Welsh Cinema of the Grotesque, Theatre of the Absurd, or Both?

"Put together an ageing petty criminal, his Mam and two teenage tearaways and what have you got?"
Why, it's BBC High Hopes: Grotesque, Absurd, Surreal and full of fictive truth.

In 1972 we had a crusty black junk dealer in the L.A. Watts ghetto, played by Red Foxx, called Sanford & Son, which was a re-make of the British Steptoe & Son. Now Welsh comic writer and actor Boyd Clack has created the bizarre, surreal world of High Hopes.

The post-Industrial Welsh Valleys are chronically impoverished and trapped in parallel cycles of systemic malaise (bureaucratic grotesque) and familial dysfunction (familial grotesque). This is the setting for Boyd's quirky flirt with the every-day weirdo's in his comedies -- Similar to the lovable but bizarre folks who populate the BBC comedy 'Shameless.'

Boyd gives us so many manifestations of the filmic grotesque in one show that the mind boggles! The psychological grotesque can be found in his agoraphobic, criminal protagonist. The nervous, chapel, church lady mother is another exaggerated (but true) rendering of the naive, gracious, accommodating, co-dependent and passive-aggressively dominant Mam.

Boyd's parody of the local Heddlu/Police is like Peter Sellers' kooky Pink Panther Inspecteur Couseau, but these bumbling Welsh arbitrators of law & order are inherently wise, folkloric geniuses!

Please see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/highhopes/ and tell me what you think . . .

Should we be orienting our colleagues to OAI Standards?

Is there a supportable rationale for expanding the systematic orientation of colleagues and research students, to incorporate OAE standards into their document preparation routines?

Since labelling and keywords can make or break, does each University have a vested interest, in seeing their colleagues succeed in this interplay between content and search engines?

There seems to be little real conversation between the database authors, and the eventual archive contributors.

Would you agree, and what can we do about it in practical terms?

Please see: http://www.openarchives.org/

New Satire from Ed Current

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Maurice Ravel, Diatonic Scales and Chromatics of the Leitmotif

Cardinality equals variety and structure implies multiplicity, are true of all collections with Myhill's property or maximal evenness.

So here's a riddle: What do Michael McDonald, Gabriel Faure' and Proust all have in common?

If you guessed inverted diatonic scales, with a slow arc toward the final cadence -- Bingo! Just don't forget to diminish the fifth in C major, okay you guys?

And for those of you who guessed that 'relationship between gigues and compound metre' -- you also got it right!

Sorry if we lost a few of you. Just remember, in duple meter, the dotted quarter note creates the constant tension (deliliously done, when the harmonica does that jumpy staccato jabbing thing, often abused as a screechy descant above lilting blues tunes).

Pam Fod Angen .Cym ? Why Do We Need .Cym?

Oherwydd bod yr iaith Gymraeg a’r diwylliant Gymraeg yn gymuned y credwn ni y dylai cael ei chydnabod a’i dyrchafu drwy gael ei Parth Lefel Uchaf noddedig (sponsored Top Level Domain - PLU) ar y Rhyngrwyd. Gyda PLU noddedig .cym byddai’r cyrff, cwmnïau a’r bobl hynny sydd am fynegi eu hunain yn yr iaith Gymraeg neu/ac am hyrwyddo diwylliant Gymraeg yn gallu cofrestri a chael eu hadnabod yn glir.

Because the Welsh language and culture is a community that we believe should be identified and enhanced by having its own sponsored TLD on the Internet. Under a .CYM sponsored TLD those organisations, companies and people that express themselves in the Welsh language and/or wish to encourage Welsh culture will be able to be registered and will be clearly identifiable.

Clichiwch yma: http://www.dotcym.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=2&lang=cy
Click here: http://www.dotcym.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=2&lang=en

CYFRWNG 2007 CONFERENCE "Devolution + the Development of Media in Wales"

University of Wales Swansea
13-15 April 2007

The Cyfrwng conference is an opportunity for academics, students and media practitioners to discuss key issues facing the media in Wales. Cyfrwng 2007 is hosted by the University of Wales Swansea and the conference will address debates surrounding devolution and the media, including the relationship between the media and the Assembly, developments in the task of reporting politics in Wales, issues of regulation, changes in the commissioning process, and changes in national theatres. Keynote speakers confirmed for this conference include:

Huw Edwards, BBC News
Rhys Evans, Deputy Head of News & Current Affairs BBC Wales
Lowri Gwilym, S4C Commissioning Editor, General Factual
Clare Hudson, BBC Wales Head of Programmes (English)
Elis Owen, ITV Wales Controller of Programmes
John Geraint, Green Bay
Lord Dafydd Elis Thomas, The National Assembly for Wales Presiding Officer
Leighton Andrews, AM Rhondda
Professor Steve Blandford, University of Glamorgan
Paul Jones, Teledu Apollo
Ed Thomas, Fiction Factory
Angharad Jones, S4C Commissioning Editor, Drama and Films
Peter Edwards, Film Agency for Wales Professor Hazel Walford Davies
Gareth Miles
Michael Bogdanov, Theatre Wales Company
Professor Dai Smith, University of Wales Swansea
Martin Shipton, Western Mail
Spencer Feeney, South Wales Evening Post
Patrick Hannan, BBC Wales
Aled Price, Y Byd
Mary Traynor, University of Glamorgan
Julie Barton
Andrew Jones, GTFM
Rhodri Williams, Ofcom

For further information, contact: http://www.cyfrwng.com/
[Wales]
[Welsh]
[BBC]
[S4C]
[ITV]
[OFCOM]

Hollywood Goes Gnostic -- Signifiers of Myth or Mythos?

"A common theme in the new genre is the existence of a manufactured world, a virtual reality in which the participants don't realize they are trapped. "

"But what does all of this arcane and outdated theology have to do with the movies? Over the last decade, movies have frequently dealt with apocalyptic themes- but now that the millennium has turned without the fiery destruction of the universe, moviemakers are exploring more subtle theological ideas. Recent technological and scientific advances have led people everywhere to question our perception of reality, and our movies have followed suit. Recent films exploring virtual worlds and false perceptions of reality include Vanilla Sky, the Matrix, The Truman Show, Pleasantville, and the Thirteenth floor."

Very interesting discussionof Gnosticism and Hollywood, here:
http://altreligion.about.com/library/weekly/aa072302a.htm
[Religious Grotesque]

Alfred Carrada Dictionary of the Taíno Language

Okay you polyglots -- ready to learn a new language? My dear friend, Taíno Artifact Collector and Historian Alfred Carrada has released his on-line dictionary of the pre-Columbian, Caribbean Basin, Taíno Language. http://www.alfredcarrada.org/

Alfredo's passion for the Taíno culture is contagious:

"I started collecting Island-Arawak (Taino) artifacts more that twenty years ago. Although I grew up in the West Indies I did not become fully acquainted with this culture until I made a holiday trip to Santo Domingo in the late Seventies. I became fascinated and bewitched by the beautiful and intriguing objects made by the Taino artisans, and collecting these objects became a passion that took a life of its own."

This beautiful website was designed by Italian artist Mauro Philip Conti [http://www.mauroconti.com/menu.html].

Alfredo is responsible for introducing me to the scholarship of Barry Cunliffe, which figures large in my conceptualizations of pan-Celtic cultural tropes. [Facing the Ocean: the Atlantic and Its Peoples 8000 BC-AD 1500 - By Barry Cunliffe, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. viii plus 600 pp. $45/25 pounds sterling]

For an intersting discussion of Cunliffe and the Celts see:
http://www.oup.co.uk/academic/humanities/classical_studies/viewpoint/barry_cunliffe/
[Taíno]

Storytelling as Spectacle: Fairytale Wizard Jack Zipes Casts Spell Over Creative Cardiff

You are cordially invited to the first George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling annual lecture and symposium Storytelling and the Globalised World. Prof Jack Zipes (University of Minnesota) will present his keynote lecture Storytelling as Spectacle in the Globalised World at 6.30 pm on the Tuesday 13th February. This will be followed by a reception and dinner with an after dinner storytelling performance by Taffy Thomas of the Northern Centre for Storytelling. On Wednesday 14th February a day long symposium will examine issues raised in the keynote lecture and the implications for storytelling in the modern world including papers by Shahrukh Husain, Dr Donald Smith (Scottish Centre for Storytelling) and Prof Mick Mangan (University of Exeter). For more information please see the attached flyer.

WARNING: This event is expected to quickly sell-out!!! Please RSVP for all ticketed and FREE Events.

For further information please contact Emily Underwood on 01443 483312 or by emailing efunderw@glam.ac.uk
www.glam.ac.uk/storytelling / http://stories.weblog.glam.ac.uk/
George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling, Tŷ Crawshay, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, CF37 1DL
Canolfan Adrodd Storïau George Ewart Evans, Tŷ Crawshay, Prifysgol Morgannwg, Pontypridd, CF37 1DL
[Storytelling]

The Euro-American Cult of the Saints and Celtic Warriors on Film

For this post I'm wondering if you've seen the film Stigmata (1999). Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce plays the Cardinal Daniel Houseman. Stigmata is an intensely grotesque distortion of the female protagonist’s psyche and body. Played by Patricia Arquette, the unwilling heroine becomes the 'channeler' for a martyred male priest. There is a parallel tale of romance where the female is juxtaposed between good priest and bad church, in a thrilling horror joy ride that has a slashy tinge of Film-Noir-meets-Latin-Magical-Realism, about it. Great filmmaking, great storytelling; fuzzy theology, but who cares?

Make no mistake -- Mel Gibson was stealing all his best (and most gruesome) ideas from this bloody horror flick. But Stigmata bears this cross better than Mel, with conspiracy-theory panache. Dublin born Gabriel Byrne is a sexy 'good' priest named Father Andrew Kiernan. This heroic Irish priest character recurs in The Magdalene Sisters (2002) and in Song for a Raggy Boy (2003). Previously this heroic priest idea is invented by Welshman Ceri Sherlock in his Branwen (1994), whose priest is the wize wizard who councils the troubled (and male grotesque) Welsh chapel minister. Of course, Tornatore openly (but gently) mocks the priest in Nuova cinema Paradiso (1988), as Fellini parodied this priest paragon as a conflicted, carnivalesque confidant/hierophant in 8 1/2 (1963).

See: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0145531/
See: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202595/

[Grotesque Cinema]

Film, Drama and the Break Up of Britain - Steve Blandford 2007

Congratulations to Professor Steve Blandford as his much anticipated, new book is hot off the presses -- This book engages with ideas that are highly topical and relevant: nationalism, nationhood and national identity as well as the relationship of these to post-colonialism. However, it does so within the broad field of drama. Examining the debates around the relationship between culture and national identity, the book documents the contributions of actual dramatists and film-makers to the chronicling of an important historical moment. The book breaks down what have been traditional barriers between theatre, film and television studies, considering the very broad range of ways in which the creators of dramatic fictions are telling us stories about ourselves at a time when the idea of being ‘British’ is increasingly problematic. Much has been written on the ‘break up’ of Britain, but there has been very little to-date about the impact that this is having on drama in the theatre, on television and on film. A very wide range of material is discussed in the book, ranging from box office hits such as The Full Monty to community based theatre in Scotland and Wales.

Order yours today: http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/ppbooks.php?isbn=9781841501505
Steve Blandford, British Film and TV, British Devolution, Welsh Films, Irish films, Scottish Films, British Drama
[British Film]

Yourview and MotionBox Offer Video Tagging Function

So the current topic is the 'folksonomies' which will hug the multi-media (audio-visual) database's metadata periphery:
The purpose of the tagging is to create a social input mechanism, as well as user-originating contributions to the valuation process of the films within the database. Two new software programs Yourview, and MotionBox, allow this internal tagging, which could be used to flag 'best scenes' favorite scenes' or other subject sub-categories.

David Weinberger, from Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, is quoted in a BBC article titled 'Tagging 'takes off for web users' . Weinberger says, 'Tagging allows social groups to form around similarities of interests and points of view'.

It's in this context of this 'social function' of the tagging process which Weinberger problematizes in his own webblog, Joho. Weinberger is unsure whether it's possible for the user to make the crucial 'social' contribution, or if the software privileges the adminstrator, alone.

The experimental prototype of the BBC Programe Catalogue will eventually be forced to consider the interactive possibilities of letting users 'rate' their content, and even expand that content, as users already do at IMDB and the rapidly-growing but content wobbly Wikiland and her integrated suzerain of virtual clones and mimics.

In his webblog, Weinberger is on topic with his question;"We can already tag videos, of course. But how about being able to tag the good parts?" David Weinberger's weblog at http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/

BBC NEWS Service article: 'Tagging 'takes off for web users' at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6318531.stm
[Tagging]

The Wind that Shakes the Barley -- Have You Seen It?

The Wind that Shakes the Barley -- Have You Seen It?

What did you think of this Cannes Film Fest Winner? Did it deserve an Oscar?

I bought the screenplay, which is filled with lots of good stuff, including and essay on Irish films by Kevin Rockett!
[Ken Loach, Irish Films, Kevin Rockett]

Stars Over Glamorgan -- 2006 Welsh Retrospective Film Festival

Did you participate in the 'Stars Over Glamorgan' Project? (Held every Thursday night in March 2006)

Did you work on a production team? What was your job? What was the funniest moment? What was your favorite film? Did you get to meet anyone famous? What did you learn about film festivals and international film marketing? Were you in the audience? What Welsh films would you like to see next year?

Please See: http://marklesliewoods.com/WelshRetrospectiveFilmFestival2006Page2.htm
Please See: http://marklesliewoods.com/WelshRetrospectiveFilmFestival2006.htm
Please See: http://glamlife.glam.ac.uk/newsevents/424/the-stars-gather-at-glamorgan
Please see: http://glamlife.glam.ac.uk/newsevents/376/hy-does-everyone-need-a-buzz

[British Film]

Celtic Film, European Films, Welsh Films, Marc Evans, Boyd Clack, Tim Lyn, Stephen Bayly, Ruth Carter, Manon Eames, Linda James, Daryl Perrins, Brett Mills, Steve Blandford, Hamish Fyfe, Ieuan Morris, Grahame Davies, Mauro Philip Conti, Mark Leslie Woods, BBC Wales, S4C, Glamorgan, Actors' Equity Cardiff

My Blog and Welcome To It!

Thanks for visiting my blog -- this is another expansion for me, into my own, Web 2.0 environment extension. I'm planning a complete re-design of my web site, once I finish my dissertation, and get a job (First Things First, huh?).

Be sure to visit my friends at the Celtic Cafe -- Say Hello to Bernadette and to Louise for me! http://www.celticcafe.com/

And while you're surfing, say hello to Carwyn at the Arizona Welsh League:

http://www.welshleagueofarizona.org/

Diolch yn fawr iawn a Hwyl Fawr i bawb!

Celtic Cafe, Carwyn Edwards, Arizona Welsh League, Mark Leslie Woods, BBC Wales, S4C, Glamorgan
[Celtic Cafe]

Ti piace questo sito?

www.Celtica.it -- in italiano -- and to read (in English) -- http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/CelticCafe/message/10151

Vorrei incontrare i altri studenti dell'Italiano e dello Gallese. (Farei meglio a studiare la grammatica italiana di piu).
Sono avanzato con lentezza parlare questa lingua, ma continuo provare ogni giorno. Ho visitato Roma due volte e siamo restati anchenoi alla spiaggia in Molise nella citta se chiama Termoli. Spero tornare presto.

L'anno scorso ho visitato la Praga e Irelande di Nord. Ero due volte alla festa di film al Karlovy Vary. Mi piace bene le montane della Bohemia e la citta di Belfast. La spiaggia di Portrush e' la mia favorita' nell'Irelande di Nord. Sono salito al somma dello precipizio vedere il castello Dunluce (questo posto e' infestato dai fantasmi!) Sono tanti italiani nello nostro vicino in Miami Beach. E' possibile practicare sempre la lingua. Pero' loro preferiscono parlare lo spagnolo a Miami. Fa bene sempre a Miami, e mi manchi troppo la mia piscina bella alla mia casa carissima. Ragazzi miei, potete farmi un favore quando facciamo le conversazioni fra noi? Usate le frasi semplicci, grazie mille.

Bienvenue et sois le bienvenue!

J’envie visiter à Paris et la belle France, mais c’était impossible pendant mes études à cause de mes droits and mes obligations. En verité, je suis l’étudiant, et comme les autres, avais toujours le crise d’argent! J’ai faît les plannifiés voyager dans le continent de l’Europe après quelle année sur finir mon diplôme comme ‘Docteur des Études du Film.’ C’est mon espèrance, pour faire le deuxième lune de miel avec mon petit à Paris, et grace à Dieu, lui m’a dit le même chose (nous sommes les grands romantiques, n’est-ce pas?) Actuellement, je droit m’amuser essayer former les phrases pour mes amis français qui restent ici en Galles, et pour les Gallois, aux moins, ceux qui voudrait apprendre le langue comme moi! A toutes telles heures, mes amis!

Welcome, Croeso, Bienvenue, Benvenuto!!!

Croeso i'r lle 'da fi. Dw i'n byw yn Traeth Miami, a gyda fy ffrindiau "Marc Miami" ydw i. Ar y pryd, dw i'n dysgu Cymraeg ym Mhrifysgol Morgannwg ym Mhontypridd, ar gymoedd Rhondda-Cynon-Taf. Dw i'n myfyrio gweddu doctwr ffilm (mae'n well 'da fi ffilmiau cyfoes cymraeg!) Dw i'n dod o'r Ohio yn wreiddiol o'r gwladfa fach Cymreig, o'r enw Youngstown, Ohio. Pan oeddwn i'n ifanc yn y gartref, roedd fy hen mam-gu'n arfer siarad a'n canu yng Ghymraeg. Roedd fy deulu gwerin y capel Annibynnol. Ar hyn o bryd, dw i'n byw gyda fy Mhartner Eidalig yng Nghymru. Mae ein ty ni ar ben y bryn ar bentre bach Trefforest. Roedden i'n gweithio fel darlithydd astudiaeth ffilm. Dw i'n wedi blino yn aml iawn achos dw i'n gweithio a studio bob amser. Dw i'n gweld fy ffrindiau a fy mam yn Florida bimp gwaith y flwyddyn. Mae'n well 'da fi ffloi tros y Mor Iwerydd! Hwyl am y tro!