Ingmar Bergman 1918-2007

Woke this morning to the news that Ingmar Bergman has passed away. Apparently he died in his sleep at home on Faro island, Sweden.
While I do love his most well known films on death, loss, and shame, my favourite five of his films that I have seen, in no particular order and at the risk of sounding like a Nick Hornby novel, are:

Scenes from a Marriage


Intense and pretty devastating throughout (right, CP?)

Persona


Loved by Susan Sontag, apparently.

The Virgin Spring


Appears to be a genteel film. Then turns horrific.

Fanny and Alexander


The TV version of this film is 5 hours long (cinematic release is 3), but for me this film captures most of what I think Bergman stands for.

Winter Light


With an amazing performance by Gunnar Björnstrand as a doubting priest.

In other news, the party was a lot of fun on Saturday. The gallery looked beautiful and everyone who turned up (about 60 people) seemed to have a good time.

Relax, don't do it...

After the surprising announcement that the 1980s BBC radio DJ Mike Read will not be standing as a Conservative Party Mayoral candidate for London, I too must inform you all that I will not be standing either.
Will you be?
Well the visa is sorted (thanks to the British High Commission for working around the clock to make this work, it's only been a year in the making), and we've booked our tickets back to the UK. We'll be in Edinburgh for the start of the month-long festival, though the first priority is to find somewhere to live (assuming all the houses in Edinburgh haven't been washed away by all the rain).
So we are trying to tie up loose ends here- Ericka's working hard on gathering everything she needs for her doc (interviews, scanning photos) while I'm reading books not available to me in Edinburgh. We've also been seeing friends who we haven't yet been able to see. We're having a joint leaving party next Saturday with our good friends Sarah-Jane R and Bret who are moving to the west coast of Canada.
Fashionably behind the times, I want to sing my praises for Last FM, a 'social music revolution'. I wouldn't go that far but it's an amazing source to discover music (through listening, not reading). I've been getting lost in the weirder shades of Krautrock (Cluster, Brainticket, Guru Guru, Popol Vuh, Xhol Caravan...).
While I'm at the job of big-upping things, I'd like to do the same for The Situationist International online archive. While a lot of people, including many political science academics, scoff at the SI, I find many of their ideas fascinating. This site needs delving in to, so it's best to have a look when you have a bit of time (this one's especially for you CP- look for articles on psychogeography).
Now for some recent 'photos (click to enlarge)...

Ericka in our room


Sunflowers in our room (one of which is soon to bloom)


Ericka waiting for the subway


Elyse and I at the Harbour front


Sarah Jane R's purses


Eating out at Chinese Traditional Buns

Saving the world the easy way...

Well I guess it had to come.
Now that Geldof 'n' Bono have made poverty a thing of the past (thanks by the way), it was high time we had a concert to prevent catastrophic climate change. Up stepped Live Earth to the challenge.
This was great because rather than pushing for political action, in a sea of complete and utter inaction, we could watch the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Madonna sing, in turn making us feel a vague sense of awareness. Because, despite the fact that climate change was first postulated over one hundred years ago and has received mainstream scientific and public attention for about thirty years, what we needed now was another round of 'conscious raising'.
So we go to the Live Earth website to see what commitments are being pushed upon global leaders. Errr...instead we find a list of things to do on an individual level- purchase greenish products, switch appliances off, recycle a bit more.
Christ, at least Geldof 'n' Bono had some goals. What a wasted opportunity.
On Friday night E, E and I went to the water's edge to see some live music out in the open and under the stars. First on were Kieran Hebden (a.k.a Four Tet) and Steve Reid. Steve Reid is an incredible drummer, while Hebden is a slightly annoying electronic wizard. Together they ended up sounding pretty damn good. Next on were The Cinematic Orchestra, a six piece jazz and electronic group, who do have one or two good songs. Alas, they revealed themselves to be the kind of live band you would only go and see if the show was free and you had friends to have a beer and chat with. Forget them and go and see the Norwegian ten piece Jaga Jazzist live instead, if you ever get the chance.

Last weekend consisted of two big celebrations. On Friday there was a make your own pizza and cupcake party for Elyse's birthday. Great music, food, friends and Guitar Hero II
. Then on Sunday it was off to Hamilton for a family-in-law celebration for Canada Day (Canada's 140th birthday). Here I got the chance to meet Ericka's cousin and family who now live out near Edmonton, Alberta.
Since then it's pretty much been down to the grind mill, so to speak.

Look away now, if you are not my brother
Because you probably couldn't care less.
Here's a little self-indulgent bit for you: a list of things Jon digs very much at present...

Music





Film

Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye


Jennifer Baichwal's Manufactured Landscapes


This is a stunning documentary following the photographer Edward Burtynsky as he documents land degradation across China.

Good reads

Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts is one of the oddest short stories I've read.
The best art magazine out there is published in Finland.
Yep.
Framework is a very big and very clever (and very beautiful) bi-annual that enlightens politically as well as art(ally).

Considering my interest in the natural world, it's high time I told you what I've seen here that isn't resident in the UK, don't you think?
Good.

Striped skunk
Mephitis mephitis
whose odour can carry for almost 1km



Groudhog (or woodchuck)
Marmota monax
whose barking noise is unknown in function



Common raccoon
Procyon lotor
whose skin was not actually worn as a cap (called a coonskin cap) by Davy Crockett



Eastern chipmunk
Tamias striatus
who are a lot smaller than the cartoon would lead you to believe



Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
whose amazingly loud song sounds like a car alarm



Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata
whose name is used by the Toronto major league baseball team



Red-winged blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
who when migrating fly in single-sex flocks



E and I have spent a few days in Hamilton, after an action-packed few days. Last Thursday Ericka's friends from New Zealand who form The Veils were in town for a show so we went along to that. Friday evening was good fun in the end, despite only about 70 people passing through the doors. Sunday we went back to Hamilton for a father's day BBQ at Ericka's uncle's place. Really good food and a heated pool went down nicely. Victor came along with us which was very cool.
In further news, I've been accepted to speak at the Glasgow conference I applied for. The best academia-related news though is that my brother is now officially a doctor. Well done, kid-o.

The past week brought about my first true small town Canadiana experience: a 'stag and doe' in Caledonia. This is a bit like the stag and hen nights we have in the UK, only they are combined and the explicit purpose is not to get the bride or the groom tied up to a lamppost in their underwear, it's to raise a little cash for the honeymoon in the shape of games and raffles (Ericka won a white baseball cap).
In a similar Jonathan's-becoming-a-little-more-Canadian, I've been avidly watching ice hockey as the Stanley Cup has been playing out (the equivalent of the F.A. cup in football, only teams from both Canada and the U.S. from the NHL are involved).
One of Ericka's cousins- Brian McGrattan- plays for the Ottawa Senators who made it through to the finals against the Anaheim Ducks, a team who were founded by the Walt Disney corp, based on the film The Mighty Ducks (Jean Baudrillard would have a field day on that one).
The finals are not a one-off affair, however. Instead they are a best of seven showdown. Alas the Ducks won four games to one in the end. It was an odd moment when, sitting in a bar watching the hockey, Ericka pointed out that England played football that day and I knew nothing of it (it turned out to be the 3-0 win over Estonia in a Euro 2008 qualifier).
Victor's work in the gallery is coming on leaps and bounds. In two nights he painted the whole room white and sanded down the wooden floors. It's looking beautiful. It's his birthday this weekend so he's hoping to get it in to a state fit enough for a big bash (with yours truly spinning some records). Ericka and I have been helping out here and there- admittedly E has done much more. I used my keep-the-cable-away-from-the-blade skills I learnt from helping my dad cut the lawn as a boy to great effect when the floor was stripped.
This past week I've been to see a few places in Toronto that I haven't seen before- my favourite being the Beaches which is to the south east of the downtown core. Nice hot sand.
This week I also managed to get a little bit arty- I'm putting on a club night again at the White Orchid next Friday...what do you think of my cut-and-paste poster?

Asleep and dreaming of totem poles

Greetings all.
A good week this week. Last Wednesday, I believe it was (not much for day names recently), I got to make my Toronto DJing debut. A friend had got a night at The White Orchid on Dundas Street (I'm glad people are making Wikis about individual roads) and asked me to join her. We had muchos fun and are planning to return there during June.
I've been working on a proposal for a paper that I hope to present at a conference in Glasgow at the beginning of September, based upon some of my MScR research thus far- it's looking good, if I do say so myself. Yes, I do say.
E is currently beautifying our walls with watercolours, and she's finished her epic documentary on The Veils as they recorded their last album in LA. She's been filming for her next one all about our very own friendly neighbour Victor, and his side walk art.
The city hall bells are chiming for dinner.