Indiana and the Manchester Museum

Bank holiday weekend. Nothing much to do except read more of The Yiddish Policeman's Union. So decided to get out and do something.

First we went to the Manchester Museum. I've been meaning to go there for a while as I haven't been since I was a kid. My interest was piqued by the Lindow Man exhibition as I did not see it on any of the previous times it has been in Manchester. Unfortunately it was an incredibly disappointing exhibition. Things are laid out in a confusing manner with very little real information beyond what is in the leaflet. There is also a pointless aside as a whole bloody section about a woman who, as a girl at the time the Lindow man was found, was in hospital and got a Care Bear. And apparently Bros were popular at the time. I don't mind have the discovery put into cultural context but found it ridiculous that it overpowered the exhibition to such an extent. There is also a big fuss about showing respect for human remains but when you get to the case with the body in it there is nothing - no label, no explanations, nothing at all that would indicate that this is something you should pay attention to, let alone pay respect to. Everybody involved in putting the exhibition together ought to be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

The rest of the museum, though, is definitely well thought-out and there is a lot to see. The Egyptian exhibition is entertaining, informative and interesting. The exhibition of stuffed animals is very much as I remembered it and still a little creepy. And there was more that we didn't get the time to see, especially as the normal entrance to the dinosaurs was blocked although the exhibit is apparently still open. Interestingly the bodies on display in the Egyptian section are all covered up with cloth and there little notices to say that this is an attempt to show respect to human remains and is being done as part of an attempt to stimulate debate on how we should treat these bodies and whether it is right to have them on display. However it all smacked of hypocrisy with the Lindow Man exhibition just downstairs.

Link to Manchester Museum.

And so, on to the next relic on show: the new Indiana Jones film. Like everyone else with a fondness for the first films and the burning rage of the Phantom Menace still too fresh in my mind I did feel a little nervous about going to see it. I re-watched Raiders of the Lost Ark on Friday. Cautiously I peeked at reviews to try and get a sense of what to expect without reading any spoilers. A mild optimism encouraged me to get it over with and so we went last night. I enjoyed it. It's an Indiana Jones film. Sure, it isn't as good as Raiders or the Last Crusade but it's still thoroughly enjoyable. I want to stay away from giving any spoilers but it really does feel like an extension to the other films. Like someone you haven't seen for a long time and then meet up with again, it's a bit awkward at first, and there's a few more grey hairs, but it's still the same person. I read somewhere someone say it is the third best Indiana Jones film and that's probably about the best summary I could think of.

Went to see Grindhouse last night at the Cornerhouse. It was the full thing - two films by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino bound together with fake previews of trashy films and missing reels. I did not see either film when they were released separately but I'm glad I had the chance to see them together first. It was an intense few hours with a lot of gore and comedy on the way. The two films work well together as a complete experience but I don't know if I would be so impressed if I'd seen them by themselves or without a cinema full of expectant fans.
For me I think Planet Terror was the slightly stronger film with more of a plot and a typical Rodriguez sense of enjoyment over common sense. Death Proof was almost a relaxing romp afterwards with a simple two act structure, dialogue instead of plot and probably some of the coolest "real" car stunts I've seen in a long time.
It was the total cinema experience - fun films, good audience and uncomfortable seats. We laughed together, groaned and winced together and came out of it wondering if they ever will make Machete, probably the coolest trailer ever, into a full length film. I hope so.

Went to see Gogol Bordello last weekend in Leeds. They were fantastic, had a great time bouncing in the middle of a fun crowd. Aching a bit today. Now, I wonder if they do weddings...

This is realy interesting.
View here. Found on BoingBoing

Just been to see an exhibition of William Blake at the Whitworth Art Gallery. Like many I am an admirer of Blake but I've never had an opportunity to see the prints except online or in books. It was an intense experience. The energy and power of viewing the illustrations has left me shaken so I'm not really sure what to think about it all and I need some time to think. I am hoping to be able to go back before the exhibition ends but unfortunately that is in a couple of weeks time.

I don't really believe in piracy. That's why I use Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows - I know that all the applications I need are available to me for free. Recently I've been downloading a lot of free music - and it's really good stuff. The biggest help in finding it is this blog:
http://freealbums.blogsome.com/
It covers everything from the latest Nine Inch Nails release, through jazz and all the way out to classical. Definitely worth a look.

Ant sent me this link.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pHqqggwXbyE
That's about what happened...

just had a very strange day. on the way to work i kind of went to cross the road, didn't take time to look properly and was knocked down by a taxi coming around the corner. i'm ok, just battered and grazed but no bones and didn't get hit on the head. in fact i'll probably be back at work tomorrow. spent about 3 hours in a&e to just get everything checked out and walked out with a dressing taped to my arm and cocodamol in my bloodstream before spending most of the afternoon asleep with babylon 5 playing as I've run out of anything decent to watch and definitely couldn't face anything complicated.

on the plus side found out the other week that i am going to be an uncle.