Eisenstein’s kaleidoscope
Notes on a rare showing of Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 masterpiece Battleship Potemkin.
Reviews
Engineering utopia
Francis Spufford’s Red Plenty is not just any old history of post-war Soviet cybernetic mathematical modelling. This is an account of centrally administered resource allocation quite unlike any other.
The Rules of Abstraction
The Rules of Abstraction, a BBC4 documentary by the artist and writer Matthew Collings, shown last week and still available at the time of writing, was an accessible introduction to the enigmatic world of abstract art.
Caledonian Dreaming
Gerry Hassan’s Caledonian Dreaming argues that the ills of Scottish society for which independence is proposed as the cure have as much to do with Scotland’s own failings as the interventions of unwanted British governments.
Yes: The Radical Case for Independence
As Scotland’s independence referendum approaches I thought I would review some of the better books and essays I’ve read about it over the past few months. One of those is Yes: The Radical Case for Independence by James Foley and Pete Ramand.
Kosmonaut Zero
Richard Evans’ science fiction novel Kosmonaut Zero is a clever commentary on the perennial human desire to transcend the limitations of the body.