The film Gravity was amazing. The cinematography was outstanding. The way that the film portrayed zero gravity was so realistic. Interviews with astronauts say that it was thrilling to see what they do shown realistically. The 3D adds to the film rather than is there as a gimmick and the sight of the incoming debris was remarkable. The plot stretched realism at times but overall it is truly worth seeing at the cinema.
Amazing start to 2014 continues.
On a further note the trailers at the time of year are full of Oscar hopefuls. The four they showed were The Railway Man, 12 Years a Slave, Long Walk to Freedom and American Hustle starring Colin Firth, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Idris Elba and Christian Bale respectively. These gentleman were born in Hampshire, Forest Gate, Hackney and Haverfordwest.
Add to this that 3 of the last 6 winners of an Best Actor, 2 of the last 6 winners of Best Actress, 1 of the last three Best Supporting Actor and 1 of the last 6 Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars have been British and you can see the pattern.
The focus of Gove on a narrow academic curriculum overlooks the value of the cultural economy to the UK.
Thursday, 2 January 2014
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Reasons this year is awesome
Having had an extremely busy 2013 and not blogging one New Year Resolution is to keep on blogging. 2013 had some high profile issues that made the world seem very dark and dangerous so I am going to try and remember why the World is an awesome place.
1. Two good friends have announced that they are engaged. I am very happy for them and wish them all future happiness. What an awesome way to start 2014.
1. Two good friends have announced that they are engaged. I am very happy for them and wish them all future happiness. What an awesome way to start 2014.
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Model United Nations
The MUN has taken three stages
In Stage 1 the students were divided into groups and from there they were introduced to the topic of Syria. There was some discussion of the topic and what the problems in Syria were. The homework was to go away and research the countries that they were represented.
In the second stage the students were then asked to think about how their country was affected by the Syrian conflict, what they wanted to happen and which other countries were their allies and enemies. Countries ranged from US, UK, Russia and China, regional powers such as Egypt, Iran and Syria and some countries that had experienced genocide such as Bosnia and Rwanda.
The third stage was hosted at City Hall and the students were allowed to use the council chamber where Norwich City Council have their debates. The students had microphones and were sat in the proper horse shoe shape. They had to fulfil all the same protocol of the United Nations and could raise points of order and points of principle. Students wrote a position paper from which they adapted an opening speech. There was then a debate and question session where the delegations explored each others positions on the Syrian debate. After that there was the possibility of formal and informal caucus where there were a set of chats and discussions. This was followed by more debate and a working lunch. At the working lunch a series of resolutions were put forward by the students, these were then voted on although a two thirds majority was not reached. The resolution was redrafted and put to the vote again reaching a majority.
It was lovely to get to go to the city council chamber and see the students engage in a real debate on a real topic following the UN rules and a reminder not to write off yousg people as there are always capable of surprises.
In Stage 1 the students were divided into groups and from there they were introduced to the topic of Syria. There was some discussion of the topic and what the problems in Syria were. The homework was to go away and research the countries that they were represented.
In the second stage the students were then asked to think about how their country was affected by the Syrian conflict, what they wanted to happen and which other countries were their allies and enemies. Countries ranged from US, UK, Russia and China, regional powers such as Egypt, Iran and Syria and some countries that had experienced genocide such as Bosnia and Rwanda.
The third stage was hosted at City Hall and the students were allowed to use the council chamber where Norwich City Council have their debates. The students had microphones and were sat in the proper horse shoe shape. They had to fulfil all the same protocol of the United Nations and could raise points of order and points of principle. Students wrote a position paper from which they adapted an opening speech. There was then a debate and question session where the delegations explored each others positions on the Syrian debate. After that there was the possibility of formal and informal caucus where there were a set of chats and discussions. This was followed by more debate and a working lunch. At the working lunch a series of resolutions were put forward by the students, these were then voted on although a two thirds majority was not reached. The resolution was redrafted and put to the vote again reaching a majority.
It was lovely to get to go to the city council chamber and see the students engage in a real debate on a real topic following the UN rules and a reminder not to write off yousg people as there are always capable of surprises.
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Cinema
Due to the way that the timetable falls this year means that on a Thursday morning I don ‘t teach until 11am. This is very handy because Wednesday is Orange Wednesday and one of my most favourite things to do is take my wife to the cinema. In the last weeks we have seen a wide range of films including, Silver Lining Casebook, Skyfall, Argo Ted, Hope Springs, The Bourne Legacy, Anna Karenna, Loopers and Sinister.
All of them comprise a wide range of different viewing but generally avoid the superhero genera and avoid sequels.
The following awards have been given out by me
Biggest plot hole – Loopers – if you have a time machine I wouldn’t send people back 20 years to kill them. How about 65 million.
Biggest paradox – Loopers – so many paradoxes you could drive the Millennium Falcon through them.
Scariest movie – Sinister – above average scary movie that means that you may never want to move house again.
Most under-rated movie – Argo – A proper spy movies with lots of very tense moments, a credible set of bad guys, interweaving of historical footage and brilliant performances but odd timings and empty cinema did not seem to get the recognition it deserved.
Best couple – Silver Lining Casebook – A very interesting film involving a man with bipolar disorder and his drive to win back his wife and the dance teacher that will act as go-between due to the restraining order.
Best moustache – Matthew McFayden. Anna Karenina was a good attempt at a new take on the costume drama. Basing the whole play in a theatre worked well with excellent costumes and good performances meant that it was enjoyable if not spectacular.
Least impressive comedy – Ted – the idea of a walking, sweary, teddy bear who is getting between a man, who has been his best friend since he was little, and his girlfriend was an interesting premise but the joke wore thin quite early.
Best film - Skyfall - just terrific
All of them comprise a wide range of different viewing but generally avoid the superhero genera and avoid sequels.
The following awards have been given out by me
Biggest plot hole – Loopers – if you have a time machine I wouldn’t send people back 20 years to kill them. How about 65 million.
Biggest paradox – Loopers – so many paradoxes you could drive the Millennium Falcon through them.
Scariest movie – Sinister – above average scary movie that means that you may never want to move house again.
Most under-rated movie – Argo – A proper spy movies with lots of very tense moments, a credible set of bad guys, interweaving of historical footage and brilliant performances but odd timings and empty cinema did not seem to get the recognition it deserved.
Best couple – Silver Lining Casebook – A very interesting film involving a man with bipolar disorder and his drive to win back his wife and the dance teacher that will act as go-between due to the restraining order.
Best moustache – Matthew McFayden. Anna Karenina was a good attempt at a new take on the costume drama. Basing the whole play in a theatre worked well with excellent costumes and good performances meant that it was enjoyable if not spectacular.
Least impressive comedy – Ted – the idea of a walking, sweary, teddy bear who is getting between a man, who has been his best friend since he was little, and his girlfriend was an interesting premise but the joke wore thin quite early.
Best film - Skyfall - just terrific
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Picture of the Day - 19th August
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68216139@N00/7889640968/in/set-72157631295106388/
The limestone in the capital forms a series of humps through the city (imagine the Loch Ness Monster). The city is built on the flat bits with wooded parks on the humps. The one area that is different is the castle that is perched high above the city. There is a train that will take you up there and the views from the top are spectacular with a series of churches, cathedrals and streets spreading out with the brooding mountains in the background. There is a tower to climb and a chapel to explore making the whole day well worth while.
Picture of the Day - 18th August 2012
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68216139@N00/7889705382/in/set-72157631295106388
It was tempting to put the picture of a bus here as this was the day we transferred from Croatia to Slovenia. We knew it was a long trip but did not appreciate that it could have been a lot shorter as we often parallelled the motorway travelling at a slower speed, behind tractors or peeling away to go and visit another small town. At first it was fine and we could see that Poreč and Rovinj were the stand out locations on the coast in Croatia. We then visited Piran and Portorož in Slovenia which look like lovely place to visit before heading to Ljubljana. The hotel was lovely and we were on the 9th floor with a lovely view towards the heart of the city, the castle menacing perched on the hill to the right, the river winding through the square and the sound of local klezmer music drifting in through the windows.
In 1895 there was an earthquake in Ljubljana and a lot of buildings were damaged. The city was re-built in the Vienna Secessionist style or Art-Deco as you might know it and this had led to a beautiful small city to visit and perfect for a city break.
Picture of the day - 17th August 2012
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68216139@N00/7886035828/in/set-72157631295106388
We spent this day looking around Poreč fully as it was our last day especially the Euphrasian Basilica. There are lovely mosaics from the Roman era, a bell tower with fantastic views over the whole town and the church itself with the gorgeous friezes and gold leaf. The basilica is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St Euphrasius who was a 6th century bishop in this area who helped the spread of Christianity.
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