tv Archive

  • <p>I was reading Galileo‘s On Motion (1590), as one does, and came across this gem.</p> <blockquote><p>Some superifical observations have been made as, for instance, that the free motion of a heavy falling body is continuously accelerated. But to just what extent this acceleration occurs has not yet been announced. For so far as I know, no one has yet pointed out the distances traversed during equal intervals of time by a body falling from rest stand to one another in the same ratio as the odd numbers beginning with unity.</p></blockquote> <p>It struck me that this is easy to check using nothing […]</p>

    Galileo: On Motion

    Posted on 25 March, 2011 | 1 Comment

    I was reading Galileo‘s On Motion (1590), as one does, and came across this gem.

    Some superifical observations have been made as, for instance, that the free motion of a heavy falling body is continuously accelerated. But to just what extent this acceleration occurs has not yet been announced. For so far as I know, no one has yet pointed out the distances traversed during equal intervals of time by a body falling from rest stand to one another in the same ratio as the odd numbers beginning with unity.

    It struck me that this is easy to check using nothing […]

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  • <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Title</strong>: The Hound of the Baskervilles<br /> <strong>Author</strong>: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle<br /> <strong>Hardcover</strong>: 240 pages<br /> <strong>Publisher</strong>: Penguin Classics (2010)<br /> <strong>Language</strong>: The finest English</p> <p>A great novel or the Greatest Novel?</p> <p>So far this year, I’ve read the book again, listened to an audio dramatisation and watched a couple of versions on video. This book hits all my buttons. It’s got a murder, hints of the supernatural, the relentless march of scientific logic and is possibly the best Scooby Doo mystery ever.</p> <p>Here is a quick list of the aspects of it which tickle my fancy. Below […]</p>

    The Hound of the Baskervilles

    Posted on 20 August, 2010 | No Comments

    Title: The Hound of the Baskervilles
    Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
    Hardcover: 240 pages
    Publisher: Penguin Classics (2010)
    Language: The finest English

    A great novel or the Greatest Novel?

    So far this year, I’ve read the book again, listened to an audio dramatisation and watched a couple of versions on video. This book hits all my buttons. It’s got a murder, hints of the supernatural, the relentless march of scientific logic and is possibly the best Scooby Doo mystery ever.

    Here is a quick list of the aspects of it which tickle my fancy. Below […]

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>I just realised that it’s Sunday and I’m two days late in posting. The schedule may be meaningless and self-imposed but it quietens the stabby-stabby thoughts. And to get it out of the way: Christmas was great. Kathi and I spend it alone and reconnecting with each other. It’s been a very valuable time for both of us.</p> <p>Now to television and the best sci-fi show you’ll never see: Defying Gravity. This show is just plain awesome, not least for being targetted at adults rather than teens, but also for not being a <em>Star Trek</em> clone. This last point is […]</p>

    For Your Listening Pleasure

    Posted on 27 December, 2009 | No Comments

    I just realised that it’s Sunday and I’m two days late in posting. The schedule may be meaningless and self-imposed but it quietens the stabby-stabby thoughts. And to get it out of the way: Christmas was great. Kathi and I spend it alone and reconnecting with each other. It’s been a very valuable time for both of us.

    Now to television and the best sci-fi show you’ll never see: Defying Gravity. This show is just plain awesome, not least for being targetted at adults rather than teens, but also for not being a Star Trek clone. This last point is […]

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>I’ve been watching. And with watching come thinking. Which leads inexorably to blogging.</p> <p><strong>Paranormal Activity</strong>: This is a standout. Shot for US$15,000 and somehow managing to get a cinema release, this film is scary as hell, despite suffering from too much Blair Witch handycam camera work, precisely because of the low budget. Apparently, the filmmakers decided that because they had such a small budget they had to suggest the horror rather than spend their cash on special effects and such to show the horror. The film has nothing new to say but it is very, very creepy. I expect big […]</p>

    TV and Movie Roundup

    Posted on 11 December, 2009 | 2 Comments

    I’ve been watching. And with watching come thinking. Which leads inexorably to blogging.

    Paranormal Activity: This is a standout. Shot for US$15,000 and somehow managing to get a cinema release, this film is scary as hell, despite suffering from too much Blair Witch handycam camera work, precisely because of the low budget. Apparently, the filmmakers decided that because they had such a small budget they had to suggest the horror rather than spend their cash on special effects and such to show the horror. The film has nothing new to say but it is very, very creepy. I expect big […]

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>Lately, I’ve become entangled in a number of debates with others about the quality of various films and novels. Only now have I realised that I approach these media in a manner which seems completely at odds with the way other approach them. Therefore, it’s time I explained myself.</p> <p>I have a couple of fixed ideas on what makes a movie, novel or short story good. These have developed out of a cloud of different inputs such as: </p> <ul> <li>four years of studying film and literature at university,</li> <li>a strong interest in learning other languaes and reading foreign literature,</li> <li>a strong </li></ul><p> […]</p>

    I Feel a Manifesto Approaching…

    Posted on 28 August, 2009 | 4 Comments

    Lately, I’ve become entangled in a number of debates with others about the quality of various films and novels. Only now have I realised that I approach these media in a manner which seems completely at odds with the way other approach them. Therefore, it’s time I explained myself.

    I have a couple of fixed ideas on what makes a movie, novel or short story good. These have developed out of a cloud of different inputs such as:

    • four years of studying film and literature at university,
    • a strong interest in learning other languaes and reading foreign literature,
    • a strong

    […]

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  • <p>I’ve started watching 2006 BBC series Life on Mars and I’m currently up to episode four of the first season. What a hoot! This is an OK cop show spiced up by the motifs of time travel and 1970s racist, sexist, and most other -ists British culture.</p> <p>(<strong>Note</strong>: this is not the crap 2008 US re-make.)</p> <p>The overview, for those who have been living under a rock for the last couple of years is this:</p> <blockquote><p> After being involved in a car accident in 2006, DCI Sam Tyler wakes up to find himself in 1973, the era of ‘Sweeney’ </p></blockquote><p> […]</p>

    Life on Mars

    Posted on 18 December, 2008 | 2 Comments

    I’ve started watching 2006 BBC series Life on Mars and I’m currently up to episode four of the first season. What a hoot! This is an OK cop show spiced up by the motifs of time travel and 1970s racist, sexist, and most other -ists British culture.

    (Note: this is not the crap 2008 US re-make.)

    The overview, for those who have been living under a rock for the last couple of years is this:

    After being involved in a car accident in 2006, DCI Sam Tyler wakes up to find himself in 1973, the era of ‘Sweeney’

    […]

    Continue Reading...