The Curious World of Jonny Souster

So wish I could go to one of these gigs, sounds absolutely mad. It’s the brainchild of Damon Albarn - get some of Africa’s most famous musicians on a train joined by a heap of Western talent and head across the country making music together and putting on impromptu and planned performances along the way.

Tickets are still available across the country as well as the London gig this Saturday (8th Sept). I’d love to see Amadou & Mariam and Baaba Maal live.

No idea how it will work, so many artists!

More info and tickets here: http://www.africaexpress.co.uk/

Went to a secluded beach for an evening kayak/swim/bbq session with the house mates before heading back to London. Saw a fisherman catch a seagull, some members of the group went skinny dipping in the cool waters, then finished off with a bonfire. Will miss Cornwall and these friends so much.

135 Shots That Will Restore Your Faith in Cinema

Flavorwire magazine asked their readers “What are the most beautiful movies ever made?” and compiled both the reader and magazine favourites into a video essay. See here for the resulting post with credits and an annotated version. They’ve put it to a great soundtrack which Moon fans will recognise. Some truly stunning cinematography on show here.

Never too old for gold.

Elderly pensioners + Table Tennis = one very special film. Love the end of the trailer.

This film is getting ridiculous reviews. Judging by the trailer it looks stunning, thought provoking…remarkable. Definitely on my list to see and possibly buy.

lukeleighfield:

This looks incredible. Watch the trailer already!

YES!!

“But the poor person does not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny. His or her existence is not politically neutral, and it is not ethically innocent. The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. They are marginalized by our social and cultural world. They are the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labour and despoiled of their humanity. Hence the poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.”

Been meaning to dip into A Theology of Liberation for quite some time now.

Easily the best documentary I’ve seen in a very long time, this film is a shocking portrayal of a society in crisis. With murder rates spiralling out of control, areas of Chicago resemble a war zone and the cycle of violence shows no signs of abating. One organisation decides the only way to stop the violence is to confront and literally interrupt it. The camera follows three ‘Violence Interrupters’ who work tirelessly with those seeking revenge by listening, accepting and mentoring them. Their main aim: to teach that peace is possible. Both heartbreaking and transforming, this film showcases the incredible people who do dangerous and crucial work on the streets of Chicago. See the trailer here.

Probably my favourite Wes Anderson film to date; loved every minute of it. Go see it.

Can’t get enough of this. Anyone fancy trekking across Iceland?

So, it’s 3:30 am and my mind is buzzing; it appears I have insomnia again.

I’m being dramatic, I don’t have insomnia, just awful sleep patterns. I find blogging helps, or so I tell myself. It actually furthers the problem and means I probably won’t get to sleep till at least 5am. I currently have little to wake up for though so its no biggie. I am unemployed and usually spend my days pottering around the house, keeping the fire stocked up, the odd bit of cooking and watching TV. Lots of TV. Not live daytime TV. No, high quality catch up programmes on iPlayer and 4OD. So I thought I’d share some of my current recent decent TV programmes.

1. Top Boy

2. Educating Essex

3. Louis Theroux: America’s Most Dangerous Pets

4. Coach Trip

5. Shipwrecked: The Island

My favourite this week has been Top Boy. Currently on 4OD, Top Boy tells the story of an inner city gang and it’s effects on the community around it. Set on a rough estate in East London, it’s gritty, authentic, excellently acted and has a great script. Ashley Walters (aka Asher D of So Solid Crew fame) puts in a decent lead performance as Dushane, a drug dealing gangster stuck in a life of crime. Oh and did I mention its beautifully filmed? The cinematography is stunning.

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This is way up there on my list of films to watch…

‘The Interrupters’ is a documentary following the work of an organisation called CeaseFire which aims to end gang violence in Chicago. The film focusses on three “Violence Interrupters”. All of them are ex-gang members and most have done time in prison for offences ranging from drug trafficking to murder. Their aim is stop killings before they happen, confronting gang leaders and resolving conflicts before the violence escalates. Essentially they’re trying to save lives. Extraordinary people doing extraordinary work. Out in cinemas now.

Been wanting to see this film since it came out in cinemas. It’s now on dvd. Humanity at its finest.

tension-and-thrill:

hero

I concur Emmah, what a man.

Here begins a rather long rant about Facebook and the impact of social networking sites on the meaning of friendship.

The other day I was going through deleting people from my friend list who I haven’t spoken to in years and have no intention of speaking too. We all have Facebook friends from our school days or friends of friends that we once met at a party or worse, old friends of friends who you can’t remember where you met. They’re not friends. If it wasn’t for Facebook I would never see them again. Facebook, however, says they are friends and they can see what I’m up to, look at my photos and if they wanted, chat to me on Facebook chat (that would be awkward).

So if our Facebook accounts are full of people who aren’t really friends I wonder how this social network is affecting our understanding of friendship. Is it devaluing the whole concept of friendship, diluting what we believe and expect friends should be like? If so this is worrying as its use is so widespread, almost everyone in society uses Facebook. Anyone with access to a computer is tempted to link up with their ‘friends’ via Facebook. When my dad first tried it he asked me, “why are all of these people adding me?” He thought much of what people were writing as statuses was silly.

What’s a tad sad about this is that real and close friends are lumped in with all these other pretenders. They are just a few among hundreds of people. The news feeds can become full of junk from people we don’t even like that much. When I now hide people from my news feed I find myself wondering why we’re ‘friends’ at all.

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