The Suspension Bridge

Let the Dreams Begin

2006-10-18T14:30:00.000+01:00

I was very excited to find the first chapter of The Glass Books Of The Dream Eaters on my doormat this morning.

Having already read and discussed Chapter One: Temple on the blog, I'm not going to go over old ground. However, I will say that the installment looks great. The design and attention to detail feel perfectly matched to the content, and I'm sure the quality of the overall execution will make the series highly collectible.

Waiting for next week's chapter is almost like waiting for the next episode of Lost. Sweet agony.

Robert and Quentin's House

2006-10-12T17:27:00.000+01:00

The trailer for the much talked about 'Grindhouse' collaboration between Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Sin City) and Quentin Tarantino surfaced on Youtube yesterday (for how long, who knows).

For those that need a catch up, Tarantino and Rodriguez have got together to create a horror film each that will be shown as a double bill, including fake trailers between the films that the two have also created. Tarantino's offering is called 'Death Proof', and Rodriguez' 'Planet Terror'.

As I understand it, the trailer mostly features 'Planet Terror', as 'Death Proof' has yet to wrap, but whatever the case it looks awsome. Someone has clearly watched Vampyros Lesbos and captured that tripped out psychedelic style perfectly, and hot assasins with rifles for legs...well it does'nt really get any better than that.

Judge for yourself and watch the trailer here, then tell me I'm not wrong.

A Tale Of Two Cities

2006-10-10T11:02:00.000+01:00

Apologies (if indeed anyone gives a toss) for the radio silence over the past week or so, but have been battered by a particularly obstinate bout of the flu, and just couldn't be bothered to do anything beyond the most rudimentary activities.

But back to business. Season 3 of Lost has finally started on ABC in the US, and so thanks to the interpipe, is available for all to see. The first episode is called A Tale Of Two Cities; there's a pretty thorough synopsis of on the Lostpedia, but obviously don't read this if you're saving yourself for when if finally arrives on Channel 4.

I was kind of expecting the first episode to carry on from the last, with Desmond's missus continuing her hunt, but this wasn't the case. As expected, episode one threw up a whole new bunch of questions which are now being feverishly debated all over the web, but I think the first five minutes will take / have taken everyone by surprise.

Needless to say I'm hooked again already, I just pray my broadband doesn't fail me.

Open Your Mind

2006-09-26T12:51:00.000+01:00

I've been following bits and bobs of news about Satoshi Kon's latest anime feature, 'Paprika', for a while now. It's just turned up again on SolaceInCinema, and it looks like it's going to be hitting our screens at some point early next year, so now seems like a good time to mention it.

I've not seen all of Kon's work, but his debut anime 'Perfect Blue' was amazing. A cautionary tale about a pop idol turned acress, it is as much a commentry on Japanese culture, as a dark thriller laden with suspense that Hitchcock would have been proud of.

The premise for 'Paprika' is definately intriguing, "...when a machine that allows therapists to enter their patient's dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist can stop it: Paprika". From what I've seen so far, it looks as dark as 'Perfect Blue' with a destinctly trippy edge, and is visually stunning.

Check out the Japanese trailer here and open your mind.

Just because

2006-09-22T17:19:00.000+01:00

It made me laugh my arse off...click here to improve your day.

Tempa. Tempa.

2006-09-19T21:13:00.000+01:00

It's always a joy to come back from work to find a package from Boomkat sitting on my doorstep, and tonight was no exception.

Today's delights include the Spank Rock and Diplo remixes of CSS's 'Lets Make Love and Listen to Death From Above', an aptly named heavy slice of dubstep called 'Punisher' courtesy of local boy Pinch, and D1's 'Degrees' ep that I missed last time around.

I'm a huge fan of D1's stuff. He creates futuristic soundscapes that strike a balance between light and dark, home listening and club music. For me the tune of the ep is 'Identify' - trancey, cinematic synths, paired with a dark and deep bassline. This is what the 'Blade Runner' soundtrack would sound like if it was made in 2006.

Not sure Harrison Ford would approve, but I do.

Downloadable Dreams

2006-09-15T17:43:00.000+01:00

Since making a post on the Penguin Blog a week or so ago, I've been chatting on-line to one of the copywriters there. She was saying that she liked The Suspension Bridge, and was thanking us for our interest in the The Glass Books.

I cheekily told her that she should give us an exclusive like a juicy excerpt of the book, and to my surprise she said she'd see what she could do. Not thinking anything would come of it, I forgot about it, until today when I was sent a PDF of the first chapter of the book! That's right folks (in a Pete Tong style) this is a Suspension Bridge exclusive, exclusive, exclusive.

By putting this up here I'm obviously oiling the wheels of the Penguin marketing machine, but what the hell, it's not every day that one of the worlds most famous publishing brands gives you a sneak preview.

I'm afraid the first chapter of the Glass Books is no longer available for download. Sorry!

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

2006-09-12T18:22:00.000+01:00

Pulp frontman and Sheffield's favourite son, Jarvis Cocker, is doing a series of short story readings that he is releasing as podcasts. The first two are Icelandic folk tales, and are available by clicking through on the links below.

You can sign up to the podcasts here (when apple have got their act together) or from Jarvis' myspace page where you can also listen to the ace, if not ascerbic, 'Running The World'.

It's a bit like Jackanory for grown-ups. Nowt wrong with that.

Paris Is Burning

2006-09-06T18:34:00.000+01:00

A friend sent me a youtube link earlier that shows a crew of people remixing and repackaging Paris Hilton's debut album before 'reverse shoplifting' it into music stores accross the country.

This is probably old news to alot of people as it seems to have swept accross the interpipe like wildfire today, but it made me chuckle and thought it was worth a mention, as A) I can't think of anyone more deserving for this happen to, and B) because it turns out that Dangermouse and Banksy are behind it. Anyway, for the full-ish story go here.

Just goes to show, you can polish a turd...

All Becomes Clear...

2006-09-05T11:18:00.000+01:00

I've mentioned this a couple of times on the blog recently, but I've now found out who's going to be publishing The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters in the UK.

I read about it on the Penguin Blog (which makes interesting reading by the way), and it seems that they are launching the book with a limited edition subscription. 10 chapeters delivered to your door over 10 weeks. Pretty cool.

The official site for the book is pretty sweet, and has only wetted my apetite further. Miss Temple and Cardinal Chang sound like quality characters, and the serialisation and design feel like they are going to make the whole experience all the better.

From what I've read on the net and the Penguin blog there also seems to be a bit of intrigue building around the author and the origins of the book. I mentioned the dodgy photo and note from the Amazon site in a previous posting, and the author biog on the site is equally far fetched. Plus there has been a train timetable delivered to Penguin and images of a station featured in the book posted on Flickr .

To quote Sherlock Holmes, the game is afoot...

Heads Will Roll

2006-09-04T10:39:00.000+01:00

I caught 'Severance' at the weekend, and although I had pretty low expectations, from the 'flash forward' beginning to the bitter end, it had me highly entertained.

The plot is simple. A sales team from an arms manufacturing company are reluctantly dragged over to Hungary for a team-building weekend at a 'luxury lodge' in the middle of a forest. When they arrive, the lodge isn't exactly what they expected, and very quickly people start getting maimed and killed by a crew of rather pissed off Eastern European soldiers.

The press have rather lazily branded 'Severance' as the new 'Sean of The Dead', a film that in my mind never really lived up to the genius of it's title. I think 'Severance' is a better film. Less 'fan boy' and more considered, and more like a horror film than a comedy, director Christopher Smith and writer James Moran have hit upon a good balance between gore and gags.

OK, so it's not perfect. The dig at the arms trade is a little clumsy (even if it is a fair point), and Danny Dyer plays pretty much the same role he always plays, but it works. John Carpenter and Sam Raimi fans will love it, and so did I. The only thing that it left me wanting was to send a few of the people in my office over to Hungary for a bit of 'team building'.

Warrior Dubz

2006-08-31T16:17:00.000+01:00

Not exactly hot off the press this, but I thought I'd give the lady in question the respect she deserves.

Mary Anne Hobbs, who's Breezeblock show on Radio 1 just gets better and better, has put together her favourite dubstep tracks of the past year or so for a compilation forthcoming on Planet Mu. Her selection is far from obvious (there are no Skream or D1 tracks included), and it has the hand picked feel of the deep, dirty and twisted sounds that she likes to play on air. Here's the track listing:

Milanese Vs Virus Syndicate – ‘Dead Man Walking’
Benga – ‘Music Box’
Andy Stott – ‘Black’
Amit – ‘Too Many Freedoms’
Digital Mystikz feat. Spen G – ‘Anti-War Dub’
JME (Wiley beat) – ‘Pence’
Burial – ‘Versus’
Plastician feat Shizzle, Fresh & Napper – ‘Cha Vocal’
The Bug feat Flowdan – ‘Jah War’
Terror Danjah feat Mz Bratt & Bruza – ‘Give It To Em’
Spor – ‘Hydra’
Loefah feat Sgt Pokes – ‘Mud VIP’
DJ Distance & Crazy D – ‘Worries Again’
Kode 9 & Spaceape – ‘Kingstown (vocal)’

'Mary Anne Hobbs Warrior Dubs' is released on October the 16th on Planet Mu, and I for one can't wait to get my grubby mitts on it.

More on The Glass Books

2006-08-30T09:49:00.000+01:00

Have done a bit more digging for info on 'The Glass Books Of The Dream Eaters' as mentioned here a week or so ago. I say digging, I did'nt have to look much further than Amazon's US site.

There's a load of reviews on there, some not so great, but most of them are really positive, and as I said before the book seems to tick alot of my boxes.

This is the official book description:
"It begins with a simple note. Roger Bascombe wishes to inform Celeste Temple that their engagement is forthwith terminated. But, Celeste, for all her lack of worldly experience, is determined to find out why her fiancé should have thrown her over so cruelly. Adopting a disguise, she follows her erstwhile lover to the forbidding Harschmort manor, where she discovers a world by turns dizzyingly seductive and utterly shocking–she could never have imagined, and a conspiracy so terrifying as to be almost beyond belief.
Seething with danger, terror and romance, 'The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters' is a mammoth work of the imagination, a deliriously readable, heartstoppingly suspenseful, and darkly erotic masterpiece of storytelling."

Basically, I'm excited.

There is also an intriguing (if not far fetched) note from the author about the book, accompanied by a rather unconvincing photo. Still no news on the UK publisher. The plot thickens.

Ghost Ridin' The Whip

2006-08-29T10:30:00.000+01:00

It sometimes upsets me that I don't live in the US, especially when I read about stuff like 'Ghostridin' The Whip' as I did in yesterday's Guardian.

The article is here, but essentially Ghostridin' involves getting your 'whip' or car, putting on the cruise control, getting out and then dancing either along side, or on the roof / bonnet. Genius.

As soon as I got the chance I got myself on Youtube to find some examples...watch and learn.

How to do it...

How not to do it...

So you think you're funny?

2006-08-26T00:52:00.000+01:00

Channel 4's 4Laughs, in conjunction with Amnesty's Secret Policeman's Ball, are launching a short sketch competition.

Using Human Rights as inspiration, C4 and Amnesty want you to pitch them a funny idea. It might be an animation, sketch, stand up, sitcom or a slapstick routine, the only catch is that you only have to get your idea accross in 160 characters or less.

Jim Poyser and Henry Normal will be shortlisting the entries. The winners sketch will be made into a short video, and if it's really good, it will be performed live at the Secret Policeman's Ball.

The competition ends on Thursday 14th September, so start being funny now.

The Vesuvius Club

2006-08-24T11:14:00.000+01:00

I’ve just finished reading ‘The Vesuvius Club’ by Mark Gatiss, one of the twisted minds behind ‘The League of Gentlemen’. As a big fan of ‘The League…’ I picked up the book, and whilst I’m sure it’s not going to win any literary awards, I wasn’t disappointed.

Set in Edwardian London and Naples, ‘The Vesuvius Club’s hero is Lucifer Box, a portrait painter, wit, dandy, rake and unbeknown to most, England’s top secret agent. He’s a great character, like a debauched and chaotic combination of James Bond and Sherlock Holmes.

Without giving the game away, Box’s latest assignment leads him into a decadent world where mad scientists and the surreal mix with the Edwardian high classes, and even higher class brothels. It’s an entertaining read, full of action, profanity and bawdiness, how can you go wrong?

There’s an unofficial looking, but quite entertaining site for the book here , and the second Lucifer Box novel ‘The Devil In Amber’ is out now.

Why ‘The Suspension Bridge’?

2006-08-19T15:40:00.000+01:00

Thanks for your messages. It seems that there are people out there…

Following on from the first posting, someone left a comment asking why the blog is called ‘The Suspension Bridge’.

Firstly, Bristol (my home town) is home to The Clifton Suspension Bridge. For those outside the UK (and maybe even for those outside Brizzle), the Suspension Bridge is probably Bristol’s most famous landmark.

Secondly, and more importantly, the bridge is pretty much exactly half way between my parent’s old house and that of my best mate from school’s parents place. The bridge became a bit of a meeting place for us, and was witness to some of the most pivotal debates in history, ranging from who would win a fight between an Obi Wan in his prime and Darth Vader, to who was the best looking member of Eternal.

So now you know. And for the record Ed, it’s still Louise.

Not so Super, Man

2006-08-16T21:19:00.000+01:00

Finally got round to seeing Superman last night, and kind of wish I hadn’t bothered. It’s not that it’s a really bad film, but just painfully average and about half an hour too long. It’s also more of a love story than anything else, which is fine if you’ve signed up for a love story, but I hadn’t.

I think part of the problem is, the older I get the more trouble I have getting my head around Superman. Compared to say Batman, who is limited to what his gadgets and own strength will allow, Superman is pretty much unstoppable unless there’s any kryptonite around. At one point during the film, he lifts an island out of the sea!! I know this sounds obvious, but it’s just so bloody unfeasible.

Plus wouldn’t it do your head in knowing that if you spend a bit of time doing something like putting the moves on Lois Lane, that thousands of people might be in danger / dieing??

Maybe I’m missing something, but it lacked the excitement I remember from watching the early films. I guess we’ve all got to grow up some time.

Glass Books

2006-08-15T22:45:00.000+01:00

A mate sent me a link over the weekend to a site in the US for a book called ‘The Glass Books Of The Dream Eaters’ by a guy called GW Dahlquist. I’ve only managed to read a small extract on-line, and it’s already ticking a lot of boxes.

From what I can gather it’s an adventure novel set in a fictitious country in Victorian times. The best way I can describe it is Philip Pullman (legend) meets Eyes Wide Shut with a bit of Steam Punk thrown in. I’m probably not doing it justice; so check the link for yourself.

Looking forward to finding out when it’s out over here (anyone??), but in the mean time I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for further extracts, or any news.

Spin City

2006-08-13T20:53:00.000+01:00

I Was down the pub with a few mates last night and we got onto the subject of spin off on-line games from films and TV shows, such as the Lost experience, The Da Vinci code, and the Alias adventure.

We were all agreed that anything that gave fans a bit more and rewards them for participation is a good thing, but how much time does JJ Abrams think we have on our hands??

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Lost, and I really got into the experience to start with, the Persephone and Rachel Blake revelations were really well done. But its become so expansive and sprawling that keeping up with it would be a full time job that only obsessive fans and uber geeks need apply for.

I thought the Da Vinci Code game was pretty good too (way better than the film), despite the fact it was more proscriptive. The problem solving and puzzling elements were right up my street, as was the fact that it was split up into tasks / levels so you could dip in and out and always knew where you were.

I guess these on line experiences are going to become more and more common; let’s just hope the quality remains high.

Miami Nice?

2006-08-08T23:31:00.000+01:00

So I saw Miami Vice last night, and just can’t make my mind up about it.

If you break it down into the individual elements and look at them in isolation – plot, script, acting, soundtrack – by all rights you should have a cinematic disaster on your hands. Colin Farrell’s accent slips more often than Laurel and Hardy on banana skins, and some of the dialogue is laughable. Yet somehow, when you combine them all together it seems to work.

Maybe it’s down to Michael Mann’s direction? Whilst this is no way his best film, it does look pretty good, and there is one of the best shootings off of someone’s arm on celluloid that I have ever seen, which is worth the price of entry alone. All in all well worth a look.

Anyone know if they’re making a game of the film?

Is there anybody out there?

2006-07-30T20:18:00.000+01:00

A combination of growing curiosity, and a dose of the pre-work Sunday blues have finally driven me to do something that I’ve been meaning to do for ages – start a blog.

To be honest I’m not really sure exactly what I’m doing here, this is a bit of an experiment, save to say that for the moment The Suspension Bridge will be a place for me and my mates to celebrate, rant and chat about the things we like.

So expect highly subjective opinion, banter and maybe even a few arguments about films, music, books, manga, gaming, TV and everything in between. And hopefully we’ll stay on the right side of geek.

If you’ve got anything to say or add, don’t be shy.

That’s all for now