While the major parties are bickering over who will stop the boats (see this blog for a couple of great posts on this issue, also see the latest Media Watch for the sort of ignorant bigotry they are pandering to, and the refugee council of Australia for more info, and the graph at the bottom of this post *), they are ignoring climate change. Sadly it hasn’t gone away though, see the following links:
Hot Topic on the massive island of ice that broke off Greenland.
This Sunday you can get out to remind the major parties that climate change is still an issue by taking part in the Walk Against Warming, it’s at 11am at Victoria Square.
* This graph is from Crikey, and is by Robert Corr
Just a reminder that I’ll be doing my monthly DJ set next Sunday, July 25th at the Metro on Grote St. I’ll be on from around 4-7pm. No theme this time, but since last time was largely instrumental (post-rock & jazz) I might lean towards songs this time. I play there on the 4th Sunday every month (except for a special event in September on the 3rd Sunday … more about that later, but here’s a hint)
This Saturday May 15 there’s a bakesale at Format, 15 Peel St city. Not only can you get delicious baked goods, they have craft as well! And it’s all for a good cause, to raise money to keep Format going. In case you haven’t been there, Format is a fantastic space where they have great gigs, art exhibitions, a zine store and various other events that help to make Adelaide an interesting place, so they deserve your support. Go there this Saturday between 1 and 5pm. Details about Half Baked ( … Half Craft) at Five Thousand.
Now there is another way to find out what’s happening in Adelaide besides reading Le Rayon Vert – which, given the sporadic updates and frequent mistaken listings is admittedly not that great for knowing what’s happening anyway. You can go to Five Thousand where you can read about what’s happening in music, art, cinema and … um, mini golf, amongst many other things. Go check it out, they have some good people writing reviews, and you can sign up to get it regularly in email too. You should still visit here as well though.
It’s about time I wrote something about the 2010 Adelaide Cinémathèque which is now well under way. For those who aren’t familiar with it the Cinémathèque is a film club based at the Mercury Cinema on Morphett St. They have a program running each year from the end of March up until mid December consisting of a great variety of films usually grouped into session of 3 or 4 films which are linked by a particular theme. There are two films per week, they show each Monday and Thursday at 7:30pm. Due to the conditions under which they get access to the films (as a film club), they cannot sell single tickets, instead you have to become a member. This is easy, you just fill in a form and pay for either 4 films ($35/$25 concession), 16 films ($70/$50) or an annual membership for $99/$80 – this can be great value, I got an annual membership last year for the first time and went to about 25 films.
To give you an idea of the variety on offer, some of the highlights for me last year were:
Distant Voices, Still Lives a compelling drama by English filmmaker Terence Davies who I wasn’t previously familiar with, Russian Sci-fi classic Solaris, some big screen epics – Lawrence of Arabia and Gone With the Wind, a Sam Peckinpah series including his masterpiece The Wild Bunch, a series by one of my very favourite directors Ingmar Bergman, Starstruck – a crazy 80′s Australian film set about a band competition which was very silly and lots of fun, the rare Cool World with it’s ultra-realist take on 60′s new york teenage gangs, some brilliant and completely different animations including the obscure Australian film Grendel Grendel Grendel , a witty retelling of Beowulf from the point of view of the monster, and the disturbing and essential Waltz with Bashir, an account of one person’s attempt to regain memories of their part in the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. There were also some hilarious Cary Grant comedies, but the last program I saw was possibly my favourite of the whole year as I was introduced to the genius of Jaques Tati. In particular Play Time is an absolute masterpiece.
And then there’s all the things that I can’t believe I missed, such as Aguirre and the Kurosawa program and lots more.
This year’s program is available here, go and have a browse through it, there’s plenty of great stuff there. As usual a great variety of genres, and mix between popular classics and rarely seen obscurities.
Based on tonight’s Jaques Demy film (which is not renowned as one of his best but was nevertheless excellent) it should be worth catching the remaing films in the current series. I’m also keen on seeing the amazing Baraka on the big screen again,
The online program goes only to July but there will be films from then right up to December, the full program for the second half of the year will be announced towards the end of the current one (memberships continue to the second half of the year).
We’re just coming to the end of the first November heatwave on record in Adelaide. Since last Sunday the max temperature has been over 35 degrees Celsius every day. A change is due to bring the temperature down for a day or two before it climbs back up again over 40 in the middle of the week. As usual when there’s a heatwave there are a lot of people (particularly at Adelaide Now) who downplay the heatwave, saying that Adelaide has always had heatwaves and it isn’t anything different, but in this post at Brave New Climate, Professor Barry Brook does an excellent job of putting it into context. The current weather is quite extraordinary in a couple of ways, firstly as something that is quite unprecedented for this time of year (the previous record for November being 4 days over 35 in the 1890′s), and secondly because it adds to a number of extreme weather events in recent years, with heatwaves that smashed previous records in the last two Summers. Meanwhile, in South Australia, we are represented in the Senate by the likes of Nick Minchin and Cory Bernardi, who showed themselves to be totally delusional on the topic of climate change in a recent Four Corners program.
NICK MINCHIN: For the extreme left it provides the opportunity to do what they’ve always wanted to do, to sort of de-industrialise the western world. You know the collapse of communism was a disaster for the left, and the, and really they embraced environmentalism as their new religion.
SARAH FERGUSON: Minchin encourages his junior colleagues to speak out too.
NICK MINCHIN: I don’t mind being branded a sceptic about the theory that that human emissions and CO2 are the main driver of global change – of global warming. I don’t accept that and I’ve said that publically. I guess if I can say it, I would hope that others would feel free to do so.
SARAH FERGUSON: The junior south Australian liberal senator, Cory Bernardi, takes his cues from Minchin.
CORY BERNARDI: The fact that Nick has publicly supported the right of back benchers and others to speak up on a very critical issue is certainly encouraging.
(Excerpt of footage of Cory Bernardi at book launch, 27 January 2009)
CORY BERNARDI: The challenge for Australia, and the Australian parliament is to examine the facts of climate change and not just the opinion polls.
SARAH FERGUSON: Earlier this year Bernardi launched the book, Thank God For Carbon, a publication of the vehemently sceptical Lavoisier group.
(End of Excerpt)
CORY BERNARDI: Well I think that scientists need to justify their own actions. They will keep putting forward and saying we’ve got all this evidence, the evidence is increasingly discredited, why have they done it, what’s their motivations for doing it? Are they afraid to stand up to the extreme green lobby?
It is reasonable that not all parliamentarians are experts in every area, but what they show here is a complete failure to assess the credibility of sources. They ignore the CSIRO, the Australian Academy of Science and Australia’s leading experts in the field of climate change in universities around the country (such as Adelaide’s chair of Climate Change Barry Brook, linked above), and find their own “experts” (e.g. Ian Plimer, Bob Carter) who have a stance they find more politically appealing but which does not stand up to critical analysis (e.g debunked claims like it isn’t warming or volcanoes are more important than human CO2 emissions). I think that South Australians could do better than to be represented by conspiracy theorists who are too worried about reds/greens under the bed to be able to deal with the serious issue of climate change.
Starting this week and continuing into next week at the Adelaide Cinémathèque isLives of Shadow and Light: The Films of Ingmar Bergman. I’ve written about the Cinémathèque recently, and also wrote about Bergman here. One of the highlights of last year’s program was Bergman’s The Seventh Seal and this year we’re lucky enough to get three of his films. If you’ve not yet been to the Cinémathèque then now would be a good time to go. I’ll quote the descriptions of the three films from the Cinémathèque website, together with some relevant Youtube videos
7:30pm Monday 24 August
THE VIRGIN SPRING
Sweden 1960 88mins 35mm
When a devout young girl is raped and killed by goat herders, the most sacred beliefs of her deeply religious parents are challenged as they become consumed by a violent need for justice and revenge. Based on a medieval ballad set in 14th century Sweden, this allegorical tale examines the conflicts of a society transitioning from Paganism to Christianity. It is also notable for being the unlikely inspiration for Wes Craven’s notorious nasty Last House on the Left. Stars Birgitta Valberg and Max von Sydow. Print courtesy of the ACMI collection.
7:30pm Thursday 27 August
CRIES AND WHISPERS
Sweden 1972 91mins 35mm
Terminally ill Agnes is joined at her bedside by sisters Maria and Karin as she waits to die. But as her sisters’ jealousies and resentment surface, much of Agnes’ emotional comfort is left to Anna her devoted and fatalistic maid. Through a series of flashbacks, the inner lives of these women are examined as each one recounts a painful moment in their lives in this intense, disturbing and powerful family drama about repression, spirituality, sexual passion, hatred and death. Stars Harriet Andersson, Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann. Print courtesy of the ACMI collection. Listed in 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die
7:30pm Monday 31 August
WILD STRAWBERRIES
Sweden 1957 93mins 35mm
As a cynical, ageing academic, travels with his daughter-in-law to receive an honorary University degree, he also embarks on a journey from emotional isolation to personal redemption. Reliving his past through a series of memories and dreams that blur reality and imagination, Professor Borg recalls his childhood with its wild strawberry patch and his childhood sweetheart, his elderly mother alone in her large house, and his long-dead wife, bitter and disappointed by her husband’s inability to love. Stars Bibi Andersson, Max Von Sydow and Victor Sjöström. Print courtesy of the ACMI collection.
Winner Golden Berlin Bear Berlin Film Festival 1958
Listed in 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die
Also an interview with Woody Allen about Ingmar Bergman (he talks about Cries and Whispers in particular in part 2)
The Adelaide Cinémathèque has recently announced details of their program for the second half of the year. It is a film society that shows a great variety of films, including many which are rarely seen. It offers a great opportunity to see classic films on the big screen. The program is available here. Due to issues regarding screening rights it is for members only, this just means that you have sign up and you can choose either a 4 film, 16 film or annual pass. Screenings are each Monday and Thursday.
The highlight for me is a collection of three Ingmar Bergman films – The Virgin Spring, Cries and Whispers and Wild Strawberries. Other highlights include a series of films by the Japanese masters Kurosawa and Mifune, a series on race relations in the USA (unfortunately To Kill a Mockingbird clashes with the Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks gig though), a chance to see the spectacular Aguirre The Wrath of God on the big screen (also the only version I’ve seen was dubbed so this should be an improvement), a series of Jaques Tati’s films (I’ve not seen any of his films before but know that many of the French New Wave directors held him in very high regard), and a series of classic silent films accompanied by live scores. This is just a small selection, there is lots more as well.
I’ve only just noticed this week that Adelaide now has Google Transit. When you look at Adelaide on google maps you can select “transit” on the “more” menu. All public transit routes are then shown, for example see here for an example. Note that bus stops are shown, if you click on a bus stop it will open a window showing all the buses that stop there, as well as when the next ones are due. You can click a link to more timetable information. Also, you can search for directions by public transport. Here’s an example to get from the airport to norwood View Larger Map
I’ve tried out a few things, and as is usual with these sorts of automated route planners it doesn’t always choose the best one, especially when bus trips are combined for walking. For example, while it did a good job of identifying options for bus trips from near my house, it did a terrible job of telling me how to get to one of the nearest bus stops since the best way involves crossing a park (the directions given turned a 5-10 walk to a 30min one!), but overall I think it’s an impressive tool. In particular it is nice being able to combine with street view if you need to get off the bus at an unfamiliar stop and want to know what it looks like.
So far it is only available in Adelaide & Perth in Australia, though it is available in many more cities overseas. Presumably more Australian cities will be added in the future.
I have also...