Ghost of a flea

Lana Craft

Katers17 offers a critical review of Tomb Runner and an inexplicably mesmerizing performance as Lana Craft. Must watch it again to see if its hypnotic power might be revealed to me.

The BBC has noted the Katers17 phenom.* Now they must ask themselves why people have stopped watching television...**

* She is double-jointed, apparently.
** Dr. Who Xmas special with Kylie excepted.

David Sylvian: Steel Cathedrals

This is what I am trying to do. Now is the time at the Flea when we dance (and Part II).

The numbers

Editor-in-chief of Kanwa Defense Review Monthly, Andrei Chang runs the numbers for fuel consumption should the PLA/A attempt to invade Taiwan. Flea-readers with aviation and related experience are invited to comment. For example, I am uncertain what sort of ball park we are talking about in considering an aircraft's supposed maximum range vs its actual fuel consumption in sorties under combat conditions.

And then there is the question of the ChiCom's actual fuel reserve and just how deep they would be prepared to dip into it in the event of war. Chang offers a related piece listing four Chinese strategic oil reserve bases* suggesting at least three are vulnerable to Taiwanese air force and cruise missile attack. If I am a Taiwanese war planner the first thing I do is shut down oil traffic for the far east through the Lombok and Malacca Straits... how far out of the way are Japan and South Korea prepared to escort tanker traffic?**

* Zhenhai Base in Zhejiang province, Luanshan Base on Zhoushan Island of Zhejiang province, Huangdao Base in Qingdao, Shandong province, and Dayawan Base in Guangdong province.
** This April 2005 piece at Belmont Club thinks through some contingencies including Taiwanese diesel electric submarines, supertanker sea lanes and the strategic fuel reserves of the United States and Japan.

There ain't nothing like a dame

Kylie Minogue OBE has - as the preceding letters suggest - been made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; this being a post-nominal order if I am understanding how this all works correctly. So not a Dame per se but I hope Flea-readers will excuse the tag-line nonetheless (hat tip to Capt. Heinrichs).

Cheers to that. Also honoured: Gandalf, now a Companion of Honour. The Telegraph has the full honours list available as a pdf file for anyone checking to see if they have once again been overlooked.

Tegan and Sara: Monday Monday Monday

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Led Zeppelin: No Quarter

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Shai Dorsai!

DefenseTech claims wing suits could "change the face of special ops".

The sermon of the Wolf

"Beloved men, know that which is true: this world is in haste and it nears the end. And therefore things in this world go ever the longer the worse, and so it must needs be that things quickly worsen, on account of people's sinning from day to day, before the coming of Antichrist. And indeed it will then be awful and grim widely throughout the world. Understand also well that the Devil has now led this nation astray for very many years, and that little loyalty has remained among men, though they spoke well. And too many crimes reigned in the land, and there were never many of men who deliberated about the remedy as eagerly as one should, but daily they piled one evil upon another, and committed injustices and many violations of law all too widely throughout this entire land.

"And we have also therefore endured many injuries and insults, and if we shall experience any remedy then we must deserve better of God than we have previously done. For with great deserts we have earned the misery that is upon us, and with truly great deserts we must obtain the remedy from God, if henceforth things are to improve. Lo, we know full well that a great breach of law shall necessitate a great remedy, and a great fire shall necessitate much water, if that fire is to be quenched. And it is also a great necessity for each of men that he henceforth eagerly heed the law of God better than he has done, and justly pay God's dues. In heathen lands one does not dare withhold little nor much of that which is appointed to the worship of false gods; and we withhold everywhere God's dues all too often. And in heathen lands one dares not curtail, within or without the temple, anything brought to the false gods and entrusted as an offering. And we have entirely stripped God's houses of everything fitting, within and without, and God's servants are everywhere deprived of honor and protection. And some men say that no man dare abuse the servants of false gods in any way among heathen people, just as is now done widely to the servants of God, where Christians ought to observe the law of God and protect the servants of God.

"But what I say is true: there is need for that remedy because God's dues have diminished too long in this land in every district, and laws of the people have deteriorated entirely too greatly, since Edgar died. And sanctuaries are too widely violated, and God's houses are entirely stripped of all dues and are stripped within of everything fitting. And widows are widely forced to marry in unjust ways and too many are impoverished and fully humiliated; and poor men are sorely betrayed and cruelly defrauded, and sold widely out of this land into the power of foreigners, though innocent; and infants are enslaved by means of cruel injustices, on account of petty theft everywhere in this nation. And the rights of freemen are taken away and the rights of slaves are restricted and charitable obligations are curtailed. Free men may not keep their independence, nor go where they wish, nor deal with their property just as they desire; nor may slaves have that property which, on their own time, they have obtained by means of difficult labor, or that which good men, in Gods favor, have granted them, and given to them in charity for the love of God. But every man decreases or withholds every charitable obligation that should by rights be paid eagerly in Gods favor, for injustice is too widely common among men and lawlessness is too widely dear to them. And in short, the laws of God are hated and his teaching despised; therefore we all are frequently disgraced through God's anger, let him know it who is able. And that loss will become universal, although one may not think so, to all these people, unless God protects us.

"Therefore it is clear and well seen in all of us that we have previously more often transgressed than we have amended, and therefore much is greatly assailing this nation. Nothing has prospered now for a long time either at home or abroad, but there has been military devastation and hunger, burning and bloodshed in nearly every district time and again. And stealing and slaying, plague and pestilence, murrain and disease, malice and hate, and the robbery by robbers have injured us very terribly. And excessive taxes have afflicted us, and storms have very often caused failure of crops; therefore in this land there have been, as it may appear, many years now of injustices and unstable loyalties everywhere among men. Now very often a kinsman does not spare his kinsman any more than the foreigner, nor the father his children, nor sometimes the child his own father, nor one brother the other. Neither has any of us ordered his life just as he should, neither the ecclesiastic according to the rule nor the layman according to the law. But we have transformed desire into laws for us entirely too often, and have kept neither precepts nor laws of God or men just as we should. Neither has anyone had loyal intentions with respect to others as justly as he should, but almost everyone has decieved and injured another by words and deeds; and indeed almost everyone unjustly stabs the other from behind with shameful assaults and with wrongful accusations -- let him do more, if he may.

"For there are in this nation great disloyalties for matters of the Church and the state, and also there are in the land many who betray their lords in various ways. And the greatest of all betrayals of a lord in the world is that a man betrays the soul of his lord. And it is the greatest of all betrayals of a lord in the world, that a man betray his lord's soul. And a very great betrayal of a lord it is also in the world, that a man betray his lord to death, or drive him living from the land, and both have come to pass in this land: Edward was betrayed, and then killed, and after that burned; and Æthelred was driven out of his land. And too many sponsors and godchildren have been killed widely throughout this nation, in addition to entirely too many other innocent people who have been destroyed entirely too widely. And entirely too many holy religious foundations have deteriorated because some men have previously been placed in them who ought not to have been, if one wished to show respect to God's sanctuary.

"And too many Christian men have been sold out of this land, now for a long time, and all this is entirely hateful to God, let him believe it who will. Also we know well where this crime has occurred, and it is shameful to speak of that which has happened too widely. And it is terrible to know what too many do often, those who for a while carry out a miserable deed, who contribute together and buy a woman as a joint purchase between them and practice foul sin with that one woman, one after another, and each after the other like dogs that care not about filth, and then for a price they sell a creature of God -- His own purchase that He bought at a great cost -- into the power of enemies. Also we know well where the crime has occurred such that the father has sold his son for a price, and the son his mother, and one brother has sold the other into the power of foreigners, and out of this nation. All of those are great and terrible deeds, let him understand it who will. And yet what is injuring this nation is still greater and manifold: many are forsworn and greatly perjured and more vows are broken time and again, and it is clear to this people that God's anger violently oppresses us, let him know it who can.

"And lo! How may greater shame befall men through the anger of God than often does us for our own sins? Although it happens that a slave escape from a lord and, leaving Christendom becomes a Viking, and after that it happens again that a hostile encounter takes place between thane and slave, if the slave kills the thane, he lies without wergild paid to any of his kinsmen; but if the thane kills the slave that he had previously owned, he must pay the price of a thane. Full shameful laws and disgraceful tributes are common among us, through God's anger, let him understand it who is able. And many misfortunes befall this nation time and again. Things have not prospered now for a long time neither at home nor abroad, but there has been destruction and hate in every district time and again, and the English have been entirely defeated for a long time now, and very truly disheartened through the anger of God. And pirates are so strong through the consent of God, that often in battle one drives away ten, and two often drive away twenty, sometimes fewer and sometimes more, entirely on account of our sins. And often ten or twelve, each after the other, insult the thane's woman disgracefully, and sometimes his daughter or close kinswomen, while he looks on, he that considered himself brave and strong and good enough before that happened. And often a slave binds very fast the thane who previously was his lord and makes him into a slave through God's anger. Alas the misery and alas the public shame that the English now have, entirely through God's anger. Often two sailors, or three for a while, drive the droves of Christian men from sea to sea -- out through this nation, huddled together, as a public shame for us all, if we could seriously and properly know any shame. But all the insult that we often suffer, we repay by honoring those who insult us. We pay them continually and they humiliate us daily; they ravage and they burn, plunder and rob and carry to the ship; and lo! what else is there in all these happenings except Gods anger clear and evident over this nation?

"It is no wonder that there is mishap among us: because we know full well that now for many years men have too often not cared what they did by word or deed; but this nation, as it may appear, has become very corrupt through manifold sins and through many misdeeds: through murder and through evil deeds, through avarice and through greed, through stealing and through robbery, through man-selling and through heathen vices, through betrayals and through frauds, through breaches of law and through deceit, through attacks on kinsmen and through manslaughter, through injury of men in holy orders and through adultery, through incest and through various fornications. And also, far and wide, as we said before, more than should be are lost and perjured through the breaking of oaths and through violations of pledges, and through various lies; and non-observances of church feasts and fasts widely occur time and again. And also there are here in the land Gods adversaries, degenerate apostates, and hostile persecutors of the Church and entirely too many grim tyrants, and widespread despisers of divine laws and Christian virtues, and foolish deriders everywhere in the nation, most often of those things that the messengers of God command, and especially those things that always belong to Gods law by right. And therefore things have now come far and wide to that full evil way that men are more ashamed now of good deeds than of misdeeds; because too often good deeds are abused with derision and the Godfearing are blamed entirely too much, and especially are men reproached and all too often greeted with contempt who love right and have fear of God to any extent. And because men do that, entirely abusing all that they should praise and hating too much all that they ought to love, therefore they bring entirely too many to evil intentions and to misdeeds, so that they are never ashamed though they sin greatly and commit wrongs even against God himself. But on account of idle attacks they are ashamed to repent for their misdeeds, just as the books teach, like those foolish men who on account of their pride will not protect themselves from injury before they might no longer do so, although they all wish for it.

"Here in the country, as it may appear, too many are sorely wounded by the stains of sin. Here there are, as we said before, manslayers and murderers of their kinsmen, and murderers of priests and persecutors of monasteries, and traitors and notorious apostates, and here there are perjurers and murderers, and here there are injurers of men in holy orders and adulterers, and people greatly corrupted through incest and through various fornications, and here there are harlots and infanticides and many foul adulterous fornicators, and here there are witches and sorceresses, and here there are robbers and plunderers and pilferers and thieves, and injurers of the people and pledge-breakers and treaty-breakers, and, in short, a countless number of all crimes and misdeeds. And we are not at all ashamed of it, but we are greatly ashamed to begin the remedy just as the books teach, and that is evident in this wretched and corrupt nation. Alas, many a great kinsman can easily call to mind much in addition which one man could not hastily investigate, how wretchedly things have fared now all the time now widely throughout this nation. And indeed let each one examine himself well, and not delay this all too long. But lo, in the name of God, let us do as is needful for us, protect ourselves as earnestly as we may, lest we all perish together.

"There was a historian in the time of the Britons, called Gildas, who wrote about their misdeeds, how with their sins they infuriated God so excessively that He finally allowed the English army to conquer their land, and to destroy the host of the Britons entirely. And that came about, just as he said, through breach of rule by the clergy and through breach of laws by laymen, through robbery by the strong and through coveting of ill-gotten gains, violations of law by the people and through unjust judgments, through the sloth of the bishops and folly, and through the wicked cowardice of messengers of God, who swallowed the truths entirely too often and they mumbled through their jaws where they should have cried out; also through foul pride of the people and through gluttony and manifold sins they destroyed their land and they themselves perished. But let us do as is necessary for us, take warning from such; and it is true what I say, we know of worse deeds among the English than we have heard of anywhere among the Britons; and therefore there is a great need for us to take thought for ourselves, and to intercede eagerly with God himself. And let us do as is necessary for us, turn towards the right and to some extent abandon wrong-doing, and eagerly atone for what we previously transgressed; and let us love God and follow God's laws, and carry out well that which we promised when we received baptism, or those who were our sponsors at baptism; and let us order words and deeds justly, and cleanse our thoughts with zeal, and keep oaths and pledges carefully, and have some loyalty between us without evil practice. And let us often reflect upon the great Judgment to which we all shall go, and let us save ourselves from the welling fire of hell torment, and gain for ourselves the glories and joys that God has prepared for those who work his will in the world. God help us. Amen."

- The sermon of the Wolf to the English, when the Danes were greatly persecuting them, which was in the year 1014 after the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wulfstan of York remains eerily topical almost one thousand years after the fact.

Clannad: Scarlet Inside

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Every single blog has endorsed Fred Thompson that isn't secretly run by Communists

Daily Fred Thompson Facts.

Gonna use my sensei

I hesitate to link this as I wish I did not know what I now know; perhaps best not to expose anyone else. But I had to find out what Bill Murray whispered to Scarlett Johansson at the end of Lost in Translation (hat tip to Agent Bedhead). I will not offer spoilers in the body of the post but will be talking about it in the comments.

Related: Scarlett Johansson pictures from the Belgian edition of Elle magazine.

The Pretenders: Brass in Pocket

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*

* And the Scarlett Johansson rendition.

Calling the product music is like selling a shopping cart and calling it groceries

David Byrne offers advice to emerging music artists in light of sharply declining cd sales (via Instapundit).

Prayer for a New Mother

The things she knew, let her forget again ---
The voices in the sky, the fear, the cold,
The gaping shepherds, and the queer old men
Piling their clumsy gifts of foreign gold.

Let her have laughter with her little one;
Teach her the endless, tuneless songs to sing,
Grant her her right to whisper to her son
The foolish names one dare not call a king.

Keep from her dreams the rumble of a crowd,
The smell of rough-cut wood, the trail of red,
The thick and chilly whiteness of the shroud
That wraps the strange new body of the dead.

Ah, let her go, kind Lord, where mothers go
And boast his pretty words and ways, and plan
The proud and happy years that they shall know
Together, when her son is grown a man.

- Dorothy Parker

Siouxsie and the Banshees: Il Est Né le Divin Enfant

Featuring Robert Smith on cymbals. Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Related: Billy Corgan, Emilie Autumn & Dennis DeYoung perform We Three Kings.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean

I especially enjoy the Dalek: Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean.

Astrid

Rumours are flying fast and furious as Kylie Minogue's Doctor Who Xmas special appearance draws nigh. No spoilers in the comments, please! Those of us stranded in the colonies are going to have to wait...

Flea-readers who cannot wait might once again enjoy Kylie's rendition of Santa Baby on the late lamented Top of the Pops and, of course, a "Merry Christmas" from Kylie herself.

Related: Fast Ood Rockers present Song 4 Kylie... I'm in love (with a girl in a time machine).

The Cheeky Girls: Have a Cheeky Christmas

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

I should have done better

	I received 86 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you?
Take the Sci-Fi Movie Quizdigital camera ratings

This would be much higher if allowed my epee

Via AOSHQ, obviously. Follow that link for Huckster news too, btw.

Update: Is anyone being directed to a dating site through the above link? Please see the comments... If so, I shall remove the link.

And again: I have removed the link... Anyone curious to see how many five year olds they can best in single combat may follow the Ace of Spades HQ link at their own risk!

John 3:16

Breathtaking.

The Beatnix: Stairway to Heaven

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance (via Agent Bedhead).

Dating Tips for the Overqualified

Trouble with the ladies? Perhaps your first mistake to be too captivating too fast (hat tip to Alucard).

Though I gather claiming to have a $772k bonus also does the trick on Craigslist.

Good idea

Ultimate James Bond Fan Blog did not think it was likely but I thought Flea-readers should nonetheless be alerted to the possibility of a Carice van Houten Bond Girl appearance. I mean, just, wow.

Now it turns out Gemma Arterton has the job (via Agent Bedhead). She is quite lovely too, of course, and I note her RADA profile indicates a BASSC Certificate in Stage Combat (Distinction). This should come in handy.

Ani DiFranco: Both Hands

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*

* The studio version is a bit perky; this live version of Both Hands is the one I listen to.

News to me

Writing for LA Weekly, D. Heimpel is appalled at plans to charge Los Angeles subway riders for, uhh, riding the subway (via fishbowlLA, in a critical bent).

I would read the rest of the piece if: A - I believed anyone in Los Angeles rode the subway; B - I cared about public transit in Los Angeles not involving buses and Sandra Bullock, or; C - Toronto had an honour system for public transit. LA Weekly readers planning to ride the rocket should know they will be charged a fare. I seem to recall paying to use the Paris Metro too though, having never been to Portland, Heimpel might not be 0 for 3.

The empire of the self

K-punk considers paternalism without the father. Following Slavoj Zizek's Tarrying with the negative, he thinks through Spinoza, health and some policy implications for the metapsychology of late capitalism (and vice versa).

Much to think about particularly on the subject of administration. That said, he is quite mistaken in his later argument regarding Solaris: A sequel yet more horrendous than the original does not render the original any better. Nor does it render the original anything more than a Soviet attempt to reproduce 2001; that was an original.

The Final Cut

Ridley Scott has had (yet) another go at it, releasing Blade Runner: The Final Cut in its own bewildering array of formats and packaging (via Ace). One bit of good news: Hockey-masked geisha dancers.

Having tried and failed to watch my dvd of the 1992 version on a 22" monitor, I believe this is a film that could benefit from a little touching up of special effects rendered unwatchable by this higher resolution age. Curious Flea-readers can check out the trailer for this edit at the release' official MySpace page or give the original soundtrack a listen (and especially "Damask Rose"). Now off to lust after these old time Spinner replicas and this remarkably economical LED umbrella.

Update: On the subject of retouching Harrison Ford films, Han Solo shot first. That is all.

Eurythmics: Love is a Stranger

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Many Bothans died to bring us this information

It turns out the Russians have a good reason for the slight delay and minor cost overruns in refitting the Admiral Gorshkov for the Indian navy. A minor matter of some missing blueprints...

These are almost certainly sitting at the bottom of a drawer somewhere in the Ukraine; surely a source of some hilarity at Shipyard No. 444.

The Hobbit

After much to-ing and fro-ing, and with legal wrangling out of the way, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are set to produce two films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, or There and Back Again.

A director has yet to be determined for this "science fiction fantasy" project. No word as to how they plan to stretch the material into two films; I am not complaining. Let us hope Ian McKellen is still up for it and that Andy Serkis can spare a moment away from playing Captain Haddock. Time for another look at the Hobbit Name Generator (I believe I am still Fosco Bumbleroot).

Related: A desk, a desk and a wardrobe.

Update: "Ask your doctor if Ringëril is right for you"

Led Zeppelin: Misty Mountain Hop

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Dream who is king

An interactive BBC Wales site on Iron Age Celts. I especially enjoy the talking head.

A taste for the theatrical

It has been all film and television at the Flea lately... there are other things going on but fun stuff keeps drawing itself to my attention. The trailer for The Dark Knight, for example (hat tip to the Sister of the Flea). Featured, a new Batman costume, the (freaking awesome) Batcycle and, apparently, four action sequences shot in IMAX.

Note to Warner Brothers: Feel free to direct your viral marketing merchandise my way. Just be sure to reverse duty charges at the Canadian border. You would not want a repeat of HBO's embarrassing Rome campaign.

Art of Noise: Close to the edit

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

For shame

Having belatedly agreed to pay Gurkhas the same pension benefits as any other men taking the Queen's shilling, the Ministry of Defence has decided to start firing Gurkhas three years short of earning their pension entitlements. I have often been asked why I left England to return to Canada and there are several answers (all true) I usually give. But the real reason was exposure to exactly this sort of short con as government. Everyone responsible for this shitty little trick at the Ministry of Defence should be subject to criminal charges for fraud, the Minister should be tarred and feathered and every free Englishman should hang his head in shame.

This is an England not worth fighting for. The Gurkhas deserve better; we do not deserve them.

Sanctuary for all

Sanctuary is, amongst other things, a new vehicle for Amanda Tapping; from cameos and even a couple errant sound effects it appears to be a Stargate alumni side project. It is noteworthy, however for two further things. First, this is the closest thing to steampunk I have seen in a non-animated television show. Excellent. Second, Sanctuary has been released using a peculiar web-only production model. In an age of TiVo and downloading this may be the future of television. Or possibly not.

The show relies on impressive CGI and features inspired make-up effects. This and name actors - even assuming the writers are making a pittance for their hard work - adds up to a vanity project or a stunt rather than a business model. Perhaps there is more money in merchandising than I am giving the idea credit; in this case the show has a legion of Stargate fans to support it. Newcomers would not. Certainly, I hope my skepticism is unjustified. I would like to see more of the show and more like it too: The internet needs indigenous tv.

Lola Angst: Am I dead?

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Dementia Five

Rocket Robin Hood is a lot artier than I had remembered it.

Miss Piggy: Staying Alive

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Also, Jabberwocky.

The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The first official poster for the forthcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has been made public (hat tip to Captain H). I confess I had been so burned by Temple of Doom I have been trying not to think much about the new film. But then I clicked through to the film site and the music hit me like a wall of awesome.

The following contains plot details so do not read it if you would rather not know in advance... It does sound like it is going to be fun.

Yet more at Wikipedia though it looked to contain a bit more detail than I want to read before I see the movie.

The Threshold HouseBoys Choir: A Time of Happening

Peter Christopherson's first project since the death of John Balance: Now is the time at the Flea when we dance (via Technoccult).

The Wandering Preachers

I received a MySpace friend request from The Wandering Preachers. I was too scared to say no.

If you have never seen The Night of the Hunter do not watch this clip of the river boat scene until you have seen the film. If you have seen it you know you should not watch it without all the lights on.

Manic Street Preachers: If you tolerate this

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Rorschach

"Looked at sky through smoke heavy with human fat and God was not there. The cold, suffocating dark goes on forever, and we are alone."

Twitch has stills from the set of The Watchmen. One of them includes Rorschach... blurry and from the side but definitely my hero (Ain't It Cool News had a test still a while back...). Expect these masks to be a bigger hit than V; let us hope Alan Moore will not have to dissociate himself from this film as he did that one.

Abney Park: Death of the Hero

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Time Crash

Doctor Who thoughtfully provided a mini-episode for Children in Need Special 2007. This one occurs in the brief space between the most recent series in the new continuity and the much anticipated Kylie Minogue Xmas special (hat tip to the Sister of the flea).

Prince Caspian

The trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is now on the interwebs (hat tip to Dr. Shackleford who is giddy with excitement).

I was underwhelmed by the first film - sorry, but there it is - but Reepicheep kicks ass so I am looking forward to the second regardless.

Unrelated but also kicking ass: Christian Bale as John Connor.

Kate Bush: Army Dreamers

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Also, not really on topic: The Dreaming.

CQD

Team Tennant has stills from "Voyage of the Damned", the forthcoming Dr. Who Xmas special featuring Kylie Minogue and the RMS Titanic . Lots more under the 10 at the BBC steampunk Dr. Who advent calendar currently gracing the show's front page. The puzzle is fun too.

The Falklands Radio Line

The Times of London reports on a previously undisclosed war fighting ability provided by submarines in the British liberation of the Falkland Islands. In Royal Navy, A Global Force, former second-in-command of HMS Conqueror, now Vice-Admiral Sir Tim McClement poses the threat of attack by the Argentine air force and the lack of an early warning system for the fleet.

The resulting picket provided 25 minutes warning of Argentine attack. While not quite the logistic feat that was a Vulcan bomber raid in the same context; yet another example of the British armed forces improvising mightily when they were needed most. Such is the Dunkirk spirit. Perhaps one day the armed forces will be properly supported such that every hour of England's greatest need not be the same skin of the teeth prospect. There is such a thing as tempting Fate.

Il Re Giallo: interludi

Camilla: You, sir, should unmask.
Stranger: Indeed?
Cassilda: Indeed, it's time. We have all laid aside disguise but you.
Stranger: I wear no mask.
Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask!
- The King in Yellow, Act 1, Scene 2d

David C. Fragale, Emiliano Guarneri and Leonardo Camastra are producing a film interpretation of R.W. Chambers' The King in Yellow; quite probably the creepiest stories I have ever read. The King in Yellow: Interludes looks promising. These trailers and production art suggest a J-horror approach to material that might otherwise be too difficult to capture on film.

Bitter:Sweet: The Mating Game

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

You can kill people with sound

I found this 1997 Björk special, Modern Minimalists (Part I, Part II), as I was searching YouTube for pieces by Arvo Pärt. His interview is interesting and, while he was in Berlin, I am once again wondering why I do not live in Barcelona. My first thought, however, was that after dating a succession of women like Björk it is perhaps time for me to find someone a bit more normal, this followed by a thought wondering where the normal people hang out. But by the time she got round to the Pärt interview I had decided I am doing just fine as it is.

More Arvo Pärt music and an interview in 24 Preludes for a Fugue (5, 6, 7 of 29), a MySpace fan page and BBC3 Discovering Music workshop with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Related: A Karlheinz Stockausen excursus on the subject of sounds. The Drink Soaked Trots will not mourn his passing.

Britanniae Romano nomini in perpetuum sublatae

Most of the Royal Navy is to stay in port next year as £15 billion is cut from the defence budget over the next ten years. Expect voters in key Labour marginals to shrug as voters in Labour's core seats throw candy to children in the streets. No need for the Thames to freeze over; the river has already been forded.

So Honorius wrote to the Britons: You will have to look to your own defenses; the state is no longer willing to do so.

Related.

Tangentially related: Organs from drug addicts used in transplants. So this is England. Not so much a nation as a warning to others.

Dark Christmas

Magdalene Veen is still alive; news to warm the cockles of all our hearts. In related events, Pirates! Man Your Women links to Abney Park's version of Little Drummer Boy.

I was hesitant to listen as this is one of my least favourite Christmas tunes; even the Bing/Bowie version grates on me. The Abney Park edition is gorgeous, almost depressingly beautiful. I want to find it inspiring but I am not certain I will ever be able to produce an arrangement like this.

Björk: Immature

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Also beautiful

The cockpit controls of an F-22 Raptor.

Kahimi Karie: Good Morning World

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Related: My Japanese vocabulary is limited to what I remember from Shogun and yet I find this Music Clamp interview strangely enthralling. Somebody tell that guy on the left to shut the hell up; he is supposed to find out what she thinks, we don't care what he thinks.

The Terrible Old Man

H.P. Lovecraft's The Terrible Old Man.

Related: The Vhallenes Necronomicon, an 18th-century French translation of the Al Azif (in progress).

The Ambassador's Party

A propos of nothing in particular... I have been waiting years for this Ferrero Roche ad to turn up on YouTube. Unfortunately, the ad was mocked so thoroughly the company decided to suppress its distribution. I say "Excellente, Ambassador!" all the time and since I have been back from England people just look confused.

Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand: Let Me Think About It

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

HangGirl: Episode 1

HangGirl: Goth or not goth?

(More evidence.)

Planet of the Vampires

Wikipedia lists a number of inspirations for Ridley Scott's Alien. The Thing from Another World, Forbidden Planet and most obviously It! The Terror from Beyond Space; these I had seen. But it is only this weekend I have been exposed to the Italian schlock majesty that is Mario Bava's Terrore nello spazio (1965), variously known as Demon Planet, Planet of Blood, Space Mutants, The Haunted Planet, The Haunted World, The Outlawed Planet, the Planet of Terror, The Planet of the Damned, (perhaps most correctly) Terror in Space and best as Planet of the Vampires. Which is quite a mouthful for any film.

For all the B-movie efforts to repackage the piece for an American market, I think a better English title is "The Terror Out of Space". Lovecraft is at the heart of American horror and his spirit is found both in the uncanny atmosphere Bava evokes and the occasionally over-wrought way he goes about it. The film creeps up on you; more Quatermass and the Pit than The Thing from Another World. A Moria review offers a nice summary.

Yes. That and the protagonist's ship (pictured above) is the spitting image of the what I had thought to be entirely original Pilot's ship* from Alien and Giger's Pilot dead at the controls seems - ahem - inspired by the remains found in the earlier film. Then there is the fact our heroes are drawn to a mist shrouded world by an alien distress signal and the way the crew is picked off by an alien entity that invades their bodies.

These moments do tend to add up. Which is not to take anything away from Alien. Well, actually, yes it does a bit.

* With apologies for hotlinking this image. Cyberpunkreview has a great Alien summary.

The Cramps: Creature From The Black Leather Lagoon

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

The Void

Astronomers believe they have spotted a hole in the universe six to ten billion light years away and almost one billion light years across, describing the void as an “unmistakable imprint of another universe beyond the edge of our own." *

Though admittedly it is not so much a void as a region with less matter than expected if you buy the whole dark matter/energy business. And you need to be enamored with string theory for the dramatics about an imprint of universe beyond the edge of our own. Or just read H.P. Lovecraft who strikes me as generally more convincing.

* Italics added as an editorial flourish.

Johnny Hollow: Nova Heart

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Against the Maccabees

Christopher Hitchens weighs in with his usual aplomb. Today's subject: Bah, Hanukkah (via the Drink Soaked Trots, who also link to Marx' doctoral dissertation). He makes a nice counterfactual history sine the Makabim but a particular observation sticks out for me. Plenty of miracles strike me as being, well, a bit crap, actually.

Hitchens' gift for the holiday season! It is a shame as he has just missed Diwali; hopefully he can make up for that with commentary on Chinese New Year.

Perfectly cast

I was horrified to learn there is a Terminator television series in the works; visions of the travesty that was Rise of the Machines suggested some further desecration of a great premise (via Agent Bedhead). That was before it registered the show would star Summer Glau, i.e. River Tam of Firefly fame. I would watch paint dry if she was sitting in front of it. No need for such hypothetical martyrdom, however. Judging by the pilot the third film is history and the continuity has been saved from itself. The Sarah Conner Chronicles is not so much a reboot as a rethink; they are calling it a "reinvention". It looks as though they have got everything just right this time.

Vanessa Paradis: Divine Idylle

Vanessa Paradis releases a new album; Johnny Depp buys her a vineyard. Nice. Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Related: Johnny Depp's favourite wine is Château Calon-Ségur, a Saint-Estèphe third-growth. "Wino forever"; awesome. Though I find myself possessed with an unspeakable jealousy of this Depp character.

His appointed rounds

Alec Ross, despatch rider in the Long Range Desert Group - Popski's Private Army, to be specific, misplaced a bag of personal letters and photos in the Egyptian desert. Just as well. It turns out Ross had something to hide. His sister explains.