Initial impressions of Radiohead's most recent album, The King of Limbs, are that it is another signature Radiohead effort. Some might say "more of the same". It's true that the album will not please those who were hanging out for a remake of The Bends as it continues along the band's arc from In Rainbows and Kid A. But it's early days for this record. Multiple listens are yet needed. (Already, I can't get the final track on the album, Separator, outta my head.) And in my humble opinion, if it is indeed "more of the same", it is "more of the same" in the same way that a second helping of butterscotch ice cream is "more of the same". Whichever way you look at it, it's still delicious.
Check out the video for track five on the album, Lotus Flower. Gotta love a Thom Yorke dance.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Yesterday's Hero
Late last night, with the Tropfest winners announced, the VIP bar well and truelly vacated and the viewing public back in the comfort of their beds, I snuck back onto the red carpet for a final photo. I say final photo. It was actually my first of the day, I'm sure. Sometimes you just have to do your own publicity. And if nothing else, who knows, it might be one for the grandkids one day.
Y2GAY: now of the web!
Well, no cigar last night at the Movie Extra Tropfest 2011 Finals in Sydney for our film Y2GAY, but there were some absolute cracking entries. We're so proud to have been included amongst them and personally, I'm very proud of our little film and everyone who worked on it.
We didn't go away altogether empty handed. Kate Worsley deservedly picked up the Best Female Actor award and our cast were singled out for mention by Shakespeare in Love actor and Tropfest judge Josephe Fiennes. Well done guys!
A big thank you to all those who came down and watched it at the domain. I feel very lucky to have such special friends. To my family, I love you. You continue to surprise me with your unerring support of this crazy search.
Y2GAY is now available on the net, so if you didn't get the chance to see it live last night, you can click away to your heart's content.
Enjoy!
We didn't go away altogether empty handed. Kate Worsley deservedly picked up the Best Female Actor award and our cast were singled out for mention by Shakespeare in Love actor and Tropfest judge Josephe Fiennes. Well done guys!
A big thank you to all those who came down and watched it at the domain. I feel very lucky to have such special friends. To my family, I love you. You continue to surprise me with your unerring support of this crazy search.
Y2GAY is now available on the net, so if you didn't get the chance to see it live last night, you can click away to your heart's content.
Enjoy!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Clarke and Dawe: Balancing the budget
Clarke and Dawe are at it again. click the below image to watch their latest take on the Australian government priorities when doing a budget. Foreigner warning: there are lots of references to local political issues and personalities in this sketch. apologies if it doesn't make sense to those overseas.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Y2GAY is coming... no seriously... it's this SUNDAY!
Dan Ilic and I wrote and directed a little film over summer called Y2GAY. The gate keepers over at Tropfest have deemed it good enough to sit in their final 16. It stars the very excellent, very funny and talented Kate Worsley, Dave McLaughlin, and Nick Mattick (Smart Casual).
So Dan, Peter Slee (producer) and I would love it if you would join us in a semi-designated Y2GAY area on the night this coming Sunday. We will be there early to stake out some Y2GAY-members-only turf. All you have to do is wander on down in time to see the show kick off around 7:30 or so... I mean, we're not asking much now. It's free. And we did all the hard work after all. All you have to do is turn up with your camembert and wine and get completely shitfaced while taking in some 1st-class austrayan "culcha".
We will be in the Domain from around 2pm next Sunday 20th of February with this Y2GAY sign. Look out for it, and come and sit with us and cheer on the films in what will be a celebration of champagne tropfest sketch comedy.
Hoorrah!
Our great democracy
In recent weeks, Western commentators have been effusive in their praise of the unfolding wonder that is the "democratisation" of Egypt. Some have suggested that the rest of the Arab world would do well to follow suit as quickly as they possibly can. Apparently, the Beatles were wrong. All you need is democracy.
If only that were true.
Our own great democracy has been performing at spectacularly underwhelming levels. In the last month, our great leaders have fought over who has the right to pay the least amount of money towards the nation's health care; they have fought over who should pay for the desperate task of rebuilding QLD after the floods/cyclone that destroyed the state; and most recently, our leaders tried desperately to start a fight over whether Australian taxpayers should foot the bill for Christmas Island asylum seekers to be able to attend the funerals of their drowned relatives. (They should just be grateful they weren't smashed against the rocks themselves, I guess.)
So much for this great-hearted sunburnt land of Vegemite smeared babies who grow up, embalmed in the salty waves of equality beach, to be the very personification of the most precious of all australian values, the fair go.
Democracy gives power to the people sure (inshallah), but the test of a good democracy depends just as much upon what the people are prepared to let their leaders get away with.
Enter Tony Abbott.
Footage has been found which shows Tony Abbott being briefed by the Commander of the Australian troops in Afghanistan (An American! I know! Need I mention the Breaker Morant and Suva Bay debacles?!). The Commander describes the fact that in an attack in which an Australian soldier died, the army did not receive sufficient air support. He commiserates that the air support failure could not be attributed to any specific reason. In response, Abbott is seen on camera saying that in war, "shit happens".
Fair enough really. I'm sure it does. Having just finished the censored account of an Australian digger's experience at Gallipolli (To Hell and Back, if you're interested), I couldn't agree with Abbott more. Shit does, and did, happen. Pretty much every day.
What didn't look great was that Abbott was seen to be flippant about an Australian soldier's death. All he needed to do was explain that he was not at all being flippant, and it would not even have made the papers. Instead, our opposition leader stood, staring down his inner rage, hoping the film in the journalist's camera would run out before his fuse did. Have a look for yourself:
What is disturbing about this footage is not that Abbott got caught out saying that "shit happens". What is disturbing is that when questioned about the matter, he was so incapable of controlling his own inner rage that he is barely able to restrain himself from coming to physical blows with the journalist.
We are a great democratic nation. And this is our great democracy. One leader is so desperately lacking in charisma that people write 500 word articles rejoicing the fact that her voice "faltered" when describing the deaths of Australian citizens in the QLD floods during a session of parliament. (She lives!) The other leader is an intellectual nobody, a brazen steel-balls oxford fighter who is on the record as not wanting us to believe everything he says, a man so incapable of controlling his feelings when reasonably challenged, that he is not able to think of one sane word to say in his own defence.
The choice is anaesthetising.
Allah and God be praised. Here lies the great democracy we never bothered to fight for.
If only that were true.
Our own great democracy has been performing at spectacularly underwhelming levels. In the last month, our great leaders have fought over who has the right to pay the least amount of money towards the nation's health care; they have fought over who should pay for the desperate task of rebuilding QLD after the floods/cyclone that destroyed the state; and most recently, our leaders tried desperately to start a fight over whether Australian taxpayers should foot the bill for Christmas Island asylum seekers to be able to attend the funerals of their drowned relatives. (They should just be grateful they weren't smashed against the rocks themselves, I guess.)
So much for this great-hearted sunburnt land of Vegemite smeared babies who grow up, embalmed in the salty waves of equality beach, to be the very personification of the most precious of all australian values, the fair go.
Democracy gives power to the people sure (inshallah), but the test of a good democracy depends just as much upon what the people are prepared to let their leaders get away with.
Enter Tony Abbott.
Footage has been found which shows Tony Abbott being briefed by the Commander of the Australian troops in Afghanistan (An American! I know! Need I mention the Breaker Morant and Suva Bay debacles?!). The Commander describes the fact that in an attack in which an Australian soldier died, the army did not receive sufficient air support. He commiserates that the air support failure could not be attributed to any specific reason. In response, Abbott is seen on camera saying that in war, "shit happens".
Fair enough really. I'm sure it does. Having just finished the censored account of an Australian digger's experience at Gallipolli (To Hell and Back, if you're interested), I couldn't agree with Abbott more. Shit does, and did, happen. Pretty much every day.
What didn't look great was that Abbott was seen to be flippant about an Australian soldier's death. All he needed to do was explain that he was not at all being flippant, and it would not even have made the papers. Instead, our opposition leader stood, staring down his inner rage, hoping the film in the journalist's camera would run out before his fuse did. Have a look for yourself:
What is disturbing about this footage is not that Abbott got caught out saying that "shit happens". What is disturbing is that when questioned about the matter, he was so incapable of controlling his own inner rage that he is barely able to restrain himself from coming to physical blows with the journalist.
We are a great democratic nation. And this is our great democracy. One leader is so desperately lacking in charisma that people write 500 word articles rejoicing the fact that her voice "faltered" when describing the deaths of Australian citizens in the QLD floods during a session of parliament. (She lives!) The other leader is an intellectual nobody, a brazen steel-balls oxford fighter who is on the record as not wanting us to believe everything he says, a man so incapable of controlling his feelings when reasonably challenged, that he is not able to think of one sane word to say in his own defence.
The choice is anaesthetising.
Allah and God be praised. Here lies the great democracy we never bothered to fight for.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Silver Cinder on Facebook
Silver Cinder are now on Facebook. You can follow us and keep up to date with all the latest information on upcoming gigs by clicking on the below icon:
Also, stay tuned for the new Promo CD from Silver Cinder. Here's a taste of what it will look like:
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