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Television

Comic Relief

I’ve rather annoyingly got interested in that Comic Relief Does Fame Academy thing. Generally, anything to do with Comic Relief is anathema to me—this has nothing to do with the cause, which is terrific, so much as the second-rate standard of the shows. But there has been a compelling, macabre kind of fascination generated by Ruby Wax’s performances, and Kwame (the black bloke out of Casualty) has a damn fine voice, actually. He looks damn fine too. You won’t get great odds on him being the winner.

The Comic Relief night itself looks to be the typical banal lineup. Lenny Henry doing Michael Jackson, presumably on serious steroids, promises to be as funny as herpes. The Martin Bashir interview literally defies parody, in any case.
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Christmas Entertainment

No updates over Christmas period. I couldn’t be arsed. Actually, I have (yet again) been wondering what purpose this Web site serves at all, and I’m lost for answers. It is something to do when all else fails, yes. I enjoy fiddling with it sometimes. But it doesn’t really say much or do much. It’s just there. Hmmm.

Christmas was quite boring. The television was generally rubbish, so no surprises there. The Only Fools and Horses special was pretty good—somewhat better than last year’s weak effort, anyhow. I OD’d on the soaps a bit, and they were, uh, full of shocks… Jamie died in EastEnders (wow, big surprise), Ray was the stalker in Emmerdale (wow, even bigger surprise), and Richard didn’t kill anyone in Corry (actually, that was a surprise).

The Hound of the Baskervilles film (mentioned here) was fairly good. It wasn’t quite as faithful to the original as had been implied, but I did like it. Although, Richard E. Grant being in it (as Stapleton) made me realise what an absolutely perfect Sherlock Holmes he’d make. Richard Roxburgh’s Holmes was okay, but Grant could have been genuinely great. A missed opportunity.
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Creativity

Thinking about creative stuff. Again.

I’m not sure I actually enjoy writing all that much… the results can be pleasing on occasion, but the process itself, I’m not so sure about… I have a strong feeling I’m just grasping at something a few people seem to think I do well. I’ve read interviews with lots of writers and they always say, ‘I just have to write. Even if I was penniless and a complete failure, I’d still have a write. It’s a need.’ I don’t feel that. I’m just trying to find something that I can earn money from.

I did enjoy drawing. A long time ago. But once I realised I was crap, the enjoyment disappeared a good deal, because I’d spent several years chasing something I wasn’t real good at.
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Goodbye Chrimbo

YES! Christmas is over. Should I be glad? Don’t really know. Anyway, I wish everyone a great New Year.

It wasn’t the worst Christmas ever… I’ve spent a lot of time (maybe too much) re-reading Lord of the Rings, which I had not experienced since… oh, maybe 1985. I figured I should do this if I plan to see the film sometime, as I don’t remember all that much about it and, if I have criticisms, I’d like them to be well informed.
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I am the Weakest Link!

Irregular blog entries = strong indication of continuing lack of enthusiasm.

How do I feel at the moment? Good and bad, in an odd sort of way. At times, I think I have a shitload of things to say here but my mind often goes blank when it comes to putting them down—quite often, it’s fleeting observations on some television programme I watched, etc., so nothing too exciting.

On the telly theme, it bothers me a bit that I sit and watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire and The Weakest Link, not with detached boredom but almost a genuine level of interest! Am I turning into a middle-aged couch potato? Even worse, the ‘Who Shot Phil?’ palaver on EastEnders had me fairly gripped. I should be ashamed of myself.
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Train Delay Shocker!

Our beloved train service strikes again. The train a friend I’m meeting up with should have caught around 6:00pm was cancelled. Ergo, the anticipated arrival in Birmingham at 9:00pm now looks more like 11:00pm! This leaves me with little to do right now except write this and have a moan about how crap the trains are.
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