tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-307529412008-08-28T17:37:53.139+01:00TELL ME YOU'VE BEEN BAD. NICE AND CLEARLY.William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comBlogger295125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-79048952414757784282008-08-28T11:57:00.002+01:002008-08-28T12:00:38.835+01:002008-08-28T12:00:38.835+01:00

DJ Benetti : updates for September! italoBLACK Sneaky Pete's 73 Cowgate Edinburgh, UK Thursday September 4th / 18th / 25th : 10pm-4am Yokohama Triennale 2008 Yokohama, Japan Sunday September 14th : 9pm-11pm

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-24345644674726779852008-08-27T01:46:00.010+01:002008-08-28T04:26:45.728+01:002008-08-28T04:26:45.728+01:00

After a wretched run of consecutive losers, faith is partially restored with Isabel Coixet's Elegy, and fully with the emphatically memorable The Fall. Elegy (****) contemplative, thought-provoking, and ultimately moving drama - I'd now like to read the novel it's based upon, Philip Roth's The Dying Animal The Fall (*****) this remake of Yo Ho Ho, an old Bulgarian movie, is a masterpiece:

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-64827840198804864892008-08-25T00:18:00.010+01:002008-08-25T01:35:45.969+01:002008-08-25T01:35:45.969+01:00

Never has the tone been lowered so dramatically from such sublime heights. After an unrivalled and moving demonstration of stunning mass choreography and orchestrated music at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games, there followed the indescribably humiliating embarrassment of seeing that twat Boris Johnson hands in pockets shamble on in his dreadful £15 Tesco suit, followed by a double-decker

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-64032703689106865272008-08-22T23:50:00.004+01:002008-08-25T01:17:40.518+01:002008-08-25T01:17:40.518+01:00

One simple criterion for this list: very few, if any, visible traces of mankind. Angel Falls, VenezuelaGrand Canyon, USAAyers Rock, AustraliaMatterhorn, SwitzerlandCarlsbad Caverns, USAAntarcticaSahara Desert, Africa

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-81971685046865279512008-08-21T18:08:00.003+01:002008-08-22T19:28:35.349+01:002008-08-22T19:28:35.349+01:00

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-35279858752165010312008-08-19T18:00:00.012+01:002008-08-20T00:38:06.586+01:002008-08-20T00:38:06.586+01:00

And speaking of transparent concessions, it's the Olympics. The jingoism and hypocrisy that the UK excels at is in overdrive after such a surprising harvest of gold medals. At the opening ceremony, arms went up when a pretty Chinese girl was seen to be miming and not the bucktoothed original singer. Days later the papers were full of sceptical indignation regarding the true ages of the Chinese

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-59279295616600440772008-08-17T23:33:00.006+01:002008-08-19T18:39:43.385+01:002008-08-19T18:39:43.385+01:00

Many of the best cold readers (fortunetellers and the like) have an armoury of all sorts of cool transparent concessions to achieve their magic - a lot of it is dependent on the understanding of unconscious communication through subtext. Several years ago, a friend of mine named Belinda, who'd been enjoying frequenting speed dating nights in the town, was berating the fact that every single guy

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-21647097361991834482008-08-16T14:15:00.011+01:002008-08-18T14:41:09.366+01:002008-08-18T14:41:09.366+01:00

You could say a few lessons have been learned. Iron Man (**) that's it, no more of these stupid superhero movies for me - and this particular trash doesn't even have a bad guy like The Joker, The Dark Knight's saving grace; Downey really annoys the hell out of me here, Paltrow's character is pathetic, more product placement than even 007, and this all added to some of the most puerile corniest

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-23442583671748221302008-08-13T22:27:00.010+01:002008-08-17T23:35:46.580+01:002008-08-17T23:35:46.580+01:00

Voted lists nearly always turn up hopelessly unsatisfying results with the usual horrendous and ridiculous results - I'd always much rather hear what one person's opinions are along with their own personal reasons. There's one happening for the Seven Natural Wonders Of The World and, before listing my choices for those, here are my nominations for the manmade ones with precious little reasoning

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-31506215445884523792008-08-05T12:42:00.010+01:002008-08-27T17:43:29.091+01:002008-08-27T17:43:29.091+01:00

DJ Benetti : updates for August! italoBLACK Sneaky Pete's 73 Cowgate Edinburgh, UK Thursday August 7th / 14th / 21st / 28th : 10pm-4am

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-75612972313062564762008-08-03T22:31:00.007+01:002008-08-04T11:54:37.182+01:002008-08-04T11:54:37.182+01:00

Of these, Stuart Gordon's Stuck is a must-see. Shadow Company (****) well-balanced insightful documentary on the mercenary business; it mostly focuses on Iraq, yet also discusses the profession's historical background and compares other contemporary topical scenarios like Sierra Leone and Equatorial New Guinea - features an excellent range of articulate interviewees and some amazing footage you

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-22109510854830534772008-08-03T01:52:00.004+01:002008-08-03T19:21:19.609+01:002008-08-03T19:21:19.609+01:00

On this occasion, words almost fail me. Apart from the totalitarian extent of these kinds of powers, it's clear that this absolute moron Chertoff has not the slightest clue how easy it'd be for the types he identifies as 'threats' to bypass physical border controls with this 'contraband' without physically carrying it, and I quote, "on any device capable of storing information in digital or

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-86276341800040361112008-08-02T19:17:00.005+01:002008-08-03T12:19:59.370+01:002008-08-03T12:19:59.370+01:00

If you thought like me at the time it happened that the post-9/11 anthrax scare was extremely fishy (as with so many other events of this whole era of the so-called 'war on terrorism'), then I thoroughly recommend this article. And considering what a huge story this was at the time, and one which arguably had even more serious consequences than 9/11 itself (i.e. a crucial part of the rationale

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-20175272233832126102008-08-01T03:11:00.006+01:002008-08-01T03:24:00.322+01:002008-08-01T03:24:00.322+01:00

A big thank you to all who recommended seeing this fascinating and exceptionally inspirational film. Theremin - An Electronic Odyssey (****) Leon Theremin's is an amazing story, though for me the real star is Clara Rockmore, one of the greatest musicians of all times, and here we have, in addition to moving footage of her captivating performances, the treat of witnessing her...(read more)

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-9267226868451008012008-07-30T20:07:00.004+01:002008-07-30T21:54:18.802+01:002008-07-30T21:54:18.802+01:00

Some people have asked so here's one last reminder if you missed the Resonance FM transmission of the Afro Noise I mix, it's still up at the CYRK site. update: 1,600+ total downloads so far as of July 30th! update: first 2 vinyl afro noise vinyl releases are now completed and ready to be mastered

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-79433235589261875162008-07-28T13:17:00.020+01:002008-07-28T17:35:54.550+01:002008-07-28T17:35:54.550+01:00

Another batch of increasingly less succinct reviews - The Babysitters is definitely worth checking out. Cocaine Cowboys 2 (***) continues where CC1 leaves off; we get a more detailed and intimate insight into the mad world of Griselda Blanco aka La Madrina ('The Godmother'), the ruthless Colombian drugs trafficker, mostly as told by her Oakland cohort Charles Crosby; can we take his remarkable

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-67038119658033752132008-07-27T18:10:00.014+01:002008-07-28T13:11:33.694+01:002008-07-28T13:11:33.694+01:00

What a glorious twenty-four hours it's been. And not just because the weather has finally seemed to break from the relentlessly bleak grey spell endured here in recent weeks. Firstly, last night. While I'm loath to give the BBC credit for absolutely anything, a despicable organisation if ever there was, I have been lapping up its 6-part documentary The Story Of India like a dehydrated canine;

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-18821105251801706892008-07-26T21:34:00.004+01:002008-07-26T22:14:15.973+01:002008-07-26T22:14:15.973+01:00

I find this video of Clara Rockmore so haunting and magical, and it's not your typical example of a theremin merely used to make 'spooky' scifi sound effects. Much thanks to Mary for sending me the link.

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-54626532862259262912008-07-26T17:35:00.006+01:002008-07-26T21:41:09.732+01:002008-07-26T21:41:09.732+01:00

For the record, here's the text of an article I wrote a couple of months ago for Zero Tolerance magazine regarding the relationship between creativity and technical ability. It touches on some themes and ideas discussed here before. As far as I'm concerned, in many ways painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is as creative as baking a chocolate cake for your cousin's birthday. I see

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-1408440493278203502008-07-22T13:48:00.004+01:002008-07-26T17:35:08.562+01:002008-07-26T17:35:08.562+01:00

If you missed the Resonance FM transmission of the Afro Noise I mix on Sunday, you can get it at the CYRK site. update: 450 downloads so far as of July 24th

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-62129860036992660062008-07-18T17:45:00.014+01:002008-07-21T17:06:16.628+01:002008-07-21T17:06:16.628+01:00

I feel like having a good rant today and there are a few people I just find intolerable. Here are three examples. Please feel free to point out any others. Charlie Brooker - he's always there leaning at the bar, pint glass in hand, surveying for eye contact and a potential audience, he's the pub's loudest most miserable bore with an opinion about everything, and to whose face no-one will say

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-53027325970016128662008-07-18T15:57:00.009+01:002008-07-27T02:39:12.049+01:002008-07-27T02:39:12.049+01:00

Addendum for some that didn't fit into the previous posting. Personal note to self: devise a better way of filtering out all the trash. Film Noir (***) very entertaining adult feature-length animation which is full of fun twists and turns Funny Games (2008) (*) Haneke's patronising, sanctimonious, condescending rubbish all over again - but this time without the need for subtitles (wow)

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-50594534561687022012008-07-16T15:03:00.024+01:002008-07-28T13:30:10.166+01:002008-07-28T13:30:10.166+01:00

Happily, this time there are at least a couple of gems amongst this new batch of FaceBook reviews. Craig (*) no-budget Danish movie (in English, bizarrely) about the adventures of a decided oddball named Craig who has his medication taken away - not without a certain downbeat underground charm if you can ignore the atrocious acting on display - unfortunately I couldn't Redbelt (**) this

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-81512303598691290152008-07-12T10:32:00.013+01:002008-07-17T01:20:50.134+01:002008-07-17T01:20:50.134+01:00

Finally. Sorry it's taken so long, a lot of work's gone into it and so I hope you'll find it was worth it. Link below for a short 8 minute (or so) excerpt from this weekend's Resonance FM radio broadcast of the first afro noise mix - the full version is 49:40 and being broadcast on Sunday 20th July. Enjoy. DJ Cut Hands (William Bennett) - Afro Noise I (excerpt) 8:14 - mp3/256kbps DJ Cut Hands (

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752941.post-48824699764913783492008-07-05T14:31:00.001+01:002008-07-10T13:33:39.588+01:002008-07-10T13:33:39.588+01:00

You know when you want to say something but you no longer know what you want to say and then really just want to know what it was? I had such a killer topic to put in this post, then as often happens wait a day or two to get it just right in my head, and now it's completely gone and it's like the thoughts weren't there.

William Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00072523416863877409williambennett@btinternet.com