To start with I have to admit my bias for this film. I’ve loved it since seeing it for the first time on an old VHS. Nothing has ever come close to an individual cosmic vision than Dune. There have been pages and pages of reviews full of hate and venom stating that David Lynch did not do justice to Frank Herbert’s Dune novels. Let me set the record straight about this, nobody can, or could, do justice to the whole set of novels. They are complex and deal with everything from politics to drugs, infusing it all with mysticism.

I have to thank the Dystonia Society for the great video from Dr Marie-Helene. As a Dystonia sufferer myself I know through experience that it is a condition that can be painful and, at times, frustrating. I have a specialist and have for many years. I take medication in moderation and have botulinum injections to help. It took years before I did my own research and realised what had been holding me back. For those years I thought I was going mad. I could not control certain muscles and the pain was hard to take. I know there will be people right now who will be searching for reasons and cures. Well if you come across this blog please use these links and do not rely on you GP. Get transferred to a specialist and remember that you are the artist of your own actions.

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I am sat here having a beer contemplating the last time I properly picked my guitar up. I am frustrated with myself for not making more of an effort. I blamed everything but myself! Now I am changing that. Firstly, it is my fault. I have concentrated on other aspects of learning software, not feeling like it and simply not finding the ‘moments’. It is time to go back to that love of playing again.

There is one music resource I always go back to. That is justinguitar.com. This is a site created by the talented Justin Sandercoe. It has been teaching since 2003 and is free. Justin di ... Read more »

Ustream has a great set of channels. I tend to watch the Nasa HD ones. They have just added a superb one. It is the ISS HD Earth Viewing Experiment.

Click on the image to see the live camera views

The channel has been active since the end of April this year. It comprises of a number of earth facing cameras mounted externally to the payload system. There a ... Read more »

Space X is a organization that the great Elon Musk created with a philosophy I share -

‘Space X was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars if fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today Space X is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling life on Mars’

Now I will explore Elon in more detail on a later blog as he is one of my inspirations. If only more pe ... Read more »

Warning this blog post contains some spoilers not to mention my views on a terrible movie!

Nasa, Roscosmos, Space X and the European Space Agency have had incredible successes and most suffered through learning from terrible mistakes. All have done so in the glare of public life. It has helped harmonise warring countries in a mutual goal to live and learn in space. Following this progress I have only the greatest respect for what has been achieved.

Now, through Nasa TV, you can watch live lau ... Read more »

As I have said before, Tom Baker is one of my favourite Dr Who actors. I have been making my way through the classic series. Visiting some stories I have never seen and others that I remember scaring the light out of me as a child. I have just seen Logopolis and just seeing the miniaturized victims brought a shiver to my inner child. The story itself is a great bow out for Tom. You can see the BBC website here for more information on the story which was series 18 of the long running drama.

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Books; they are almost life itself. A bold statement that is true from our history to our future. They have caused great conflict and stirred emotions. Love and passion go hand in hand with science and belief. The past brought us the printing press, the future heralds a digital age.

One part of the books tale that is forever linked is the cover design. I love illustration in general but the importance of this aspect within the literary world cannot be overstated. Here is a video, inspiring to any illustrator, which shows the workings of one of the top book publishing design houses. Random House brings the authors masterpiece into a concise work of art that seduces the consumer and informs of what lies within those pages. ... Read more »

When David Tennant made his wrap party the following video was shown. It is new to me and is a real novelty for fans of David’s era as Dr Who. Comedy has always played a part in the Dr’s stories and behind the scenes japes are a pleasure to see.

I have included it in my blog as it reminds me of how great a show I feel the BBC gives us. My ‘Doctors’ are Tom Baker and Paul Mcgann but that does not mean I don’t like any other. In fact it is quite the opposite, each Dr brings his own ... Read more »

This is about my long-standing love of music videos. Not about every music video, only those that are made with respect for the art. To me it does not have to be associated with the music I buy, but instead it should take you out of the now and directly into the artist’s vision for 5 minutes. You should come away emotionally changed.

This brings me to a video that comes from 1996. Directed by Nic Goffey and Dominic Hawley who together shaped a stylistic trend that continues today. I have to be blunt though and state that I feel that the majority of music videos, now more than ever, are watered down commercial drivel. This is harsh but was bound to happen as music became freely available on the Internet. Also it has to be iterated that throwing large quantities of cash at a music video does no ... Read more »