Letterbox Format

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Every year or so, I get to walk around the maze of towerblocks in one of the more depressed parts of Portsmouth, pushing leaflets through letterboxes. In this way, I do my sterling bit for progressive politics at local election time.

This year, in return for two cups of tea and a mars bar, I got reacquainted with a few hundred front doors - some of which had the same broken washing machines and empty wooden boxes outside as last year. I was assisted by a lady comrade who, if nonstop complaining in a piercing voice were an olympic sport, would be a worldbeater.

After two hours she casually mentioned that she never leaflets doors which look like they might have fierce dogs behind them. I couldn't think of anything to say for quite a long time after that.

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Late night channel hopping.

The final ten minutes of The Matrix Reloaded. I've never seen the film, but I've now seen the final ten minutes twice. Keanu Reeves - the only actor who's more talented in CGI. Probably the only actor in Hollywoodland who could make snogging River Phoenix boring.

Fifteen minutes of "Hot Shots Part Deux". You might think that a film about a retarded US president sending a series of disastrous missions into Iraq for no clear reason might be prescient, satirical, and even funny. And you'd be wrong on all counts.

Ten minutes of an episode of Ironside. Featuring a mad murderous Bulgarian, threatening a melange of Lenny Bruce and George Burns.

Five consecutive snippets from different "comedy banter" shows. Seen them all before.

Do you remember that episode of The X-Files where Mulder swaps bodies with a man from Area 51? I saw it the night before I left for the country of mad murderous Bulgarians - and it was on again tonight.

Ten seconds of "Sex Change Soldier", a sensitive and moving documentary about the first British soldier to go through gender reassignment. And not an exploitative pile of portentous drivel at all. Honest.

An advert for catfood, whose main selling point was that it contains anti-oxidants. I think they should make homeopathic catfood with omega three and macrobiotic provitamins

Another comedy banter show. Except it turned out to be one repeated from an hour earlier.

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Today's word is Lomography. Taking photos of whatever's in front of you with a cheap camera, and later seeing how the fringing, blurring, wrong colours and bad technique all combine to make an arresting image. It's the old idea of executing a hazy plan in the heat of the moment using wholly inadequate technology, and letting serendipity turn it into art.

My thanks to C for reminding me of the notion, and to my parents for providing me with a camera which can be badly misconfigured. I'm going to give it a go - party as a break from trying to get these dratted computers to work. Sadly, when you apply lomographic technique to a laptop, all you get is a paperweight.

Results soon.

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