By Roy Mathur, on 2020-06-09, at 16:51:46--17:26:09 BST, for Captain Roy's Rocket Radio Show, Listen
Expecting a vintage Doctor Who episode? That's in the works, but today we/I present another general weekly geekly episode.
If you are reading the show notes, please ignore that order of items, which I have changed to end on a happier note.
From listening to previous episodes, I'm sure you know how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on my professional, personal, and already wobbly mental state, so I won't bore you again with that topic.
I can, however, tell you something of my surroundings. Thanks to a variety of reasons that are outside my control, we have experienced two mini-deluges and the oven is currently broken. The To Do list gets forever longer.
I had no idea there was such a thing because I have not been following the news closely. That is why I put a show out on that day. Had I known, I would have uploaded on a different day.
But let me make it clear that I am, of course, fully supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement. If you know me, or have heard the content of the show, that fact is evident.
The comic book Days of the Bagnold Summer has been made into a movie. Before the pandemic I must have read a new and quirky graphic novel, including this one, every time I visited the library.
Is Rick Spears's Black Metal getting an adaptation next?
Other stuff that surely must be optioned for film (though I can't honestly be bothered to find out for sure) include such gems as Daniel Clowes's The Death-Ray.
As I reported recently, I'm listening to the original radio show in completely the wrong order. I started with the penultimate series, missing out the last because it wasn't very good, then skipped back to the first and I'm about to start the second and eventually catch up to the point at which I started and which is also where I'll finish. Er... Yes, exactly. I go into great and unnecessary detail of my escapades on Twitter in a series of Tweets what read like logical word salad, or just plain illogical, but it seemed to make sense to me because non-linearity rocks. (See https://web.archive.org/web/20200407054125/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03v379k/episodes/guide for further elucidation).
The radio series is, of course, great, though not how I first discovered H2G2. No, that's thanks to the excellent TV series, which fired up my interest in the books, and finally the radio series.
Doing everything in reverse had no lasting deleterious effects. The books themselves have, I suppose, reinforced my slightly (hahaha! Who are you kidding?) bleak attitude to the universe, though Philip K. Dick, New Wave SciFi, and life in general have also had something to do with that. Let's hope that changes for me, you, and the whole universe in general, and soon too.
On the other hand, Ford Prefects's inappropriate cheeriness in the face of oblivion, as long as there are decent drinks and nice girls around, show that even in an uncaring universe fun exists. By the way, I must say that every actor I have seen, who has played Ford, has done a bang up job of portraying that attitude described by some as cheerful nihilism. My compliments to Geoffrey McGivern, David Dixon, and Mos Def.
The free streaming service actually has a section called "Urban". Why aren't these films categorised as thrillers, romances, comedy etc.? Oh, I see, they have black people in them, so they're a separate genre according to Popcornflix. 2020 and this stereotyping idiocy still exists?
Putting together the last minutes of George Floyd's life from multiple video sources was an great piece of journalism by The New York Times and a very disturbing watch.
The video reconstruction of the victim's death removes absolutely any doubt that his death was first degree murder. First degree murder is premeditated as opposed to impulsive, as is the case for second degree murder in American law, so kneeling on a man's neck for nine minutes while your victim begs you to stop and not stop until the body is inert is quite clearly planned. I'm absolutely not a lawyer, but I don't see how there can be any debate, so it it bizarre how the initial charge was for third degree murder and later changed to second degree murder. There was nothing I could see in Officer Derek Chauvin's behaviour that looked impulsive. It looked calculating, cold, and vicious.
In past participation in martial arts I have been placed in neck holds such as the guillotine, which restrict blood supply. Let me tell you, you aren't held that position when training or sparring for more than a few seconds because the hold is so dangerous.
Illegal killings and abuse of power by authorities, and slap on the wrist responses, are hardly limited to the US. We're talked about similar cases often enough on this show; some of which have happened in the UK.
I hope the worldwide protests go on until there is some real and tangible improvement to the lives of minorities. The subsequent fatal shootings of civilians like David McAtee, proves that we have a long way to go and that the protests should continue.
The continued harassment of journalists just trying to do their job is disgraceful and cowardly and, as is often the case, proof that some US police have something to hide.