Review: What I talk about when I talk about running

 Part meditation, part memoir, Murakami evocatively captures the experience of running - and why some of us keep doing it through a series of essays covering different aspects of his life. Some - like his attempt at ultra-marathoning - are extreme, others simply note the passing of time on our bodies and minds. 

Some of it delicately captures a stream of consciousness which feels near universal, other parts you will probably only recognise if you are a writer or a runner. As an occasional human, runner and writer - it hit all of my buttons. 

Overall: Come for the running, stay for human experience. 

Review: Calling Bullshit - The Art of Scepticism in a Data-Driven World

West & Bergstrom have produced a witty and timely guide to navigating the new landscape of social media and fake news.  Some funny examples aside though,  there is not much on offer detection wise that a good science education wouldn't offer.  

More useful is the chapter on Refuting Bullshit - which takes a surprisingly humane approach, especially for friends and family.  Kindness and substitution are key. 

Overall: Fun easy read to detecting and combatting nonsense "facts".

 

Review: Spider-man: Far from Home

Far from Home deals with fallout from the last epic Avengers battle and immediately opens with spoilers.  As someone who has yet to see any of Tom Holland's previous appearances, I found it did not take long to settle into the narrative - even though in some ways it feels like a wrap up movie. 

The plot is straightforward enough. Spider-man needs a rest and joins his class mates on a European road trip but somehow can't quite escape his responsibilities.  The result is part teen rom-com and part action movie. 

The core conceit of reality not being what it seems is an intriguing and credible one which together with some charming chemistry between Holland and Zendaya elevates it above standard superhero fare. Zendaya is particularly sweet and plausibly awkward as love interest, MJ.  It doesn't quite reach the heights of Into the Spider-verse but the visuals are clearly and rightly influenced by it. 

The 4K release looks crisp and filmic enough, but isn't eye-popping visually. 

Overall: Enjoyable and fun superhero outing with a touch of depth.

Review: Exhalation

Chiang's latest short story collection is a wistful mix of the fantastical and the plausible, grounded in current reality or very different ones.  Most act more like thought experiments although one or two have a Dahl like twist in the tale. 

Some like "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom" left me sorrowful and regretful about relationships lost and alternative paths taken.  Others - Omphalos - mildly baffled at the gordian knots the protagonists get themselves into.  Some challenge assumptions - such as the value of literacy and record keeping.  But it's the title story with it's deep dive into the effects of entropy on an intelligent species which is....breathtaking. 

Overall:  A deft and lightly told collection. 

Review: Playing with FIRE

FIRE is the name given to a sub-group of mostly millennials who are seeking financial independence as early as possible (and then to possibly retire early - or at least have the option of doing so). This documentary follows one early thirty something couple's attempt to follow in their footsteps. 

It's a good overview of the movement, and speaks to all of the leading thinkers and proponents within it. Some are strident and demanding, others more thoughtful.  There's not a huge amount of depth, but perhaps that's to be expected in a feature length documentary on the subject. 

I am a little wary of two emerging trends though.  Bloggers or snake oil salesmen who are supplementing or making most of their income from FIRE related content based on their own experience. That smacks a little of pyramid selling to me. 

For a process about saving money, is is becoming increasingly commodified and commercial. There are now paid courses and camps you can take to become FIRE. Also only a few seemed to have become truly financially independent (but rather had simply set up their own business) or they looked very vulnerable in a downturn. 

As someone who followed a similar path - pre-FIRE movement - to financial independence I wish them all good luck. Some of the mindset changes required are only hinted at here, but it's  good introduction. 

Overall: An intriguing introduction to the FIRE movement. 

Review: A walk in the woods

Gentle if slightly dull comedy about the best-selling author Bill Bryson (Redford) hiking the Appalachian trail with an old travelling buddy (Nolte).  There's no earth shattering epiphanies on offer - just two blokes making fairly obvious observations about life and having entirely expected encounters.

What lifts it about the mediocre are Nolte & Redford's performances - and Nolte's in particular. The scenery is also beautiful although I had a strong suspicion some scenes were filmed on the same parts of the trail - despite being at different parts of the movie.

Currently free to watch on Amazon Prime.

Overall:  The very watchable Redford & Nolte can't raise enough of a laugh.

Review: Knives Out

Knives Out is an amusing murder mystery which plays with and subverts expectations in a variety of ways making for an appealing watch. It starts off conventionally if knowingly enough: a famous murder mystery writer has been found dead with his throat slit - and a famous detective has been engaged by someone unknown to investigate.

Cue a parade of ghastly relatives who are all hiding something drawn from a surprising cast (eg Curtis, Johnson) who will look familiar and rather older due to a hyper-real cinematography which picks out every wrinkle in faces and detail in the house. Re-watchers who like to focus on background details will find much to enjoy in this well stocked house of curios and crime artefacts.

Unintentional humour is provided by detective Craig's wandering southern accent which is pure KFC seasoned with a hint of Bond.  But for me, it just added to the delicious fun.

Currently free to watch on Amazon Prime.

Overall: Enjoy picking out all of the murder mystery tropes. 

Review: If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood

If You Tell is a grim - on more than one level - choice for our Book Group this month.  Essentially, it's a shlock true crime show spewed into book form.   Not a genre I'm particularly familiar with - and if I'm honest, probably not one I will return to.

I was initially distracted by some truly lurid prose and odd sentence construction in early chapters. But it did settle down to become a straight forward retelling of a case of child and adult abuse, neglect and murder which I was previously unaware of.

The incidents contained within are truly nightmarish and if you have any unresolved trauma in a related area, possibly best avoided. On the plus side, it has a certain pace to it - and felt like chillingly accurate in its description of reality distortion, gas lighting and other forms of coercion employed by malignant individuals.

I'm also uncomfortable with the book structurally as a sizeable majority focuses on the grim detail - rather the police investigation, court case or even wider fallout on the three daughters and how they coped, insights gained etc.  The absence of the last of these is a great pity, because I suspect the sisters have a lot to say about resilience.  Also disappointingly, the main antagonist has no real contribution to make to the book and so their motivations, origins of their mindset etc remain a mystery.

Currently free to read if you have Amazon Prime.

Overall:  Hard to recommend.

Review: Radioactive

Good biopics tell you story of someone's life, great ones often pull out insights which give you cause for self-reflection.  Satrapi's take on radioactivity discoverer and Nobel prize winner Marie Curie doesn't quite fall into the great category, but it is an absorbing if science lite watch.

Told in primarily in flash back but punctuated by fever dream like excursions into the future to see the consequences of her discoveries and always giving a Grimshaw like feel to turn of the 20th century Paris - it never looks less than wonderful. I was also really taken by the soundtrack which felt distinctly Vangelis-like at times.

Pike and Riley give solid performances as the couple Curie. They are only slightly hampered by a rather declamatory script. But one senses that the pair might well have been like in real life - awkward and brilliant, but ultimately enviable soul mates.

Overall: Satisfying biopic

Review: Midway

Epic World War II movie covering a key battle in the Pacific as well as a few other skirmishes leading up to it.  The action is thrillingly staged and improvements in CGI since Pearl Harbour makes it a much more involving and tense watch.  Unlike many war movies covering the era, it does make a bit of an attempt to cover the other side's perspective.

Interestingly, it does not have any standout casting - but plenty of recognisable faces from a variety of TV and films - often looking rather older and craggier than usual.

Some plot lines are not especially well wrapped up suggesting that an even longer version of the film likely exists. There are a few other oddities like this. For example, I did not manage to put a name to one of the main characters - square jawed hero, Dick Best (yes, really!) until a good way into the film.

Overall: A few awkward elements aside, this was a decent watch.

Review: The Adjustment Bureau

Apparently inspired by a Philip K. Dick story, The Adjustment Bureau certainly captures the essential vibe of his work. Damon plays something like the everyman in this story whose life is turned upside down one day by the discovery that his and everyone else's life are subject to manipulation by hidden forces - which may or may not be angels working at the behest of a deity.

The film does a great job of showcasing New York although central park is conspicuously absent.  Damon is as solid as ever, and has great chemistry with Blunt - a chance encounter with whom risks everything.

In a nutshell: If you've ever wondered if the world revolved around you...

Introducing Keep to Time

A few months ago, an old friend of mine came up with a new meeting management tool - a nifty timer - and asked me to help him get it ready for launch. After trying it myself, I thought it had real potential. It's especially useful for those meetings where time is short, but you have a lot of agenda items to get through. I've successfully used for meetings where I've had to cram as many as a dozen different agenda items into fifty minutes.

A few UI tweaks and further testing later, it is finally ready for others to try out:

KeepToTime.com

It's been a few years since I last worked on the development of website and this was a lot of fun. 

Drop us a line with any comments.

An alt-theory of Who

One of the problems that any Doctor Who fan of the entire TV canon has to face sooner or later are the inconsistencies.

Why does the Doctor behave in such different ways? Why do they alternatively describe themselves as human (Hartnell to early Troughton era), half-human (Paul McGann) and an alien Time Lord from a planet called Gallifrey (most of the rest).  The wider universe doesn't help either - there's at least three different versions of Atlantis, for example as well as the UNIT dating controversy or breaking the fourth wall.

It's almost like the creators working on the show make it up as they go along.

And that's without considering the wider Whoinverse of books, audio, fan fic, comics and other media - some of which has been folded into the TV show canon.  Some have speculated that some comic versions of Doctor Who represent the "real" Doctor's dreams. Certainly they are bizarre enough.

What if there was a way of making sense of it all, or even just the bits you like the look of? Well, it turns out there is.

An alt-theory of Who

My theory is simply expressed as:

Every story, regardless of media, is set in a slightly different parallel universe. 

 With it, every continuity and consistency problem disappears at the stroke.  Between each story, we somehow switch to another universe and rejoin the Doctor and their companions/friends/fam in a subtly different universe.

The Doctor can be male or female, a Timeless Child or a gentlemen adventurer from Earth's future, and have thirteen incarnations or millions.

It works on another level too as no creator working on Who will have exactly the same view of the character and their accoutrements as another. Each new parallel universe is created by a single or team of creators.

Five reasons why I love jackdaws

This is a post from my days of writing for a UK environmental NGO. It's disappeared from their site so republishing here.

The 100 mph storm we had here in North Wales late last year was the final tipping point. After months of dithering, we fitted cowls over our chimneys to reduce the noise and drafts. Shortly after, I noticed a jackdaw taking a particular interest in the newly built accommodation. Thankfully, of the two vacancies available, it chose the disused chimney - and over the last few months there's been plenty of evidence of it raising a family there with its partner.

During their residency, I've really grown to appreciate these characterful birds. Here's a few reasons why:

1.   Free alarm clock

I'm regularly woken by the noisy clatter of tiny claw steps on the roof at around 5 am, followed by a scrabble to lift off and a smugly raucous caw. As an early riser, I'm grateful for the provision of this thoughtful service. My night owl wife is not quite so impressed.

2.  Dedicated parents

One morning I spotted one of the pair swinging alarmingly on our washing line during high winds and driving rain - using it as a staging post before grabbing discarded bread on the floor for the littl'uns. It was every bit as gripping as some of the stunt sequences in Mission Impossible III.  

3. They bring gifts

It didn't take a great detective to work out who was responsible for the small clump of black sheep's wool I discovered outside of our front door. Or to solve the mystery of the lady's battered earring lying on a nearby stone wall. Jackdaws love to collect shiny things for their nests.

4.  Generosity

They are not just kind to us, their hosts, but also to each other. Jackdaws are more likely to share their food with others than chimpanzees.

5.   Warm welcome

I've come to realise that we are guests in the Jackdaw's land, rather than vice versa. It turns out, we are not the only householder in our street playing host to a family. We’re grateful for their welcome!

Jackdaws have left their mark on local tradition here in my part of Wales. Interestingly, people born within the walls of nearby Conwy castle are known as jackdaws because of the birds nesting in the ramparts. And because of their fondness for nesting in churches, jackdaws have traditionally been regarded as a sacred bird which kept the Devil away, and kept local people safe from harm.

Review: Terminator: Dark Fate

For the sixth entry in a series of misfiring Terminator sequels, this is better than it has any right to be. The production team wisely return to the creative well through securing the involvement of Cameron and Hamilton.  The result is something like the indie terminator movie I've always wanted to see. It's no Logan sadly and the high budget probably but it does manage to recreate the feeling of dread from the first two and there are elements which are recognisably Cameron.

Characterisation and subsequent development is a little weak. Acting is good, with Schwarzenegger  and Hamilton doing a fine job in support of the new cast. The social commentary is a little shoehorned. The early action sequences are excellent.

Look out for an early sequence which features some very impressive de-ageing. I'd have happily watched a full film like this - ala The Irishman and Captain Marvel. The technology is progressing in leaps and bounds.

I find it hard to rank the later films in the Terminator series. I'm the rare person who really liked Terminator:Salvation. Terminator 3, for all its jokiness closes the story off satisfactorily. Terminator: Dark Fate are their equal for different reasons. Terminator: Genisys has some wonderful ideas and its alt-universe greatest hits is a lot of fun - but I can't get past the miscasting of Jai Courtney and Jason Clarke, the total lack of chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Courtney, nor his appalling acting.

Verdict: Back for more.