The Best Thing That Happened on Sunday

Coke and Cake playing at the Blue Blazer. Coke's the one on the right, but apparently they take turns. Apart from their own stuff, which is fantastic, they played a few top notch Radiohead covers. Listening Room aside, the rest of the night was rather naff. Especially the part where I got kicked out of two nightclubs for falling asleep.

West Wing == Crack

I did mean to go to the Dean Gallery today, but after watching an episode of the West Wing Season 4 over lunch, I thought "just one more." Of course, I didn't make it out of the house until five. And that was only because I realized that I had eaten the flat's last remaining item of "food" for lunch.

My search for food took me to the Whisky Society where I enjoyed a fantastic pre-theatre dinner of smoked salmon mousse followed by roast pork and mustard mashed potatoes. You can't honestly take me to a place with "whisky" in its name and expect me not to have a few. Actually, I spent more on whisky than on food. Although I got one dram on the house when I managed to snarf the last drop of 36.31 ("Speyside of the gods" -- Leynos).

There's a thought. Save for those sensible enough to buy a bottle of the stuff, I am among the last people to drink this particular creation. And there will never be another exactly like it.

Following dinner, I watched Paradise Now, a fictional account of the final forty-eight hours of two Palistinian suicide bombers, at the Cameo.

Paradise Now

My impression of Paradise Now is that it offers something of a discussion between those who have grown up under occupation and those who are seeing it from the outside. The filmmakers are clearly against the idea of suicide bombing, but rather than offer a damning condemnation, they explore what it means to both the bombers themselves and to people still holding some modicum of faith in a non-violent solution.

I have seen the case for suicide bombing put forward before, most notably in 11"09'01. I can see why, in a situation of desperation, it would make sense, but I can't agree with it. Aside from the obvious reason, it is, as Lubna in Paradise Now explains, just offering a continued excuse for the mistreatment of the bombers own people. By offering these perspectives, the film is the most complete exploration of the subject that I have seen to date.

I want to write a proper review of the film, but right now, I'm not quite ready to do it justice. Right now, I'll just mention that I thought it pretty funny that the Hamas Minister of Culture thought he might have to take issue with the film.