It was a rainy day (you can see some of it in the distance and a drop on the lens) and the shots that make this up were taken just below Arthur’s Seat which was too crowded with freshers and new postgrad students to get a shot this wide.  Click the thumbnail below to see a larger version.  If I printed out the full version at 72DPI it would be nearly 8m long!

Wellcome Trust: Death: A Self Portrait

This free exhibition at the Wellcome Trust is far less morbid than it sounds.  A mix of art and curiosities from around the world.  Its a shame the book isn’t a catalogue as its one of those exhibitions I could see myself drawing inspiration from if I’d something to act as a reference.

I’d say allow an hour or more for this.   http://www.wellcomecollection.org/whats-on/exhibitions/death-a-self-portrait.aspx

Royal Academy of Arts: Bronze

Book in advance for this exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts and expect it to be busy.  Split by themes of different subject matter it covers the whole of history from thousands of years BC to a Tony Cragg piece at the end.  A room is given to explaining the processes involved.

Put aside several hours for this one.  More info: http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/bronze/

There was another (small) exhibition but I can’t find any details and it was rather modern so I’ll skip along to…

The Design Museum: Digital Crystals

Digital Crystals was smaller than I expected but had some interesting pieces.  I especially liked one with lasers and crystals and the chandelier.

Less impressed with an interactive wireframe controlled by an Xbox controller.  I can’t work out how exhibitions are including wireframes as art or design when computer graphics have come on so far.  It’s like they’re impressed with artists who barely scratch the surface of a technology.  Not really fair to pick on the Design Museum as I’ve seen this in the Walker in Liverpool and a couple of other exhibitions in the last couple of years.

http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2012/digital-crystal

The Design Museum: Design to Win

Design to Win was interesting with its look at how design influences sport from motor racing to swimming.  I was flagging a bit by the time I got to this one and its now finished so I’ll not go into a great deal more detail.

The National Theatre: The Magistrate

This really deserves its own review but for now – excellent production of the farce.

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/the-magistrate

Tate Modern: William Klein + Daido Moriyama

An interesting selection of photographs (and other works) from two artists.  There were some pieces I really liked but overall in retrospect it didn’t do as much for me as some of the other exhibitions.

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/william-klein-daido-moriyama

Tate Britain: Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde

I think I may have seen too many Pre-Raphaelites on biscuit tins and bad reproductions.  This wasn’t as big an eye opener for me as The Vorticists a couple of years ago but I’ve certainly got a better appreciation for the Pre-Raphaelites now.  Interesting to see the variety of work.  Another very busy exhibition.

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/pre-raphaelites-victorian-avant-garde

Tate Britain: Turner Prize 2012

I’m glad I joined Tate for a year because if I’d paid for this I’d be disapointed.  If the John Moores Painting Prize includes a some stuff that makes me go… “really – so go to an art school and then you can get away with calling this art? If I did this I’d be called a talentless con artist” the Turner prize includes very little that doesn’t fall into that category.  Unless this is really your thing save your time and money.

I do wonder if art history will look back on our time and see the likes of Light from the Middle East: New Photography as far more important than 90% of the Turner Prize.

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/turner-prize-2012

V&A: Light from the Middle East: New Photography

A nice little free exhibition of 90+ photographs from (funnily) the Middle East.  With 30 different artists from 13 countries there is real variety to this exhibition.  They vary from portraits to works with political messages to abstracts created from photographs.  If you’re in the area I’d suggest nipping in and taking a look.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/exhibition-light-from-the-middle-east-new-photography/

V&A: Hollywood Costume

Another cattle market but worth the effort.  I was a bit nervous of this one as I remember dreading going round very static costume exhibitions as a child.  This exhibition uses lots of video and interviews to explain the costumes.   One section breaks down how the costume designer worked up the famous Indiana Jones look from a child’s drawing by Steven Spielberg.  Another looks at different costumes for actors playing Queen Elizabeth I.  Then finally on the way out we’re treated to a room packed with famous outfits.  Do look up as not all of them are on the ground.

If you like films and costumes this one is probably a must see.  Take sharp elbows. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/exhibition-hollywood-costume/

 The British Museum: Shakespeare staging the world

This exhibition does an excellent job of placing Shakespeare in context of the world he was living in.  Given the RSC involvement I was expecting more recorded performances and more about the long term impact of the reinterpretation of Shakespeare on theatre and other media.  However a very good exhibition that’s not got long to run.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/shakespeare_staging_the_world.aspx

The British Museum: Crowns and ducats: Shakespeare’s money and medals

A little free exhibition of coins that is also almost over.  Interesting but hard to get round if more than a couple of people are there already!

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/crowns_and_ducats.aspx

The British Museum: Ritual and revelry the art of drinking in Asia

A fascinating exhibition of objects to do with drinking alcohol, water and tea in Asia over the past few thousand years.  Plus its free.  http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_us/news_and_press/press_releases/2012/ritual_and_revelry.aspx

Anyway my lonely, sad, friendless, imaginary account gets an email from Facebook “Mark Caldwell are following Pages on Facebook”.  I’ve seen these messages to my account and they usually say “X, Y and Z are following pages on Facebook – Like the Pages you are interested in to get their updates in your news feed.” and then lists 6 pages implying an association between X, Y and Z and the pages.

This sort of marketing is far more likely to make a sale than some random advert.  It’s why Amazon sends so many emails asking for reviews of things you bought.  It’s why Facebook pushes likes for brands into your friends’ timelines.  I’ve heard that empirically its 5 times more likely to result in a sale than a print advert.

Except of the six pages it lists in the email it sent me I only have an association with one of the Pages listed.  The others are a comedian (Keith Lemon) I’ve no interest in, a wedding car hire company, a Liverpool bar I’ve never been to, a Liverpool shop I’ve never heard of and a deodorant I don’t particularly like the smell of and who’se brand managers are pitching at people 20 years younger than me.

Yet the email suggests, without actually saying explicitly, that I endorse these companies and brands.

So in order to make money off advertising Facebook has now taken to at best bending the truth, at worst outright lying about the pages, and by implication, brands, businesses and products we endorse.

If an advertiser put a picture of Keith Lemon by a product and implied he’d endorsed it how quickly would the sky turn legal paper yellow?  How quickly would the Advertising Standards Agency be smacking them around for false advertising?

Apparently Facebook believe we don’t deserve the same respect for our personal brand and reputation if they can squeeze a bit more profit out of their advertisers.

• Attractor
• Grid Align
• Jitter
• Lean
• Lower
• Move
• Raise
• Rake
• Spin
• Tornado.

Magnet is a bit of a diva and will get a video all of its own.

With Argo Ben Affleck proves that his directing on The Town wasn’t a one off.  He has an excellent cast to work with including himself (as Tony Mendez), Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Clea DuVall,  Bryan Cranston and Scoot McNairy.

It would have been easy for the Iranians to have been portrayed as simplistic villains.  Yet the opening few minutes paint a picture that both tells the audience the history of Iran how Iran came to be in the state it was and how western nations played a significant role in precipitating the situation.

This film isn’t some dour history lesson.  It’s a tense thriller that finds moments of humour to break the tension alongside moments that reveal the fine line between civilised society and the horror of revolution.  The US elements could be farcical if the consequences of white men sitting in rooms thousands of miles from the situation weren’t potentially so serious.  Mendez’s plan to invent a fake film (Argo of the title) to act as cover for the extraction sounds farfetched.  That it is the best thought through, prepared and most likely to succeed is in some ways a little scary.

The period detail is excellent and the cast deserve credit for being prepared to sport so much bad hair for the film.

I’d highly recommend Argo.

Bond returns to the form of Casino Royale for me with the latest film.  Stripped back to the bare essentials of Bond against the villain (and his many minions).

The opening car chase/bike chase/gun fight/fist fight does what a good Bond opening should do and sets up the rest of the film.  Then we get a classically styled Bond opening credits/theme song, not as strong as Casino Royale or Golden Eye, but a fine addition to that tradition.

The plot is a solid Bond plot.  By which I mean there are some moments after the film where you go why would the Villain go to all that trouble when all they need to do is bypass all of that stuff and they’d win?  The answer is because they are a Bond villain and in the logic of that world villains don’t get the KISS theory.  They’re like movie serial killers – beings of fantasy not reality.

There is some great acting on show – Craig, Bardem, Harris, Whishaw and Finney are all excellent.    Judi Dench has far more to do than in her previous outings as M and delivers a fine performance.  Fiennes deserves a mentio as he has to pull off, in very little time, turning a character from the sort of stuffed shirt obstacle/civil service villain to supporting hero with very little screen time.

The Travelogue element of Bond is incorporated into the story without overpowering it.  We get the Far East, Turkey, London and Scotland.  The later both nodding to Bonds back story and (although I’m not sure its intentional) to Richard Hannay’s flight to Scotland in John Buchan’s  The 39 Steps.

I’m not going to say this is the best Bond ever because I think we now have enough Bonds to have a Bond for many different moods.  What this is is an excellent addition both to the genre and to the 50 year old series.  Highly recommended.