Sorry won’t help now

British actor Alan Bates (1934 – 2003) recites “Invictus” (“Unconquered”) by William Ernest Henley in a 1997 tv ad for Union Bank of Switzerland (but don’t let that dodgy pedigree put you off).
Suggested background music: Anything by Blood Axis

 

Out of the night that covers me,
    Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
    For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
    I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
    My head is bloody, but unbow’d.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
    Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
    Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
    How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
    I am the captain of my soul.

– William Ernest Henley

 

More:

• Invictus (wikipedia.org)
• William Ernest Henley (wikipedia.org)
• Alan Bates (alanbates.com)

 

Previously:

• Madame Life’s a Piece in Bloom

Can you kill someone with crystals?

The second half of a 15-minute segment from the BBC TV program “The Bullshit Detective” that exposes so-called “crystal healing”.

More:

• “The Bullshit Detective: Crystal Healing Part 1” (youtube.com)
• Penn and Teller “Bullshit” (youtube.com)
  A great selection of extracts from P & T’s fraud and stupidity exposing series.

Can the world be as sad as it seems?

An excellent promotional video for “We are the massacre” by World’s End Girlfriend.

I’ve been listening to a lot of World’s End Girlfriend (a.k.a. Katsuhiko Maeda) lately and this video perfectly complements the beautiful track from his 4th album, “The Lie Lay Land” (2005).

More:

There’s surprisingly little of interest/substance out there but here’s a start:

• World’s End Girlfriend at Noble Records (noble-label.net)
  “Nothing will delight us more than to see your life and spirit enhanced with our music.”
• World’s End Girlfriend interview (autresdirections.net)
  A short interview from the time of the release of “The Lie Lay Land”.
• “Scorpius Circus” live (youtube.com)
  Not his most original work but worth watching to see him perform live with a full-size band.

Obedience

“Strip-Searched by Her Boss: Inside a bizarre and disturbing hoax.”

An 11-minute video extract from ABC News 20/20 program.

More:

• Rita Cosby Live & Direct 5th June, 2006 Transcript (msnbc.msn.com)
• “The Human Behaviour Experiments” (PDF: prisonexp.org)

Who else seen the Leprachaun, say yeah!

Just in case you forgot exactly what the “War On Terror” is fighting to preserve.
The “Amateur Sketch” alone must be worth its weight in (Leprachaun) gold.

Pissed-on shark meat

The release of a new Bonnie “Prince” Billy (a.k.a. Will Oldham) album is always something to be happy about and the new promo ad (the first of three) for “The Letting Go” couldn’t be any better:

“Sounds like something that would come out on September 11th”

More:

• Bonnie “Prince” Billy videos (youtube.com)
• Official videos and discography (dragcity.com)
• The Royal Stable (bart.nl)
  An obsessively detailed BPB/Palace fan site.
• Dime-A-Dozen (dimeadozen.org)
  Bit Torrent site with a good selection of live BPB recordings, including live radio appearances from his recent “Free Bonnie” tour.

Try and be fucking grateful

Over the last 25 years I have probably seen Whitehouse play live at least a couple of dozen times. The last few years, post-Sotos, have seen them achieve new levels of intensity and sheer joyous belligerence. I believe that, right now, they are at their artistic and creative peak. Now more than ever, Whitehouse can be relied on to deliver the goods.

For me, this short fragment of “A cunt like you”, recorded live in Vienna in 2003 (Live Action 99), totally captures the exuberance and spirit of the new, live Whitehouse experience.

More:

• Official Whitehouse website (susanlawly.freeuk.com)
• Live in Paris, 2006
  High quality stream recorded in Europe, 2006 – the tour that saw a harder but more playful Whitehouse having fun again (videodrom.org)

What do you mean “he’s back!”? He was never away…

Who watches this stuff anyway? (google.com/trends)