Friday, September 21, 2007
It has been a bit of a disappointing week, blogwise, but I don't suppose every week can be a maelstrom of activity, now can it? Anyway, I couldn't be particularly arsed. I had, as Lorraine so succinctly puts it, "One on me".
Still, I have not exactly sat staring at the wall doing nothing.
This week I have...
1. Watched television.
Over the past month, BBC 3 have been repeating all of the recent "Doctor Who" series and specials, from Christopher Ecclestone to David Tennant. I have not watched them all of the repeats religiously, but I must say that what I have watched again, I have really enjoyed.
This week the climax of series 3 finally arrived with appearances of Derek Jacobi as Professor Yana and John Simm as Mr. Saxon. I really hope that one of those actors reappears in the next series. UK viewers will know which one I mean. I thought he was over the top and insane and cruel and just marvellous. (No spoilers for foreign friends who are still watching "Doctor Who". I believe that abroad the latest series is still being broadcast.)
I've also been watching "Heroes" on BBC2 (we have just reached the "Six Months Ago" story) which I am really enjoying. Last night I watched "Fonejacker" (never seen it before) and I laughed like a hyena and "Dog Face" (ditto) that was kind of terrible, but it had some moments.
2. Read books.
I have finished "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood, which I thought was really good. A really engrossing read. I think it is the first Booker Prize winner that I have ever read. Maybe I will dig out a few more of them.
I am now halfway through reading "Making History" by Stephen Fry, about which I have mixed feelings.
"Making History" is quite obviously a Stephen Fry book (he always uses 3 words when he could quite easily get away with 1.) It has (I think, but I may be wrong) a bit of gay subtext that is about to come to the fore. It has got the most obvious Time Travel plot of all time, which would normally have been rejected by anybody who has read any Science Fiction as being total cliche from start to end. It ignores the whole principle of time paradoxes. It contains lazy passages where, I feel, Mr. Fry just couldn't be bothered to write it properly.
(So you are not enjoying it then, John?)
Au contraire! "Making History" satisfies the only requirement of a book and that is to keep you turning the pages because you want to see what happens next.
3. Working.
After the release of the new organisation chart (on which I am positioned just above the guy who cleans the toilets) the new M.D. deemed to pay us a visit to do a morale boosting presentation to the troops. I thought that Max Headroom had disappeared many years ago, but obviously I was wrong.
Max was blonde and blue eyed. Slick hair. Nice suit. He spoke well, I'll give him that, but his spiel was so full of little jokes and, aww shucks, self depreciating, I'm-just-like-you modest sentiments about himself and his role in The Corporation, that I wish I had had a grenade to toss into the centre of the room to end it all.
Suit. Salesman. Shark. Nazi youth Conservative poster boy. Tosser. Cunt.
Of course at the end everybody clapped like seals, including Lorraine who was sitting next to me. I sat on my hands, fingering my crack (the highlight of my day) and scowled. Lorraine told me to "Stop it".
4. Told Lorraine that she looked great.
Lorraine had her hair done last night. She was due to have her hair done on Sunday, but we will be travelling back from Nottingham. I compared Lorraine favourably to Vanessa Feltz. It didn't go down well. (How was I to know?)
5. Got better.
The dizziness stopped once the earache started. Maybe it was something to do with my inner ear? The earache has also stopped.
We are in Nottingham tomorrow at the social event of the year. (Informal, thank God! I have not worn by wicked blue suit since 2004. I doubt at this moment in time that I would be able to navigate my belly into the trousers. I would be fucked if I really had to dress up for a bit of a do.) Maybe we will see some of you there. If not, I will be back on Sunday.
Still, I have not exactly sat staring at the wall doing nothing.
This week I have...
1. Watched television.
Over the past month, BBC 3 have been repeating all of the recent "Doctor Who" series and specials, from Christopher Ecclestone to David Tennant. I have not watched them all of the repeats religiously, but I must say that what I have watched again, I have really enjoyed.
This week the climax of series 3 finally arrived with appearances of Derek Jacobi as Professor Yana and John Simm as Mr. Saxon. I really hope that one of those actors reappears in the next series. UK viewers will know which one I mean. I thought he was over the top and insane and cruel and just marvellous. (No spoilers for foreign friends who are still watching "Doctor Who". I believe that abroad the latest series is still being broadcast.)
I've also been watching "Heroes" on BBC2 (we have just reached the "Six Months Ago" story) which I am really enjoying. Last night I watched "Fonejacker" (never seen it before) and I laughed like a hyena and "Dog Face" (ditto) that was kind of terrible, but it had some moments.
2. Read books.
I have finished "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood, which I thought was really good. A really engrossing read. I think it is the first Booker Prize winner that I have ever read. Maybe I will dig out a few more of them.
I am now halfway through reading "Making History" by Stephen Fry, about which I have mixed feelings.
"Making History" is quite obviously a Stephen Fry book (he always uses 3 words when he could quite easily get away with 1.) It has (I think, but I may be wrong) a bit of gay subtext that is about to come to the fore. It has got the most obvious Time Travel plot of all time, which would normally have been rejected by anybody who has read any Science Fiction as being total cliche from start to end. It ignores the whole principle of time paradoxes. It contains lazy passages where, I feel, Mr. Fry just couldn't be bothered to write it properly.
(So you are not enjoying it then, John?)
Au contraire! "Making History" satisfies the only requirement of a book and that is to keep you turning the pages because you want to see what happens next.
3. Working.
After the release of the new organisation chart (on which I am positioned just above the guy who cleans the toilets) the new M.D. deemed to pay us a visit to do a morale boosting presentation to the troops. I thought that Max Headroom had disappeared many years ago, but obviously I was wrong.
Max was blonde and blue eyed. Slick hair. Nice suit. He spoke well, I'll give him that, but his spiel was so full of little jokes and, aww shucks, self depreciating, I'm-just-like-you modest sentiments about himself and his role in The Corporation, that I wish I had had a grenade to toss into the centre of the room to end it all.
Suit. Salesman. Shark. Nazi youth Conservative poster boy. Tosser. Cunt.
Of course at the end everybody clapped like seals, including Lorraine who was sitting next to me. I sat on my hands, fingering my crack (the highlight of my day) and scowled. Lorraine told me to "Stop it".
4. Told Lorraine that she looked great.
Lorraine had her hair done last night. She was due to have her hair done on Sunday, but we will be travelling back from Nottingham. I compared Lorraine favourably to Vanessa Feltz. It didn't go down well. (How was I to know?)
5. Got better.
The dizziness stopped once the earache started. Maybe it was something to do with my inner ear? The earache has also stopped.
We are in Nottingham tomorrow at the social event of the year. (Informal, thank God! I have not worn by wicked blue suit since 2004. I doubt at this moment in time that I would be able to navigate my belly into the trousers. I would be fucked if I really had to dress up for a bit of a do.) Maybe we will see some of you there. If not, I will be back on Sunday.
Labels: Reading, Television, The Corporation, Time
# posted by Pynchon @ 9:02 pm 
