Great Regulars: When the internet arrived,

our laws became meaningless and porn of every conceivable variety became freely available toieverybody. The information tsunami sweeps away all local qualms.

But, now, Sarkozy has flung Euro-statism in the face of the wired world. The implicit threat--of state censorship or control of the internet--is, to the aristocrats of Silicon Valley, unthinkable. But it is exactly what the music industry has pressed for in its demand that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) be made responsible for preventing their customers accessing illegally downloading music. The equivalent response to the tweeted subversion of superinjunctions would be the banning of Twitter use in Britain. Unthinkable, perhaps, but is it as unthinkable as an anarchic use of freedom of e-speech to trample all other freedoms?

from Bryan Appleyard: from The Sunday Times: Giggs and Twitter

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"I don't use metaphors," he [Adam Curtis] says, "I do the opposite. I spend a lot of time watching footage and anything I spot that has an emotional resonance for me I note down or copy. I assume I'm quite normal emotionally so people will get it.

"Finding clips is like shopping. You should always buy the thing you like and never try to persuade yourself to buy something else."

His films consist of interviews, a narrative--delivered by Curtis in a mildly incredulous tone-- and a strange and beautifully edited collage of seemingly random but often devastatingly effective clips that accompany rather than fight the storytelling.

from Bryan Appleyard: from The Sunday Times: On Adam Curtis

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Poorly educated--he skipped school to ride and race horses--Vic [Armstrong], nevertheless, has learned a lot. He tells me movingly--and revealingly--what stunting is really all about.

"It's more difficult than acting because what we do basically is tell a huge chunk of a story without dialogue or anything. Invariably you are telling a story just in mime. It's like the silent movies."

Like the best circus show, stunting does what poetry does--lifts your heart with wonder and gratitude.

from Bryan Appleyard: from The Sunday Times: Vic Armstrong the Stunt Guy

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