A thought about radical feminists.

Radical feminists – the kind of feminists who think that the way women can achieve liberation and be emancipated is by having more power than men, and matriarchy being the new patriarchy. But it’s when one group of people think they deserve more power, or that they are better than other groups of people…that’s when you get sexism, racism, dictators, people like Hitler, genocide. We just don’t seem to progress as a race very well when we have people competing for power like this. When politicians and military leaders compete for power we get war, where unnecessary amounts of people die on both sides. When two political parties compete for power we get fighting and rioting. When two people compete for power in a relationship you get abuse, hurt and it doesn’t work. When it works there is a level of equality. Treat people how you want them to treat you. Respect them, their opinions and their right to think and be different to you. Celebrate your differences: differences in race, gender, sexuality, political preference, and find peace and equality within those differences.

A bomb, A-bomb.

I was sat in my lecture today, and we were talking about important events of the 20th Century, and my lecturer mentioned the atom bomb in passing.
THE atom bomb.

Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't there TWO?
One that was dropped on Nagasaki, and one that was dropped on Hiroshima?

Why do we always seem to forget that, or graze over it?
Like the way we mention the atom bombs like they are just more bombs that maybe landed on a house and destroyed it, maybe killed a few people... They effectively ended the way because they were so powerful. Yet, they are always just mentioned in passing - effectively slipped in to our vocab. like they are nothing special.

They OBLITERATED everything.
Cities were destroyed.
People were turned to ASH where they stood.
Why don't we see these images when we talk about the atom bomb?
Maybe we picture the mushroom cloud because those images are so famous, but then they are so famous that they don't shock us any more. They have been normalised in our minds. For a mushroom cloud that big, imagine the size of the bomb, please, and think about HOW MUCH IT DESTROYED.

How can we just mention this devastation like it was no worse than any other bomb?

And the people! Their lives were gone. Everything they owned, loved, cared about was gone. They are burnt, scarred, OBLITERATED WHERE THEY STAND. They are turned to shadows on the ground, right were they stood, alive, just moments before.

Then they are poisoned by the radiation, and it effects the children they have, and it effects their children's children. Birth defects, physical impairments, mental disability. Lives ruined for generations, and why?

Because America wanted to show how powerful they were. They had weapons powerful enough to end a war. I think Japan saw this and surrendered because they realised the cost of human life wasn't worth whatever they were fighting for. At least, I sincerely hope they thought that.

America just doesn't stop does it? It is pretty arguably the most powerful country in the world, and of course it has nuclear weapons. Like all the other countries that hav nuclear weapons, no one is really trying to hide the fact. In fact, it's become a source of competition. The majority of the worlds leaders are just fighting to show off who has the most power, aren't they? I mean, why else do you become the leader of a powerful country? To help the people in it, or to take control of it? To have a stake in controlling the world we live in too.

 So this is what it boils down to, huh? Leaders fighting for power, proud of their technological advancements, their "improvements" in weaponry - always finding new and better ways to kill more people... Their pride will be their downfall, and they will drag us all and this beautiful world with them. They will fight and compete until someone is stupid enough to show off and fire a nuclear missile, and start a nuclear war and they say only the cockroaches can survive that. What hope do we have as humans if our leaders are in control of the destiny of this world? I just hope they listen to those ancient Greeks and their plays about hubris, and how the proud man never wins. We act them out time and time again, we know them, we know the characters and yet we never seem to learn. And if we know, why aren't we doing something to make the world leaders know what we know? Could we even do that?
Maybe. Maybe we're all just going to end up like this. Except there'll be no one to take our picture and make someone angry about the ignorance and injustice in the future. There probably won't even be bodies to find, or earth to find them on...
We've progressed well as a species, haven't we?

Blunderbuss, etc.

This word has been cropping up a lot lately. What's that phenomenon called, where you learn something new, or like you get a new car and then you see that car everywhere?

Well anyway:

Blun-der-buss/' ’bləndərˌbəs/
Noun: A short barrelled, large-bored gun with a flared muzzle, used at close range.
           An action or way of doing something that is regarded as lacking in subtlety and precision.


1 - Looper

2 - Jack White's debut solo album. Which by the way, is pretty awesome. I am going to see him perform at Ally Pally in a few weeks so more about him later. (I am beyond excited; I love the White Stripes and would give anything to see them live, but seeing him will be almost as good, and good enough!)

So I recommend giving his album a  listen, if you like slightly quirky, alternative music that has good guitar riffs, intricate piano and, as ever, intriguing lyrics supported by unique vocals.



Also, if you like folk-y music you should check out the band The Lumineers. I heard their song Ho Hey on the e-on energy advert (that is about kettles?!) and was immediately hooked on the upbeat, punchy guitar and anthem-esque drum beat - but not overly chant-y - with it's catchy lyrics and the urge to dance along a little. Or clap your hands at least.

*(nb, I re-wrote this today because the formatting was pissing me off. I downloaded their album yesterday and haven't stopped listening to it since! I really like their folky sound, and their lyrics are really interesting. The songs are different too, they don't sound too samey, which is always good.)


I did some YouTube-ing for y'all and I found this:

And if you like that then you might also like Jake Bugg. He's got quite a unique style, heartfelt lyrics and guitar music that feels like it could be used in any film to convey most emotions. I think I will give him more of a listen this week.
But for now, bed.

Enjoy!

Looper!

So I just spent a lovely evening with my friend, at an old cinema in Notting Hill, watching Looper, the new JGL and Bruce Willis thriller.

I can confirm, it was quite thrilling. There was one instance where I jumped so bad that I lurched sideways in my seat and my heart beat so fast I could almost hear it. Surely that a sign of good tension and a film that captures your attention, and holds it?

Normally when I watch a film I can't help but notice continuity errors, or the lighting, or a specific camera angle (when you learn about films, you can't not notice all this stuff when you watch films!), but I was so enraptured by the story that I didn't notice many of these. There was one angle that I noticed that I particularly liked; it was a low angle shot, looking up at Joseph Gordon Levitt's head and shoulders, with the blue sky behind him - very reminiscent of shots where a victim is lying on the ground looking up at their killer/attacker except here, the person on the ground is looking up because they are a child. However it is subtle hint about Levitt's character and also perhaps his relationship with the child.

But yeah, I liked the film, and I definitely recommend you go and see it on a big screen - there are some scenes where the effects just wont look as good on your home tv/laptop/computer/ipad etc.
It wasn't at all predictable, and thus not what I thought it would be. I was worried it would be just another action thriller, set in the futre that doesn't look that much different where they travel back in time, and the difference with this film is that they kill people. But no, it had a much better plot with a story that I haven't really encountered before. Something that is a fairly rare find in films these days...
Rian Johnson - you've done it again.

If you liked Brick you should deffo see Looper.
And if you liked Looper you should go and watch Brick.
And if you love JGL, GO AND WATCH BRICK!

(Rian Johnson also directed Brick, which features JGL.)

Random International - Rain Room

Have you been to the Barbican recently? Random International are exhibiting the Rain Room. It's exactly what it's described to be. A room, where it rains. Rain, indoors, in England? Yeah I know, makes you feel like you can't escape our typical weather anywhere, but heres the catch: you don't get wet. Pretty cool, right? I won't spoil the magic by telling you how it works, but it's here until the 3rd of March so go!

I took some pictures while I was there, to make you want to go even more - aha.
Hope you like them!