Tuesday, January 01, 2008
I think that I have mostly been able to avoid the comedown. You know the comedown.
It is New Year's Day. It is a time for a new start and a new beginning. Everything is crisp and bright and shiny. What do you do on the first day?
Knock off that potentially million selling song before breakfast? Overhaul your CV? Write down that idea for a story/novel/movie/play and have a good think about it? Go for a jog? Eat a banana? Eat some muesli? Throw out all of those clothes that have been cluttering up your closet for the last 5 years?
Do you try to do something... and then find that you still feel like a failure? New year, same as the old year?
The comedown.
Only, I have fought it. I decided not to try to change the world today.
So, today I rose late, because I watched the Jools Holland annual Hootenanny until the early hours, after deciding that life was too short to suffer through any more of the tedium that was Take That at the O2 Arena. Even the Sugababes, who I love and were supporting, were dreadful and completely out of tune. I was surprised by that. They were magnificent when I saw them at the NEC early last year.
Lorraine and I watched the Christmas edition of "Extras" on Teleport. It was barely a comedy at all. An excellent piece of work, and a particularly pointed comment on fame and the pitfalls of fame, especially the 21st century fame of reality shows and tabloid notoriety. Of course it is ironic that "Extras" is co-written and directed by a successful man who at the moment never has a problem getting a table at the Ivy or getting his agent to return his calls. Maybe that moment is in his future and he knows it.
We then watched "The Rocketeer" (pulp brilliance and a clear reminder of what a knockout Jennifer Connelly was at 21, not that she is too bad at 38) and "Das Leben der Anderen Das" (a masterpiece - it made my top 10 films of last year).
I have washed up. I have done some ironing. Just need to ask Lorraine what she wants to do for the rest of the evening.
It has been an OK day and that is good. Starting tomorrow I will change the world.
It is New Year's Day. It is a time for a new start and a new beginning. Everything is crisp and bright and shiny. What do you do on the first day?
Knock off that potentially million selling song before breakfast? Overhaul your CV? Write down that idea for a story/novel/movie/play and have a good think about it? Go for a jog? Eat a banana? Eat some muesli? Throw out all of those clothes that have been cluttering up your closet for the last 5 years?
Do you try to do something... and then find that you still feel like a failure? New year, same as the old year?
The comedown.
Only, I have fought it. I decided not to try to change the world today.
So, today I rose late, because I watched the Jools Holland annual Hootenanny until the early hours, after deciding that life was too short to suffer through any more of the tedium that was Take That at the O2 Arena. Even the Sugababes, who I love and were supporting, were dreadful and completely out of tune. I was surprised by that. They were magnificent when I saw them at the NEC early last year.
Lorraine and I watched the Christmas edition of "Extras" on Teleport. It was barely a comedy at all. An excellent piece of work, and a particularly pointed comment on fame and the pitfalls of fame, especially the 21st century fame of reality shows and tabloid notoriety. Of course it is ironic that "Extras" is co-written and directed by a successful man who at the moment never has a problem getting a table at the Ivy or getting his agent to return his calls. Maybe that moment is in his future and he knows it.
We then watched "The Rocketeer" (pulp brilliance and a clear reminder of what a knockout Jennifer Connelly was at 21, not that she is too bad at 38) and "Das Leben der Anderen Das" (a masterpiece - it made my top 10 films of last year).
I have washed up. I have done some ironing. Just need to ask Lorraine what she wants to do for the rest of the evening.
It has been an OK day and that is good. Starting tomorrow I will change the world.
Labels: New Year
# posted by Pynchon @ 5:47 pm 
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Mrs P and I watched the Rocketeer. I love pulp genre films like that. It was a nice surprise to see that it was on as the day before I had purchased on DVD Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and The Phantom. We watched both of those after the Rocketeer.
It was a good day.
Happy New Year Mr Pynchon.
It was a good day.
Happy New Year Mr Pynchon.
We watched Jools' Hootenanny too and staggered off to sleep, rather worse for wear when it finished.
I'm rather glad I remember that.
Hope you have a lovely January!
I'm rather glad I remember that.
Hope you have a lovely January!
Rocketeer was a fun movie, from what I remember. Haven't seen it for years. Anyway, Happy New Year, Pynchon. Hope 2008 is a really great one for you.
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