On the radio show this week I mentioned this YouTube video, in which the life of former Doctor Who producer/writer/director Barry Letts was commemorated through the medium of ukulele.
I am GENUINELY not being sarcastic when I say I found this quite touching, and I hope that when I leave this mortal coil someone will sing my obituary in an online ukulele tribute. Probably without references to Moonbase 3, though.
(My only reservation is that a huge string section should swell up in the middle of the song, while the camera spins around and around and around – but that’s my main criticism of real life, too).
So thank you, Will Howells, for taking the time to strum through the tears, and thank you, Barry Letts, for making my childhood more magical. You will be missed.
As you probably know, The Outland Institute is not my only podcast. Oh no. I pod around. And this week the Boxcutters podcast celebrated it’s 200th show – to put that in perspective, in dog years we’d be dead by now. Our guest was Myf Warhurst, meaning I’ve now interviewed two-thirds of the Spicks & Specks team (and Adam Hills did once hold a door open for me, which is much the same thing). You can hear Boxcutters by going here, and remember you can download The Outland Institute podcasts here. Curiously, the TV Tonight website ran an article about Boxcutters‘ achievement calling us “a guilty pleasure”, which surprised me. I think of guilty pleasures as “eating a whole packet of Deb instant potato” or “jerking off in a supermarket carpark“. I would have considered Boxcutters to be simply “a pleasure“. Or even “a delight“.
Anyway, reaching this milestone made me think – what are these podcast things, anyway? So I decided to find out what the crazy kids were doing by actually listening to some of them. They’re surprisingly good – I had no idea. Here are some I’ve been enjoying lately (click on the titles to go to their websites)…
Since I still haven’t finished setting up the Almost Fabulous site, I thought I’d give you a sneak peek at this week’s tribute to Alan Turing. You can find the audio version (complete with bonus jokes!) in episode 11 of the radio show, downloadable from iTunes or direct from here.
When we started the Almost Fabulous project, all those years ago, our goal was to bring attention and love to those potential queer icons who had been left out in the cold. At that time I considered including mathematician and cryptologist Alan Turing, but decided he was already a well-known and celebrated figure. After all, he has been the subject of award-winning plays and documentaries, and in 1999 Time Magazine named him as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.
But since the comments of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown put Turing back in the media this month, I thought it was time to re-acquaint ourselves with this extraordinary gay man.
In the 1930s Turing was a mathematician working at Cambridge and later Princeton University, working on algorithms, theories of computation and – like any uni student – building simple electro-mechanical binary multipliers. Little did he know that years later his work would lead to the personal computer and the most efficient porn delivery system the world has ever known.
But as important as his work on computers is – and seriously, without him we wouldn’t be able to watch footage of cats on treadmills on YouTube, so for that alone, Mr Turing, we salute you – it’s his work during World War II that makes him a bona-fide hero.
Australian cinema-goers have their chance this month to enjoy the glory of Anvil: The Story Of Anvil. This documentary follows veteran heavy metal band Anvil as they attempt to bring their sound to the masses. Glibly described as “a real life Spinal Tap”, Anvil: The Story Of Anvil is an exploration of the glory of music, and is full of heart. And hair. John talked to Robb Reiner (not that Rob Reiner), the drummer of Anvil, about fame, ambition and music.
You’re travelling the world, you’re supporting AC/DC, your albums are being re-released, all effectively on the back of a documentary about how you’re not successful. Is that ironic?
Well, it’s ironic that we have been successful in my point of view, the fact that we’ve recorded 13 albums and we’ve been touring for 30 years. But mainstream success is what’s now coming about. It’s a great thing, the movie shows the truth, it tells the story, people are engaging and it’s a great thing.
On the radio show today, Glenn and I discussed the Observer Film Quarterly’s recent list of the top 25 British films from the last 25 years. Here is the list:
1. Trainspotting (1996)
2. Withnail and I (1987)
3. Secrets & Lies (1996)
4. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988)
5. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
6. Nil By Mouth (1997)
7. Sexy Beast (2000)
8. Ratcatcher (1999)
9. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
10. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
11. Touching the Void (2003)
12. Hope and Glory (1987)
13. Control (2007)
14. Naked (1993)
15. Under the Skin (1997)
16. Hunger (2008)
17. This Is England (2006)
18. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
19. Dead Man’s Shoes (2004)
20. Red Road (2006)
21. Riff-Raff (1991)
22. Man On Wire (2008)
23. My Summer of Love (2004)
24. 24 Hour Party People (2002)
25. The English Patient (1996)
Having done no actual research, we said the list felt a bit like it was thrown together by some people in the office, effectively “here are 25 films we can think of”.
Turns out that’s about right – according to The Observer“we asked more than 60 experts – directors, screenwriters, actors, critics – and a few smart “outsiders” (novelist Jonathan Coe, for instance; musician Nitin Sawhney) to name their top 10 British films since 1984″.
For the seventh episode of the Outland Institute Radio Show we were joined by comedian, actor, musician and New Zealander Alan Brough. It was a pleasure to have him in the studio, as we chatted about Spicks & Specks, growing up, acting, terrible stories, and Alan’s pearls of wisdom such as “What day isn’t made better by Haysi Fantayzee?”. You can hear the full interview by downloading it from here, but here are some highlights:
Every time I mentioned you were coming in, people would say “That Alan Brough, I’d like to hug him”. Are you Australia’s most huggable comedian?
I never really thought about it before, but I’m willing to test that out. I do – after I’ve had a couple of glasses of red wine – and anyone who knows me will know that’s very seldom – I do like to hug people. Particularly small people. Just lifting them up, picking them up and holding on to them. Rove McManus is good for that. Not for name-dropping, but he was the first tiny person who sprung to mind. But that area of person. I love to pick them up. Cos they’re helpless. They can struggle all they like, but they’re like a salmon caught in the claw of a bear.
You and Myf Warhurst seem incredibly nice on Spicks & Specks, are you like that in real life?
If this is possible, Myf is even nicer in real life than she is on the telly. It’s quite difficult to understand. I thought it was physically impossible to be nicer than she comes across on the TV, but she is. I, on the other hand, am just sad. And when I’m not sad I’m fuelled with a rage that comes from an incalculable depth.
But that’s comedy, isn’t it? Many comedians seem to be bitter, nasty individuals who hide behind a thin veneer of humour…
My veneer is being redone at the moment, so it’s just pure rage for me.
Everyone on the show – bar me – is genuinely nice, and we do get on extremely well. And to be perfectly honest I don’t see the point in people being awful to each other on the television. You get enough of that in life, from your family, from people on the tram, in bars… I was reading about Masterchef, and someone said what they loved about it was that you wanted these people to be your friends. As opposed to a lot of reality shows where you want to find these people and kill them.
Today’s guest lecturer, Tim Richards, looks at the controversial topic of libation vilification…
“You are going to have a piece of policy that comes direct from the manic monkey cafe of inner-suburbia nirvana-ville straight to you!”
Well, crikey. When Senator Barnaby Joyce frothed over (like a vigorously prepared cappuccino) with these words in Canberra in June, a few thoughts occurred to me:
1) Canberra has that effect on people.
2) Where can I find this Manic Monkey Cafe?
3) And do they do good lattes?
Which then led me to reflect on the time-honoured practice of conservative commentators using beverages as insults…
This article originally appeared on the Aerohaveno travel blog, as well as Lonely Planet’s website.
I don’t think there are enough museums dedicated to food.
Yes, I hear you scoff. “What about the Museu de la Xocolata, or Museum Of Chocolate, in Barcelona?” I hear you say. “Or that German Bratwurst Museum in the small village of Holzhausen near the Erfurt in Thuringia?”
Well, yes, those are obvious. But why has Australia never opened a tourist centre to worship the meat pie? Or a National Institute Of Lamington? Not only would these centres boost tourism and celebrate Aussie culture, they could even be housed in buildings could be shaped like Enormous Things. A Big Pie, for example, or a Giant Lamington. You can see the commemorative snowdomes now, can’t you?
Like coffee and fascism, this is something the Italians do best. I can never visit Rome without popping into the Museo Nazionale delle Paste Alimentari, or National Museum of Pasta Foods.
Hello lovely readers. Or lovely listeners. Or lovely “reaners”, if you do both.
I’ve added a page (to the right of the “home” above) where all the info about the radio show will live, so you can read playlists, see who is being interviewed, and various show notes. This will be a static page that will be updated at the top (shows in reverse order), as WordPress doesn’t seem to allow me to have two pages with multiple posts on them. You can, of course, leave comments there.
As requested, I am also going to set up a separate site for the Almost Fabulous segment, so you will be able to play embedded audio and read the text. I will get this done as soon as possible. Honest.
And thank you for your kind words. And your kind vowels. And your friendly punctuation.
Acclaimed author Doug MacLeod talks about writing for Young People, Steve from Glitter & Tonic visits the Forever Barbie Exhibition (so you don’t have have to), Narrelle M Harris discusses the CSI Effect, Glenn Dunks looks at what happens when stage musicals go to the cinema, Josh Kinal goes rant-tastic over Masterchef, Almost Fabulous visits the 19th Century, and Adam C’sCrime Against Pop was Filter Section’s singular cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit.
Please do not reveal the secret ending to your friends. All this and our musical challenge too!
Posted by outlandinstitute 
Posted by outlandinstitute 
Posted by outlandinstitute 
