By Michael O\'Connor - Articles published in Three Monkeys Online
Battling the Past - an encounter with Michael Cimino
No other director in the history of Hollywood has had such a sudden trajectory between fame and infamy. Three Monkeys Online encountered the legendary film-maker, Michael Cimino, director of The Deer Hunter and Heaven's Gate recently in Bolo...
A Perfect Red - the history of cochineal
Following the Spanish conquest of Mexico, cochineal was one of the most highly prized exports from the new world, second only to Gold and Silver. It's value was due to the deep and durable red dye that it produced. Historian Amy Butler Greenfield, author ...
Writing Against Terror - Nadeem Aslam
In the wake of the London bombings, Nadeem Aslam's critically acclaimed novel Maps for Lost Lovers takes on a new relevance, set as it is in the Pakistani immigrant communities of the North of England. For Aslam, art and politics are not separate w...
Quo Vadis, Salvatores?
Atypical heroines, parochialism, noir as a genre? All up for discussion with Oscar winning Italian director Gabriele Salvatores, on the release of his new film Quo Vadis, Baby?, a noir set in Three Monkeys Online's very own Bologna....
A history of Fear. Professor Joanna Bourke in interview
Emotions are rarely the subject for Historians, many of whom feel more comfortable with causality and rational responses. Professor Joanna Bourke, of Birkbeck College, London, has taken the challenge to examine, from the perspective of a cultural history,...
Under the Skin - Exploring the identity of the far-right. Nick Ryan in interview.
Nick Ryan, author of Homeland. Into a World of Hate, spent a number of years travelling amongst and interviewing individuals who collectively form a part of what we can term the "far right". Figures such as Nick Griffin of the BNP, American Preside...
The ongoing environmental disaster of 9/11.
The attacks on the World Trade Centre in September 2001 signalled not only the start of the war on terror, but also the start of an environmental disaster, consistently underestimated by US Government officials, that continues to affect the health and saf...
The Human Side of Occupation. Suad Amiry, author of Sharon and my Mother-in-Law in interview
Suad Amiry's acclaimed Ramallah Diaries, published under the title Sharon and my Mother-in-Law, capture the absurdities, mundanity, and violence of living under a military occupation. Written with a keen sense of humour, the book has been a publish...
Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective. Dr Ulf Erlingsson locates Atlantis, in Ireland.
Dr. Ulf Erlingsson in his new book Atlantis from a Geographer's perspective, has located Atlantis, firmly above sea level, in Ireland. In interview he talks about his hypothesis, and the stigma attached to scientific research on the Atlantis myth....
The Corporation as a psychopath. Film-maker Jennifer Abbot in interview
A film on an economic and legal topic, that mixes interviews with Milton Friedman and Michael Moore, and has taken over $3 million at the box office. Sound improbable? Think again. The Corporation is one of the most talked about films around at the moment...
The Best Democracy Money can Buy. Greg Palast in interview.
Greg Palast, author of The Best Democracy Money can Busy started working in journalism through frustration. He switched from his career as a racketeering investigator, frustrated that the important stories were not finding their way into the media....
Thunder, Lightning, Strike - The Go! Team in interview
They've released one of this year's most innovative and catchy albums to date, and, while being hailed by the NME as one of the greatest bands around, heap scorn on the indie rock likes of Keane. TV cop show themes colliding with big beats and live musici...
Political Tragedy. The Navigators by Ken Loach
Ken Loach's film The Navigators recently got an open air screening as part of the Cinema Ritrovato festival in Bologna. How does an Italian audience react to a film about British Rail privatisation?...
Rejoice in the psychadelic sincerity of Devendra Banhart
Devendra Banhart's crudely recorded first album Oh Me Oh My was a huge critical success. Now with his second album, Rejoice in the hands, Three Monkeys Online attempts, with more than a little difficulty, to find out more about this Texan/Ve...
Master and Commander. Peter Weir and the filming of Master and Commander, the far side of the world.
Australian Director Peter Weir recently opened the Cinema Ritrovato film festival, and took some time out to talk about the filming of his latest film Master and Commander....
The President of Good and Evil - The ethics of George W. Bush
George W. Bush, more than any other President, has framed his administration in moral terms. He constantly talks about duties, good and evil, right and wrong. Australian Philosopher Peter Singer decided it was time that someone examined Bush's ethics. He ...
Reviews by Michael O\'Connor published in 3Monkeys Online
Petal Falls - April Cope
Sweet country music from North Carolina singer-songwriter April Cope...
Back to Black - Amy Winehouse
'50s inspired record of the moment from the female 'Pete Doherty'....
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
Mark Haddon describes it as "the bastard love child of The Matrix, Jaws and The DaVinci Code", and Nicole Kidman was supposedly so taken by it that she asked the author to consider changing the protagonist's gender for a film version....
A Weekend in the City - Bloc Party
Bloc Party's second album, veering close to being a concept album, but in this case, that's not such a bad thing....
(Come on feel the) Illinoise - Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens' second album as part of his 50 great states project. Illinoise is, dare we say it, a 'concept' album....
Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
An ambitious 'novel of stories' from Chuck Palahniuk, the American author of novels like Fight Club, Diary, and Choke....
Birds without Wings Louis de Bernières
A novel set in a small, multi-cultural town during the violent dying days of the Ottoman Empire, written by English novelist, and author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernières...
The Oath. A Surgeon Under Fire - by Khassan Baiev
The autobiography of Chechen surgeon Khassan Baiev, gives a frank and humane perspective on the war in Chechnya....
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
The true story of a failed assassination attempt on Richard Nixon, Directed by Nils Mueller and starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Don Cheadle....
Vera Drake
Mike Leigh's latest film, the story of a backstreet abortionist in 1950s England, won the prize for best film and actress at last year's Venice Film Festival, and has people whispering about Oscar Nominations....
The Devil's Cup. Coffee, the driving force in History - Stewart Lee Allen
An informed and entertaining look at the history of Coffee, and its affects on different cultures, recounted by a bona fide caffeine addict....
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2
The 11th studio album from U2, How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb has already debuted at #1 in charts around the world, but is it any good?...
Super-State. The new Europe and its challenge to America - Prof. Stephen Haseler
An analysis of the future of, and challenges to European integration, Prof. Stephen Haseler of London's Guild Hall University, argues that America's tenure as the World's sole superpower is drawing to a close....
Checkpoint - Nicholson Baker
A fictional conversation about killing President George W. Bush, that has outraged many, and called into question protections for freedom of speech....
