The Only Game In Town
Why would a god install the human retina back to front, necessitating an elaborate detour of fibre and nerve? Why do some ants have wings? What’s the point of having a laryngeal nerve that goes via the thorax, for fuck’s sake? Because life doesn’t have the option that a god would have: of tearing up the work in progress and starting again. As Dawkins says, the outer majesty of some animal and birds gives the illusion of co-ordinated design but inside life is a mess, is all spit and prayer, post hoc compensation. But it is also beautiful.
Max Dunbar on Richard Dawkins‘ The Greatest Show on Earth.
The Missing Links
Jean-Philippe Toussaint interviewed in Le Monde. His new book (La V érit é sur Marie) is reviewed in Lib é. * The background to Lindsay Anderson‘s If….. * Steve Aylett is good for you (BBC World Service interview). * Twitterature. * In praise of depression. * The road to recovery for Edwyn Collins. * Welcome […]
A Thousand Cranes Can’t Be Wrong
To mark International Day of Peace on 21 September, Saatchi True Blue will present The Cry of a Thousand Cranes, an installation consisting of 1000 origami cranes by Offbeat Generation artist Matthew Coleman. Cranes are the Japanese symbol of peace, and the work, inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, promotes the support of individuals, […]
Saturday Night at the Movies
By Andrew Stevens. Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986) is rightly enjoyed as a found footage gem and secondary source backdrop for a much-analysed and oft-revived era. I barely need to hype it up here, so established is its cult reputation. This was the Reaganite actuality of heavy metal, the solidly blue collar weekend hedonism of […]