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Books

Dreamcatcher (2003)

We watched Dreamcatcher last night. Was it worth the entry fee? Well, unsurprisingly, not really. But it was okay.

The main criticism going around seems to be, if you’ve not read the book, it might be awfully confusing due to how various elements are condensed. This is largely true: the ‘memory warehouse’ idea, for instance, doesn’t play as important a role here as in the book—in fact, it seems like merely a gimmick—so it probably should’ve been left out completely… and the way in which the gang of four’s history with Duddits is skimmed over quickly lessens his significance overall.

Dreamcatcher (2003)
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Stuck in the House

Terrible, rainy weather today. I’m not really stuck in the house, but I had a couple of non-urgent errands that this wretched downpour has dissuaded me from doing today. (Okay, I’m a wuss. Sue me.)

I had plans for last Wednesday. Saruman himself, Christopher Lee, was signing his autobiography, Lord of Misrule, in London at Forbidden Planet on Saturday and Borders on Wednesday. I thought I’d go for Wednesday. Alas, irrevocable transport problems put the kibosh on my plans… I did finally make it into Brum, but too late to get an affordable train that would’ve been on time. My only choice was a Virgin train for £30. I was forced to admit defeat.

Stuck in the House
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Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

So, Lord of the Rings. The first episode, that is. It’s funny to think back, because two years ago I was really hot to see this at the cinema. I even re-read the books in anticipation of it. But it never happened, and my interest sort of waned.

Since getting a DVD player—we were probably at least two years behind most people there—my interest revived. (My interest in buying films on the whole has revived; I’d become entirely disillusioned with the horrors of VHS.) Last Thursday, I spotted a copy at Asda for a little under eight pounds. That clinched it.

Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
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Live Long and Prospero

The puns get worse^. Richard Whiteley’s gonna sue any day now.

Okay, the first of a few postings on recent stuff I’ve read/seen, to catch up a bit. Last week, I finally got hold of a copy of Garen Ewing’s comic-style adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Thanks, Garen! You can visit his Web site for details on this and much more.
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A Smart Title Eludes Me Today

I might not have been posting, but somehow, the temptation to fiddle around with the site has persisted. I don’t think I’ll ever be as happy with the design of this thing as with other, less personal ones I’ve done.

I’ve removed the short-lived dropdown menus, anyway. I don’t know how to make them validate as XHTML strict, and while I’m using ‘transitional’ right now, I want to feel able to switch if it suddenly seems like a good idea.

I need a new photo, too. The current one is kind of crap, but it’s the most recent I have (last January). I think I’ll wait until I get a haircut, which ought to be soon, because I have a feeling the Ozzy Osbourne style isn’t all that flattering…
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Strictly Window Shopping

Shopping Day today. Choice of venue: Birmingham. I rather like doing this on a Thursday, and thankfully, my sexy government fandango being on temporary hiatus meant nothing cramped my style. 😉

In Waterstone’s, I spotted This is Orson Welles. This is a collection of interviews Peter Bogdanovich conducted with the great man, plus extracts from the Touch of Evil memo, etc. I almost bought it. I mean, it’s just too good! But the price tag prevented me (£16.50). Anyone feeling generous? 🙂 I should compile an Amazon Wish List.

Strictly Window Shopping
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Just a Job, Honest

I’ve just finished reading Doug Warren’s official James Cagney biography. After the Orson one, I was in a biog mood (actually, a mood to read more on Orson, but that’ll have to wait), and mom recommended this, which she’d read and enjoyed some time ago.

I’m not a big Cagney fan, really. I think he was a great personality and a fine actor, but many of the films he appeared in were not to my taste. (Reading this book, ironically, I find they often weren’t to Cagney’s taste either.) With Cagney being a rather private person, and this book being authorised, it’s a pretty slim volume, and eschews a lot of in-depth probing… but there’s still some interesting insight.
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Reading the Small Print

Yes, I am reading something at the moment. Watching Touch of Evil a couple of weeks ago gave me the urge to read the eponymous Orson Welles biography by Barbara Leaming.

This has been in our house for a while now, and mom’s already read it. She didn’t like the writing style much. On the whole, I tend to agree—the sentence structure and phrasing is often awkward, and somewhat quaint… but there’s a lot of interesting stuff underneath the stylistic problems.

I’m much more keen to read the Frank Brady bio, Citizen Welles, but it appears to currently be out of print in the UK. If anyone sees a copy going cheap in a second-hand store, hey, drop me a line.
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