Posted by Bel. The time is 2.49pm here in Wellington NZ.

A San Francisco based theatre company will be performing Shakespeare's Hamlet in a site-specific production later this year. The site? Alcatraz Island, home to one of America's most notorious prisons.

Known as 'The Rock', until 1963 it was the final resort for incarcerating criminals such as Al Capone and many other mobsters and scumbags. It is now part-tourist attraction, part-nature reserve - and some say still haunted by its troubled past. Lou told me it gave her the heebee-jeebees when she visited here in daylight hours!

We Players will be staging a show that delves into the themes of isolation, justice and redemption, leading the audience on a journey around the island setting...

Hamlet has always struck me as a story where the character's lack of criminality caused him more trouble than anything else - perhaps a more fitting choice would have been MacBeth (that guy needed to be locked up!) or The Tempest (Island! Helllooo!)?

Posted by Bel. The time is 4.41pm here in Wellington NZ.

The opinion that tagging makes a mess of our cities is widespread. Some artists are doing their best to tidy things up and rid the urban landscape of this heinous plague. Bonus: nerdy pun!

Mathieu Tremblin: “Tag Clouds”, 2010

[via rebelart]

Posted by Bel. The time is 10:06am here in Wellington, NZ.

Things have been a bit quiet since the initial furore when Roman Polanski (pictured here in January 2009) was taken into custody.

But this morning it was announced that a Swiss court has accepted the convicted child rapist's request for bail - set at $4.5 million, US dollars I assume.

While still currently in jail, it is mostly likely he will be put under house arrest while he continues to fight extradition to the US, where he fled being sentenced for his crimes in 1978, over 30 years and one Oscar ago.

House arrest might be a crap option for you or me, with our bare cupboards and no Sky TV and board games we're already bored of, but for Polanski, it's going to be quite awesome actually.

Because, in Switzerland, he owns a property on one of the world's most expensive ski resorts! It's known as 'The Hand of God' because the locals say that God rested his hand there as he created the world. WOW!

And Polanski's chalet is called 'The Milky Way', probably because it is freekin sweet, like a Milky Way bar. Check it out:

I think the comparison is fitting.

You can read more about it here on The Times, if you wish, they have quotes from the locals about how charming he is, buying fresh bread each day and so on. I guess, what with the electronic ankle alarm and all, he might have to arrange for home delivery from now on and just enjoy the epic view out the window instead. BUMMER!!


More on the bail announcement here:

Swiss court agrees to grant Polanski bail, but he remains behind bars for now [Updated] - LA Times

Polanski wins $4.5M bail, house arrest likely - Yahoo News

Posted by Bel. The time is 9:49am here in Wellington, NZ.

No, really.

Please go and click on the link, if only to have a giggle at the caption they have on the photo there.