Friday, February 15, 2008
I always read books in the mornings, in the half hour or hour before I have to leave to go to work. I do not read books at any other time, although I do read magazines compulsively: Any magazine that I can get my hands on.
I have just started reading "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons. I have read it, and the sequel "The Fall Of Hyperion" before, a very long time ago, but figured that if I wanted to start the next two books in the sequence ("Endymion" and "The Rise Of Endymion"), a refresher would probably be in order.
I will write about those books when I have finished them.
I have finished reading two books this year so far. "The Insider" and "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love".
"The Insider" was written by Piers Morgan, ex editor of the British tabloid newspapers "The News Of The World" and "The Daily Mirror". Wikipedia's entry on him is pretty expansive, so if you want to know more about his career, click away. I'll give you my take, anyway.
I think that Piers Morgan is a dark creature of the night. He is a vile, smug, arrogant, self satisfied scum sucker and bottom dweller. He is an inhabitant of the gutter and prone to historical revisionism. (Piers introduces Paul McCartney to Heather Mills! Piers convinces Tony Blair to run for a third term! Piers has private lunches with Diana Spencer and she tells him everything.) Piers was a tabloid editor with his fingers in many pies and many, many contacts. A tabloid editor who would sell his own Grandmother for good story. A man who considers muck racking and celebrity baiting a game and a game that he can play well. He is also, for an experienced newspaper man, quite a wooden and bad writer. The book is structured like a diary, but Piers fully admits that the source material was not a personal diary, but rather his, and his various P.A.'s, appointment diaries, with the relevant details filled in from memory.
Got that? OK.
It is a good job that the book is hilarious, tasteless, scurrilous and essential reading, isn't it? I really enjoyed "The Insider" as a guilty pleasure and would heartily recommend it to anybody who fancies a glimpse into the world of the tabloid hack and the gossip driven world that they circumnavigate. If one thing is demonstrated clearly by this book, it is the extent that celebrities will collaborate and collude with the media when it suits them to do so. Not that we didn't already know that, eh?
The second book I have finished reading this year is "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" by Raymond Carver.
Raymond Carver's short stories were the source material behind such magical films as Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" and Ray Lawrence's "Jindabyne" and I love them. Carver's stories are cold, hard and difficult to pin down. Imagine looking through a window and witnessing a scene mid flow, no beginning, no end. Then, imagine trying to make sense of that scene and where it fits into a bigger story. That is what a Carver story is like.
I think that Raymond Carver was a cold, hard genius. Also, he never used 20 words when he could get away with 10. A good lesson for everybody who tries to write.
I will write about films tomorrow.
********
I have a girl on my mind and it is not Lorraine. I think I am being stupid. I have no what she thinks of me.
I have just started reading "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons. I have read it, and the sequel "The Fall Of Hyperion" before, a very long time ago, but figured that if I wanted to start the next two books in the sequence ("Endymion" and "The Rise Of Endymion"), a refresher would probably be in order.
I will write about those books when I have finished them.
I have finished reading two books this year so far. "The Insider" and "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love".
"The Insider" was written by Piers Morgan, ex editor of the British tabloid newspapers "The News Of The World" and "The Daily Mirror". Wikipedia's entry on him is pretty expansive, so if you want to know more about his career, click away. I'll give you my take, anyway.
I think that Piers Morgan is a dark creature of the night. He is a vile, smug, arrogant, self satisfied scum sucker and bottom dweller. He is an inhabitant of the gutter and prone to historical revisionism. (Piers introduces Paul McCartney to Heather Mills! Piers convinces Tony Blair to run for a third term! Piers has private lunches with Diana Spencer and she tells him everything.) Piers was a tabloid editor with his fingers in many pies and many, many contacts. A tabloid editor who would sell his own Grandmother for good story. A man who considers muck racking and celebrity baiting a game and a game that he can play well. He is also, for an experienced newspaper man, quite a wooden and bad writer. The book is structured like a diary, but Piers fully admits that the source material was not a personal diary, but rather his, and his various P.A.'s, appointment diaries, with the relevant details filled in from memory.
Got that? OK.
It is a good job that the book is hilarious, tasteless, scurrilous and essential reading, isn't it? I really enjoyed "The Insider" as a guilty pleasure and would heartily recommend it to anybody who fancies a glimpse into the world of the tabloid hack and the gossip driven world that they circumnavigate. If one thing is demonstrated clearly by this book, it is the extent that celebrities will collaborate and collude with the media when it suits them to do so. Not that we didn't already know that, eh?
The second book I have finished reading this year is "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" by Raymond Carver.
Raymond Carver's short stories were the source material behind such magical films as Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" and Ray Lawrence's "Jindabyne" and I love them. Carver's stories are cold, hard and difficult to pin down. Imagine looking through a window and witnessing a scene mid flow, no beginning, no end. Then, imagine trying to make sense of that scene and where it fits into a bigger story. That is what a Carver story is like.
I think that Raymond Carver was a cold, hard genius. Also, he never used 20 words when he could get away with 10. A good lesson for everybody who tries to write.
I will write about films tomorrow.
********
I have a girl on my mind and it is not Lorraine. I think I am being stupid. I have no what she thinks of me.
Labels: Reading
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
I was very sad to read today that Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
I came late to Pratchett' work. In fact I started reading the 5th book in his Discworld series ("Sourcery") only last week. All good, funny books so far and lots more to go. Lorraine has read practically all of the Discworld books.
Part of Pratchett's statement on his condition.
"I know it's a very human thing to say 'is there anything I can do', but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry."
Nice one.
Get well soon, Mr. Pratchett.
I came late to Pratchett' work. In fact I started reading the 5th book in his Discworld series ("Sourcery") only last week. All good, funny books so far and lots more to go. Lorraine has read practically all of the Discworld books.
Part of Pratchett's statement on his condition.
"I know it's a very human thing to say 'is there anything I can do', but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry."
Nice one.
Get well soon, Mr. Pratchett.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Welcome to Pynchon's Political Corner, where the hot political questions of the day are asked and answered.
Today's question.
By deciding not to go for an early election, did Gordon Brown bottle it?
Today's answer.
Yes. Er... I mean No. I don't know. Maybe. If David Cameron (or Tony Blair or John Major or The Witch or James Callaghan or Harold Wilson, et al) had been Prime Minister, they would have made exactly the same decision. Only an insane Prime Minister would call an election when they didn't have to, if the polls showed a chance that their party might lose. Why risk it now?
So, bottling it? Maybe only making the only decision that could be made at the time.
Thanks for visiting. Pynchon's Political Corner will return... er... sometime.
******
Yesterday I saw "Michael Clayton" starring big (allegedly) George Clooney. Here is a nice picture of him, just for Katy. Poor guy. He's looking a bit tired, isn't he?
I liked "Michael Clayton" a great deal. It is a good, old fashioned, corporate conspiracy thriller that, 30 years ago, would have been headlined by someone like Robert Redford or Warren Beatty. Crucially neither gentleman would have been any better than George Clooney is in the starring role. I think that this is a tribute to how far George Clooney has come. He is now a bona fide movie actor as well as being a bona fide movie star. My lord, whisper it... He might even get an Oscar nomination for "Michael Clayton".
George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, shadowy fixer for a high powered law firm. You got a messy problem? You got an awkward situation? You need a cool head in your corner, and the problem tidied up quickly and smartly? Clayton is your man.
When a senior lawyer at the firm, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), working on a several billion dollar lawsuit, goes into serious mental meltdown, Clayton is called in to sort out the situation. What Clayton doesn't know is that Edens has been disturbed by certain evidence he has found while working on the case. Certain evidence that other interested parties most definitely do not want to come to light...
"Michael Clayton" is a great thriller. Smart, intelligent script and direction by Tony Gilroy (as tight and claustrophobic as the "Bourne" films). Great, multi-layered performance by George Clooney, and just brilliant support from Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton.
A proper grown up film. They do not make them like that anymore. You must see it.
******
I am now reading Philip Pullman's first novel in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, "Northern Lights". I have been desperate to start it for weeks, as the movie adaptation "The Golden Compass" opens on 5th December 2007, and I never like to watch a movie adaptation of a book I have only just finished reading. Months ago, Lorraine had lent the whole trilogy to a girl at work and she only returned it last week. She said she had never got around to reading it.
Silly girl.
I am about 100 pages into "Northern Lights". So far I think it is a great book. I am off now to read some more of it.
Later.
Today's question.
By deciding not to go for an early election, did Gordon Brown bottle it?
Today's answer.
Yes. Er... I mean No. I don't know. Maybe. If David Cameron (or Tony Blair or John Major or The Witch or James Callaghan or Harold Wilson, et al) had been Prime Minister, they would have made exactly the same decision. Only an insane Prime Minister would call an election when they didn't have to, if the polls showed a chance that their party might lose. Why risk it now?
So, bottling it? Maybe only making the only decision that could be made at the time.
Thanks for visiting. Pynchon's Political Corner will return... er... sometime.
******
Yesterday I saw "Michael Clayton" starring big (allegedly) George Clooney. Here is a nice picture of him, just for Katy. Poor guy. He's looking a bit tired, isn't he?
I liked "Michael Clayton" a great deal. It is a good, old fashioned, corporate conspiracy thriller that, 30 years ago, would have been headlined by someone like Robert Redford or Warren Beatty. Crucially neither gentleman would have been any better than George Clooney is in the starring role. I think that this is a tribute to how far George Clooney has come. He is now a bona fide movie actor as well as being a bona fide movie star. My lord, whisper it... He might even get an Oscar nomination for "Michael Clayton".
George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, shadowy fixer for a high powered law firm. You got a messy problem? You got an awkward situation? You need a cool head in your corner, and the problem tidied up quickly and smartly? Clayton is your man.
When a senior lawyer at the firm, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), working on a several billion dollar lawsuit, goes into serious mental meltdown, Clayton is called in to sort out the situation. What Clayton doesn't know is that Edens has been disturbed by certain evidence he has found while working on the case. Certain evidence that other interested parties most definitely do not want to come to light...
"Michael Clayton" is a great thriller. Smart, intelligent script and direction by Tony Gilroy (as tight and claustrophobic as the "Bourne" films). Great, multi-layered performance by George Clooney, and just brilliant support from Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton.
A proper grown up film. They do not make them like that anymore. You must see it.
******
I am now reading Philip Pullman's first novel in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, "Northern Lights". I have been desperate to start it for weeks, as the movie adaptation "The Golden Compass" opens on 5th December 2007, and I never like to watch a movie adaptation of a book I have only just finished reading. Months ago, Lorraine had lent the whole trilogy to a girl at work and she only returned it last week. She said she had never got around to reading it.
Silly girl.
I am about 100 pages into "Northern Lights". So far I think it is a great book. I am off now to read some more of it.
Later.
Labels: Movies, Politics, Reading
My entertaining weekend.
I finally finished reading "Making History".
I liked it well enough, mostly because of the ingenious central idea (*** SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS *** preventing the birth of Adolf Hitler precipitates a successful Final Solution to the Jewish problem *** END OF SPOILERS), but thought that it was slapdashly (is that a word?) and haphazardly written, almost as if Stephen Fry couldn't decide the kind of book he wanted to write. A bit surprising, that. You would imagine that anything written by such an erudite individual would would be kind of wonderful. Well, it was published in 1997. Perhaps his writing has got better?
I went to see "The Heartbreak Kid" starring Ben Stiller.
Lorraine loathes Ben Stiller. She loathes him almost as much, but not quite as much, as she loathes Jim Carrey. When I pointed out to her that Ben Stiller has been in some really good films, she said that that might well be the case, but those films were good despite Ben Stiller and not because of Ben Stiller.
How curious. I tend to think pretty much the opposite. I think a number of really average films have been improved by Ben Stiller being in the cast. And that just about brings us to "The Heartbreak Kid" .
Frankly, it is hardly a great film, but if you are a Farrelly Brothers fan, and I am, you will find enough to enjoy because it is exactly like all of their other films. I cannot make any comparison between this film and the original "The Heartbreak Kid", because I have never seen the original but Farrelly's version is stupid, rude, vulgar and gross out. As I said, just like all of their other films. Hey! No harm in watching one of those, once in a while.
I thought that Ben Stiller was good. Nobody plays Mr. Exasperated like Ben Stiller. I thought that Malin Akerman was good. Gorgeous and sexy and as mad as a fish. I thought that Michelle Monaghan was OK, but it was a thankless part as all she really had to be was pretty and nice and normal and the kind of girl you would introduce to your Mother. Jerry Stiller (Ben's Dad) was really funny.
"The Heartbreak Kid" is not subtle, but if you are in the right frame of mind, it is enjoyable.
Yesterday I saw "Michael Clayton", but I will write about that later. I have to get dressed to go to work.
Boo!
I finally finished reading "Making History".
I liked it well enough, mostly because of the ingenious central idea (*** SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS *** preventing the birth of Adolf Hitler precipitates a successful Final Solution to the Jewish problem *** END OF SPOILERS), but thought that it was slapdashly (is that a word?) and haphazardly written, almost as if Stephen Fry couldn't decide the kind of book he wanted to write. A bit surprising, that. You would imagine that anything written by such an erudite individual would would be kind of wonderful. Well, it was published in 1997. Perhaps his writing has got better?
I went to see "The Heartbreak Kid" starring Ben Stiller.
Lorraine loathes Ben Stiller. She loathes him almost as much, but not quite as much, as she loathes Jim Carrey. When I pointed out to her that Ben Stiller has been in some really good films, she said that that might well be the case, but those films were good despite Ben Stiller and not because of Ben Stiller.
How curious. I tend to think pretty much the opposite. I think a number of really average films have been improved by Ben Stiller being in the cast. And that just about brings us to "The Heartbreak Kid" .
Frankly, it is hardly a great film, but if you are a Farrelly Brothers fan, and I am, you will find enough to enjoy because it is exactly like all of their other films. I cannot make any comparison between this film and the original "The Heartbreak Kid", because I have never seen the original but Farrelly's version is stupid, rude, vulgar and gross out. As I said, just like all of their other films. Hey! No harm in watching one of those, once in a while.
I thought that Ben Stiller was good. Nobody plays Mr. Exasperated like Ben Stiller. I thought that Malin Akerman was good. Gorgeous and sexy and as mad as a fish. I thought that Michelle Monaghan was OK, but it was a thankless part as all she really had to be was pretty and nice and normal and the kind of girl you would introduce to your Mother. Jerry Stiller (Ben's Dad) was really funny.
"The Heartbreak Kid" is not subtle, but if you are in the right frame of mind, it is enjoyable.
Yesterday I saw "Michael Clayton", but I will write about that later. I have to get dressed to go to work.
Boo!
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
Monday, August 20, 2007
Lorraine has read nothing but Terry Pratchett "Discworld" novels all year. Today she started to read Hubert Selby Jr's novel "Last Exit To Brooklyn".
Her opinion?
"It's vile and disgusting. Really badly written. Awful. Just terrible. Terrible and awful."
So, you're not going to carry on with it, then?
"Of course I am!"
Hmm.
Her opinion?
"It's vile and disgusting. Really badly written. Awful. Just terrible. Terrible and awful."
So, you're not going to carry on with it, then?
"Of course I am!"
Hmm.
Labels: Reading
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Writers block, but I will fight my way through it.
Lorraine left yesterday to go to London. The funeral was today. I decided, as a little test, not to call her last night because I wanted to see if she would call me. She didn't. She did call this evening, at about 7pm, to say that she was at the station and that she would be back sometime later this evening. She said that she missed me, but I doubt that very much. I am an afterthought.
I watched "Heroes" on BBC2 last night. I don't know if it was just me, but I found the first two episodes kind of simplistic. Not unenjoyable, though. You can already see some of the threads interconnecting and it looks like it could be an interesting series. I will be tuning in again next week. According to a couple of people at work, who saw "Heroes" on the Sci-Fi Channel, it gets better and better and is worth sticking with.
I was going to write about "The Painted Veil", that I saw last Sunday, but I'm not going to do that tonight because I cannot think of a single thing to write other than 'I liked it' and the film is worth a bit more than that.
I was tagged by my friend Katy to do a little mememe, but I'm not going to do that either. Not today, anyway. Again, I cannot think of a single thing to write.
I could write about the number of people at work who were told yesterday that their jobs are 'at risk' (not me or Lorraine), because of the merger, but I don't care about any of them and cannot be arsed.
I have finished reading "Mort" by Terry Pratchett. I enjoyed it a lot. Next up will be "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood; a book I seem to remember somebody bought me a couple of years ago, when it won the Booker Prize. I know nothing about it and have picked it at random from the shelf because I liked the cover.
I think I'm going to bed.
Goodnight.
Lorraine left yesterday to go to London. The funeral was today. I decided, as a little test, not to call her last night because I wanted to see if she would call me. She didn't. She did call this evening, at about 7pm, to say that she was at the station and that she would be back sometime later this evening. She said that she missed me, but I doubt that very much. I am an afterthought.
I watched "Heroes" on BBC2 last night. I don't know if it was just me, but I found the first two episodes kind of simplistic. Not unenjoyable, though. You can already see some of the threads interconnecting and it looks like it could be an interesting series. I will be tuning in again next week. According to a couple of people at work, who saw "Heroes" on the Sci-Fi Channel, it gets better and better and is worth sticking with.
I was going to write about "The Painted Veil", that I saw last Sunday, but I'm not going to do that tonight because I cannot think of a single thing to write other than 'I liked it' and the film is worth a bit more than that.
I was tagged by my friend Katy to do a little mememe, but I'm not going to do that either. Not today, anyway. Again, I cannot think of a single thing to write.
I could write about the number of people at work who were told yesterday that their jobs are 'at risk' (not me or Lorraine), because of the merger, but I don't care about any of them and cannot be arsed.
I have finished reading "Mort" by Terry Pratchett. I enjoyed it a lot. Next up will be "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood; a book I seem to remember somebody bought me a couple of years ago, when it won the Booker Prize. I know nothing about it and have picked it at random from the shelf because I liked the cover.
I think I'm going to bed.
Goodnight.
Labels: Block, Movies, Reading, Television
Thursday, July 05, 2007
I've been reading Keith Allen's autobiography "Grow Up". (A great read, by the way. Even if it has been half ghost written by one of his exes, it gets the essence of the man down to a T.) This paragraph struck me.
"Some people argue that the condition we call love is a chemically induced state whose existence causes those feelings we articulate in order to define it. Others believe the opposite to be true. The feelings cause the chemical reaction. Me? I don't mind either way, to be quite honest. There is, however, one thing of which I'm absolutely certain. You lose intimacy - sexual or emotional - and your relationship as conceived is doomed."
Yes. I think I would agree with that.
I can be wilfully obscure when I want to be. I just choose not to be, most of the time. True, I do change the names to protect the innocent and the guilty, but my bag has always been to tell it all, leave nothing out and bore with the details.
I posted a clip from You Tube last night. The video of one of my favourite Blur songs, "She's So High". Maybe I was being deliberately obscure. I don't know. It was pretty clear to me. I do see Lorraine every day and it doesn't help me. I do want to crawl all over her. I think of her every day and every night. I go to sleep angry and furious with her because she has turned me into this pathetic thing.
This is not what I signed up for.
"Some people argue that the condition we call love is a chemically induced state whose existence causes those feelings we articulate in order to define it. Others believe the opposite to be true. The feelings cause the chemical reaction. Me? I don't mind either way, to be quite honest. There is, however, one thing of which I'm absolutely certain. You lose intimacy - sexual or emotional - and your relationship as conceived is doomed."
Yes. I think I would agree with that.
I can be wilfully obscure when I want to be. I just choose not to be, most of the time. True, I do change the names to protect the innocent and the guilty, but my bag has always been to tell it all, leave nothing out and bore with the details.
I posted a clip from You Tube last night. The video of one of my favourite Blur songs, "She's So High". Maybe I was being deliberately obscure. I don't know. It was pretty clear to me. I do see Lorraine every day and it doesn't help me. I do want to crawl all over her. I think of her every day and every night. I go to sleep angry and furious with her because she has turned me into this pathetic thing.
This is not what I signed up for.
Labels: Lorraine, Music, Reading
Thursday, June 28, 2007
I am supposed to be reading the next Terry Pratchett "Discworld" novel, but instead I've been been reading Keith Allen's autobiography "Grow Up". It was an impulse buy, in hardback, even though I vowed not less than a week ago that impulse buys were definitely out of the question for the foreseeable future, seeing as I have very little actual fucking money. Despite the fact that I am nearly half way through it, and he has yet to have any dealings with anybody famous, it is a really funny read. Well worth the money.
Some might disagree, but I think Keith Allen is a great talent. "Gino: Full Story And Pics" is still my favourite of the "Comic Strip" series. His documentary "Keith Allen Will Burn In Hell", shown last week on Channel 4, about the activities of the Westboro Baptist Church (purveyors of the insanity of this website and this website), is an absolute classic. They should show it in schools.
********
The UK has been having a bit of rain.
(You don't say. I do say!)
I shouldn't make light of it. People have died and houses have been wrecked. It's been difficult for a lot of people. Where I live, it is easy for me to shrug my shoulders and say "It's a shame, but so what?" I have never been flooded out. (I don't count the water leak in 2002, although I have never entered the kitchen since without checking the ceiling.) I suppose my house must be on higher ground.
I got a small lesson in the effect of the flooding when visiting the Midlands Art Centre last Sunday to see a film. There was a small sign at reception which said something like this.
"We apologize for any inconvenience caused by last week's closure of the cinema. The closure was due to massive flooding in Cannon Hill Park and the subsequent flooding of the cinema. Patrons may notice, at present, a damp smell in the cinema and we wish to apologise for this. We are told that the smell will abate in time and beg for your patience and understanding."
(Lovely note, by the way. Very sincere.)
I had a walk around the park and witnessed some of the attempts to limit the devastation of the week before. (God knows what it is like now. The rain started up again, this week.) It had been tidied up, but there were sandbags and mud and shit everywhere. The lake looks like it had burst it's banks. You could see the marks on the ground.
If I ever seriously got flooded out I would freak. I don't like water where it shouldn't be. I especially wouldn't like water in my living room or by my TV or computer. Water belongs in taps, sinks and baths. And the Ocean.
********
There are a lot of squirrels in Cannon Hill Park. Very skinny squirrels. I get a lot of squirrels in my back garden. It is not unknown for six or seven of the buggers to caper about my back garden, having a laugh, stealing the seed and nuts I put out every week for the poor, starving little birdies. Every single one of the squirrels in my back garden are fat.
(How fat are squirrels supposed to be? I don't know.)
In Cannon Hill Park I witnessed a teenage girl trying to entice a squirrel to eat some crisps. She had put the crisps on the ground, had stepped away and was making clicking noises with her tounge. The squirrel was having none of it. He was halfway up a tree giving the girl the evil eye. The girl's boyfriend, standing behind her, looked at me and I looked at him. He shrugged and gave me a look that spoke volumes.
Silly cow, is what the look said.
********
I had not eaten and I was hungry. There was time before the film started, so I went to the Midlands Art Centre restaurant, ordered a bowl of chilli, chips and rice and sat eating it. A lady and a guy came in with a young baby. The guy ordered food and they sat down. The lady undid her blouse, took off her bra, prepped a nipple and started breast feeding the baby.
I stared. I don't think I was the only one who stared. Eventually I decided not to be so fucking rude and concentrated on my bowl of food.
This is the 21st century. A woman feeding her child in a perfectly natural way in a public place should not be of any interest at all, but it is. I don't know why it is.
True, maybe I would have been less inclined to look if she had not been a gorgeous redhead with shoulder length hair, green eyes, full red lips, creamy pale skin, great tits and wearing the kind of peasant blouse that has turned me on since I saw Linda Hayden wearing one in "Blood On Satan's Claw" when I was about 14.
Shallow. That's me.
********
More tomorrow.
Some might disagree, but I think Keith Allen is a great talent. "Gino: Full Story And Pics" is still my favourite of the "Comic Strip" series. His documentary "Keith Allen Will Burn In Hell", shown last week on Channel 4, about the activities of the Westboro Baptist Church (purveyors of the insanity of this website and this website), is an absolute classic. They should show it in schools.
********
The UK has been having a bit of rain.
(You don't say. I do say!)
I shouldn't make light of it. People have died and houses have been wrecked. It's been difficult for a lot of people. Where I live, it is easy for me to shrug my shoulders and say "It's a shame, but so what?" I have never been flooded out. (I don't count the water leak in 2002, although I have never entered the kitchen since without checking the ceiling.) I suppose my house must be on higher ground.
I got a small lesson in the effect of the flooding when visiting the Midlands Art Centre last Sunday to see a film. There was a small sign at reception which said something like this.
"We apologize for any inconvenience caused by last week's closure of the cinema. The closure was due to massive flooding in Cannon Hill Park and the subsequent flooding of the cinema. Patrons may notice, at present, a damp smell in the cinema and we wish to apologise for this. We are told that the smell will abate in time and beg for your patience and understanding."
(Lovely note, by the way. Very sincere.)
I had a walk around the park and witnessed some of the attempts to limit the devastation of the week before. (God knows what it is like now. The rain started up again, this week.) It had been tidied up, but there were sandbags and mud and shit everywhere. The lake looks like it had burst it's banks. You could see the marks on the ground.
If I ever seriously got flooded out I would freak. I don't like water where it shouldn't be. I especially wouldn't like water in my living room or by my TV or computer. Water belongs in taps, sinks and baths. And the Ocean.
********
There are a lot of squirrels in Cannon Hill Park. Very skinny squirrels. I get a lot of squirrels in my back garden. It is not unknown for six or seven of the buggers to caper about my back garden, having a laugh, stealing the seed and nuts I put out every week for the poor, starving little birdies. Every single one of the squirrels in my back garden are fat.
(How fat are squirrels supposed to be? I don't know.)
In Cannon Hill Park I witnessed a teenage girl trying to entice a squirrel to eat some crisps. She had put the crisps on the ground, had stepped away and was making clicking noises with her tounge. The squirrel was having none of it. He was halfway up a tree giving the girl the evil eye. The girl's boyfriend, standing behind her, looked at me and I looked at him. He shrugged and gave me a look that spoke volumes.
Silly cow, is what the look said.
********
I had not eaten and I was hungry. There was time before the film started, so I went to the Midlands Art Centre restaurant, ordered a bowl of chilli, chips and rice and sat eating it. A lady and a guy came in with a young baby. The guy ordered food and they sat down. The lady undid her blouse, took off her bra, prepped a nipple and started breast feeding the baby.
I stared. I don't think I was the only one who stared. Eventually I decided not to be so fucking rude and concentrated on my bowl of food.
This is the 21st century. A woman feeding her child in a perfectly natural way in a public place should not be of any interest at all, but it is. I don't know why it is.
True, maybe I would have been less inclined to look if she had not been a gorgeous redhead with shoulder length hair, green eyes, full red lips, creamy pale skin, great tits and wearing the kind of peasant blouse that has turned me on since I saw Linda Hayden wearing one in "Blood On Satan's Claw" when I was about 14.
Shallow. That's me.
********
More tomorrow.
Labels: Reading, Sex, Squirrels, Weather
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
We have been preoccupied.
Lorraine's Step Dad, Ian, has been diagnosed with bowel cancer. From what I have wrangled out of Lorraine, the initial diagnosis is that the problem can be addressed by a simple operation and that no chemotherapy will be necessary. This is little comfort to Lorraine who remembers being told exactly the same thing when her Mom was diagnosed with cancer. We know how that ended.
Ian will be going into hospital next week. Lorraine will be taking a little time off work to stay with Ian's missus Penny. The Company have made sympathetic noises, but are probably less than impressed, as certain targets are now not going to be hit.
Hey, you know what I think? Fuck 'em. Lorraine thinks the same. Good girl.
Lorraine loses herself in routine. I can also lose myself in routine. The routine of writing drivel. That I can do quite easily.
"Jindabyne".
"Jindabyne" is a brilliant adaptation of the Raymond Carver story "So Much Water So Close To Home". The story was adapted before in 1993 as one of the many plot strands of Robert Altman's movie "Short Cuts" (by the way, another great movie).
Away from home on a fishing trip, four men find the body of a dead girl in a river. Rather than inform the authorities straight away, the men tie the body up to prevent it floating away and continue with their fishing trip. The film deals with the consequences of that decision.
"Jindabyne" is a brilliant, brilliant film. Beautifully shot in muted browns, greens and yellows amid the panoramic vistas of the Australian outback, it deals with death and the aftermath of death, grief, depression and feelings long considered buried. It is a proper grown up, adult, melancholic, and sometimes spooky film ,and it is really good.
I've long thought that Laura Linney is one of the great unsung treasures of modern mainstream cinema, and make no mistake, this is her showcase from start to end. She gives a wonderful and subtle performance as Gabriel Byrne's damaged wife. Gabriel Byrne is also wonderful. He is such an underrated actor. Real power, anger and distress behind his eyes. He should do more work.
Great film. Highly recommended.
"Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End".
"Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End" is too much.
Trust me. It's not a recommendation.
It is too long, too loud, too boring and there is too much stuff going on onscreen. Utterly confusing and incoherent. As for the acting... I know that it is too much to expect anything more than acting broad strokes in a Summer Blockbuster tent pole release, but Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley were personality vacuums and Johnny Depp was not nearly as funny as in the previous movies. And Keith Richards cameo? OK. I admit it. I did smile when he appeared.
Keef rules!
Yes, "Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End" cost a lot of money, and make no mistake, the money is all up there on the screen ( the special effects are astounding), but it is a terrible, terrible movie in almost every other way possible. Repeat after me, special effects alone do not a movie make.
I hear that "Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End" has just won the best movie in the MTV awards. Ah... I take it all back, then. Stupid children.
Oh, well. What do I know? I didn't even want to see it. I was only dragged along by Lorraine on her annual trip to the flicks. Thank God she didn't want to see "Spider-Man 3: Pile Of Pee". Urgh.
I have finished reading "The Circe Complex" by Desmond Cory. I enjoyed it a great deal. Even though it was written in the mid 70's, I think that it would still make a very good movie. I remember very well the "Armchair Thriller" production on ITV in 1980 that starred Beth Morris, Alan David and James Hazeldine. Very tense and scary. Hmm... I especially remember Beth Morris, who was a particular favourite of mine around that time. She played Caligula's very naughty sister Drusilla in "I, Claudius", a couple of years earlier. It's about time I watched that again. I have it on DVD.
Inspired by "Jindabyne", I am now reading Raymond Carver's first collection of short stories, "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" Devastating snapshots of real life and what goes on under the surface of real life. I've nearly finished it.
It is only June and I have booked this year's, or more accurately, next year's Panto. Lorraine (assuming she is still with me), my Niece and Nephew will be going to see "Aladdin" at the Birmingham Hippodrome on 5th January 2008. The reason for the early booking? John Barrowman is scheduled to star and Lorraine really likes John Barrowman. Actually, so do I. Very talented guy. We have seen him onstage a couple of times.
Here is a picture of him. For the ladies.
Sorry to say, ladies, but he's married. To a very nice architect called Scott Gill.
Apparently making an appearance at the Panto will be the Daleks, which was of much more interest to my Niece and Nephew.
Finally, I mentioned that I am writing something. I will keep it under my hat for the moment, but it is a big alternate history that will span 50 years. I may never finish it. It is driving me mad. I am dreaming about it.
Another time.
Lorraine's Step Dad, Ian, has been diagnosed with bowel cancer. From what I have wrangled out of Lorraine, the initial diagnosis is that the problem can be addressed by a simple operation and that no chemotherapy will be necessary. This is little comfort to Lorraine who remembers being told exactly the same thing when her Mom was diagnosed with cancer. We know how that ended.
Ian will be going into hospital next week. Lorraine will be taking a little time off work to stay with Ian's missus Penny. The Company have made sympathetic noises, but are probably less than impressed, as certain targets are now not going to be hit.
Hey, you know what I think? Fuck 'em. Lorraine thinks the same. Good girl.
Lorraine loses herself in routine. I can also lose myself in routine. The routine of writing drivel. That I can do quite easily.
"Jindabyne".
"Jindabyne" is a brilliant adaptation of the Raymond Carver story "So Much Water So Close To Home". The story was adapted before in 1993 as one of the many plot strands of Robert Altman's movie "Short Cuts" (by the way, another great movie).
Away from home on a fishing trip, four men find the body of a dead girl in a river. Rather than inform the authorities straight away, the men tie the body up to prevent it floating away and continue with their fishing trip. The film deals with the consequences of that decision.
"Jindabyne" is a brilliant, brilliant film. Beautifully shot in muted browns, greens and yellows amid the panoramic vistas of the Australian outback, it deals with death and the aftermath of death, grief, depression and feelings long considered buried. It is a proper grown up, adult, melancholic, and sometimes spooky film ,and it is really good.
I've long thought that Laura Linney is one of the great unsung treasures of modern mainstream cinema, and make no mistake, this is her showcase from start to end. She gives a wonderful and subtle performance as Gabriel Byrne's damaged wife. Gabriel Byrne is also wonderful. He is such an underrated actor. Real power, anger and distress behind his eyes. He should do more work.
Great film. Highly recommended.
"Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End".
"Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End" is too much.
Trust me. It's not a recommendation.
It is too long, too loud, too boring and there is too much stuff going on onscreen. Utterly confusing and incoherent. As for the acting... I know that it is too much to expect anything more than acting broad strokes in a Summer Blockbuster tent pole release, but Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley were personality vacuums and Johnny Depp was not nearly as funny as in the previous movies. And Keith Richards cameo? OK. I admit it. I did smile when he appeared.
Keef rules!
Yes, "Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End" cost a lot of money, and make no mistake, the money is all up there on the screen ( the special effects are astounding), but it is a terrible, terrible movie in almost every other way possible. Repeat after me, special effects alone do not a movie make.
I hear that "Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End" has just won the best movie in the MTV awards. Ah... I take it all back, then. Stupid children.
Oh, well. What do I know? I didn't even want to see it. I was only dragged along by Lorraine on her annual trip to the flicks. Thank God she didn't want to see "Spider-Man 3: Pile Of Pee". Urgh.
I have finished reading "The Circe Complex" by Desmond Cory. I enjoyed it a great deal. Even though it was written in the mid 70's, I think that it would still make a very good movie. I remember very well the "Armchair Thriller" production on ITV in 1980 that starred Beth Morris, Alan David and James Hazeldine. Very tense and scary. Hmm... I especially remember Beth Morris, who was a particular favourite of mine around that time. She played Caligula's very naughty sister Drusilla in "I, Claudius", a couple of years earlier. It's about time I watched that again. I have it on DVD.
Inspired by "Jindabyne", I am now reading Raymond Carver's first collection of short stories, "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" Devastating snapshots of real life and what goes on under the surface of real life. I've nearly finished it.
It is only June and I have booked this year's, or more accurately, next year's Panto. Lorraine (assuming she is still with me), my Niece and Nephew will be going to see "Aladdin" at the Birmingham Hippodrome on 5th January 2008. The reason for the early booking? John Barrowman is scheduled to star and Lorraine really likes John Barrowman. Actually, so do I. Very talented guy. We have seen him onstage a couple of times.
Here is a picture of him. For the ladies.
Sorry to say, ladies, but he's married. To a very nice architect called Scott Gill.
Apparently making an appearance at the Panto will be the Daleks, which was of much more interest to my Niece and Nephew.
Finally, I mentioned that I am writing something. I will keep it under my hat for the moment, but it is a big alternate history that will span 50 years. I may never finish it. It is driving me mad. I am dreaming about it.
Another time.
Labels: Illness, Reading, The Company, Writing
Thursday, May 03, 2007
A couple of days ago I finally finished reading "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. From the cows in the field to the slaughterhouses to the smiling (or scowling - a special Hi there! to the employees at Burger King in Martineau Square, Birmingham) staff serving you the crap at your local McDonalds/Burger King/Kentucky Fried Chicken . Shocking stuff, it must be said. Much more shocking than the movie "Super Size Me", because I thought the argument of that movie was pretty bloody obvious unless you were retarded. If you eat nothing but McDonalds food constantly for 30 days obviously you would make yourself ill. Everybody knows that, don't they?
No?
Oh dear. The human race is fucked then.
Even after reading "Fast Food Nation" I don't think I could ever become a vegetarian. I like meat, but from now on I will endeavour to eat a better quality of meat. I have stopped eating the ground up, dodgy meat slop that they constantly serve up in The Company canteen. No more burgers, chilli, bolognaise, etc. It's shit and I've always known it.
Lecture over. I'm not on a mission to save to world, but I don't intend to go into a burger joint ever again. Not lovin' it.
(The movie adaptation of "Fast Food Nation" starts in the UK today on limited release, but sadly not in Birmingham. I think the MAC has it in June.)
I am now reading something lighter. "Equal Rites" by Terry Pratchett, which is the 3rd in the "Discworld" series. Very good, so far, but it is early days yet. This year I intend every 3rd book that I read to be a "Discworld" novel. We have 11 of the buggers on the shelf and Lorraine has read 10 of them. The one she hasn't read is "Hogfather", but that is only because it is number 21 in the series and she hasn't read the first 20 yet.
Lorraine and I have voted. She claims she voted Green Party, but I think she is a closet Liberal Democrat. Me? I voted Labour, to keep the Tory scum out.
Forgive me.
No?
Oh dear. The human race is fucked then.
Even after reading "Fast Food Nation" I don't think I could ever become a vegetarian. I like meat, but from now on I will endeavour to eat a better quality of meat. I have stopped eating the ground up, dodgy meat slop that they constantly serve up in The Company canteen. No more burgers, chilli, bolognaise, etc. It's shit and I've always known it.
Lecture over. I'm not on a mission to save to world, but I don't intend to go into a burger joint ever again. Not lovin' it.
(The movie adaptation of "Fast Food Nation" starts in the UK today on limited release, but sadly not in Birmingham. I think the MAC has it in June.)
I am now reading something lighter. "Equal Rites" by Terry Pratchett, which is the 3rd in the "Discworld" series. Very good, so far, but it is early days yet. This year I intend every 3rd book that I read to be a "Discworld" novel. We have 11 of the buggers on the shelf and Lorraine has read 10 of them. The one she hasn't read is "Hogfather", but that is only because it is number 21 in the series and she hasn't read the first 20 yet.
Lorraine and I have voted. She claims she voted Green Party, but I think she is a closet Liberal Democrat. Me? I voted Labour, to keep the Tory scum out.
Forgive me.
Friday, February 16, 2007
I had no intention of doing a second post today, but Lorraine decided to watch some ghastly piece of shit movie on TV (the horror has burnt the title out of my brain), so here I am.
Nothing much to write about.
Ah, I know...
Firstly, in an act of blatant self promotion I would like to announce that my Earworms are up on Swiss Toni's blog.
Secondly, I am now reading Stephen King's "The Dark Tower V: Wolves Of The Calla". So far, so good. I really love Stephen King, but it's probably been years since I have actually read any King.
Since the last time I mentioned reading I have finished Lawrence Block's "Tanner's Tiger", which was OK, but was not the best Lawrence Block I've ever read, and Terry Pratchett's "The Light Fantastic", which I enjoyed very much. Lorraine has gone slightly mental on the "Discworld" books. She is now on number six and thinks that I should buy the rest for her.
Yeah, right.
Quiet night. I'm off to listen to some music.
Nothing much to write about.
Ah, I know...
Firstly, in an act of blatant self promotion I would like to announce that my Earworms are up on Swiss Toni's blog.
Secondly, I am now reading Stephen King's "The Dark Tower V: Wolves Of The Calla". So far, so good. I really love Stephen King, but it's probably been years since I have actually read any King.
Since the last time I mentioned reading I have finished Lawrence Block's "Tanner's Tiger", which was OK, but was not the best Lawrence Block I've ever read, and Terry Pratchett's "The Light Fantastic", which I enjoyed very much. Lorraine has gone slightly mental on the "Discworld" books. She is now on number six and thinks that I should buy the rest for her.
Yeah, right.
Quiet night. I'm off to listen to some music.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Excuse me while I swallow this lump in my throat. (Swallows.)
Also, I need to wipe away this tear. (Wipes.)
I've literally just finished reading "The Time Traveler's Wife". I am a complete and utter wuss. Nobody told me it was a love story and a weepie and that I would be experiencing many a quivering lip and misty eye moment.
Bastards.
They are planning a movie of "The Time Traveler's Wife" and are in discussions with Rachel McAdams to play Clare. I think that she would be a mighty fine choice. Henry? I don't know. I believe that at one point Brad Pitt was attached. Not bad, but somebody like Patrick Wilson would be better.
Next book up? "Tanner's Tiger" by Lawrence Block.
Talking about movies, I saw two at the weekend - "The Fountain" and "Venus". I liked them both a great deal. Time permitting I will go into them tomorrow. Not now. I am beyond tired.
(Tired of a lot of things, really. Situations. People. Missed opportunities. I'll go into it sometime. At the moment I like my isolation.
I'm mysterious, me...)
Also, I need to wipe away this tear. (Wipes.)
I've literally just finished reading "The Time Traveler's Wife". I am a complete and utter wuss. Nobody told me it was a love story and a weepie and that I would be experiencing many a quivering lip and misty eye moment.
Bastards.
They are planning a movie of "The Time Traveler's Wife" and are in discussions with Rachel McAdams to play Clare. I think that she would be a mighty fine choice. Henry? I don't know. I believe that at one point Brad Pitt was attached. Not bad, but somebody like Patrick Wilson would be better.
Next book up? "Tanner's Tiger" by Lawrence Block.
Talking about movies, I saw two at the weekend - "The Fountain" and "Venus". I liked them both a great deal. Time permitting I will go into them tomorrow. Not now. I am beyond tired.
(Tired of a lot of things, really. Situations. People. Missed opportunities. I'll go into it sometime. At the moment I like my isolation.
I'm mysterious, me...)
