During the Bram Stoker Festival in Dublin, we went to the Pepper Canister Church for a screening of Faust. It’s a film you always hear about, one you always intend to watch, but also one you never get around to see.
Media
Sometimes I talk about stuff other people have made.
Give Up Plastic, Save the World
How to Give Up Plastic, a book by Will McCallum, is a guide to the problem of single-use plastic and how to solve it. Our throwaway culture has led to a crisis that is killing birds, destroying sea life, and is even poisoning humans.
The Trilogy Before Boyhood
Boyhood is a somewhat experimental film by Richard Linklater. It tells the story of a boy growing over the course of 12 years. Rather than use different actors, Linklater filmed it over 12 years, using the same actors so they would age naturally on screen.
Sherlock Holmes: The First Superhero
Last weekend I visited Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, and I got to see Tim Marriot perform Watson: The Final Problem. A version of the classic story performed entirely in monologue. It was a fantastic show that brought Watson to life.
You Should Watch Ted Lasso
Jason Sudeikis once starred in a comedy sketch to promote football on NBC (or rather, soccer as Americans insist on calling it). The premise of An American Coach in London is that an American football coach, Ted Lasso, has been hired to coach football in the UK.
Mao’s Great Famine
A few years ago while passing through Manchester my girlfriend and she picked up Mao’s Great Famine by Frank Dikötter. It sat on our metaphorical bookshelf since and only recently I’ve gotten around to reading it.
Homeward Train
In rural China, many parents give up on raising their children themselves so they can go to the cities and work. They work so they can provide their children with an education and go on to have the lives the couldn’t have themselves.