Month: January 2020

  • Force fields explorer racing home the ancient star

    Force fields explorer racing home the ancient star

    SALLY SALT: Who are you really? Baron Munchausen isn't real. He's only in stories.
    BARON MUNCHAUSEN: Go away! I'm trying to die. 
    SALLY: Why?
    BARON: Because I'm tired of the world. And the world is evidently tired of me.
    SALLY: But why? Why?
    BARON: Because it's all logic and reason now. Science. Progress. Laws of hydraulics. Laws… of social dynamics. Laws of this, that… and the other. No place for three-legged cyclops… in the South Seas. No place… for cucumber trees… and oceans of wine. No place for me.

       The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Terry Gilliam, 1988)


    Increasingly, I see myself morphing into a latter-day version of Baron Munchausen, the fictional fabulist whose tall tales and extraordinarily impossible adventures seemed to paint the rationalism of his Eighteenth Century into sharp relief. Terry Gilliam’s 1988 production starring John Neville is one of my fondest movies and, at heart, I’ve always stood on Munchausen’s side of reality.

    My child-like view of things just doesn’t cope well with the weird, authoritarian and quite joyless ways that people in charge of other people construct purposeless, labyrinthine and abstract methods of controlling work. I have no grasp of the rigid, tightly-structured world they inhabit. I’ve long believed that this was done to simply provide those in charge with their psychopathic fix of exerting humiliating power over others and wanting to stamp their PowerPoint-bulleted brand on the souls of those whom they command. I saw it as a result of individuals – a lot of individuals, mind you – rather than something systemic. Now, I’m coming to the realisation that it’s something even darker: it’s a viral joylessness. An infection of the spirit. One that insists on rules and laws and narrow, reductive ways of doing things. It spreads on the tongues of managers and festers in the very desperate being of those who’ve been relentlessly taught to servetheir whole lives. It feeds on apathy and fear. And it is wrong.

    If something is joyless then it is definitely something to resist. The choice is stark: resist or serve.

    I will continue to resist.

    In the movie, the Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson, the rationalist leader of the war campaign against the Turks encounters the Baron and tells him “I’m afraid, sir, you have rather a weak grasp of reality.” Without hesitation, the Baron retorts: “Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash… and I’m delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever!”

    Your reality, sir… Your reality.

  • Mind Hive (2020)

    Mind Hive (2020)

    Tremendous.

    Wire’s new album is atmospheric. Autumnal. Claustrophobic. Menacing even. It’s like the nights drawing in. For me, it’s very much a brutal soundtrack to the period we’re currently living through. Droning guitars and dark-ambient synths (developing from their 2016 album, Nocturnal Koreans and 2017’s Silver/Lead). Newman and Lewis sing about Russian oligarchs, populism, state-sanctioned mass-killing, the hopelessness of conformity, those left washed up on the margins.

    Wire have always drawn heavily on a cut-up, surrealistic approach to lyrics, often mixing the personal and societal. According to bassist/singer Graham Lewis about the song Primed & Ready, “The lyric/text for this song could be read as a series of questions, set in 2017,.. Who could have known the answers would be, in no particular order … Liverpool FC, me, Boris the Spider, 67, Lieutenant Colonel.”

    The opening track, Be Like Them, seems to be a commentary on the way media manipulates: “They play it all for you / They explain it all to you… / Demanding you too / Be like them”. It’s a clear warning about the hive mind culture that seems all-too-readily to threaten.

    So far, I like the entire album. Tracks I particularly like are: Off the Beach, Be Like Them, Cactused, Primed and Ready.

  • Old man don’t lay so still, you’re not yet young

    Old man don’t lay so still, you’re not yet young

    Back to work after my surgery. I’d expected pain at some point during the day… but nothing. I guess I’ve moved beyond feeble stage now.

    We watched the first episode of Succession, the HBO drama. Incredibly engaging (though every time we saw Brian Cox, I couldn’t get Bob Servant out of my head).

  • When feeding time has come and gone They’ll lose their heart and head for home

    When feeding time has come and gone They’ll lose their heart and head for home

    Bearing in mind I take surveys and polls with a terribly large pinch of salt, the report by Mintel, consumer analysts, about the growth of vegan products in the UK suggests a number of things:

    • only 1% of UK are vegan (not sure this shows any change);
    • 88% of Britons who eat non-meat substitutes say they would still eat meat
    • in the report, people do not appear to cite animal cruelty or exploitation as a reason for not eating meat:

    When asked about the benefits of eating less meat, 25% of consumers cited improving the environment, while 32% said it helped to improve health and 31% said it saved them money.

    I’m not sure what the label flexiterian actually means other than to make people think they are being novel or doing something environmental or rebelling in some way. I still can’t get over seeing the couple in the supermarket who declared they were looking forward to eating steak after they finish Veganuary!

    Watched this great little video from The Tate about Surrealism fronted by Peter Capaldi:

    [su_youtube url=“https://youtu.be/uPD6okhfGzs”]

    Not sure what I really achieved today. Time, as I keep telling myself, seems to speed past.

  • Chronic town, poster torn, reaping wheel

    Chronic town, poster torn, reaping wheel

    Jan had me up at 5am and the day didn’t seem to get any better. I made the mistake of taking him down slides at a children’s play centre and antagonising my wound. Foolish.

  • He’s cooking in the woods, a brush fire in your neck

    He’s cooking in the woods, a brush fire in your neck

    Today I’ve been thinking about a couple of environmental articles I’ve read. Both present a similar viewpoint: individual changes to consumption or recycling won’t impact the environmental crisis the planet is facing.

    The first, I work in the environmental movement. I don’t care if you recycle. by Mary Anaise Heglar, argues against apathy, despair and a sense of nihilism that pervades some of the environmental debate. Industries and governments have transferred responsibility onto individuals and “it’s victim blaming, plain and simple.” Heglar says:

    We need to let go of the idea that it’s all of our individual faults, then take on the collective responsibility of holding the true culprits accountable.

    She explains that “environmentalism’ is often seen as personal consumption and that it becomes reduced to what products individuals use and their zero-waste lifestyles. Industry has been pitching this as the environmental narrative since the 1970s, Heglar says, and its over-emphasis on consumers as the cause of the problems.

    Her argument is that individuals actions will not solve the climate crisis:

    …the more we focus on individual action and neglect systemic change, the more we’re just sweeping leaves on a windy day. So while personal actions can be meaningful starting points, they can also be dangerous stopping points.

     

    Heglar insists that political action is what is required. She isn’t interested in how environmentally-friendly anyone is, only that they want a “livable future”. It’s straightforward, sensible advice.

    Likewise, the positive and practical piece, How to Stop Freaking Out and Tackle Climate Change by Emma Mariss, sets out five steps those who are worried about environmental damage to the planet should take: stop feeling guilt, focus on political change, join an effective campaigning organisation and – importantly – have a vision of the world you want to see.

    Martin views political, systematic change as the means of tackling climate catastrophe: “It misleads us into thinking that we have agency only by dint of our consumption habits — that buying correctly is the only way we can fight climate change.” She goes on to argue that, even if someone could reduce their environmental impact to zero, individual

    My point is that the climate crisis is not going to be solved by personal sacrifice. It will be solved by electing the right people, passing the right laws, drafting the right regulations, signing the right treaties — and respecting those treaties already signed, particularly with indigenous nations. It will be solved by holding the companies and people who have made billions off our shared atmosphere to account.

    She advises joining an effective campaigning group and finding a contributing role (“Take care not to overdo it at first and risk burning out. Set a sustainable level of involvement for yourself and keep it up.”)

    One of her most important points is that campaigners should be fighting for something rather than against. It’s vital to have a vision of the future, she says, and presents hers:

    Imagine dense but livable cities veined with public transit and leafy parks, infrastructure humming away to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, fake meat that tastes better than the real thing, species recovering and rewilding the world, the rivers silver with fish, the skies musical with flocking birds… This is a future in which children don’t need to take to the streets in protest and alarm, because their parents and grandparents took action. Instead, they are climbing trees.

    During today, The Guardian broke a story about non-violent organisations like Greenpeace and PETA being on the list of Prevent issued to schools and other public sector workers.

    When people dismiss statements about the right-wing, anti-democratic nature of the current political regime, it’s worth pointing out that one feature of authoritarian regimes is to only allow forms of protest that they consider allowable. Grouping peaceful protest groups with violent, racist ones is certainly a way of attempting to frighten people from dissent. It’s very worrying if teachers are expected to report children for becoming interested in environmental or animal rights politics.

  • I will hide and you will hide And we shall hide together here

    I will hide and you will hide And we shall hide together here

    Another day recovering. Better than yesterday where my wound hurt every time I moved and throbbed continually through the day. I forget that when you are “ill” or “recovering” that’s what you’re actually doing. Last week I imagined I could recuperate by reading and writing, popping out a little. In reality it’s been hard to do very much except sit watch 25 year old episodes of The X-files and feeling grim. The days go quickly, so even if I did want to be hyper-productive, I wouldn’t get the time before the kids are back and the evening routine begins. No doubt it’s the perception of time I have at this stage in my life. When I was a teenager I would spend sprawling, endless days hanging out with friends. Now time is furious in its passage. Or maybe it always was.

    Saying that, I did manage to do some writing this morning. Not a great deal. But some. After listening to an interview with Paul Tremblay yesterday, I just need to be a little more measured in how much I need to write each day.

    Listened to James O’Brien on LBC, too. He was baiting some of his odious listeners about Greta Thunberg and climate crisis. O’Brien antagonises his audience because he clearly tells them how they operate. They are angry but don’t know why they are angry, he tells them. They angrily argue with him only to not know why they are arguing with him. Caller after caller phones in to tell him he’s wrong, but unable to explain how he’s wrong. They just know he’s wrong, they tell him. He describes them as stupid and more phone in to attempt to wrestle with him. There’s no trick with O’Brien: he is a sharp, careful rationalist. He explains his thought processes and why he thinks as he does. Those disagreeing with O’Brien can’t cope with that type of self-reflectivity. They don’t want to know themselves (probably because they loath themselves and the lives they lead) and want to transfer their resentments onto others: remainers, Megan Markle, socialists. Today they tell him they dislike Greta Thunberg, They don’t need a little girl to tell them about climate crisis. They don’t like her. But they do like David Attenborough. Why don’t we hear from experts? they moan plaintively. When O’Brien points out that Thunberg and Attenborough tell people to listen to experts, his listeners don’t want to know. We know the truth, they think. Fake news, they whisper to themselves.

  • This is some parade, yesiree Bob

    This is some parade, yesiree Bob

    Magazine reading. I subscribe to Wire magazine and it’s great to see the main feature is about Wire and their new album. Also read some tech magazines… but the less said about this nerdish preoccupation, the better.

    Very sore after my walk out yesterday. Surely I didn’t overdo it just having a little walk. I was told that someone’s partner took 6 weeks to get over a similar operation and go back to work. I’m looking at going back on Monday!

    Listened to an episode of The Writers Panel podcast interview with Paul Tremblay that was very interesting in terms of his writing methods (how, how much, music, etc). Tremblay impresses by his self-determination and ownership of his craft.

    Also read Ken Lui’s story, Paper Menagerie. It’s the first work of fiction to win all three of SF’s major awards: the Hugo, the Nebula and the World Fantasy Award. It’s an upsetting story about an American boy who can’t forget that his father bought his Chinese mother from a catalogue. His mother, who barely speaks English, creates animals out of folded paper that move to express her love for him. It has a tearful ending.

  • But the wire, the wire turned to lizard skin And when he climbed it sagged

    But the wire, the wire turned to lizard skin And when he climbed it sagged

    Managed to get out today for a short time on my own. It was wet and windy but I needed to see how mobile I actually am and if there’s a current limit on how long I can be on my feet before if I have any pain. I managed to walk into town and from there to pick up Soren from school. Feeling it now a little, of course.

    Watched an episode of The X-files, “3”, about vampires. It’s likely that the last – and only – time I saw this episode was in the nineties. I have a distinct memory of disliking it. I think I was troubled by the subject-matter: a fetish-scene crossing over with vampires and, particularly, Mulder’s simmering gothic-noir hero sexuality (at the end he smoulders, wearing his white shirt unbuttoned in a perfect modern representation of a nineteenth century Romantic hero). No doubt I didn’t like his attraction for the damaged femme fatale. The cod-Anne Rice vibe also would have irritated me.

    Twenty-five years later – crikey! this was aired a long time ago – I actually appreciate it far more and it makes me realise how my tastes have changed or, which is more likely, how superficial my “reading” of things used to be. It’s no masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but there are some pretty engaging things going on in the episode. The styling of the episode is very nineties, especially the vivid saturated colouring (the completely red interrogation scene stands out for instance). The fetish LA nightclub scene is also of the period and reminds me of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and a hundred other movies and shows at that time that tried to stage alt culture scenes. I also like the femme fatale. We’re misdirected into thinking she’s part of the trinity of vampires and it’s only in the final act that we realise that Mulder has worked out she’s actually the victim, the prey of the vampires. She’s damaged: first by an abusive father and then a violent lover. She mixes up violence (and its product, blood) for love and Mulder positions himself to be her saviour. (Though I think today we’d question how he could justify allowing a romantic – or at least physical/sexual – relationship to develop between them. Maybe he’s vulnerable without Scully.) The ending of the episode is rushed and a little clunky but, overall, I think it’s a worthy standalone (Scully-less) episode.

  • Vocabulary. Tiers (not tears).

    Vocabulary. Tiers (not tears).

    I’m interested to find out the actual origin of language tiers. At the moment there is an interest in vocabulary as a panacea for improving exam performance. As an English teacher I’m thoroughly supportive of improving children’s knowledge of language and literacy. Where I have my concerns is in the seemingly whole-scale adoption of a very mechanical, often decontextualised means of developing language skills. It suits non-English trained school managers as it’s an easy-to-comprehend method of tackling low levels of literacy. Obviously enabling children with a wider vocabulary will improve their educational performance. Obviously.

    Instinctively, my assumption is that the source of this approach to teaching vocabulary is Hirsch Jr and American Common Core. I can’t say I’ve definitely tracked down the origin, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the source. For those of us who grew up under the shadow of Harold Bloom, Common Core is like The Western Canon. It’s a view and, in many respects, a partial one.

    I heard tiers of vocabulary being talked about (in the same sort of reverent tones as “learning styles’) about 4-5 years ago at PiXL meetings. Then, rapidly, it seemed to be everywhere. The last PiXL conference had vocabulary as its keynote. Teaching vocabulary is seen as a means of tackling “knowledge deficit”. Or developing knowledge in a systematic way. As you know knowledge must be systematised.

    The three tiers are simple:

    • Tier 1 – basic vocabulary (book, dog, clap)
    • Tier 2 – high frequency/multiple meaning (benevolent, industrious, cautiously)
    • Tier 3 – low-frequency/context-specific (cartographer, asphalt, isotope)

    It looks like this:

    Of course, a concept like tiers of vocabulary needs a graphic. Just to make the hierarchical systematised nature of vocabulary acquisition obvious at staff training sessions. Remember, diagrams always impress a sense of importance.

    Decontextualised vocabulary drills mostly don’t work with lower-attaining children. It’s a bit like weekly spelling tests. They seem to work and children put a lot of effort into memorising words – but after the test most children happily carry on misspelling the same words. I’ve struggled for years with encouraging children to develop vocabulary and what I’ve learned is that it’s a mixture of engaging the student in the topic, providing examples where vocabulary is used, activities where students explicitly use the vocabulary and a great deal of subsequent practice. It’s really not a case of giving children a list of tier 2 and tier 3 words to learn and then drilling them. For some – a minority – it is. For the majority, learning vocabulary is more complex, longer-term endeavour in a language-rich school. It also requires a vibrant reading culture.

    One fear I have is that those educational publishers immense media corporations who support have their hooks into American schools like teachers to think that vocabulary teaching is simple and straightforward. That you don’t even need a teacher to instruct: there’s an app that will do that in a systematic way. (When I first started teaching it was called SuccessMaker. It used to give us amazing data in all sorts of forms to show what amazing progress children made in reading comprehension. Only, in regular school activities and tests. the same children just didn’t seem to show any improvement. And SuccessMaker cost a lot of money.)

    Anyhow, I’m still fairly interested in who first created the concept of tiers of vocabulary. I’m still incredibly interested in ways of teaching vocabulary that aren’t faddish and actually work.