Greatest films of the 21st century

The BBC has polled 177 international film critics, and come up with a list of the 100 best films of the 21st century.

It's not a bad list, although inevitably it's not the one I would have come up with. Maybe it's a little skewed towards pretentious arthouse fare. My own approach to arty films is this: I'm willing to accept some of them are doing very clever things, which I don't have the patience or background knowledge to fully grasp. Others are absolute tosh. It's not always possible to get a consensus on where the boundary lies.

Cute Cat Friday 2016-09-02: Quincy

Our handsome campus cat, on the prowl again. I hear he's a very capable hunter, which is bad news for the rabbit population.

Gone to Edinburgh

No long post this week. Vague notions of blogging when I got here were wiped out by a delayed flight, and mental fatigue from travelling with a toddler. It's great to be back up here though, I still miss the place.

(And the beer, I'm now enjoying a glass of Orkney Dark Island.)

Have a good weekend. It's still Friday for another hour, and Cute Cat Friday is going up shortly.

Cute Cat Friday 2016-08-26: Joni

One day, I'll get that squirrel. One day.

The Not So Good Old Days

The Conservative MP Heather Wheeler has claimed on Twitter that the "British Empire" was the real winner at the Rio Olympics:

Now that's what I call winning!!! Well done Team GB & all our Commonwealth friends, now for the Trade Agreements.... pic.twitter.com/Qg9qkYxWHp

— Heather Wheeler MP (@HeatherWheeler) August 22, 2016

Honestly, Britain. You'd be a lot more fun at parties if, after your third drink, you didn't start mumbling about how awesome the Empire was.

This is what they call a teachable moment. As Empires go, the British one was relatively benign, but it was still an Empire. It was not a peaceful and voluntary alliance of nations; perhaps Wheeler is confusing the British Empire with the European Union. (She is staunchly opposed to the latter, but that's by the by.)

Cute Cat Friday 2016-08-19: Quincy

Quincy is a very handsome and friendly Burmese cat who hangs around our campus. Officially he belongs to a family in the nearby village, but the campus grounds offer ample hunting and exploring opportunities, and many people to fuss over him, so he is often to be found there. Here he is patrolling his territory yesterday.

(The feathers are from the flock of geese who also hang around that area, and not the aftermath of any feline assaults.)

It didn't have to be this way

The Labour leadership contest between Owen Smith and Jeremy Corbyn staggers on. It's another five weeks before this time of conflict ends, and a whole new era of internecine warfare can begin.

Corbyn (left) and Smith (right).
Image source: BBC News via PA/Getty

Corbyn recently published a ten-point plan, setting out his policy priorities. It would have been nice if he did this before his party descended into civil war, but I'll give credit where it is due: It's a very good set of ideas, ambitious but achievable. Of course there are questions over the detail, but it's a respectable starting point.