Griff says; The truth will set you free

I think we are all pleased and relieved that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has finally been released from custody in time for Christmas. Hopefully, he can now go on to successfully refute the allegations against him. However, there is someone else I'd like to write about tonight, someone who is in some senses the forgotten man of this entire episode; Private First Class Bradley Manning (pictured). An article on pfc Manning couldn't be more timely as today he is 'celebrating' his 23rd birthday at the Marine Corps Brig, Quantico where he has been held in solitary confinement since July 29, 2010.


For those of you unfamiliar with his story, Manning was an intelligence officer assigned to a support battalion with the Contingency Operating Station Hammer, in Iraq. US army agents arrested Manning in May 2010 based on information received from federal authorities provided by an American informant, Adrian Lamo, in whom Manning had previously confided. Lamo said that Manning claimed, via instant messaging, to be the person who had leaked; a video of the Granai airstrike , around 260,000 US diplomatic cables and the notorious "Collateral Murder" video. This last is a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people on July 12, 2007, in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff. Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-sight, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded. The US military had previously refused to reveal how the Reuters staff were killed, and stated that they did not know how the children were injured. After demands by Reuters, the incident was investigated and the U.S. military concluded that the actions of the soldiers were in accordance with the law of armed conflict and its own "Rules of Engagement". Please watch the video and make your own mind up. I must stress, however, that the video is extremely disturbing. It is worth noting that although this video is now in the public domain, the Apache crew and those behind the cover up depicted in the video have yet to be charged. Private Manning, on the other hand, continues to be held in solitary confinement and denied exercise. Additionally, he is under a suicide watch, a status most often used as an excuse to humiliate a prisoner by stripping them of their belt, shoelaces, and anything sharp or breakable while implying (to them and to anyone outside) that they are not in their right mind. Manning's lawyer expects a court martial in the Spring of 2011. If convicted of all charges, Manning can expect a maximum jail sentence of 52 years.
If Manning did release this information to Wikileaks then technically he is in breach of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, specifically; communicating, transmitting and delivering national defense information to an unauthorized source. There is a wider sense of justice, which we can apply here, however. I believe that when a government secretly engages in such consequential activities as aggressive wars, justified by at best questionable and at worst fabricated intelligence, covert bombings and assassinations, and diplomatic maneouvering designed to support such global meddling, the people in whose name that government acts – and who could suffer retaliation – have a right to know. Manning may have, allegedly, broken US military law but in doing so he has blown open the furtive, cloak and dagger machinations of supposedly democratic governments and exposed them for the corrupt, self-serving, military-political-economic elites that they are. So tonight, the Streetlamp would like to remind you all of the continuing travails of this man who sought to bring this information to the public at such extraordinary personal cost. So, what was Manning's motivation? Why would he take such a risk, and how many of us could say we'd do the same? Perhaps these extracts (below) from his messages to Lamo in May of this year best convey the ideals that we should all seek to serve:

(2:21:32 pm) Manning: its sad

(2:22:47 pm) Manning: i mean what if i were someone more malicious

(2:23:25 pm) Manning: i could've sold to russia or china, and made bank?

(2:23:36 pm) Lamo: why didn't you?

(2:23:58 pm) Manning: because it's public data

(2:24:15 pm) Lamo: i mean, the cables?

(2:24:46 pm) Manning: it belongs in the public domain

(2:25:15 pm) Manning: information should be free

(2:25:39 pm) Manning: it belongs in the public domain

To assist Private Manning, please see bradleymanning.org.

I'd like to finish by offering a beautiful song from a band that normally wouldn't make it into a 'Griff says' piece. The song is Soldier's Poem by Muse and it is written from the perspective of a soldier who cannot find a reason to explain why he has repeatedly risked his life and exposed himself to horror for an uncomprehending and complacent public. According to Muse's Dominic Howard; “It’s about a soldier in prison, who feels abandoned by a country that’s falling apart."



Quite. Tonight, as we think about Bradley Manning languishing in prison, it's worth considering whether, in the words of the song, "you think you deserve your freedom". If you do, and if you think that those, like pfc Manning, who have made the greatest sacrifices to protect that freedom also do, then please consider those small acts that you can perform in the fight for truth and justice. If you think that it's wrong that "There's no justice in the world" then you don't have to accept that it will always be that way. You can fight back. The recent, massive, extra-judicial intimidation of WikiLeaks is an attack on democracy. We urgently need a public outcry for our democratic rights to a free press and freedom of expression. Never has there been a more vital time for us to do so. That's why I would encourage you to sign the Avaaz petition to stop the crackdown and then copy and paste and forward the link to the petition (below) to everyone you know.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/wikileaks_petition/97.php

Also, find out how you can support Bradley Manning here.

Griff

My Weekend Crush

I’ve already crushed all over Natalie Portman with her timeless beauty and regal elegance. Her performance in “Black Swan” is sublime, otherworldly, mesmerizing. But most of us already knew she was good. But after walking out of “Black Swan” (which opens wider this weekend and you should go see it immediately), you’ll probably come away with a new appreciation for Mila Kunis. Flat out, that girl is sexy. Like really, totally, super-duper, hot-diggity, not-kidding-around sexy. I’m not sure if I’m getting my point across well enough here. The girl is sexy.

Now I hadn’t thought much of Mila when she was on “That 70s Show.” I caught enough of her on the show to know she was a) cute and b) annoying. But in “Black Swan” she is something else entirely – carnal. If that sounds dirty, then good because I mean it in the most visceral way possible. In “Black Swan,” Mila is all loose limbs and smoky eyes. You could see why Natalie’s tightly wound Nina would be equally threatened and attracted to Mila’s effortlessly uninhibited Lily. And, trust me, even if nothing I’ve said here convinces you of Mila’s sexy, just wait until you get to that scene. If The Gay really was something that we could convert people to, Mila would be able to build a house out of the complimentary toaster ovens sent to her by grateful new recruits. Yeah, that sexy. Happy weekend, all.

Park it

Five weeks! Five weeks until Leslie Knope! Five weeks until the return to Pawnee! Five weeks until Ron Freaking Swanson! You’ve been gone too long, “Parks & Recreation.” Never leave me like that again. For those of you unfamiliar with the encroaching joy I feel, please walk out your front door, get in your car (or bike or feet or whatever mode of transportation gets you from Point A to Point B), go to the store, find the DVD aisle and buy the second season of “Parks & Recreation,” get back in your car (or, you know, whatever), go home, close the front door and enjoy. You’ve got plenty of time to marathon the second season and get caught up before the third season starts Jan. 20. You don’t even have to take the time to thank me for my stupendously good advice.

Now, I realize I have been terribly remiss in not talking about my deep and meaningful feelings for this show that much on this site. Everyone knows I love me some “30 Rock,” but coming in an almost uncomfortably close second is the endearing zaniness of the Pawnee City Department of Parks and Recreation and its deputy director, Leslie Knope. This show was easily the most improved series from last year and the perfect one-two comedy punch for my Thursday night. I purposely time-shifted so I could watch my Tina Fey and Amy Poehler back-to-back. It’s like old times seeing them at the SNL anchor desk together again. But now, with “Parks & Rec” moving to 9:30 and “30 Rock” to 10, I won’t have to shift anymore. So as cautiously wary as I am of a 10 p.m. comedy block on NBC again (remember Leno? Better yet, let’s not), I love having them back-to-back naturally.

But back to the show. If you don’t watch you’re missing out on one of the zaniest, biggest-hearted, optimistically goofy shows on television. Yes, “30 Rock” has the urbane, zeitgeisty nerd humor. Yes, “Modern Family” has the rainbow flag of family values. Yes, “Glee” has jazz hands. But “Parks & Rec” has Leslie Knope. She’s like Hillary Clinton’s wildly enthusiastic and affably naive younger sister who makes up for what she lacks in political savvy with earnest hopefulness. Also, like her timeslot neighbor Liz Lemon, is an avowed feminist. That’s two shows on a major network television airing consecutively with female leads who call themselves feminists. Yeah, at this point I think it’s a sin against womankind not to watch.

p.s. I think Ron Swanson might be my spirit animal (minus the hating government stuff – and mustache) because I, too, like pretty, dark-haired women and breakfast food.

~Winter Wassailing~#9: 'Feliz Navidad' by Sea Of Bees

A Selection Of Seasonal Songs In The ~Streetlamp~ Stylee!

I have to admit that I am flying blind on this one tonight.

For you see this is not the Blog I had intended to write this evening. The song I had chosen to write about remains the same, 'Feliz Navidid', but the artist is now Sea Of Bees.
Let's see how we got here.

'Feliz Navidad' is one of, if not THE most popular Christmas song to have emerged from Latin America. It was written by the Puerto Rican singer/songwriter José Feliciano in 1970, and has proven to be a massive hit amongst the Spanish speaking populace of North and South America, although it still remains fairly obscure here in Britain, and indeed in most of Europe.
The version that I had originally chosen to write about tonight was by El Vez, the Mexican Elvis and one-time Morrissey support act! I originally heard El Vez's version about 10 years ago on an Indie Music Charity CD and was immediately seduced by his incorporation of Public Image Ltd's 'Public Image' into the track. This is the version that this Blog was supposed to be about, however when I went to search for a video clip to accompany the song on the Blog, the only version I could find once again had the Union Flag as it's sole image, and as I had already been berated by Griff for this in a previous Blog, I didn't want to stoke his ire once again.
Then, as I was looking through the other versions of the song that were available, I stumbled upon this rather gorgeous version by an artist called Sea Of Bees. Immediately smitten, I knew this was the version I had to write about.

So who are/is Sea Of Bees?
Well, Sea Of Bees is the pseudonym used by Sacremento singer/songwriter Julie Ann Bee aka Julie Baenziger aka Jules. The music is very Folk/Pop with a remarkably clean production sound that really accentuates Julie's incredibly pure voice. This vocal clarity gives the song an almost hymnal quality, and the backwards guitars give the song a slightly psychedelic, slightly woozy feel....like you've drunk too much Advocaat(Egg Nogg for our American readers). There's something very folksy and primitive about this version of the song that makes it a perfect ~Streetlamp~ Festive Favourite!


If you are intrigued by Julie's music having heard this track, then please check out her own excellent website here, where you can acquire a free download of her rather wonderful song 'Marmalade', plus be sure to check out her Last.fm, Myspace and Facebook pages.

All in all, a wonderful new discovery for us.
One I'm sure Griff will be rather partial to.

And if you'd like to hear El Vez's version, click here.

And here's the original......


......from the bottom of my heart!

~Gordon~

Keeping abreast

Hey, hey. My words. They’re up here. OK, so, yesterday my thought process went like this: “Write many things and then spruce them up with some pretty pictures.” But today, I know better. Today I’m going to stop fighting it and reverse the equation. Why? Because it’s 10 days until Christmas (or if you don’t celebrate Christmas, a nice long weekend). I think we all deserve to turn off our brains a bit. And, as evolution would have it, my theme for today’s post has a habit of turning off brains anyway. I’ll freely admit, I’m not really a breast gal. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’ve nice – no, really nice. But I can usually still make steady eye contact with a lady in spite her really nice rack. Not that I don’t enjoy a peek now and then. There's a shortage of perfect breasts in this world, it would be a pity to not stare at these. [Though your work might think otherwise, so tastefully – that means no nip – NSFW.]

Scarlett JohanssonSo she is single now. So, you know – hey, girl.

Christina HendricksLike I could leave her off this list. Pshaw.

Anna FrielSize doesn’t matter.

Julianne MooreI can’t say this enough: This woman is FIFTY.

BeyoncéIt’s kind of not fair being both bootylicious and boobylicious.

Anne HathawayAnne is totally laughing at my boobylicious joke.

Dita von TeeseMatching one’s cleavage to one’s jacket is truly a lost art form.

RihannaIf she really was the only girl in the world, that would be a shame because we wouldn’t be able to look at her.

Blake LivelyIs it just me, or does that look uncomfortable?

Salma HayekWhen she arrives to vacation on small South Pacific islands the villagers always notice an abrupt change in the tidal patterns which subsist immediately after she leaves once again. They have yet to determine what is causing the additional orbital pull. Ahem.

Lynda Carter/Wonder WomanThe Wonder Boobs were responsible for untold numbers of nascent lesbian experiences.

~Winter Wassailing~#8: 'A Christmas Song' by Jethro Tull....Yes, really!!

A Selection Of Seasonal Songs In The ~Streetlamp~ Stylee!

That it should come to this!

First, a James Brown article, and now Jethro Tull! Yes....THAT Jethro Tull! The beardy, flute playing Prog Rockers. In the ~Streetlamp~!!!!

Actually, that's all a little unfair. Jethro Tull have never really been Prog Rock, more Folk Rock. Actually more Folk Pop/Rock with a little Jazz thrown in, if we are being really honest. And....there are a couple of tracks on the Tull's first couple of albums that wouldn't have looked out of place in one of Griff's Blogs! Add to that, recent fanboy patronage from such left-field characters as Nick Cave and John Lydon, and maybe Jethro Tull featuring in our hallowed pages isn't such an odd thing after all.
So why are we featuring the Tull then?
Well, this Christmas song is actually a favourite of Ray and I, which we first discovered back in the Winter of 1984.
You see a couple of things happened within music(and I feel I should point out that I mean chart/Radio-friendly music when I say that) back then that changed the way music was presented to the public forever.
First of all there was Bob Geldof's Band Aid charity record that ensured multimillionaires would never have to feel guilty again as long as they wrung their consciences out in public every now and then, and in doing so hijack major events; Seasonal festivities, disasters etc, and maintain a high profile which could almost never be dented because the song would get dragged out again and again. And again. And again. I mean, here's a point....did you know that terrible cross-dressing one-hit-wonder Marilyn appears on the Band Aid single? How do I know? Because every time they show that wretched video, he's there!! In fifty years time or so, people will be watching that video and saying "Who's that rather masculine looking girl then? Don't remember her. How did she got on this cavalcade-of-stars?".
The second thing was the 'Now That's What I Call Music' series of albums that gave the public ALL the big hits of the day in one easy to digest dosage.
It was inevitable that both franchises would collide and, voila....'Now That's What I Call Christmas' released in the Winter of 1984 with the Band Aid single leading the way. Now, what was interesting about this was that this was the first time that ALL the big Christmas Pop hits(Slade, Mud, Wizzard, Jonah Lewie, even Bing Crosby) had ever been collected in one volume....and it made for quite interesting, if rather uneven listening. Of course, now you can't move for the many, many, MANY compilations of Christmas hits, but this was the first.

Now you may wonder what all this has to do with me, Ray and Jethro Tull? Well, Ray and I used to play this album a lot back then because a)we'd never owned all those songs before, and b)because we're such suckers for the whole Christmas scene, and remember we were still in our teens.
And so we came to listen to Christmas music in the same way that we would listen to conventional music, almost adopting some Post-modernist Ironist stance. And, as I was only just finding my way amongst the music of the past back then(by frequenting second hand vinyl shops and snaffling anything that looked cool from the 60s or 70s), I happened across a copy of Jethro Tull's 'Living In The Past' album. And there, sitting proudly was 'A Christmas Song'. I remember taking the album into Ray's house purely because of this track, because as I've said, we had become partial to listening to any obscure Christmas songs for their novelty and for their P*******n evocation of cherished memories.
'A Christmas Song' begins almost as though it's going to be a straight reading of 'Once In Royal David's City' with Ian Anderson's flute ushering us in amidst sleigh-bells before mandolin and bongos join in. After the first couple of lines from 'Once In Royal David's City' appear verbatim, Ian's lyrics become darker and more pointed and you realise that this is in fact a bit of an attack on the soulless-ness of the modern Christmas as he juxtaposes the simplicity of Christ in the manger with the bacchanalian excesses of yer average Christmas office party. As the song builds and builds upon a rather wonderful string section, Ian rails against how hollow the Christmas experience has become and how spirituality has been replaced by 40% proof spirit.
But in the ironic ending Ian bids that we not take him too seriously as, after all this is merely a Christmas song, and therefore virtually throwaway sentiments, ending with the humorous aside, "Hey Santa....pass us that bottle, will ya?".


This song was part of Ray and I's Christmases for many years, so it's nice to share it with some of you who would probably never think of listening to Jethro Tull.
I guess we could all do with beardy, straggly haired, long-coat wearing flautists standing on one leg in our lives!

~Gordon~

Oooh (yawns and stretches), I had the strangest dream last night. I dreamt that Gordon had posted a blog on Jethro Tull, yeah... Jethro Tull, and that somehow he'd manage to work another reference to Proust into it. I mean, as if. That's just crazy. Ha ha..... ha?
What? Nooooooooo!
(only kidding, Gordon. stay unpredictable)
Griff
xx

A Winslet and a prayer

Hey, you know who we haven’t talked about in a while? Kate Winslet! I know! How is this possible? Did I fall on my head? Possible! But the real reason is that Kate hasn’t really been in the news much lately because she hasn’t had a movie out. Sure, she shot and finished the mini-series “Mildred Pierce” for HBO, set to air next year. But it has been two full years since she was last on the big screen (“The Reader” opened in December 2008). Now in a way this is good, because it means Kate hasn’t fallen victim to the dreaded quickie Oscar follow-up flop that has plagued so many actors and actresses. Think Halle Berry and “Catwoman,” Charlize Theron and “Aeon Flux,” Cuba Gooding Jr. and the entire remainder of his career.

Since her win a lot has happened. She separated from her husband, director Sam Mendes, and was seen about town with a super hottie model and new boyfriend Louis on her arm. Now I will fully admit my double standard about this. When I see such behavior on a man I find it boorish and, you know, boorish. But on Kate? Get it girl!

Of course, seeing Kate out makes me want to see Kate on screen again. “Mildred Pierce” opposite Evan Rachel Wood should be amazing. But I’m more interested in the big screen. She has two films the docket. One is “Contagion,” which as you can guess from the name is about some sort of horrible outbreak of some disease that will kill us all. It also co-stars like all the stars – Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, and more. Though I bet this film seemed a lot more topical and a lot less like a rehash of that 15-year-old movie with Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo in Hazmat suits when we were all convinced we were going to die from the piggy flu at any second. But, still, Steven Soderbergh is directing and that’s usually promising. (cough, “Solaris,” cough, “Full Frontal,” cough, whatever the hell “Bubble” was).

But then the really interesting, and by interesting I mean perplexing, thing is her other project. Again, read the cast and think – I want to go to there. Kate, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Christopher Waltz, Matt Dillon (I still have a soft spot for him from “The Outsiders”). But then you get to the director: Roman Polanski. Oh, fuck wank bugger shitting arse head and hole! I’ve already made my feelings on this subject very clear. And I’ve already lamented this decision from Jodie’s perspective. But, Kate, oh Kate. I realize that agreeing to work professionally with someone is not the same as agreeing with their personal views or actions. And I can separate the art from the artist. “The Pianist” was a great movie. “Rosemary’s Baby” was a great movie. But now, in light of everything that has both come out and happened in his case, it seems like a tacit pardoning of his crimes. In short, I’m disappointed. And, once again I’ll let my double standards show, I’m more disappointed in the women who choose to work with him than the men. Deep, deep sigh.

But through it all, I still love Kate. I’ll still see (most) of her movies. I’ll still love her wit and her propensity to swear. I’ll still love her style and her smarts. I’ll l still love her expertly arched eyebrows and fuck-you-I-will-eat-dessert attitude. I still love her, period. I miss her. Come back to the big screen soon in something we can all feel good about soon, dear.