Trashfest Trip: YHA Tanner’s Hatch

Another year, another trip to Trashfest in Holland. Fifth year now, and it’s one of the things that makes the summer to me. This year around, I had four other people in the car – Dan and Andy from up North, and Matt and Addy from Basingstoke. Seeing as everyone was from disparate parts of the the UK, decision was made to find somewhere to stay the night before the ferry, so that we could make an early start. Had a look online for somewhere cheap, and closish to Dover – and we found Tanner’s Hatch Youth Hostel. Booked up, and spoke to the wonderfully helpful warden for directions.

After Addy and Matt got to mine, we drove up to Kingston to get the two Northerners, got some food and then drove down to park near the hostel. Turned out the direction to ‘walk down the path through the woods’ was quite accurate. Here‘s where the car park is, here‘s where the hostel is! If you’re staying, I’d heartily recommend arriving there in the daytime, rather than once it’d dark like we did. Not really the smartest route to take with one failing torch and a general uncertainty about if you’ve taken the right turnings or not. Anyhow, once we got there had a bit of food and a few drinks, and headed upstairs to bed. Early start in the morning and realised how awesome the setting was.

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[REC] vs Quarantine, how Hollywood can screw up even trailers

[REC] is a Spanish horror film, and it’s one that’s been remade in the US as Quarantine.

Here’s the poster for [REC].

[REC] poster

Here’s the trailer for [REC].

If you haven’t seen [REC], go and rent it, buy it or whatever. It’s a brilliant film with some great scares. If you have seen it, click the ‘more’ link and see if you can guess why the US poster and trailer for Quarantine kind of ruin the film.

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Balance is a media myth

Absolutely spot on piece in the Irish Times by John Gibbons. There’s no more need to give credence to someone who denies global warming or MMR without evidence, than to someone who denies the moon landings or Elvis’s death.

Commentators thus feel free to “pick a result from anywhere you like, and if it suits your agenda, then that’s that: nobody can take it away from you with their clever words because it’s all just game-playing, it just depends on who you ask”.

This may be harmless fun when it comes to Elvis sightings, but in the teeth of humanity’s profoundest existential crisis in 100 centuries, misleading the public is reckless. The real purpose of the scientific method, according to author Robert Pirsig, “is to make sure nature hasn’t misled you into thinking you know something you actually don’t know”.

Full piece here.

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