Pynchon

I have a ticket to see the Ordinary Boys at Wolverhampton Civic Hall in October. I know practically nothing about them, and have only heard their album once, but a couple of guys at work asked me if I fancied going and I said OK. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Lorraine took me to a fancy shirt shop that she found in an alleyway off New Street. She bought me two shirts (a white one with blue spots and a white one with red spots, very Modish and natty dread) and I purchased two shirts for work (a white one and a blue one). I told her to consider the two she bought me as my Valentines Day presents, but I think that she has also bought me something else. Good girl. (My presents for her have not turned up yet. They are the DVD box set of "Space: Above And Beyond" (which she really loved) and a CD of the Osmonds greatest hits. Yeah, sad I know, but can I help it if her heart still belongs to Donny?)



I went to see the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk The Line" starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. I could pretend to be very cool and say that I knew all about Johnny Cash before seeing this film, but that would not be true. I knew some of his songs, and some of them I liked very much (one of his last recordings, "Hurt", is one of the finest singles - and videos - of the past 10 years). I knew that he dressed in black a lot. I knew that he recorded live albums in Folsom prison and San Quentin prison. I knew that his persona was that of a maverick and an outlaw. I knew that he recorded with Bob Dylan. I think that's it.

I thought that "Walk The Line" was very good. Hell, Joaquin Phoenix was so good that it might be worth putting a tenner on him to win the Best Actor Oscar this year. Reese Witherspoon can irritate me intensely, but she was also very good in this film. The focus of most of the film is on their love story and I learnt a few new things. During the early days Johnny Cash toured with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. June Carter wrote "Ring Of Fire". Johnny Cash had an older brother who died tragically young. For periods of his life Johnny Cash was a drug addict.

I feel the urge to go out and buy a good Johnny Cash compilation. I was impressed.

This evening, in between bitching at each other, Lorraine and I watched "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow". It should have been terrific but it was really boring. I think that Lorraine blamed me. I did not want to watch "Shark Tale". I couldn't be arsed. She flicked channels. I did the washing up. She asked me what I wanted to do. I said that some dirty animal sex would be nice. She ignored me. Snip snip, snap snap, bitch bitch. She tutted when I put on the programme "100 Greatest Sexy Moments" which Channel 4 were repeating. I said that she did not understand what a "fucking bore it is living with a prude". Now I am here.

I have just put a couple of bets on for the Oscars. I'll reveal who I think will win closer to the time. In 1994 and 1995 I got all of my predictions correct (Film, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress), but I have never done that well since. It looks like the betting has closed on the Brits awards, but that is probably for the best as far as I am concerned. The only two winners I am sure about are James Blunt and K. T. Tunstall for best male and female singer respectively.

Life is enough to make you weep.