Archive for March, 2006
Do you want to go along to the Oscars and wear big bow ties like those Aardman Animations fellas?
Of course you do.And now you can (terms and conditions apply), thanks to a new business support scheme.
Creative businesses in the South West will soon be able to access tailored support through the Creative Enterprise Gateway to ensure they match their artistic flair with good old-fashoined business know-how.
The South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA) is investing mega-bucks in the initiative, which will support a wide variety of companies: from arts and crafts businesses, to advertising, antiques and architecture firms.
It will also provide a hotline giving advice through the Business Link service and directing callers to more specialised support when needed.
Culture South West is managing the project and Business West is delivering the scheme. Project partners include Arts Council England South West, South West Screen, Arts Matrix and Business Link.
A series of shindigs will be held in June to promote the Creative Enterprise Gateway to companies and highlight its launch. For more details contact Jessica Valentine on 01275 373373.
See you at next year’s Oscars! Possibly!
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March 21st, 2006
It seems like only yesterday when Richard the Lion Heart headed off to the Middle East for a war in the name of his god. How times change.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve no time for any corrupt, tyrannical, power-crazed leader who creates war to justify their tight reign on power, but Jose Morinhio aside, you can only gape at the deeply cynical exercise this conflict has always been.
We are all subjects of fear and intolerance, they insidiously creep into the everyday.
But three years of such loss must mean some hefty profit for someone.
Ok, it’s nothing new or earth shattering, but it’s part of the jigsaw that may well pave the way for a private police force - an issue I’m sure these pages will revist. When it comes to pass, remember I’D told you so. . .
Posted by C’ptn
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March 18th, 2006
New Line Cinema, the studio behind the Lord Of The Rings flicks (but let’s not hold that against them, ha-ha), has launched a nationwide casting search to find a young actress to play Lyra Belacqua in the forthcoming movie adaptation of  Philip Pullman’s bestselling novel The Golden Compass.
We haven’t read the book (there’s not enough killings in it) but Lyra is apparently one of the most beloved characters in children’s literature. Who knew?
Canny casting directors say they are looking for a young actress who embodies Lyra’s loyalty, bravery and mischievous nature.
So if you think you are loyal, brave and mischievous, or that you could feign such traits, you should get yourself to the open casting call taking place in the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus on April 13.
It’s open to girls between the ages of nine and thirteen who are accompanied by a parent or guardian and resident in the UK.
Applicants will be asked to complete a form and may be seen briefly by one of the casting directors, in an American Idol kinda way. Kids should come as themselves (costumes or make-up is strictly forbidden), dress warmly, and be prepared to wait, and wait, and wait…
Hey, good luck. No, seriously.
Posted by Thin White Duke
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March 16th, 2006
Ever visit the Terrace in Plymouth, facing the sea just over the Hoe?
Beautiful waves and sound of the sea, especially when it is stormy. Mind
you, be careful if you go; there is an element of risk. Being washed away
to the Atlantic, that is.
Public anxieties and restrictions on behaviour are things of the day.
Adults face increasingly high morals and low expectations. I noticed
yesterday there is graffiti in a door that separates the Terrace and the
outdoor swimming pool. And to my amazement, over the expected dirty texts
(”Suck my dick boys”, “I will fuck you or suck you” and “Suck me”) is
written with black-felt pen: “Take care guys syphilis and HIV is being
transmitted through oral sex.”
Well indeed. Back in the days, you’d at least know graffiti to be
explicit. But now, it wants to educate about safe sex. We must feel really
uncertain about our behaviour.
At the university, personal security is no stranger either. When I entered
the University of Plymouth, the fresher package included a say from the
Devon Cornwall Police, good2bsecure.co.uk and places like such. Did not
university studies use to be about free-thinking liberalism? Now they seem
more about regulating behaviour.
Thus goes rule one: It is a world of risky strangers, where no chance can
be tolerated. So lock your windows and doors when you’re out; and if
that’s not obvious enough, there are some “Shut it!” stickers to keep
reminding. We’re warned of bogus callers, “convincing liars”, who will
ring our door and pretend to be electricians, gas men - or even police
officers! We’re not to walk home alone late at night; or visit the ATM
alone “if it’s dark”. And there’s spiked drinks, stolen purses, sex with
strangers, “don’t flash your cash”, over-drinking, drugs, nicked laptops,
vanishing coursework, gone dissertation notes, even stolen items of
sentimental value!
But it does not end here. The risk hovers inside your house as well as
outside it. You should always lock our own bedroom even when going to the
kitchen or bathroom, we’re told. Sure; other students in the house are
strangers who pose a risk. All in all, I wonder why the guides still
mention “trusted friends”. As things stand, should you really trust your
friends, or even police officers? Or should you rather “Trust no-one” as
conspiracy theories have taught us?
Clearly, students are seen incapable of figuring these things themselves,
and they need to be strongly patronised. But even if some crimes are
prevented by being “better safe than sorry”, we could do without the
fearful atmosphere.
Frank Furedi’s (2002) Culture of Fear is an enlightening book on this
subject. It is a critical romp through ever-expanding fears in the West,
and feminists, safety experts, and even environmentalists are not spared
when Furedi looks how panics are fuelled. Green activism as “the politics
of fear in action” did not send me smiling, but dare I say it gave some
scare stories new light.
Posted by Anti S
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March 15th, 2006
The University of Plymouth will be hosting a public event by the ShelterBox Trust in the Devonport Lecture Theatre, Portland Square Building on the Plymouth campus tomorrow at 7pm.
Organised by the Royal Society of Arts (South West Region), the shindig comprises a natter and PowerPoint presentation (quelle moderne!) by Tom Henderson, head honcho of the ShelterBox Project.
The good news for porkers is that there’s also refreshments and a finger buffet. Hooray.
Now for the science bit - over 25,000 ShelterBoxes have been distributed worldwide, making life more bearable and dignified for people made homeless after catastrophic disasters.
Established in 2000, the charity has operated in 25 countries, and has given emergency “accommodation and assistance” to over 300,000 people.
It is the brainchild of the speaker, Tom Henderson, who had the idea of putting together a box which provides basic needs for ten people - family tent, sleeping bags, water purification, cooking stove, tools and the Radio Times (possibly).
He will chat about the growth of the project from its small beginnings to the stonking-great endeavour it is today.
The cost of attendance is £12.50 per person, which includes the refreshments and cheesy Wotsits.
For booking details, contact Jenny Morley FRSA, “Bodegves”, 10 Hills Park, Saltash, Cornwall PL12 4UL / tel: 01752 846558 or email: jenny.morley@RSASouthwest.org.uk. Cheques should be made payable to RSA South West.
Posted by Thin White Duke
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March 14th, 2006
Don’t put your muck in my dustbin. Well, you kinda can, but as long as you make sure it’s the right muck in the right bin at the right time - I might get a fine else.
Exeter City Council, which (according to the Observer) had a scheme to tackle dodgy recycling since 2001, is (according to the Observer - do I only read one paper? Honestly, I’ll quote The Mail tomorrow, although it does make a change from the Herald) beginning legal proceedings against a few people for not recycling properly.
So is it worse to recycle badly or not at all? Take it from someone who has cupped cup cake cases in their hand for hours wondering which bin to put them in, it’s not easy. But then there are those who wantonly don’t bother - because they are dislocated from any responsibility, or they protest against the council’s heavy-handed approach. Then there are some who don’t even have the choice.
While we’re in a grey area (whether people should be fined for bad recycling, in case you forgot), don’t believe the hype that the NHS is unworkable. It’s a bit like believing in fairies. We know they shouldn’t exist, but if we all think they do, no one’s the wiser. Just because those who want it dismantled are telling us it can’t work, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t and won’t.
Even Catholic fundamentalist Dana (now MEP, former doyenne of Eurovision, no not Dana International, woops, I’ve said too much) believed in fairy tales.
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March 13th, 2006
Oh dear. I’ve been brutally mugged and literally killed to death. Where’s a policeman when I need one? Well, they’re all out on the mean streets of Plymouth, moving along ‘unnecessary traffic’, that’s where.
Apparently, your friendly neighbourhood coppers have decided that anybody investing in massive exhaust pipes and bonkers spoilers should be slapped with an ASBOÂ Â or worse (bring back the birch, etc).
So they’re literally stopping our lovely boy-racers in their tracks, questioning them about their cars and then telling them to, like, move along, Sonny.
One poor chap vented his so-called spleen on a local car forum after being pulled (ooh-er) by the police several times in one evening:
Their reason was because I was visiting the ‘notorious boy-racer’ spots (ie. Devil’s Point, etc) and I was driving around the city centre which is seen as anti-social because I am unnecessary traffic on the road!
One woman police officer said that my exhaust was for track use only! I said that there was no restriction in the MOT and was fully road legal but her reply was ‘You know what I mean!’
Sarky, eh? The young feller was also handed this letter….
The People’s Republic checked a few other motoring forums and it seems this clampdown has caused quite a stir among the modding community (modders are people who modify their cars, you durr-brains).
Although there are drivers racing round the place with sound systems that would drown out an Iron Maiden gig, most are just keen to hang out with other modders and show off their multi-coloured rides, dude.
Certainly some of these creations, with their array of technicolour plastic, would look more at home on the set of Blade Runner and there are definitely healthier volumes to listen to your tunes.
But since when should we all drive Kas and use very small in-ear headphones to listen to recordings of mating aphids?
Agreed irresponsible driving should not be tolerated; one litre Vauxhall Novas with noisy exhaust pipes were clearly not designed to go round corners on two wheels  even if you’re convinced you’re Michael Knight.
But where do you draw the line?
And ‘unnecessary traffic’? Parking at Devil’s Point is hardly getting in people’s way  unless of course you’re worried about bothering the smackheads.
If we’re talking about unnecessary traffic, why not pick on the 4×4s lined up outside your local Asda?
Posted by Gen ‘Buck’ Turgidson
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March 12th, 2006
Superficial characters, superficial medium in a superficial setting.
So what is it about Josie McCoy’s work that makes it so engaging?
Is it because she’s exploring and exploding our relationship with film and television? Or is it because it’s clear she loves the medium?
Either way, it’s worth taking time to gaze at the Plymouth-born artist’s work (currently on show at the Eyestorm gallery on Exeter quay) to find out what’s so compelling.
Another everyday exploration is going on at the Phoenix too. Well, everyday if you’re a surfer.
Once wunderkid of the modern art next generation, Ben Cook waxed up and caught the curl (the closest I’ve got to this world is Old Spice and waiting for a Guinness, so forgive me if I get the terminology wrong).
Anyway, take a sniff (literally) at the abstract investigation of contemporary surroundings. Ben wil be giving a gallery talk on Thursday, April 6 between 6-7pm.
This is an early heads-up for the workshops for kids during the Easter holidays at the Phoenix. There are two on Wednesday 12 April. In the morning 8-12 year olds get to textile and in the afternoon 13-16 year olds get to sculpture. Both are free. Contact the Phoenix.
Meanwhile Fair Trade fortnight and Vibrophonic keep rumbling on. Visit www.vibraphonicfm.co.uk for the sounds. And given the recent hoo-ha in Plymouth it’s nice to know Exeter is allowing graffiti artist freedom of expression at the Phoenix today.
Posted by Cptn
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March 11th, 2006
There’s yet more sage advice on the thisisplymouth.co.uk forum for those concerned about the narrowly-averted Plymstock kids vs Coombe Dean kids smackdown in Plymouth on Friday (see Friday Night’s Alright For Fighting).
readers of the People’s Republic (for there must be some) will remember that yesterday it was suggested we should bring back flogging.
Today, Mark from Plymouth goes one further and demands that we “round up these mindless thugs, take them up to Bickleigh barracks, sign them on and send them out to Iraq.â€
Shock and awe indeed. Of course, the fact that most of the ‘mindless thugs’ were just 14 and only armed with table legs seems to have escaped him.
So hooray for Brian from Plymouth who seems to have hit on a solution to the problem: “To all the aggro boys and girls – why not all be nice to each other?â€
See? It’s simple. In all senses of the word.
Posted by Thin White Duke
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March 10th, 2006
Strong words from the Herald Express this week as it launches its catchily-titled Shop A Thug campaign.
The rag is disgusted with the recent attacks on innocent people in Torquay and Paignton, observing that “incidents of teenage thuggery, anti-social behaviour, vandalism and general nuisance-related crime are becoming more commonâ€.
The emotive editorial goes on to recount the story of how a woman pleading for mercy saved two men as “a gang of crazed hoodies cold-bloodedly laid into them in Plainmoorâ€.
The paper insists: “There is little doubt the men could have been murdered.â€
Of course, using that logic you could also add there was little doubt they could have been saved by aliens shooting lasers from their fingers.
But hence the new initiative, aimed at “ridding the streets of these morons once and for allâ€.
How will it work? Well, concerned citizens wanting to grass up the rascal who lives down the lane should call the paper’s (premium rate?) hotline, leave a poisonous and hate-filled message, and all the details will be “passed onâ€.
But don’t have nightmares, folks. The article admits that: “we are not saying the streets are infested with hoodlums intent on causing mayhem.
“But there are gangs out there who think they rule the roost and it’s time to give them a rude awakening.â€
We say, bring back flogging. Go on, punks - make our day.
Posted by Thin White Duke
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March 9th, 2006
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