MrGareth’s Missives

I wonder if the UK election on May 6 is going to be a repeat of 1992 – but completely in reverse.

As I remember it, The Tories staggered into the 1992 election in much the same state Labour are now.  With an economy in shatters, an unelected leader – John Major – who while experiencing a slight bounce of popularity initially purely for not being his hated immediate predecessor – John's Margaret Thatcher to Gordon’s Tony Blair – normal unpopularity service was quickly resumed.  The Tories were HATED and Labour were a sure thing.

But, as the election grew closer and closer, the polls converged.  A Hung Parliament began to appear to be a distinct possibility.  As today, many speculate that “its too close to call”.  How Cameron has haemorrhaged his apparently unassailable lead is not clear to me living 11,000 miles away and not across the British political scene as much as I’d like to be.  But I wonder if its for the same reasons that Kinnock managed to lose in 1992.

To win a landslide in Britain with the “first past the post system” (FPTP) you’ve got to win over so-called “Middle England”.  This isn’t so much a place as a state of mind.  For Thatcher it was the Essex Man; Cameron seems to call them the "Great Ignored".  Upper Working Class types with aspirations for better things.  She promised them self-betterment, and Blair – as her theoretical heir – re-promised it.  They are a mix of Tory and Labour fair-weather supporters.

For the Tory flavour, Kinnock was as much anathema as Cameron is to today’s Labour equivalent.  Just as Cameron offends the working-class man – however disloyal – with his rich, privileged Etonian born-with-a-silver-spoon smoothness; so Kinnock was abhorrent to any swinging Tories.  Not only was he Welsh and Socialist – even his hair was red!

I think when it comes to voting day – perhaps the result will be the same but in complete reverse: a slight majority for the incumbent (Major stunned everyone with a majority of about 20, which he steadily pissed away over the next 5 years).  Not enough voters will be able to bring themselves to make a tick in favour of this anachronism just as they couldn't bring themselves to vote in Kinnock as PM. Kinnock's perceived arrogance and complascency (excemplified in the famous Sheffield Rally - said to have lost the election for him) - is also an echo of criticism of Cameron.  This is entirely possible given what a complete eediot-muppet Cameron is quickly revealing himself to be:

And maybe thats for the best. In 1992 I hoped for a hung parliament.  I longed for the paradise I imagined “consensus” politics might achieve.  I wanted Lib Deb balance-of-power.  After nearly 10 years down under, FPTP Rules!  The Federal Government hasn’t controlled the Senate here for more than about 18 months since I’ve been here and legislative failure is the name of the game.  Labor’s failure to pass the ETS Bill is a case in point. 

Today’s minority government decision in Tasmania is a great example of PR (Proportional Representation of course, not my profession!) of how it can fail the electorate.  And as I’ve always said, the idiocy of Steven Fielding of the so-called “Family First” Party is the perfect reason why PR and consensus politics talks a great game but delivers nothing but farce.

So I might be going out on a limb here but: I hereby predict (slightly wishfully) that Labour pull victory from the dark jaws of defeat.

This came out of leftfield:  I was invited – with very little notice - to a gig at the Opera House.  The venue alone was reason enough to attend so I hastily agreed without checking out who it was – lucky I didn’t as stigma and preconceptions would have stopped me going to a very memorable evening.

For some reason I got it into my head I was going to some sort of Jazz/Blues Guitarist.  It wasn’t until I got to the venue that  I Googled the artist – Bela Fleck – to find that he is one of the world’s greatest proponent’s in...The Banjo!

OK.  Thats OK I told myself.  The Banjo-duel in “Deliverance” came to mind – this needn’t be so bad.  As it happens, much of the first set was pretty cool.  He expertly ran through a series of tunes from Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass, Ragtime and Classical as well as a touch of African music.  I settled into what promised to be an interesting recital – but was confused by all the percussion instruments lying about the stage...

The Banjo is, he told us, originally African.  Isn’t everything I thought? Africa not only invented music, you could argue it invented people!

Bela started mentioning that he had been on a trip to Africa in 2005 and it obviously affected him deeply.  He mentioned that he would be doing some stuff with someone called Oumou Sangare – to which the crowd (your average collection of World Music types) erupted with delight.  Can you see where this is going?

He left. She... and the other 8 members of her band - came on and proceeded to do a series of traditional numbers from Mali. 

Furthermore, she couldn’t speak English, so she introduced all the tracks either in Pigeon English or her native French.

Suddenly I’ve come a long way from American Jazz and Blues – albeit on a banjo – to full-on Tribal  Music from Africa.  Actually it was pretty enlightening, there were a couple of instruments I can’t even describe let alone name.    I was, however, well out of my musical comfort zone.

After the intermission, they all came back and Bela joined them – although he looked somewhat like the proverbial saw thumb. They promised a Banjo-fused-with-African set which IMHO completely didn’t work.  It struck me that maybe trying to fuse Western music with African music fails because:  the former is completely devoured by the latter – the latter gave birth to the former and is so much more powerful.   One musical culture trumps the other.

For  instance – Blur’s Damon Albarn also did a stint in Mali and it deeply affected him also.  He too produced an album from that with a very similar outcome.  Very worth listening to, fantastic African tunes, but very much 80-20 when it comes to the contribution he’s able to make. 

Anyway, on balance a great show but I forgot all about Mr Banjo, and ultimately so did Oumou Sangare.  She went to a lot of trouble to spotlight all the other 8 members of her band but seemed to forget Bela was even there.  I think I only heard a couple of Banjo riffs. 

Oh well, talk about lost in music! The sensational summer of sounds goes on...

I must admit I’m increasingly confused by climate scepticism.  Afterall – its a bit like that old joke about believing in heaven.  If you’re right, you’re saved; if you’re wrong then you’ve lost nothing anyway.  If man isn’t having a major impact on the environment and it is warming naturally – then what have we really got to lose by trying to achieve sustainability anyway?  What have we really got to lose by innovating new ways to exist that are less damaging to, and even harmonious with, the planet on which we depend?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no eco-warrior.  I drive to work for a start (although I only started driving 5 years ago so I figure I’ve got some points saved up!) But this is the point, its people like me that have to change.

Maybe scepticism and questioning of the science is perhaps a more healthy debate that what we had which was a pseudo-fanatical tone that only made those that questioned heretics. So I don’t think its scepticism I’ve got a problem with, its this new trend – anti-climatarianism – that seems to have emerged.  I was watching that awful show  Q&A last night (that I actually hate for dumming down political debate in Australia) and it turns out that there was a group of Liberals* (probably the same people responsible for crashing the Carbon Trading Bill) that recommend people celebrate “Human Achievement Hour” during Earth Hour on Saturday – and turn on all their lights and consume as much electricity as possible:

''Don't be stuck in the dark with the communists. Turn your lights on!'' Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi urges on his website..

Are these people seriously responsible, democratically elected representatives of the people?

If you promote human achievement hour vs earth hour – that says nothing more to me than it is people vs the earth.  How fcuking stupid is that?

Their bluntly made point – delivered with the political sophistication of a vomiting baby – is I suppose that Earth Hour is mere Greenie symbolism.  Well that may be, but I’m not sure thats so worthless to be honest.  It hadn't been convenient to properly get involved before and so I hadn’t actually forced myself to disconnect myself from the electricity grid before.  It was really quite thought provoking.  Not only did it put you in touch with a world movement which is always powerful, but it enforced unnecessary deprivation.  To be honest even so I couldn’t turn off the fridge - for which I did get grief after admitting it on Twitter (however, I monitored the fridge, which I didn’t open all hour, and it didn’t come on throughout that hour!) But everything else not only went off but was unplugged.  Lights, TV, cooker, Foxtel box, stereo, everyfing...

You quickly realise that there is a lot you take for granted but could equally easily do without – but just don’t as there is simply no opportunity cost.  (They even say that Google Search uses up the same power as boiling a kettle).  If you had to consider  actual real-life carbon implications, we would all be so much more inventive in the way we lived our lives.  If we had to think about stand-by pulse, we’d wire our homes up differently.  We’d structure our days differently to take account of peak times, natural light availability and so on. I wonder if  - like AFDs (Alcohol Free Days) - an EFH (electricity free hour) is a good idea every week.  You don't know what you can do wiuthout until you try and do without it.

I’m not sure what I’m trying to say – but at the front of my mind is that if it weren’t for the Minchin-type right wing lunatic fringe of the Liberal Party that think “Human Achievement Hour” is funny or a sensible contribution to the debate, we’d have a carbon trading scheme now that would force us to think more carefully about the energy that we consume by appealing to the only effective human motivator – monetary cost – and thereby begin the process of living more within our carbon-means.*=for those outside Australia, the Liberal Party is actually the Conservative Right. I know, weird huh?

Here's a movie that did thrill.  The Boston Strangler.  I'd never heard of it, and stumbled on it quite accidentally.  Its a terrific cast with Henry Fonda and George Kennedy and Tony Curtis in a really, really dark and demanding role where he usually persisted with comedy roles, hero roles or romantic leads - with the occasional debonair villian.  But there's nothing redeeming about this part - an evil serial killer.  His performance is electric and captivating.

Without wanting to ruin anything, the first half of the film is a chronology of the murders.  The film opens with a promise that it is a true reflection of events.  Not inspired by actual events or an interpreatation of recorded facts.  So you kind of feel close to the day as the police go down one dead after another and one innocent victim's death is portrayed in some of the more remarkably shot scenes of the age.  The cinematography is quite unusual with lots of picture-in-picture stuff and innovative editing that takes what a lot of films did in the late sixties that little bit further giving the haunting murder scenes an extra spooky and harrowing edge.  Always, Tony Curtis is brilliant, clinical and apparently unmoved.

The second half of the film deals with Curtis after he's captured and charts Fonda's efforts to get him to confess.  Its psychologically quite compelling and leads you exploring in your own mind how would that scenario feel.  As Curtis - or rather Alberto Desalvo - increasingly comes to first suspect then realise that an alternative personality within him might be responsible for the crimes, its thoroughly moving and disturbing. There's even one scene where a tear slowly appears and rolls down his cheeks as the penny drops and he begins to mime out one of the crimes.  How would it feel if you lost faith in who you were and your knowledge and awareness of what you had and hadn't done.  The visits from his wife and child are equally upsetting. 

The movie - however - leaves you feeling quite convinced that this is what happened.  He did it.  Thats it. So I did some research and its quite intrigueing...even today it remains inconclulsive whether he did or not.  The theory being that in fact the Police Department used him to collate a whole host of different, hitherto unsolved murders.  Its worth reading about.  He died eventually in Walpole prison in 1973 stabbed to death by assailants unkown. 

For the most part I would like to – and will - use this blog to pay tribute to many of the movies that make me happy, inspire me, amuse me, move me, educate me and thrill me.  However, it seems that the very first pseudo-review I’m going to attempt is to savage one of the worst travesties of film making justice I’ve ever seen: The Boat That Rocked.

The overwhelming sense of disappointment I experienced from this dreadfully poor excuse for entertainment is quite overpowering, and the main reason I’m now drafting this is in some way to derive some mitigating value from the 2 hours or so I wasted in front of it.

On the bright side, it must be said that the soundtrack is monumental – sincerely a terrific collection of tracks I am probably going to go out and  buy as soon as I’ve finished writing this.  Its a beautifully made movie too (from the makers of Love Actually, Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Thing, etc etc) – visually stunning, superbly edited and really quite stylish; evoking all of the images and visions one would expect from the 1960s.  Most notably, the cast is truly “stellar” and was the main reason I - quite regretfully - sought it out to watch it.  Phillip Seymour-Hoffman leads a cast peppered with both the well-established and the up-and-coming.  Stalwarts of the British Acting Establishment like Kenneth Brannagh, Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson; are united with Jack Davenport, Tom Wisdom, Tom Sturridge, Tom Brooke (there's a lot of Toms) Chris O’Dowd, Talulah Riley, Rhys Darby and just a whole heap of people I really can’t even be bothered to list out any more.  Even Mad Men’s January Jones makes a small – if not completely pointless – cameo which almost promises to brighten the film up a bit (the sub plot in which she starred unfortunately, however, instead just further served to annoy the sh!t out of me).  All of the performances were top notch, proving what remarkable professionalism is all about.  Because I really can’t fathom how these people managed to follow through on their contract.  What an almighty pile of stinking pooh this film really is.

This cliched, tedious, indulgent, predictable, improbable schmaltz was even plagiarism in places I suspect.  I really feel for the poor sods who got babysitters  in to go and watch this in the cinema - a place of such a dark cultural horror they must have been so mercifully relieved to have got out alive.  I’ve always thought funny the phase “you could torture terrorists with that” but in this case I think its sadly true and wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere right now in G'tmo, there’s some pooh jihadist peasant wishing he could stab himself in the eyeballs rather than continue to watch. 

The writing is just so dire its literally unbelievable.  How, oh how, could the producers bring themselves to even finish reading the script, let alone shoot it.  The “Tw@t” gag, for a start, is not only so weak and obvious – its an outrageous rip off of the “Darling” joke in Blackadder – only it isn’t theft because Richard Curtis wrote both (I’m guessing he wrote the latter sober and brilliant instead of drunk, mad or FCUKING TRIPPING which is what he must have been when he played a part in writing this).  The continuity is appalling, the plot lines and sub-plots all rather than interweve cleverly in fact unwind miserably like a toilet roll spinning quickly and fatally out of control.  The marriage plot – merely an excuse for the stag do which is only a poorly-conceived and thoroughly transparent ruse to shoot a bunch of clichéd stunts perfect for the trailers – was perplexingly irrelevant and fleeting.  The Fatherhood plot was weak and dire and utterly expected.  So many plot lines long and tedious cul-de-sacs conceived only to string out the movie for as long as possible in lieu of any actual creative ideas.

In fact I’ve just thesaurused “predictable” and got a whole bunch of words that I’m just going to list out as they all are valid: humdrum, conventional, boring, unsurprising, uninspiring (except it isn’t the latter actually is it ‘cos its inspired this rather cathartic diatribe.)

I’ve got plenty more to say but think this is now becoming just unhealthy.  In short, it offends me deeply that raw commercial motivations could allow someone to just NOT BOTHER to ensure the writing is up to scratch when they know that the cast, concept and trailers alone will lull huge audiences in their millions into the cinemas around the world regardless.  Richard Curtis should be thoroughly ashamed of himself and so should the producers.  Scrub thatm they should be taken out and FCUKING SHOT. In fact I’m so upset instead of buying the soundtrack I’m going to overcome my usual principles on pirating and illegally rip it from someone else as I just can’t bear to contribute to their profits.

(Rhys Ifans was surprisingly good though.)

For the record, I live-tweeted the Rudd vs Abbott debate...

• Looking forward to some political blood sport today. I predict: Abbot provokes and antagonises; Rudd gets a bit flustered and waffles.
• Seconds out, round 1- lets get ready to rrrrrrrumble!
• Its says Kevin Rudd *&* Tony Abbott...shouldn't it be *vs*?
• "The topic is large, the time is short...its the prime minister to open the batting" Like your style @CUhlmann
• (Feel worm-deprived watching ABC on Windows Media feed at desk...)
• "Funded nationally, run locally" for the second time...OK got it Kevin
• Abbott aggressive straight out of the traps...he's like a savage pitbull. Play the ball not the man Abbott
• Abbott makes a good point - Rudd's plan is only a percentage shift in funding. Not an extra doctor or nurse before 2014
• "I'm at a terrible disadvantage in this debate 'cos I'm not capable of waffling for 10 minutes" says Abbott. Are you sure Tony?
• "This is just an opportunity to score political points" says @lyndalcurtis, well derrr
• Abbott's getting all the headlines, but the worm hates him. Who wins? Rudd has the moral high ground IMHO
• "First new nurse, first new bed?" great cutting-to-the-quick question from @cUhlmann
• This is so the-cool-kid-at-the-back-of-the-class vs the-teacher's-pet-at-the-front - smart arse cracks vs dull but factual
• No...your objective Tony is to get as many votes as you can!
• RT @stemcd: If Rudd really wanted to see Abbott's health policy, he could call a double dissolution
• Good strategy from Rudd - lets be positive and constructive instead of negative and a no-merchant
• Ouch! PM - did you get more political bang for your buck by putting stimulus in schools instead of in hospitals?
• I'm not sure its true that Abbott did pull $1billion out of health system; but Rudd could have put more in via stimulus
• LOL RT @SamTaunton: RT @craigreucassel: Rudd refuses to look at Abbott. He must remind him of Kristina Keneally.
• Its into extra-time! Will it goes to penalties, and how does that work?
• I think all this debate has proved is that Rudd is the dullest politician on the block and Abbott is the maddest!
• LOL... RT @annabelcrabb ...nappy change rendered necessary by my newborn's instinctive response to the Abbott cackle...
• Abbott: "nothing much will change" under Rudd. But at least he's said what he'll do, we've no idea at all what Abbott will do
• My prediction this morning was correct: "I predict: Abbot provokes and antagonises; Rudd gets a bit flustered and waffles."

For more, search http://www.summize.com for #npchealth for all the Twitter reaction...

Verdict: could do *much* better!

Could've, Should've...didn't.  Could've beaten France (26-20 with Wales scoring a try in the dying minute and giving away two tries).  Should've beaten England (30-17 with Wales giving away another try at Twickenham). They were lucky to beat Scotland and thank god they returned to form against Italy.  Thank God because Wales has a testing 9 months ahead with 3 tests against the All Blacks, two tests against South Africa home and away, and tests against Fiji and Australia. 

When I looked at the final table one thing jumped out at me: Wales scored the most points in the six nations, bar first-placed France; and conceded the most bar last-placed Italy.  A prolific attack held back by a pourous defence. In the their day they can beat almost anyone, and so certainly shouldn't have finished 4th behind England!

What potential though.  There's no debate that Wales has one of the best back lines in international rugby - peppered with British Lions and living Welsh Legends: Lee Byrne, Jamie Roberts, Leigh Halfpenny, Tom Shanklin and James Hook with two great scrum halves to chose from: Mike Philips and Dwayne Peel.  This championship Full Back Stepehen Jones surpassed Neil Jenkins as the greatest Welsh point scorer and Shane Williams moved past Gareth Edwards as the leading Welsh Try Scorer.  Today's Welsh players are superceding the great players of the Seventies. 

Previous Welsh sides have traditionally been strong in the backs but weak up front.  Today there is a sensational pack as well: Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, Ryan Jones and the veteran Martyn Williams.  (In fact, as my father astutely pointed out, the return of Mike Philips and Gethin Jenkins was palpable in the boost it brought.) The new forwards - Warburton, Charteris and Dradley Davies - are extremely promising as well.  The coaching team remain strong: Warren Gatland is a miracle-worker with a grand Slam in his first 3 months in the job in 2008, supported by Shaun Edwards and Rob Howley and of course Neil Jenkins himself as kicking coach.  No one can deny its a quality outfit.

So why aren't they performing? Fitness and attitude has to be the question mark, not talent.  The 2007 World Cup saw Wales fail to come out and play in any of the first halves of their games, turning on their magic only when it was already too late - notably against Australia and fatally Fiji.  This tournament was very reminiscent of that.  The match against Italy was the only one in which Wales led in the first half.  You just can't succeed at this level if you only play for 40 minutes.

So come on Wales, pull your finger out!

What is sad is that with the exception of France, all four home nations were woefully below par and really need to raise their game if any of them expect to make it to even the last eight in New Zealand next year.  With only just over a year to go, British Rugby needs to raise its game significantly!

Just felt the need to post this - only video can do justice to this incredible view.  *This* is one of the reasons I live in Sydney.  The view from the tip of West head is quite remarkable given its less than an hour's drive from Central Sydney.  As the camera pans from south-east to north-west it starts looking south down into Pittwater and towards Scotland Island, then moves north along the Palm Beach penninsular - the western side of Palm Beach and Whale Beach - until it then pans past Barren Joey Head with the Lighthouse and then across Broken Bay with Boudi National Park to the North - including Kilcare, Brisbane Water and Pearl Beach.  Finally it passes the Sphinx-like Lion Island and then comes to rest looking North West down the mouth of the beautiful Hawkesbury River. 

A jaw-dropping view like that is hard to find a short drive from any major metropolis, particularly one where on a saturday afternoon you can get an easy park and don't have to fight crowds.  Good on ya Sydney!