Wednesday, 30 April 2008
unbreak
I'm contracted with BT until July 15th, and the early disconnection charges total about £200. So carry on as normal, just in an increasingly poisonous atmosphere.
break
Owing to a dispute with my flat-mate over the BT bill, the internet will have to be disconnected tomorrow. Subsequent blog postings will be, until July at least, necessarily less frequent. I beg your patience and understanding during this time, while I do my best to find alternative ways of keeping in touch.
Monday, 28 April 2008
LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET
Listing for Thursday's Cine Salon:
LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET
(1977, Dir. Roger Michael Watkins)
Wikipedia.org:
Last House on Dead End Street is a 1977 horror film about a disgruntled man, recently released from prison, who takes out his anguish by making snuff films.
Few knew who actually directed the film, until Roger Watkins, who died in March 2007, posted on Internet message boards three decades after it was made saying he was behind it. The film was made in 1973, but wasn't released until four years later.
Watkins has said he was high on amphetamines while making the film. He also said only about $800 was spent making the film, while the remaining $3,000 budgeted was used to buy drugs. The film was virtually unavailable until Barrel Entertainment released a double-disc DVD in 2002. In the 1970s its release was limited to grindhouse and drive-in theatres.
IMDB.com comments:
This is a genuine cinematic curiosity and I think that any self-respecting horror fan would be missing out by not checking it. It is truly an original, one-off work. Sure, it is ragged around the edges but that is part of what makes it so gritty and atmospheric. The movie has an almost numbing and ethereal quality and really works. Extremely disturbing and definitely recommended.
A weekly display of hidden or neglected facets of the magic lantern. The finest wines and cheeses shall be served.
Don't miss!
3 Springfield, Dundee.
Thursday 1st May, 9pm
LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET
(1977, Dir. Roger Michael Watkins)
Wikipedia.org:
Last House on Dead End Street is a 1977 horror film about a disgruntled man, recently released from prison, who takes out his anguish by making snuff films.
Few knew who actually directed the film, until Roger Watkins, who died in March 2007, posted on Internet message boards three decades after it was made saying he was behind it. The film was made in 1973, but wasn't released until four years later.
Watkins has said he was high on amphetamines while making the film. He also said only about $800 was spent making the film, while the remaining $3,000 budgeted was used to buy drugs. The film was virtually unavailable until Barrel Entertainment released a double-disc DVD in 2002. In the 1970s its release was limited to grindhouse and drive-in theatres.
IMDB.com comments:
This is a genuine cinematic curiosity and I think that any self-respecting horror fan would be missing out by not checking it. It is truly an original, one-off work. Sure, it is ragged around the edges but that is part of what makes it so gritty and atmospheric. The movie has an almost numbing and ethereal quality and really works. Extremely disturbing and definitely recommended.
QUIT PLAYIN' GAMES WITH MY HEART
While having a tidy round my room over the weekend I happened upon a couple of back issues of Yuck 'n Yum magazine. The online archive isn't yet on the go, so I've transcribed my 2006 review of Val Norris at the Collective gallery. I sorted out some of the grammar and punctuation and it bears up very well in my view. I urge you to check out some examples of her work.
"Quit Playin' Games With My Heart"
Val Norris at the Collective Gallery, Edinburgh
We're in love, you and I. The first time that I tell you "I love you", I have told you my first lie. I believe I love you and I want you to say that you love me. This serves to give me reassurance and I will feel the agony of my isolation a little less.
We are two little birds perched on an eternal branch in a daffodil idyll, basking in each other's ideas of enchantment and joy. Pink blossoms break out in scrawls of hysteria all around us and I tell myself that this must last forever. I feed the pony you sit astride as a butterfly flutters in your palm. As I play you my Michael Jackson records the King of Pop will sing of our feelings in a primal squeal that transcends his damaged features.
Sometimes you get cross and the sky turns to blood and shattered glass. A cartoon puppy on a sticker gets banished to the doghouse as you cry “YOU BREAK MY NERVES” and I cower in fear and shame. At moments like these I forget our animal bodies, our swollen heads and our big doe eyes. I know the uneasiness that has long been lurking at the back of my mind should never have been dismissed so lightly. I thought back then that you had too many cuddly toys in your bedroom.
On the floor sits an ersatz wooden table with a frill doilly on top. The doilly is home to four toy birds who face each other across the chintzy fabric. A clear Perspex cube provides some respite from an overload of ornamentation, though I know this is as minimal as you ever get. I recall a film about a fighter pilot that was on one Christmas, which someone told me about. I never saw it. A shame, because at least then we could make some small talk. This sculpture has suffered having a plastic flower draped across its face, the stem being painted glittery gold. A kitschy painting of ballerinas completes the tableau. Elsewhere deer gambol and heavily made-up women smoulder in paintings propped up against the wall like so many uneasy wallflowers at the high-school disco. I feel my clothes are dowdy dull when I see the GSA kids with all their nu-German Expressionist panache outside, but the music’s too loud anyhow, and I get the nauseous feeling of exclusion from a party where no-one wanted to stand in the kitchen.
Role-playing notes on camp girly. It’s only as girly as the pink Fraggle Rock T-shirt worn by the girl who spends her weekday evenings drinking Polish polish at a bus stop in Hexham. That girlishness can be worn as lightly as the flower with the glittery stem that rests atop the frame of a woodland scene. That girlishness could seem heavy-handed were it not so viscerally funny and the tone of voice not so disarmingly innocent. That fluttering of eyelashes can seem so beguiling when you’re dazzled by the glitter of cheap jewellery and inhaling the scent of fake flowers. Any girl this full of Babycham is anybody’s anyway. The paper the line is drawn across is scored out and smeared in an outburst of volatile feelings that I’m wary of trying to read. The pattern of the fabric has been carefully rendered with an emotional investment far greater than the toy birds ever asked for. It looks like a yearning for simple pleasures.
Your expressions of devotion seem to want to hide in a corner of the room or sink to the floor. When the little bird sits solitary on her branch the brown rabbit makes a gesture of holding his bleeding heart. It bleeds all over his leg and stains his fur with crimson crayon that is tough to clean. The violence that erupts come on in waves and bursts like weather, like nature, coming and going like the tides of the sea. It’s so romantic the way the scenery seems to reflect our thoughts and feelings, like animals and the weather, the blood and the lightning storms. When things are like this there is no happy medium like an overcast morning or a grey afternoon spent indoors playing cards or doing jigsaw puzzles. When it rains it pours. When it pours the lines get jagged and hastily scribbled down and I keep the kitchen knives where your eyes can’t see them.
I wonder for a moment, how much does the lonely reader of the Manga comic believe in the object of his affections? I bet it’s only as much as I project half-forgotten memories on you like those of a teddy bear or a former favourite cartoon character. Maybe it’s an indication of a confused identity, a scrambled mess of confused feelings that neither one of us can properly address. That’s not to say we can’t have a little fun with our masquerade, because I for one have always taken a great deal of pleasure in dressing up. We’re lucky, you and I, that we find such things fun and we don’t need to worry about our fondness for exaggeration and theatricality. Is this a kind of camp? I suppose it must be, but then you’d deny it and I’m definitely not gay.
Revelling in the decorative like we do is an engaging way of whiling away a sunny day. Don’t you know not to work with children and animals? Their behaviour can be so bi-polar. Oh well never mind, and we find we’re alone. Yours truly
Ben Robinson
Sunday, 27 April 2008
response
Out at the pub tonight for a raffle organized by Generator Projects, the local gallery. In attendance was the very beautiful and talented artist Katie Orton. Although my review of her show was rejected by The List magazine (apparently it reads too much like a press release, or something) she loved it and uses parts of of it when writing her artist's statement. Nice to know, the sort of thing that gives you a little warm glow inside your heart.
domestic
Had a pair of friends round last night for a meal. Wonderful food and company, only let down by a crowd of braying morons in the front room that my two-faced weasel of a housemate had invited round for the second week running. And she's still not paid the BT bill, so I may have to suspend this blog for a while until July, when I move in with some grown-ups.
Living with students can be a trial and I'll post next week whether this dispute can be resolved.
Living with students can be a trial and I'll post next week whether this dispute can be resolved.
Friday, 25 April 2008
correspondence
Today I made up a joke, and sent it via email to the letters page at Viz magazine. Admittedly it is in rather poor taste even by their standards.
I was heartened to see John Prescott bravely admitting to his problem with bulimia. He'd forgotten to be sick, the silly fat cunt.
B Acrylic
I was heartened to see John Prescott bravely admitting to his problem with bulimia. He'd forgotten to be sick, the silly fat cunt.
B Acrylic
master
Steve Bell's political cartoons are always a treat and the one in today's newspaper is especially wonderful.
I post in case you may have missed it earlier this morning.
induction
Those rejoinders of pleasure and disgust, falling as they do on worn out planes of useless waste language. See how they crash-land either side of a redundant dichotomy that we can simply snub! Far better to seek our thrills in a different place, a territory where the old labels peel away to reveal a fuzzy underside: their shameful secret half-lives of entropy and decay.
What might be revealed in such a magic garden? That spot needs not a stroke or any lingering caresses in order to satisfy our (admittedly very specific) tastes. No dillydallying when doubtless the most cursory of touches will do. Yes, so it is that we do hereby present for your delectation the fruits of our long, hard labours. Yes, in our going beyond the limits of language we run the risk of appearing wilfully obscure. Yes, we shall invite not a little ire, just by our choosing not to sweeten the pill. No matter! Reactions speak louder than words, reactions that might be surmised thus:
YUCK 'N YUM
What might be revealed in such a magic garden? That spot needs not a stroke or any lingering caresses in order to satisfy our (admittedly very specific) tastes. No dillydallying when doubtless the most cursory of touches will do. Yes, so it is that we do hereby present for your delectation the fruits of our long, hard labours. Yes, in our going beyond the limits of language we run the risk of appearing wilfully obscure. Yes, we shall invite not a little ire, just by our choosing not to sweeten the pill. No matter! Reactions speak louder than words, reactions that might be surmised thus:
YUCK 'N YUM
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
15
Listing for Thursday's Cine Salon:
A weekly display of hidden or neglected facets of the magic lantern. The finest wines and cheeses shall be served.
Don't miss!
3 Springfield, Dundee.
Thursday 24th April, 9pm
15
(2003, Dir. Royston Tan)
IMDB.com plot summary:
Fast, frenetic, and furious, 15 is the story of five Singaporean teenagers who, abandoned by the system and estranged from their parents and life in general, build their own world in which gangs, drugs, fighting, piercing, self-harm and suicide are common and brotherhood is important above all else. Shot in stunning, jarring style, Royston Tan manages to brilliantly capture the chaotic lives of these boys, living in the shadows of a sprawling metropolis and with only each other to rely on.
“Susan Lawly” Whitehouse forum:
I mentioned this before but the film "15" by Royston Tan is well worth seeing I think. Similar to Larry Clark's Kids, it's a Singaporean film about five rebellious teenagers who live on the edge of society (filmed using actual gang members). The film is really assaultive on a visual level in relation with the world the kids live in; when they're not singing along to J-pop in mini music videos or engaging in fight scenes complete with flashing computer game graphics and sfx, they're trying to find the best place and way for a friend to commit suicide with grisly cartoons for accompaniment, or cutting themselves for the camera (this bit, like a number of other squeamish scenes in the film are completely real and filmed intrusively on camcorder).
(theotherjohn)
Monday, 21 April 2008
bureaucracy
So why exactly have the DCA decided to hold their exhibition opening tomorrow, on a Tuesday night, of all nights? Is that really any sort of timing to encourage anyone to leave the house? I for one foresee a brief stop by, blagging a free glass of wine or two, then retiring over the road to watch the Liverpool v Chelsea game in the pub.
Still, we're promised "frank images of the naked body", and I've a new T-shirt to wear so all is not a dead loss.
Saturday, 19 April 2008
itinerary
Roll up! Roll up!
All is starting to take shape for the relaunch of Yuck 'n Yum magazine. The website domain will be renewed, and will soon host a variety of new features such as local art listings and a related forum. The MySpace page will be spruced up with all the relevant details. As well as all this, the new issue will present exclusive art from a multiplicity of contributors, including those local and those from further afield. There will be writing by myself and by Dr Norman Shaw. The whole shebang shall be inaugurated with a live event at the City Function Suite, to take place on Friday May 9th.
All is starting to take shape for the relaunch of Yuck 'n Yum magazine. The website domain will be renewed, and will soon host a variety of new features such as local art listings and a related forum. The MySpace page will be spruced up with all the relevant details. As well as all this, the new issue will present exclusive art from a multiplicity of contributors, including those local and those from further afield. There will be writing by myself and by Dr Norman Shaw. The whole shebang shall be inaugurated with a live event at the City Function Suite, to take place on Friday May 9th.
Friday, 18 April 2008
Delia
During my time in Leeds I downloaded what must be near enough the complete catalogue of Delia Derbyshire recordings. The woman is (I use the present tense, it just feels more apt) genius of the highest, rarest order. Anyway, there are more innovative and compelling ideas in 30 seconds of her work than any so-called "rock band" could manage in a career.
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
arbitration
My brother emailed me this today, and I have to say I'm still nowhere near understanding it. Anyway the hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, and provided the Leeds United lawyers can earn their fees then just maybe we'll get some of the 15 points back.
Bit long winded but gets to the point…
Leeds Utd and the Football League begin Arbitration proceedings on Wednesday in a dispute over the 15 point sanction imposed on the club at the start of the season. The penalty was imposed after Leeds went into Administration but were unable to secure a '75% approved' CVA which is built into League rules to allow the club to rejoin the League and continue to play.
Administration
When a team enters Administration, it effectively loses it's League position or 'Golden Share' into the Football League. The Administrators can continue to allow the team to compete but in exiting Administration, the Football League will automatically transfer the Golden Share back to the organisation controlling the club, providing they have CVA in place that has been approved by at least 75% of the Creditors. A further addendum to this rule is that Footballing debts (Players, clubs and officials) MUST be paid in full. This is to protect other clubs and players.
The Football league rules state that a 75% approved CVA must be gained, UNLESS IN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES - all clubs entering Administration tot his point had an approved CVA in place so no club has ever applied under the 'Exceptional Circumstances' rule in the past.
CVA
When Leeds Utd entered Administration last May, a deal was quickly struck between the Administrators and Ken Bates Consortium to sell the club back to him. One of the leading creditors had in excess of 25% of the debt, so could effectively block any other bids for the club, and publicly declared that they would support only Bates - making any other process pointless. In due course, the Creditors voted and Bates secured 75.1% approval for his bid, despite this only amounting to a return of 1p in the £ for non Footballing debts.There were claims of protests at the fact Bates had managed to effectively buy his own club back for a pittance, it was legal and above board, albeit questionable morally. Some Creditors tried to look into the entire process, especially around the 'Connected Creditors'. trying to prove the major creditors with over 25% of the debt that were backing Bates were financially linked and therefore should not have had the voting power that they did - but no link has ever been proved.
So Leeds had a 75% approved CVA in place and the return of the Golden Share should have been a formality at the next scheduled monthly meeting of the Football league.
Court Action
Up step 'Her Majesties Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) that were one of the creditors owed money by Leeds. Until recently, HMRC were protected under UK law as a 'preferential Creditor', meaning they enjoyed the same privileges that the Football league rules dictate of the Footballing debts. They would be paid first and other creditors would share anything that was left. This was changed recently and HMRC are known to be unhappy that the Football League have the clause protecting Football related debts.HMRC raised an issue with two of the Creditors that voted in favour of the CVA. One of which was Yorkshire Radio.
HMRC felt they should not have been allowed to vote but the Administrators (KPMG) (it was not Leeds Utd being taken to Court but the Administrators) were more than happy to defend the issue in court having previously taken advice from Counsel on the matter (Counsel are Court appointed Barristers that advise on legal issues in advance of an item going to Court so that you can understand how a Court is likely to view such matters.)
The matter could have been dealt with relatively quickly and was expected to be scheduled before the next Football League meeting. HMRC then added the issue of the Footballing debts being given priority to the issue to be discussed. In effect, the HMRC were taking KPMG to Court to dispute Football League rules! Leeds Utd (Bates and Co.) were not under scrutiny but these matters meant the club were not able to exit administration.
The additional 'issues' meant that the Court hearing was extended to five days, and the court schedule meant this could not be heard until September 2007, some four months after thethe CVA was approved and two months beyond the start of the season. The Administrators were now forced to either find the running costs to keep the club going, or take alternative action (wind the club up or sell the club outright).
Penalty
Running costs could not be found (other interested parties did offer to meet running costs but this was conditional and those conditions were not practical) so KPMG decided the only way forward was to sell the club outright, securing the best possible price for the creditors. A closed bidding process followed that Ken Bates and Co. won outright. He had now bought the club but there was no '75% approved CVA' in place - he now had to apply for the clubs League share back under the yet untested 'Exceptional Circumstances' clause.What followed was a Football League Announcement that Leeds Utd would be allowed to re-enter the League as they had 'Exceptional Circumstances' but would be docked 15 points for the 2007-08 season. Leeds appealed and the Football League agreed to put the matter before the other members (teams0 in the Football league - a vote followed which the Football League unsurprisingly won. Leeds requested an independent review which was repeatedly turned down by the Football league and have since appealed to the FA who distanced themselves from the whole process and in failing to get anyone to revue the case, then decided to issue a High Court Writ against the Football League. The League eventually responded on the final day they had to respond with an offer of Arbitration - which is all Leeds asked for in the first place.
Arbitration
Arbitration is a way to resolve disputes without the formality (and costs) associated with a Courtroom. Rather than a judge presiding over matters, an Arbitration panels formed consisting of three men - one independent and one selected by each of the parties in dispute. Leeds Utd's hearing will be chaired by retired High Court judge Sir Philip Otton, with the other two members being former Premier League chief executive Peter Leaver and Peter Cadman, a lawyer who has chaired Premier League disciplinary commissions in the past. The Hearing will take place behind closed doors and an undisclosed location and whilst less formal than Court, each side will be allowed to present any evidence and respond to any allegations in the normal manner. Arbitration is sometimes used to find a compromise between disputing parties although this in not belied to be the case here as Leeds are stating that the Football League acted incorrectly in deducting points, not that the penalty was too harsh.
The full details of Leeds dispute is not known however it is expected the following will be raised;
--Leeds united have still not been informed what rule has been broken despite repeated requests. Leeds complied with the rules in so much as the League agreed they had exceptional circumstances which was required. The argument could be that if Leeds did not have a CVA and did not have exceptional circumstances, then they could be let back into the League with a penalty - but this was not the case.
-Leeds DID have an approved CVA, and the final offer to buy the club outright was higher than the CVA offer. The League were aware the only reason the CVA could not progress in the timescale was because HMRC were disputing the Leagues own rules?
-Why did the League vote against the CVA when they were guaranteed a 100% return of their debt due to their own rules? How have the League voted in the past?-Why did the Football League cite one of the reasons for the point deduction which was actually relating to the action of KPMG, not Leeds Utd?
-Why were other League 1 clubs asked to vote when the outcome directly benefited themselves - Conflict of Interest?
-Leeds United feel strongly they have complied with the laws of the land, the question will arise whether the Football League have done the same. Any club or association can introduce it’s own rules, but they must comply with the laws of the land.
The decision by the panel is due to be made public before the Millwall game on April 19th.
Whislt there is nothing legally binding to stop further action from either party following the decision by the panel, both sides have agreed to comply with the result, and further action is only likely if one party feel that the Arbitration has not followed the correct procedures.Bit long winded but gets to the point…
Leeds Utd and the Football League begin Arbitration proceedings on Wednesday in a dispute over the 15 point sanction imposed on the club at the start of the season. The penalty was imposed after Leeds went into Administration but were unable to secure a '75% approved' CVA which is built into League rules to allow the club to rejoin the League and continue to play.
Administration
When a team enters Administration, it effectively loses it's League position or 'Golden Share' into the Football League. The Administrators can continue to allow the team to compete but in exiting Administration, the Football League will automatically transfer the Golden Share back to the organisation controlling the club, providing they have CVA in place that has been approved by at least 75% of the Creditors. A further addendum to this rule is that Footballing debts (Players, clubs and officials) MUST be paid in full. This is to protect other clubs and players.
The Football league rules state that a 75% approved CVA must be gained, UNLESS IN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES - all clubs entering Administration tot his point had an approved CVA in place so no club has ever applied under the 'Exceptional Circumstances' rule in the past.
CVA
When Leeds Utd entered Administration last May, a deal was quickly struck between the Administrators and Ken Bates Consortium to sell the club back to him. One of the leading creditors had in excess of 25% of the debt, so could effectively block any other bids for the club, and publicly declared that they would support only Bates - making any other process pointless. In due course, the Creditors voted and Bates secured 75.1% approval for his bid, despite this only amounting to a return of 1p in the £ for non Footballing debts.There were claims of protests at the fact Bates had managed to effectively buy his own club back for a pittance, it was legal and above board, albeit questionable morally. Some Creditors tried to look into the entire process, especially around the 'Connected Creditors'. trying to prove the major creditors with over 25% of the debt that were backing Bates were financially linked and therefore should not have had the voting power that they did - but no link has ever been proved.
So Leeds had a 75% approved CVA in place and the return of the Golden Share should have been a formality at the next scheduled monthly meeting of the Football league.
Court Action
Up step 'Her Majesties Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) that were one of the creditors owed money by Leeds. Until recently, HMRC were protected under UK law as a 'preferential Creditor', meaning they enjoyed the same privileges that the Football league rules dictate of the Footballing debts. They would be paid first and other creditors would share anything that was left. This was changed recently and HMRC are known to be unhappy that the Football League have the clause protecting Football related debts.HMRC raised an issue with two of the Creditors that voted in favour of the CVA. One of which was Yorkshire Radio.
HMRC felt they should not have been allowed to vote but the Administrators (KPMG) (it was not Leeds Utd being taken to Court but the Administrators) were more than happy to defend the issue in court having previously taken advice from Counsel on the matter (Counsel are Court appointed Barristers that advise on legal issues in advance of an item going to Court so that you can understand how a Court is likely to view such matters.)
The matter could have been dealt with relatively quickly and was expected to be scheduled before the next Football League meeting. HMRC then added the issue of the Footballing debts being given priority to the issue to be discussed. In effect, the HMRC were taking KPMG to Court to dispute Football League rules! Leeds Utd (Bates and Co.) were not under scrutiny but these matters meant the club were not able to exit administration.
The additional 'issues' meant that the Court hearing was extended to five days, and the court schedule meant this could not be heard until September 2007, some four months after thethe CVA was approved and two months beyond the start of the season. The Administrators were now forced to either find the running costs to keep the club going, or take alternative action (wind the club up or sell the club outright).
Penalty
Running costs could not be found (other interested parties did offer to meet running costs but this was conditional and those conditions were not practical) so KPMG decided the only way forward was to sell the club outright, securing the best possible price for the creditors. A closed bidding process followed that Ken Bates and Co. won outright. He had now bought the club but there was no '75% approved CVA' in place - he now had to apply for the clubs League share back under the yet untested 'Exceptional Circumstances' clause.What followed was a Football League Announcement that Leeds Utd would be allowed to re-enter the League as they had 'Exceptional Circumstances' but would be docked 15 points for the 2007-08 season. Leeds appealed and the Football League agreed to put the matter before the other members (teams0 in the Football league - a vote followed which the Football League unsurprisingly won. Leeds requested an independent review which was repeatedly turned down by the Football league and have since appealed to the FA who distanced themselves from the whole process and in failing to get anyone to revue the case, then decided to issue a High Court Writ against the Football League. The League eventually responded on the final day they had to respond with an offer of Arbitration - which is all Leeds asked for in the first place.
Arbitration
Arbitration is a way to resolve disputes without the formality (and costs) associated with a Courtroom. Rather than a judge presiding over matters, an Arbitration panels formed consisting of three men - one independent and one selected by each of the parties in dispute. Leeds Utd's hearing will be chaired by retired High Court judge Sir Philip Otton, with the other two members being former Premier League chief executive Peter Leaver and Peter Cadman, a lawyer who has chaired Premier League disciplinary commissions in the past. The Hearing will take place behind closed doors and an undisclosed location and whilst less formal than Court, each side will be allowed to present any evidence and respond to any allegations in the normal manner. Arbitration is sometimes used to find a compromise between disputing parties although this in not belied to be the case here as Leeds are stating that the Football League acted incorrectly in deducting points, not that the penalty was too harsh.
The full details of Leeds dispute is not known however it is expected the following will be raised;
--Leeds united have still not been informed what rule has been broken despite repeated requests. Leeds complied with the rules in so much as the League agreed they had exceptional circumstances which was required. The argument could be that if Leeds did not have a CVA and did not have exceptional circumstances, then they could be let back into the League with a penalty - but this was not the case.
-Leeds DID have an approved CVA, and the final offer to buy the club outright was higher than the CVA offer. The League were aware the only reason the CVA could not progress in the timescale was because HMRC were disputing the Leagues own rules?
-Why did the League vote against the CVA when they were guaranteed a 100% return of their debt due to their own rules? How have the League voted in the past?-Why did the Football League cite one of the reasons for the point deduction which was actually relating to the action of KPMG, not Leeds Utd?
-Why were other League 1 clubs asked to vote when the outcome directly benefited themselves - Conflict of Interest?
-Leeds United feel strongly they have complied with the laws of the land, the question will arise whether the Football League have done the same. Any club or association can introduce it’s own rules, but they must comply with the laws of the land.
The decision by the panel is due to be made public before the Millwall game on April 19th.
Whislt there is nothing legally binding to stop further action from either party following the decision by the panel, both sides have agreed to comply with the result, and further action is only likely if one party feel that the Arbitration has not followed the correct procedures.
Bit long winded but gets to the point…
Leeds Utd and the Football League begin Arbitration proceedings on Wednesday in a dispute over the 15 point sanction imposed on the club at the start of the season. The penalty was imposed after Leeds went into Administration but were unable to secure a '75% approved' CVA which is built into League rules to allow the club to rejoin the League and continue to play.
Administration
When a team enters Administration, it effectively loses it's League position or 'Golden Share' into the Football League. The Administrators can continue to allow the team to compete but in exiting Administration, the Football League will automatically transfer the Golden Share back to the organisation controlling the club, providing they have CVA in place that has been approved by at least 75% of the Creditors. A further addendum to this rule is that Footballing debts (Players, clubs and officials) MUST be paid in full. This is to protect other clubs and players.
The Football league rules state that a 75% approved CVA must be gained, UNLESS IN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES - all clubs entering Administration tot his point had an approved CVA in place so no club has ever applied under the 'Exceptional Circumstances' rule in the past.
CVA
When Leeds Utd entered Administration last May, a deal was quickly struck between the Administrators and Ken Bates Consortium to sell the club back to him. One of the leading creditors had in excess of 25% of the debt, so could effectively block any other bids for the club, and publicly declared that they would support only Bates - making any other process pointless. In due course, the Creditors voted and Bates secured 75.1% approval for his bid, despite this only amounting to a return of 1p in the £ for non Footballing debts.There were claims of protests at the fact Bates had managed to effectively buy his own club back for a pittance, it was legal and above board, albeit questionable morally. Some Creditors tried to look into the entire process, especially around the 'Connected Creditors'. trying to prove the major creditors with over 25% of the debt that were backing Bates were financially linked and therefore should not have had the voting power that they did - but no link has ever been proved.
So Leeds had a 75% approved CVA in place and the return of the Golden Share should have been a formality at the next scheduled monthly meeting of the Football league.
Court Action
Up step 'Her Majesties Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) that were one of the creditors owed money by Leeds. Until recently, HMRC were protected under UK law as a 'preferential Creditor', meaning they enjoyed the same privileges that the Football league rules dictate of the Footballing debts. They would be paid first and other creditors would share anything that was left. This was changed recently and HMRC are known to be unhappy that the Football League have the clause protecting Football related debts.HMRC raised an issue with two of the Creditors that voted in favour of the CVA. One of which was Yorkshire Radio.
HMRC felt they should not have been allowed to vote but the Administrators (KPMG) (it was not Leeds Utd being taken to Court but the Administrators) were more than happy to defend the issue in court having previously taken advice from Counsel on the matter (Counsel are Court appointed Barristers that advise on legal issues in advance of an item going to Court so that you can understand how a Court is likely to view such matters.)
The matter could have been dealt with relatively quickly and was expected to be scheduled before the next Football League meeting. HMRC then added the issue of the Footballing debts being given priority to the issue to be discussed. In effect, the HMRC were taking KPMG to Court to dispute Football League rules! Leeds Utd (Bates and Co.) were not under scrutiny but these matters meant the club were not able to exit administration.
The additional 'issues' meant that the Court hearing was extended to five days, and the court schedule meant this could not be heard until September 2007, some four months after thethe CVA was approved and two months beyond the start of the season. The Administrators were now forced to either find the running costs to keep the club going, or take alternative action (wind the club up or sell the club outright).
Penalty
Running costs could not be found (other interested parties did offer to meet running costs but this was conditional and those conditions were not practical) so KPMG decided the only way forward was to sell the club outright, securing the best possible price for the creditors. A closed bidding process followed that Ken Bates and Co. won outright. He had now bought the club but there was no '75% approved CVA' in place - he now had to apply for the clubs League share back under the yet untested 'Exceptional Circumstances' clause.What followed was a Football League Announcement that Leeds Utd would be allowed to re-enter the League as they had 'Exceptional Circumstances' but would be docked 15 points for the 2007-08 season. Leeds appealed and the Football League agreed to put the matter before the other members (teams0 in the Football league - a vote followed which the Football League unsurprisingly won. Leeds requested an independent review which was repeatedly turned down by the Football league and have since appealed to the FA who distanced themselves from the whole process and in failing to get anyone to revue the case, then decided to issue a High Court Writ against the Football League. The League eventually responded on the final day they had to respond with an offer of Arbitration - which is all Leeds asked for in the first place.
Arbitration
Arbitration is a way to resolve disputes without the formality (and costs) associated with a Courtroom. Rather than a judge presiding over matters, an Arbitration panels formed consisting of three men - one independent and one selected by each of the parties in dispute. Leeds Utd's hearing will be chaired by retired High Court judge Sir Philip Otton, with the other two members being former Premier League chief executive Peter Leaver and Peter Cadman, a lawyer who has chaired Premier League disciplinary commissions in the past. The Hearing will take place behind closed doors and an undisclosed location and whilst less formal than Court, each side will be allowed to present any evidence and respond to any allegations in the normal manner. Arbitration is sometimes used to find a compromise between disputing parties although this in not belied to be the case here as Leeds are stating that the Football League acted incorrectly in deducting points, not that the penalty was too harsh.
The full details of Leeds dispute is not known however it is expected the following will be raised;
--Leeds united have still not been informed what rule has been broken despite repeated requests. Leeds complied with the rules in so much as the League agreed they had exceptional circumstances which was required. The argument could be that if Leeds did not have a CVA and did not have exceptional circumstances, then they could be let back into the League with a penalty - but this was not the case.
-Leeds DID have an approved CVA, and the final offer to buy the club outright was higher than the CVA offer. The League were aware the only reason the CVA could not progress in the timescale was because HMRC were disputing the Leagues own rules?
-Why did the League vote against the CVA when they were guaranteed a 100% return of their debt due to their own rules? How have the League voted in the past?-Why did the Football League cite one of the reasons for the point deduction which was actually relating to the action of KPMG, not Leeds Utd?
-Why were other League 1 clubs asked to vote when the outcome directly benefited themselves - Conflict of Interest?
-Leeds United feel strongly they have complied with the laws of the land, the question will arise whether the Football League have done the same. Any club or association can introduce it’s own rules, but they must comply with the laws of the land.
The decision by the panel is due to be made public before the Millwall game on April 19th.
Whislt there is nothing legally binding to stop further action from either party following the decision by the panel, both sides have agreed to comply with the result, and further action is only likely if one party feel that the Arbitration has not followed the correct procedures.Bit long winded but gets to the point…
Leeds Utd and the Football League begin Arbitration proceedings on Wednesday in a dispute over the 15 point sanction imposed on the club at the start of the season. The penalty was imposed after Leeds went into Administration but were unable to secure a '75% approved' CVA which is built into League rules to allow the club to rejoin the League and continue to play.
Administration
When a team enters Administration, it effectively loses it's League position or 'Golden Share' into the Football League. The Administrators can continue to allow the team to compete but in exiting Administration, the Football League will automatically transfer the Golden Share back to the organisation controlling the club, providing they have CVA in place that has been approved by at least 75% of the Creditors. A further addendum to this rule is that Footballing debts (Players, clubs and officials) MUST be paid in full. This is to protect other clubs and players.
The Football league rules state that a 75% approved CVA must be gained, UNLESS IN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES - all clubs entering Administration tot his point had an approved CVA in place so no club has ever applied under the 'Exceptional Circumstances' rule in the past.
CVA
When Leeds Utd entered Administration last May, a deal was quickly struck between the Administrators and Ken Bates Consortium to sell the club back to him. One of the leading creditors had in excess of 25% of the debt, so could effectively block any other bids for the club, and publicly declared that they would support only Bates - making any other process pointless. In due course, the Creditors voted and Bates secured 75.1% approval for his bid, despite this only amounting to a return of 1p in the £ for non Footballing debts.There were claims of protests at the fact Bates had managed to effectively buy his own club back for a pittance, it was legal and above board, albeit questionable morally. Some Creditors tried to look into the entire process, especially around the 'Connected Creditors'. trying to prove the major creditors with over 25% of the debt that were backing Bates were financially linked and therefore should not have had the voting power that they did - but no link has ever been proved.
So Leeds had a 75% approved CVA in place and the return of the Golden Share should have been a formality at the next scheduled monthly meeting of the Football league.
Court Action
Up step 'Her Majesties Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) that were one of the creditors owed money by Leeds. Until recently, HMRC were protected under UK law as a 'preferential Creditor', meaning they enjoyed the same privileges that the Football league rules dictate of the Footballing debts. They would be paid first and other creditors would share anything that was left. This was changed recently and HMRC are known to be unhappy that the Football League have the clause protecting Football related debts.HMRC raised an issue with two of the Creditors that voted in favour of the CVA. One of which was Yorkshire Radio.
HMRC felt they should not have been allowed to vote but the Administrators (KPMG) (it was not Leeds Utd being taken to Court but the Administrators) were more than happy to defend the issue in court having previously taken advice from Counsel on the matter (Counsel are Court appointed Barristers that advise on legal issues in advance of an item going to Court so that you can understand how a Court is likely to view such matters.)
The matter could have been dealt with relatively quickly and was expected to be scheduled before the next Football League meeting. HMRC then added the issue of the Footballing debts being given priority to the issue to be discussed. In effect, the HMRC were taking KPMG to Court to dispute Football League rules! Leeds Utd (Bates and Co.) were not under scrutiny but these matters meant the club were not able to exit administration.
The additional 'issues' meant that the Court hearing was extended to five days, and the court schedule meant this could not be heard until September 2007, some four months after thethe CVA was approved and two months beyond the start of the season. The Administrators were now forced to either find the running costs to keep the club going, or take alternative action (wind the club up or sell the club outright).
Penalty
Running costs could not be found (other interested parties did offer to meet running costs but this was conditional and those conditions were not practical) so KPMG decided the only way forward was to sell the club outright, securing the best possible price for the creditors. A closed bidding process followed that Ken Bates and Co. won outright. He had now bought the club but there was no '75% approved CVA' in place - he now had to apply for the clubs League share back under the yet untested 'Exceptional Circumstances' clause.What followed was a Football League Announcement that Leeds Utd would be allowed to re-enter the League as they had 'Exceptional Circumstances' but would be docked 15 points for the 2007-08 season. Leeds appealed and the Football League agreed to put the matter before the other members (teams0 in the Football league - a vote followed which the Football League unsurprisingly won. Leeds requested an independent review which was repeatedly turned down by the Football league and have since appealed to the FA who distanced themselves from the whole process and in failing to get anyone to revue the case, then decided to issue a High Court Writ against the Football League. The League eventually responded on the final day they had to respond with an offer of Arbitration - which is all Leeds asked for in the first place.
Arbitration
Arbitration is a way to resolve disputes without the formality (and costs) associated with a Courtroom. Rather than a judge presiding over matters, an Arbitration panels formed consisting of three men - one independent and one selected by each of the parties in dispute. Leeds Utd's hearing will be chaired by retired High Court judge Sir Philip Otton, with the other two members being former Premier League chief executive Peter Leaver and Peter Cadman, a lawyer who has chaired Premier League disciplinary commissions in the past. The Hearing will take place behind closed doors and an undisclosed location and whilst less formal than Court, each side will be allowed to present any evidence and respond to any allegations in the normal manner. Arbitration is sometimes used to find a compromise between disputing parties although this in not belied to be the case here as Leeds are stating that the Football League acted incorrectly in deducting points, not that the penalty was too harsh.
The full details of Leeds dispute is not known however it is expected the following will be raised;
--Leeds united have still not been informed what rule has been broken despite repeated requests. Leeds complied with the rules in so much as the League agreed they had exceptional circumstances which was required. The argument could be that if Leeds did not have a CVA and did not have exceptional circumstances, then they could be let back into the League with a penalty - but this was not the case.
-Leeds DID have an approved CVA, and the final offer to buy the club outright was higher than the CVA offer. The League were aware the only reason the CVA could not progress in the timescale was because HMRC were disputing the Leagues own rules?
-Why did the League vote against the CVA when they were guaranteed a 100% return of their debt due to their own rules? How have the League voted in the past?-Why did the Football League cite one of the reasons for the point deduction which was actually relating to the action of KPMG, not Leeds Utd?
-Why were other League 1 clubs asked to vote when the outcome directly benefited themselves - Conflict of Interest?
-Leeds United feel strongly they have complied with the laws of the land, the question will arise whether the Football League have done the same. Any club or association can introduce it’s own rules, but they must comply with the laws of the land.
The decision by the panel is due to be made public before the Millwall game on April 19th.
Whislt there is nothing legally binding to stop further action from either party following the decision by the panel, both sides have agreed to comply with the result, and further action is only likely if one party feel that the Arbitration has not followed the correct procedures.
Monday, 14 April 2008
THE SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRES
Listing for Thursday's Cine Salon:
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A weekly display of hidden or neglected facets of the magic lantern.
The finest wines and cheeses shall be served.
Don't miss!
.A weekly display of hidden or neglected facets of the magic lantern.
The finest wines and cheeses shall be served.
Don't miss!
3 Springfield, Dundee.
Thursday 17th April, 9pm
Thursday 17th April, 9pm
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COMING SOON!
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THE SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRES
(1970, Dir. Jean Rollin)
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Amazon.com review:
...A surreal and psychedelic vampire horror film. Full of vibrant colours and eccentric existential characters. A tastefully directed picture with deliberately cliched horror elements. Quick editing techniques with touches of Mario Bava type camera work, wherein the whole room in each scene is captured in one slow moving camera spin. '...Beautifully macabre, with eerie medieval castles'.
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IMDB.com comments:
Unforgettable Rollin extravaganza, daring to go for effects other directors would dismiss as cheesy, and pulling them off. On one level, it seems pure exploitation, with its somnolent virgins and lesbian vampires; but it is the prospective male viewer that the film targets - his representative on screen is reduced to an impotent observer, finally breaking down into helpless madness. Rollin's style is as delirious as ever, fantastic French Gothic sets, seeping red filter, dreamlike pace, bewilderingly inventive soundtrack, resonant set-pieces and unmissably pretentious dialogue.
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Thursday, 10 April 2008
the cold call
k-punk on call centres. Seeing as I'm living on borrowed time in just such an accursed place, all of this provides laughter that is, at heart, a little sour.
Off down to Leeds today for a spell away home from these toils. Tomorrow it's on to London and the Duchamp-Picabia-Man Ray show at the Tate.
Off down to Leeds today for a spell away home from these toils. Tomorrow it's on to London and the Duchamp-Picabia-Man Ray show at the Tate.
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
cruise
Link to a post on Dennis Cooper's fascinating blog featuring work by the artist Brendan Lott. At first glance I dismissed this as being dull photorealism of the kind that I got thoroughly sick of seeing done badly during art school. However, seeing the description of the working process does lend these paintings a whole new layer of meaning.
It also brings to mind this essay on 'pseudo-modernism' that I found whilst trawling links on my del.icio.us bookmarks.
'I cruise peer-to-peer file sharing networks, like Limewire, for people's snapshots. There are thousands of them there, constantly changing, as people unload their pics from their camera to their shared folder, (often by mistake, I think). I download 1000s of these images at a time and look through them. I pick out the rare one that is beautiful. In a group of 1000, maybe I'll save one or two. I then send that one in an email to a group of painters in China, pay them with PayPal, and they reproduce the work in oils and send it back to me. ... For me the digital snapshot is something entirely new - photography has been around for a long time of course, but it has always almost always been in the hands of the professionals or (mostly male) hobbyists. Now every teenager has a cheap digital camera, with a super sharp lens, high resolution and fast shutter. They document themselves in new ways, I think. Most of the time they are mundane and uninteresting, but if you look hard enough, you can find real beauty, often by accident. The China thing is just me reacting to the global marketplace, and how most artists/critics I know just assume it is bad thing. I'm saying it is a wonderful thing, and that real beauty can come from that too. Chinese kids went back to the art schools in droves in the 80s, after the cultural revolution, and they studied painting in an old fashioned way, compared to how it being taught (or not taught) in Western schools. Nobody knows how to paint like this anymore, except maybe John Currin and few others. Also I think photorealistic painting is subversive now in the way abstraction was 100 years ago.' -- Brendan Lott
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
coming soon
Listing for Thursday's Cine Salon:
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Saturday, 5 April 2008
la nausée
Extract from Jean Rhys, 'Good Morning, Midnight':
He is very good at salad-dressing, this waiter. We eat with him and his wife next day. There he is, with his fat back and thick neck, mixing the dressing. He uses sugar in the German way. His wife watches him, looking spiteful and frightened.She is thin and ugly and not young. The waiter mixes the dressing for the salad very slowly at the sideboard. I can see myself in the mirror. I look thin - too thin - and dirty and haggard, with that expression that you get in your eyes when you are very tired and everything is like a dream and you are starting to know what things are like underneath what people say they are.
I hadn't bargained for this. I didn't think it would be like this - shabby clothes, worn-out shoes, circles under your eyes, your hair getting straight and lanky, the way people look at you... I didn't think it would be like this.
He is very good at salad-dressing, this waiter. We eat with him and his wife next day. There he is, with his fat back and thick neck, mixing the dressing. He uses sugar in the German way. His wife watches him, looking spiteful and frightened.She is thin and ugly and not young. The waiter mixes the dressing for the salad very slowly at the sideboard. I can see myself in the mirror. I look thin - too thin - and dirty and haggard, with that expression that you get in your eyes when you are very tired and everything is like a dream and you are starting to know what things are like underneath what people say they are.
I hadn't bargained for this. I didn't think it would be like this - shabby clothes, worn-out shoes, circles under your eyes, your hair getting straight and lanky, the way people look at you... I didn't think it would be like this.
Friday, 4 April 2008
l'etranger
Staying in tonight and keeping what's known as a low profile. It's something that I'd best get used to. Having viewed the property over the water and found it to my liking, I'm preparing for a lifestyle spent on the periphery, more inclined to asceticism than frivolous pursuits. Plus I seem to be feeling first-hand the effects of the widely-reported credit crunch (ie I'm well and truly brassic).
Thursday, 3 April 2008
imitation of life
Mildly hungover. Just now I'm partway through reading Jean Rhys' excellent 1939 novel Good Morning Midnight, a semi-autobiographical account of a character shambling her way through various soul-destroying dead-end jobs and drinking herself into oblivion. Perhaps under its rather bleak influence, yesterday I took advantage of my 'not logged-in' status at the call-centre coalface, and left work early to go out on the piss. For the past week I've been under orders to listen in on the calls of others rather than to take any myself, so I trust my absence went unobserved. The afternoon was spent drinking with friends in the crisp spring sunshine at the DCA, an enjoyable example of life imitating art.
Earlier in the day I saw the careers adviser again to collect some links and addresses for possible recruitment contacts. A change of direction really can't come soon enough.
Earlier in the day I saw the careers adviser again to collect some links and addresses for possible recruitment contacts. A change of direction really can't come soon enough.
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
DER FAN
Listing for Thursday's Cine Salon:
A weekly display of hidden or neglected facets of the magic lantern. The finest wines and cheeses shall be served.
Don't miss!
3 Springfield, Dundee.
Thursday 3rd April, 9pm
DER FAN
(1982, Dir. Eckhart Schmidt)
DVDmaniacs.net review:
If you like petite femme fatales, crude, violent visual poetry, then you ought to see DER FAN (THE FAN a.k.a. TRANCE). A friend passed along this German import to me back in ’92 and it clung to me ever since. At face value, it is a low budget shock art flick, another forerunner to today’s cult film, such as Takashi Miike’s AUDITION. When penetrating this film, however, I found a cautionary tale not only for the arrogant celebrity type, but one for parents (and everyone else for that matter). I found a visual poem of a pathology that often goes unseen; an study of adolescence wherein secrets remain close at heart, where emotions override any early concepts of morals and ethics (especially when that mind is predisposed to criminal behavior, chemically or psychologically).
IMDB.com comments:
Disturbing study of an obsessed fanatic, slower than molasses but oddly engaging. Schoolgirl seeks to become the lover of a popular music artist (a very 1980s Kraftwerk-style fellow). She gets her chance with him but is quickly given her walking papers...but it does not end there. The final moments of this film are as weird and shocking as anything I have seen... recommended.
