The Bulletin: Arts & Culture News | Friday, 16 November

THE GOOD GIRAFFE 

Photograph by Martha Gillespie

Perhaps the strangest story making the rounds today is that of the The Good Giraffe. According to eyewitness reports from around Edinburgh, he has been seen carrying out random acts of kindness, such as cleaning Portobello beach, cleaning cages at a cat and dogs home, and hand-delivering cups of coffee. He has also been spotted as far afield as Forfar, Aberdeen and Stonehaven. Edinburgh resident Pete Ross met him earlier this week: "When I asked him: 'Why a giraffe?' he looked at me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and said: 'Because they're my favourite animal.' Lovely bloke."

Good Giraffe has made such an impression that the BBC covered his story, identifying the giraffe as Dundee resident Armstrong Baillie, 32. The choice of a giraffe as his totem animal for these random acts of good karma is a good one – giraffes have long been thought of as the mascot of the Non-Violent Communication movement. Skinny reader Martha Gillespie sent us a picture (above) of herself and The Good Giraffe having a friendly tete-a-tete.

PULSE: TOUCH 30
Next Thursday, Glasgow electronic music promoters Pulse bring London's celebrated audio-visual pioneers TOUCH to the Old Fruitmarket to celebrate 30 years of innovation, with an exclusive performance by legendary avant-garde multimedia composer Philip Jeck. Working with salvaged turntables and vinyl from second-hand shops, he will create a visually arresting and sonically beautiful symphony of found sounds. Joining him on the bill is Sweden-based sound artist BJ Nilsen, and Germany's Thomas Köner, another respected artist whose work involves transmedia and sound installations. Tickets for this one-off, very special event are £12 (£10 concessions). 

DINOSAUR JR. RETURN TO GLASGOW
Just announced – slacker rock giants Dinosaur Jr. have just announced a European tour, in support of their latest album I Bet On Sky. Ever since the Barlow / Mascis / Murph reunion of 2005, the band have been on a creative high, and our recent review of their latest album shows that the band still have plenty of juice in the tank. They play The Arches on 30 Jan – tickets go on sale at 9am on 23 Nov – move fast! Here's the official video for the lead single from I Bet On Sky, Watch The Corners.

ZOLA JESUS COVER RIHANNA'S DIAMONDS
After the Seapunk controversy we mentioned yesterday, we thought it might be nice to rehabilitate Rihanna's Diamonds for everyone, with this sparse, minimal cover version by celebrated gothic chanteuse Zola Jesus, which takes the original in a darker, more industrial direction. 

GLASGOW TO GET NEW FILM STUDIO?
Glasgow's waterfront area could soon house Scotland's very own dedicated film studio, The Scotsman reported today. The planned studio would be housed between the BBC HQ and the Film City Glasgow complex, and could house up to 30,000 square feet of studio space. The Scotsman quoted Tiernan Kelly, director of Film City Glasgow, as saying: "The project would make a massive difference to what Scotland could offer film-makers in future and prevent productions simply going elsewhere.” A detailed proposal for the new studio space will be examined in the coming months by Film City Glasgow.

TARANTINO TO QUIT THE FILM INDUSTRY?
According to an interview with US softcore porn mag Playboy, Quentin Tarantino will make two more films and then quit the business. Playboy quoted the director, whose new movie Django Unchained is released in January, as saying: "Directors don’t get better as they get older. Usually the worst films in their filmography are those last four at the end. I am all about my filmography, and one bad film fucks up three good ones. I don’t want that bad out-of-touch comedy in my filmography, the movie that makes people think, Oh man, he still thinks it’s 20 years ago. When directors get out-of-date, it’s not pretty." Watch the preview for Django Unchained:

NEW VIDEO FROM SIGUR ROS
Icelandic experimentalists Sigur Rós premiered their new video today over on NOWNESS. Directed by Swedish auteur Christian Larson in collaboration with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaou, the video is the fourteenth released by the band in their Valtari Mystery Film Experiment series, which has previously featured the work of artists such as photographer and filmmaker Ryan McGinley, who recently created the cover for Bat for Lashes' latest album The Haunted Man. The films interpret the tracks from the band's most recent album, Valtari. NOWNESS quote Larson as saying: "I wanted to try and make a dialogue through movement, without anyone saying anything." The results are stark, kinetic and eerily beautiful.

WEEKEND PICKS
Looking for something to do this weekend? Here are a few picks for events in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh! Remember, if you want a weekly roundup of the best events across Scotland, subscribe to The Skinny Zap! In Glasgow, we recommend you catch Geoff Barrow (of Portishead, who recently talked to us about his myriad projects here) with his post-rock / krautrock-influenced side project Beak> at Stereo on Saturday night. Kicking off at half seven, it's a chance to see the trio perform their latest album, BEAK>>, which is packed full of louche, experimental jams. BEAK> @ Stereo, Glasgow, 17 Nov.

Over in Edinburgh, you can get down to St John's Church for Bad Fun 3, a night of music curated by blogger and record label Song By Toad. They've got Auld Reekie's own Broken Records headlining, with support from up-and-coming Glasgow new-gazers Le Thug. Song By Toad: Bad Fun 3 @ St John's Church, Edinburgh, 17 Nov.

Finally, we recommend that you check out the Sonica 2012 programme over the weekend – with audiovisual events and installations across Glasgow, many of them free, it's a brilliant chance to get out there and imbibe some culture!

Have a great weekend – the Badger returns on Monday!