Binnsy's Hovel

An interesting and insightful, albeit brief, overarching review of the Torchwood series.

Torchwood breaks many of the conventions and taboos that govern (and stifle) some television shows. The violence is often arresting, though rarely gory. Sex is on everyone’s minds, and lips, and is not confined to those of a singularly heterosexual bent. The dialogue is often above the ordinary and the dark and dirty streets are a nice backdrop in which to chase aliens.

From here.

Until next time…

Took time out from busy thesis writing schedule today to wander the streets of Melbourne and catch up with some old friends. A chill but sunny day in the rainy city afforded many great opportunities for spontaneous iPhone photography, the results of which can be seen on my Flickr.

No shopping was done, save for the latest issue of The Monthly that I bought to tide over time whilst waiting for aforementioned friends. It was just nice to breathe in the crisp air of my hometown and feel like I belonged; one grounded soul in the laidback bustle of Australia’s third capital.

Until next time…

I went out today with my little camera after work and filmed the first of what I hope will be many, many segments for my new ickle project, details of which I’m hesitant to release to anyone, let alone blogger readers, so don’t feel left out.

It went really well, and I’m pleased that the concept and premise held up in the cold light of practical application. I need to focus on getting a broader range of shots, some B-roll to cut to and keeping everything in focus, not to mention finding a better way of recording sound, but these are minor issues; overall I’m just happy the thing came out okay.

A welcome distraction from my thesis, I can tell you that much.

Until next time…

I don’t know what it is about historical/political fiction that I love so much.

I think there is the whole not-at-all-based-in-reality thing that I can escape into. Take The Ghost for example. Sure there are elements of Blair or Bush in the politician character, but for the most part he is a new, complex, interesting character with which one can engage.

The Interpretation of Murder took us into the heart of turn-of-the-century America, through the eyes of Sigmund Freud. Yes, I’ll admit they are all real characters (mostly), but the situation is entirely fabricated.

The Rule of Four and The Secret History fall into that whole Skulls/Dead Poets Society genre, without, I feel, slipping into the Da Vinci Code-esque realm of populist speculative fiction. They’re just damn good tales told well.

What inspired this little rumination? I’m currently in the midst of The Minutes of the Lazarus Club, by Tony Pollard, which I’m thoroughly enjoying. It’s an easy and enjoyable read, and the characters are fascinating, plucked from history and resettled as they are, potentially as conspirators in a sinister and murderous plot.

The twisting and contorting of history for the ends of entertainment has always been a popular pastime; particularly now in the era of The Da Vinci Code. The latest exponent of the reconstructed history genre is probably Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, which depicts the end of World War II – if it was directed by Tarantino himself. It says something of humankind that although books are written and movies are made based on the notion of spectacle, we constantly look back to an era or a time or a set of characters or an atmosphere drenched in nostalgia, in classicism, in ‘the old’.

Retro-modernism, anyone?

Until next time…