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Back in December Roger Ebert raved on his blog about an obscure movie called Sita Sings the Blues on his blog.  The movie is described as "An animated version of the epic Indian tale of Ramayana set to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw".  Reading Ebert's description I decided I had to see this film.  But the article ends on a sad note:  "the songs Annette Hanshaw sings (composed and recorded in the 1920s!)
in the film are still restricted by copyright, and therefore no one is
free to distribute a film that uses them, no matter how brilliant the
film may be."

Then yesterday an event turned up in the upcoming RSS feed for Brighton: the local Flash programmers group are showing the movie.  It turns out the rights issues have been resolved and the film is now available for free download.

I don't yet know if the film is as good as promised but I'm excited to see the Internet is working as it should be.  You read about an odd, obscure film, then a locally organised group put on a showing.  No marketing or advertising required, just a couple of appropriate RSS feeds.

I had big plans for this weekend but most of them fizzled.  I was due to meet someone on Friday to discuss a collaboration and failed to find them.  Saturday I had an appalling headache that drove me to spend the whole day sleeping.  And, because of a (almost-healed) back injury, I missed today's Sussex Beacon Half Marathon.

But this weekend has not been a disaster.  I've read some interesting books, most fascinating of which was In Praise of Shadows.  This is a book on aesthetics by a Japanese novelist, Junichiro Tanizaki.  I particularly loved the description of the effect of dark tableware on soup.  The level of detail has left me spending the weekend noting little things about the world around me. 

Downsides to the book were some unpleasant theorising on aesthetics and race, and the translator's appalling afterword.  He claims "the urge to edit Tanizaki is "almost irresistable" because his essay doesn't have the "symmetry and logical progression" expected by a "Western reader".  "His descriptions of lacquerware under candlelight and women in the darkness … are perfect jewels; but would they not stand out to better advantage removed from the company of that murmuring bowl of soup…?".  No, not really.  

(A quote I loved from the introduction to the book: "The sun never knew how beautiful it was until it fell on the wall of a building" – Louis Khan)

I woke up at 5:15am this morning feeling refreshed, so read until it was time to get up.  After lunch I visited the Brighton Zine Fair's market.  Wow.  I picked up loads of interesting reading, but could easily have come away with much more.  It was an exciting and inspiring event and I'll try to write a separate post about it.

I'm now trying to wrap up the weekend ready for Monday and will hopefully have time to write my piece for Other People's Stories, which is likely to be about high-paid commuters and cheap flats. 

I saw the sign below on the seafront tonight.   It might not be as clever as I think it is but it's certainly more interesting and provocative than the adverts they usually have.

Today is St. Hilary's day, traditionally the coldest day of the year.  If medieval belief is correct, things should get warmer from now on.

The best way to find perfect scenes to photograph is to come out without your camera.  I visited a friend this evening to cook pasta and drink cocktails (I will definitely be drinking sidecars again).  When I'd arrived she'd just finished mopping the kitchen and told me not to go in, the floor was wet.  Rather than suggest I get my shoes, she dried the floor…  with a hairdryer.  She leaned into the kitchen holding the doorpost, driving off the water to  making a path to the cooker and the sink.  It would have been a perfect photograph.

"Best thing is," she said, "The floor will be lovely and warm."

I watched a lot of movies in 2008. Most of the mainstream films were disappointing, particularly the superhero ones, all of which ended with two men fighting to settle points of principle.  As Roger Ebert points out, by far the best shot in The Incredible Hulk was a simple ariel shot of Rio; and, while the Dark Knight was fun, I can't see why so many people declare it a classic since it was neither innovative or surprising.

I did see some great films though.  My favourites were:

1. The Orphanage (now facing an unneccessary Hollywood remake)
2. Man on Wire
3. My Winnipeg
4. Brighton Wok
5. Cloverfield (I loved the final scene)

I don't think My Winnipeg had the coverage it deserved, with a blink-and-you-miss-it showing at the Duke of Yorks, but it was one of the most creative and exciting films I've seen in years.  Hopefully someone else will be prompted to watch it and tell me what they think.

2008 started with me joining Mr. Spratt for a dip in the English Channel. I've been so cold recently that a swim didn't appeal, but I did manage a 13 mile run this morning.  Tough, but a lovely way to see in the new year.

New Years Day 2009 finds me feeling upbeat.  Four months of sabbatical have allowed me to do lots of writing and make a range of positive changes.  Sadly I can't spend my whole life on sabbatical but I'm planning on 2009 being as positive as 2008 while getting much more done.

From Monday I'm going to be wrangling EJB3 for Domus, who have some lovely software for me to play with.  It's going to be good working in Brighton again, particularly being able to walk to work along the seafront.

I'm also looking forward to doing more running this year.  In February I have the Sussex Beacon Half Marathon, although that's been a little eclipsed by my plan for April: entering the Blackpool Marathon.  The first few weeks of training have gone well and I'm very excited.  But that really deserves its own post.

While I did some good writing in 2008 my level of submissions was shameful (particularly when I see Kay Sexton's record).  In 2009 I want to have all my finished work circulating – I was appalled to discover I had 27 finished stories sitting idle on my hard drive.  I'm also working on a new novel which I'm very excited about.

There are lots of other things I plan to do, such as finally read Ulysses, lose a stone, take a foreign holiday and go out a lot more than I did in 2008.  2009 should be a great year.

2008 has been a good year. There’s not much to crow about in
terms of public ‘achievements’, but I'm ending the year feeling happy
and relaxed.

I finished at Sigmer in January then took a month off in Blackpool
before starting an EJB contract in Coventry. Living in Coventry was
good: I needed a break from Brighton and, due to the cheaper
property, I lived in a fantastic two bedroom flat for the price of a
studio in Brighton. I didn’t know anyone in the town when I
arrived and kept myself to myself. I watched a metric shitload of
movies, decluttered my life, and got fit.

One attraction of a contract was that I could save up and take a
substantial break at the end of the year. I returned to Brighton at
the start of September and have been on sabbatical since then. Being
able to take so much time off is a luxury I greatly appreciate. I’ve
had the space to work out who I really am and what matters to me.

As far as writing goes, I’ve been working hard without much to
show for it. I've only had one story published this year, despite
having a massive stockpile of finished stories – I've been very slack
in sending work out.  However, I've done some live performances
at Short Fuse, Sparks, Tight Lip and had a story read at Liar's
League. I also finished a draft of the clown novel (which I may revisit in
2009) and have embarked on an exciting long project.

After taking up running at the end of 2007 I've continued through
2008. Checking my running diary I’ve run 392 miles (which doesn’t
actually sound that much). I’ve entered several races: the Breedon
Run in June, the Morecombe Half-Marathon, the Brooks Brighton 10K,
the Santa Dash and the Diseworth Run on Boxing Day. The Diseworth
run was lovely, as I was 30 seconds faster this year and placed 15^th.

2008 was a year of lying fallow, which is how I'd planned it. 
I'm feeling healthier and happier than I've ever felt. I’m very
excited about 2009.

• A Christmas movie gift from the awesome Mike Russell.
• I recently visited the Guerilla Art Market in the Brighton Media Center.  I picked up some zines at the Jaguar Shoes stall, my favourite of which was first waves then cloud by Hannah Waldron.  Simple and lovely.
• I also recently read Chris Parkinson's pamphlet 'City Boy in Blind Spot Trauma' which has some lovely poems.  (I liked 'A Farewell to Modernism': "I would have measured my life with coffee spoons / But they are all in the sink / With the washing up.")
• Reimaging from memory: "Something weird happens when we try to recreate cultural artifacts from
  memory: the result has less to do with the artifact, and more to do
  with us."
• A beautiful post from richtextformat.net on the aftermath of the Ice Prince: Brighton Beach wood sculpture.  I wish the wooden tide was an annual event.  It was a strange and beautiful sight, particularly when people were able to respond to it.

• I loved reading Coding Horror's discussion of Swoopo.  I can't see why the scheme should be made illegal though – it's an ingenious idea. 
• I visited Jake Spicer's studio yesterday. I saw some fascinating work-in-progress from his project with Megan Cooke, including a piece that did delightful things with perspective.  Jake's studio is in New England House.  I'd not seen inside the building but have long loved the exterior.  I'd love to have a space here, just for the views.

• Via extoplasmosis:  photographs of Scott's hut on Antarctica. I researched Scott's mission for my Masters dissertation and was fascinated by Antarctica.  Nothing rots there, and traces of all the missions remain.
• Walking home at the end of the night.  Lying at the side of the Hove seafront road was a Santa skin.  A passer-by might know of the Santa army's bravery that morning, charging headlong into the wind.  They might only see these remains and think this Santa suffered alone.