Author Archives: Houyhnhnm

they shall not grow old & troilus and cressida

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

they shall not grow old a project where technical brilliance is the direct explanation of emotional power: peter jackson’s restoration of the imperial war museum’s footage is, more than his shaping of the story and the effect of the oral-history … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Play | Leave a comment

getting behind…

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

so here’s a list of what i had intended to write up in random pairs one day burger (carol adams’ book on the beef-based foodstuff) mclibel (the film of the trial) — quiddities (quine’s philosophical dictionary) hot fuzz (pegg II) … Continue reading →

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denial & shaun of the dead

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

denial timothy spall’s brilliant portrayal of hitler-admiring and holocaust-denier david irving, tom wilkinson’s patrician barrister, andrew scott’s arch lawyer, and rachel weisz’s deborah lipstadt: all reasons to remember this film it’s about holocaust-denial, of course, but in terms of genre … Continue reading →

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a cuckoo calling (jk rowling) & julia shaw’s the illusion of memory

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

a cuckoo calling really enjoyable – hard to put down (or a delight to pick up); cormoran strike and robyn are great characters, and the story unwinds and retangles in the manner of the best whodunnits that’s all it is … Continue reading →

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othello & moby-dick

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

othello everyone (including me) went to see mark rylance’s iago; for the first scene or so i was confused as he spoke so fast i missed lots of the content but we settled, and really enjoyed rylance’s nervy subservience, running … Continue reading →

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romeo and juliet, & mahler’s 8th symphony

Posted on July 28, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

romeo and juliet (south woodford odeon, live-streamed from stratford (the other one) like the rory kinnear macbeth, the dead rise and walk – and not just the scripted banquo; this romeo and juliet has first the slain mercutio and tybalt, … Continue reading →

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the town hall affair & the turn of the screw

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

the town hall affair a live dramatic reconstruction of a real, filmed, public debate in early-seventies new york between writer and critic norman mailer and representatives of ‘women’s lib.’ notably germaine greer

Posted in Opera, Play | Tagged | Leave a comment

philosophy for life by rupert read, and bamford quaker community

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

philosophy for life: a series of essays by the green quaker norwich-based (uea) philosopher, chained together skilfully by editor m.a. lavery, this book is a serious, witty, and unashamedly intellectual attempt to take dame philosophie from her ivory tower and put … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Visit | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

macbeth (streamed from the olivier to picturehouse central, may 10th) & the lene lovich band (at the lexington, islington, may 20th)

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

macbeth live-streaming is in many ways so much better than #beingthere: better view, cheaper, and a filmed interview with the director before curtain-up; which helped me notice the feel – ‘britain in a few years, after a civil war’ – … Continue reading →

Posted in Concert, Play | 1 Comment

rodin and the ancient greeks, & the iliad

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Houyhnhnm

rodin and the ancient greeks i didn’t realise that rodin spent a lot of time in london, and that he kept visiting the british museum to see the elgin marbles and other greek sculpture; it seems (at least according to … Continue reading →

Posted in Exhibition, Novel, Poem, Translation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment