Yesterday reminded me that our dog, Fred, would’ve been ten years old a few days ago. He died in July 2002, following a drawn-out period of illness I prefer to forget. Mom was dead against having another dog back then, but feelings change over time, and lately we’ve been watching the local classifieds regularly.
Read More »Puppy Wanted
I guess I don’t pursue journalism as aggressively as I should. But at least I occasionally get good ideas; I sent a couple of moderately decent ideas to a certain film magazine a couple of months ago. Sadly, I heard nothing back.
Read More »My Babies!
Last week we had Saint George’s day, apparently. It always seems to cause a lot of fuss. On one side, people saying it ought to be a national holiday to ‘celebrate’ being British; on the other, people complaining that the patriotic sentiment might upset ethnic minorities.
Me, I think both arguments are without merit.
I don’t believe there are many Asians (or Italians or Lithuanians) out there who could give a toss whether it’s a holiday or not. Why should they?
As to celebrating being British, well, hey, if anyone wants to do that—whatever. I see patriotism as a pointless and sometimes harmful mindset based on no fact other than: ‘This is my country, ergo it’s brilliant!’ I certainly don’t want to hear rubbish about how great the British Empire was—I mean, yeah, we invaded a lot of other countries and took them over. We won a few pissing contests. Whoopee doo.
Read More »Say No to Patriotism
I said I shouldn’t make a habit of ebay! I’ve found myself bidding on a number of items and I’m trying to not get carried away…
Items won: Joseph Cotten’s autobiography for mom (though I want to read it too); Bowie’s Buddha of Suburbia (a Russian import w/his Labyrinth stuff on the same CD) and Tin Machine II—thus completing my Bowie studio album collection, finally—plus a bootleg of his 1.Outside outtakes. Fortunately, they were all reasonably priced; this could get seriously expensive if you’re not careful!
Read More »Bidding Frenzy
I said I would comment on my recent reading, so there!
If you’re looking for an extensive account of the production of the 20th Century’s greatest British film, Charles Drazin’s effort is well worth it. In Search of The Third Man (2000) can’t be faulted in terms of research and detail.
However… I think I saw question marks over the bits where Drazin got into more subjective areas—for instance, the pointless comparisons of director Carol Reed with Hitchcock, providing a rather meaningless and impertinent excuse to be critical of Hitch (for repeating himself endlessly and never taking chances, etc.). It’s true that Hitch had formulae, just as it’s true that Reed really didn’t… he didn’t make any two films alike, nor did he have a particular way of doing things that attracts special viewer recognition… but I don’t believe this can be made into a virtue any more convincingly than it could be seen as a failing. Hitch catches some heat for no good reason.
As does Orson Welles. Taking no chances is a bad thing in this book, but being a maverick with a healthy, independent ego is also apparently a bad thing! Welles is surely the anti-Hitch, though they both have in common the tragic flaw of not being Carol Reed. Welles acolytes have occasionally tried to suggest that OW practically directed and wrote The Third Man himself, but this is a senseless claim. The highly relevant fact that Welles personally made no such claim is dismissed by Drazin as false modesty! I mean, what was Orson to say to make the author happy? Highly puzzling.
Read More »In Search of the Third Man (2000)
I was outbid on the Orson book! Losing one’s virginity isn’t a guarantee of reaching orgasm, etc. 🙂 I’m bidding on something else at the moment, but I’d better not get smug about it.
E-mail news: being a bit flabby is one thing, but being told you look pregnant is another! I don’t tend to fish for compliments I don’t deserve, but this is ridiculous! My name is not Fern Britton and I don’t have my own personal ozone layer. Yet.
Read More »When’s the Baby Due?
Another warm, though not excessively bright, day. The hot stuff is coming! As you can see, I’m making a token effort to get in the mood for the weather… alas, less clothing only tends to prove I need to lose a few pounds. *sigh*
I’ve been thinking about money a lot again recently. I’m not stressing over it, though. I still want to be able to earn some cash from writing at some point—the recent writing I’ve done has been heaps better than any of my earlier work—but it’s going to be a slow road ahead unless I get lucky. (BTW: I’m talking about journalism, not creative/fiction stuff, which is a lost cause to all but the stubbornly dedicated and hugely prodigious.)
So the rat race beckons a little again. I’m resisting. At this exact moment in time, life is fairly comfortable, so I’m not letting the pressure bring me down. In some ways, though, I think the routine of a regular job would benefit me: it would break my horrendous sleeping patterns, for instance. I keep fairly busy—I do most of our shopping these days, as mom’s health is not great and she wants to hold down her part-time job for as long as she can. So I don’t feel useless. But an income can boost a person’s self-esteem and routine isn’t always a bad thing. Hmmm.
Read More »In the Mood
Went to Merryhill today, as I hadn’t been for a few months. This requires me to get a bus into Dudley first, as no nearby buses go straight to Merryhill itself. So, what the hell, I thought this snap of a major ‘landmark’ at the back of Dudley’s small shopping plaza, facing the bus station, might interest those who’ve never been:
Tuesday afternoon, a spot of shopping in Brum, reaping the following highlights: *New pair of sunglasses. My other pair is four years old and rather… Read More »Lots of Weather
Oh, er, yes, that last entry was a joke. I’m amazed to hear it fooled a few people. C’mon, we all know Blair will only… Read More »Not Really…
