AKMartin

In the whole Kerry "botched joke" debacle, did anyone stop to think that what he said was mostly true? Don't see many PhD students or chess players occupying Baghdad. AKM

I think the director's motivation was thus: if you want to make a film about a rape, then you ought to depict a rape. Typical movie rape sequences last 30 seconds, are tastefully framed, and conveniently fade out of shot fairly quickly. Hardly realistic. Gaspar Noe has made his reputation on being confrontational and provoking reactions. I'm not sure if I'd endorse his position or not. AKM

It's a movie to be endured, not enjoyed. Interesting film technique and ideology, i.e. the infuriating buzzing sounds through the first part of the film, and the real-time rape scene. But no entertainment, redemption or "enjoyment". AKM

Irreversible is horrendous. Deeply, sickeningly unpleasant. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. AKM

18th Feb is a Sunday. AKM

I did an AU degree and am now at RGU. Leaving aside the technical aspects, from my experience, the following things are absolutely clear: 1. AU is far more intellectually and educationally rigorous. 2. AU treats its students as adults, responsible for their own learning and education requirements. 3. RGU lecturers are frequently roped-in, middle-management types who think "reading powerpoint aloud" equates to "delivering a lecture". 4. RGU are control freaks, with interminable "security", passwords, documents, questionnaires, feedback forms, etc etc. 5. AU campus is a great deal more beautiful than RGU's. I will leave you to judge which one I preferred AKM

Surely this is the key to the debate. Not to mention that it's probably a tad distracting to have people yapping over an already-quiet acoustic set. I fail to see why the rights of loud-gig-talkers are always so vehemently defended. Saying "they paid 14, so they can talk all they want" is a bit like saying "I paid 40 for this dinner, so I can call the waitress a Whore of Satan if I want"... AKM

It breaks my heart that people are still willing to endorse this kind of music. Not that I want to criticise or insult anyone else's taste. AKM

Is this sad news for anyone? No. The idea that they were anything more than a 15 minute novelty band is absurd. Thanks, goodbye, let's never speak of them again. AKM

Don't slag the defensive formation and tactics we adopted. Against Henry, Ribery, Malouda, Trezeguet etc, there's just no point leaving gaps at the back and conceding soft goals because we wanted to "have a go". Seems to me that Walter's organisational skills have eradicated a lot of the stupid mistakes which were a feature of the Berti era. Less fannying about in the box + less careless defensive errors = P 3, W3, F9, A1. I reckon another 16 points will be enough to get us to the Euros. Possible, but still implausible. AKM

It has lost much of the subtlety of the first series, but remains extremely funny. Gervais has OBVIOUSLY cribbed a lot from Larry David and "Curb..."; set-pieces like the malfunctioning toy at the BAFTAs, and giving money to the tramp, etc. But I still laugh uproariously. AKM

We are going to get shat on and no mistake... AKM

Sorry, didn't mean to be cruel. I just fail to understand why someone in "the worst pain they've ever experienced" would think twice about seeking medical advice immediately. An untreated fracture could have ruined his mobility permanently. AKM

This is my favourite bit: He's either very hard, or stupid. Sincerely. AKM

I think the story is adequately summed up by this quote from the transcript: AKM PS - his best man makes a secret video tape and sells it to the papers? Not only is it inadmissible evidence, but how low can you go?

How? Why? What could anyone possibly like, ever, about that moon-faced prick? Seriously now. AKM

I no longer have any sympathy for the NME. The sooner it dies, the better. And I don't care if that spells the end for weekly music papers. Better leaving people to blunder around the world of music for themselves than having anyone read that spoon-feeding, marketing-obsessed, indulgent rag. AKM

Anyone except that moon-faced bastard Cameron. or any other Tories. AKM (anyone else feel sorry for Ed Balls? Hardly going to get the top job with a name like that...)

Whoa whoa. I'm no recording expert myself, and wasn't implying such. All I'm saying is, I'd expect a bass drum sound to go "boom!" rather than "paff!". Onomatopoeically speaking, of course. AKM

Nobody has been forced into the Christian faith since the conquistadors. Everyone has a choice of whether to accept or reject the Christian message. But Christians are entirely at liberty to share their faith with others as and when they choose, and quite often the emotionally vulnerable become involved in a search for God of their own accord. Believe it or not. Christians hold a worldview, and they should not feel guilt or humiliation for wishing to share this worldview with others, in a respectful and tolerant manner. The actions of SOME Christians, however, should not be taken as representative of Christianity as a whole, given mankind's propensity towards distortion and tactlessness. AKM

Slickly packaged? Convenient? Easy? "Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction? Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me? From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered your terrors and am in despair. Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend." It's not as playschool or fairytale as most people would conveniently think. And it's not a disengagement from reality, logic, or intuition. AKM

So Christians are, by definition, anti-scientific? Hold on till I inform my physicist/geologist/medical researcher Christian friends that they're heretics... Yours isn't the most well thought out comment. My faith is a worldview and a system of combining belief with action, not just "durr, it's too complicated so let's just call it God's work". Don't patronise me/us. So because of "your experiences", you're happy to bleat "cunts!" and "fools!". Spare me this nonsense. Just because someone's an idiot, that doesn't reflect what they believe. Just because millions of Christians might happen to be idiots, doesn't reflect the nature of Christianity or Christ. I've met thousands of cretinous, moronic, irksome, bigoted atheists. I guess you have too. AKM

The bass drum sounds like a cardboard box. It's not the kind of music I'd listen to, but it's reasonably well performed. I like the guitar sound on the chorus, especially. AKM

I'm an evangelical Christian. We're very misunderstood. Look around you. Is faith in mankind justified by the evidence presented by mankind's behaviour? Are those without God living in bliss, peace and harmony? AKM

There's a lot more to the Bible than rape, violence and eternal hellfire. If you want some love, hope and romantic poetry, I can direct you accordingly? Correct, it is bewildering. Apparently it's some cultural thing where strangers accommodated in one's home were treated with utmost respect, and obviously a lot of societies (not just Christian societies) haven't always treated their women with suitable humanity...the story isn't intended as a moral guideline though! The first part of what you say is essentially correct...it is dangerous to treat the Bible as restrictively literal, when a great deal of it is allegorical, lyrical, or just culture-specific. The fact that a certain law no longer applies, or a certain passage is poetry, not history, doesn't negate the Bible as a true and valid book though. Can you show me some of these glaring contradictions? It's meaningless to cherry-pick aspects of the Bible that you like while leaving out what you're not comfortable with. It's a cohesive system of belief that needs modern interpretation, but not simply because we think we know better. cheers AKM