The Perks of Being

Despite my having a degree to do, I seem to have a great deal of time on my hands. This isn’t the case for many people, just people such as myself who refuse to work in the evening. As a result of this, I find myself searching the internet aimlessly and usually finding something of note. Today I stumbled upon the above Youtube video. I have no particular investment in the person in the video or The Perks of Being a Wallflower (at least, not the same extent of the gentleman in the video). What I liked about the video, is what he speaks about. He doesn’t tell you to read the book or really attempt to sell the book to the viewer at all. What he does is speak freely about something he is passionate about, something that makes him feel. This, my beautiful readers (I say beautiful because everybody deserves to be reminded of their beauty every once and a while) is what this blog post shall focus on; things that illicit any emotion whether it is wonderful, awful, painful or terrifying because, feeling anything is magnificent. In the words of Mr Stephen Fry, “knowing how to feel is more important than how you feel. Deadness of soul is the only unpardonable crime”.

When I started writing this (a whole 200 words ago), I wasn’t too sure about what I was really going to focus on. The nature of feeling? What I like? What I’m passionate about? What other people are passionate about? What makes people feel? I’m still not too sure what I’m going to focus on, what I do know is that I would love to hear responses from whoever reads this. I would love to hear what makes you feel, how it makes you feel and if possible, why (if you know). You, of course don’t have to answer all of these questions, or any at all. But if you can, thank you.

Any reader of this blog (of which there are few, I have the stats) would know that I am quite the film fan. I place high importance on films and their ability to tell stories about the human condition and affect the human condition, because of this I guess it’s no surprise that I have quite a few films in mind when it comes to writing about what makes me feel. If I haven’t clarified it properly thus far (which I’m sure I haven’t), I want to make another attempt to describe what I mean by certain things making you feel. I don’t just mean watching a sad film that makes you cry, I mean something stimulating your emotional core and your person in general, more so than most other things that you are exposed to.

The first film that comes to mind when I think about films that have had a affect on me is something I watched initially when I was very young and still watch on a fairly regular basis now. That film is Stand by Me, it is centred on a group of 12-year old boys as they go on a journey to find the body of another child. They are close friends and each character has something about them that seems to appeal to my emotional core. Geordie is the main character; his brother passed away before the film starts and it is his relationship with his parents that seems to be the most striking. His father rejects him and his mother just seems to be broken; for the most part she doesn’t even seem to be aware of his existence. Chris is Geordie’s best friend, he comes from a family that everyone looks down upon and fails to see why he should make any effort to make their perception of him any different. Chris is the catalyst for one of the most touching moments in the film, a moment of pure selflessness; he tells Geordie that he and his friends aren’t good for him and if he wants what’s best for him, he should leave them behind. Such moments as that epitomise the William Blake quote, “He who binds himself to joy does the winged life destroy, But he who kisses the joy as it flies lives in eternity’s sunrise”. Next we have Teddy, his Dad was crazy (as much as I hate to use that word, it’s the only one given) and hurt Teddy during an episode. What it fascinating about this relationship is that Teddy loves his father more than anything else in the world, he speaks of how he “stormed the beach at Normandy” and defends his father when others insult him. Vern, other being the one who finds out about the dead body, probably has the smallest back-story. However, this doesn’t make him any less interesting. He is very compassionate and probably the most innocent of the group. Stand by Me ends with the phrase, “I never had any friends like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” This is a phrase I agree with completely, that’s not to say that any friends I’ve made since pre-adolescence are in some way inferior, it’s just that friends of a certain period of time and what a friendship actually consists of at a certain time can never be replicated.

As much as I think writing about the following film will make me seem unbelievably sentimental (although an element of sentimentality was necessary for this post),I can’t help but include it in this post. The film in question is Dolls, a rarely violence-free film from Japanese director, Takeshi Kitano. IMDB states the plot quite simply, “Three stories about never-ending love”, this synopsis is perfect, no more words are necessary. I wish to focus on one story in particular. Haruna is a popstar with a huge fan base. Following an accident Haruna stays out of the limelight as she doesn’t want any of her fans to see her bandaged face. Nukui, her biggest fan sacrifices his eyesight to be in the company of his idol. I understand that this story can seem quite troubling, Nukui appears to be very obsessive and Haruna quite vain, if this was to actually occur the majority would not see it as a beautiful thing. However, in the wonderful world of Takeshi Kitano’s Dolls where everything is beautiful and love is more than an emotion but a reason for being, this story is not only acceptable but magical.

Initially this was to be a single post, but I think this is deserving of a few more, partially because I don’t want to rush this or produce one long, eventually tedious post. This is the end of part one, be sure to come back for part 2 which shall hopefully include some Susan Beir.

An interesting aside, I have 2000 word essay to do and I’ve written 500 words of that in one week, I wrote this (over 1000 words) in less than an hour.

We Can Be Heroes, For More Than One Day

Will drive them away
We can be Heroes
Just for one day
We can be us
Just for one day
-David Bowie

In 1964, a young woman named Kitty Genovese was brutally murdered outside her home in Queens, New York. A minimum of 38 neighbors heard her screams for help, but not one intervened or called the police. The murder lasted for half an hour, meaning that there was enough time for the police to arrive and for Kitty Genovese's life to be saved. The explanation used for why this occurred is that of the "diffusion of responsibility". There were so many people that could have saved her, so no-one saved her. The multitude assumed that someone else could do it so they did nothing.

Apologies for such a negative opening (post Bowie), I just wanted to highlight something we have become increasing aware of over the years, I'm not speaking about terrible events happening (although this also applies), I'm speaking about a belief that human being don't help others. We are constantly told that others need help yet many do nothing - at least this is what we are told. The diffusion of responsibility was studied by Piliavin et al (1969), they found that the diffusion of responsibility did not occur; people are willing to help each other. We are not as selfish and uncaring as it often appears.

Earlier on I sat down to watch CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute. It was a presented by Anderson Cooper and was a tribute to real life heroes; people who have gone out their way to improve the lives of others. It's not often that CNN tells us about the good people out there so it was a welcoming change. There were many nominations for the title of CNN Hero but the ceremony could only honour ten; although I'm sure the other heroes are surround by people who are aware of their heroism.

Efren Peñaflorida has, for 12 years worked toward educating children living on the streets on the Phillipines. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future. With his Dynamic Teen Company, he has tried to give children an alternative to joining gangs by teaching them basic numeracy and literacy using a Pushcart Classroom.
A Hero: Efren Peñaflorida
The Dynamic Teen Company

Brad Blauser "Disabled children -- they're really the forgotten ones in this war...they are often not seen in society." An estimated one in seven Iraqi children ages 2 to 14 lives with a disability, according to UNICEF. Illnesses such as Spina bifida, palsy and polio leave them unable to walk. For the past four years, the Dallas, Texas, native has been providing hope to hundreds of disabled Iraqi children and their families through the distribution of pediatric wheelchairs. Blauser arrived in Iraq as a civilian contractor in 2004, but quit that job last year to devote himself full time to his program, without compensation.
A Hero: Brad Blauser
Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids

Derrick Tabb, wearing a gold chain and a baseball cap, doesn't look the part of a typical band teacher. But every weekday evening in the French Quarter, he beats out the rhythm on his music stand as students play their chosen instruments. In doing so, he gives them an alternative to New Orleans' rough streets. "I tell everyone I'm competing with the drug dealers," said Tabb, 34. His program, The Roots of Music, offers free tutoring, instruments and music education to more than 100 students.
A Hero: Derrick Tabb
The Roots of Music

Budi Soehardi is a 53-year-old Indonesian pilot living in Singapore, and his wife, Peggy, look after 47 children at the orphanage. They have a personal relationship with each one, and consider them part of their family. The couple named many of the children since they entered the orphanage as babies -- some of them tiny victims and refugees from the conflict in East Timor. Soehardi has three children of his own but says there is no difference between what he supplies for his biological children and those living at the orphanage. They all get clean living spaces, vaccinations, food, clothing and vitamins from the United States.
A Hero: Budi Soehardi
Roslin Orphanage

Roy Foster Whether in a vacant lot behind a supermarket or a small clearing off the highway, homeless vets aren't that hard to find: One in three homeless adults has served in the military, and more than 150,000 veterans nationwide are homeless on any given night, according to the Veterans Administration. Working with the sheriff's homeless outreach unit, Foster finds vets camped in tents or makeshift lean-tos, where he delivers a message: There's help for you if you want it. "For our heroes to be living in [these] conditions, it's totally unacceptable," said Foster.
A Hero: Roy Foster
Stand Down House

Jorge Munoz For more than four years, Munoz and his family have been feeding those in need seven nights a week, 365 days a year. To date, he estimates he's served more than 70,000 meals. Word of his mobile soup kitchen has spread, and people of all backgrounds and status now join the largely-Hispanic crowd surrounding his truck -- Egyptians, Chinese, Ethiopians, South Asians, white and black Americans and a British man who lost his job. "I'll help anyone who needs to eat. Just line up," Munoz says.
A Hero: Jorge Munoz
An Angel in Queens

Doc Hendley It's a seemingly average interaction, but Hendley is not your average bartender. As he pours wine in the United States, he's also helping to save thousands of lives on the other side of the world -- and he's tapped into his regulars to help. "[They] sit on the same stool, drink the same drink, pay the same tab every day. I felt like they really did want to be a part of something," Hendley says. "They just were waiting for somebody to bring that something to them." That something is Wine to Water, Hendley's organization that provides clean water to people in developing countries through funds raised at wine tasting events. Since 2004, Hendley has traveled to Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Cambodia, working with local communities to build clean water wells and sanitation systems.
A Hero: Doc Hendley
Wine to Water

Andrea Ivory Every weekend in the spring and fall, she and her volunteers -- who include college students, senior citizens and suburban moms, all wearing matching T-shirts -- fan out across low-income communities in southern Florida, educating women about breast health. They especially seek out uninsured women age 35 and older, who statistics show are twice as likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer, and thus more likely to die from the disease. For Ivory, comparing this work to a battle isn't overblown.
A Hero: Andrea Ivory
Florida Breast Health Initiative

Betty Makoni has fought for nearly a decade to protect her country's young girls from sexual abuse. And she's witnessed some of the worst cases of the myth in action. The youngest girl I ever came across was a day-old baby who was raped," said Makoni, 37. Through her Girl Child Network, Makoni has helped rescue 35,000 girls from abuse; thousands more have found an empowering community and a public forum in which to speak out.Makoni says nothing will end her fight for the rights of women and girls. "This is the job I have always wanted to do, because it gives me fulfillment. And in girls I see myself every day."
A Hero: Betty Makoni
The Girl Child Network

Jordan Thomas, 20, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, lost both of his legs in a boating accident in 2005. The top-of-the-line prosthetics Thomas was fitted with -- the ones that helped him return to the golf links -- cost about $24,000. He learned that many insurance plans cover only about $5,000. That's especially tough on child amputees, who will outgrow several limbs before adulthood. "I had no clue," he said. "It's one of those things, unless you're affected by it, you just don't know." Thomas knew he was lucky. With a financially stable family, he'll always be able to afford good legs. He asked his family to give a donation to help others, but ultimately, with their support, the teenager launched a fundraising foundation to provide life-changing prosthetics to children in need.The Jordan Thomas Foundation has raised more than $400,000 through bracelets, charity golf tournaments and cookouts. Some of that is paying for ongoing prosthetics for three children until they reach age 18.
A Hero: Jordan Thomas
Jordan Thomas Foundation

The above quote comes from the classic Bowie song, Heroes. It's not very often that I find faults in things Bowie says, but upon sitting down to watch CNN Heroes I have to disagree. I don't disagree that we can all be heroes (because we can), I disagree with the period of time we can be heroes for. We can all be heroes indefinitely.

"When people regard me as a hero, I always tell
them they should look inside them too because
I believe that there's a hero inside every one of us
a all we have is to just open our eyes wide and
feel what's going on, then let our
hearts be willing to accommodate the needy,
the desperate and the hopeless simply by
extending our hand to them, there you will unfold
the hero that is in you"
-Efren G. Peñaflorida, Jr.

We'll always have London

That Stephen. Today I read yet another blog post from Mr Stephen Fry. I wouldn’t say it was one of my favourites, but it certainly wasn’t one of my least favourites. It seems overly simplistic dividing anything into my favourites and not favourites, but unfortunately this tends to be how I categorise so very much; films, music, pets. The truth is, almost anything written by Stephen Fry almost automatically becomes categorised as something among the greatest things I have read, not solely because I have read great deal of rubbish over the last 19 years, but because he is such a gifted writer. To further illustrate this, I direct you to his letter to his 16 year old self.

My intention for this post was not to further pontificate (I wrote pontificate?) about the splendiferous figure of astuteness and eloquence that is Mr Stephen Fry. Today, this evening would be more accurate, was a friend of mine(@Nat_Browning on Twitter)‘s farewell meal before she enters the hotbed of arrested development and necessary maturity that is university. There were tears, hysteria (false and exaggerated on my part), hugs and an underlying current of sadness. My question is this, why the sadness? Why the hysteria, false hysteria and tears? Which goodbyes necessitate the aforementioned reactions?

There are loads of different types of goodbyes; adios, au revoir, adeus, auf wiedersehen. Not ju

st those of the linguistic variety, but the very nature of the goodbye itself. There’s the simple goodbye, also known as the see you next time goodbye. It’s the kind of good bye that you say when believe it is almost certain that you’ll see the other person again. In this case you could be saying, “See you next time/tomorrow/later”. There’s the epic farewell, such as that of a young maiden saying farewell to her lover as he sails off into the distance where she is unsure if he’ll survive the journey. There’s the “giving away”; a father walking his child down the aisle into another stage of her life, the good bye is not to her, but his role as her primary male protector. Finally we have the more permanent of goodbyes, the kind of goodbye where people adorn black suits and it is certain that one person will not be able to bid anyone farewell. Surely, there are more goodbyes, I simply cannot be asked to list them all, and, I cannot think of them all.

So there we have it, a cross-section of goodbyes, the first would by no means warrant tears or any particularly strong emotions. The next, yeah, pretty much, what with the possibility of death n’ all. The next, probably, the father is in a sense giving his daughter away. The last, yes, what with the death n’ all. But where does the long absence as a result of going to university fall in this? It’s not quite see you next time, nor the epic farewell, it’s not the “giving her away” (as none of us own Miss @Nat_Browning) and it certainly isn’t the last one. I’d say it’s:

So does it warrant tears? It’s somewhere between a casual good bye and an indefinite one. Of course it does? Why wouldn’t it? It’s deserving of hugs, hysteria, tears, snot, sadness; the entire crying experience. But why no tears from yours truly? And why a whole blog post before coming to this conclusion. Maybe it’s because of my hermit ways. But that’s something for another blog post.

Television of Note: Qi

I very rarely watch television shows on television anymore. Part of my reasoning for this is that there is so little that I wish to watch nowadays. Few of the shows that are generally topics of conversation interest me; I have very little interest in what Lauren is up to in The Hills, I am even less interested in the spin-off shows, I haven't the slightest idea about what is going on in Lost and I haven't ever voluntarily followed a soap opera.

My distaste for these shows does not mean that there is absolutely nothing that I consider to be good on television. There are few gems that are still in production but it can take a while to sift through the sea of drivel. One such television show is the BBC's Qi.

One the greatest elements of Qi is Stephen Fry as the host. For those of you who may not know who this outstanding gentleman is, Stephen Fry is a British comedian, author, writer, blogger and podcaster. I strongly recommend reading Stephen Fry’s blog; The New Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry, his podcast titled Stephen Fry’s Podgrams and generally everything else on StephenFry.com. Much of Fry’s early success was shared with Footlights friend and common collaborator, Hugh Laurie. Their most successful project were the BBC Sketch Show A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster. Fry later went on to star in Blackadder II.

Stephen Fry has also become quite the success in the film world appearing in such films as The Good Father, A Fish Called Wanda, V For Vendetta and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In 2003 he made his directorial debut with Bright Young Things and in 2007 he wrote the screenplay for a remake of The Dam Busters for Peter Jackson. Most recently, Stephen fry travelled across all 50 (technically 46 and 4 commonwealths) American States for a 6 episode series for the BBC titled, Stephen Fry in America.

Now, enough about our Qi Master, Mr Fry and onto what Qi actually is. Qi is a British panel and quiz show that differs from you average quiz show in the way points are distributed. Points are not awarded for correct answers but for interesting answers. The most points are deducted for obvious but incorrect answers. In the words of Mr Fry:

"Now, the rules are simple. Scoring is my business. Points are given and points are taken away. They are taken away for answers which are both obvious and wrong, and they're given not so much for being correct, as for being interesting. Their level of interestingness is impartially determined by a demographically-selected customer service focus consultancy, broken down by age and sex - i.e. me. Because there is no-one more broken down by age and sex than me."

Each episode features four panellists, two to each side of Stephen Fry. There is one permanent panellist and that is Alan Davies who is always given the silliest buzzer and probably has the worst win:lose ratio out of all the contestants. Each season is allocated a letter (Season 1 was A and so on) and the theme of each episode begins with the letter for that season. The panel usually consists of comedians; regulars include Jo Brand, Phil Jupitus and Bill Bailey.


As I mentioned previously, the most points are deducted for obvious but incorrect answers. The majority of this occurs during the final round suitably named General Ignorance. In this round questions that appear simple are asked and obvious but incorrect answers are usually given. I have with me the Qi Book of General Ignorance and can confidently say that strawberries are not berries, Bangkok is not the capital of Thailand, Henry VIII only had 2 wives and there are only 46 states in America (which I’m sure Stephen Fry touched upon at some point during Stephen Fry in America). When an incorrect but obvious answer is given during the course of the show loud klaxons go off and the answer given is flashed on the two screens behind the panellists showing the obviousness of the answer.

Qi is one of the most interesting (haha, a play on the name of the show) television shows on at present. It is highly informative and gives great material for quizzes. In addition to this, the show is absolutely hilarious, partly because the panel is primarily made up of comedians.

Similar Shows: Never Mind the Buzzcocks, 8 out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, Have I got News for You

The Most Anticipated Films of 2009: Part 1

2009 has come and of course, a year of brand spanking new films is upon us. This series of article is devoted to the films of 2009 that I am looking for. Chances are, there will be films that I will become aware during the course of the year, but for now, here is my “Films to See” list of 2009.

January

Che
Okay, it’s not necessarily a film that I want to see this year in the sense that I’ve already seen both parts (hence my calling it Che). Che is Steven Soderbergh’s 4 hour biopic about Che Guevara. As a whole, the films are okay, when divided Che is essentially one great film followed by one mediocre film. Che: Part 1 (the Argentine) is generally quite strong, it opens with Che Guevara at a press conference and then cuts to Che meeting Castro at a dinner party. The assumption (well, this was my assumption) is that the films is going to tell the tale of how Che went from the clean cut Argentine to the revolutionary leader in the grainy press footage. This isn’t the case, we see little of Che that isn’t full fledged Guerrilla Che Guevara, it would have been nice to see different parts of this person. So it’s not prefect, but the second half was significantly worse.

UK Release Date: 02/01/2009

Slumdog Millionaire
Another exception to the “Films I would like to see” list. I managed to see a preview of Slumdog Millionaire on Monday which was rather impressive. Danny Boyle is continuing to show his range; unlike most film-makers he appears to be able to dabble in everything. With 3 wins at the London Independent Film Festival, 4 Golden Globe Nominations and almost guaranteed Oscar nominations it’s clear that I’m not the only person who sees this as a masterpiece.

UK Release Date: 09/01/2009

The Wrestler
Around September, following the premier of The Wrester, it suddenly became one of the biggest films of the following months. Mickey Rourke plays Randy “the Ram” Robinson a retired wrestler as he makes a comeback and tried to form relationship with his daughter. The film is as much of a comeback for Mickey Rourke as it is Randy “the Ram” Robinson. The Wrestler has parted the way for many films this year including Iron Man 2.

UK Release Date: 16/01/2009

Frost/Nixon
Ron Howard’s follow-up to the Da Vinci Code premiered at the 2008 London Film Festival. It details the infamous interview between talk-show host David Frost and former United States president Richard Nixon. With elements of humour and a general sense of intensity Frost/Nixon looks like it will be on the whole, impressive, without the didacticism a film such as this could easily suffer from. Frank Langella, although not visually similar to Richard Nixon, becomes Nixon in his posture, present and of course, voice. Michael Sheen brings a nervousness similar to that of his performance in The Queen to his role as a young David Frost.

UK Release Date: 23/01/2009

Milk
Gus Van Sant tends to make films that are either loved or hated by their viewers. Some saw Paranoid Park as an engaging, complex teenage drama, whilst others saw it as dreary with a poor leading actor. Last days was seen by some as a thought provoking work of art whereas others saw it as generally unpleasant. Van Sant’s Psycho was on the whole seen as an unnecessary remake to a classic. However, Milk is getting the best reception of any of Gus Van Sant’s films since 1992’s Good Will Hunting. Playing California’s first openly gay public official Harvey Milk, Sean Penn appears to display a softness not often associated with the characters he plays. Milk is almost certain to get Oscar attention even if solely for Sean Penn’s performance.

UK Release Date: 23/01/2009

Rachel Getting Married
The very first thing I heard about Rachel Getting Married, was that Anne Hathaway may get Oscar attention for it. Since then, I’ve heard very little of it other than Anne Hathaway’s (and occasionally Rosemarie DeWitt’s) performance. Jonathan Demme’s latest work is not being praised for it’s direction, writing so much or cinematography, however, it is not being criticised for these things either. It appears that it will be a heavily character driven piece worthy of being seen for the performances.