Video nasty

Last weekend I got around to seeing 'Ringu', the Japanese horror film that inspired an American remake, 'The Ring'. Having seen the latter when it came out in the cinema, there weren't many surprises, although 'Ringu' stays closer to the original novel and has more rudimentary special effects. For example, the facial contortions of the victims of the video curse are not quite so grotesque in 'Ringu'. That said, Sadako's jerky, shuffling walk (created by filming the actress walking backwards and then playing the film in reverse) is marvellously disturbing.

'The Ring' certainly gave me a few uneasy nights, despite the fact that the film's central premise is ludicrous. Of course, watching 'Ringu' is so unsettling because (a) the horror in the film derives from a film, which has the effect of putting the (real-life) viewer under the spell, and (b) the omnipresent and trusted home TV is reconfigured as a conduit for malice.

I fought the law

One week before Christmas I was strip-searched by police after a drugs test indicated positive for various controlled substances. The process was mildly humiliating and utterly unproductive (no drugs were on my person after all) but proved an interesting experience for someone who has had few problems with the police.

The positive test result immediately resulted in the officers throwing rapid-fire questions and accusations: "What drugs have you taken tonight?", "Have you been in trouble with the police before?" and "You might as well tell us what you are carrying." The strip-search itself was bizarre because it involved a sort of dress-undress choreography so that every part of my body could be inspected (though thankfully not probed) even though I was always wearing something. At the end of this process, no substances having been found, I was told that a record would be made of the search. They took my name and address and let me go. Only afterwards did I discover that it was my legal right to have a record of the search, and I subsequently made a complaint because a record was not offered to me after the search.

Consequently, this afternoon I had a chat with a sergeant who revealed that a copy of the search form was not completed at the time because the relevant form was not available. He did helpfully provide me with a copy of the record, which tells me some handy things like my height (impressively accurate) and my clothing on the evening in question. (Interestingly, one of the grounds for search is to see whether someone is 'going equipped', which has all kinds of amusing implications). The sergeant told me that the Ion Track drugs testing spectrometer is set with a high threshold given its high sensitivity, so I must have been unlucky with my wandering hands. Nevertheless, others of the political class seem to have been unlucky too, which makes you wonder about the false positive rate of these devices.

Being wrongly accused of something is never pleasant, and the abrupt suspension of liberty makes you realise how easily freedom is taken for granted. Finally, what becomes of the 'nothing to hide, nothing to fear' argument when technology (drug detection, DNA matching) goes awry?

Iron Maiden - 'Afraid To Shoot Strangers'

The last album from the first Bruce Dickinson period, 'Fear of the Dark' may not be Maiden's finest full-length, but it certainly has its moments. The prominent synth on 'Afraid To Shoot Strangers' makes one nostalgic for the glory days of 'Seventh Son...' (particularly 'Infinite Dreams', another Steve Harris composition). The striking, solitary leads in the song's middle and end are simple but gloriously effective.

Mediocre Reo-Coker

West Ham United's skipper, Nigel Reo-Coker, was on the Today programme on Thursday morning talking about a campaign he was involved in which footballers donate a day's pay to nurses.

All very worthy, but when Sarah Montague asked the midfielder about his team's meagre prospects for avoiding relegation, the young captain simply refused to comment. For all his charity, WHU fans might be forgiven for wondering what Nigel is paid for in the first place. Come on you Irons!

System of a Down

Back in about 1998, I slammed a System of a Down sampler tape that had been sent to me for review. Those were the dark days when nu-metal was beginning to make threatening noises, and early SOAD didn't seem to offer anything very different from that dubious template.

Despite this, it has to be said (having spun it for the first time today) that the band's breakthrough effort, 'Toxicity' is a strong record. Its songs are short, rhythmically interesting and pleasantly melodic, while the riffs arguably owe more to thrash than they do to nu-metal. 'Chop Suey!' is an obvious hit, although possibly the first US number one to feature baby blastbeats!

Personality plasticity in trout

Does experience influence the personality of fish? A paper by Frost et al. (2007, Proc R Soc B, 274, 333-9) found that 'bold' rainbow trout who lost fights or who observed other trout exhibiting 'shy' behaviour became less bold themselves. This was tested behaviourally by examining fishes' inquisitive reactions to Lego bricks or novel prey dropped in front of them. However, there was an asymmetry to this social learning: shy trout who observed bold trout did not subsequently become bolder. Fish who won fights tended to engage in more approach behaviour towards novel objects, although this was also true for shy fish who lost fights (the so-called 'Desperado' effect).

Egyptian unfreedom

Spare a thought for Abdel Karem Soliman, the Egyptian student and blogger who was recently sentenced to four years in jail for writing posts showing 'contempt for religion' (penalty: 3 years) and 'insulting the president' (penalty: 1 year). Ominously, the website campaigning for his release seems to be down at the moment, but this tyrannical treatment deserves widespread exposure.

'The Last King of Scotland'

The latest film about the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin does not disappoint. Forest Whitaker's swivel-eyed enactment of the paranoid leader is magnificent, while James McAvoy also shines as the brave young doctor (Nicholas Garrigan) who becomes his personal physician. The movie focuses on Amin's personal magnetism and it is a while before his murderous tendencies begin to dawn on Garrigan. As a proud Scot, the doctor clearly sympathises with Amin, who put one over the British army (who trained him) when he became the leader of an independent Uganda. Garrigan's desire to escape from a puritanical and traditional family practice also helps to explain his initial credulity. The final scales fall from his eyes after seeing the results of a particularly nasty detruncation.

Ataraxia - 'Al Ballo Masquerato'

When the Italian neoclassical/gothic/folk/darkwave musicians Ataraxia released 'Il Fantasma dell'Opera' on Avantgarde Music in 1996, it brought them a little more attention from metal folk. Francesca Nicoli had recently helped out on MonumentuM's 'In Absentia Christi' opus, and her heavenly soprano on 'Al Ballo Masquerato' never fails to tug the heartstrings. Though the song could have benefitted from a genuine string accompaniment in place of synth, its melody combines sprightly grace with the faint taste of melancholy.

Elsewhere, the eerie, gothic cover of Kate Bush's 'Wuthering Heights' ('La Nouva Marguerita') isn't bad either.

'Shooting Dogs'

A depressing tale told in the midst of the Rwandan genocide, 'Shooting Dogs' shines a light on the impotence of the United Nations in a benighted country descending into hell. It's told simply, without digression or ornamentation, save for the brief TV footage showing a UN official doing her best to avoid using the 'G' word. John Hurt stars as the Catholic priest sheltering fleeing Tutsis, while Hugh Dancy plays the callow English youth teaching at his school. The brutal violence is shocking in a way that does not require excessive gore, and although more could probably have been made of the script, it's not a film that will leave your thoughts easily.

Upon realising that he is a dead man, there's a moving moment in which Hurt's character bids farewell to his protégé with the words: 'Find fulfillment in everything.' As Marie, one of the survivors of the genocide reminds us, 'This time we have been given, we must use it well.'

(Though no thesp myself, this blogger once shared a stage with Hugh Dancy, though back at school we knew him as 'Jack').

Dusk/dawn asymmetry around the solstice

Despite my amateurish enthusiasm for astronomy, recently I came across a puzzle relating to the solstice that I couldn't immediately fathom. Why is the shortest day not also the day of the latest sunrise? In fact, in the Northern hemisphere, sunrise continues to get later as we pass the winter solstice, before it gradually begins getting earlier again.

Obviously there is some kind of asymmetry going on here. The first thing that came to my mind was the fact that the Earth is nearer the Sun in January (perihelion), though after reflection this does not seem to be important. The real explanation is (I think at least mostly) due to the difference between the sidereal day and the solar day. Thus, because of its rotation around the Sun, the Earth has to rotate slightly more each day before sunrise at a particular location. Dawn gets later after the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere because the Earth rotates in the same direction as it orbits the Sun.

If there are any additional subtleties in this relationship, please comment!

Neurobiology of intelligence

Not exactly hot off the press, but here's an interesting review article on neuroscientific insights into intelligence (Gray & Thompson, 2004, Nat Rev Neurosci, 5, 1-13). The authors focus on fluid intelligence (Gf), which is moderately correlated with brain volume. Neuroimaging and neuropsychological research implicate the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) as a brain region that is active during Gf tests and related to individual differences in Gf. The review explains that grey matter volume in the lateral PFC is both correlated with fluid intelligence and largely under genetic control, although it should be remembered that environmental input has been related to differences in brain morphology. Individual genes associated with Gf are difficult to pin down, while environmental factors are rather more easily detected (e.g., lead exposure).

On the vexed question of possible group-based differences, the authors propose that it is better to buttress ethical standards than to censor research in this field entirely. For example, they propose that data should only be retained if participants give their active support to a study's aims after a thorough debriefing.

A wing and no prayer

For over half my life I've been a Microsoft Flight Simulator pilot. After taking off from the chalk-on-grass airport runways of version 4.0, my virtual wings have flown me through to FS 2004, with its ATC chatter and AI aircraft. (My current spec would baulk at FSX). Because it's a simulation rather than a game, and there aren't any guns, missiles or bombs, the goal of FS is whatever the user wants it to be. For some it will be crazy jumbo jet aerobatics. For others it will be perfectly recreating their last holiday flight to Tenerife. For most people, horrible crashes and belly landings are inevitable. And sometimes, things aren't all that realistic.

This afternoon, for example, I flew a 737 from Exeter to Salzburg. Having visited the real Salzburg, I knew about the spectacular mountains, but didn't bother checking the approach charts. ATC cleared me for a straight-in visual approach to runway 34. It was dusk and I was not 'visual' with the surrounding terrain, but all seemed well as the runway lights appeared at 8 miles out and landing clearance was granted. There was a slight problem: the plane was 9,000 feet above the field after clearing the mountains and was now way too high. Solution? Close the throttle, deploy the spoilers and sink like a stone until I'm safely bouncing along the tarmac. In reality, straight-in approaches to runway 34 would be too dangerous and instead aircraft have to circle and land. Still, at least the virtual captain and passengers walked away.

Sometimes they don't. One time, a jet under my command was accelerating rather sluggishly down the shorter runway at Stockholm Skavsta. With no room to abort, I pulled the plane into the air at under 140 knots. It rose a few feet, stalled, then crashed into a forest on the airfield boundary. The problem? I'd forgotten to retract the spoilers after the previous landing. Doh!

Opeth - 'The Twilight is My Robe'

My first acquaintance with Opeth came about via a dodgy tape-traded copy of their 'Orchid' debut. The recording was effectively in mono so that only one of the lead guitars rang through, but despite this handicap the music proved to be absolutely beguiling.

As a sucker for dual guitar harmonies, the Swedes' first three albums have always appealed to me more than their subsequent output. 'The Twilight is My Robe' gets better and better as it goes on, ascending to a climactic powerchord (8:58) that clears the air before the closing refrain.

Eggheadbanger encounter

The other speaker at the Exeter workshop yesterday was none other than Dr Nick Terry, who presented a paper entitled 'Towards a social history of violence: German military police, Russian collaborators and Soviet victims behind the Eastern Front, 1941-1944'. This work stemmed from his PhD research, which Nick was able to concentrate on full-time after a glorious stint as Terryizer editor (during which time he hired li'l ole me).

After recovering from the shock of hearing him deliver the first academic talk without PowerPoint that I've heard in a good few years (shocking, isn't it?), there was a little time for catch-up. Dr Terry is still writing about metal, for the U.S.-based Decibel magazine, and does a little blogging related to his academic interests. Somewhat encouragingly, Nick revealed that he felt no need for musical gratification outside metal. So there you have him: eggheadbanger through and through!