Avatar

a film by James Cameron

Yesterday, Yuri and I went to see Avatar. Well I never. It may be a highest-grossing film of all time but I can’t help thinking that I was watching an overpriced three-hour long trailer for the 3-D videogame of the same name. I found it astoundingly boring. Jeez, I even fell asleep once. Of course it did not help that the other night I did watch a truly awesome old-school movie, Sherlock Holmes.

Avatar the movie has no acting to mention and is criminally devoid of any sense of humour. If that were not enough to put anyone off, it piles a cliché upon a cliché, with no original idea in sight. It was clear from the start that the only way to defeat American Sky People aggressors is to put a mind of a former Marine into a Blue Cat People body, seat him on a large dragon and give him a Sky People’s machine gun. The Sky People weaponry is apparently modelled on out-of-date Bionicle toys and as such is not as scary as one may think. For instance, the bullet-proof glass in their vehicles is easily pierced by the arrows. True, I enjoyed the dragon flight scenes there, but I’ve already seen Ice Age 3 and that animation was actually funny.

On a positive note, I am glad that Cameron scrapped the sex scene between the two main Blue Cat People, because it would be too painful to watch. (Why, even them kissing was embarrassing.) And I’ve got to keep the 3-D glasses.

Sherlock Holmes

a film by Guy Ritchie

Sherlock Holmes the movie has all the ingredients of a great film. It comes complete with a supervillain, femme fatale, a secret society, numerous punch-ups and, naturally, a rooftop Tower-Bridge-under-construction-top showdown. And a result? The ingredients come together as a great film indeed. I still think that the best Holmes ever was played by Vasily Livanov, but... I really liked Robert Downey Jr. in this movie. Jude Law makes a very decent Dr. Watson, and my faith in Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) has been restored.

Good night.

Ubiquity

by Mark Buchanan

Earthquakes, forest fires, avalanches, mass extinctions, heartbeat irregularities... What’s in common? Universality. Everywhere the distribution of events (or frozen potato shards^*) follows the power law. Moreover, the same pattern appears in fluctuations of stock markets, the growth of the cities, distribution of deadly conflicts, and even citations of scientific papers.

Ubiquity: The Science of History... or Why the World is Simpler Than We Think, bought in Oxfam couple of years ago (I liked the name), was peacefully gathering dust until last week. I was looking for something else entirely and this book was in my way. By some reason, I read the first page and... couldn’t put it down. It is an excellent, gripping read, blissfully free of jargon and formulae. The only equation, on page 40, is understood by a nine-year old, as I just checked.

^* The frozen potato experiment is my favourite. I think these Danes who conducted their smashing experiments simply enjoy smashing things against the wall; I’m sure it’s more fun than, say, potato proteomics.

Isabelle au bois dormant

a film by Claude Cloutier

Sleeping Betty is an amazing ink-drawing animation by Claude Cloutier. A hilarious take on the old tale, with guest appearance of Henry VIII, Queen Victoria and Prince Charles.

В полях под снегом и дождём

by Robert Burns and Samuil Marshak
a song by Alexander Gradsky

OK it is Burns Night, so let’s have another song. В полях, под снегом и дождём, performed by Alexander Gradsky.

Robert Burns O wert thou in the cauld blast

Роберт Бёрнс, перевод С.Я. Маршака В полях, под снегом и дождём

O wert thou in the cauld blast On yonder lea, on yonder lea, My plaidie to the angry airt, I’d shelter thee, I’d shelter thee: Or did Misfortune’s bitter storms Around thee blaw, around thee blaw, Thy bield should be my bosom, To share it a’, to share it a’. Or were I in the wildest waste, Sae black and bare, sae black and bare, The desert were a paradise, If thou wert there, if thou wert there. Or were I monarch o’ the globe, Wi’ thee to reign, wi’ thee to reign, The brightest jewel in my crown Wad be my queen, wad be my queen.

В полях, под снегом и дождём, Мой милый друг, Мой бедный друг, Тебя укрыл бы я плащом От зимних вьюг, От зимних вьюг. А если мука суждена Тебе судьбой, Тебе судьбой, Готов я скорбь твою до дна Делить с тобой, Делить с тобой. Пускай сойду я в мрачный дол, Где ночь кругом, Где тьма кругом, Во тьме я солнце бы нашел С тобой вдвоём, С тобой вдвоём. И если б дали мне в удел Весь шар земной, Весь шар земной, С каким бы счастьем я владел Тобой одной, Тобой одной.

Любовь и бедность

by Robert Burns and Samuil Marshak

It is a well-known fact to those who know it well that Rabbie Burns is people’s poet of Russia. For my generation, Burns exists almost exclusively in the translation by Marshak.

Любовь и бедность is the song from the 1975 Soviet movie Здравствуйте, я ваша тётя! performed by Aleksandr Kalyagin. His character, Babbs Baberley (posing as millionaire widow from Brazil, Donna Rosa d’Alvadorez), introduces it, to a comic effect, as ‘Brazilian folk song, O poortith cauld and restless love... lyrics by Robert Burns’.

Robert Burns Song	Роберт Бёрнс, перевод С.Я. Маршака Любовь и бедность
O poortith cauld, and restless love, Ye wrack my peace between ye; Yet poortith a’ I could forgive, An ’twere na for my Jeannie. O why should fate sic pleasure have, Life’s dearest bands untwining; Or why sae sweet a flower as love Depend on fortune’s shining? This warld’s wealth when I think on, Its pride, and a’ the lave o’t — Fie, fie on silly coward man, That he should be the slave o’t! Her een sae bonnie blue betray How she repays my passion; But prudence is her o’erword aye, She talks of rank and fashion. O wha can prudence think upon, And sic a lassie by him? O wha can prudence think upon, And sae in love as I am? How blest the humble cotter’s fate! He woos his simple dearie; The silly bogles, wealth and state, Can never make them eerie.	Любовь и бедность навсегда Меня поймали в сети. Но мне и бедность не беда, Не будь любви на свете. Зачем разлучница-судьба — Всегда любви помеха? И почему любовь — раба Достатка и успеха? Богатство, честь в конце концов Приносят мало счастья. И жаль мне трусов и глупцов, Что их покорны власти. Твои глаза горят в ответ, Когда теряю ум я, А на устах твоих совет — Хранить благоразумье. На свете счастлив тот бедняк С его простой любовью, Кто не завидует никак Богатому сословью. Ах, почему жестокий рок — Всегда любви помеха И не цветет любви цветок Без славы и успеха?

Busking for Haiti

Today, Arco Iris performed to raise money for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. We played a 15-minute set in front of the Guildhall at 12:30 pm, then paraded around to the corner of Market and Sidney Streets to do another 15-minute set. It was the biggest band I ever played: 45 players, plus three bucket-holding kids looking cute and collecting donations! (Yes it does pay to look cute.) All the money collected are going to Médecins Sans Frontières and Oxfam Haiti relief efforts.