way out west

How the Celts saved Britain

A BBC Four programme looking at the early Irish Missionaries and the impact they had on the rest of Britain - interesting stuff - dates and times and iPlayer details here

Provocative two-part documentary in which Dan Snow blows the lid on the traditional Anglo-centric view of history and reveals how the Irish saved Britain from cultural oblivion during the Dark Ages.  He follows in the footsteps of Ireland's earliest missionaries as they venture through treacherous barbarian territory to bring literacy and technology to the future nations of Scotland and England.

Technorati Tags: Celtic: Christianity: Media: Mission: Missional: Television

Channel 4

As our filming day was abandoned due to the Snow and with the show being broadcast this Sunday... time has run out for the production company - so we've been binned!  Oh well, there you go, the media is a fickle mistress! ;-)

Technorati Tags: Media: Television

Channel 4 Filming

You may know I'm doing a bit on emerging churc/new-monasticism/small missional communities for channel 4's excellent series "Christianity: a history"... for those who said they'd pray for me, the filming is off tomorrow due to the weather forecast... they don't want to risk a camera car travelling... so thanks for the prayers and I'll let you know when the rescheduled filming will take place.

if you haven't seen the programme I'd really recommend it, especially the Robert Beckford show - The Dark Ages

Technorati Tags: Christianity: Church: Culture: Emerging Church: Media: Missional: new-monasticism: safespace: Television

More media goings on...

I received an e-mail from the Radio Times this morning asking to use the photo of me on their web-site... in the light of the piece in the magazine, this was my reply...

Dear ********,

Both myself and the Programme maker where unhappy about the wording of the feature in the magazine believing it to misrepresent both the programme and safespace.  Therefore I am questioning whether it is appropriate to allow you to attach an image of myself to statements which make false claims about what we are doing here in Telford.  Unfortunately I gave permission for the picture to be used in the magazine without having first seen the text, I assumed that you would be using the official BBC press release and not the sensationalist and inaccurate piece that was printed.    Therefore I am only happy for the image to be used if it is to be attached to the said official BBC press release which can be found at...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/radio/2009/wk4/7day.shtml

Regards
Mark

As I wrote this I had the following e-mail arrive...

We are producing a series for Channel 4 on the history of Christianity for Channel 4. Actually, it has already begun airing actually and has and good critical acclaim. We like to think it is good TV compared to a lot of the rubbish on these days.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/christianity-a-history

In the final episode, which we are still filming, we want to look at Christianity's future prospects in the light of an increasingly secular western world. This episode will be presented by Cherie Blair. It is shaping up to be an interesting programme.

You may have guessed but the reason I am in touch is because your work in Telford is extremely relevant to our subject matter. I hope you would be willing – but we’d like to potentially come and film with you for half a day.

Not sure what to do with this... I'm feeling a bit burned by the Radio Time, but the Channel 4 prog is pretty good... Oh well, I feel I may be fulfilling Jonny Bakers description of me as a "media tart" ;-)

Technorati Tags: Christianity: Church: Emerging Church: Media: Mission: Missional: safespace: Sanktuary: Spirituality: Television

Swarm

Flocking/Swarming is one of the most amazing natural phenomena and one we are only just beginning to understand.  The behaviour has becoming hugely important in technological development and was one of the first areas of bio-mechanics/behaviour to be subject to major research and computer modelling.  The modelling began to reveal the importance of collective intelligence and algorithms, most flocking for example is based on 3 simple rules...

  1. Separation - avoid crowding neighbours (short range repulsion)
  2. Alignment - steer towards average heading of neighbours
  3. Cohesion - steer towards average position of neighbours (long range attraction)

Interestingly recent research has begun to reveal that even humans have, in some situations, an inbuilt flocking mechanism.  A couple of years ago I spent 3 days curating an Art installation in Telford Shopping Centre, sitting and watching the way people move we began to detect rhythms to the way groups moved throughout the day.  We remarked at the time that it resembled the rhythms of the sea, the ebbs and flows and currents, but also that we began to notice flocking/swarming behaviour.

Observing these behaviours begins to prompt significant questions about science - particularly challenging mechanistic understanding and the use of bio-modelling and algorithms in computing etc.  about anthropology - our understanding of community and the individual.  And about our understanding of the natural laws and order (how seemingly random and primitive behaviour is actually revealed to be highly organised and methodical (e.g. the forays of Ants in the Rainforest or the "waggle dance" communication of Honey Bees)

Anyway the reason I mention this is that there is currently a fascinating programme on BBC 1 on the phenomena, full of interesting information and incredible footage - It is available to watch on BBC iPlayer if you missed it (or can't get the BBC).

I'm convinced that as we observe intelligent behaviour, particularly collective intelligence/knowledge we will learn a significant amount about human relations/communities/networks.  Just as we may have done much to damage our non-verbal communication by, for example masking our natural scents etc. we in the west may just have done catastrophic damage to the experience of being human by our obsession with the cult of individualism!

A nice flocking simulator

Technorati Tags: Culture

X Factor

Having just had to sit through the X factor final (Lou as been following it) I'd just like to say congratulations to Leona Lewis for winning for the 2nd time... if she wins in next year does she get to keep the trophy?

Technorati Tags: Culture: Television: X Factor

Murder in the Snow

Just watching "Murder in the Snow : This World" (BBC This World) on BBC2 - an amazing story of Tibetans fleeing Chinese oppression in the their homeland.  The stream of refugees seek to join the exiled Tibetan community in India where despite having to live in a foreign land life, in particular education and opportunity to say nothing of religious freedom, is better!

In September 2006, two groups of people crossed paths in the snow-capped Himalayas – one seeking freedom, the other adventure. A brutal shooting threw them together, changing their lives for ever.

In an incident that shocked the world, a 17-year-old nun, Kelsang Namtso, was killed when Chinese border police opened fire on a group of pilgrims as they fled Tibet over the famous Nangpa Pass – the gateway to Nepal and freedom. Kelsang, along with her best friend, Dolma Palki, was part of a group of young people who had embarked on a long journey to cross the border.

The shooting was witnessed by international mountain climbers who watched in horror from a nearby camp. As a cool-headed TV cameraman, Sergiu Matei, picked up his camera and started filming when the shooting began, others photographed the events and also helped rescue survivors. The story broke around the world when an American mountain guide, Luis Benitez, emailed his account of the incident to a popular climbing website – revealing for the first time the shooting of Tibetan refugees by Chinese border police.

Using the original climber footage, re-enactments and interviews with witnesses and survivors, Murder In The Snow – This World gives an account of what happened on the Pass and tells the story of thousands of young Tibetans who risk their lives each year to illegally cross the rugged Himalaya Mountains in an attempt to see their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, or attend school in India.

From primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk

Technorati Tags: China: Media: News: Television: Tibet

Tasteless Television

No, I'm not talking about sex and violence... I'm talking about Anne Robinson, I don't normally watch "The Weakest Link" because she generally annoys me... anyway I was upstairs getting ready to go out and I put the TV in our bedroom on (terrestrial only) and all there was to watch was Cooking programmes, Kids TV or the aforementioned quiz show... Now, I know Anne's character is all about insulting the contestants, but this time she got herself in a bit of a mess...

Anne to a female contestant who has just had a baby but is going back to work.

Why did you have a Baby if you wanted to work?

Contestant

I don't want to work, I have to!

Robinson

Why, no one is forcing you are they?

Contestant

Because otherwise I would have my house repossessed and I'd starve.

Robinson

Good!  You look like you don't eat anyway!

Contestant

<uncomfortable laugh>

Audience

<Silence>

Robinson

Back to the game

Now I know the show isn't live, but it is current... & you would have thought Robinson and her script writers (who apparently have meetings between rounds to come up with Robinson's "witty" insults) would have at least heard the news recently so would have steered clear of jokes about house repossession (to say nothing of making light of eating disorders)... I know I may be being over sensitive... but to me this was incredibly insensitive and tasteless... and the fact Robinson couldn't understand why someone *had* to work even if they didn't want to shows just how out of touch our celebrity culture is with the real lives of people in this country!

Technorati Tags: Culture: News: Television

Monkey reborn

I think I mentioned before the Olympics began how good the BBC's "idents" where, they where based on the TV show from the 70's  "Monkey"... anyway it turns out they where produced by the team behind "The Gorrilaz" - Damon Albarn (Musician) and Jamie Hewlett (Cartoonist)... and not only that, they are producing an opera again based on "Monkey"... see below for several videos inc. interviews. and the Olympics videos.

Official Web Site

Monkey - Journey to the West

Olympics - Monkey video

BBC - Meet Monkey

CD of the "Opera"

Technorati Tags: Art: Culture: Film: Music: News: Olympics: Television

Gene Robinson a Heroic Figure?

According to Daily Mail journalist and ex-Tory Spin Doctor, Amanda Platell on the Andrew Marr Show this morning... not sure that will go down with her readership!  And a bit of a volt-face for her as she was previously sacked from the other right wing red-top rag, the Daily Express for writing an "expose" of Peter Mandelson's sexual history!

Technorati Tags: Church: News: Television