis on screenwriters, detailing their work process and the tools they use. As a (wannabe) screenwriter myself, I find this sort of thing fascinating. It's a real treat to see how these people work, and the dramatic extent to which their approaches differ. I'm not sure I have a "process" as such, but I can certainly recognise something of myself in these people, particularly the procrastination angle and rather weird working hours. (Though most of them appear to be early risers, whereas I'm more of a night owl.)

My favourite so far is the video on Eric Roth, writer of MUNICH and FORREST GUMP, among others...



...probably because, while the bulk of the writers interviewed use fancy-pancy Macs, Roth is a committed Luddite, working on a rather grubby-looking Windows XP machine (seriously, that keyboard is FILTHY!) and running an ancient DOS-based screenwriting program that can't export PDFs and runs out of memory once you hit 40 pages. As someone who jumps between Final Draft, Movie Magic Screenwriter and Highland depending on which one I'm in the mood for, I know the program you're using can make a huge difference, even though they're essentially all just different variations of black text on a white background. As such, while the program Roth uses looks and sounds maddeningly archaic, I can completely understand why he sticks with it.

As I've indicated above, I'm somewhat different. I chop and change all the time, depending on how the mood takes me. I wrote about half of my most recent script in Final Draft, then switched midway through to Movie Magic Screenwriter. The latter is way more clunky (though let's face it, both programs leave a lot to be desired) and in serious need of an update (the last one was in 2007, and it still contains bugs that have been claiming to be working on for years), but I don't know... something about the way the text looks on the screen just works for me, at least for now. For my next script, I may well go back to Final Draft or Highland.

But anyway, here's to Roth and his old habits. Any process that delivered MUNICH is all right by me.

Petition Mission: a Glasgow-based film hub

I came across this petition today on Change.org, and it's one that, both as a Glaswegian and as someone who would like to see a bit more in the way of location diversity in UK-based film and television (i.e. not another cop show set in London!), I think is well worth signing:

https://www.change.org/p/scottish-film-studio-delivery-group-recognise-that-a-glasgow-based-production-facility-will-be-at-the-very-heart-of-the-cultural-and-commercial-screen-industry-in-scotland

Recognise that a Glasgow based production facility will be at the very heart of the cultural and commercial screen industry in Scotland.

An Open Letter to the Scottish Film Studio Delivery Group

10th December 2014

After many years of inertia and procrastination, there is now a clear and present opportunity to build not just a film studio, but also a globally significant screen production facility for Scotland.

This facility would deliver double advantages:

1.   The creation of Scotland’s first dedicated studio for the production of international and indigenous film and television projects, alongside a facilities village of companies providing ancillary services to the production industry.

2.     The further development of a creative cluster which would become a nexus for Scotland’s indigenous industry, acting as a catalyst for future collaboration, convergence, and of course skills development and delivery.

The Film Studio Delivery Group was convened in May 2013, and was to be a vehicle by which the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, and Creative Scotland, aimed to deliver ‘a sustainable studio for Scotland’.

Our industry is global, and with that comes fierce international competition, therefore any steps to create a sustainable studio and indeed grow the industry in Scotland would have to be considered, viable, and incremental.

Central to this ambition is location.

We not only have the opportunity to cluster rather than fragment screen and creative industry talent, but also to provide a sustainable commercial income stream to underpin any cyclical use of the studio, workshop and office facilities that would be ring fenced for production use. Pragmatism must come into play, and a stand-alone facility would be vulnerable to the easy-come, easy-go vagaries of the international marketplace.

Star Wars Co-Producer Tommy Gormley reiterated the importance of location in his recent BAFTA Scotland award acceptance speech, highlighting ’I think it should be located in an existing creative hub which we can expand on’.

Undoubtedly, the city of Glasgow has this competitive advantage and baseline of strong screen activity to expand on.

There is an existing critical mass of companies and facilities activity in the city, the major terrestrial broadcasters, over 50,000 sq ft of sound and picture post production houses, new hotel developments, Glasgow School of Art's world leading Digital Design Studio, and existing screen and creative micro-clusters such as Film City Glasgow and The Hub.

Productions using Glasgow will enjoy close links to the city’s existing cultural and hospitality amenities, together with the thicker pools of freelance workers and talent living in the city and surrounding areas. Indeed, Glasgow has the highest density of production crew and facilities companies anywhere in Scotland.

Transportation and access to a Glasgow site is enhanced by close proximity to the major airports and transport hubs, and strategically connects with the new £40m Fastlink system, which opens in 2015. Clearly, Glasgow has the potential to be home to one of Europe’s most connected screen production facilities. Institutionally, in addition to the national cultural and enterprise agencies, a Glasgow based facility would have the added support of a film office, marketing bureau, business support agencies, chamber of commerce, and a tacit connection with one of the world’s strongest city brands.

As evidenced by Game of Thrones in Belfast, a globally celebrated high-end drama production can be delivered from a relatively small footprint in the very heart of a metropolitan environment. Titanic Studios covers approximately 10 acres of land less than 2 miles from Belfast City Centre. Glasgow has at least double this amount of developable land for a screen facility – a tantalising prospect.

We agree with the Film Studio Delivery Group that any development of a film, high-end television, or indeed animation, facility in Scotland has to be sustainable, but such sustainability will only be achieved with the right location, and with a regular and demonstrable commercial income stream.

Glasgow is the right location.

Other sites currently under consideration, such as Cumbernauld and the M8 corridor, are compromises that will not deliver the double advantages of a connected, accessible , facility, married with commercial sustainability. There is little appetite amongst the many skilled workers, screen companies, post houses, or facilities companies to permanently relocate outside an urban centre, and certainly wholly impractical for the many academic institutions delivering screen industry training to align themselves with an inaccessible, out of town screen facility.

Contrast this with a Glasgow based facility, at the very heart of both the cultural and commercial screen industry in Scotland.

Longer term, and once a more tangible critical mass of screen production companies and facilities exists, an Edinburgh based facility could further complement Scotland’s production offer.

We, the undersigned, ask the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Creative Scotland to urgently reconsider any moves to develop a screen facility or studio outside of an urban centre, and to recognize that currently, the metrics of place, connectivity, accessibility and sustainability can be only fully realised within the city of Glasgow.

Alan J. Wands, Producer (STONEMOUTH, FIELD OF BLOOD)
Allan Hunter, Co-Director, GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL
Allan MacDonald, Managing Director, MNE
Allison Gardner, Head of Cinemas, GLASGOW FILM THEATRE
Andrea Calderwood, Producer, SLATE FILMS (LAST KING OF SCOTLAND)
Andrew Orr, Managing Director, INDEPENDENT FILM SALES
Anne Mensah, Head of Drama, SKY TV
Anne Murray, Business Relationship Manager, INVEST GLASGOW
Arabella Page-Croft, Producer, BLACK CAMEL (OUTPOST, SUNSHINE ON LEITH)
Brian Coffey, Producer (CITADEL, STARRED UP)
Carole Sheridan, Producer, SINGER FILMS
Catriona MacInnes, Creative Producer, JUMP CUT
Colin Kennedy, Director, (SWUNG)
Compton Ross, Financier/Producer, (YOU INSTEAD, BELLE)
Dan MacRae, Head of UK Development, STUDIO CANAL
Daniela Nardini, Actor (SUNSHINE ON LEITH, FESTIVAL)
Danny McGrath, Assistant Director (PROMETHEUS, SHERLOCK HOLMES)
David Mackenzie, Director (STARRED UP, HALLAM FOE)
Dr. Belle Doyle, Screen Industries Freelance Consultant
Dr. David Archibald, Lecturer, Film & Television Studies, UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW
Dr. Katherine Champion, Research Associate, UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW
Dr. Steve Inch, OBE Chair, GLASGOW FILM THEATRE
Ewen Bremner, Actor (TRAINSPOTTING, HALLAM FOE)
Gary Lewis, Actor (BILLY ELLIOT, GANGS OF NEW YORK)
Gavin Smith, Creative Director Development, COMEDY UNIT
Giles Lamb, Managing Director, SAVALAS
Gillian Berrie, Producer, SIGMA FILMS
Greg Hemphil,l Actor/Writer (STILL GAME)
Gregory Burke, Screenwriter & Playwright ('71, BLACK WATCH)
Hamish Walker, Production Executive, GLASGOW FILM OFFICE
Jack O'Connell, Actor ('71, UNBROKEN, STARRED UP)
Jaki McDougall, Chief Executive, GLASGOW FILM THEATRE
Jennifer Reynolds, Film Commissioner, GLASGOW FILM OFFICE
John Archer, Producer, HOPSCOTCH FILMS
John O'Neill, Film Finance, THE O'NEILL PARTNERSHIP
Jonathan Olsberg, Screen Consultant, OLSBERG SPI
Kahleen Crawford, Casting Director (FILTH, ANGELS' SHARE)
Kate Dickie, Actor (RED ROAD, FILTH)
Katharine Otway, Film Business Affairs, KENREN MEDIA
Katie Lander, Managing Director, FINESTRIPE PRODUCTIONS
Lenny Crooks, Film Consultant, Visiting Faculty (STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY NY)
Martin Compston, Actor (SWEET SIXTEEN, LINE OF DUTY)
Michael McDonough, Director of Photography (STARRED UP, WINTER'S BONE)
Mike Bolland, Freelancer, Ex-CHANNEL 4, BBC, NFTS
Mike Kelly, Film Analyst & Consultant, NORTHERN ALLIANCE
Morven Christie, Actor (GRANTCHESTER, CASE HISTORIES)
Paul Laverty, Writer (MY NAME IS JOE, ANGELS' SHARE)
Peter La Terriere, Managing Director, EUROPEAN FILM BONDS
Peter Mullan, Actor/Director (SUNSHINE ON LEITH, NEDS)
Professor Nick Higgins, Director, Creative Media Academy, UWS
Rebecca O'Brien, Producer, SIXTEEN FILMS (ANGELS' SHARE, LOOKING FOR ERIC)
Reno Antoniades, Film Lawyer (RUSH, UNDER THE SKIN)
Richard Brown, Producer (TRUE DETECTIVE)
Rob Kettlewell, Financier, RED SKIN MEDIA
Roddy Hart, Musician, Actor (SUNSHINE ON LEITH)
Roland Kennedy, Director, FILM CITY CAPITAL
Sean Gascoine, Agent, UNITED AGENTS
Stuart Cosgrove, Director of Creative Diversity, CHANNEL 4
Sue Bruce Smith, Filmmaker
Suzanne Reid, Production Manager (DA VINCI'S DEMONS)
Tiernan Kelly, Director, FILM CITY GLASGOW
Tommy Gormley, Co-Producer (STAR WARS VII)
Tony Safford, Co-Head of Acquisitions, FOX SEARCHLIGHT

As you can see, it's already attracted the signatures of a number of heavy hitters in the industry, both local and from further afield. Please consider adding yours!

There's something about Léa...

...Seydoux, that is. She first caught my attention, and that of much of the rest of the world, with her sterling performance in Abdellatif Kechiche's BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR (alongside Adèle Exarchopoulos), and she continues to impress in GRAND CENTRAL, an intriguing and alluring little film by Rebecca Zlotowski in which she plays the love interest to a nuclear power plant worker. Oh, and she has a leading role in the next James Bond film, SPECTRE, which should ensure that her star continues in its ascendancy.

Top 10 Giallo Films for the Beginner

It's been four years since I last wrote for DVD Times, the site now known as The Digital Fix. I had a few reasons for stepping down, including a degree of uncertainty surrounding the site's future. Thankfully, it survived and has continued to prosper, although I felt it was time for me to make a clean break. After writing more than 300 reviews, I'd burned myself out and was getting to the stage of no longer being able to remember what I'd written. (Or seen. I remember vehemently insisting that I'd never seen David Koepp's SECRET WINDOW, only for it to be pointed out to me that I'd written a review of it.)

Today marks the first time I've had an article on film published on a web site other than my own since 2010. Dan Stephens, one of my former DVD Times colleagues, contacted me asking if I'd be willing to put together an article for his web site, Top Ten Films, with the brief "an introduction to the giallo in 10 films." I said yes, and you can find the finished piece here:

Top 10 Giallo Films for the Beginner

Have a look and tell me what you think of my choice of films. As I mention in the article, I deliberately went for ten films that I felt would be most appropriate for someone new to the genre rather than my ten absolute favourite gialli (though if I did produce such a list, a number of the same films would also appear on it). I doubt I'll go back to writing regular reviews any time soon, but I enjoyed the process of putting this piece together and was surprised by how quickly I was able to "get back on the wagon", so to speak.

Chasing Jessica Chastain

One of the most disappointing aspects for me of Christopher Nolan's ambitious but heavily flawed INTERSTELLAR was its underuse of Jessica Chastain, an actor who I only became aware of in the last couple of years but who's been impressing me in everything in which I've seen her, particularly Kathryn Bigelow's ZERO DARK THIRTY, a film she carried more or less single-handedly by virtue of being the sole figure of audience identification in what could otherwise have been a meandering and only loosely connected series of events. Of course, it helps too that she's extremely striking-looking. With her red hair and incredibly pale skin, she can't help but be the most eye-catching part of any frame in that film, whether she's standing in the desert or in a room full of grey men in grey suits.

Beam me up, Scottie!

The Herald has released pictures of the interior of the soon-to-be-completed South Glasgow University Hospital, set to be one of the largest hospital complexes in Europe. I'm sure I can't be the only one who immediately thought of JJ Abrams' STAR TREK reboot when I saw them:

All kidding aside, it looks very impressive, and a massive improvement over the dingy old Western Infirmary, in whose A&E department I've spent the occasional evening over the years.