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Ran accross this interesting bit about Stanely Kubrick on The Guardian today…

In 1968, Kubrick embarked on one of his most ambitious and personal projects thus far: an epic biography of Napoleon Bonaparte, with Jack Nicholson playing the emperor. Napoleon was a lifelong obsession and Kubrick intended to cover the entire sweep of his life, with full-scale reconstructions of his battles, requiring some 50,000 extras (Kubrick often noted the similarities between filmmaking and mounting a battle campaign).

The director worked for two years on the film, immersing himself with a team of researchers in a minute analysis of the Napoleonic era, developing a day-by-day account of court life and a catalogue of 15,000 images of the period. With characteristic ingenuity he found special lenses to film exteriors in the evening and low-cost paper fabric for the soldiers’ uniforms. He even got the Romanian army to agree to provide tens of thousands of men for the battle scenes.

In 1969, however, MGM studios balked at the cost of Kubrick’s epic, despite the unprecedented success of his film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick went to Warner Brothers, where he made A Clockwork Orange, but he never gave up hope for Napoleon. If he had achieved his vision, A Clockwork Orange might never have been made. That film’s success sealed his relationship with Warner Brothers and led to his masterpieces Barry Lyndon and The Shining.

Edamame and Idaho Maki make for a good day…

Music:
Who Is Hiding – How Like A Winter
Selling Point – Black Cross
The Girl Who Still Lives At Home – Mr. T Experience
Mutual Slump – DJ Shawdow

My iBook’s hard drive shit the bed the other day. I awoke to her purring in an odd fashion and found she wouldn’t wake from her sleep. She is at the APPLE store currently and is being repaired… sadly I was told it will take a week. What the fuck if I had the hard drive I could do it myself in 10 minutes. Oh well they did say they would switch out my iPod for a new one so I really can’t complain.

Needless to say, I won’t be adding to this thing as often over the next couple of days…
I need to give the HELLFEST 2004 run down when I have more time.

The AKA’s played Blackout Bar last night and it was good to hang out with everyone, especially Mike Ski and Mike DC.
Being propostiioned by drunk fatties at this place is become a routine, at least it made TimBomb and I laugh.

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Music:
Just To See You Smile – Bonnie Prince Billy
We Laugh At Danger – Against Me!
Set’em Up Stevie – The Beltones
Curtailing Factors Of Interference – Axis of Advance

I scored some new Bearbricks last night. Series 8 is out.

The black one was designed by PUSHEAD.

Permission for primate lab ‘perverse’, court hears

The Guardian
Donald MacLeod
Tuesday July 27, 2004

As ministers threaten tougher action against animal rights extremists in the courts, protesters are hitting back in a continuing legal battle with the government.

Today the high court in London heard further argument about the decision by John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, to give the go-ahead to Cambridge University’s proposed primates laboratory.

The university has pulled out of the scheme but Animal Aid and the National Anti-Vivisection Society (Navs) want to establish a point of principle that would prevent it being revived.

Meanwhile the crown prosecution service has disclosed it is setting up a network of specially trained prosecutors to tackle disruption which researchers estimate has cost the UK £1bn in lost investment.

A CPS spokesman said the prosecutors shared information about using different laws regarding trespass and public order offences. There is no one law dealing with animal rights protests.

Despite the successful prosecution of protesters against the Huntingdon Life Sciences animal labs, the firm faced severe financial problems and in January Cambridge University withdrew its plans for a primates lab nearby in the face of spiralling security costs.

Protest groups are now targeting Oxford University, which is building an animal facility for medical research, and have forced the withdrawal of the main contractor Montpellier.

Yesterday campaigners argued before Mr Justice Collins that the outcome of the planning application to build a primate research laboratory in the green belt was a “foregone conclusion” and Mr Prescott had decided to grant permission “regardless of the outcome of a public inquiry and expert reports”. The planning permission lasts for five years.

Neil King QC argued that the decision was perverse, unreasonable and unfair, and the case raised questions over the influence of the prime minister and science minister Lord Sainsbury on the public inquiry process.

A public inquiry held over 11 days between November 2002 and January 2003 into the refusal by South Cambridgeshire district council to grant permission ended with the inquiry inspector also recommending refusal.

Mr Prescott then rejected the recommendation and granted permission on the grounds that there was a “national need” for the new research facility. His decision was “perverse” because he had failed to consider all the evidence before the inspector, including proofs of evidence from the animal rights coalition, said Mr King.

He added: “There were genuine alternatives available to non-human primate research. The secretary of state did not engage with those arguments at all.”

The hearing continues today.

Hellfest 2004

So I may actually watch some bands this year.
This is what I want to see…

FRIDAY
Champion Main Stage 1:40 PM
100 Demons Dinosaur Stage 2:55 PM
Terror Main Stage 4:25 PM
Mastodon Main Stage 4:50 PM
Strike Anywhere Main Stage 6:45 PM
With Honor Dinosaur Stage 7:05 PM

SATURDAY
Blacklisted Hot Topic Stage 1:45 PM
Comeback Kid Hot Topic Stage 2:20 PM
The Hope Conspiracy Main Stage 3:40 PM
Misery Index Dinosaur Stage 4:40 PM
Caliban Main Stage 5:15 PM
Avail Main Stage 6:05 PM
Bane Main Stage 7:05 PM

SUNDAY
Most Precious Blood Main Stage 3:55 PM
Death By Stereo Main Stage 4:20 PM
Throwdown Main Stage 5:15 PM
The Promise Hot Topic Stage 5:15 PM [how am I supposed to watch them both at the same time]
Bleeding Through Main Stage 5:45 PM
Converge Main Stage 6:20 PM
25 Ta Life Hot Topic Stage 7:35 PM