| FEBRUARY 2008 | © brianmay.com | |
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As
always, the opinions expressed in these pages are purely
and personally those of myself, Brian; they are not the
official views of Queen, or of any other organisation or
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**Sun 10 Feb 08** [Referring to articles The Sun: "For Queen and Country" and Telegraph "Half-naked RAF irmen in Queen rock tribute" - British Armed Forces continuing their morale boosting spoof videos with "Don't Stop Me Now"... clad in just under garments... ] Brilliant !!! F would have loved it ! Bri © brianmay.com |
[Relying to a teacher of young astronomers. Brian felt he had much in common... SEE LETTERS] I did teach maths for a year at a comprehensive school in London at one point ... loved it, actually ... though it was hard ... What can I say ... We only get one life ... and I do find that the greatest buzz is making unusual things happen ... the creation process. Of course, Life is really about Love, but as for what we do with our days, the pursuit of knowledge and pure art and pure science, and discovery of the Universe ... is a thrill reserved for those who dedicate themselves to the edges of things ... the frontiers ... I work more hours than ANYONE I know ... but I wouldn't swap it for a life of leisure ... I wouldn't last a week ... I'll see you out there! Bless ya © brianmay.com |
**Sun 10 Feb 08** [A reader asked... see SEE LETTERS:] How can you dismiss the views of those who think that travelling around Chelsea in 3.5-litre engined 4x4s is bad for the planet on the basis that because they don't eat meat! Sounds a little cuckoo to me - I thought you were a scientist; these are not mutually exclusive states! Reply: They are not mutually exclusive states - but to me insisting on one to be considered without the other is a logical absurdity. If you are a scientist, you will see that this comment is not 'cuckoo'. On that note, a random thought that might appeal to you as a scientist is that there are 1.3 billion cattle roaming the earth, admittedly most in enclosures of somesort, but nevertheless thriving. My enjoying a steak or three hasn't done their contribution to Darwin's theory any harm, has it ! The golden frog is doing less well and pigs are virtually extinct in the middle east. Perhaps being a tasty meal is the key to survival after all! Perhaps you consider survival of a species to be, per se, a success story. Just to live is enough ? But how would you feel if the Human Race survived in their millions, but were only bred for food for a bunch of Alpha Centaureans - and we were all denied our dignity, our freedom of movement, and all control over our own destiny ? Would you still be smiling, and talking about how lucky cows were ? However, apart from that, I agree with you - I think you're right about the fact that much of the important stuff concerns the methods used in providing the animal 'products' we eat ... without thinking that the 'product' is a piece of a real baby lamb, or calf .... Yes - lets educate our children, to take the veil away ... Cheers
[Brian was also asked if he would explain how vegetarianism in his words "is also more efficient in terms of the world's energy." Please see LETTERS ...] Well, Lena ... it's got a lot to do with it, especially if you are Japanese. Their viewpoint is that if it's OK for us to eat Cows and sheep and pigs, why isn't it OK for them to eat whales. You could say they have a point ... I don't happen to agree with it, but there is a kind of logic there. In OUR country, no, you're right, normal people do not eat whales and dolphins, but they do eat Foie Gras - liver from a duck which has been force fed and tortured all its life, and Veal, from a baby cow which ... you probably don't want to know ... and there is the whole horrific scenario of fast-food battery chickens ... it's too disgusting to even contemplate ... As for the energy thing .... if you added up all the energy and resources that go into breeding a cow for us to eat, you'd find that the same resources would produce about three times as much vegetable food for us as we would get from the cow. It's like cutting out the middle man. I'll see if I can find the references, but, basically it's very inefficient to farm animals to eat. Apart from being horribly cruel and unnecessary. You'll notice I'm not advocating everyone becoming a vegetarian overnight ... but I would like to start a move towards giving animals consideration, as fellow creatures, with as much of a right to live as we have. Thanks for writing ... Love © brianmay.com |
**Fri 08 Feb 08** [Brian prompted to write by a LETTER following his apology on subject of American Indians... and several news items, links below...] This letter means a lot to me. Thanks very much. Yes, really we are ALL Americans, ALL Europeans, and ultimately ALL Africans, from what I can see. We are also ALL mammals, like Cats, Dogs, Monkeys, Whales ... I'm feeling a big pain tonight ... having seen, thanks to Jen, who is really the only 'Newspaper' I read ... that a majority of Japanese people are in favour of killing whales (for 'research'), and that Norway has just decided to go ahead and kill over a thousand of these beautiful creatures, to chop them up for food, next year. [References include: I feel such a huge sense of disappointment, anger, sadness, frustration, despair, and even fear ... I don't quite know where to put it. I was in the studio tonight (my own) working on a wonderful track which Taylor Hawkins invited me to play on .. which is actually a glimpse back in time, to the days of the Beach Boys ... I can't go into more details ... but I was feeling the warmth and love and hope of those Flower Power days, and then caught a glimpse of the picture published in the papers today, of two Minke Whales, a Mother and a calf, being dragged on to the murderous whaling ship ... Who can honestly look at this and not cry? Murderous? I do not use the term lightly, because to me, it's clear that we do not need 'scientific research' to tell us that these creatures are rivals to us in intelligence, comparable to us in feelings, joy of life, love for their babies ... Imagine an alien race doing this to us ... ignoring our feelings, our right to live under the Sun, our poetry, killing our children ... I think we would call it Murder. Murder most horrible. Are we really going to stand and watch this happen? Tonight, yes, I am a Japanese, and a Norwegian ... but I am also an Australian, a brother to those brave men who are putting their lives on the line to show the world the atrocities against our fellow creatures, that are being committed in our names. And, folks ... please don't write to me about my supposed hypocrisy - I don't approve of us using cows and sheep and chickens to feed our bellies either ... and I would like to see us change our whole approach to the way we relate to ALL animals ... but ... Whales? Dolphins? Surely among the noblest of creatures. Our rape of the oceans of the world is almost at the point of the extinction of Marine Life. Are we not ashamed? It IS possible to live very well, without eating animals ... it is also more efficient in terms of the world's energy, as has been proved. So this year I don't want anyone preaching to me about Carbon Footprints, who is not a vegetarian. How are we sleeping tonight? --- Sorry ... I got carried away into a different area. Strangely enough, although the book "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" was an inspiration to Dirk Maggs and myself, and set us off on our pilgrimage, after studying it, we came to the conclusion that it could not be made into a film ... because it had no continuity - the stories had no common characters ... and this is why we sought another story to tell ... We also did not want to preach. We wanted to tell a truthful story, with a fair representation of all points of view. This is not an easy kind of film to make ... one has only to look at the masses of one-sided (and many downright dishonest!) movies which have been made in recent times ... After looking at a lot of scripts in recent months, I realise it's very hard to make a film about real events without inventing characters, and events, to make it 'entertaining'. So where is the truth? Hard to find. Love © brianmay.com |
**Fri 08 Feb 08** Just when despair is close .... One piece of encouraging news ... and I quote: "For the first time, the Cambridge Union voted against bloodsports last night." "This House believes that hunting animals MR Cameron please note ... bringing back fox-hunting may NOT be the attractive vote-winner you imagined! The times they are a-changin'! Well done, Cambridge!!! Cheers © brianmay.com |
**Wed 06 Feb 08** [See LETTERS] Ah! You noticed! The "Love of My Life" Underscore!!! Nice, isn't it!! Good spotting. Yes, we constantly try out new things in WWRY .... it keeps it, and us fresh. This little 'allusion' sets off the moment when our hero finally realises he IS in love with the insane rock-chick he has nick-named Scaramouche, after all! We have been fine-tuning the way this underscore actually works, in the last couple of weeks. Regarding Britney Spears, yes, we have taken out our references to her from the show (world-wide, actually), in deference to the fact that she is going through such a hard time. The references have always been intended as good-natured fun, and even a kind of tribute to her, because, as you know, we have worked with Britney, and have a huge affection for her, but right now, we didn't want there to be any risk of our show adding to her pain. So we are now adding to Victoria Beckham's legend instead s!! We are always sensitive to the feelings of our fellow artists ... we would never feel comfortable with anything other than a non-destructive, affectionate gag. This is really Ben Elton's department, of course, and he is constantly revising these threads in the show, with a view to keeping the show vibrant, treading that fine line between satire and errors of taste! We think it would be wrong to attempt to 'tame' Ben, because his 'wickedness' is such a big part of his art. We send our love to Britney. We would like to see her back up there, in private and in public - pure spun gold. Bri [Feb 08 In reply to another reader's letter... See LETTERS] I have to say that really Ben should take the credit, though. It's strange, so many people think he's a wildly insensitive guy and commercially minded ... nothing could be further from the truth ... Cheers © brianmay.com |
**Wed 06 Feb 08** (See LETTERS) In answer to the U2-Bono-3-D film enquiries ... yes, I'm aware of it, and kinda wish we had been in a position to do this first! Ha ha! But I haven't seen it yet. I certainly will! Good for them. It couldn't happen to a worthier band! Cheers © brianmay.com |
**Tue 05 Feb 08**
At the risk of ... oh, whatever ... ! This will show the genius of a true Stereo artist! As I predicted, Brian Smallwood saw my pathetic effort at a Fireball stereo in this site, and has sent .... well, these. The first one shows a truly ROUND fireball, and a spark on the surface. But the second one (at bottom) shows the 'spark' beautifully placed at the very centre of a transparent shell of exploding material ... only stereoscopic vision can show you these subtle, but highly significant, differences in spatial image. Enjoy!! Cheers © brianmay.com |
**Mon 04 Feb 08** [A reader was curious about a film-making project he talked of in an interview '"Rock N' Roll Royalty" in 2001, and whether abandoned? See LETTERS] It was to be on the subject of North American Indians, and the true story of "How the West Was Won" - or "Lost", depending on whose side you were on. Did you ever read a book called, Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee"? It's by Dee Brown ... if you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it. This was one of the inspirations for our project. We got a long way with it, but the interest we had from Film People dried up as soon a 9/11 happened. No American from that point on wanted to look at the possibility that the USA was in the wrong about anything ! One day, maybe, we'll return to it ... Cheers --- Later Monday.... ... I think a little bell went off in my head when I wrote that. I should have paid attention to it Yes, this is a full apology! It was not intended the way it sounded... Of course I know loads of highly conscientious and open-minded Americans, you included, and I apologise without qualification to ALL of them at this moment! The truth was that no US producer wanted to talk to us, after that point ... at least not the ones we were dealing with. So we got depressed, and put it on the shelf. Why did we want an American Producer? Because, in truth, and this might seem contentious in itself, but we felt (particularly myself, having spent so much time in the USA) that we WERE Americans, and that it was OUR race which had behaved in this shameful way towards the prior population of the North American Continent. It was OUR shame, and it was OUR intent to atone. You know what... I still feel that way. But this is Bri apologising .. I need to be more considerate in my hasty internet writings. I should have checked the piece in that context. In spite of all the appalling damage done by Bush (and Blair) to the fabric of International relations ... America is still my favourite small country!!! Cheers © brianmay.com |
**Sun 03 Feb 08** [Brian was asked whether Roger Taylor's song "New Dark Ages" (or "Freedom Train") ever attempted to be recorded by Queen during Innuendo sessions.... See LETTERS] I do not know anything about this ... I don't think Roger ever brought it to the table as a Queen song. To be honest, I don't think I have heard it ... though I remember the title ... Roger is very good on titles!! Cheers © brianmay.com |
[A reader sent an excellent letter about his recent trip to Peru to scatter ashes of a dear friend, and victim of a sudden heart attack, in this most beautiful place. Subsequently a fund has been set up to provide Local Rapid Response medical teams to cover rural areas in the North-west. See LETTERS.] This is a great letter, David. Yes, I went to Machu Picchu, some years ago. It really was a life-changing experience. I have a picture of me, triumphant, after we climbed Huyaina Picchu ... the beautiful mountain which overlooks the city of Machu Picchu ... I climbed it in clogs!! Probably very silly, but it worked at the time!! I can understand that you made a great journey for your friend as well as yourself ... well done. I'm so sorry that you have lost so great a friend. Nerves? Yes, I get them too ... there is no way out!! There is only THROUGH!!! But it really does help to do the '12-step' thing, of doing ALL the preparation you can, but then "admitting that you are powerless" and handing it over to your Higher Power, whoever, or whatever that Higher Power may be. It is that feeling of realising that you have to 'let go' ... which empowers you. I think I should really put the Serenity Prayer up on the website to be seen at all times!! It starts off with "God", but it has little to do with any organised religion ... in fact .. nothing. God, in this prayer, is whoever you visualise as in control of things you cannot control; the power of this prayer, as a means of stabilising the soul to move forward in a difficult situation, is incredible. OK! I hope I get this right .. ! Only a few words, but ... awesome power! GOD - Grant me I learned this in Cottonwood, Arizona, when I checked myself in, having got myself into depression so deep, a few years ago, that I had to admit powerlessness, and ask for help. Well, maybe this is not the right moment to be getting into all this. But maybe it IS. This prayer can save lives. Cheers © brianmay.com |
*Sati 02 Feb 08** Our friend Gina has sent details of a viewer which apparently works really well, if all efforts at Free-Viewing are in vain. She says it is brilliant for viewing stereo pairs on a computer screen. I am going to try one .... and ... well, maybe this will save some of you a headache !! It's inexpensive ! The link to the shop is: www.loreo.com/pages/shop/loreo_products_online.html A UK Source is: www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/Catalogue/Viewers.html Loreo Lite 3D Viewer made from plastic coated card paper with the inside surface printed black to create the dark viewing chamber. Love © brianmay.com |
**Sat 02 Feb 08** Amazing! Congratulations to the Innuendo Theatre Group and Sarah Webber! - for winning new awards for Schools Will Rock You! An Oscar of the South!! Cheers, and well done all! Bri © brianmay.com |
**Fri 01 Feb 08** [Brian was asked about the additional words that appear in the songsheet for his beautiful ballad,"All Dead, Alll Dead", but are not sung.... See LETTERS] "Memories, my memories These words are the ones I was GOING to sing over the piano introduction - but decided not to! You can try it if you like! Cheers © brianmay.com |
**Fri 01 Feb 08** [A reader had a try at making a stereo image with the Bang! Fireball - see LETTERS.] Ha! Very good job! Ah - here is one .. not perfect, but not bad! Brian Smallwood could do much better than me, I am sure .. Sadly not a very big file! Sorry ...
You can make a ball look round by using the Liquify function on Photoshop ... just gently moving the centre part of one image over to one side using the 'forward warp tool' with a big "Brush". There IS also some software, somewhere, for stereoising planet images .. but I have not tried it .. Cheers © brianmay.com |
Parallel Format Print & Monitor Viewer 
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