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Wednesday Writer
Book, film and pub reviews, original writing etc
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Last Seen Blogs
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‘No Time To Die,’ directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga
Movie, 2021
Last Daniel Craig Bond film. The initial action, which sees a retired Bond happy in love and driving as Aston Martin evoke the 1960s adventures – most specifically, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. This, and other aspects gives the film an elegiac feel at times. As ever, some of the action scenes might be overdone, and some of the catching up with old characters feels a little…
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#2021#Bond James#Craig Daniel#Crime#Fiennes Ralph#Fukunaga Cary Joji#Harris Naomie#Lynch Lashana#Malek Rami#Seydoux Léa#Waltz Christoph#Whishaw Ben#Wright Jeffrey
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Seven books I've recently enjoyed reading
Oh bugger. One of those ‘no inspiration’ posts I’ve avoided in the main, but which I’m having to fall back on this week. Never mind. Besides, I’ve intended this blog to be about reading as well as about writing, so with a nod to my recent-ish ‘favourite reads of last year,’ here’s what I’ve read so far this year so far.
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The (kind of, but…
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‘My Man Godfrey,’ directed by La Cava
Movie, 1936
Screwball comedy, with an American look at rags and riches, different social societies and members of a family who fire off each other and the titular Godfrey, who for most of the film, serves as butler to the Bullock family. Some great look art deco and period scenes and some snappy, sassy, and – at times – delightfully silly characterisations. There’s plenty in here about class,…
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"She get high"... the power of ONE word
Hello all. It’s a poetry, or song lyric thing this week. And I’m going to go back to sixth form, and a particular song by The Doors. Hey, don’t make that face…. The Doors are a fun band, mixing some decent, often kind of baroque music, with Jim Morrison who sounded great for much of the time, but often turned in some pretty naff lyrics.
You, doubtless, have your own view. To which you’re…
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‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold,’ by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Fiction, 2015
Connected set of short stories in which unprepossessing café acts as a setting for ghosts, time travel and pretty dramatic reunions. This is a book which creeps up as you go along somewhat, and if the set-up and back story formula can feel prosaic at times, there’s an overall flavour an power in the book, with a load of clever twists and plot points which feel genuinely dramatic…
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Business and commerce language -the power and impoverishment
Last week, a couple of things got my goat. I touched on one of those – the funding reduction in arts and creative courses in non-posh universities – last week. This week, I’ll look at a dynamic which seems to inadvertently prevent money trickling down to anywhere near it’s needed, and ultimately channels itself into the offshore accounts of the so-called captains of industry.
Oh, come on. Not…
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‘Amsterdam,’ directed by David O. Russell
Movie, 2022
Light-hearted, in the main, yet this thriller, set during and after the First World War, has enough grit to go with the twists and turns of the plot, which explores the adventures of a group of friends, and their brushes with accusations and risks of jail an internment in a febrile Central Europe. This film has an old-fashioned touch, as much in the characters as in the period…
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#2022#Bale Christian#Comedy#De Niro Robert#Malek Rami#Myers Mike#Nivola Alessandro#Olyphant Timothy#Riseborough Andrea#Robbie Margot#Rock Chris#Russell David O#Saldaña Zoe#Schoenaerts Matthias#Shannon Michael#Swift Taylor#Taylor-Joy Anya#Thriller#Washington John David
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Creative arts can rot
Wednesday writer on funding arts and culture.
“Creative arts courses at English universities face funding cut’ The Guardian reported, online, on 4 April 2024. The byline:- “Education secretary Gillian Keegan will also squeeze funding for programmes to widen access to higher education.”
I’ve read the article, which includes a picture of Keegan which is far too smug to include here. The word ‘squeeze’ in that last sentence above might…
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‘Parasite,’ directed by Bong Joon-ho
Movie, 2019
Comedy thriller, in which a poor family ousts a wealthier family from their more affluent surroundings, before various deceits come back at them. The film has a great pace and touch, and while social inequalities aren’t especially dwelt upon, they – like the sometimes savage actions of the characters – form a lively backdrop for the jangling action taking place. While the lack of any…
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#2019#Comedy#Hye-jin Jang#Joon-ho Bong#Kang-ho Song#So-dam Park#Sun-kyun Lee#Thriller#Woo-shik Choi#Yeo-jeong Cho
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Fold Editions - calling all writers...
For a few years now, Fold Editions has been putting out occasional pamphlets, featuring fiction, essays, photographs and whatever else friends of Clod Magazine have contributed.
As of the time of writing this article (the end of March 2024), there have been twelve of these Fold Editions; by the time you read this – the number may have increased.
Here, at any rate, a list of the first twelve,…
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'Bitter Lemons of Cyprus,' by Lawrence Durrell
Non-fiction, 1957
Part domestic, part socio-political account of Cyprus’ slide into civil unrest, with Greek freedom fighters taking arms against an inert, stand-offish British administration. The unrest really drives, yet forms a backdrop to Durrell’s writing, which flows wonderfully and is frequently really evocative and atmospheric. This is history shot through a very particular,…
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Writer's diary - nothing to see here...
Hello. In lieu of anything to say about my writing achievements this week, I’d like to point and refer, instead, to recent stuff I’ve been doing on my Senseless Cyclist blog. If you like the tone of posts on this blog, you might also enjoy this stuff as well, although I do extend a dreaded begging bowl – I’m limbering up for a sponsored bike ride in support of Luton’s Keech Cottage. Here’s some…
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‘Happiness for Beginners,’ directed by Wight
Movie, 2023
Romantic comedy, in which a recently divorced woman is joined, in a rather disparate group of weekend adventurers, by her brother’s best friend. An underwhelming kind of a film with a few moments here and there, but which sets its stall out early and doesn’t deviate too far from it. The action and most of the characters are bright and breezy, though there’s little to bite on or get…
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Gloves OFF; Weds Writer vs Elmore Leonard
Strap in; this is the big one; I get hot under the collar and take on four of Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing and give them levels of disdain hitherto un-hinted at in parts one and two. Though admittedly, there were hints in the introduction to this endeavour.
This, however, is the moment where my view count threatens to bust into double figures. Where Danny Robins has to leave the room,…
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'Reviewing My Record Collection: 3,333 Albums from A to Zuma,' by Stephen Fall
Non-fiction, 2024
An excellent book for all fans of popular music, and a wonder of dedication and perseverance. In his 3,333 reviews (I get the sense there are precisely 3,333 reviews; not one more, nor one less), Mr F gives his take on a diverse range of artists from big hitters (Beatles, Dylan, Van Morrison) to indie/cult favourites (The Fall, Luke Haines, John Cale) to pop (Human League,…
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‘The Documents in the Case,’ by Dorothy L Sayers and Robert Eustace
Novel, 1930
Epistolary detective fiction, in which the son of an obnoxious eccentric cook and fungus enthusiast gathers evidence to look at his father’s death. This is an interesting form which reads well, focusing on a few main, and a number of other voices to good effect. There is, near the end, a chunk of more technical detail which is a little more difficult to stomach and get through, but…
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Taking inspiration from white, middle-aged men
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#Age discrimination#Dors Diana#Fall Stephen#Music Reviews#O Yuki Conjugate#Open Yellow Circle#Pig Hill#Swindon
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