BlackFish

Last night I watched a documentary called “Blackfish” about an Orca Killer Whale called Tilikum who is “held captive” in Orlando’s Sea World. This is very eye opening and has changed my views about SeaWorld which I will boycott would encourage others to do the same and educate themselves by watching this documentary and reading more about this. 

 

Millions of visitors say watching orca Tilikum performing his amazing tricks with trainers was the highlight of many trips to SeaWorld Orlando. Yet few would know the predator was a killer of people, thought to be responsible for the deaths of two trainers and a drifter.

Since the last fatality, in 2010, trainers have been stopped going into the water with the orcas. But now SeaWorld is trying to overturn the ban.

Tilikum’s chilling tale is told in Blackfish, a new film that compiles evidence about incidents in the SeaWorld parks from trainers, experts and witnesses to some of the deaths. Ex-SeaWorld trainer Sam Berg, now 45, said: “There has not been a single incident of killer whales harming humans in the wild."In captivity, it’s happened more than 70 times.” She added: “Tilikum is not an evil animal – he is a highly intelligent, emotionally complex mammal. And we’ve made him psychotic.”

Tilikum was captured as a two-year-old calf by hunters off Iceland in 1983 and sold to Sealand of the Pacific in Canada. Instead of swimming 100 miles a day in the ocean with the rest of his pod, Tilikum was kept in a small pool with two unrelated, bullying females. Blackfish claims they repeatedly injured him and trainers deprived Tilikum of food if he did not do a trick properly. In 1991, Tilikum grabbed trainer Keltie Byrne, 20, from the poolside and drowned her, say witnesses.   At the time it was claimed she tripped, fell in and died of hypothermia.

 

Then when Iceland declined the chance to put Tilikum back in the wild, fearing he may be diseased, SeaWorld eagerly took him for their breeding programme. Sam said: “Tilikum was available and they jumped at it. They needed a breeder to make more killer whales to sell and bring in the crowds. "I don’t think anyone stopped to wonder if it was a good idea.”  Sam said staff were told that Keltie had fallen in and died and that Tilikum, not used to stimulation, thought her body was a toy.

In 1999 the naked and badly mauled body of drifter Daniel Dukes, 27, was found on Tilikum’s back as he swam around his pool one morning. The official line was this guy had jumped in and died and Tilikum just played with the body. There should have been several people there overnight and camera footage but, magically, there was no evidence.”

The most shocking death was that of experienced trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, in front of an audience in February 2010. She was lying next to Tilikum in a shallow part of the pool when he grabbed her in his teeth. Hundreds of people saw Dawn having her arm chewed off, being scalped and her breast bone snapped in two. Even after she died the huge beast continued to bite and toy with her body.  At first a SeaWorld spokesmen said Dawn’s ponytail had distracted Tilikum, then it was her own fault – she got too close.

 

 

Tilikum, now separate from other whales, spends long periods just floating in his pool. He has lost many of the teeth in his lower jaw from biting on metal gates and needs daily vet checks to flush out dead fish from the gaping holes left in his gums. Sam said he cannot be released or even rehomed but says it is not too late for a boycott of SeaWorld to make a difference for the rest of its 28 killer whales.

But Will Travers, of the Born Free Foundation, said: “It simply can’t be right. Massive, intelligent, highly social marine mammals, many caught from the wild, locked up for life for our so-called ‘entertainment’. “Blackfish tells it like it is and should spell the end of this form of wild animal exploitation.”

B-Movie Monsters

I am a huge fan of B-movies.

Here are a few samplers from the "genre" I would recommend ...

The Angry Red Planet (1960)

 What monster shall we have? A giant rat? A giant spider? No, let’s cut the legs off a spider and put them on a rat. But that’s going to look shit isn’t it? Don’t worry, it’s on Mars, we’ll do a weird red glow special effect on everything. Brilliant, let’s throw some bat bits on the bastard too. Sorted!And so the bat-rat-spider creature from The Angry Red Planet was born, the creators obviously thought that this giant abomination of nature wasn’t scary enough on its own and threw carnivorous plants, a giant amoeba and Martians in for good measure. This is one of my favourite B-movies, I love the monsters but the terrorised crew of the rocket ship are the stars. A guy who walks around smoking a pipe in a space ship, some moron who’s just amoeba fodder and the mission commander who starts chatting up the red-haired doctor who’s in charge of screaming before they’ve even launched.

 

The Trollenberg Terror (1958) aka The Crawling Eye

The Trollenberg Terror was called The Crawling Eye in America and that’s exactly what this B-movie beast is, a giant eye with tentacles. And tentacles mean lots of actors writhing around with a limp rubber special effects draped over them doing their best to look like their being attacked. It’s a staple of B-movies, I love the limp tentacle attack, it always brings out the best in an actor. Plus, these attacks usually end up with someone being decapitated and that’s never a bad thing.The deadly eyes don’t make an appearance until the latter half of this movie, there’s a lot of creepy fog first, which apparently inspired John Carpenter to make The Fog.

Also, the film is set in Switzerland and there’s lots of posters in the background for places I’ve been to. I’ve never come across The Creeping Eye while snowboarding but there’s always next year.

The Monolith Monsters (1957)

Big black stones that grow to gigantic proportions. That’s not scary. Then the massive monoliths topple and all the smashed up smithereens grow until there’s giant black stone towers covering everywhere. Still not that scary. If you touch the stone it sucks all the silicon out of your skin and you turn to stone. Christ, run away!See, stones can be scary, especially with that classic Universal creepy music blasting out whenever there’s a shot of a rock. Actually, this film is a top notch B-movie classic. It’s not as well known as some but it’s a genuinely good old sci-fi film.The cast of usual suspects, including the square-jawed all-American hero and the brilliant nosey local journalist, some great performances and any movie with the tag line Mammoth skyscrapers of stone thundering across the earth! just has to be brilliant.

Fiend Without a Face (1958)

Invisible monsters suck out your brains! That’s the tag line for this brilliant piece of B-movie magic. But these little critters aren’t from outer space, they were thought into existence by a brilliantly barmy professor using just the power of his mind helped by some atomic energy he’s pilfered from the local Air Force base.The little shits then start terrorising the town by sucking the brains right out of people, but remember, they’re still invisible so there’s some quality over-acting during the early attacks. Don’t worry, they don’t stay invisible for long. After a dose of radiation the mischievous flying brains with spinal cords for tails and antennae, for some reason, start garrotting people left, right and centre.It’s hard to believe that on its release the film got banned in some places, perhaps people laughed themselves to death. Anyway, watch it, and also watch out for the leading ladies chest, it looks like a couple of the Fiends smuggled themselves away under her sweater… a sequel perhaps!

The Giant Claw (1957)

 What’s that in the sky? OMG! It’s a gigantic goggle-eyed turkey with a protective shield of anti-matter. The big bird beast in the Giant Claw has to be one of the stupidest looking movie monsters of all time but it still takes our scientists a while to outwit the feathered simpleton swooping from the skies terrorising a world made up of stock footage. Perhaps they would have got the job done faster if they’d concentrated more on the science instead of their bizarre long-winded metaphors that I think meant they wanted to shag each other.Brilliant B-movie script and one of the funniest monsters ever.

 

 

Kid's Gangs

Although I am a bit too old to start my own "Kid's Gang" this maybe of importance to my son in the future so I better publish this just in case.

Kid gangs come in many forms and there are many reasons that you might need to start a kid gang. If monsters are invading your town, form a kid gang. If you are a member of a sports team who against-all-odds has to win the championship this year, you’d better have a kid gang. To be a successful kid gang, you have to have the right kind of talent. To understand the list of the prerequisite roles you’ll need to form your own kid gang, we look to the greatest kid gang of all time: The Goonies.

Michael “Mikey” Walsh: The Leader

Every group needs a leader, and Mikey is the unofficial captain of the Goonies. Like any good leader, he knows the strengths and weaknesses of his friends, from asking Data for a flashlight to handing Chunk the frame that contains the map.The leader of a kid gang must be someone others look to for answers and direction, someone who can give inspiring speeches when the gang is thinking about quitting. Also see Gordie Lachancein Stand By Me.

Clark “Mouth” Devereaux: The Loudmouth
No kid gang is complete without a loudmouth, obnoxious slickster. Mouth, as denoted by his nickname, plays his role superbly. He possesses the boldness that is required to lie directly to parents or the authorities. Also see Teddy Duchamp in Stand By Me.

 Richard “Data” Wang: The Brain

On more than one occasion Data’s contraptions saved the day. Pinchers of Power™, Slick Shoes™, the Threat-Alerted Boxing Glove all worked when it mattered. You’ll never achieve your goal without gadgetry. What would James Bond be without Q? Also good to have a “Minority” in the game, also see Token in Southpark: Bigger, Longer & Uncut or Lewis in The Simpsons Movie.

Lawrence “Chunk” Cohen: The Fat Kid

What do you get when you combine being overweight and clumsy? Comic relief! Whether it’s the Truffle Shuffle or a simple splitting of the pants,your kid gang will need a fat kid. Also, the clumsiness proved to be beneficial in more than one occasion. Also see Eric Cartman in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Ralph Wiggum in The Simpsons Movie and Vern Tessio in Stand By Me.

Brandon “Brand” Walsh: The Big Brother

Brand didn’t want to spend his day chasing his brother around town; he had a date with Andy. But all kid gangs need a keeper–some older brother type who is charged with the duty of keeping his sibling and friends in line. Also see Chris Chambers in Stand By Me

Lotney “Sloth” Fratelli: The Monster

Hidden in a dark and dreary basement is a monster who, after a couple candy bars and some ice cream, becomes the gang’s greatest friend. The once mysterious beast turns out to be generally misunderstood and becomes a member of the gang, a mascot. Also see Satan in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and Ray Brower “The Body” in Stand By Me.

The Fratellis: The Evil Gang

Dressed in black and led by the crackling voice of Ma Fratelli, this evil gang devises a plan to go after the Goonies and steal the rich stuff right out of their hands (or in some cases, a mouth). And they would have gotten away with it too, had it not been for these meddling kids! Also see Ace Merril & His Gang in Stand By Me, Vampires Led by Max & David in The Lost Boys, M.A.C. “Mothers Against Canada” in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and The Environmental Protection Agency in The Simpsons Movie.

The Office

I have been a huge fan of Ricky Gervais’s THE OFFICE ever since its first season. And, up to and including the very last episode and the Christmas specials. The Series was original in its premise and execution, the pseudo-documentary (mockumentary) format opening up numerous previously little explored avenues of storytelling. And it was great fun to watch. Gervais also stars in the series, playing the central character, David Brent. Two six-episode series were made, along with a pair of 45-minute Christmas specials. When it was first shown on BBC Two, it was nearly cancelled due to low ratings, but has since become one of the most successful of all British comedy exports. Although very funny it’s also a study in social clumsiness, the trivialities of human behaviour

The setting (the office of a small branch of paper-selling company called Wernham Hogg in Slough) and the stories (everyday life of the people found working in such a low-prospects jobs) seem mundane at first. And there lies the magic of the creators. It is extremely hard to make excellent TV with only the everyday grind to work with. It seems effortless only because they made it look easy.

UK The office

The brief one-way interviews each character had with the camera functioned as either prefatory summaries of stories about to unfold (building up the anticipation) or as instances of pushing back, yet never breaking, the forth wall, and, thus, making the viewing experience more personal and involving. All without the show ever loosing its step.

I was sad when there was no more office episodes left to watch, I heard about the American version starring Steve Carell but I was very sceptical and thought the US version would not be able to hold a light to the UK version ….but how wrong was I!!!!!!!

The US series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company

US The Office

Producing, directing and writing will only get you so far without the right cast. And THE OFFICE  (USA) enjoys such stellar cast. Steve Carell may have risked getting typecast by creating the unforgettable character of Michael Scott but it was worth it. Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) served first as the precarious love interest and then as the familiar friends you care about and the rest of the cast was one successful pick after another. From hypochondriac and hypercritical (not to mention hypocritical) Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) to perky Kelly Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper), I could not imagine anyone else portraying these memorable characters. However, the show stealer has always been obsessive nerd Dwight Schrute, portrayed to perfection by Rainn Wilson.

Purists and snobs will try to argue that the precursor BBC Series was better. Strangely for someone who usually finds Hollywood remakes watered down and bland, in this case I strongly disagree. The US version was much better. It had the perfect mix of familiar workday desperation and sweet quirkiness to make it a weekly craved addiction. In contrast, I found the BBC version could at times be a wee bit too mean. Maybe one should have grown up in a cruel class system carved out by accent hues and prep-school rankings to appreciate it; however, during the handful of episodes I managed to watch I found myself laughing at the characters, not with them, and then felt bad about it. Anyway, in all honesty, how could Gareth ever compare to Dwight!

The series is unique in another aspect as well: it respected its viewers. Every producer, director and writer wants to make his or hers memorable splash so we often end up with unnecessary cliffhangers, ambiguous endings or unsatisfying closures. Not so with THE OFFICE. No spoilers but I will just state that the show does not disappoint .

There are 9 seasons of the US The Office, so far I am on season 5 and it just does not relent, its so very good and I would recommend it if you enjoyed the UK version.