The Wave

Sorry for the delay in updates, Ivonne has been away for a week, and other than playing on my new Wii game, GT Pro Series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GT_Pro_Series) which is basic, but fun (and very cheap!), having the occasional pint at the pub, reading about Quantum physics (I kid you not), and coming third in poker, I have not done a lot.

But last night we went to the Picturehouse and watched "The Wave", a recent German film about an experiment carried out in the 60's at an American college. The story is retold in modern Germany, and although based on real events has a much more shocking conclusion than the real experiment.



The story of the film, in brief, is a high school teacher wants to teach his pupils about autocracy, but some of his pupils say that it is a waste of time, nothing like fascism could ever thrive again in Germany. The teacher (brilliantly played by Jürgen Vogel) decides to try an experiment, and through small things (getting pupils to stand when talking, adopting a uniform and name) slowly the pupils get drawn into "The Wave" and it takes on a life of its own.

The film not only shows how easy fascist regimes can take hold, and the strange comfort some personality types take from it, but also the difficulty of resistance against these kind of groups, the main character for me in the film is Karo (Jennifer Ulrich), who, despite liking the teacher taking the class simply cannot take part in the experiment (despite initially being keen), she and a friend become the sole resistance against the class, and immediately see the dangers of what is happening. The got me thinking, are some people more immune to fascist or cultic movements, and if so why?

Certainly a lot to think about in this film, and if you are interested then it is on again tonight and tomorrow night at 6.15pm at the Exeter Picturehouse.

Saturday delights

Saturdays have many things going for it, at least half a day off work each week, fried egg sandwiches, some motor sport and the weekend edition of the Guardian.


The Guardian on Saturday is great for many reasons, Ben Goldacres Bad Science, Tim Dowlings hilarious column, the Writers rooms photo, but mostly the Coopers of Stortford advert in the magazine.




Coopers of Stortford (http://www.coopersofstortford.co.uk/) are a rather old fashioned mail order company who think they are selling cutting edge items, but in fact most of the things they sell are faitly ridiculous. This week was a real treat for Guardian readers everywhere, not only the usual advert but also a whole glossy brochure of items. This was truly a red letter day for Coopers fans everywhere.


You can go to their website yourself, but let me point a a few highlights...


"With identity theft on the increase every year, it's crucial you don't let personal documents fall into the wrong hands. These innovative ergonomically designed Security Scissors act like 5 pairs of scissors and effortlessly destroy sensitive statements, bills and receipts."


Which is essentially 5 pairs of scissors stuck together, all for the same price as an electronic shredder would cost in Argos.




"'Fly the flag' from your garden or premises with these patriotic flags and traditional flagpole. Now comes with both the British Union and English St.George's flags, making it ideal for supporting your country, St. George's day celebrations, The Queen's Birthday or whenever you are feeling patriotic! "


I know with me it's a feeling that comes and goes, and I always like to have a flag ready for the occasion.


and finally the deluxe Bible case, which provides "Transportation of all your worshipping needs".



I salute you Coopers of Stortford for making my weekend that little bit happier.

Rome - Part Seven - Spanish steps

One of the most famous tourist sites in Rome, in the past you would have picked up a hooker there, or unwittingly been enrolled into the Spanish army, but now is jam packed with people loitering and soaking up the atmosphere.

I was not expecting much, how exciting could steps be? In fact I was really impressed with the elegance and architecture of the whole area. Too busy to be romantic, but certainly has an atmosphere of its own, and from the top of the steps the view is fantastic.



I did mislead Ivonne into believing there was ice cream at the top, an honest mistake, but to be fair we did eat early that day and then find some ice cream after that!



As a vague connection with my last post, my new employer is Spanish, and it looks as though our jobs are safe for the foreseeable future, and in fact exciting new opportunities could develop from the takeover of the savings business - only time will tell! (I am an optimist, as my posts when SPCK was taken over will show (http://www.wibsite.com/wiblog/neil/read.php?19520), sometimes my optimism is misplaced though, lets hope this takeover is a little more positive)