Monthly Archives: May 2017

A Churchillian Hatred

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Things happen in threes. Three times in one week I’ve heard the same comment. The first from a friend, an intelligent man, runs his own computer servicing business, the guy you call to locate the virus and install security systems, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 14 Comments

Lost in LaLa Land 1

Posted on May 20, 2017 by Grouse Beater

A Scot visiting Los Angeles for the first time felt it wasn’t all that far removed from his first visit to Glasgow as a youth except with palm trees and better dental care. A Glaswegian friend tells of how he … Continue reading →

Posted in Film review | 16 Comments

King Arthur – a review

Posted on May 20, 2017 by Grouse Beater

This won’t take long. This alleged multi-million summer blockbuster would be better entitled ‘King Arfur’. Every subject director Guy Ritchie touches rings out the sound of Bow bells, Cheapside, every character he  creates, or reimagines, turns into a cockney geezer. Remember … Continue reading →

Posted in Film review | 6 Comments

Car News: Plug Ugly

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Your weekly guide to all that’s rotten in the auto industry, plus some good bits You could argue the vast majority of automobiles choking our roads are ugly, but you might be arguing bland is ugly. There are plenty of … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | 15 Comments

Engineering Consent

Posted on May 13, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Engineering consent The term ‘engineering consent’ is another way of describing thought control. George Orwell had a lot to say about thought control. He wrote an entire novel around the thesis entitled 1984. He was twenty years out. We in Scotland … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 13 Comments

Alien: Covenant – a review

Posted on May 13, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Ridley Scott has never been a director who inspired great acting, but box office success ensures his projects attract fine actors, especially the brooding kind, such as Russell Crowe, and as here in Alien: Covenant, Michael Fassbinder – more about him later. Scott … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Elle – a review

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Grouse Beater

I’m in two minds about Dutch director Paul Verhoeven. On the one hand he’s a populist who creates glossy material with a sly political message. He has a way of  giving the finger to various aspects of unsavoury capitalism. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film review | 1 Comment

Lady Macbeth – a review

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Grouse Beater

This is a British version of a Russian novel transposed to Northumberland, the novel a Russian transposition of Shakespeare’s story of Scotland’s well-loved King Macbeth and his over-ambitious wife, the Russian novel written from Lady MacBeth’s point of view, the story set … Continue reading →

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The Death of Pensions

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Those profoundly concerned by right-wing extremist rhetoric are apt to say neo-liberals are trying to take us back to feudal times. They make an ominous point. We feel the lash of neo-liberalism, particularly the vulnerable among us. Functioning democracy has declined. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Politics | 2 Comments