After a recommendation from my sister almost a month ago I downloaded and watched the film ‘Paranormal Activity’. It’s due for release in the UK next week and while it was made with a budget of £9k it has smashed the $100m barrier at the US cinema.
So what is it about this low budget film that is making it a success? The story isn’t a new one, but it’s shot in a ‘Blair witch’ style home movie and you are drawn into the couple’s plight to gather evidence that something ghostly is happening in their house when they are asleep. There is nothing visually great or stunning about this film but the subtlety in the story is what is scary and reels you into their world. It reminded me of the spooky stories you used to tell as kids at sleep over parties to scare your peers.
I most certainly jumped at the spooky bits and it appeals to that curious sense that we all want to know what happens when we are asleep. I’d definitely recommend this little gem of a film.
Monday, 23 November 2009
Sunday, 15 November 2009
ME& childish humour
Westminster Bridge, London - In the mornings, these aptly-shaped shadows all point to the West side of the bridge, which is the side of the Houses of Parliament, where our members of Parliament & Lords of the Realm meet and govern the UK. 
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
ME& fading to grey
Why do I love and hate taking drugs. Why do I love the disassociation they give me, the confidence - but hate the self hatred.
Why is it when I go out gay it all seems so young, I was young and those young boys have stolen my thrill.
I don't want to sleep about, but when I go out I expect to be complimented and admired. I spent my whole 20's being admired and chased after. Now in my mid 30's, the compliments are few and it hits hard, like a fist on concrete. Its somehow harder to take having spent my youth being chased and wanted. It's almost like a I don't feel validated as someone attractive unless a stranger stamps my pass by acknowledging my sex appeal.
Drugs have detracted me from dealing with this and boosted my confidence. Am I shallow? My drug taking is minimal now but it still appeals.
No wonder my moods are all over the place, I'm an ex beautiful gay who is no longer young but still yearning to have that admiration. There is a void in me!
Why is it when I go out gay it all seems so young, I was young and those young boys have stolen my thrill.
I don't want to sleep about, but when I go out I expect to be complimented and admired. I spent my whole 20's being admired and chased after. Now in my mid 30's, the compliments are few and it hits hard, like a fist on concrete. Its somehow harder to take having spent my youth being chased and wanted. It's almost like a I don't feel validated as someone attractive unless a stranger stamps my pass by acknowledging my sex appeal.
Drugs have detracted me from dealing with this and boosted my confidence. Am I shallow? My drug taking is minimal now but it still appeals.
No wonder my moods are all over the place, I'm an ex beautiful gay who is no longer young but still yearning to have that admiration. There is a void in me!
Thursday, 5 November 2009
ME& my worst week and a national debate on drug harms
Well I’ve had a week from hell at work – as part of my job I look after the press for an advisory body called the ACMD (stands for the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs). On Thursday the chair of the ACMD, Prof Nutt decided to promote his academic work on various BBC programmes and national newspapers claiming LSD and Ecstasy were safer than alcohol (link to some coverage: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/136832/LSD-less-dangerous-than-drink- ). 
This claim was based on his harm index which is a great league table of all drugs, including alcohol and tobacco based on deaths relevant to consumption.
While Prof Nutt is well within his right to air his academic concerns, he didn’t take into account the role he holds as chair of the ACMD and how their advice inputs into Government drugs policy. While the overall message from Government is that drugs are dangerous and illegal – the last thing you want one of your advisors to be saying in the media is that it’s safer to take LSD and Ecstasy than have a drink – hence the fall out begins, with yours truly involved.
As a result he was going to be asked to resign, however this wasn’t going to happen until the following Monday. This is where my bad week begins – I get a call on Friday morning confirming some interviews for Prof Nutt in his capacity as chair of the ACMD to talk about the dangers of ketamine with BBC Radio 1 on Monday. Ten minutes later Prof Nutt calls me to say I needed to cancel them as he’d been called into a meeting to talk about the repercussions to his media rant. I call my contact at BBC Radio 1 but he’s in a meeting so I fire off an email apologising and cancelling the interview. Now this journalist at BC Radio 1, I would consider a good contact, someone who I have a good, trusted working relationship with, someone who I speak with a couple of times a week – so I feel I need to offer some explanation to why I’ve had to cancel. So in the email I stated that it looked like Prof Nutt might be facing some repercussions.
My friendly contact only then passes my email onto the BBC key Home Affairs correspondent, who then blogs the Prof Nutt is facing the sack. (Link to the offending blog: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2009/10/nutt_faces_sack.html )
This then lead to the Monday meeting to be brought forward to Friday afternoon and the Home Sec sending him a letter asking him to resign. Prof Nutt didn’t want to go quietly and has since been courting the media meaning this was the lead story in the UK media on Friday night and all over the weekend and has blow up into a politicians vs. scientist story that doesn’t seem to be running out of steam. It has lead to urgent statements in the Houses of Parliament, Prime Minister being asked questions and a whole raft of eminent scientist commenting and firing off letters to the Prime Minister via the media.
I can tell you I felt so guilty for letting this slip on Friday, I spent most of Saturday hiding under my duvet wishing this would go away, only for it to continue to still be a top story for the majority of this week. Despite Prof Nutt’s fait already confirmed when he appeared in print and broadcast on the Thursday hailing the safety of LSD, I felt that my email had gotten him sacked. I took it personally and the weight of the world was on my shoulders. I must point out that his position as chair was unpaid and he’s a highly respected brain scientist so will not be on the breadline due to being asked to resign.
With hindsight I’m feeling a little better about it and in a way my fuck up meant Prof Nutt had a good shot at the media to get his point across before any politician spoke against him. But on the down side my unblemished work record now has a nasty mark on it. The lesson learnt is never trust a journalist no matter how friendly you think you are with them.
This claim was based on his harm index which is a great league table of all drugs, including alcohol and tobacco based on deaths relevant to consumption.
While Prof Nutt is well within his right to air his academic concerns, he didn’t take into account the role he holds as chair of the ACMD and how their advice inputs into Government drugs policy. While the overall message from Government is that drugs are dangerous and illegal – the last thing you want one of your advisors to be saying in the media is that it’s safer to take LSD and Ecstasy than have a drink – hence the fall out begins, with yours truly involved.
As a result he was going to be asked to resign, however this wasn’t going to happen until the following Monday. This is where my bad week begins – I get a call on Friday morning confirming some interviews for Prof Nutt in his capacity as chair of the ACMD to talk about the dangers of ketamine with BBC Radio 1 on Monday. Ten minutes later Prof Nutt calls me to say I needed to cancel them as he’d been called into a meeting to talk about the repercussions to his media rant. I call my contact at BBC Radio 1 but he’s in a meeting so I fire off an email apologising and cancelling the interview. Now this journalist at BC Radio 1, I would consider a good contact, someone who I have a good, trusted working relationship with, someone who I speak with a couple of times a week – so I feel I need to offer some explanation to why I’ve had to cancel. So in the email I stated that it looked like Prof Nutt might be facing some repercussions.
My friendly contact only then passes my email onto the BBC key Home Affairs correspondent, who then blogs the Prof Nutt is facing the sack. (Link to the offending blog: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2009/10/nutt_faces_sack.html )
This then lead to the Monday meeting to be brought forward to Friday afternoon and the Home Sec sending him a letter asking him to resign. Prof Nutt didn’t want to go quietly and has since been courting the media meaning this was the lead story in the UK media on Friday night and all over the weekend and has blow up into a politicians vs. scientist story that doesn’t seem to be running out of steam. It has lead to urgent statements in the Houses of Parliament, Prime Minister being asked questions and a whole raft of eminent scientist commenting and firing off letters to the Prime Minister via the media.
I can tell you I felt so guilty for letting this slip on Friday, I spent most of Saturday hiding under my duvet wishing this would go away, only for it to continue to still be a top story for the majority of this week. Despite Prof Nutt’s fait already confirmed when he appeared in print and broadcast on the Thursday hailing the safety of LSD, I felt that my email had gotten him sacked. I took it personally and the weight of the world was on my shoulders. I must point out that his position as chair was unpaid and he’s a highly respected brain scientist so will not be on the breadline due to being asked to resign.
With hindsight I’m feeling a little better about it and in a way my fuck up meant Prof Nutt had a good shot at the media to get his point across before any politician spoke against him. But on the down side my unblemished work record now has a nasty mark on it. The lesson learnt is never trust a journalist no matter how friendly you think you are with them.
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