Big thanks to the team, acts Anthea and Dianna, Simon Airey, Pete Wood and the astounding Atlum Schema for a fine night at Cafe Create, Nailsea last night. For those who care (probably only me but there you go) here is the set list:
Anjunabeats Volume One Tracks 1-3
Ladyhawke Love Don't Live Here
Quincy Jones Superstition from Blaxploitation
Faithless God is a DJ
Roni Size Brown Paper Bag
Deodato Also Sprach Zarathrustra
Butch Cassidy Sound System Cissy Strut
Paul Desmond Wave
Heritage Orchestra III
The Decemberists We Both Go Down Together
David Holmes Everybody Knows
Tower of Power Only So Much Oil in the Ground
David Holmes Paper Underwear
The Shamen ProGen (Move Any Mountain)
Don Ross Afraid to Dance
Girls Aloud Sound of the Underground
Analogman Driving a Small Car
The Streets Turn the Page
All Saints Whoopin' Over You
Oasis Part of the Queue
Beth Orton She Cries Your Name
Electronic Like No Other
St
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Cafe Create
A reminder that Cafe Create is on tomorrow night (Friday 21/11) at the Trinity Centre, Nailsea. Live music from singer/songwriter and fine young talent Atlum Schema with local support. Fair trade free cafe & wine bar (donations basis only), chilled lounge music, games, DVD wall and chat. 7.30 - 11.00 p.m. Why not drop in?
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Film Club Extra - Juno
We enjoyed Juno last night. Here are Mandy Stevens' closing thoughts:
At the moment I am facing a dilemma – what to buy my 16-year-old nephew for Christmas. It will probably be a voucher for I-tunes or something similar, but the experience of choosing made me realise how shamefully little I know about his likes and dislikes, what is cool and what is not. And although I could tell you what it was like to be a 16 year old in 1988 I have much less idea about what it is like to be a 16 year old now.
When we think about teenagers it is very easy to lapse into shorthand and stereotypes. The hoodie. The teenage mum. The sporty ones. The brainy ones. The gaggle of girls hanging around in the precinct. The lads mucking about in the park. What I like about Juno is that it challenges our preconceptions about teenagers and introduces us to an intelligent, witty, perceptive young woman who has some major choices to make in her life. To have a baby or not? To try and have a relationship with the baby's father or not? To seek a better life for her baby – or not?
In the film, Juno is always going 'against the flow' When she walks down the street, the runners come at her in the opposite direction. When she walks up the school corridor, everyone else is walking down. Scenes like this set her apart, not just as someone who is quirky and different, but as someone who is self assured enough not to care what others think of her – except those who really matter.
There are big themes in this film. Teenage sex, pregnancy, abortion, adoption. As we see Juno's reaction and response to her situation, and the reactions of those around her, more stereotypes are smashed. Her parents do not yell or throw her out, but are supportive, loving and protective of her. And then we meet the picture-perfect suburban couple who seem to be ideal adoptive parents – until the perfection is held up to a mirror and shown to be much less than utopia.
The writer of the film, Diablo Cody, based Juno's story on the experience of one of her close friends who became pregnant while a teenager. It is interesting also that the director, Jason Reitman, has spoken of his parents adopting a child when he was twelve years old. It is obvious that their personal experiences have contributed to the warmth and humanity of this film.
Some commentators have suggested that the main core of this film is not the issues of teen pregnancy, or abortion, or adoption. The main core of the film is the warmth of the characters in it, the way they defy stereotypes and relate to each other as well as the issues they face.
Jason Reitman is quoted as saying: "I like that the characters defy convention and are people who make personal, as opposed to political, choices for themselves, just like in real life.' And according to lead actress Ellen Page 'When someone is honest and whole and well-written, you're gonna be able to connect to them, no matter what their life, because we're all made up of the same stuff'.
In everyday life it is easy to rely on stereotypes – and even if we like to think that we don't judge people – we do – it's in our psychological makeup. As soon as we meet people or hear a news story we mentally categorise them in our heads. And if you don't believe me – what images come to mind when I say the words – single mum, or – asylum seeker, or - paedophile – or terrorist? We retreat into stereotypes because they are easy.
When Samuel was looking for a new King for Israel, God sent him to Bethlehem where he was told to anoint David, the youngest and smallest of Jesse's sons. God told Samuel: "The Lord does not look at the things humans look at. Humans look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Maybe Juno encourages us to do the same.
At the moment I am facing a dilemma – what to buy my 16-year-old nephew for Christmas. It will probably be a voucher for I-tunes or something similar, but the experience of choosing made me realise how shamefully little I know about his likes and dislikes, what is cool and what is not. And although I could tell you what it was like to be a 16 year old in 1988 I have much less idea about what it is like to be a 16 year old now.
When we think about teenagers it is very easy to lapse into shorthand and stereotypes. The hoodie. The teenage mum. The sporty ones. The brainy ones. The gaggle of girls hanging around in the precinct. The lads mucking about in the park. What I like about Juno is that it challenges our preconceptions about teenagers and introduces us to an intelligent, witty, perceptive young woman who has some major choices to make in her life. To have a baby or not? To try and have a relationship with the baby's father or not? To seek a better life for her baby – or not?
In the film, Juno is always going 'against the flow' When she walks down the street, the runners come at her in the opposite direction. When she walks up the school corridor, everyone else is walking down. Scenes like this set her apart, not just as someone who is quirky and different, but as someone who is self assured enough not to care what others think of her – except those who really matter.
There are big themes in this film. Teenage sex, pregnancy, abortion, adoption. As we see Juno's reaction and response to her situation, and the reactions of those around her, more stereotypes are smashed. Her parents do not yell or throw her out, but are supportive, loving and protective of her. And then we meet the picture-perfect suburban couple who seem to be ideal adoptive parents – until the perfection is held up to a mirror and shown to be much less than utopia.
The writer of the film, Diablo Cody, based Juno's story on the experience of one of her close friends who became pregnant while a teenager. It is interesting also that the director, Jason Reitman, has spoken of his parents adopting a child when he was twelve years old. It is obvious that their personal experiences have contributed to the warmth and humanity of this film.
Some commentators have suggested that the main core of this film is not the issues of teen pregnancy, or abortion, or adoption. The main core of the film is the warmth of the characters in it, the way they defy stereotypes and relate to each other as well as the issues they face.
Jason Reitman is quoted as saying: "I like that the characters defy convention and are people who make personal, as opposed to political, choices for themselves, just like in real life.' And according to lead actress Ellen Page 'When someone is honest and whole and well-written, you're gonna be able to connect to them, no matter what their life, because we're all made up of the same stuff'.
In everyday life it is easy to rely on stereotypes – and even if we like to think that we don't judge people – we do – it's in our psychological makeup. As soon as we meet people or hear a news story we mentally categorise them in our heads. And if you don't believe me – what images come to mind when I say the words – single mum, or – asylum seeker, or - paedophile – or terrorist? We retreat into stereotypes because they are easy.
When Samuel was looking for a new King for Israel, God sent him to Bethlehem where he was told to anoint David, the youngest and smallest of Jesse's sons. God told Samuel: "The Lord does not look at the things humans look at. Humans look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Maybe Juno encourages us to do the same.
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