Voices From The Pulpit (Ramblings of an Inadequate Messiah)

Pierce Brosnan will not be Bond in the next film :-(

He wanted to do it , was in negotiations with the producers but they canclled negotiations partway through. Colin Farrell is currently tipped as his replacement. Brosnan 'Gutted' Over Bond Exit (BBC News On-Line; Saturday 6th November 2004)

(Taken From BBC News On-Line; Friday 5th November 2004)

New Model Army rock drummer dies

Rob Heaton, drummer with cult 1980s band New Model Army, has died suddenly from pancreatic cancer aged 43. Heaton, who also composed songs for the group, died on Thursday, EMI said. He co-wrote many of New Model Army's hits such as Poison St and Here Comes the War, but left the band in 1998 after surgery to remove a brain tumour. He went on to promote live music and had also been writing film scores for independent movies. He leaves a wife, Robyn, and a young son, Marlon.

Brought tickets for New Model Army (17th December), Rammstein (5th February - their third London date) and Pop Will Eat Itself (25th January - a newly added secodn Lodnon date) this afternoon. Hoping to also go and see Dead Can Dance and Diary of Dreams but need to talk to a couple of people to see if they also want tickets.

I also went and saw THE GRUDGE with Sarah this afternoon. Now I love the original Japanese version - indeed I think it's the best horror film to out of Japan since The Ring and it certainly rates in my Top Ten Japanese Films of all time. I felt reasonably confident about this new English language version starring Sarah Michelle Geller. The Director was the same guy who directed the original (a first for Hollywood) and some of the actors were reemployed for this English language edition.
So what did I think?
Well, to be honest, I was disappointed. Now this may be because I've seen (and love) the original. I'd like to hear other peoples opinion of the film who have never seen the Japanese version. On the plus side they added 'a reason' behind The Grudge in question on a much more negative side they dumb-downed the film in many places and the end of the film is very different. Indeed they cut off a good third of the events from the end of the original - which kinda sucked if you ask me. I do think plenty of people enjoyed it though - certainly I heard more screams from the audience during this film than any other I've seen at the cinema. I just wish the people that screamed didn't then laugh and talk about it for minutes afterwards before they fell into short silences before the next scream. That's what I get for going to a suburban cinema on a Saturday evening though. Serves me right! School Report: C+ (Some great special effects but they took away from the original more than they put in. Sadly, a disappointment).

Further on my spending spree in London today. I also picked up 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess and 'Bring The Jubilee' by Ward Moore. Never read A Clockwork Orange before and have never even heard of Bring The Jubilee - but I found them both in a Waterstones promotion alongside 1984, A Brave New World, and various other distopian titles and thought they'd be worth checking out.

(From the back of Bring The Jubilee)
"Hodge Backmaker lives in twentieth century New York, a city of cobblestones, gas lamps and ten-storey skyscrapers. In his world, the Confederate South won its independence in the Civil War and North America is divided, with slavery and serfdom still facts of life in the Confederacy and New York a provincial backwater. Bring The Jubilee stands alongside Pavane as science fiction's finest explorations of alternate history."

There's been several stories floating around about electionic voting machine sin the States being rigged before the US Election to give Bush a head start but I've been largely regarding these more as an emerging urban myth than anything viable. Largely because no one has come up with any firm proof.

Until now.

The story behind THIS LINK tells of a county in Ohio which had 638 voters turn out and cast votes. The Official Declaration gave Kerry 260 votes and Bush 4,258. They have looked at the machine in question and don't know what when wrong.

Hmm...... any guesses??

Well I guess I can now start feeling smug with myself in the knowledge I was right about how Bush would win a second term. Not as many Americans are as stupid as some people are claiming - out of the 59,054087 who voted for Bush I wonder how many of them ACTUALLY EXISTED!

(More Voting Machine Contoversy)

Thanks to gmskarka_feed  for the links!