Cartoon Time.

Just Finished Reading: Spies in the Sky – The Secret Battle for Aerial Intelligence during World War II by Taylor Downing (FP: 2011)

It was understood from the experience gained in the First World War that reconnaissance aircraft needed to fly low and slow in order to gain photographs of sufficient quality to be of any use. However it very quickly became apparent, after painfully few craft returned from missions in the opening weeks of World War Two, that new tactics and new photographic technology were needed. As the RAF struggled with the new reality – and much else besides – a daring group of engineers and pilots redefined aerial reconnaissance forever. The only way to survive in hostile airspace was to fly as high as possible and as fast as possible – by using state of the art fighter aircraft stripped to the bare essentials and flown by some of the best pilots in the service. Such pilots, the engineers and technicians that serviced them and the photographic interpreters whose job it was the decide what exactly had been photographed, whether it presented a real target and, after any attack, if the target had been sufficiently damaged or destroyed are the subject of this detailed and riveting book.

The vital element of photo reconnaissance does seem to be the forgotten child of WW2. Yet without it the RAF would have had to rely on the often unrealistic testimony of bomber pilots rather than the far more scientific bomb damage assessments possible with detailed photographic evidence, German radar systems may never have been discovered and then subsequently stolen by commandoes thereby giving Bomber Command a huge advantage in the ongoing electronic battles with the Luftwaffe, the battleships Tirpitz and Bismarck may never have been found and ultimately destroyed before they could do immeasurable damage to the Atlantic convoys and the V-weapon development and launch sites may have never been found and attacked which arguably put their development back far enough that they became largely useless as war winning devices. All of this occurred – and much more besides – because incredibly brave and talented individuals put themselves repeatedly in harm’s way to bring back photographic evidence of what the enemy was up to. Undoubtedly many lives were saved by the timely provision of up-to-the-minute information of what was around the next corner or over the next hill. From a largely shoe-string operation the British (and later Anglo-American) top secret photo-interpreter organisation became a highly efficient organisation populated by some of the brightest men and women in the country.

This excellent book complimented nicely my previous reading on the V weapons and Bletchley Park. So much so in fact that I recommend that they be read together to give a fuller picture of what was going on at the time. I have a few more books on related subjects coming up and expect that eventually they’ll make a nice little selection of books relating to this fascinating aspect of WW2. Highly recommended.

Cartoon Time.

What a cool idea....... 

Doctor Who Dalek designer Ray Cusick dies after illness

From BBC News

24 February 2013

The designer of the Daleks from the BBC's Doctor Who has died aged 84 after a short illness, his daughter has said. Former BBC designer Ray Cusick died of heart failure in his sleep on Thursday, Claire Heawood added. The Daleks became the iconic villains in cult science fiction series Doctor Who, which is due to mark its 50th anniversary with events this year. Mr Cusick, from Horsham, West Sussex, leaves two daughters and seven grandchildren, his family said. The official Doctor Who Magazine tweeted: "It's with great sadness that we report the death of Ray Cusick - the designer of the Daleks. Half a century on, his iconic design lives on." Doctor Who actor and writer Mark Gatiss tweeted: "Farewell to the great Ray Cusick. His passing is especially sad in this anniversary year but his creation remains immortal. Daleks forever!"

Ray Cusick was asked to create a race of aliens for a new programme called Doctor Who back in 1963. The designer gave form to the concept of the Daleks, created by Doctor Who screenwriter Terry Nation and which first appeared in series one of Doctor Who nearly 50 years ago. In the show, the race of Daleks was said to have been developed by a scientist to survive a war on their home planet of Skaro. However, the scientist was later killed by his own creation. The Daleks, mutants encased in studded, tank-like machinery that appear to glide over the ground, became a cultural sensation, with generations growing to love their famous electronic command of "Exterminate". In a 2008 episode of BBC Three's Doctor Who Confidential, Mr Cusick visited the BBC props department and explained his inspiration for the design of the Daleks, which has changed very little over the years. "People do say I was inspired by a pepper pot - but I always think 'If that's all it takes to become a designer then it's a doddle'." He explained that, in fact, the pepper pot detail came from a lunch with Bill Roberts, the special effects expert who would make the Daleks, when Mr Cusick picked up a pepper pot and moved it around the table, telling him: "It's going to move like that - no visible means. Ever since then people say I was inspired by a pepper pot - but it could have been the salt pot I picked up," he said. He went on: "When I'm asked what I was inspired by I suppose it was really a system of logic because I realised that you've got to have an operator to operate them. If you had anything mechanical, 10 to one on the take it would go wrong, so you've got a human being in there who would be absolutely totally reliable... I then thought 'Well, the operator's got to sit down', [so I] drew a seat, ergonomic height, 18in, got the operator down, and then drew round him. That's how the basic shape appeared."

David Graham, who created the original voice of the Daleks, said the villains' success in frightening generations of viewers was a combination of "brilliant design" and the synthesised voice added to it. He said Mr Cusick was responsible for "one of the most iconic designs of television sci-fi. They captured the imagination of so many people. It was a wonderful thing," he told BBC Radio 5 live's Stephen Nolan show. Nicholas Briggs, who voices the modern Daleks, said the show would not be the same without them. "Extinction is not an option - If you say Doctor Who to someone in the street about the second thing they're going to say is 'Exterminate'," he said. "Lots of my friends who are not Doctor Who fans think that the programme is 'Doctor Who and the Daleks' - that surely the Daleks are in it all the time - which isn't true but that is the impression. That's the brilliance of the creation of the Daleks. They've made an indelible stamp on the series really."

[The Daleks were probably my first Geek ‘crush’, I loved the little buggers. As a child (not being able to afford some of the excellent models till much later) I used to make model Daleks out of old egg cartons and matchsticks. I think at times I must have had dozens of them wandering around the house ‘exterminating’ everything that crossed their path. That’s one thing I really liked about them – you always knew where you were with a Dalek: dead, about to be killed or manipulated into doing things to benefit the Daleks and then being betrayed and killed. It was all very simple and straight forward. Every time I saw someone making a ‘deal’ with the Daleks I just shook my head sadly knowing that in the next 30-90 minutes they’d be running for their lives or grovelling in front of a Dalek just before being beamed to death – suckers. The only way to ‘deal’ with a Dalek is to run like hell right after hitting them with everything you had! They’re a wonderful invention and one that probably had a huge impact on my childish geeky brain. Brilliant.]  

Just Finished Reading: Don’t Die Young – An Anatomist’s Guide to Your Organs and Your Health by Dr Alice Roberts (FP: 2007)

Although I’ll deny it’s a New Year’s Resolution I decided around Christmas time that I should really read more useful, practical or at least contemporary non-fiction rather than being continually focused on the past and often the deep past. My recent book on combat robotics was an attempt to bring things up to date. This book was an attempt at something at least potentially useful. Unfortunately I found it somewhat less so than I had hoped. My copy was a medium format book with lots of medical style photographs and graphic cut-away’s showing all of the major organs. Indeed this book is so illustrated that it seemed to leave precious little space for the words! Of the 260 pages I’d have to say that at least 100 of them were photographs. The text itself was, in my opinion at least, aimed at someone who either took school level biology many years ago if at all. It was really too basic to be of any great use. Likewise the advice on how to keep our inside bits healthy bordered on the banal: Eat plenty of fruit and veggies, drink plenty of fluids, take regular exercise, don’t drink alcohol to excess and don’t smoke at all. Nothing new there then……. [yawn] I think what irritated me most about this book – especially as it was by someone I like and respect (and find very attractive if you must know) – is that its entire contents could have been distilled to probably 5-10 pages at best. It felt very, very padded with the same advice trotted out time and again. OK, it’s generally good advice but there was no real need to repeat it 10-12 times in such a short book. Hopefully my next foray into health issues will turn out to be a bit more enlightening!

Cartoon Time.

Love books and they love you back.................................

My Favourite Movies: Ghost Dog – The Way of the Samurai

Ghost Dog (played in a brilliantly understated way by Forest Whitaker) is an assassin for the local Mafia. Over the past four years he has operated flawlessly and is highly valued by his employer. So when he is asked to kill one of his own he picks his best man for the job. Unfortunately, as a matter of honour, the Mafia boss decides that Ghost Dog himself should be killed in retaliation for a killing they themselves sanctioned. But they have seriously underestimated their strange assassin and have set in train a series of events that will result in a bloodbath.

I never saw this film on the cinema. In fact I don’t think that I had ever even heard of it until either my brother or I saw it in our local video shop and picked up on the word ‘Samurai’. It wasn’t exactly what either of us had been expecting. For one thing this film is in many places simply surreal (either that or rather badly edited!) The whole premise of the film is rather ‘off’ from the start. Ghost Dog (no other name is given for the Whitaker character) is seen being beaten up by white hooligans and is rescued by a local Mafia ‘soldier’. Four years later he returns and pledges himself as a ‘retainer’ and offers his services as a killer. In those four years it seems that Ghost Dog has become a Samurai complete with sword and all of the philosophical trappings underlined by Whitaker reading from several Samurai classics including Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo (pictured here) both on screen and in voice-over. I was so impressed that I bought the book (of course). 

Despite, or maybe because of, the fact that he lives in a very rough and dangerous neighbourhood he has adopted the Samurai Code and does everything he can to live (and die) by it. Those around him can see that he is both a man of honour, a gentle unassuming man and someone not to be trifled with or crossed. Seemingly emotionless, or at least not emotionally demonstrative, he goes about his life and his profession with the minimum of fuss. Indeed, as shown in more than one scene he is practically invisible to most people around him. The only people in his life are his ‘boss’, his best friend (who rather bizarrely only speaks French throughout the movie – fortunately with sub-titles – and sells ice-cream from a van. What makes it more than a little surreal is that neither one can understand anything the other is saying! The only other person in his life – who he met by accident in the park is a young black girl (played by the delightful 9 year old Camille Winbush) – to whom he lends his Samurai books on the understanding that she reads them and talks to him about them later.

As I say, all very odd! But somehow the whole thing works. It can be more than a little difficult to get your head around and, if you want to get its full effect you’ll need to watch it more than once (I’ve seen it 4-5 times now and I’m still seeing things I missed or didn’t understand the first few times) but you’ll get something from it each time. It is pretty violent in places and there’s quite a bit of swearing but unless you’re easily offended it shouldn’t prove much of an obstacle. It is much more that your run-of-the-mill Mafia/assassin movie - you know the kind that Hollywood endlessly recycles every so often for the ‘teen’ market. It also has an excellent soundtrack (also bought) which is one of my favourite things about the film. Whitaker is superb as Ghost Dog. I haven’t seen him in much else but was very impressed by this portrayal. If you’d like to see something different and something that will stay with you for a while I can certainly recommend this to you.