Jargon Idiolecture

Why is that Lawyers and Accountants speak a strange language?

Had a bad day with my lawyer today and it was my auditor yesterday. No, nothing wrong with them – its just I cant understand the weird language they speak.

It seems that most professionals (like lawyers, accountants, doctors, engineers..) are to blame for developing a complex vocabulary entirely or themselves. Partly, I suppose, to give themselves an resourceful way of talking to each other and partly to sound intelligent but then they forget that the rest of the world hasn't really seen their odd glossary of terms… yet we have their inexplicable jargon imposed on us.

To their timeless credit, lawyers and accountants especially have developed an industry based almost entirely on their own language that only their fellow brethren can comprehend - with lengthy unpunctuated sentences, bizarre unenglish terms and over formal lingo. Needless to say, this means we have to pay them (or law/finance book publishers) simply to decipher what exactly each of them is saying!

Well, the point here is that it's incredibly refreshing to see some brands that are brave enough to realize that simple communication has a much broader appeal, and is genuinely more practical. You should never have to read anything more than once. And speaking in an strange, multifarious or formal tone of voice will not guarantee you project yourself as more gifted or erudite than your competitors.

The evidence is out there and it still feels new, but it's basic common sense – talk as people talk. Explain complex issues as you would to your pal at the pub, and it'll make far more sense than if you try to jargonise and embellish what you're saying with fancy terms.

Anyway, gotta scoot now. Gotta run some ideas up my laptop before my client’s personal assistant locks diaries with me. Hope this didn’t sound too jargonish to you!

Flirting Classes From St.Valentine!

Celebrating Valentine's Day in the New World!

Valentine's Day is just a day away but I want St. Valentine to come back. The world needs some serious love help if the recent claim proves correct that half of all men, especially the American kind have forgotten how to flirt. After all, the thing about the global village is that whatever happens in the "developed" world eventually reaches the "developing" world, in which if you hadn't noticed it - many happen to be.

Geographical borders no longer prevent anything - from Viagra, iPhone, iPad to a noxious bacterium - from leaping across seas, mountains and continents and taking root in climates where they might not otherwise flourish. Trends, fashions and fancies also reach us in due course, and when they do we're often not quite ready for them.

Take feminism for example. North Americans first awoke to this dogma in the early '60s. It grew organically from the frustrations of the post-war housewife, trapped in her suburban home with only a few new-fangled household gadgets and a horde of children to keep her company. The urge to break free from these confines took time to dawn on these women-as well as on the men who used to blow a kiss to them from the driveway before backing out the family station-wagon and heading for another day at the factory or office.

As the ideology of women's liberation gradually spread out, inspired by the writings and minds of leading women academics, writers and social activists of those days, it eventually reached the kitchens of millions of American housewives.

Today, Americans talk of a post-feminist society and men know all too well the cost of ignoring gender equality. One topical example is the fact the former President of the United States had to vigorously fight for his political life because of a sexual indiscretion that, during the pre-feminist era, would hardly have registered on the political Geiger counter.

When feminism finally arrived in the developing world during the 1980s through a few middle class academics, women had spoken about it before then but it seemed, at first, like an alien concept. And in many ways it was and still is to many folks in the developing world especially like Indians, Chinese, both women and men besides the political right wing  and conservative religious outfits.

Indians and Chinese for example had not, and have not, lived through the various birth stages of this new way of thinking, and they received it like a FedEx package that had gone astray with all the assembly instructions intact. They sort of knew what to do with the contents; it's just that they're still not quite sure how to put the damn thing together. I know many Asians would disagree but it’s an undeniable fact.

So it was with keen interest that I learned some University researchers in the US have shown that 50 percent of all American men no longer know how to flirt with women. Flirting, the study claims, is a dying art because men are wary that it might lead to accusations of sexual harassment. Apparently social scientists have noted a same trend in other parts of western hemisphere.

One wonders how long it will be before this phenomenon fully engulfs Asia - if it ever will. Asians unlike their American and European counterparts seem much less inclined to succumb to new social conventions when it comes to women.

They still live in a traditional, macho society and most of their men have a sky high self-esteem (whether they deserve it or not) that is still quite full-bodied and intact. Ask women, especially single Indian women who try to go out socially in a club or bar, how often men hit on them. It's virtually impossible for a woman to sit alone at a pub in our country without some macho ego in a slick suit or a pair of tight jeans offering to buy her a drink and take her home.

The thing about flirting - and this is what Asian men just don't seem to understand - is that it's not meant to be a method of extracting sex from a woman alone. Flirting is about letting a woman know that you're attracted to her, not just for sexual reasons, but because you find her interesting.

Women will always be suspicious of flirts as long as the primary motive is selfish. Until men everywhere understand that sex is not the only thing women have to offer, women will just make if difficult for men and if they have to scare you in the process, so they will definitely. So come back St. Valentine and make us all celebrate a happy Valentines Day.

February's Essential Reading - Blast from the Past

9 Awesome Books to Read from the 90s I guess!

Strip Tease - CARL HIAASEN

This may have been a really awful movie to remember, except for Demi Moore's title act for which she was apparently paid $12.5 million but the book by Carl Hiaasen on which it was based, is one helluva fun. With a snappy story line of corrupt politicians, vain TV reporters, grumble cops and a heroine to good to be true, Striptease is a virtual teaser, especially its hard-edged satire on American politicians. Incidentally, Striptease the movie was a colossal box office and critical failure and also won the Golden Raspberry Award for the 1996's Worst Picture of the Year.

Fullalove - GORDON BURN

A tender sentimental title, an innocent photograph of a cuddly toy puppy and you would think it to be a rosy children's novel. But just after a few pages of reading and it's clear Burn's no hold's barred tale of a blacked-out tabloid hero who covers serial killings and child snatchings is the last thing you would want your kids to snuggle up next to their beds. Burn, who was also an award-winning columnist for Esquire and Rolling Stone, conjures up a veritable blood bath with Norman Miller, the hero criss-crossing crash sites, visiting hospitals and mass murderers. By the time, you reach the end, you are a drained-out, sensitized zombie yourself, Read "Happy like Murderers" too, also by Burn if you like this one.

Vurt - JEFF NOON

Too beautiful for bikers, too harsh for hippies wrote the New Statesman when Noon's debut hit the Sci-Fi markets in 1994. And it sure hit hard. Vurt was not only voted the science fiction novel of the year but also won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke award. No achievement this, when you compare the fact that Noon was competing against the usual Sci-Fi biggies like Gibson and Asimov. Vurt is a Sci-Fi surprise, no gang-bang Star war adventure but a move down to earth setting in near future Manchester and a plot that creeps up to a superb climax. If you haven't read it until now, go grab it even if you don't like menacing Aliens and organic galaxies.

Bombay Talkie - AMEENA MEER

When we think of life in India, two clichés come to mind. The first of chicken tikka, snake charmers, bullock carts and women in colorful saris, the second is the bleeding image of a growing densely populated country trying to come in terms with BPOs, atom bombs, Aids and corruption. Ameena Meer's bold debut blows the lid of these stereotypes with a insiders look of wannabe twenty some thing Indians struggling to make it big in a brave new world where east meets west with interesting consequences. Meer's debut packs enough ethnic zing, sexual tension and local flavors to make “Bombay Talkie" a fabulous read.

Fishboy - MARK RICHARD

For a start, Mark Richard's best selling Fishboy sounds a tad boring especially its tedious long beginning that stretches the limits. Your patience is soon rewarded as it slowly turns into a dazzling roller coaster with enough imaginative twists and turns that keeps you spellbound to the finish. With bizarre characters like the lead fish boy, fish wives, seafarers, nuclear submarines and beautiful mermaids for company, Richard builds a intoxicating fantasy that is surreal, dark and good fun to read. P.S: Here's a small nugget you may love to know - Mark Richard was screenwriter for 2008's American war drama film "Stop Loss" directed by Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry) which starred Ryan Phillippe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Sleepeasy - TM WRIGHT

The premise is simple. Hero Harry Briggs is searching for his pregnant wife who is suddenly missing but is rumored to be happy and living in Silver lake. The surprise however, is that Harry Briggs is a dead man and Silver lake is a state of mind. With such a noirish ghostliness attached to it, Wright has enough fun as Harry frantically searches for his wife with just a revolver trench coat in a world that obeys no laws except the supernatural and nothing is perfect. A waking dream of a novel, Sleepeasy may not be your ideal horror read, but it sure is a delight. From the award winning author of the internationally best selling " A Manhattan Ghost Story" which is soon to be made into a movie.

Kolynsky Heights - LIONEL DAVIDSON

With shades of Clive Cussler's "Vixen 03 ", critically acclaimed Davidson's Kolynsky Heights is one of those old fashioned, spy themed, fine action adventures that you don't read these days. With an serpentine plot that stretches from a secret lab in ice cold Siberia to Oxford and a hero as suave as James Bond, the no-nonsense narrative motors along nicely at overdrive speed and regular bursts of neat action. Keeps you pre-occupied till its shattering and satisfying climax. If you like this, I would recommend the award winning and equally popular "A Long Way to Shiloh" and "The Chelsea Murders"

Slowness - MILAN KUNDERA

The author of the best selling "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", Milan Kundera has been one of the most fascinating writers of our century and with Slowness, he proved he was indeed one of the very best. His critics may not really agree but Slowness, is actually a fast paced philosophical tale of loss and human tragedy. Heavy stuff about two centuries linked together by the theme of seduction, about nobles and sex put across with a delightful lightness and grace, which only Kundera can muster. It's an altogether different question about the title, which of course, is ironic.

Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow - PETER HOEG

A delightful and superb novel that made Hoeg, a house hold name in literary circles. And why not indeed. A moody murder thriller, steeped in an cold Nordic interior, Hoeg builds the tempo sublimely and pulls it off efficiently with his elegant prose and wonderfull characterizations. For some, it may be a bit modish, privy to contemporary crime fiction and a predictable plot may too obviously haunt its pages, but this is a splendid novel that sets the mind dreaming and these days, too few books do that. In 1997, this book was also made into a pleasant little movie - "Smilla's Sense of Snow" starring Julia Ormond, Gabriel Byrne, Robert Loggia, Jim Broadbent, Richard Harris and Tom Wilkinson.

Photographing Fairies (1997) - Not Your Usual Fairy Movie!

An Eerie Little Fairy Tale on the 'Cottingley Fairies'

A Compelling fantasy drama loosely inspired by the famous “Cottingley Fairies” incident of 1917 which even attracted the attention of the Great Arthur Conan Doyle, this beautifully photographed movie is actually based more on Steve Szilagyi’s best selling book of the same name.

Set in post-war Britain of the 1920's when believing in fairies nearly reached mass hysteria and respectability following the discovery of the “Cottingley Fairies”; it revolves around young photographer Toby Castle (Die Another Day's Toby Stephens) who returns to England heartbroken after losing his new bride down a crevasse on the first day of their honeymoon in the Alps.

He returns home cynical and dismissive, despite living in the same society where new ideas about the after-life and spirituality are seeping into the mainstream. His views soon change though when he meets the mysterious Beatrice Templeton (Frances Barber) who shows him a photograph of her daughters playing with fairies.

Toby is soon convinced that they are indeed real after seeing them for himself and he sees a way in which he can be re-united with his lost love. This view isn't supported by Beatrice's religious husband (played with aplomb by Ben Kingsley), a manic fundamentalist preacher whose less than tolerant attitude ultimately leads to violence.

Winner of the 1998 Méliès d'Or award, Nick Willing’s “Photographing Fairies” is a rather serene film touching on many themes: grief, love, despair and afterlife while also exploring Edwardian society’s interest in supernatural possibilities outside the established realm of those days. Accompanied by a wonderful score, this is a little known British gem that you may never catch on TV.

Incidentally, this is one of the 2 movies that were made based on the “Cottingley Fairies”, the other being 1998’s “Fairy Tale: A True Story” – a more factual narrative starring Peter O'Toole and Harvey Keitel.

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Thinking about Lateral Thinking

We're all capable of Lateral Thinking – of thinking sideways, yet still having the natural ability to understand, or to make the mental leap between what is being said and what is being implied.

Yesterday, I watched an old episode of “Only Fools and Horses”, a popular British TV sitcom that ran between 1981 to 1991 and even upto the early 2000’s. What I'm getting at is the genius of scriptwriters like John Sullivan, who anticipates an audience's response before conjuring up something brilliant. With “Only Fools and Horses”, he decided that forever and a day the character 'Trigger' would get his best mate's name wrong, without exception. What an indisputably splendid bit of audience understanding to include such a detail.

So why do we love this kind of lateral thinking? Probably because we welcome humor more if we've got a bit of work to do to 'get the gag'. It's more rewarding.

The point is, Creatives (blokes like me who in the creative industry) bang on about being lateral thinkers... but ask them to explain what lateral thinking is.

For me the best analogy is a joke – 'a man walks into a bar... BANG, it was a lead bar' – Okay, so it's a crap joke, but let's face it, in a split second you probably envisaged that man, saw his face, his clothes, where he was, and you had in mind a particular guy with an open door. Yet you were thrown sideways by the punch line, and the bar in question conjured up a completely different picture in your mind – a solid piece of lead piping, with the same guy's face now wedged up against it.

The fact that, to a greater or lesser degree, we can all consciously make this sort of leap sideways allows us to take what can only be described as the 'scenic route' to a concept. Getting there is 75% of the reward. And the ability to take an even more oblique route is perhaps the difference between a great idea and a bloody extraordinary idea.

To be too obtuse in one's communications is, of course, counter-productive. The more oblique the route, the more likely it is you're going to get lost. Equally, to generate a formula (or road map) for this kind of thinking is clearly impossible. So to make sure we come up with bloody fantastic ideas more often than not, the answer is simply to have an alternative approach, to think in a way that explores all the routes around and between concepts.

And anyway, this kind of lateral approach is much more fun than always going in a fixed direction. So, are you thinking now?

P.S: If Lateral Thinking interests you, read Edward de Bono's "New Think: The Use of Lateral Thinking", "Parallel Thinking: From Socratic thinking to de Bono Thinking" and "Six Thinking Hats: An Essential Approach to Business Management". All the 3 books are a great read and proof why de Bono is perhaps considered one of the greatest thinkers of all time!

15 Best Female Rock Songs for the New Year

Pop Rock Hits from 15 Best Female Vocalists (That I Can Think of Now)

My first Music post for the New Year and what better way to celebrate than a smashing collection of 15 awesome songs from 15 best female vocalists that I can think of (now)- including personal favorites like Sarah McLachlan, Lene Marlin, Beth Orton and Michelle Branch. 2 Things to do now - click the download button, enjoy!

1. Adrienne Pierce - Downside Of Love (3:20)

2. Aimee Mann - Thirity One Today (4:52)

3. Beth Orton - Thinking About Tomorrow (6:40)

4. Jane Wiedlin - Blue Kiss (3:28)

5. Lene Marlin - Another Day (4:07)

6. Lucy Woodward - What's Good For Me (3:59)

7. Melissa Etheridge - Come To My Window (3:57)

8. Michelle Branch - Goodbye To You (4:11)

9. Mieka Pauley - (Prologue) All The Same Mistakes (4:19)

10. Minnie Driver - Down (4:36)

11. Sarah Bettens - Stay (3:17)

12. Sarah Mc Lachlan - Sweet Surrender (3:59)

13. Serena Ryder - All For Love (3:58)

14. Sheryl Crow - Love Is All There Is (4:01)

15. Adele - Chasing Pavements (3:31)

Free MP3 Download – Zipped Folder - 78.43 MB – Megaupload link

THIS IS A NON-COMMERCIAL FAN MIXTAPE. IF YOU LIKE THESE ARTISTS, PLEASE BUY THEIR ORIGINAL MUSIC & PROMOTE THEM

You can buy original CDS/DVDs & Mp3s of the above artists at emusic, amazon, itunes, other online stores or your nearest music and movie retailer.

Fighting the Recession!

How You Can Stop The Downturn

Today I had one of my smallest US clients default on the payment. And he had the American recession and his house mortgage to blame. With a brand new year just beginning, it felt really terrible.

Recession just like Residential Prices, I am reliably informed by a friend who works for one of the United States’ largest realty advisory – depend on four crucial factors: general employment, household incomes, interest rates and consumer confidence.

Okay, so there’s nothing too startling here or that you didn’t already knew. But let’s take a look at the detail.

Clearly, the first three of these key factors can be quantified, even predicted. But the problem my pal and his colleagues have is that consumer confidence is intangible, it’s indefinable, unquantifiable and in total too slippery for its own good. Property ‘experts’ like him are always having the rug pulled from under their feet by that fickle-minded beast, shopper confidence. Sure, the realty market is still on the up in most areas of the country, but it’s slowing down or stabilizing.

It’s not just the real estate market that relies on consumer confidence, of course. The whole economy relies on confidence.

If one thing’s for sure, confidence is not simple to forecast. We rely on it, yet we can never be sure of where it’s heading. And we have only a very fuzzy understanding of what influences it, what makes it go up or go down. Something we think should be seen as hugely positive news might not have the desired effect on the population, and something else that’s apparently catastrophic might not be given much credence by the economy.

So here’s a practical thought for all of you.

Why do we all fall into the trap of running down the economy just because someone else tells us they've heard there is a downturn, that there are no more jobs or that the economy’s slowing down? Even if there is indeed a recession, why do we allow ourselves to be swayed by unnecessary despair? Nothing more than an insecure feeling that perhaps we should all avoid spending our money right now? Nothing more than a failure to take a little risk now and then!

For God’s sake, we all need to snap out of it! It’s precisely because people like you (and me) are choosing the ‘safe’ route and not spending our money that the whole economy is threatened with slowdown! If you don’t spend your money, the person who would have got it won’t spend his either, and so it goes on, down the food chain of the entire economy.

So…the solution has to be that the chap at the top of the food chain needs to spend his money, and that way it will trickle down to the guy at the bottom, with everyone becoming more and more confident as the flow of cash continues.

So come on all you big transnationals, all you large companies who ought to know better, get your cheque books out and get the economy going again.

And let’s stop talking so damningly about the economy, no matter which country you live in. It’s happening right now, in hotel lounges, bars and pubs, newspapers, magazines, blogs, up and down at all nations (or at least most of them) across the world. And it’s something we've all got to stop.

Or else, if the economy really does slow down to the point of shrinking, we've only got ourselves to blame, myself included. So, let’s change the lingo “The economy’s booming”. Pass it on!!!

Dead Man On Campus (1998) - How to Pass by Catastrophe

An Academic Black Teen Comedy!

Two first-year college students have to resort to desperate actions to get through their degree course. An unfathomable loophole in the University rules might help them get through. Josh is discovering that the first year of college can be tough. It doesn't matter if you're a straight A high school student, college is a different ball game all together.

The tough part about college isn't the academic work, but rather the road to excess and over-indulgence, and actually having too much fun.

When his grades fall rapidly and the end of the semester looms, Josh has to come up with a plan to salvage his grade average and his scholarship.His roommate is in the same quandary, and together they find out an antiquated rule (pass by catastrophe) in the college charter, which, plainly put, says that any student dying while studying at the college automatically receives a straight A average grade.

So, how to die and get the grade and still live anyway? Simple, get someone else to die in you place. Bizarre subject matter for a dumb comedy, maybe, but with some amusing moments in a black sense, “Dead Man On Campus” sets off to tackle the college movie in a different and weirdly instructive manner.

Tom Everett Scott, recognizable from his hit role in the Tom Hanks directed flick "That Thing You Do", plays Josh, who gets to the celebrated Daleman College on a scholarship, only to find that more fascinating activities flourish outside the lecture rooms. In a panic, he resorts to frantic measures to preserve his exceptional academic standing.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar, known in the US for his television role as Zack Morris in "Saved By The Bell", is Cooper. Cooper is a blue-blood, rich guy, with a weakness for the lavish and luxurious life. Initially a mismatch for Josh's average background, he becomes a cohort in Josh's criminal plan.

The two advertise for a room-mate, intending to somehow get this roommate to die - the rest is obvious. Or is it? Watch it and you'll know.

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Moist – Mind Altering Chillout Electronica from Sweden

10 Free Tracks From Sweden's Leading Electronic Artist

How about some addictive, chill out electronica for the week ahead before Christmas. That’s the picture I can think of after listening to Moist the last few days! Not to be confused with the Canadian Rock band of the same name, Moist is from Sweden and the creation of one man army Producer, Songwriter & Musician - David Elfström Lilja.

David expertly coaxes dreamy, chill out melodies with a skittering of lush female vocals, shades of kraftwerkish new age ambience and pensive downbeat harmonies – all beautifully blended amidst an air of enigma. Imagine, mind expanding lounge electronica on your speakers! Now, thanks to David, I present below some of my personal 10 favorites for your aural consumption which are already very popular across numerous European radio stations. So, go ahead, lie down, switch off your lights and immerse yourself in electronic moist bliss!

1. Moist - Far Beyond The Endless (Mert Boru Remix) (4:08)
2. Moist - How Long (Omnimotion Remix) (3:28)
3. Moist - How Long (feat. Maria Marcus) (3:58)
4. Moist - I Am (UGLH Remix) (5:18)
5. Moist - Just Say You're Sorry (feat. Sophie Rimheden) (4:52)
6. Moist - Just Say You're Sorry (Stefan Aronsson Remix) (6:04)
7. Moist - Not Alone (Addeboy Vs Cliff Remix) (5:14)
8. Moist - Not Alone (Inspiritualization Remix) (4:42)
9. Moist - Not Alone (feat. Maria Marcus) (3:15)
10. Moist - Wild Structures (with I Awake) (5:36)

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If you like Moist, please visit the Moist website @ or like the Moist Facebook Fanpage . You can also follow Moist and the force behind Moist – David Elfstrom Lilja on Twitter.

The Top 5 Movies of Michelangelo Antonioni

My favorites from the Italian Modernist

I had the indulgence of seeing Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Blow-Up” on HD last week. Again that is. This was probably my 7th or 8th time but watching this masterpiece from the Italian modernist filmmaker in high definition glory just blew me away. After all, according to cinema critic Richard Corliss, this was the movie that defied conventions and “helped liberate Hollywood from its puritanical prurience”!

So, now that you know my love for this celebrated filmmaker, I present below some of his very best movies or rather my personal Top 5 for your reading pleasure. As always, I have added all video links that I could find so that you can also view these great movies.

L'Avventura/ aka The Adventure (1960/Mystery) - Its slow, stately pacing caused absolute chaos at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival, but this remains one of Antonioni's finest with Empire magazine ranking it one of 'The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema'. Part one of the ‘Incommunicability’ Trilogy and the film that launched the career of Monica Vitti, this movie is a beautifully constructed tale of futility, idleness and deception revealed through the search for a missing woman. Antonioni uses little dialogue; what is said, therefore, we pay attention to. Likewise, the director's trademark blank compositions are very much in evidence. Also starring Gabriele Ferzetti and Lea Massari.


L'Eclisse/ aka The Eclipse (1962/Drama/Romance) - The final part of the 'Incommunicability' Trilogy, preceded by La notte; Antonioni's masterpiece stars Monica Vitti and Alain Delon as a couple in a modern, desperate relationship as seen through the eyes of the auteur of alienation. Though his view of the eclipse of emotion is ultimately bleak, there are touches of humor along the way. The justifiably famous ending poetically sums up the film through a montage of rich images. Though nominated for the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival, this won the Jury Special Prize.


Blow Up (1966/Mystery/Thriller) - A mod, metaphysical London, a mocking, mad world and a murder mystery provide the ideal setup in this Oscar nominated numinous whodunit that also made Antonioni, an international star and inspired Brain De Palma’s Blow Out (1981). David Hemmings, a swinging English photographer (in the likes of David Bailey) more concerned with art than reality, discovers a sinister truth when his camera unknowingly witnesses a murder. Antonioni's most accessible film and also his first English-language film is a profound meditation on the nature of representation. Based on the 1959 short story by Julio Cortazar’s “The Devil’s Drool”. With Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles. A genuine masterpiece, don’t miss this.


Zabriskie Point (1970/Drama)- Antonioni's impression of late 60's American youth counterculture was a colossal flop during its initial release – critics finding it crammed with condescending cliché and dated attitudes. An irritating but totally intriguing mess with Sam Sheppard listed as a contributor to the non existent screenplay in which Mark Frechette is insufferable as a college boy who hides out in the desert with a sexy Chick after shooting down a pig. In spite of all its various shortcomings, I found it full of beautiful images, especially the desert scenery, a few occasionally affecting insights and a dazzling soundtrack featuring the Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead and the supreme Pink Floyd amongst others.


The Passenger / Professione : Reporter (1975/Drama/Mystery/Thriller) - Jack Nicholson provides the ultimate in cool alienation in one of Antonioni fine depiction of male angst. Nicholson plays a journalist who decides to take on a dead man's identity in an anonymous desert setting, then plunges deeper and deeper into your classic existential malaise in this 1975 Cannes “Plame d’Or” nominated gem. Maria Schneider (Last Tango in Paris) provides some temporary relief. Jack is absolutely prime; the moody photography is memorable. An excellent choice for Nicholson, art film fans and film students alike. The Passenger’s penultimate long take 8 minute shot (in those days when there was no steadicam) is alone worth the price of admission. Watch out for Steven Berkoff. If you like this, you should also see the similarly scripted Jim Jarmusch’s The Limits of Control(2009).