Geoff Coupe's Blog

Missing The Point

I grant you that Cristina Odone picks up an error in her review of Ophelia Benson’s and Jeremy Stangroom’s book: Does God Hate Women? But then Odone plays the usual trick of "it’s not my God that you’re talking about". This is the get-out-of-jail card played by most religious apologists these days, and Odone follows the rest of the sheep. I for one am becoming heartily sick of it. The whole point is that God is a manmade construct; with the emphasis, in these matters, on "man".

I find it interesting that in the very same issue of the Observer is an opinion piece penned by ex-President Jimmy Carter who, in effect, supports the central thesis of Benson’s and Stangroom’s book. I simply note that it has taken him thirty years to realise the error of his ways.

Update: Ophelia acknowledges the error, although Jeremy insists that he share the blame for getting one name wrong in a 200-page book.

July 12, 2009

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Chaos Reigns

Over at the We Got Served blog (a blog devoted to all things connected with Microsoft’s Windows Home Server operating system), Jim Clark pens a despairing plea about the sorry state of competing media formats. I have to say that I agree, it feels like a minefield out there.

For example, I’ve just built myself a new desktop PC. For the motherboard, I chose the ASUS M4A78-EM, which has the capability to support Full HD and HDMI, along with 7.1 channel audio. Terrific, I thought. I also added a Blu-Ray capable DVD drive, the LG GGCH20L, so that I would be able to play Blu-ray discs on the system.

Then the fun began (I use the word “fun” in an ironic sense, of course).

First, Windows 7 does not currently have the capability to play Blu-ray discs natively; it is necessary to add a third-party application to do this. OK, the LG drive came with a version of PowerDVD, which is supposedly capable of playing Blu-ray discs. I duly install it, and, yes, I can now play Blu-ray discs on my new system.

If only I had been satisfied at that, I would have carried on in my innocence.

But no, I decided that the graphics capabilities built into the ASUS motherboard, while reasonable, would not suffice if I wanted to play some of the more modern games on the system; Spore, for example. Yes, Spore would run on the system, but in a rather disappointing low resolution – I wanted more from the system than that. The answer was to add in a dedicated graphics card, the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850. So I acquired and installed the card. Result? – Spore runs in high resolution and works perfectly. Additional result? – playing Blu-ray discs no longer works. PowerDVD falls over. OK, thought I, let’s try an alternative third party application: Arcsoft Total Theater 3. Result? – still can’t play Blu-ray discs; now the software complains that my display is not HDCP-compliant.

Curse the hardware and software industries to Hell. Between their attempts to build in anti-piracy technologies and their desire to differentiate themselves from their competitors, they are making life for the average consumer worse, rather than better.

July 12, 2009

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Ensure The Return Of Lost Wallets

Apparently, if you want to improve the chances of having your wallet returned to you if you lose it, it helps if you have a photograph of a baby in it:

Those containing the picture of the infant were most likely to trigger an honest reaction from the finder, with 88 per cent being returned, followed by those containing pictures of the puppy at 53 per cent. Of those featuring the family snapshot, 48 per cent were sent to the return address and only 28 per cent of those with the picture of the elderly couple.

I obviously need to replace that photo of an elderly couple (me and Martin) in my wallet with a cute photo of a drooling baby…

July 12, 2009

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Torchwood: Children of Earth

I know that I’ve been dismissive of Torchwood (the Doctor Who spinoff) in the past. But the current five-episode story Children of Earth has changed my mind. Last night’s episode (number 4) was simply stunning. Not because of special effects or action sequences, but because of the writing and playing of one scene in particular. The scene of the British Prime Minister and his cabinet discussing how to justify to themselves and the country the method of choosing the 10% of British children who are to be sacrificed to the aliens was chilling and horribly real. There was other good stuff as well; Simon Brew’s review over at Den of Geek spells it out (warning: spoilers).

This was very good TV, I only hope that tonight’s finale won’t let us down.

Update: well, the finale was pretty good; perhaps not quite as good as episode 4, but certainly streets ahead of most of the dross on TV. There was some class writing from Russell T. Davies brought to almost unbearable life by excellent actors. For me, the highlights of the whole series were the scene in the Cabinet Room of episode 4 (mentioned above), and the scene in episode 5 of Frobisher going to kill his children, his wife and himself being intercut with the monologue from his loyal secretary to Lois about how Frobisher was "a good man". RTD knows how to push my emotional buttons, and he comes up with some audacious ideas (e.g. the aliens are hooked on the secretions of living human children).

Yes, the destruction of the aliens was pretty pat, but RTD used it to pose one more moral dilemma – is the death of one child to save humanity worth the price? – and to send Captain Jack off with a huge burden of guilt; it was his grandchild who was sacrificed, and Captain Jack himself pushed the button.

I think what brought me round to liking Torchwood in this series was that this story was never really about aliens, it was about the real monsters: us, and what we are prepared to do in the name of drivers such as love, politics, religion or just simple expediency. Great TV. Here’s the review of episode 5 in The Guardian. I was struck by one of the comments where someone favourably compared RTD with the late, great, Dennis Potter. You know, there’s something in that, I think.

July 10, 2009

8 responses to “Torchwood: Children of Earth”

Bal

July 11, 2009

MMMMmmmm …. one asks herself ‘is Geoff having a ballet moment over a certain lead?’ lol 😉

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Brian

July 11, 2009

I put it all on Tivo and am about to start episode 4 now. Gripping stuff this! And trying to get Rhys to go down the shops so Jack and Ianto can have a snog was very charming!

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Brian

July 11, 2009

My stars and garters, that was not a happy ending, was it?

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Geoff

July 11, 2009

No, not a happy ending, but probably all the more like real life because of it. I’m relieved that RTD didn’t take the easy deus-ex-machina way out and restore Ianto back into the arms of Jack.It’s now questionable, of course, whether Torchwood can continue, with everyone except Gwen dead or exeunt via a passing space freighter – that’s also a brave point to leave it. We shall see. I did like that fact that Gwen was left very obviously pregnant with new life. Perhaps that’s a sign.Bal Maiden – "having a moment"? No, not really – I like Jack the character, but I know that he’s mad, bad, and dangerous to know. JB the actor is a consumate professional and easy on the eye, but that’s all as far as I’m concerned…

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Geoff

July 11, 2009

Oh, and I thought that episode 4 was still the strongest, although the sequence intercutting between Frobisher about to kill his wife and children, and his secretary explaining to Lois why he was a good man was exceptionally powerful. I was bawling my head off.

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Geoff

July 11, 2009

PPS, and the idea of the aliens "shooting up on our children" was RTD at his audacious best…

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Brian

July 13, 2009

agreed Geoff, the murder/suicide scene was appallingly sad and very well done. I’m going to keep this one. And they’ll find a way to time warp Ianto back, watch this space.

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Storms In Teacups | Geoff Coupe's Blog

June 28, 2011

[…] about the series in the past, I have to say that I thought that it redeemed itself with the Children of Earth […]

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Thank God For Daniel Dennett

Jerry Coyne, over at his Evolution Is True blog, posts a report from Daniel Dennett on the oxymoronic "Theology and Evolution" session at the Darwin celebration event organised at Cambridge University. Dennett effortlessly punctures the windbaggery.

July 10, 2009

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Apophatic Theology

This week’s Jesus and Mo is excellent. Apophatic Theology is promoted by Karen Armstrong’s latest book: The Case for God. While some reviews of the book have been kind (not to say fawning), I suspect that the most accurate review is the one by the philosopher Simon Blackburn. It helps that it is also written with a very dry wit:

So what should the religious adept actually say by way of expressing his or her faith? Nothing. This is the "apophatic" tradition, in which nothing about God can be put into words. Armstrong firmly recommends silence, having written at least 15 books on the topic.

There’s also a very funny "digested read" of the book’s contents penned by John Crace in The Guardian. I dare say that it is a pretty good summary of Armstrong’s case.

July 10, 2009

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The Wife-Carrying Championship

I am somewhat relieved that, not having a wife, I am unable to participate in the Finnish Wife-Carrying Championship. And if, for reasons of political correctness or casting the net wider to entrap those insane enough to take part, this is ever replaced by a Spouse-Carrying Championship, then I will still not, I think, be persuaded that participation is a good idea.

July 6, 2009

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The Dangers of Ghost Hunting

I never realised that one of the dangers of going ghost hunting was the risk of contracting anal ghosts. You live and learn.

July 5, 2009

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A Perverse Pleasure

I see that Jerry Coyne is also exasperated by the tripe churned out by Madeleine Bunting in the pages of The Guardian. His final sentence is a classic, and certainly strikes a chord with me.

July 5, 2009

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The Grand Illusion of Consciousness

Here’s Dr. Susan Blackmore giving a terrific presentation on why she thinks consciousness is a "grand illusion". Well worth your time.

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=6958873142520847424&hl=en&fs=true

Now I want to read more about it…

June 27, 2009

2 responses to “The Grand Illusion of Consciousness”

Wai

July 7, 2009

thanks for loading this. very interesting. have you seen the ‘What the bleep do we know?" series (http://www.whatthebleep.com/)? they’re also quite interesting.

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Geoff

July 7, 2009

Wai, I haven’t seen the "Whatthebleep…" film because, by all accounts, it’s a load of quantum flapdoodle codswallop. See http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/04/what_the_bleep_.html for example. As I’ve said before, I like to keep an open mind, but not so open that my brain falls out… Cheers!

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Eau de Raison…

If it was an actual product, I’d almost be tempted to buy a bottle, just to try it… But, as Mrs Lovett and Sweeney might say, it’s just (taking the) piss with ink…

June 24, 2009

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Surrealism While Shopping

I mentioned a Lily Allen song a little while back. It’s currently being played quite a lot on Dutch radio stations. And it has a certain earworm power.

I’m finding it somewhat bizarre that when I’m in shops, where the radio substitutes as muzak, that I’m confronted with Dutch matrons of a certain age lip-syncing along to the tune:

"Fuck you, fuck you very, very, mu-u-u-u-uch…"

June 21, 2009

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Gutsy, Snotty Tears

Alastair Appleton writes of the power of art to provoke a reaction – often when we least expect it. I know what he means. I remember visiting Tate Modern some years back and seeing Stanley Spencer’s The Resurrection – Port Glasgow and dissolving on the spot into floods of gutsy, snotty tears.

June 20, 2009

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The Apocalypse Approaches

I rather wish it would be this sort of apocalypse, but somehow I doubt it.

June 20, 2009

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The Problem With Madeleine Bunting

I’ve never been a fan of Madeleine Bunting – Our Maddy of the Sorrows. I have the strong impression that underneath all the hand-wringing lies something close to the vituperativeness and dogmatism of a Melanie Phillips. I think that yesterday, Bunting inadvertently let the mask slip in a piece in the Guardian titled "The Problem With Ophelia Benson". It’s a rather nasty piece, and actually shines an unflattering light into corners of Bunting’s psyche rather than Benson’s. Ophelia has responded in measured fashion here.

The latest Jesus and Mo cartoon seems to speak to the situation as well.

June 17, 2009

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A Day Out

We had a day out yesterday, visiting a potter friend of ours in Flevoland, and then taking in a rather elaborate garden on the way back.

Gerda Grashuis had an open day at her pottery (Pottenbakkerij GG), which also featured the work of fellow potter Bert Wieman, the sculptures of Loes Kouwenhoven and the paintings of Carolien Kooi.

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On the way home, we did a small detour to the village of Teuge in Gelderland, and visited the Levenstuinen van het Groot Hontschoten. Levenstuinen translates as Life Gardens, but I haven’t a clue what Hontschoten means.

I have to confess that what prompted me to visit these gardens was not the fact that the gardens have been planned “according to Zen Principles” and a walk through them will “give much positive energy”. You know that this sort of thing causes much eye-rolling with me. No, what caught my attention was the fact that my gaydar pinged very loudly once I learned that the garden’s owners were two men: Charles van de Nieuwegiessen and Hans IJzerman. Check out their bios on the web site and I suspect that you will agree that my gaydar was probably accurate for once in my life.

In any event, the gardens are certainly worth a visit. They are somewhat like a cross between a spiritual ghost train and a series of stage sets, managing to pack in an amazing number of different vistas into a relatively small space.

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June 14, 2009

2 responses to “A Day Out”

gerda grashuis

February 9, 2016

wat leuk geoff!!! wij hebben internet!!!

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1. Geoff Coupe
  
  February 9, 2016
  
  Ha! Eindelijk – welkom bij de 21de eeuw!
  
  Reply

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Making Changes

We have a couple of ponds in our garden. A large one in the front garden, and a smaller pond abutting the patio at the back of the house. This was how the pond at the back used to look:

20080824-1127-41 Stitch

This smaller pond had a waterfall, but unfortunately that had a leak somewhere, so whenever it was turned on, the water level in the pond fell over the the course of a few days. The pond itself also seemed to have a slow leak, and the water level would drop to a lower level than we wanted. Earlier this year, Martin had had enough of the problems, and so we decided we would get rid of the whole thing and replace it with a more formal pond.

Rather than tackle this project ourselves, we thought it would be better to get in the professionals. So we contracted the folks at the Watermolen to come in and do the heavy work, once we had drained the pond.

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The bit that worried us the most was moving the millstone. The first crane could only just manage to slide it out of the way…

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Then the new pond was marked out and excavated…

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Part of the area occupied by the old pond was filled in and would become the basis for a new patio.

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The guys brought in a bigger crane when the time came to replace the millstone into its new spot in the pond.

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And now, several months later, after the new patio and paths were laid, and the lawn resown, this is the result. We are very pleased with it.

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June 14, 2009

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The Stupid, It Burns…

Well, you know that I have no time for astrologers, but really, Satya Harvey ought to get a prize for this twaddle.

The Stupid, it burns. By the way, her bio is also a jewel. I’ve resisted sending her a message, as it exhorts me to do. I couldn’t trust myself not to be witheringly sarcastic.

(hat tip to Phil)

June 11, 2009

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Green Fields

If you’re troubled with life or afraid of death, here’s a prescription that might soothe. I’ve followed it a number of times in my life and it does work.

June 11, 2009

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He’s Back!

Here’s some good news at least: Mr. Deity has returned with a third series. Here’s episode 1: Mr. Deity and the Virgin…

June 11, 2009

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8 responses to “Torchwood: Children of Earth”

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2 responses to “The Grand Illusion of Consciousness”

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2 responses to “A Day Out”

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