Between work, casework, Council meetings and campaigning, Em and I like to pretend that we can do normal things. Occasionally, this means doing something wild like going to the cinema at Bas Vegas (yes, there is a place – and to prove it, Jedward came). We benefit in Basildon from a luxury 12 screen Empire [...]
Archive for February, 2010
Movie magic: Solomon Kane, Precious and Born of Hope (again!)
Posted in arts, film, personal, review, tagged born of hope, film, me, precious, review, solomon kane on February 28, 2010 | 1 Comment »
New look to “Fragments and Reflections” – please vote!
Posted in personal, tagged blog, look, themes on February 27, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Dear Reader, Several people have indicated that whilst they liked the dark and brooding look of the theme I had chosen, they found it hard to read. I was a little loathe to part with the ChaoticSoul theme as it gave Fragments and Reflections a distinct feel. However, I would rather it were read! I’d [...]
“They fear an old man” – the disappearing of Haitham al-Maleh #almaleh #syria
Posted in current affairs, human rights, international, politics, syria, tagged haitham al-maleh, human rights, international, politics, syria, syrian opposition on February 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
One of the country’s leading champions of those imprisoned in Syria for human rights abuses is Maureen Thomas. The journalist Christiane Schlötzer recently sent her a copy of her article about the disappearance of Haitham al-Maleh that first appeared in the Süddeutsche Zeitung last weekend. Geoff Williams has translated that article. “They fear an old [...]
Urgent: Amnesty appeal as Haitham al-Maleh’s health fails #syria #amnesty #almaleh #labwani
Posted in human rights, international, politics, syria, tagged al-labwani, amnesty, free speech, haitham al-maleh, human rights, international, politics, syria, syrian opposition on February 26, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Very worrying news from Amnesty International regarding the health of Hytham al-Maleh. Haitham al-Maleh was born in Damascus, in 1931 holds a degree in Law from Damascus University and a diploma in public international law. He is an award-winning human rights activist and lawyer. On 7 December 2004 he received an award from the National Advisory [...]
Eva Sajovic: “Be-Longing” blog #sajovic #gypsy #roma #traveller
Posted in arts, international, local, national, politics, tagged arts, eva sajovic, gypsies, roma, travellers on February 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Readers may be interested to know that Eva Sajovic, the Slovenian photographer I’ve been writing about, has her own blog. Please check it out. Please stop by and take a look.
Syria: Koki, Aqil and other journalists freed by regime – a glimmer of hope for Kamal, Hytham, Anwar and colleagues? #labwani #syria
Posted in comment, current affairs, human rights, international, politics, syria, tagged al-bunni, al-labwani, haitham al-maleh, human rights, kamal labwani, koki, maan aqil, syria, syrian opposition on February 24, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Alkarama have reported that Ma’an Aqil and Abdul Rahman Koki have been freed by the Syrian government within days of each other. Aqil, a journalist in Damascus, was arrested on 22 November 2009 and was detained arbitrarily for three months (I blogged about his detention in December). Alkarama report that he was released Tuesday 23 [...]
Technorati… Clever stuff
Posted in comment, personal, tech, tagged me, tech on February 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
So I have decided to link this blog to Technorati. They require me to prove that I am writing this blog and have supplied me with a piece of cunning code to publish. So here we go… PHCJEWR8ARNG All very secret squirrel!
Corpse-eating robots, Jedi and computer games – did James Cameron understate the Terminator threat? #darpa #eatr #jedi
Posted in comment, film, human rights, politics, tech, tagged arts, chaos theory, darpa, eatr, ethics, human rights, international, jedi, politics, science, tech, terminator on February 17, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Robot dietary requirements and Jedi I am definitely not the first person to have blogged about the wince-inducing news that the American military have developed robots that can power themselves by eating organic material. However, I’ve not read much that speculates on what interesting things could happen if you marry this robot technology with several [...]
“Mother and Child” iced over again #basildon
Posted in arts, personal, tagged arts, basildon, me, public art on February 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
You may recall that a couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of the “Mother and Child” statue in Basildon Town Centre covered in ice. Thursday morning I was in Basildon very early and the statue looked spectacular. I thought it worth sharing a picture.
Admin
Pages
About Me (Ben Williams)
With far too many interests, I've never been known to be short of an opinion - to the infuriation of friends and family alike. As a result, over the years I've come to recognise that "contradictory" and "contrary" are not unfair descriptions of me.My Lib Dem politics, my doubt-stricken Christianity, my love of revolution, my fear of change, literature, art, music, writing, my fascination with new tech, gaming and MMOs, diabetes, my passion for poker, my disdain for gambling, Cornwall, Bavaria, the places that inspire and depress me, my relief in lonely countryside and my attraction to the cruel crush of the city: at some point it will all end up here.
This is my space to share those reflections on all the things that provoke me and just perhaps I'll capture some of those fleeting fragmented thoughts that otherwise are lost in the ether of busy days.
Ben
N.B. For the time being I am taking a little break from the political commentary. History, art, social observation, culture, technology, weather, people, places, faith, religion, entertainment, the arts... But no politics. ;-)
Where am I coming from?
My Political Views
I am a center-left moderate social libertarian
Left: 1.64, Libertarian: 3.29
Political Spectrum QuizTags
-
Flickr Photos
More Photos - Watch videos at Vodpod.
Twitter Feed
- A Spring morning's walk wp.me/pKh2V-zE 1 week ago
- 70 years since five famous adventurers made their debut wp.me/pKh2V-zy 1 month ago
- Favourite BGT 2012 #2: Ashleigh and Pudsey wp.me/pKh2V-zw 1 month ago
- Favourite BGT 2012 #1: Charlotte and Jonathan wp.me/pKh2V-zu 1 month ago
- More tea genius wp.me/pKh2V-zp 1 month ago
My Friend Kamal al-Labwani
-
Top Posts
-
Top Clicks
- None
Top Rated
Archives
Solomon Kane – an amateur’s faux pas
Posted in arts, comment, personal, tagged fantasy, film, review, solomon kane on February 28, 2010 | 1 Comment »
If you are going to get picked up for amateurish over-enthusiasm, best that you get picked up by the experts. Alexander Harron, a regular contributor to the fantasy blog The Cimmerian, has pointed out that I’ve read a little too much back to the original Solomon Kane from Michael J. Bassett‘s film interpretation. It’s a [...]
Read Full Post »