STP #3 (incidental rhyme)

I promise to write a more detailed blog sometime, somewhere, somehow!

In the meantime…

We’re doing #3 of Snapping Turtle Press, submission deadline 23^rd March!  We need illustrations, poems, flash fiction, haikus, lyrics, sketches, jokes, stories etc etc.  The theme is 2012…THE END?

More info here:  http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/events/306847132703738/

E-mail snappingturtlepress@btinternet.com

Oh and I’m putting on a FREE GIG in York, Stereo, with loads of ace poets, 20^th March, see above bar underneath the pic for upcoming gigs J

Justice League:  Doom

Are Ra’s Al Ghul and Vandal Savage essentially the same person?  Both are international terrorists bent on controlling/dominating the world, made immortal and having seen thousands of years on this planet.  Ra’s was initially conceived as a Batman villain, a hint of the Blofeldian.  Savage is originally a Justice Society of America villain, appearing in 1943 with his schemes for world conquest perhaps not too dissimilar to figures such as Hitler and Mussolini.

Justice League:  Doom, the latest instalment in DC’s animated collection of films, the plotline to Grant Morrison’s Tower of Babel storyline during his exciting run on JLA in the late 90s/early 00s.  The story revolves around the villain Ra’s Al Ghul using methods devised by Batman to take down the World’s Greatest Heroes.  The story revolves around responsibility versus trust; Batman’s methods show his disdain for super-heroes, even if they are his teammates.

Justice League:  Doom fuses this plot with the traditional Anti-Justice League squad consisting of the JLA’s key by arch-enemies formed by Vandal Savage (a stand-in for Ra’s presumably due to Christopher Nolan’s use of the character in his Batman film series).  Apart from the nice use of Bane to replace the traditional Joker and the seldom seen Ma'alefa'ak (Malefic) to combat Martian Manhunter, the line-up of foes is as expected.  Star Sapphire, Mirror Master, Metallo, Cheetah form the traditional rouges gallery of Green Lantern, Flash, Superman and Wonder Woman foes to create The Legion of Doom.

The film is a game of two halves.  The villains trick the JLA into succumbing to Batman’s contingency plans, and engage each villain in delish plots.  Roughly the same techniques are used in Tower of Babel, Flash made to run forever, Martian Manhunter set permanently on fire, Wonder Woman hypnotized to fight forever and Batman’s parents coffins being unearthed.  It’s only through the aide of Cyborg (normally of the Teen Titans) to undo these schemes.  The second half mostly consists of the JLA kicking the Legion of Doom’s ass.

The film is entertaining enough, sometimes a little too much time and energy is spent focusing on the heroes’ downfall, and I wish there were a few more twists and turns in the plot and simply the JA swooping in and kicking the bad guy’s asses.  But nevertheless, it’s good ass-kicking fun.  It’s by no means the same devilry of Luthor in Rock of Ages or World War III storylines, where his insidious schemes leave you flicking back over the pages to double-check just how the villains are winning, and then how the heroes get the upper-hand.  In the 00s TV series by Paul Dini, the episode where Gorilla Grodd formed a Secret Society has a bit more sinister divide and rule, but still not a masterplan.  Nothing compared to Cadmus’ attempts to demolish the League in later series of Justice League Unlimited, but then they had a whole series to build this subplot.  Batman being voted out of the JLA and his stoic defence of his actions it touched upon at the end of Justice League:  Doom but nothing compred to the disgust towards Hawkgirl in Paul Dini’s Starcrossed Three-parter as her loyalties drive her to side with her race instead of her teammates.  This would be explored much further in later episodes, but even within the final conclusion it’s a sad and touching moment, mainly because Green Lantern still loves her after the betrayal.  Batman has no such charm!

It’s always fun to see the Anti-Justice League, whether they’re under the guise of the Secret Society, Legion or Doom, Injustice Gang or the Crime Syndicate.  Each hero usually boils down to a specific arch-enemy or collection or a possible foe, Superman has Luthor, Metallo, Bizarro or Parasite, whilst Flash could go against Gorilla Grodd, Mirror Master or Zoom.

These super-villain teams never last very long, not simply because the super-heroes inevitably defeat them, but the line-up is more fluid, because whilst the heroes are usually a permanent feature, it’s fun to give different villains the line-light.

It’s also interesting to note that Avenger’s opponents (Lethal Legion, Masters of Evil, Squadron Supreme) are not specifically made up of the heroes villains as more a collection of general baddies.  It’s because the JLA has been a collection of the greatest heroes of the DC Universe, Marvel’s top-tier heroes often go solo, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Hulk and Daredevil off-and-on team players, X-Men and Fantastic Four obviously their own specific team.  So Beast, Wonder Man, Vision, Quicksilver, Hawkeye never prospered in their own series’, though make decent supporting characters as part of a team.

So think, who might the ultimate villain team consist of, one who not only have the power to take on the World Greatest Heroes but also who have the desire and ambition to take down their arch-enemy?  I think that’s the appeal for a team of villains, they so rarely get together and have a party it’s interesting to see criminals put aside their differences, egos and psychopath-ness in the name of seeing their enemies crushed by their hand.  It’s very traditional, often a tad predictable but always leads to a good old fashion ass-kicking.

Left to right: Bloodshed, Corpse, Gloom, The Dominator, Heatwave, The Reaper, Baron Occult

Left to right top:  The Element, Kestrel, Photus.  Left to right middle:  Swift, The Illusion, The Fake, Doctor Malice, The Reaper, Brute, Talon.  Left to right bottom:  Visor, Python

Left to right:  Nightshade, Frenzy, Gloom, The Dominator, Heatwave, Pyche, Android 1313, Typhoon

Left to right:  Quickflash, Metallic Man, Shadow Knight, Might Man, Commander USA, Arroweye, Warrioress, Insectoid.  None are in any way related to any other characters ever.  Don't sue me.

Henry, what’s happened in the last month? I shall tell you, dear reader.

What’s happened in the past month?

I did a few gigs with the lovely-voiced Jonny Gill at Duchess and Stereo.  I think David Gest missed my set, so no publicity deal for me.  Check out this Soundcloud clip:  http://soundcloud.com/henryrabypoetry

I went to see John Peel’s Shed which is an entertaining re-imagining of John Osborne’s book into an hour-long account of radio, the love for music and How to Escape A Boring World.  Quaintly British I found.

I went to Manchester to take part in Contact MCR’s Outspoken Slam as part of their Queer Contact festival.  I heard some great queer poetry from Manchestaaa poets and the amazing D’Lo, a stand-up poet from L.A.  Though some pretty stuff competition, I managed to win!  Whey!

I also read a short story at the Leeds Little Fringe, something totally new to make a change from spoken word poetry all the time

But the highlight of 2012 so far has been performing Letter To The Man (from the boy).  It’s my one-man show about growing up, from cartoons, comics, crayons and teenage crushes.  But the key element that makes Letter work is the audience are invited to construct a message to their future selves.  Night #1 & #2 of Leeds were small, intimate and friendly audiences, willing to swap stories sometimes rather intimate histories, but comfortably.  But York’s audience on the 10^th really went with the ‘gig’ element, cheering along at times, debating with one another and swapping stories amongst their tables.  I think I hit just the right pitch with this last show, but it’s all down to the friendly, warm and eager crowds that come, so thanks A BAZILLION for everyone who came, and thanks to Humphrey McColl, Rose Drew, Six Lips Theatre & Hedgepig Theatre for their support of the show.

Review of Leeds show:  http://www.leedsstudent.org/2012-02-06/ls2/arts/review-letter-to-the-man-from-the-boy:  "Rabys poetry features a mixture of classic rhyme schemes and the lyrics you’d expect from a Sex Pistols inlay"

Review of York show:  http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/comedy/9528002.Review__Henry_Raby__Letter_To_The_Man__From_The_Boy___City_Screen_Basement_Bar/:  ""This could be the start of something special."

If you caught Letter and have any feedback, we’d love to hear how we can improve the show, what bits really work, what don’t or just whether you enjoyed it or not:  henrythepoet@btinternet.com

Thanks y’all!  Find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/henryrabypoetry) & Twitter (@HenryRabyPoetry)

Letter To The Man (from the boy) in York & Leeds in Feb

Snapping Turtle Presents…

Ever wished you could send a message to yourself in the future? A message that reminds the person you become everything you are today?

Join Henry Raby, York-based punk poet, and write a letter to your future self. Henry will perform his own take on that journey into adulthood, with poems ranging from comics, cartoons and crayons to teenage crushes, puberty and hangovers, with the opportunity to share your own stories and memories.

This is a one-man spoken word show for anyone that’s still resisting the urge to grow up.

YORK:  City Screen Basement, Coney Street, 8pm, £4 Featuring a performance by 6 Lips Theatre Company and poetry from Humphrey McColl and Rose Drew.  Facebook event:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/298150430228710/ tickets available from http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/York_Picturehouse/film/Basement_Henry_Raby/

LEEDS:  Performances take place on the 1st & 2nd Feb 2012, starting 7.30pm, running time roughly 60-70 mins. Entry is free, but the space is limited capacity. Sign-up sheets will be posted in the Workshop Theatre foyer nearer the time.  Studio 3 is part of the Workshop Theatre on the University of Leeds campus, just down from the Parkinson Steps, opposite the Arnold Ziff Building (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/theatre/).  Audiences are encouraged to bring cushions, pillows, matts & sleeping bags!  Facevook event:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/150593345049677/

More information:www.facebook.com/henryrabypoetry and http://henryrabypunkpoetry.blogspot.com/

Ironing Out The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady

Thatcher has a special place in the hearts of the British.  She has devout loyal followers who claim she saved Britain from economic ruin, a modern woman who changed the political landscape and stood her ground to the end.  Others call her an evil woman who demonsied ethnic minorities, single mothers, homosexuals and led a war against the working class, ripped apart mining communities, fuelled international conflict and sent unemployment sky-rocketing.

But in my opinion, to boycott, call for a ban, dislike, distrust, hate a film without seeing it is akin to the backlash from right-wing Christians to ban/boycott Life of Brian or Jerry Springer The Opera.  So I decided to go see the film and make my own mind up.

Thatcher’s entire history of her career is told through flashback, the main character of Thatcher is an old woman, living in the 2009 with dementia.  Denis, her husband, has been dead for 6 years and Thatcher is reduced to a prison in her own home, forgetting names and dawdling around her home.

The film is about a woman struggling with old age, looking back on her life and trying to force the memory of her deceased husband stop haunting her.  The clichéd rousing speeches, the overcoming of obstacles of the 80s are all filmed in bright colours and with an upbeat soundtrack to allow the grey present day appear so much sadder.

It’s like multiple personality syndrome for the woman.  Determined, forceful 80s Iron Lady and sad old 00s out-of-touch slowly dying Mummy.  It’s almost a Jekyll & Hyde, though the monstrous Hyde turning into the demur and waddling Jekyll.  Which one are we watching now?  Oh yes, it’s bright colours and she’s given someone a ticking off, it’s the 80s.  And now?  She’s depressed, must be modern day.

So as far as the politics go, over strikes Labour leader Michael Foot gives a damning account of the state of Britain in the houses of parliament.  Images of angry strikers attacking Thatcher’s car reoccur from time-to-time.  Those opposed to Thatcher are never properly explored, but then it is a film about her history and her mind.

Footage of the 80s varies from the images of glorious post-Falklands Union Jack-splattered patriotism and the stock market swimming in money to rage-fuelled strikes, marches and rallies.  The consequences of Thatcher’s actions and policies are represented through documentation real-life footage of the 80s, allowing the audience to make their own mind up whether Thatcher’s government had a positive or negative effect on the country and people.

One could argue stylistically, the scenes of glory in the 1980s are necessary in order to contrast with Thatcher’s bleak life in 2009.  But the worry is as a by-product of this framing of the film, the scenes of 1980s conquests will leave the audience feeling admiration for Thatcher and sympathy for the current 2012 Conservative party’s Tough Antidotes.

And the film itself is flawed, whilst it tugged at my heart strings at times, it did resort to certain gimmicks here and there.  Chummy Jim Broadbent does his usually chummy role.  And trying to cover Thatcher’s entire 11 sickening years was a tad ambitious, leading to some later major issues and developments in her career being presented via single snapshot scenes. 

We have to understand our real enemies.  To attack a piece of art (admittedly an Oscar-vehicle money-making half-fiction piece of art) simply because we dislike or hate the subject matter or character upon which the film is based forms an automatic blanket of mistrust.  Hate the film based on the film’s failings as a piece of 1hr 45 min fiction and not for the sole reason it is about a person or subject matter engrained within our hearts to hate.

And if the film was a resounding and glorious piece of work which moved me to tears, I would still hate Thatcher, because, like Downfall and Last King of Scotland, this is a piece of fiction employing real-life characters for the purposes of telling a story/making money/winning an Oscar.  We must hate and love within the real world, and theatre/film/literature can inform us of our emotional feelings towards the political landscape, at the end of the day real-world people and real-world events should be out judge of political leaders, not a £5 film on a Friday afternoon.

To finish, if someone talks to me about The Iron Lady and how they admired Thatcher in the film, I will consider it my responsibility to argue against the characterisation of a triumphant leader.  And then I will make them watch antidotes such as Brassed Off, Billy Elliott, Riff-Raff and The Full Monty.

Generic 2011 Round-up

Songs of 2011

If Ever I Stray- Frank Turner-Finally Frank found his voice and his own tempo, no longer recycling cynical angst, his beautiful love and passion explode from this folk-rock gem

Let ‘em Come- Scroobius Pip- A forthright punk-gilded rap outburst, less of the story-poetry of earlier work, more a two-fingers assault

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised- Grace Petrie- A perfect political protest tune raging against the media and press, as uplifting as it is sweet-sounding

For The Kids of the Multiculture- Sonic Boom Six- Finally, a whole generation introduced to chavcore and SB6 perfectly reflecting 2011’s Britain, predicting the backlash from Racist Tram Lady

Bones- Random Hand- Another anthem for the ska-punk scene

Albums of the Year 2011

Richie Blitz- Protest Songs & Sing-a-longs

Grace Petrie- Mark My Words

Dropkick Murphys- Going Out In Style

Chris T-T- Disobedience

Claypigeon- Time Won’t Cease

Frank Turner- England Keep My Bones

Scroobius Pip- Distraction Pieces

Random Hand- Seething Is Believing

Stand Out Riot- Carnival Militia

Lowkey- Soundtrack to the Struggle

Best film of the year

Attack The Block

My highlights of 2011

I was grateful for Shattered Glass Media for a gig with Don’t Let Paris Fool You (R.I.P.) to start the year off. I performed my stuff to various punks and punk fans at Strummercamp 2011, meeting acts like Louise Distras, Billy Liar and lending a hand with Bootscraper’s Tim & Joel. I performed in London & Manchester for the first time.

At the Edinburgh Fringe I saw too many shows to mention, but shout-out to Matt Rudge, Tim Clare, Luke Wright, Tim key & Richard Marsh whose shows were lovely combinations of stand-up, comedy, theatre & spoken word. I also came 2^nd overall in the Hammer & Tongue slam. Ace. Next year. Take a show. Fingers crossed.

Come September I performed in 40 Years On, a great bunch of lads and a fun performance to be a part of and cement myself within the Theatre Royal.

I supported John Cooper Clarke, compered the acoustic stage at Pie Race 3 with Jake & The Jellyfish, Joe Tilston and once again Billy Liar and Louise Distras. I compared a night at Stereo with Helen Chambers, Jonny Gill and Nathan Luke. I also put on my own gig at The Basement with Chris T-T and Franz Nicolay.

Me and my girlfriend Lizzie launched Snapping Turtle Press, a ‘zine pure DIY, home-made style to get my work out there but other poets and illustrators. Also so I could sell some stuff at gigs to put a bit towards trainfare. Drop me an e-mail if you want one, a mere 50p + P&P.

But it’s not all about me. Because that would be a boring year. I marched on the 26^th March with hundreds & thousands of other angry protestors. At the Tory party conference aftermath I did Protest Hugs at Occupy Manchester. I marched again with the students in London in December. But I was also invited to read poems at the rallies to support strikes on the 30^th Nov and the 30^th June. I feel like I’ve been a part of a beautiful movement this year, with many heads and many arms. The Hardest Hit, the Trade Unionists, The (A)narchists, The Occupy Movement, the Militant Students, we’ve all played our part.

So…THE highlight:

Snapping Turtle Press #2 launch night, with some of my closest friends both performing and in the audience. Comedians, musicians, poets, story-tellers and randomers. I loved you all, and it was a great night. More to come in 2012.



So thanks to everyone for checking me out at a gig, speaking to me, giving me feedback, protesting with me, protesting at me, giving me a gig and buying the ‘zine. Oh, and thanks for reading this blog.



Next year’s resolution: The perform more and more gigs (naturally), to branch out to new cities, to take a show to Edinburgh Fringe (fingers crossed) and to work with more young people in an educational format, including workshops and devising.

So thanks again everyone, hope 2011 was good, hope 2012 is even good-ier.

Love

Henry

Upcoming Jan & Feb 2012

Before I do my review of 2011, I just wanted to list some upcoming gigs and events so far for 2012

Jan 25^th:  Part of Jonny Gill’s great line-up for his album launch at Duchess (York), I have tickets for £4 if anyone wants one

Jan 28^th:  Comparing the Goods Vs. Evil night at Stereo hosted by Sky Rocket Jack

Feb 1st-2^nd:  Letter To The Man (from the boy), my one-man spoken word show at the University of Leeds, Workshop Theatre.  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=559553641&ref=tn_tnmn#!/events/150593345049677/

Feb 5^th:  Something at Stereo (York)…more details to come

Feb 8-11^th:  At some point during the Leeds Fringe I’ll be performing a short story, will post details as soon as I get them!

Feb 10^th:  Letter To The Man (from the boy) returns to York, this time at the City Screen Basement http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=559553641&ref=tn_tnmn#!/events/298150430228710/

Feb 25^th:  Supporting Howard Marks at the Duchess, get in touch for £5 guestlist entry:  http://theduchessyork.co.uk/whats-on/detail/807

And that’s all before March!