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Edinburgh’s Liquid Room in now open AROUND TOWN A film depicting the last days of human habitation on a remote island, a selection of maps from a 16th century cartographer, the earliest surviving book printed in Scotland and documents highlighting the demise of Scotland’s capitalist aspirations of empire will form part of a new worldwide online catalogue of cultural merit. The treasures taken from the National Library of Scotland’s archives have been selected by UNESCO to help to launch the new UK version of its Memory of the World Register, a global catalogue of heritage, focusing on artefacts of outstanding universal value, with a remit to preserve and promote them.
CLUBS Music and club fans will be delighted to hear that Edinburgh’s Liquid Room has re-opened, just in time for the Festivals, following flood damage at the end of 2008. Check out Best of the Mine there on Sat 1 Aug, featuring The 10:04’s, Underclass, Hagana, Marner Brown and A Fight You Can’t Win, as well as the return of the mighty Evol club on Fri 30 Jul. Also exciting, burgeoning record label and music collective LuckyMe have launched their 2010 Edinburgh Festival Party. The event, featuring Hudson Mohawke, The Blessings, Jackmaster and American Men, will take place at Cabaret Voltaire on Fri 13 Aug.
FESTIVALS The wait is almost over folks, as Edinburgh’s festivals start rolling into town. Chops and changes in the make-up include additions at the Edinburgh Book Fest. Cartoonist and one of this year’s guest selectors, Steve Bell, has confirmed two new additions, including Guardian cartoonist Martin Rowson on Mon 23 Aug, and V for Vendetta creator 8 THE LIST 22 Jul-5 Aug 2010
Alan Moore on Tue 24 Aug. Scottish graphic novelist Mark Millar, creator of Kick-Ass will also join Ken McLeod and Adam Roberts in an event selected by Stuart Kelly on Sun 22 Aug to discuss their work and its role in literary fiction. Chris Young, MJ Hyland, Steven Poole, Alan Moore and more have also been announced for the Story Machines strand curated by novelist and screenwriter Charlie Fletcher. While sports fans can enjoy the addition of cyclist Mark Beaumont, who joins the Festival for a conversation with Paul Howard (replacing Dominic Gill) to discuss the Tour Divide, the longest mountain bike race in the world, on Fri 27 Aug. Elsewhere, The Thick of It fans should be pleased to hear that Paul Higgins has been cast in Alistair Beaton’s Caledonia showing at this year’s EIF.
FILM Across in all things film, Ugly Betty star Michael Urie (who, incidentally, stars in this year’s Fringe show Celebrity Autobiography) has started filming feature film The Decoy Bride in Scotland alongside leading man and former Dr Who star David Tennant. Closer to home, senior management appointments for the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) have been announced, with Gavin Miller appointed as CEO and Graham Wallace as COO. The CMI has been created as the new parent body incorporating the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Edinburgh Filmhouse. MUSIC And finally, The List was saddened to hear of the passing of Sir Charles Mackerras, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Conductor Laureate. Mackerras made an extraordinary contribution to the musical landscape, leaving a legacy to be treasured.
Visit www.list.co.uk for daily arts & entertainment news ARTS AND CULTURE NEWS COVERED IN TWO MINUTES
Channel Hopper
Dispatches from the sofa, with Brian Donaldson
■ ‘I think I might die, every time’. When base jumper Dan Witchalls
tells his Danish girlfriend how he
feels before launching himself from one of London’s many
landmark buildings, it looks like she might knock him out flat. ‘Is it
worth it?’ she scowls. ‘Well,
obviously it is,’ Dan says, looking more terrified at this moment
than he does when contemplating diving off Nelson’s Column or the
roof of the new Wembley
Stadium. The Men Who Jump
off Buildings (Channel 4, Wed 28 Jul, 9pm) shows that, while
base jumping is not illegal in Britain, Dan and his ilk can be
arrested for trespassing.
I believe I can fly
The risk of being caught and the
thrill of outwitting security
systems to get onto a roof is almost a bigger buzz than the
jump itself. Since 1981, around
140 base jumpers have plummeted to their ends,
including Witchalls’ best friend, Neil Queminet. But despite such
figures, Witchalls is clearly
addicted to this most out-there of extreme sports. You can see the
denial in his eyes when he claims that, if forced to choose, he’d quit
base jumping for his girlfriend. Then you see him larking around
in a wingsuit (a kind of babygro for golden eagles) and you give
their relationship a few more months. His life? Maybe a bit
longer.