The Corporation (Marck Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, 2003)

I've been waiting for an opportunity to see The Corporation for months and finally managed to catch it at a local independent cinema. Overall, it was very good. Not as slick a production as the other documentaries I've been watching lately but I was very interested in the topic.

It covers the rise of corporations in society and how they eventually got the legal status of a "person". It then investigates what kind of a "person" a corporation is and concludes that it's psychopathetic based on numerous anecdotes. The anecdotes can be very gripping but I find anecdotes are a weak way to prove anything. They're emotive and make it clear there's a problem but do little else. Few solutions are considered. It a nice touch that the view points of some right-wing thinktanks are aired to offer some balance. Despite the gloomy nature of the film, it does have an upbeat ending.

As it is, it's a long movie and the topic is massive. It would be great to expand it into a series of documentaries broadcast on TV. However, if you're really interested, a much better analysis can be found in the book "The Divine Right Of Capital" which takes aim at the roots of the problem.

This is a Canadian production and Jennifer Abbott even lives on Galiano Island. Nice to see a local film make it big.

Next Trackday

I've registered for a trackday run by motorsport-events.com. I've never gone with this company before but their events look like really good value. They're run on airfields and perimeter roads rather than real race circuits so that keeps the price down. Their Heyford Academy Day 1 is held at a former US airforce base near Bicester and is mostly driving exercises and training rather than a full-on track session. That's perfect since I still don't know how to balance my car when I'm at the limits of traction. For £99, it seems like a good deal to me. Here's a write-up of a previous event run for the Caterham 7 club. This event can be followed by a level 2 Academy Day with more advanced training. If Day 1 goes well, I'm quite sure I'll sign up for Day 2.

If you want to join me, it's on Saturday, March 19th. I hope it's cold and wet. If it's cold, it helps cool the car. If it's wet, you get less tyre wear and lots of practice with understeer and oversteer.

BBC: Dioxin found in German eggs

Arrrgghh. Organic and free range eggs are more at risk of being contaminated with dioxins because of the land the chickens are allowed to roam on. That's the only kind of eggs I buy!

This issue has only arisen in Germany but it could happen anywhere. It's so annoying to try and do the right thing and then discover the new risks you're taking. I'm also buying only organic and free range chicken when I can in order to avoid supporting the horror of poultry factory farming.

Power Of Nightmares Rebroadcast Tonight

The documentary Power Of Nightmares is being rebroadcast on BBC 2 starting at 23:20 tonight. If you haven't seen it, you really, really should. There's also part two tomorrow and part three the day after that.

It's a controversial documentary series which argues that the threat of terrorism to the West is a politically driven fantasy and that al-Qaeda is not really an organised network. It's a fascinating exploration of recent history and the rise to power of the neo-conservatives in the US and well as Islamic fundamentalist - both groups which benefit from the so called "War on Terror".

It's a must see. If you're not in the UK, it's possible to find the programmes on the Internet as a BitTorrent download.

Remote Control Model Car Racing

I took the kids last Sunday down to the outdoor race track of the Remote World Model Car Club located in Upton Park, Slough. I just recently discovered they existed. They race 1/8th scale off-road buggies. The club is seriously well organised with a great track, elevated rostrum, PA and track marshals. Indeed, they hosted the 2003 European championships. Good fun to watch and the smell of nitro certainly brought back memories. Just might add one of these to my toy acquisition list...

I know I've been lacks in posting photo's. I've now got a brand new camera phone and hope to post photo's more frequently. The picture is the start of one of the races.

BBC: Romanian woman gives birth at 66

You know, it just doesn't seem like a good idea to me to give birth to a child when you're a senior citizen. You ought to be reasonably fit to raise children and expect to be around for a lengthy part of their lives and your children's children's lives too. Personally, I think doctors shouldn't help anyone over 50 to try and conceive a child.

Exotic Guitars

I haven't been playing for a quite a while but I still like to look at guitars. Here's some fantastic guitar creations.

Ski Fitness

I hurt. I really hurt.

I've decided to join a couple of friends skiing in the Pyrenees next month. With only three weeks to get my legs somewhat prepared for the task, I popped down to the gym for the first time in a year. My inner thigh muscles certainly did not appreciate me waking them from their slumber and have made their inadequacy very apparent. It's the same muscles that I didn't know existed until I attempted horse riding.

But as soon as I stop walking like a geriatric cowboy, I gotta get back to the gym. Here's an interesting article on which muscles you use for skiing. Here's a ski fitness workout.

Signs of The Times: Where Are The Pay Phones?

We were out doing some errands and we needed to make a phone call. Jenny's mobile battery was too low and I wasn't carrying my mobile on me. No problem! Just do it the old fashioned way; find a pay phone. Do you think we could find a pay phone? A petrol station didn't have one. Even a community centre didn't have one but the receptionist let Jenny use the main switchboard phone.

Obviously with mobile phones, there's not as much need for payphones. In fact, according to ofcomwatch, BT has removed 17,500 payphones in the last two years. Of the 75,000 that remain, 27,000 are unprofitable due to payphone revenues dropping by 41% since 2000. So life gets harder for those without a mobile.

Today I was visiting the hospital and noticed a payphone (I'm now aware of payphones!) and it accepted euro's! That's the first time I've seen any coin-operated device in the UK that accepts euro's. That's a really major sign of the times.

Signs of The Times: URL Building Signs

I'm going to try a new series of blog entries I'm gonna call Signs Of The Times. It's just observations of the little things which are indicative of the bigger changes that are going on around us.

Today I drove past a local government building in Slough. It had a long sign in front of it right next to the road and all it had on it was a URL www.slough.gov.uk. That's it. There was no other sign except for that one. URLs are pretty common in all kinds of places usually as a subtext to something else but this URL was the primary means of identifying the building. It's an example of how deep the terminology of the Internet is embedded in society.

The sign made sense as an easy way for the local government to promote access to its services through the Internet.

Googling Unsecure Webcams

Yep. It works. Find thousands of unsecure webcams around the world. The modern peeping tom.

Infernal Affairs (Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak, 2002)

I'm not big on cop shows. Got really bored of the genre. However "Infernal Affairs" was just superb. Actually this is a whole trilogy out of Hong Kong. After "Infernal Affairs I", you get a prequel "Infernal Affairs II" and you finally get the sequel "Infernal Affairs III". I've seen I & III and thoroughly enjoyed both. No doubt the first movie is the best but III was worthwhile. Can't wait to get my hands on II.

The basic plot of I is about two moles. One mole works for a triad and has infiltrated the police. Another mole works for the police and has infiltrated the triad. Both groups know a mole exists in their own organsiation and both moles are tasked on finding the other.

There are plenty of twists to the story and the narrative is very clever with the way it jumps around the story timeline. Along with dark and moody cinematography and excellent character acting, the film really builds up the tension and propels you along goading you to figure out what's going on before yet another twist is beset upon you. It's like a classic film noir thriller and miles away better than the shout, chase and shoot Hollywood cop drama style.

Highly recommended. I really hope Hollywood doesn't try and remake it.

BBC: Monsanto fined $1.5m for bribery

Monsanto is at the top of my list of vile corporations. They've admitted to "paying bribes to a number of other high-ranking officials between 1997 and 2002". Just more evidence about how low they will sink to push the GM agenda.

Battle Royale 2: Requiem (Fukasaku, 2003)

Definitely not as good as the first film. Not by a long shot. Altogether, an uneven story and disappointing narrative. Too much over acting and the characters aren't as engaging. The plot seems to have been sacrificed in favour of gratuitous violence. The first film was superb at examining individual decisions to survival by violence. This film also asked questions about violence but failed to give any answers. It even flirted with criticims of the United States and the violence that country has committed towards other countries. But only flirt and it was totally irrelevant. That is the problem. The film touches many themes but just doesn't offer anything substantial or thought-provoking. It wasn't focussed and many motivations were left dangling.

Watch the original. Don't bother with this sequel.