Can't believe that's been 2 years since our (award winning) little film AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF had its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival so felt it was only right to     re-share it for those who hadn't yet seen it (and if not why not?) or wanted to watch it again,  suffice to say it would be an understatement to say that this is one of the pieces of work I'm still most proud of.           And don't forget that you can actually listen to a version of it on the Radio 4 series Short Cuts  too.       A film shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses fo...

  Celebrating the release of Blade Runner way back in 1982 by soundtracking dystopia with Tyrell approved tunes, Roy Batty beats and synthetic samples. And yes, before you ask Blade Runner is probably one of THE most Autistic coded movies ever ( I even tried to explain why once upon a time ) so this post is justified! Anyway, enjoy....   

Today isn't just young Master Cassidy's 20th birthday but also the 20th anniversary of the premiere of THE greatest animated film ever too!       So this is a good excuse to listen to the podcast I did with Autism Through Cinema regarding it.   It's Disney/Pixar's Cars if you didn't know by the way. You can listen to the podcast  here if you haven't already. Go on, I'll still be here when you get back.  To be honest, most folk don't expect it to be in my top ten film list (then spend way too much time figuring out where it sits in relation to Suspiria, The Wizard of Oz, Times Square, La Cabina, A New Hope and Bride of Frankenstein...as you can tell I never did get invited to parties as a teen). "But why Cars?" I hear them cry. Well, the Autie-ness of the movie permeates thru' every part of it - from a design point of view the 'faces' of the characters are reminiscent of Thomas The Tank Engine (a huge Autistic favourite...

Well 49 years ago today actually, quite possibly THE greatest film of all time was unleashed (in less than 40 cinemas - yes really, 20th Century Fox had no idea what to do with it) upon an unsuspecting world - and cinema would never be the same again. And neither would my life if I'm honest.   For one thing I'd have had no excuse to talk to the kid in the Star Wars t-shirt the day I started my new school so would never had a friendship that has endured nearly 50 years which is pretty good going for a group that, allegedly, find making friends difficult I reckon.  Plus it gave us the perfect excuse to dress the twins as Luke and Leia for Halloween when they were tiny.  Oh and it introduced Cassidy  to his go to cuddle buddy.   Luckily for us they've embraced Star Wars too (or have I brainwashed them? - answers to the usual address).     Obviously next year is gonna be the biggie - with the original version being spruced up for a timely re-release - but ...

  Celebrate Star Wars Day with this Sith-tastic mix of Skywalker inspired sounds remixed for your dancing pleasure.  Caution: may contain Gungans.  

Celebrating the genius of Gerry Anderson on his birthday with 60 minutes of Spectrum Sounds and Terrahawk tunes in one mighty Mysteron mix.....    

    Well I reckon that the World Autism Acceptance Week is as good an excuse as any to indulge in some blatant self publicity and by that I mean reshare the transcript of my Spectrum Sinema performance that the magnificent Paul Wady invited me to do during his Eccentrics Unite! Fringe show a few years back  - the actual gig was edited for timing reasons/my rambling ways so it was fairly short 'n' snappy which was unusual for me but it seemed to go down OK. I mean there were no walk-outs but I did make a man visibly uncomfortable with the sheer Autistic intensity of my love for the films of 1982. This has been a dream of mine for years if I'm honest. Which I always am obviously seeing as Autistics are incapable of lying. Probably.  Anyway, rather than share the short 'live' presentation here instead is the full, unedited version of it. As an aside this piece became the starting point for the Spectrum Sinema book I'm currently writing, of which there's a ...

  Couldn't let the actual Autism Awareness Day pass without sharing probably  THE project I am most proud of being involved with, our (award winning) wee film AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF. Shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, the original footage captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses forge a new soundtrack from an autistic point of view. As the film evolves, it takes on the rhythms and repetitions of the children’s activities, becoming a playful homage to the body language of autism. If you've never seen it watch it now, if you've seen it before feel free to watch again! And if you want to know more (or even listen to the Radio 4 adaptation) jus...

Part of the Different Minds One Scotland initiative I was involved with a few years back involved the issues of social interaction for Autistic peeps so I thought what better time to reshare the sorry tale of one of the probably only two occasions I've ever been drunk - I mean really, really drunk - in my entire life. Because there aren't enough reasons to take the absolute piss out of me as it is. Take yourself back, if you will, to the heady days of 1995...a pre-DX me has planned a Clockwork Orange themed night out for my 26th birthday to - hopefully - cap off a fairly eventful albeit slightly shitey year where a massive group of us Droogs (well 6 of us) were going to spend the nochy out for a slap-up pischa-fest followed by much drinking with a wee bit of dancing thrown in. No Synthmesc or Drencrom tho' as I was booked in to work the next day. This may be important later.   I must just add tho' that anyone expecting a drunken tale of ultra-violence ending w...

  Here for your listening pleasure is the frankly fantastic Blue Azure's rather marvelous monthly music show this time around featuring (around the halfway mark) the spiritual successor to Colour Me Giallo , my tuneful tribute to the cult sounds of American horror cinema soundtracks.  Ladies and gentlemen I present...     And for anyone interested, here's the tracklist: 1. Goblin - L'Alba Dei Morti Viventi (alternate take). 2. Jay Chattaway - Cry for Mother. 3. Fred Myrow – Phantasm (theme). 4. John Carpenter – The Fog (main theme). 5. Ennio Morricone - Regan's Theme/ Seduction and Magic. 6. Donovan – Season Of The Witch. 7. Rick Wakeman – The Burning (theme). 8. Electric Banana - Cause I'm A Man. 9. John Harrison – The Dead Walk. 10. Pino Donaggio – Telescope. 11. David Hess - Wait for the Rain. 12. Don Gere – Werewolves On Wheels (theme). 13. Goblin - La Caccia. 14. Gus Russo – Basket Case (end theme). 15. John Harrison - The World Inside Your Eyes.  

   Another blatant self publicity alert! Just to let you know that I'll be re-teaming with Blue Azure on Totally Wired Radio on Saturday 14th March (8pm till 10pm) where I'll be unveiling the spiritual successor to Colour Me Giallo , this time featuring the cult sounds of American horror cinema soundtracks.  Ladies and gentlemen prepare for...  

    (Had to repost after seeing Boorman and The Devil!)

Well that's me back and (almost) fully recovered from this years Frightfest and I have to say I needed that! After what must go down as THE shittest week I've ever experienced that culminated in a very public Autistic meltdown (alongside having to cancel my hospital treatment due to how my stress levels had affected my Psoriasis) it was so therapeutic to get to retreat back to my safe place, 2 full days of horror films in a dark cinema where I could lose myself in the sounds and visuals. And seeing my work on a huge screen - as well as emblazoned across folks chest on T-shirts may have helped my sense of worth and belonging.    I got home Sunday morning to see my skin visibly less blotchy and sore and with an (almost) clear head. True our home no longer feels like ours and we still have a few more battles along the way but cinema has empowered me like it always does. And for that I'm grateful.  I'll probably not post much in the way of what's occurring over the next...

Regular readers will no doubt be aware that I talk about cinema a lot and any readers of my other (very NSFW) blog will know that it's mainly in regards to horror cinema. You could say it's my 'special interest' as absolutely no-one outside Autism 'professionals' call it. Anyway, after what will go down as THE shittest week imaginable here - including a fucking awful (and rare) meltdown which almost scuppered my plans Frightfest is finally upon us! The annual film art is complete and online , the guest portraits are done and dusted and I'm about to spend the next 48 hours in my happy place watching a random assortment of movies of which I know nothing about save the synopsis. Not only that tho' because when I take my seat I'll be looking at this...   Autistic horror cinema fan goals achieved.  See you on the other side.