Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Carly Bawden, Audrey Brisson, Andrew Durand, Rina Fatania, James Gow, Martin Hyder, Giles King, Patrycja Kujawska, Dominic Marsh, Justin Radford, Ian Ross, Sarah Wright.
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F.I.F.A. World Cup 2014: Mexico V Croatia, Match Report.
First published online by Ace Magazine online June 2014.
For a few brief minutes there was real hope in every Mexican heart that they would go and get at least a couple of more goals against Croatia and equal amount of dread that Brazil would somehow slice open the Cameroon defense simply at will in equal response. Such were the margins for error that the Gods of expectancy and the false idols of the disappointed held Damocles’ Sword of all four of the squads in this particular group.
F.I.F.A Wold Cup 2014: Cameroon V Brazil. Match Report.
Forst published by Ace Magazine online June 2014.
The atmosphere for most of the games so far at this World Cup has been as electric as witnessing as a supernova explode with fury or finding yourself at the most sought after party in history where every drink was free and yet nobody got the slight bit inebriated and the conversation flowed like millions of tonnes of water over Niagara Falls. Yet somehow that same supernova was somehow lacking as you watched knowing that as you safely hid behind enough material to keep you safe from the harm, the explosion that would leave countless worlds destroyed was inaudible because your earphones had decided to pack up just before the mass of fury cascaded throughout space.
Rachael Dunn, Placing Stars. E.P. Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Like the good old 45 R.P.M single, the bastion of pop charts past, there are times when an E.P. can leave you trustingly wanting more. You love them; they speak to you in the same way that a novella or well-written Ernest Hemmingway short story can grab your attention for a while but you just cannot help knowing that a little more would send you over the edge into some sort of exquisite dream. Like the child only being allowed one small sweet lest the sugar content send them going into a crazy spiral of juvenile energy rush, the listener has to limit themselves to knowing what has been put out is enough, even if it is with a shrug of musical despondency.
Liverpool Sound And Vision: An Interview With Alastair Clark. (2014)
Alastair Clark never seems to sit still. Even if you have known him for quite a while or five minutes, what impresses you is his constant searching, questioning of the norm and deep down the stark truth that he is an exceptionally funny man. Having graduated from the University of Liverpool, he has become an ambassador on the comedy circuit, highlighting the excellent name of the city he lived in throughout his time doing his degree but also the great county of Lincolnshire from which he hails.
Raelism, Freedom Within The Prison. E.P. Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Everyone has a prison, a jail cell or gaol of their own making; it is how they deal with the thoughts inside that surrounding wall that set them apart from others. Sometimes your mind and imagination are the only Freedom Within The Prison.
Locke & Key: Clockworks. Graphic Novel Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Every outstanding Graphic Novel or superhero requires a back story, there is a law somewhere, probably laid down by story teller supremo Stan Lee on a scrap of paper in a rest room and the flourished signature witnessed by Jack Kirby. The paper, possibly now residing on a wall in Marvel offices just below the enormous Captain America drawing that greets visitors to the building in New York, is surely seen by all aspiring writers and artists, none so more as Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez and in the book Clockworks.
Fargo: Morton’s Fork. Television Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Martin Freeman, Bob Odenkirk, Keith Carradine, Joey King, Susan Park, Gary Valentine, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Chantel Perron, Andrew Neil McKenzie, Amanda Guenther.
There is always one television series that stands out each year and Fargo could well be it for 2014. If they never make another series then the writer, the Coen brothers and the actors who have been associated with this terrific endeavour will have more than amply done their jobs.
Celebrating The Summer Solstice With Dogs.
For many years, I made a point
Of standing somewhere amazing
When the Summer Solstice Sun rose Making a bit of a song and dance
As the Sun came up
Bog eyed and bleary
As the first dawn rays hit
I’d play a bit of music
Sing an ancient song
Probably
Sumer Is Icumen In
Wicker Man stylee
But without all the human sacrifice
And definitely no Edward Woodwards.
And it was good.
But there are other ways
To show your gratitude
For the miracle of Sunlight
And they don’t all need
A lot of rigmarole
You can say Hooray for Summer
Anywhere at all
Any time of day
So long as you feel joy
In the warmth of the rays on your face
And to that end
Taking the dogs to find the Sun
At the far edge of everything
Where the land gives way to the sea
And the path of the Sun glistens
Turning rolling breakers into gold
Now that’s a fine place to
Celebrate the Summer Solstice
Even if the dogs don’t know or care That’s what we’re doing.
The simple happiness of dogs
Splashing about
In the glittering sunlit water
Enjoying every moment
Sings a new version
Of Sumer Is Icumen In
Sings it straight to your heart
From mine.
F.I.F.A World Cup 2014: Columbia V Ivory Coast, Match Report.
First published by Ace Magazine, June 2014.
There are moments in which a single image can transcend any sport, any encounter and make it almost meaningless but also be seen as the pinnacle of humanity’s endeavour to push ourselves harder and better each time we wake up in the morning. The very human emotion of shedding a tear in front of a watching world, perhaps even letting the floodgates open and letting grief take its natural place in the world, not to let it bottle up inside as you would expect a robot to do. This enduring image was captured by television cameras inside the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha as Ivory Coast midfielder Serey Die showed the world exactly how much a person he was during the national anthems before this open ended, superbly evenly matched game between the Ivory Coast and Columbia.