Sort of.  Dominic West who plays Jimmy McNulty in The Wire (The. Best. TV. Series. Ever) is undertaking a new project reading from classic books including Pride and Prejudice.

He loves the writing of Jane Austen, especially the scene in Pride and Prejudice where Fitzwilliam Darcy declares his most ardent love:

I thought it was such incredible writing. So muscular, so layered … the sophistication of the language … the psychological insights into the characters … Elizabeth Bennet is just so clever and brave and witty and funny and great.

Just when you think McNulty couldn’t be cooler (apparently he was at Glastonbury recently eating a giant cornish pastie and getting ‘big ups’ all over the show) … he takes it to the supercool wall!

And he’s not alone – actors Greg Wise and Dan Stevens also feature in Carte Noire Readers - “For a more seductive coffee break, watch The Carte Noire Readers read your favourite literary love scenes”. Why ever not!

• Read an interview with West in The Guardian: McNulty’s next case: Mr Darcy.

The New Zealand International Film Festival starts on July 30 giving Christchurch movie fans of all persuasions two weeks of fantastic film going. I was lucky go to the festival launch where the feature film was the documentary The September Issue.

Don’t miss this – you don’t need to be a fashionista to appreciate this behind the scenes look at the making of 2007 September issue of American Vogue. This is traditionally the fashion bible of the year with literally hundreds of pages. A whole fashion design and retail industry waits with bated breath to see what has been decreed by Anna Wintour (a.k.a Nuclear Wintour) the famously intimidating editor who was supposedly the inspiration for Meryl Streep’s performance in The Devil Wears Prada. The other leading player in the documentary is the former model Grace Coddington who is the creative editor of American Vogue. The dynamic between these two women is worth seeing.

Anna famously hides behind dark glasses and a poker face and sometimes only the most subtle flicker on her face or slight change of body language gives you a clue as to what she is thinking. Needless to say her employees are highly tuned to watch for these signs. Anna does reveal – either deliberately or unwittingly a bit about herself. The intimidating personna is definitely how she keeps herself at the top of the tree – defying the world to question her judgement – but how much it is genuinely her or how much she has changed and come to be the persona she created I don’t know. Anyway a great night out at the movies.

and here’s a wonderful entry

Christchurch City Libraries is running its very first YouTube competition – to celebrate a phenomenal 150 years of public library service.
To be in to win unleash your inner-film director to make a stand out video, upload it to YouTube and send us your entry form. A host of prizes are up for grabs including a laptop computer, a Sony camcorder, an iPhone and hundreds of dollars worth of vouchers.

Yeah right! No, it’s true. I’ll tell you how.

In my team meeting the other day we were examining the Christchurch City Council blue, that will soon be incorporated in library branding. It’s such a pretty blue. In fact, it’s cobalt blue. I learned this the next day when I was reading Choosing Colours by Kevin McCloud. It is the most fascinating book, because it explains the history of colours, how to use particular palettes to create a certain look for your home and lots of other fascinating arcane colour trivia. Did you know cobalt blue is in fact a black-based colour? That it has been used since the eighth century in China for their famous blue and white china …

So what does this have to do with earning prizes? Well, there I was in Elevate restaurant with our family quiz team, the Ratpack, on Tuesday night and the quizzler was … You guessed it! I am a colour.

Three clues later – I triumphed with … cobalt blue. 100 points on my Elevate card later, I am a very happy bunny.  You never know where reading books is going to take you.

Dismal winter weather getting you down? Yes?……….

In lieu of a foreign holiday in exotic climes, I’m pinning my escapist hopes on re-reading some high-octane, pacey thrillers from yesteryear. Central library is packing a bulging display of goodies from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s including some thriller writing greats: Alistair MacLean, Desmond Bagley, Hammond Innes, Ian Fleming, Gavin Black etc.

So if you see yourself as the resourceful man/woman-alone hero type pitting  your wits against foreign agents and megalomaniacs seeking total world domination, fancy the odd saucy encounter with beautiful, mysterious women/men, want to drive fast cars and visit glamorous locations, head into Popular for your thriller fix. Or failing that you could book a holiday somewhere nice instead, I hear Monte is to die for at this time of year dahling!

“Male and female cabin crew of TEAL standing at the corner of Colombo and Armagh Streets”

From the Canterbury Progress League Archives, Christchurch City Libraries Archive 72

Like what you see? Complete this form to order an image. If you have any further information on any of the images, or if you would like to donate images to our collection please contact us. Want to see more? You can browse our collection here.

Necrology – a list of notable people who have died recently. Now a regular feature on our blog.

• Karl Malden, 1912-2009
  Method actor who thrived in roles written by Tennessee Williams, directed by Elia Kazan and opposite Marlon Brando

• McNamara, Robert S., 1916-2009
  Technocrat who applied his brilliant business brain to the waging of war, particularly in Vietnam, despite private moral disquiet

• Mollie Sugden, 1921-2009
  Actress loved for lurid rinses and double-entendres as Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served?

• Terry Sturm, 1941-2009
  NZ critic and scholar of Australasian writing, especially New Zealand popular fiction

• Wiffen, Joan, 1922-2009
  Amateur New Zealand palaeontologist

The Christchurch Art Gallery is currently promoting a short story competition. It will be judged by Kate De Goldi, Gavin Bishop and Sally Blundell and is open to two age-groups.

Age groups
13–17yrs: 1500 words max.
First prize $250 and publication of short story in The Press.

18+yrs: 1500 words max.
First prize $750, publication of short story in The Press, one night at the Classic Villa, dinner for two at the Curator’s House and tickets for the Court Theatre.

9.30am: Register at the Gallery and get an information pack, which includes four of the twelve story triggers from within the Cultural Precinct to get your story started.

4.30pm: Entries handed in (late entries will not be accepted).

Registration Pack

On the day of the competition all entrants will receive a pack containing:

• a registration form
• a blank CD on which to burn your entry
• a list of 12 story triggers from within the Cultural Precinct. At least four must appear in your story
• a unique registration number.

Save yourself time on the day by pre-registering. Email canterburynzsa@gmail.com with your name and category. You can then simply pick up your pack from the Gallery on the day.

Find out more:  Short story competition: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu.

Peter Hook (ex Joy Division, ex New Order) is one of the real characters in the music world – renowned for his dry wit and distinctive bass sound.  I’ve been waiting for his book about the famous music venue The Hacienda and was a mite disappointed when my hold on the library’s copy was cancelled.

But, as there often is,  there was a story behind this cancelled reserve. The story, as I found out from music website Pitchfork,  is Peter Hook’s  book is possibly too hot for the presses. The defamation issues described reveal some very Spinal Tap moments :

How can the author prove this about the xxxxxxx? Particularly, how is it proved that they wanted a pirate ship built at this cost and that they cost this amount of money? I am not sure one can say literally about six people turned up when it seems from the appendix it was 190. I would suggest changing to something more along the lines of “pitifully few turned up” and I would also suggest taking out “we were pillaged by bloody pirates”. May not xxxxxx complain about the reference to his stash

So let’s hope it Hooky’s book does make it to the presses.

In the meantime all you ‘anoraks’ can console yourself with:

• The upcoming book The north will rise again : Manchester music city 1978-1996  by John Robb
• Other (sometimes lawyer troubling) music biographies – like Hammer of the Gods (Led Zeppelin), The Dirt (Motley Crue)
• Music by Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses …

Over the years I’ve been to many great concerts with my Dad.   He’s introduced me to some of my favourite musicians including James Taylor, Dave Matthews and the Finn Brothers and I always jump at the chance to go and see someone in concert that I’ve never heard of before.  Tommy Emmanuel was one such musician, and when I went to see him in concert at the Theatre Royal a couple of years ago I was blown away.  The things that he could do with a guitar were amazing and it was easy to forget that he was the only musician on the stage.  After the concert I just had to hear more from Tommy and got some of his previous CDs from the Library.

Therefore, when I saw that we had just got Tommmy Emmanuel’s new live CD, Center Stage, at the Library I had to get my hands on it.  The CD is fantastic and it was like being back at that concert again.  One of my favourite songs from the new CD is a masterpiece called ‘Initiation’ in which Tommy shows the range of his guitar skills.

If you appreciate true musical genius, check out Tommy Emmanuel