Seen and heard: September 2013

Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller, Episode 1 The Hangman - tremendous point-and-click adventure game (see this trailer and this review), on which Jane Jensen (celebrated game auteur) was a consultant. Worked beautifully on the iPad too. And best of all, I still have three more episodes to go...

Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're In Without Going Crazy, by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone - book based on their workshops of the past few years. I used to be a big fan of Joanna Macy's marriage of Buddhism and systems theory, but I found this disappointing: the spiritual process is sound enough, but environmental activism isn't where I am right now. The British doctor and psychotherapist Chris Johnstone seems to have introduced another note to her West Coast philosophy; I think he may be the one to follow up at this point.

Banyalbufar fiesta, celebrating both a hundred years as an independent parish (hence a Solemn Mass performed by the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona, an adopted son of the town) and a hundred years of electrification. Events and entertainments included water slides for the kids, a magic show with Albert the Magician, a variety night opening with the town's primary school children performing Gangnam Style, and a dance evening ending only at 7:00 am .

Culture Show programme about the new Birmingham City Library, the People's Palace. They seem to have created something which is genuinely a nice space in which to be, and not just something functional (for which the internet would be a more serious rival). There's some speculation that we're now seeing the rise of the "super-library".

Sound of Cinema: The Music that Made the Movies - skillful and accessible TV series by film composer Neil Brand, with detailed examples of how music and sound have been used to achieve powerful effects across the history of cinema.

The Young Montalbano - how could anyone take the place of original Montalbano Luca Zingaretti? Well, like this actually. The programme makers have done a smashing job of finding a cast to play the same principal characters at a younger age, and the stories have the same Sicilian sunshine look and feel. I miss the old titles music, though.

About Time - the new Richard Curtis film: not profound, but very amusing and well-told, and moving in a gentle, impressive kind of way.