Bob Dylan on XM

Walking to "work" today - reading the newspaper - I was stopped dead in my tracks by the totally unexpected news that Bob Dylan is to host his own weekly (!) radio show on XM, which is a satellite radio station straight out of Nashville Tennessee.

If you've listened to his music or read his biography "Chronicles" then you'll know that the thing that defines him as a musician is restless creative spirit and his admiration for other artists, something that will no doubt be reflected in his choice of music. In a statement, Dylan is reported as saying:

"Songs and music have always inspired me. A lot of my own songs have been played on the radio, but this is the first time I've ever been on the other side of the mic. It'll be as exciting for me as it is for XM."

He isn't the only one who is excited, I so thrilled by the news that I'm considering subscribing to XM, especially as it seems to be a pretty funky broadcaster. Lee Abrams, XM's chief creative officer, told the New York Times he had been wooing Dylan for 18 months, and the programme would offer fans a close connection with him.

"We want to make it as comfortable for him as possible," Mr Abrams said, adding that the satellite radio show would be broadcast from "a combination of home and hotel rooms and buses. He'll really be in his element.

"This will be a peek inside the mind of one of the most important singer-songwriters of the 20th century. He's a mystery to most people."

Tidings of comfort & joy

For the past week I have been wandering around humming Christmas songs to myself. Needless to say this has been mildly distracting to my colleagues. However, because of my chirpy mood I did learn a new Japanese word - hanauta (はなうた) - the fact that this roughly translates as "nose singing" is perhaps the most fantastic thing I have heard all week.

Back to the point, the reason for my festive mood has something to do with the fact that a) I am looking forward to returning home for Christmas to see my family and friends and b) I've been making Christmas mix CDs.

Whilst stitching together these magnificent compilations I kept stumbling across the heart rending beautiful songs of Sufjan Stevens and his banjo. Words fail me in attempting to express just how gorgeous his music is - it feels like someone has just ripped out my heart.

If you doubt me - or think I exaggerate - then I suggest you listen to his three Christmas albums , which are a delicious treat and are guaranteed to warm your heart through the cold winter nights.

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MP3: I Saw Three Ships - Sufjin Stevens

Interview

Santa: An engineer's perspective.

So get this - there's no such person as Santa Claus, and I've got the proof...

Pass the Turkish Delights...

Christmas is a magical time, which probably goes some way towards explaining why fantasy films are so popular at this time of year, that and the fact that it is bloody freezing outside. Still there is definitely something to be said for watching an escapist movie at christmas, which is precisely what I intend to do this festive season.

The question is, what to watch? The obvious contender is King Kong, which despite my misgivings (I adore the original) looks like it will live up to Peter Jackson's love of the old b-movie flick.

However, King Kong, whilst it is fantastical isn't exactly fantasy in the same way that the Lord of the Rings trilogy is and seeing as we no longer have those installments to look forward to (at least not until New Line and MGM / Sony decide to resolve the rights issue so Jackson could film The Hobbit) then I guess I will have to find an alternative.

Pickings were looking thin until I came across these clips and trailer of The Chronicles of Narnia and I was blown away. It looks like a perfect Christmas movie and seems to have captured the magic of the books which I so much enjoyed hearing read to me by my Mum when I was a kid.

So my Mum and I have resolved that we are going to go and see this film together when I return to the UK, which is something I am really looking forward to.

However, it is curious that I should be so excited about going to see this movie because there are many flaws in the books, not least of which is the rather heavy handed Christian allegory which is at the heart of Narnia. I am not alone in thinking this way, as Peter Bradshaw wrote in the Friday's review this week, "many adults like me, who after loving the book as children went through a long post-adolescent phase of hysterically repudiating it after the Christian-humanist parable was explained."

As a Christian, I myself have problems with CS Lewis somewhat clumsy allegories, as Alison Lurie wrote in the Guardian this week,

"Lewis, however, had a preference for what used to be called "muscular Christianity", which recommended a strong and even militant faith, and the portrayal of Christ as athletic and super-masculine. This may have been responsible for his choice of a beautiful but terrifying lion the size of a small elephant as his allegorical figure of Jesus, rather than something nearer to the traditional innocent, meek and mild Lamb of God."

That's not all, charges of sexism, militancy, racism have also beleaguered the land of Narnia in recent years, which is probably why it has taken movie producers so long to bring it to the big screen. Whilst it is true that The Chronicles of Narnia isn't without its faults, it is what it is and it is of its time and is therefore subject to the beliefs and prejudices of its time and place. However, there is no denying that is a cracking good adventure story, a flight of the imagination which children of all ages can loose themselves in. On this matter I think I should let Alison Lurie, she states that we should:

"forgive Lewis's faults because of his occasional moments of imaginative triumph, some of which also involve incongruous juxtapositions. The scene at the beginning of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, for instance, when Lucy walks into a wardrobe full of fur coats and comes out into a snowy winter landscape lit by a London street lamp, demonstrates even to a critic that sometimes anachronism can be magical, if only temporarily."

Geek movies

Get over to the Guardian's website and cast your vote for your all time favorite geek movie. There seems to be a little confusion over what consitiutes a geek, as opposed to a nerd, nevermind what actually makes a "geek movie."

I digress.

For the purposes of this survey I small restrict it to movies not necessarily about computers and technology, but then again not completely divorced from them. They should have a sci-fi flavour to them and should foremost make you think. For what it's worth here is my list:

1. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)
2. Pi (Darren Aronofsky, 1998)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
   
4. Twelve Monkeys (Terry Gilliam, 1995)
5. eXistenz (David Cronenberg, 1999)
6. Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997)
   
7. Dark Star (John Carpenter, 1974)

What would you choose?

MUSIC: 80's one hit wonder

That this beautiful song should have been recommended to me by my sweetheart all the way over in Kabul dodging suicide attacks, is pretty awesome I think.

In fact, I would go as far to say that this would not have happened under the Taliban...

Not only did they not like music per se, but they were pretty antagonistic towards strong beautiful women who expressed themselves. Something that can be said both of this song and my beloved.

The song itself is a gem, and I can not believe I have never heard it before. It starts off with a joyous piano introduction and then some husky Kate Bush-ish singing:

"I've been undressed by Kings and I've seen some things that a women ain't supposed to see,
I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me."

The lyrics are touching, the melody gorgeous and then - all of a sudden - the song shifts a gear and kicks into a really powerful feminist monologue. Love it, makes me want to go back to the eighties again.

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Download: Charlene - I've Never Been to me
Buy it here in a wonderful selection of one hit wonders from the 80s.

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A blog by Al Jazeera Staffers

Al-Jazeera has just launched a really informative blog called don't bomb us in order to address the issue of President Bush wanting to bomb the Qutar-based news organisation during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Wadah Khanfar, the director general of Al-Jazeera wrote an extremely informative article for the Guardian this week detailing the controversy.

If you believe that Al-Jazeera is nothing but a mouthpiece of terrorists I highly recommend that you take a look at their their blog as it is the embodiment of open jouranlism, accountability and progressive thinking.