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Sunday May 27, 2007
Bank Holidays and other wet weekends
On Friday evening, post curry, Rob and I watched a DVD created by one of his video students as course work. It is a "horror" story, containing love, murder, and body parts - all the elements required. Without wishing to be patronising, it was pretty good; most importantly I think it demonstrated an excellent talent for putting the video together to tell the story, which is after all what they were learning. However it made me look up a couple of (interesting) things on the web.
In addition to the short story she had included 2 other chapters on her DVD. Apart from a really nice spoof of "most haunted", she documented a little experiment. Using a night vision camera in the totally dark theatre, she filmed her fellow students experiencing psychic phenomena (or not). In addition to a number of young cynics, the film illustrated an interesting effect called "orbs" which are spots of light with apparently no source - and not visible to the participants at the time. She said she had "researched" the topic and that they are considered to be psychic in origin. Well - I had to follow this up didn't I? and they are indeed an interesting effect - and not entirely well understood or explained (I am thinking more in photographic terms) - but they seem to be part of the "crop circle" mind set, with more written about (what I believe to be) less likely explanations than probable ones.
The second element of her tale which interested me was a slight reference to "cellular memory" - used in her plot really more to be part of her ghost story - perhaps more akin to the "Mummy's Hand" genre than any pretence at a scientific basis. But it did remind me of the Alexander McCall Smith story from the Sunday Philosophy Club series, and again I was prompted to surf the net. [Unfortunately the references I found at the time are all broken links now so you will have to look into it yourself...].
So what a rich vein of intellectual ore the student DVD experience led me to. Quite a contrast to "Treats", the West End play we went to see on Saturday. It was the penultimate performance (matinee) so I feel OK about insulting it. It seemed a very weak topic, which if it had any interest deeper than that portrayed, I have to doubt its political correctness in expressing them - it seemed to imply a superficial view that women prefer rats and that's that. I was reminded strongly of Cowards "Design for Living" and felt the latter a much better play. Can't fault the cast though - which is why we were tempted to go and see it - Billy Piper (came to popular culture/TV fame in Dr Who), Kris Marshall (My Family), and Laurence Fox (Lewis). Sadly not worth anything like the ticket price, especially as it is a very short play - seemingly missing a third act - the one where everything comes to a point.
Today, making up for this disappointment, and with the weather steadily worsening, we went to the Screen at Reigate to see: Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End. Guaranteed to have a good time all round (Yo Ho Ho) even without the bottle of rum (shiver my timbers and pieces of eight). By contrast with the play, this was a very long film - but every second counted. As a bonus I was able to secretly knit all the way through as well - secretly, as knitting often distracts others I find, even though it does not distract me in any way!
Posted by Christina at 9:47 PM. Category: Days Out
