Happy and hyper! Relying on one's own energy, wit, creativity and emotional intelligence. Being with good people, a heart full of love and positive vibes. Autumn is a great season. It means change and stability (yes, that goes together) - and for me it has always been the best time of year for friendship and love.

V for Vendetta (a film by James McTeigue, UK 2006)

Yes, the plot is slapping the audience right in the face with what's going on, where it could lead to and how far the people could (or should?) go, in order to prevent what everybody these days should be most afraid of; reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984 - not least also because of the casting of John Hurt - this time on the opposite side of the system. Unfortunately, the movie's release was accompanied by a seemingly one dimensional Marketing campaign, trying to pull the newly revived congregation of fans of high-tech comic book hero film epics, rather than the politically sensitive and awake public, that longs to find meaning, answers and hope in art these days. The political allegory is as crystal clear and relevant for our current time, as "1984" was in 1948. The mood of the film, though, can equally enthrall genre enthusiasts of such material as found in "The Matrix", "Phantom of the Opera" or even "Zorro". Where it catches both, it is bound to caused an explosion of the senses. And it sure has the power to do that for a long time to come.

More about 'V for Vendetta' here...
Voilà! V's vivified verbiage >

He's always been "my man", Johann Sebastian. He's swinging and nowhere is he pretentious. He would have adored Franz Liszt's romantic interpretation of his Piano Concertos as much as he would have been blown away by Glenn Gould's deep minimalist feel for the Welltempered Clavier (das Wohltemperierte Klavier). Bach's music is tidy, yet unpredictable. It allows an enormous amount of space for the translucent images that are flowing about when he is played - between the musician(s), the audience, the room, the air... I feel given more space than with any other Master. He's never forcing me into his mood - he's allowing me to stay in my own and lets me celebrate what I experience through his sound drawings.

Last night gave us Nikolai Demidenkow playing Franz Liszt's arrangements of Bach's Phantasie und Fuge in G Moll (BWV.542) at the "Queen Elisabeth Hall", South Bank Centre... and I am not ashamed to admit that images of Buster Keaton chasing vintage cars across the scariest junctions were running in front of my inner eye. John Seb wouldn't have enjoyed it.

A couple of months ago, the US had to admit that Iraq has become a breeding ground for terrorism... Read the Interview with Bruce Hoffman

This must be the best Money News animation possible. What a find...

If you are not familiar with the Ricky Gervais Show, it's potentially not all that funny. Sorry.

Can we please agree, that this is NOT the image I wanted to paint of what VibroMan should be? This is clearly VibraMan, the low volt little brother who never really got enough recognition and needs to operate in the dark. Ever since VibroMan made it big up and down the country and all around the world, his little jealous brother was desperately trying to ruin his reputation and turn nasty. It's a family issue and we shouldn't judge him for it. Competition is sometimes hard to swallow and come to terms with. Sadly his attempts to steal the limelight have not gone unnoticed and his shallow, self-obsessed appearances on Parkinson and The Wright Stuff (Channel5) didn't help our own project.

In order to work against the imminent threat of getting dragged down into the gutter of bad taste and cheap laughs, we are going to celebrate the launch of 'VibroMan - the real thing' with a glossy and stylish campaign in November, demonstrating that hard work, quality, intelligent comedy and classy concepts will always end up on top. (Illustration provided by T. M.)

I know you didn't really want to look, but these are all pretty big, between a little and very hairy and could creap up in the Himalayas occasionally. They are called (from left to right): Beverly, Lawrence, MaryJo and Sean.

Again amazed how unexpectedly ideal Britain is for rock climbing. It starts in Sheffield and continues pretty much all the way up north. Even the Lake District offers great opportunities. You won't find an 'El Capitan', but there are some decent faces and a few fantastic bouldering sites. Now my neck aches.
Fell and Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District >

There's this so called 'lightness of being', which has been talked and written about, not just since Milan Kundera - probably ever since we talk and write; often with an ironic, almost paradoxical undertone. Provocative. Is the Being not anything but light? Isn't it far too often dark and heavy? So, it was when I painted my first ever oil portrait on a black canvas recently - the rather dodgy likeness of Austrian Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) - that I was suddenly smacked in the face by an accidental metaphor for what lightness the being can actually experience, when it is allowed to be placed over the darker side of life, without running away from it: The colours became so much more energising, glowing, bright. The contrast immediately created more depth and life and intensity. It was a revelation.

Real Lightness of Being is only valid, when its creation is equally as accepted and reflected as the dark depressions of the soul. And that's why I feel Wittgenstein goes wrong when he says "I don't know why we are here, but I'm pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves." The intensity of the joy we have in life can only ever be as high as the realisation of the depth of our dark moments.