Rushup

I passed the Co-Op on Hutcliffe Wood Road this morning, about 10:00 - 10:30am, and there was a clutch of people watching as a fire fighters and police ran down a nearby alley. I counted a fire engine, police car, police van and what looked like a dog unit. Anyone know what happened?

Frankly, yes. You've made assumptions based on my age - how old am I exactly? - the inference being that I'm either too immature or too decrepit to understand or appreciate the narrative of Star Wars. Not only is this viewpoint patronising, but it also betrays a whiff of arrogance. Harry Potter and Star Wars share a similar narrative - the monomyth, so it's far from inconceivable that a person who enjoys one will lap up the other. Moreover, The Phantom Menace and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone were released just two years apart; both films received a PG rating, and both films were aggressively marketed at children.

I was referring specifically to the later films, released between 1999 and 2005, which are utterly dreadful. George Lucas is a terrible director, and not much of a writer; the dialogue throughout Revenge of the Sith is laugh-out-loud poor. But to be honest I don't rate the first trilogy all that much. It's just not my thing. What a ridiculous thing to say. How old exactly does a person have to be to appreciate Star Wars?

The Godfather trilogy is probably the best, even though the third film is a disappointment. As for the worst, a tie between The Matrix trilogy and the later Star Wars films.

£30 - £50 is the going rate for screen prints and reproductions. However, if you want to sell art valued at hundreds or thousands of pounds, then wouldn't it be better to push to be exhibited in one of the existing galleries in the city centre or elsewhere? They're already established, with a network of experienced people to draw on - and a sizeable mailing list. I'd be interested to know who or what you have in mind to exhibit or sell.

There aren't many galleries in Sheffield, and the few that are established are struggling - you need to sell a hell of a lot of prints and artworks just pay rent. Let's use the galleries on Sharrowvale Road as an example. This is the sort of are which ticks the right boxes for a gallery: well-off middle class residents; student population; decent footfall; creative businesses; close to cafes and bars - 3 galleries are established there already. I don't know for sure how much they pay in rent, but we can use this small unit recently let as a guide, at £12,000 per year. Now, assuming the items you stock retail between £30 and £50 each - silkscreen and litho reproductions rather than originals, you're going to have to sell 400 just to pay the rent. That's before you've taken a salary, considered staff - at the very least you'll need someone part-time, or factored any other costs into the equation. It's not impossible, but a gallery has huge overheads and costs to consider.

Behance and Tumblr are great ways to get your work seen, and completely free.

Only God Forgives is absolutely brilliant, and the first time I've gone back to see a film at the cinema for a second viewing in years. Foreboding, uncomfortable, dark, and visually stunning. Nods to Kubrick, Lynch - particularly Blue Velvet, and old martial arts films galore.

Man and woman sleep. Door opens; door closes. Footsteps cross landing. Woman screams. Man threatens enemies unseen. Man walks around with camera. Man vows to “...find out what it is.” Man and woman sleep. Door opens; door closes. Footsteps cross landing. Woman screams. Man threatens enemies unseen. Man walks around with camera. Man vows to “...find out what it is.” Man and woman sleep. Door opens; door closes. Footsteps cross landing. Woman screams. Man threatens enemies unseen. Man walks around with camera. Man vows to “...find out what it is.” Man and woman sleep. Door opens; door closes. Footsteps cross landing. Woman screams. Man threatens enemies unseen. Man walks around with camera. Man vows to “...find out what it is.” Man and woman sleep. Door opens; door closes. Footsteps cross landing. Woman screams. Man threatens enemies unseen. Man walks around with camera. Man vows to “...find out what it is.” Man and woman sleep. Door opens; door closes. Footsteps cross landing. Woman screams. Man dies. Woman smiles at camera. A stupefyingly boring and punishing ordeal, Paranormal Activity, all 139 agonisingly drawn-out minutes of it, is a serious contender for the worst film I've ever suffered. Utterly unmoving, predictable and clichéd, pointless bottom-of-the-pond scum. Dreadful.

It's a shame this thread has degenerated into a tit-for-tat about Occupy, the unemployed, and immigrants. Alas, back on topic. I also believe he's genuinely embarrassed, but while Justin Welby may be seeking to do the right thing where Wonga is concerned, the Church of England continues to invest in companies far more exploitative than those providing payday loans.

"We're not in the business of trying to legislate you out of existence, we're trying to compete you out of existence" is what Justin Welby, a man who wears silly hats and calls himself the Archbishop of Canterbury, said to Wonga's chief executive. Unfortunately for Justin, it turns out that part of the Church of England's £5.5bn investment portfolio contains a stake in Accel Partners - co-funders of Wonga. Justin, asked to rate his embarrassment on a scale of one to 10, replied "About eight". The Church of England, who also invest in oil companies, can now add Wonga funding to its long list of inconsistent religious positions. "It shouldn't happen, it's very embarrassing, but these things do happen," Justin said. "We have to find out why and make sure it doesn't happen again." All of a sudden I'm very interested to learn what else the Church of England invests in. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" says Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew, and the Church of England's treasure is in some very murky places. For example, the Church has invested £196m in BP and Royal Dutch Shell, oil companies with appalling environmental and human rights records. The Church has more than £60m invested in Tesco and Unilever, multinationals that are joint-last place in the ethical ranking of Britain's top 100 companies. The Church, it seems, is willing to be ethically flexible regarding Tesco's exploitation of textile workers, and destruction of local businesses, because they see a healthy return on their investment. Flexible ethics come in handy when deciding to invest £23m in Nestlé, a company regularly accused of price fixing, flouting World Health Organisation marketing guidelines, and exploiting child labour in Africa. The Church continues to invest £62m in BHP Biliton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American, mining companies which have come under fire for human rights abuses and destroying the environment. £92m is invested in GlaxoSmithKline despite the company's $3 billion fine for illegally promoting prescription drugs and bribing doctors. The Church warns against the dangers of greed, unregulated capitalism, and criticises city bankers for the debt trap, but invests millions in HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds TSB. Until recently it had a substantial holding in the largest listed hedge fund Man Group. It has also been criticised for having a stock lending programme through JP Morgan a practice used for short-selling. The Church was criticised heavily for continuing to invest in Rupert Murdoch's company, News Corp, amidst the phone-hacking scandal, and for it's ongoing investments in Caterpillar, who manufacture custom-made bulldozers exported to Israel for the demolition of Palestinian homes. When it eventually chose to withdraw its support for Caterpillar the Church made it clear this was for financial not ethical reasons. Upon discovering the news of the Church's investment in Wonga, Justin said "I was irritated for a few minutes, but these things happen." Where the Church of England is concerned, it seems these things happen a lot.

Commando, by a country mile.

Penis Envy is a brilliant album, I could listen to Poison in a Pretty Pill and Where Next Columbus all day. To think there are people who call Green Day punk...

I've read enough of the bible - Old an New Testaments - to know the Catholic church is, on balance, not a force for good for the world. There are a few simple reasons. Their holy books: 1) prescribe the stoning to death of women - for the heinous crime of pretending to be a virgin. 2) prescribe the execution of people who do not believe priests. 3) prescribe the execution of people who work on 'the Sabbath'. 4) prescribe the execution of homosexuals. 5) prescribe the execution of people who follow other religions. 6) prescribe the execution of atheists. 7) prescribe the stoning to death of rape victims. 8 ) state women should be submissive to men. 9) state women should not be permitted to teach men. 10) state women are of lower status than men. 11) permit ownership of women. 12) state women should be silent in church. And that's without getting into the sexual abuse of children by its priests, the damage the religion has caused due to the church's stance on condoms, or the frankly bonkers claims it makes about the world. It's impossible for me to have any respect for this religion. Now, that's not to say that there aren't lovely Catholics out there - I've met plenty, but I don't believe for one second they're good people because of their Catholic beliefs. Rather, they're good people in spite of their Catholic beliefs.

This is just about the strangest piece of news I've come across recently: Vatican offers 'time off purgatory' to followers of Pope Francis tweets Papal court handling pardons for sins says contrite Catholics may win 'indulgences' by following World Youth Day on Twitter Get tweeting, sinners!

I'm listening... Fair point... Oops!

Best club in Sheffield - I remember going to Headcharge and all kinds of random things there.

There are are far too many people chasing too few jobs, resulting in depressed wages and little or no job security. However, there are jobs for people with the right skills: the Graphic Design and creative industries are no different. For example, designers with skills in After Effects and other animation packages are very much in demand.

Which school is this?

What, then, does the government do if the academies formed to replace failing schools, often at huge costs, continue to fail? Though Myrtle Springs was hardly a model school, since it became Sheffield Springs Academy it has lurched from one disaster to another: headteachers being chopped with such frequency even Roman Abramovich would wince; a newly-appointed headteacher who didn't even bother to turn up; an exodus of teaching staff year on year; farcical GCSE results; and top it all off the place is now in special measures. Academies in Sheffield, Carlisle, Lowestoft, Sussex and Ilkeston join a growing list of schools which were supposed to raise standards by becoming academies, but are now in special measures.

There's an old saying: throw enough mud at the wall, and some of it will stick. http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1150986

Sally Morgan is likely no more psychic than I am. If she were, she'd be willing to prove it. . Take the time to read this article, which contains the following nugget: "I started trawling YouTube to find other readings by Sally. Although I have watched several readings, so far I have only contacted one of the people who received a psychic reading from Sally. Unfortunately for Sally, the result was not very flattering in terms of her methods or her transparency. The clip concerns a group of free runners known as Urban Free Flow. One of the free runners is Ben Milner and he apparently experiences a stunning piece of mediumship just a few minutes into the clip. "The clip shows Sally asking: "Why am I looking at your mum all the time, is there a problem with your mum?" Ben explains that she passed away last year. Sally gives Ben some advice, and then out of the blue she says: "Jean wants to send her love." This turns out to be the name of Ben's mother. He smiles, looks down, turns and walks away. Sally suggests that Ben is upset, and this certainly makes sense to anyone viewing the clip. "However, when I spoke to Ben, he said the editing does not truly reflect his recollection of the sequence of events. According to Ben, the cameras stopped rolling before this part of the reading. He was ready to leave when Sally asked if the name Jean mean anything. Jean might have been a girlfriend, colleague, sister, cousin, next door neighbour, hairdresser … or mother … or nobody. "A skeptic might suggest that Sally was throwing out a random name in the hope of a lucky response. In other words, she might have been on a small fishing expedition. By contrast, a believer might say that Sally was being guided by the spirit world. "Ben explained, while the cameras were not rolling, that Jean was his mother's name and that she had died last year. Sally suggested that they start recording again, at which point we see her regurgitating the information as if it came from the spirit world. She does not hint that much of the information came from Ben off-camera. In fact, when Sally suggests that Ben is upset after he turns away, he told me he was actually grinning in partial disbelief at what had just happened."

I signed up for the free trial and milked it for all I could but, unfortunately, didn't get very far. Briefly I considered paying someone but it's a bit too expensive.

If any of these clairvoyant's are capable of extra-sensory perception, and can accurately predict future events, then they will already know you're trying to contact them. In the meantime if you're desperate for some vague, non-specific statements about your life, these should keep you going: "I sense that you are sometimes insecure, especially with people you don't know very well." “You’re having problems with a friend or relative.” ''You like to 'get things done' when it comes to doing work or any other of life's activities, but there are times where you can become very relaxed and easygoing when certain things need to be done.'' "Most of the time you are positive and cheerful, but there has been a time in the past when you were very upset." "You are a very kind and considerate person, but when somebody does something to break your trust, you feel deep-seated anger." "I would say that you are mostly shy and quiet, but when the mood strikes you, you can easily become the centre of attention."

Does anyone know if there are any schemes running in Sheffield providing energy efficiency grants? I am a home owner at living at S8 having some work done in the loft, and just wondered if there are places out there that provide free loft insulation. I've looked on the council website but there doesn't appear to be anything there. If anyone has any ideas I'd be most grateful!