Good documentary on Tom Stoppard who recently died: he never really knew his father who was killed by a Japanese strike on a ship: came to England under his step-father's name, Stoppard; didn't discuss his Jewish heritage with his mother; only years later he explored his Jewish heritage

ust because you're strong as a country like Russia, doesn't mean this entitles you to attack, wage war, displace smaller countries, say they don't exist: the aggressor is not right because of their might: this doesn't entitle them to have the upper hand in negotiations and to be

BB is dead: Brigette, who never wanted to be a serious actress until she was older: she was sexy, Monroe was a beauty; feminism wasn't her thing, but she was victim of immense objectification; as she aged she devoted her time to animals esp. dogs. Loved her in Godard's Le Mepris. God Created Woman.

This male-female tennis match is strange: Kyrios , the male tennis rebel, who never won a slam, but got to finals; his disruptive behaviours often cost him becoming a champion; Sabalenka is the no. 1 female tennis player of her age, and this match is liable to be won by Kyrios,

Well England finally won a test match game of cricket in Australia while losing the Ashes, salvaging a drop of honour & pride from their ill-prepared attempt.

The reason they haven't made Catcher in the Rye as film is because of the problem of creating free indirect speech on film: Holden's inner voice, the voice of the novel hold's our attention all the way through the book. Also Salinger forbid turning it into a film: he thinks it would be phony.

Ukraine should not give up land for peace; Russia should give up aggression for peace: for peace comes dropping slow.

Arsenal ground out a win in Quarter Final of Caribou Cup, after 1-1 draw, followed by winning 8-7 in penalties. Palace took back 2nd half, tough opponents. Such good penalties throughout.

Now whole episodes of EastEnders are seen from Nigel's brain, as he hallucinates, talks to himself, talks to Pat Butcher and her son: is Pat Butcher back in EastEnders, or is she a lost memory in Nigel's brain as he deteriorates? That is the question.

Putin doesn't want peace: he'll sell off shares called ceasefire, land, resources, oil, appropriation, annexation, military operation, cessation of ceasefire.

It's not often remarked upon but Jethro Tull shared this with Bruce Springsteen, they are both non-drug oriented groups, which showed in their creativity, their lyrical arrangements and their musical development. The pseudo-cool drug dependent crowd often scorn these forms of art, putting them down.

Newman was a charismatic great actor; Redford has a more limited range, but has charisma in abundance, so he's closer to movie stardom: but he's inscrutable as an actor. All The Presidents Men, 3 Days of the Condor, The Candidate, like Harrison Ford or Brad Pitt, not Jack Nicholson or Paul Newman.

“Life is a game with many rules but no referee. One learns how to play it more by watching it than by consulting any book, including the holy book. Small wonder, then, that so many play dirty, that so few win, that so many lose.” ― Joseph Brodsky

Anybody annoyed at the back cover descriptions when on a CD: in front of me I have a Miles Davis CD " Miles Smiles" with colour of print buried in red/dark red, trying to read is like deciphering Chinese. They should do another fold-out version inside CD in plain white & black.

A friend I knoiw lives on a boat with wife & cat; I don't visit much, but I was somehow astounded to find he had a liking for Miles Davis, pulling record out of sleeve, putting it on the record player. I told him Kind of Blue is probably the most famous Jazz record, telling him I have 10 Miles Davis

Glad to see Sight & Sound movie magazine awarded film of the year to Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another: for once De Caprio turns in an A list performance for performing a non-showy performance, going vs type( movie star ): it's his Humphrey Bogart Treasure of Sierra Madre role.

Trump is deranged by his own popularity which came from Reality TV: American politics now is Reality TV: witness the way they test world leaders in the White House in front of the world's media. Even his wife, disgusted & passive feeds the media frenzy: what goes on in her brain?

Karen won Strictly last night on an emotional wave of the underdog: she did get 40 twice, which nobody else got: but her pro-dancer was made so emotional by her humility, he said he'd become a better person: I personally preferred George with 3 39s, and some excellent dancing. Tears win contests.

It's all in the name: Trump just renamed The Kennedy Centre as the Trump -Kennedy Centre: he 'trumps 'everything.

Trump could learn something from Putin's gall: saying that Ukraine should have free & fair elections, that Europe taking Russia's frozen assets is like daylight robbery; that it is a war between 2 peoples( no, it is a war created by aggressor Russia on victim Ukraine). That Russia didn't start it!

No smoking gun or silver bullet with the release of these Epstein documents, celebrities with redacted figures in the background, but not doing anything: 100,000 and... nothing , death by a 1000 cuts to Trump's administration. As his term goes on, all his policies drowned in crap. No info, a bit ...

On Reform Bertie Russell might have said: " First they fascinate the fools, then they muzzle the intelligent." He was of course, talking about how fascism starts. At Xmas Reform will be hoping for " wise men from the East bearing gifts."

Peter Hitchens on Dimbleby's Question Time programme said reciting poetry to remember was one of the greatest things taught in schools: he proceeded to quote AE Housman's Blue Remembered Hills: Into my heart an air that kills, From yon far country blows: What are those blue remembered hills, What

By Trump's own reckoning he just said in the White House he's suing the BBC for using AI to make up the words coming out of his mouth: the BBC could sue him for denying the words that came out of his mouth, even if they used spliced editing over a 1 hour speech: Trump disowns

If you don't use your head, the tiger of lies will rip your head off.

Paul Doyle tried for mowing into running down and into crowds of people in Liverpool, was full of rage: this was akin to terrorism. a nihilistic whirlpool; even the lone individual is at times open to the the wild amoral impulses which care nothing for one's fellow human beings. No reason. A vacancy

AI porn is offering you the perfect sexual experience with an AI woman. This surely defeats the whole basis of existence, relating to real women.

Amazed at how these old stories like Madeleine McCann and The Salt Path Controversy, can come back and reclaim your attention as if for the first time, and start you off again: the guilt or innocence of the parents, the way untruth was embedded into a memoir as a 'true story'. Watching docs on both

On YouTube you'd think that Trump's Presidency was dead, over, obliterated beyond redemption: he was physically falling apart, showing dementia etc., but he seems to have a rude health despite all the signs: go back to that debate with sleepy Joe, who talked nonsense, Trump was sparked

On the theory Starmer is grey( unemotional), will he survive until next year? Well on the theory that you need to kill your hero(ine) less than half way through a film( or a PM ) a term to enable the dissatisfied country to carry on with an injection of colour, sketch writers, good faith etc.

Struck by something Kate Bush said to Michael Aspel, she prefers emotion in songs to illusion: she learnt to express herself emotionally by studying under Lindsey Kemp, who taught her about movement.

Any idea Labour is still carrying out its 'missions'? No, because a theory of an economists has collided with the poor communication skills of the PM and his team to flatten it out into a lack of trust for a mission: no trust in what is actually delivered: you have to carry the country with you

Tess & Claudia have been wonderful hosts who like Laurel & Hardy played to the gallery, were each other's best friends & supports, the judges wanted to celebrate their 21 years on the show: they gave such praise to the contestants, and showed so much emotional intelligence: irony they couldn't dance

Strictly semi-final dance off between Balvinder and Amber was a foregone conclusion: Amber reproduced her best dance of Saturday night which got 40; Balvinder showed us her best dance which got 35 and she danced her heart out: Balvinder having been in 5 dance offs had rehearsed it& exited gracefully

Trevor Phillips took 45 minutes to admit there had been a terrorist attack on a Jewish Hannukah event at Bondi Beach by 2 lone gunmen dressed in black; broadcasters often pussyfoot around when the evidence is clear. The same images were played on repeat, as if to extract missed

Love Strictly, the 4 dancers who remain, Balvinder, Amber, George & Karen, are all truly good, but Lewis in 1 dance off, where he lost, and Balvinder in 5 dance offs & surviving, doesn't weigh in the balance. Lewis was on course to win, week by week. The 2 outstanding tonight, George& Amber

Putin wants Ukraine to have an election: Zelensky says give us a ceasefire we'll have an election: irony- Russia hasn't had true elections for 25 years, so Trump should be asking more of Putin to comply with a deal. An aggressor is being awarded with land, nuclear power stations, mining sources .

Nigel Farage cannot apologise for intimidating racists slurs: think, next, Farage as PM, what kind of country wants a king of demon lies, worship of Russia, to privatize the NHS, brings MAGA Trump-like policies to UK, joins with French National Front in a immigration policy to drive out LTR-ers.

" If the President says it then it must be true", said President Nixon: how far have we fallen; now we say " If the President says it it must be a lie."

How many Republicans or foreign leaders cannot say what they mean due to dementing Don's obsessions? When will people grow a backbone, say just what they mean? When they know they are not going down with the ship. Donnie is not an alcoholic but has drug addiction problems. Sleepy Donnie.

#QuestionTime with Fiona Bruce, she had less swagger, she said " she couldn't et a word in edgewise", as both Anar Sawa and Stephen Flynn just continued what they were saying whenever she tried to interrupt. This was in Scotland, so they won't put up with the shit we put up with in England.

Martinelli and Madueke scoring from open play outside the box in Brugge: Arsenal still on top, in both leagues. Can they do it in either league? Up the Arsenal!

Xmas is on its way, we don't know if it will be white or not, Xmas cards have almost gone away, yet their cosy images remind us where we once were: Santa is a harmless fairy tale while you are a child; are we now only smart phones? Are we sure where we now stand? Can we still see the stars? All I

Badenoch is attempting to provide colour and knock-about comedy in panto season: what she is doing is continually knocking Labour by suggesting their all busy deciding who will take PM's place: it was effective in terms of suggesting he lacks dynamism and oomph. I hear you knocking , but look at..

Trump taking pot-shots at our culture, Europe and Saddiq Khan in particular, as an 'erasure of Civilization':talk about the pot calling the kettle black: he daren't speak like this of Putin, taking Europe back to before NATO; no, he likes powerful corrupt figures, who're bullish. He tried to steal

Liverpool played a good, tough, well defended game vs. Inter at San Sera: they scored a goal earlier, but after 5 mins was judged a hand-ball; however they were awarded a soft penalty in 88th minute, as a balancing factor, where Szoboszlai scored decisively. 1-0, well done Liverpool, in top 12.

John Lennon interviewed by friend Maureen Cleave 1965 said "Christianity will die: we're more popular than Jesus now": this was ignored in UK, but set a fire of hatred off in the States, with record burning everywhere; John had to apologise. Now with the rise of MAGA politics we see it in politics.

Psycho is on BBC2 tonight: it still has an incredible hold on our national psyche; Hitchcock got hold of the American psyche by utlising black & white serial TV, using it's economy of means to forge a new tool in cinema: he suggested a plunging knife, never showed it entering the

US report on Europe's "civilizational erasure" ; the European Union undermines political liberty & sovereignty" ; censorship of free speech; suppression of political opposition; transgressive immigration; loss of national identities & confidence; certain NATO countries will

Trump & Putin's Peace Plan, is about getting Ukraine to share in appeasement of Putin, be subservient to his power hunger, so he & USA share up the peace spoils of a trade deal so corrupt it sells out NATO, Europe, Ukraine , and makes Russia The Emperor of European continent.