Divided into political and cultural this is a bunch of things that I have liked this year and some which I haven't, but everything in here is justified, you'll be please to know. I hope you have all enjoyed reading the blog, there will be probably quite a few changes - more music and politcs, less other stuff maybe not a weekly blog, it depends on the mood. Little break coming up as well as I regather my thoughts. till the near future then...
Political Highlights
Favourite Politcal
Memoir of the year which had the implicit aim of setting the story straight – Tony Blair –
A Journey
I can honestly say that I have never read a book like this,
part memoir, part case for the defence, A
Journey is Blair trying and failing to be utterly candid with events of the
past - and who can blame him, some of
these events aren’t that far in the past and Blair isn’t the person to pass
judgement on Blair . It a good and interesting read for the most part, until
Iraq. Forgetting the need for the reader to be entertained as well as informed
Blair sets about on a three chapter, 200 page explanation of every changing
fact and development from September 2001 to March 2003 leaving you praying for
a conclusion. Though it isn’t the worst book I read this year, I’m not sure how
much of a compliment that is.
Political Hero of the Yeatr - Barack Obama
2008 will always be the most historic year as far as Obama
is concerned but 2010 is when the real progress came. Despite the “shellacking”
that Obama received in the Midterms it was year when a huge amount was done;
health insurance for 47 million more people, the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t
Tell, so now gay men and women can serve openly in the armed forces, and
Congress passed the new Start Treaty which is reducing the number of nuclear
warheads that Russia and the USA have by 30%. Not bad for a years work.
Political Villain-Pollly Toynbee
For failing a basic maths test. The Guardian columnist wasn’t
the only one begging for a re-alignment of the left, with Labour, Lib Dems, SNP
(If you could possibly call them left wing) the main parties of fantasy –land ‘rainbow
coalition’ after the general election result in May, but she was the one who couldn’t
let it go when everyone could see it was an unrealistic prospect; It was never going to happen. Move on.
Picture of the Century
Oh how the mighty have fallen. It seems the students no
longer agree with Nick Clegg. Fickle lot.
Cultural Highlights
Albums of the Year
These are the albums that I loved and the reasons why.
The Walkmen – Lisbon
A real 11th hour choice – as I only heard of it through
word of mouth - Lisbon is quite simply a barnstormer of an album. For me they
never seemed able to eclipse The Rat, four minutes of frenetic playing which
left you breathless and in awe. But with Lisbon, The Walkmen have produced an
album which sees them come of age. The album is just a consistently beautiful
of effort, with touching lyrics from the first to the last such as ‘you’re one
of us, or you’re one of them’ from album opener Juveniles, or ‘now the street
light, bright and pale, as we sip our ginger ale’ in Woe is Me, a song which 60’s
in rhythm but post modern in its execution, like so much of the album. For
those who love the faster side of The Walkmen there is Angela Surf City with a
drumbeat reminiscent of a heartbeat. The consistency of the album in setting a
mood and feel is really something to be admired, the guitars and synths with
timely reverb create a deliberately slower pace and hazy sound. But the biggest asset this band has is the
voice of Hamilton Leithauser and it is used here to perfection. A truly beautiful album.
The follow up to ‘Alas I Can Not Swim’ – an album which was
a favourite of mine in 2008 – I Speak Becase I Can saw the maturing of the
young folk singer into a crafted storyteller able to pull at the heart strings
in a variety of ways; with songs about relationships with lovers (Devils Spoke),
but also relationships with family (Hope In the Air) and relationships with the
environment around. The last point is done most convincingly with the song
Goodbye England (Covered in Snow), a song that makes me miss a land I inhabit. The
album is thoughtful and thought provoking and has sees Marling developing a
character.
Debut album from this experimental and instrumental six
piece - the group has violin players. Hollow Realm from first to last is an explosion of post rock sounds, ina guise that I have heard before, but never
with such energy and unrelenting pace. The stand out track for me has to be
Impala – the last two minutes of which never fails to have me jumping up and
down.
Despite the fact of having a been a big fan I wasn’t
expecting too much, perceiving that they would be one of those bands who would
take a few turns to get it just right. But with Hollow Realm they have really
hit the ground running.
Antidotes, the debut album from the Oxford five piece, saw these
guys become the poster boys of math /post rock. What next, then? Hole yourself
away in a Swedish recording studio constantly repeating the mantra, less is
more. Result? Total Life Forever, a stunning low fi, high impact album which seems to tick all the boxes for a follow – up.
It’s a piece of music which has a truly affecting nature as displayed by
Spanish Sahara, a gutsy pop song if there ever was one. Blue Blood, the album opener, is by a country
mile my favourite song of the year. Funk in the bassline, poignancy in the
lyrics, beautiful simplicity in the guitars and drums, all pared down to create
a fantastic harmonious sound. These are recurring themes in all their songs but
it works best here.Black Gold is
another triumph of simple music being very effective and wins the award for
best ‘drop’ in a song.
All the Radiohead comparisons are a little unnecessary are
these are two completely different bands. But it just goes to show if that if
you are being talked about in that breadth then you’re definitely here to stay.
Catchy, chilled, crazy – infectious, these are all words I’m
sure I have used in every day conversation to describe this album and even if I
haven’t I should have because this album is all those things and more. Caribou
and Four Tet may take the plaudits for introducing indie kids to dance, but
Gold Panda, for me, achieves a far more eclectic mix of guitar and synth with
Lucky Shiner. The oriental feel mixed with modern technology gives this album a
very cultured feel. Same Dream China and India Lately are the obvious manifestations
of this, but Marriage, with its odd, echoed string also has a strong oriental
feel. This isn’t dance music to dance to – it’s for contemplation and meditation.
Namaste.
The album that proved power pop isn’t dead. Tourist History
also had the fun-est lyric of the year; ‘to the basement people, to the
basement, many surprises await you’.
Vampire Weekend – Contra
Deciding to tone down the Soweto sounds for the follow up,
Vampire Weekend delivered a masterclass in metropolitan lyrics mixed with an expanded
sound and solid ,staple rhythms. The sort of rock music you could show to
mother.
Efterklang – Magic Chairs
Less experimental than previous efforts such as Parades and
Tripper, Magic Chairs saw Efterklang delivering solid pop hooks with charming
vocals and off-beat drums. Works a treat on tunes such as Modern Drift or
Raincoats.
Favourite play
Daniel Kitson’s, It’s Always Right Now, Until It’s Later,
isn’t quite a play and it isn’t quite a stand-up routine. Over one hour-twenty
minutes Kitson covers over 80 years, two love stories and countless innocuous incidents.
The result is a hilarious exploration of life which is itself heartening and
life and affirming, and frankly every humanist dream. I have cried before, but
I’ve never cried at a show and then spent the rest of the day smiling every
time I think of it. A classic.
Favourite Film
Inception Post-modernism
meets Hollywood - was very, very refreshing to see a completely new action film
plot, rather than a re-hash or a sequel.
between now and the 31st Dec there may just be a end of year special - which will have my favourite political heroes and villians, my favourites from the world of arts and a special extravaganza on my favourite albums of the year.
//KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED//
No dropbox for this one; this is very much my own selfish choice.
These guys didn't quite make it despite being one of my favourite bands. So this is their consolation price:
Favourite Story of the Week: Search Every Word Ever written. Ever
the brain boxes at Google have unveiled their latest innovation this week. Ngram is a programme which allows you to type in any word in the dictionary and see how often it has appeared in print since the birth of mass publishing. The possibilities for history scholars is endless and cultural studies professors have already come up with a name for it, "culturonomics". But the aim is that an 8 year-old should also a be able to manage their way around the site.
I put in a few and thought I'd show you the results for capitalism and communism. Interesting, very interesting (red is communism and blue is capitalism. obviously).
Opinion of the Week: Let Journalist be Journalist
Some journalist report the story, and some, a very few –whose
ideas are worthy enough, become the story. Christopher Hitchens is one of those
very few. His career has always been about railing against authority, be they
political or celestial and his long standing views are both very well developed
and a constant headline maker. The recent outpouring of support has brought him
a wave of public sympathy from both sides of the Atlantic, but it would be
remiss of me to say that it has also brought pleasure to some.
So why hasn’t he been a household name for years? Admittedly
he is a little too high brow for most households but there is also another
reason. He is part British, part American and so unlike his brother he doesn’t
have a newspaper column or regular guest spots on political TV programmes. In a
recent interview for Charlie Rose he explained why it was that he felt the need
to leave the UK for the USA. This was the reason he gave:
“If you show any promise as a writer in London, that fine,
but you keep feeling that you have to pass through a series of test and hoops;
‘he’s quite promising and so forth.’ You can die of that kind of encouragement.
Whereas in America if you are willing to take the chance and say ‘here I am,
try this’ you don’t feel that you are having to go through these stages of
evolution.”
Whilst I am a writer of sorts, I’m not the sort of writer
who is paid /commented on/cited/read, so I am nowhere near the standard that
Hitchens is or was when he crossed the Atlantic. That said, with the little
experience that I do have as a journalist I can see exactly where he is coming.
Writing and journalism, from where I stand, has become straightforward and formulaic.
If you’re a novelist, where your job is to distract people from hellish tube
journeys then the consequences aren’t that grave –though if you’ve looked in
the fiction section of Waterstone’s they are disheartening, if you’re a
journalist, where the craft of writing and the grit of endeavour fuse, then the
consequences are a little more severe.
The situation in the UK is very much that if you can only
report on salacious topics and you can only write about what you know; on the
face of it this might seem a perfectly logical standpoint (personally as a
journalist I can only write about what it is like to be young or black, or if
I’m lucky and the editor has some vision, young and black). But new ideas
become shut out as it just becomes a constant loop of the same old same old
commenting on and reporting on issues of the day, a fresh outsider perspective
can give some new insight and information, people want good reporting and to be
challenged in their ideas not just comforted in them. That for me is the job of
a journalist. It seems odd, to me at least, that when an industry is as on its
knees as journalism professes to be it should not allow for new ideas and new
ways of doing things and indeed new perspectives.
This is my own example of something that many people have
experienced. i.e. the marketisation of what they love and its subsequent
dumbing down – but for journalism this is a dangerous trend as they perform
such a vital duty. John Pilger’s recent documentary on the Iraq war, entitled
“The War You Don’t See” laid into the free press of the UK because of such
narrow mindedness. When reporting on the war, without exception, the major news
outlets chose to embed their forces with the military rather than report independently.
This meant that stories of soldiers committing atrocities and the true
devastation of shock and awe were never dealt with until afterwards; the
procession of tanks with journalist in toe moved on to the next story, or
indeed got stuck on the same story (the fall of Basra was reported as breaking
news story 17 times).
When comparing the
free press of the UK with that of Russia, Pilger has recounted this story to further hit the point home:
“During theCold War, a group ofRussianjournalists
toured theUnited States. On the final day of their
visit, they were asked by their hosts for their impressions. 'I have to tell
you,' said their spokesman, 'that we were astonished to find after reading all
the newspapers and watching TV, that all the opinions on all the vital issues
were by and large, the same. To get that result in our country, we imprison
people, we tear out their fingernails. Here, you don't have that. What's the secret?
How do you do it?”
In
trying to report the story war correspondents became too close to those whose
actions they were there to report on, shattering any hope of objectivity.
For
(young) writers who have a different approach there a series of hoops,
essentially drills, designed to get you thinking a certain way and essentially
taking the new ideas and beating them out of you.
The
point Hitchens makes is that he simply wouldn’t have been allowed to get away
with some of the things that he has written if he stayed in Blighty; in the
land of opportunity and freedom perhaps it’s the case that controversial
opinions can flourish. Hitchens though is an exception, an exception that makes
me want to read everything ever written by De Tocqueville and dream of a journalist
utopia where ideas are ranked on purely on their strength and not on their “angle”,
but an exception nonetheless.
In the
main journalism is driven by what everything is driven by in the end – market forces.
But the importance of free thinking journalism is as important to a free
society as galleries or free school meals. Journalists perform a function and
are there to serve a purpose, reporting on a story for viewers means being
innately sceptical, not accepting the line from a politician or a soldier or
anyone in authority, constantly having an inquisitive nature and putting ideas
out there in all there unformed, unpopular glory. It’s surely in the job
description somewhere. Ummm... where did I leave that copy of “Democracy in America?”
Music of the Week: Post rock instrumental I
Along with fusion jazz and Scandinavian pop this is my favourite sub genre at the moment, so I've put together this collection of a couple of classics (Explosions and Mogwai) and something you may not have heard of. This is my first playlist on this genre, but it wont be the last.
Summer 2010, and whilst at the Edinburgh Festival I saw 'Inside', an intense physical theatre piece which captured the imagination. Intense and abstract and more powerful than any dialogue, here is a snippet from their show. The second video takes abstract physical theatre to its limits and is entitled "Sideways Rain." Enjoy.
N.B. toby raves will be taking a break for a while to enjoy Xmas and so wont be back to mid January; their may be the odd video to pass the time but that will be it. So have a good Christmas and see you in January. Toby Bakare
What to expect I hear you murmur under your breath (I have
very sensitive hearing, some would call it paranoia); the mix bag will veer
from physical theatre to post rock instrumental and back again.
What will not be in the blog this week or any other week is
boxing. It’s a sport I loathe and find barbaric. That said if you are going to
box you might as well do it as well and charismatically as this guy:
They don’t make’em like this any more... til Saturday
Everybody’s favourite progressive politician, Tony Blair is
being recalled to the Iraq Inquiry in January to give further evidence.
Blair gave evidence to the inquiry earlier in the year in
what many saw as the unofficial trial of Blair and his decision to go to war
with Iraq. He was extremely well prepared and therefore many thought that he
got away with being pressed.
This time round will there be the same level of anticipation.
This reporter thinks not.
Opinion of the Week: The future of the noble profession
Wikileaks – the whistle blowing website has produced the
biggest leak in the history of history with exposure of the murky world of
world diplomacy. Some are for and some against the disclosure of this
information, but for Wikileaks at least, it seems that the knives are definitely
are out.
The consensus also seems to be suggesting that the Guardian,
New York Times, Der Speigel and El Pais, the papers that put in print what Wikileaks
had on their USB stick, did something wrong but don’t have a case to answer to;
in the words of Simon Jenkins, “the job of journalist is not to avoid embarrassing
governments.” So what then is their role, what should have they have done?
In the good days of trench coats, hats and shorthand the
role of a journalist was to find the story and bring it to people – to go out
in to their world and use their nouse, their ingenuity to find what was out
there, but that isn’t what has happened here. The Guardian and the other news
agencies have this story put right in to their laps.
Is this how it is going to be in the future – others doing
the spade work whilst the well known journo is just at the top of the pile
taking all the glory/revenue? Well probably not, newspapers are struggling to
make any money that’s worth shouting about and the world of amateur journalism,
as this blog demonstrates, can only go so far. The internet revolution means
that there is no going back, whilst we haven’t quite arrived at the brave new
world of quality, multi-platform journalism that is cost –effective.
There are a huge number of questions surrounding the future
of this noble profession. I don’t have the answers for you now, but rest assures
it is something that I am working on...
Music of the Week: Winter Nights
Winter is by far my least favourite season, your hands can't be exposed for too long, your nose feels as if it is about to fall off, everyone is heading aiming to get indoors in the quickest possible time and the landscape, although briefly able to be a sight of stunning crispness, is invariably at this time of year a scene of extreme bleakness.
The music, on the other hand is a another story. Full sounds recreate bleak landscapes in the mind, or can be a great soundtrack. From the folksy sound of Laura Marling, to the heavy screeching sound of Edinburgh outfit Muersault this week's selection is all about music which fits a winter's night. Be it chilled and mellow or heavy and thumping these songs all have a winter element to them.
track listing:
Laura Marling - Goodbye England (covered in snow)
Jeniferever - Alvik
Thom Yorke - Harrowdown Hill
Meursault - For Martin Kippenberger
Bleak Output - Sunday Morning Laura Marling - Goodbye England (Covered In Snow) by Ragged Words
This week, courtesy of Ray Tang, we are taking another look at the Singapore, focussing specifically on the architecture and skyline. Enjoy.
Video of the Week: Turner, then and now
Is it art? Now is not the time or place for such a debate, but the fact remains that Susan Philippz soundscape, currently installed under a bridge in Edinburgh was the winner of 2010 Turner - So the most important art award in the country went to something that can't be seen. Make of that what you will.
The second video is an excerpt from her installation; by way of contrast, the first is from Steve McQueen (of Hunger fame, and soon to be of Fela fame), who won the turner Prize in 1998.
Enjoy watching the videos... till next week then...
Saturdays edition will be the usual mix bag: Wikileaks -the rights and wrongs of it all, the Turner Prize and by way of music I'll be looking at some perfect winter tunes.
Any suggestions for the music selection, then let me know
Wikileaks, of course. toby will probably write at further
length on this in the near future. What seemed like a rather cut and dry story
in terms of who was right to publish and who was wrong in being two faced and deceitful
(for no justifiable reason) has turned in to a furore. Naturally to settle the
argument I will wade in with 2 cents.
For now I will leave you with this; an article on Wikileaks
having to avoid cyber attacks.
It like I’ve always said; journalists, corrupt - the lot of
them.
Music of the Week: This is a progressive playlist, I repeat a progressive playlist!
It's one of those words that is so often used it almost has no meaning whatsoever. For politicians it's the term that is most definitely flavour of the month, whilst for musicians the word progressive had its heyday in the 1970's with Yes and David Bowie - heavy synth, abstract lyrics and guitar solos that sounded as if the someone had forgot to tune the thing.
I don't know what, in today's modern age, the word means but there are no menacing solos to of speak in the world of new age progressive music and, if I were to hazard a guess, I would say it sounds something like this.
track listing
Four Tet - Angel Echoes
Museum of Bellas Artes - Watch the Glow
Bjorn & Gorden - III
DJ Dous - Happy Meax
Pet Moon - Superposition
“Recipe for a successful country: mix one cup liberty with three teaspoons of justice. Add one informed electorate and baste well with veto
power. Stir in two cups of checks, sprinkle liberally with balances.”
The above citation from the Simpsons (the episode where Lisa
enters a essay writing competition only to become disillusioned by the America
she has to pay homage to when she sees her senator taking a kickback for
logging rights) and my recent fondness for pizza has got me thinking: what would
my own perfect society would look like?
Perfect society pizza
Mix together freedom of the press and a pinch of due process
to create your base, making sure to get the quantities right so as to avoid
trial by media or corruption
Use free guitar lessons for all as a sauce, then for the
cheese create 2 for 1 cinema tickets everyday of the week – not just Wednesdays
as many people like to go to the cinema at the weekend
Be sure to remove any autotune pop from the toppings
For the toppings use:
Bloc Party songs on constant repeat no matter where you are
The banning of Converse shoes
Free university education for all
An Apartheid style segregation between those over the age of
65 and those under
Place on a tropical island, 30c minimum, occasionally
pulling out to freak winter weather conditions
such as snow or heavy rain, but
no wind
Slice equitably, from each according to his ability to each
according to his need
Best enjoyed in the day with a left leaning newspaper or a
book (anything by George Orwell), and a glass of pineapple juice
In the afternoon serve with extra Bloc Party, and in the
evening with obscure Scandinavian “pop”.
Enjoy
Picture of the Week: It snowed, didn't you know
photo courtesy of Michael E Clarke
Video of the Week: This is what snow really looks like
Seeing "Scattered Flurries" which was filmed in Canada in 2009 made me realise that what we have been experiencing in the UK this week could not possibly be called snow, or it would look as beautiful as this does.
N.B
These words were written before I stepped out of my house and realised how bad the weather actually was.
Because there is absolutely no avoiding the topic, this week’s
blog will feature somewhere along the line snow. But it won’t dominate. There
will be other topics on the to cover ; most notably what on Earth does the term
progressive mean in music? What is a progressive track?
Has to be those pesky students (one of which I used to be). They just don't know when they are beat. Here they are protesting (again). Good luck to them. I didn't join them because I like to have the happiness beat out me through the mundaneness of everyday life rather than at the hands of policemen with truncheons.
Opinion: can the home of art ever be outdoors?
Students of history are taught, from quite early on, of the
power that a museum has on shaping your opinion of an event. Setting for
example, the holocaust or slavery at the very lowest depths of an exhibition space
and then going on to set related events such as the foundation of the state of
Israel or the inauguration of President Obama at the pinnacle of an exhibition
and bathed in light the audience will give out quite clear messages about what
an audience should take away. Some may be sceptical of that kind of a leading
argument from a museum, but at least it is a starting point. Anyone with
initiative can then go away and challenge that story; unfortunately most don’t,
but that is another issue.
In an art gallery it is no doubt the same. Every picture is
put next to another for some sort of reason, some semblance of cohesion so that
the punter can make sense of what is an awful lot to absorb in a short space of
time. Taking art into the audience gives no narrative and can be seen as just
being for the sake of it. If you are aware of it you can work hard to in your
own mind to counter it (should you wish to).
So it was with a fair bit of trepidation that I paid a visit
to to Kensington Gardens to see “Turning the World Upside Down” a range of
sculptures from Anish Kapoor which had been dotted around the park in a
seemingly random fashion. The sculptures themselves one could not really argue
against; they were clearly accomplished works. But why were they outdoors?
The apparent intention of the works is “to call in to
question the viewers’ relationship to both the work and the surrounding environment,”
this sounds very lofty and noble and indeed exciting. What you actually get is a
sense that the objects have been placed at random in this open space. Considering
they are made of highly reflective steel they are fairly static and the fact
that they are so out of place in the natural environment, a feature which could
made them intriguing, only makes you
realise that pieces belong in an art gallery and not in a park.
I was left so bewildered by the installation/exhibits that I
wondered if any art can work outside. Gaudi who is as synonymous with Barcelona
as Lionel Messi ,is one artist who did take art in to the streets with huge
success. His organic structures had a real meaning to them in the age of
futurist modernist architecture with its stiff, regimented lines.
Banksy, is another one who as taken art out in to the
street. His messages are no nonsense “down with the system” ones (I’ll leave it
to you to decide whether he’s being ironic or not) and they add to urban
landscape, something that we already had lots of, graffiti and something that
we have little of in the streets, Art. Hence the controversy he evokes ( He
recently visited my neck of the woods to much hype and clamour.http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8682588.Southampton____Graffiti____is_a___20_000_Banksy_original_mural/
)
Gaudi had functionality, Banksy with his graffiti was more
urban than concrete. These are artist who make their art relevant to the
outdoor space – graffiti doesn’t work as well indoors and architecture’s home is
the outdoors. You walk past a Banksy or a Gaudi it has some relevance or
purpose for being where it is; but when you just plant it for the sake of it
gets lost because it has no use. Galleries and museums are there for a reason.
Pictures of the Week: National Museum Singapore
The Pictures for this week come from the recent exhibitions
at the National Museum in Singapore. The freaky triangles are toby’s favourite.
This week toby will be raving on about dubstep, instrumental rock and collages, to name but three, as well as art in the outdoor space.
the music for this week is inspired by great song titles; be they great because they capture the emotion of the song perfectly or because they are a completely surreal take on the song. I wanna hear what your suggestions for names that do the song justice are. Any thoughts? Use the drop box.
The good news of the century was broken this week as
Buckingham Palace announced that Prince William was to marry Kate Middleton
some time in 2011. Into a display of flashing light bulbs the happy couple stepped
out, faces smiling showing off their happy glowing faces to the world.
Much of the world’s media has gone into overdrive with what
the actual event will be like; who will she wear? What will they eat? Where will they holiday?
One newspaper suggested Swan should br on the money, whilst many are saying
that in the interest of good all is yet to be decided but a lot of fun is being
had in the conjecture. Congratulations to them. As I am under the age of 30
this will be my first royal wedding, I looked forward to swept away with the
hysteria. To the palace!
Music of the Week: Afrobeat!!
With its mix of western soul and jazz and african tribal music Afrobeat is a modern funky offshoot of soul which is oft underappreciated. That's all changing however and Afrobeat is now en vogue, primarily because of the popularity of its most talented exponent; political activist and musician Fela Kuti. Kuti combined the repetitive nature of afrobeat with searing lyrical commentary on politics in Africa to devastating effect. A film detailing the life of Fela is due in 2011, directed by Steve McQueen of Hunger fame it promises much, and I for one can not wait.
He features heavily in this weeks playlist but check out also some of the more modern offerings which yet more areas of world music with African rhythms.
On YouTube can be found “The Obama Deception,” a two hour long documentary detailing everything that is wrong with the Obama administration. The grand theory of this documentary is that Obama hasn’t brought change because he is in fact an agent of Wall St; chosen by them, because of not in spite of his skin colour, to entrench the system and keep their vested interest ticking over. Grandiose terms such as oligarchy and imperialism are used on a very frequent basis. This is most definitely what you would call a conspiracy theory.
And with 7 million hits to his name it seems that the theory has some purchase among people. Conspiracy theories have been around since the dawn of modern politics. JFK’s assassination was the first of modern times, and is still the biggest. The grassy knoll, the smoke, the rifle and it accuracy, the movement of the head, everything about it has been examined endlessly second hand. The firsthand account of evidence from the Warren Report with its perceived inconsistencies is seen as just another layer in the deception and therefore unreliable.
Even in the immediate aftermath it seems American had doubts; 1 in 5 Americans in the days after the assassination of Kennedy did not believe that Oswald had acted alone. In the 21st century “The Obama Deception” proves that conspiracy theories are still well and truly alive. “Loose Change,” another YouTube documentary this time on the 9/11 attacks is further proof of their appeal.
There are all sorts of reasons to explain them: substitute radicalism, or indeed an explanation for the lack of radicalism, a psychological comfort blanket for people who cannot believe that things terrible just happen and sometimes even for no good reason. This is not particularly new or interesting. What is interesting is the damage that they are causing to the current occupant of the White House, President Obama.
Kennedy’s conspiracies served to help his myth, Bush has suffered no blowback from 9/11 conspiracies and as for Reagan and Ford (both victims of assassination attempts), no harm was done either. But for Obama there is real sting to the theories that he is in cahoots with Muslims (1 in 5 Americans believe he is one), or Jewish bankers, or socialist/social democrats.
Another popular charge is that he was not born in the United States, to this end the so called “birthers” have launched numerous court proceedings to see Obama’s birth certificate and even ran an Ad campaign. These conspiracy theories are, unfortunately, increasingly going from the fringe to the mainstream. If one had taken a poll at the recent Glen Beck-athon rally in Washington rest assured significant numbers would have called themselves birthers.
The Obama White House is probably guilty of letting this happen, letting the myth take hold – after all they do have their own press machine. But it must feel like impossible fight, facing two ways at the same time. If you say that Obama is not Muslim, you get hit with the charge that it is the Jews he works for.
As I say many a US President has had a theory or two involving them, but not are doing so much damage – the attacks on Obama are personal and unprecedented, previous theories have only been about an event, not a President’s identity, and identity is a precious commodity in politics. If Obama cannot even persuade Americans that he is a natural born citizen then he is in real trouble.
Living in the UK I am more curious than angry or despairing, we don’t have conspiracies (Princess Diana being the big exception) and good old fashion common sense is a virtue. To Americans conspiracy theories are just a natural extension of Americans innate scepticism of government, but it is an unhealthy and unwelcome one.
Video of the Week
I came across this short film on Vimeo and loved it. It's called Influencia and is directed by David Dutton. It tells the story of an alcoholics journey from sobriety to remorse in a surreal way, but still in an accessible one. especially if you are the sort of person who has ever suffered a blockage of the creative juices.
Sketch of the Week: Shirley and Tim
This week toby has gone for something very different indeed. Rather than weekly pictures, this week it's a bit of creative writing. Here is a short sketch called Shirley and Tim centring on an elderly couple who are coming to grips with the possibility that they may lose their pride and joy. Enjoy this rare written treat. Till next week then...
Shirley and Tim
Shirley and Tim are
couple married for 30 years. They are in their late 50’s early 60’s, their
daughter has been in a car accident. They are coming back from having met seen
her for the first time since the accident.
They
enter the hospital waiting room, both in a state of shock, Shirley in
particular
Shirley
and Tim enter into the room and sit down, both have their hand clasped together
on the table
Long
pause
Tim. Shirley let’s not get carried away, doctors nowadays can do so
much
Reaches
for her hand, Shirley pulls away
Shirley. You saw what she looked like in there, every machine in
the building on her
Tim. Well the doctor said he’d come by and see us. He knows what
he’s doing
Shirley. Let ’s hope so
Pause
Tim gets up and starts to pace
Tim. I don’t want you to get
negative, she’s a fighter, she is. And
she gets that from you. You’ve got to keep yourself well for when she gets
better, you can’y help her get better if your ill yourself.
Sits down. Pause
Is there anything that I can do?
Shirley. Some tea would be nice
Tim. I won’t be long, send a search a search party after me if I’m
more than ten minutes. These new hospitals, mazes they are.
Tim laughs quietly then leaves
Pause,
Shirley begins to fidget
Shirley. How he can move about I have no idea, it beats me
honestly. Moving around constantly about. I can’t, the fear stopping me
obviously, because I just can’t move at the moment. Its taking all my energy to
raise my head. Fear can do that to some people. You see a car coming and some
people run, fast as they can the other way. Some just stop, fear just stops
them in their tracks. Tim would escape, and I’d just stand there waiting for it
to happen. Maybe she gets that's from me too. Maybe she waited for it to
happen, didn’t move in time cos the fear
Pause
Now look at her, she’s not the same
person. She doesn’t even look well. If you could see her before. Well, every
parent, you see your child as something special, I’m no different. Loved everything about her. And proud of
everything she does. Spent 6 months in Ghana, in a women’s clinic. So proud I was of her really making a
difference in the world, not just of to private for a cash cow, no here she was
off to another country, less well of, to try and help them . I said to her when
she left. “Not everyone would be that selfless, to put themselves in danger
like that”, brave of her it was. Not a prouder mum in England.
Mrs Grieg was always jealous of us.
Her daughter, well she went on the wrong side of the tracks shall we say.
“how’s your Donna doing Majorie”, “She’s fine, Pet,” when was the last time you
spoke to her. Just silence at that point. Everyone could fill in the blanks,
there was a shame written all over her face, every time I asked “when was the
last time you spoke to her”, silence, shame-faced silence, I asked out of
courtesy, never brought up that my daughter was doing so much better, had mafde
the right decisions. Was someone whom I was close to. I didn’t rub in her face,
no matter how proud I was. It was just conversation.
When she came over once, totally
out of the blue, she said she was sick with worry, all she knew was that Donna
had gone to London months ago, no contact since then. My Jane was in Ghana and
I still got weekly letters. Quite how she did such a bad job of raising her I’ll
never know. Well a cup of tea later and she had calmed down a little, started
to open up about her daughter. Pity, real pity.
Pause
Tim says she’s all I ever talk,
sometimes I don’t think he is as proud of her as I am, he wouldn’t say that if
he were. He was never as close, don’t ask me why I have no idea. She knew,
always called to speak to me when she got good news.
So use to good news with her, when
someone called from the hospital I asking if I were her next of kin, it
never
really occurred to me that it was an emergency. “Jane mum’s yes that me”, more
good news I assumed
Shirley
bows her head down
I didn’t for some time I just hung
up the phone, I couldn’t lift my head, I just sat there, I could feel the heart
beating racing, and nothing else. The eyes were open, everything was black and
white for minute, then just black. All
the senses for a second gone, couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, nothing... Awful
feeling, your heat hitting the floor and your world just spinning. The thing
that held me down just disappeared. And I was left floating, it wasn’t pleasant
it was violent, like I had been ripped away into space, a space where you
couldn’t breathe. So many flashbacks I began to feel sick. Those thoughts those
horrid thoughts entered immediately, and they haven’t left sinceTim says I
screamed and that he came down to see what was wrong.
Longer
pause
Shirley
begins to fidget, looking towards the door.
It doesn’t look good must say, we
saw her and when someone has that many wires around them, that many doctors,
that much activity in a hospital it can’t be good. The best thing a doctor can
do for you in a hospital is
leave you well alone.
Pause
She’s just not smiling anymore and
that I can’t get used to. From day one she smiled, pick her up from school she
smiled, told her she couldn’t go see the spice girls this time round she sulk
then smile, find a way round it never be negative. She wanted a brother or
sister, but wasn’t getting one she smiled, “well you can be my sister and my
mother too”. She just smiled over it all. She doesn’t even know how much
brighter she makes my day. No, made my day. Should I put her in the past tense,
I don’t know, the doctor says, well does it matter they paid to say thinks will
be OK, he’s coming round in a bit give
us an update
This is a horrible thing to say but
I hope he doesn’t come back, the doctor that is, I’m sorry but I just can’t
deal him with at the moment. Just want her to pull through. He can’t do anthing
about that. If the doctors, I’ll push them to do so and listen to anything they
have to say, I’ll sit like I am now and soak it all in, as much information as
possible. But Tim, he can’t, he can’t do anything and I don’t want to have to
hear what he has to say about anything else.
Short
Pause
Not anymore I don’t . that’s it
basically I can’t, not with him anyway I’m exhausted from it all. No, Tim, I
sure I could cope, No Jane, ever. Could I? This is selfish, really very selfish
of me.
Gets
up
This can wait everything can wait,
(defiantly) I’m going by her bed
that's where I should be, I wont think about anything else, because, everything
else can wait. Tim, everything. It will sort itself out. And It can all wait
till another time
Tucks
in chair makes to leave room, turns her head to face to audience
And if it doesn’t?
Turns
head to exit
(anxiously)
Oh here’s the doctor, I do hope it is good news?
Blackout
Scene 2
Tim
Tim:Walks carrying two polystyrene cups of tea. Sits down.
Looking
side on-
What am I gonna do?
Looking towards the audience
What are we gonna do? It’s
uncharted territory for the both of us. Gotta to be thankful that at least, if
nothing
else. I don’t wanna imagine the worst. I usually don’t but this is
different this isn’t some. Some. I donno its just different. She’s lying there
in an absolute state. The car that hit her was most unforgiven, was he drunk.
Was she wearing a seat belt? That’s half of it, the other half well that's
darker
Pause
Well that stuff is just her not
being her.
Pause.
Gets up and starts pacing around
Indeed lots of thoughts. I don’t
know quite where I am. Up here that is. Should I think about the past, should I
look to the future, a future without her, should I stay in the present , in
this hospital, and pictures of her running at deaths door running through my
head.
Stops,
takes a sip of tea
I should just think about Shirley,
I know that might sound awful, with my daughter at deaths door but, I worry, X,
before this was leading her own life doing her own thing and Shirley was
already missing her, in a way, and I
couldn’t, I was never going to be enough really was. Never really, not after
the haze lifted, saw it for what it was then. Me and her, me and her, me, jumpy
her, still. just me was it ever going to be enough (Nods to say no). She started
seeing it for what it was,
Pause
Then Jane came along, it all went. It has to, you’ve got someone else to thing
about now. Buts since she left. Does she have a reason anymore? Am I enough?
Probably not, she still holds it against me. Not being to have any more kids,
she says she doesn’t, but, what mother wouldn’t. And now look just the two of
us, it was never enough back then
Pacing
Her well being is all I care about
really
Stops
Whatever makes her happy makes me
happy (Sips tea, sits down head bowed,
more tea, )
Audible
sigh
Starts
fidgeting heavily
Doctors these days can do anything
they put their mind to, gotta have faith in that if nothing else. Read the paper and the’re doing all sorts,
Pig’s heart, face transplants even. The pictures weren’t pleasant to see, but
just goes to show you what doctors can do these days
Collapses
his head, head in hands
Whispers
Jane was a doctor. See doctors around and think maybe they knew
her. (very short pause) I need
Shirley to be OK. I need to focus on Shirley and help her get through. So
strong, but this you can see has cut right through her, you can see it, I can’t
just stand there and let it happen. But I don’t know what to do or say. Does
anyone, ever? They were especially close see, especially so. She got on with her Mum much more than she
ever did with me.
Long
pause
Expect the unexpected is what
people would say.
Shakes
his head
Didn’t expect this I must say.
Looking to the future now it’s all very bleak. There’s Jane, but Shirley also.
It could all be, so lonely.
Gets
up and starts pacing slowly,
It must be something that I’ve
done, you see there are no memories, if she dies, and if you seen her back
there then you know it’s more likely than not, if she dies, I won’t remember
her. I can’t you see. Never spent time
with the poor girl. How can I have that on my conscience, not remembering her.
Facing
audience
I can’t remember her, can’t forget
her. Where does that leave me?
Turns
to side
Here’s the doctor now, and with
Shirley. Good news perhaps.
