Monkey Express
Qing Lit. went fantastically well yesterday, but wasn't as good as the totally kickass game of Starchildren we played in the evening. I refer the interested to the forum thread on RPGnet.
Music & Religion is tomorrow - I spent a load of time skimming books from the reading list in the library today. I was going to take them out, but I remembered I was using a borrowed library card, and until I changed my appearance to that of a blonde girl from Luxembourg, that picture wasn't going to fool anybody. Anyway, it's a lovely sunny day, so I'm going to go shopping and then maybe think about revising in the courtyard. Or the pub. You can tell I'm not overly concerned about this exam, can't you?
Thursday, May 29
Tuesday, May 27
Sunday, May 25
Wogan hits Riga
Dear God, it's Eurovision time again.
The German entry is mental. The Russians are being represented by t.A.t.U. (or however the hell you're meant to capitalise that).
Gah. It's no wonder I forget about this event's existence unless forcibly reminded of it.
Dear God, it's Eurovision time again.
The German entry is mental. The Russians are being represented by t.A.t.U. (or however the hell you're meant to capitalise that).
Gah. It's no wonder I forget about this event's existence unless forcibly reminded of it.
Friday, May 23
Thursday, May 22
Exams Summary
Music, Shamanism & Healing - talked about Korea, Tarantism and the kecak, desperately trying to shoehorn references to Antonin Artaud in to the last one.
Modern Chinese Literature: Analysis and Interpretation - dropped one question on the factual knowledge, evaluated the macho poetry of Guo Moruo, overused the word "everyman" while talking about The True Story of Ah Q.
Music, Shamanism & Healing - talked about Korea, Tarantism and the kecak, desperately trying to shoehorn references to Antonin Artaud in to the last one.
Modern Chinese Literature: Analysis and Interpretation - dropped one question on the factual knowledge, evaluated the macho poetry of Guo Moruo, overused the word "everyman" while talking about The True Story of Ah Q.
Tuesday, May 20
Stream o' Consciousness
All things are possible. Except, I am given to understand, being all things to all men.
Though maybe if you were St. Thomas More like in that Robert Bolt play, A Man For All Season...
Do you remember that song, "Girl For All Seasons", that was in Grease 2? No, neither do I. Grease 2 wasn't much cop, was it?
Speaking of cops, I saw something on TV today called Streets of San Francisco, a police drama featuring a youthful but still lizard-like Michael Douglas.
Did you know that Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas? But obviously he had to have a stage name, because Michael Douglas was already around. Michael douglas is very old - it seems like he's been around for ever, though he hasn't, of course. He's only walked the earth for three thousand years.
His Screen Actors' Guild membership card is filled out in a little-known dialect of ancient Egyptian, spoken only in the Kushite kingdoms.
Kush was a desert kingdom to the south-west of Egypt, if I recall correctly. The Sahara might be my favourite desert, though I'm not sure I really have a favourite desert. I don't even have a favourite dessert, though I am partial to apple pie with custard.
Roobarb and Custard, eh? now that was a good cartoon. At least, I remember enjoying it at the time - I have very little recollection of the cartoon itself.
Roobarb and Custard must have been made a good fifteen years ago by now. Being a cat and a dog, Roobarb and Custard would probably be dead by now, if they were real. Thenkfully, they're crudely felt-tipped characters who live on in our memories and "Top 1000000 Children's TV Shows Of ALL TIME" programmes, which will then fill the top ten with programmes that aren't for children. Like the Muppets, or the Simpsons.
Muppets, eh? ..... no, that's enough. I've got work to do.
All things are possible. Except, I am given to understand, being all things to all men.
Though maybe if you were St. Thomas More like in that Robert Bolt play, A Man For All Season...
Do you remember that song, "Girl For All Seasons", that was in Grease 2? No, neither do I. Grease 2 wasn't much cop, was it?
Speaking of cops, I saw something on TV today called Streets of San Francisco, a police drama featuring a youthful but still lizard-like Michael Douglas.
Did you know that Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas? But obviously he had to have a stage name, because Michael Douglas was already around. Michael douglas is very old - it seems like he's been around for ever, though he hasn't, of course. He's only walked the earth for three thousand years.
His Screen Actors' Guild membership card is filled out in a little-known dialect of ancient Egyptian, spoken only in the Kushite kingdoms.
Kush was a desert kingdom to the south-west of Egypt, if I recall correctly. The Sahara might be my favourite desert, though I'm not sure I really have a favourite desert. I don't even have a favourite dessert, though I am partial to apple pie with custard.
Roobarb and Custard, eh? now that was a good cartoon. At least, I remember enjoying it at the time - I have very little recollection of the cartoon itself.
Roobarb and Custard must have been made a good fifteen years ago by now. Being a cat and a dog, Roobarb and Custard would probably be dead by now, if they were real. Thenkfully, they're crudely felt-tipped characters who live on in our memories and "Top 1000000 Children's TV Shows Of ALL TIME" programmes, which will then fill the top ten with programmes that aren't for children. Like the Muppets, or the Simpsons.
Muppets, eh? ..... no, that's enough. I've got work to do.
Monday, May 19
I Should Be In Bed
Just a few more...
Battleship Potemkin - men in woolly hats revolt after a tragic pram accident on the Odessa Steps.
The Odyssey - primitive Greek package holiday goes awry, with hilarious results!
The Aeneid - Trojan hooligans go on road trip to Italy, pick fight with host nation supporters. Some guy's horse bursts into tears.
Angel Heart - Mickey Rourke goes to New Orleans, where he is insulted in French by Charlotte Rampling. Robert de Niro eats an egg.
Just a few more...
Battleship Potemkin - men in woolly hats revolt after a tragic pram accident on the Odessa Steps.
The Odyssey - primitive Greek package holiday goes awry, with hilarious results!
The Aeneid - Trojan hooligans go on road trip to Italy, pick fight with host nation supporters. Some guy's horse bursts into tears.
Angel Heart - Mickey Rourke goes to New Orleans, where he is insulted in French by Charlotte Rampling. Robert de Niro eats an egg.
Inadequate, Yet Accurate, Summaries
If On A Winter's Night A Traveller - Italo Calvino tells you what you're doing, as it happens. You read a whole bunch of books.
Barry Lyndon - Ryan O'Neal goes on a tour of Europe, comes home only to get shot in the leg by his chubby stepson.
A Bout De Souffle - Jean-Paul Belmondo steals a car. Then he kills a cop and bickers with Jean Seberg for the rest of the movie, trying to persuade her to go to Italy. Every ten minutes, he impersonates Humphrey Bogart.
Top Gun - Kelly McGillis seduces Tom Cruise by dressing like a man.
Star Wars - a farm boy and an old tramp vandalise a space station.
Casablanca - charming slice-of-life drama about the day to day running of a wartime bar in north Africa.
For A Few Dollars More - Clint Eastwood pretends to be a bank robber. Lee van Cleef eats soup using a surprisingly flat spoon. Both turn out to be on the trail of a man with a fetish for clockwork musical accompaniment.
Moby Dick - after sharing a bed with a harpooneer, Ishmael signs on board the whaler Pequod, which later capsizes.
If On A Winter's Night A Traveller - Italo Calvino tells you what you're doing, as it happens. You read a whole bunch of books.
Barry Lyndon - Ryan O'Neal goes on a tour of Europe, comes home only to get shot in the leg by his chubby stepson.
A Bout De Souffle - Jean-Paul Belmondo steals a car. Then he kills a cop and bickers with Jean Seberg for the rest of the movie, trying to persuade her to go to Italy. Every ten minutes, he impersonates Humphrey Bogart.
Top Gun - Kelly McGillis seduces Tom Cruise by dressing like a man.
Star Wars - a farm boy and an old tramp vandalise a space station.
Casablanca - charming slice-of-life drama about the day to day running of a wartime bar in north Africa.
For A Few Dollars More - Clint Eastwood pretends to be a bank robber. Lee van Cleef eats soup using a surprisingly flat spoon. Both turn out to be on the trail of a man with a fetish for clockwork musical accompaniment.
Moby Dick - after sharing a bed with a harpooneer, Ishmael signs on board the whaler Pequod, which later capsizes.
Sunday, May 18
Kinema!
Guy Ritchie's on the TV, talking about Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. "You can't really summarise Lock, Stock," he says.
I'll give it a shot, Guy. Lock, Stock is a hamfisted, gimmicky ersatz mob yarn that contains nothing original or worthwhile, produced by a spoilt rich kid who wouldn't know how to string a cohesive story together if he had a manual with really easy-to-understand diagrams.
Guy Ritchie's on the TV, talking about Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. "You can't really summarise Lock, Stock," he says.
I'll give it a shot, Guy. Lock, Stock is a hamfisted, gimmicky ersatz mob yarn that contains nothing original or worthwhile, produced by a spoilt rich kid who wouldn't know how to string a cohesive story together if he had a manual with really easy-to-understand diagrams.
This Is The Most Important Coffee Of My Life
Modern Chinese Lit. revision begins in earnest today. I'm reading up on my literary theory.
Today's celebrity sighting: surrealist comic Noel Fielding, walking down Chapel Market on the phone, with his crazy Noel Fielding hair and voice.
Met up with Marcus and Tom Jett last night. Becky and Matt were around too, but did their usual schtick of leaving early to get a train. Me and Marcus decided to make it a joint birthday drinks thing, hitting the Elbow Room on Old Street for one. We then headed out, and eventually ended up in Plastic People. In between, however, we needed to procure some cash, only to discover that there are NO GODDAMNED CASH MACHINES in Old Street. A couple of cops directed us to a Texaco garage, where we got our money and beat a hasty retreat. Some woman was fighting a tramp on the forecourt, a fact we reported to the next rozzers who happened by.
Plastic People was retro, cool and (on the dance floor) almost pitch black. Very nice. On the way home, Marcus struck up conversation with a couple of passing meatheads, whom we then had to evade through trickery and an excuse from Eike's brother, in order to avoid inciting their primitive rage. We also failed to get sandwiches before going to sleep, but never mind.
Modern Chinese Lit. revision begins in earnest today. I'm reading up on my literary theory.
Today's celebrity sighting: surrealist comic Noel Fielding, walking down Chapel Market on the phone, with his crazy Noel Fielding hair and voice.
Met up with Marcus and Tom Jett last night. Becky and Matt were around too, but did their usual schtick of leaving early to get a train. Me and Marcus decided to make it a joint birthday drinks thing, hitting the Elbow Room on Old Street for one. We then headed out, and eventually ended up in Plastic People. In between, however, we needed to procure some cash, only to discover that there are NO GODDAMNED CASH MACHINES in Old Street. A couple of cops directed us to a Texaco garage, where we got our money and beat a hasty retreat. Some woman was fighting a tramp on the forecourt, a fact we reported to the next rozzers who happened by.
Plastic People was retro, cool and (on the dance floor) almost pitch black. Very nice. On the way home, Marcus struck up conversation with a couple of passing meatheads, whom we then had to evade through trickery and an excuse from Eike's brother, in order to avoid inciting their primitive rage. We also failed to get sandwiches before going to sleep, but never mind.
Friday, May 16
Rock Abbot
So, there's this rock group from Germany called Feedback.
Nothing unusual there, you think. Except that their guitarist is the head Abbot of the Benedictine order.
So, there's this rock group from Germany called Feedback.
Nothing unusual there, you think. Except that their guitarist is the head Abbot of the Benedictine order.
Wednesday, May 14
Tuesday, May 13
It's Just Gone Midnight
...and Blue Velvet is coming on on the TV.
I'm stuck in the bored doldrums of someone who needs to study. I'm drinking black coffee.
I'm experiencing the usual clutch of anxieties that come with another impending birthday, where I've achieved nothing and I'm still alone.
Last year, I celebrated my birthday by having an exam. Not even that to come this year.
Black coffee and Blue Velvet. It's come to this.
...and Blue Velvet is coming on on the TV.
I'm stuck in the bored doldrums of someone who needs to study. I'm drinking black coffee.
I'm experiencing the usual clutch of anxieties that come with another impending birthday, where I've achieved nothing and I'm still alone.
Last year, I celebrated my birthday by having an exam. Not even that to come this year.
Black coffee and Blue Velvet. It's come to this.
Sunday, May 11
Friday, May 9
Straight From The DPRK
It's Kim Jong-il's Livejournal!
"Today I was so depressed I wrote an opera. I want it to come out in the summer which means we have to start casting in the spring, which means I have to order the kidnappings like next week."
It's Kim Jong-il's Livejournal!
"Today I was so depressed I wrote an opera. I want it to come out in the summer which means we have to start casting in the spring, which means I have to order the kidnappings like next week."
Tuesday, May 6
Monday, May 5
Shall I Call You 'Weapon X', Logan?
Ambled over to the Islington Warner last night to see X-men 2 (interestingly, its actual title is just "X2"). It's a better film than the first one by an order of magnitude. The plot's actually worth following, though a little tricky if you're not familiar with the X-men in general. Plenty of action, lots of Wolverine generally being a badass and some super-cool funky powers.
Even Iceman is good. Anna Paquin plays Rogue, whose mutant power appears to be making men go weak at the knees simply by curling her lip, alleged ability to drain people's life-force notwithstanding. Ian McKellen remains a grandstanding super-villain. Storm and Mystique actually, y'know, do stuff, which was pretty unexpected.
Did I mention that Alan Cumming plays Nightcrawler? Not only does he steal every scene he's in, he has the best SFX with his teleporting power. Kelly Hu does well as Deathstryke, though she's under-used. Nice to see her getting work outside of Nash Bridges.
Ambled over to the Islington Warner last night to see X-men 2 (interestingly, its actual title is just "X2"). It's a better film than the first one by an order of magnitude. The plot's actually worth following, though a little tricky if you're not familiar with the X-men in general. Plenty of action, lots of Wolverine generally being a badass and some super-cool funky powers.
Even Iceman is good. Anna Paquin plays Rogue, whose mutant power appears to be making men go weak at the knees simply by curling her lip, alleged ability to drain people's life-force notwithstanding. Ian McKellen remains a grandstanding super-villain. Storm and Mystique actually, y'know, do stuff, which was pretty unexpected.
Did I mention that Alan Cumming plays Nightcrawler? Not only does he steal every scene he's in, he has the best SFX with his teleporting power. Kelly Hu does well as Deathstryke, though she's under-used. Nice to see her getting work outside of Nash Bridges.
Saturday, May 3
I was going to do a kind of satire thing about the Americans getting all hissy about the fact that large numbers of Iraqi voters would elect an Islamic party, which isn't the kind of government the U.S. wants. This would have involved a make-over of Monty Python's cheese shop sketch but, you know, it would have taken ages and not really been all that funny.
Those of you familiar with the sketch can probably guess how it would have gone, and those of you not familiar with it wouldn't have got the joke anyway. So, ah, let's just kind of take it as read that the Iraqi Democracy Shop Sketch exists in the same mental realm as my yet-to-be-started Great American Novel, the end of Dombey And Son and a decent Highlander sequel.
Those of you familiar with the sketch can probably guess how it would have gone, and those of you not familiar with it wouldn't have got the joke anyway. So, ah, let's just kind of take it as read that the Iraqi Democracy Shop Sketch exists in the same mental realm as my yet-to-be-started Great American Novel, the end of Dombey And Son and a decent Highlander sequel.
"You know, the jack goes in the head and then you're in thermal freefall."
A good article on William Gibson here. It's something of a primer, but there are some interesting comments from other authors too. One of them is Jon Courtenay Grimwood, whose novel Pashazade I found an exercise in irritation. He knows how to work cyberpunk, but he hasn't quite managed to engage fully with the genre.
Remember, kids - cyberpunk is a mindset, not a genre. It's easy to get caught up in the trappings, but if you do you're missing the point. Far too many people, both readers and authors, did latch onto smartguns and mirrorshades back in the day. I think that's what killed cyberpunk. Idoru marked a comeback, thankfully (though I prefer Virtual Light).
A good article on William Gibson here. It's something of a primer, but there are some interesting comments from other authors too. One of them is Jon Courtenay Grimwood, whose novel Pashazade I found an exercise in irritation. He knows how to work cyberpunk, but he hasn't quite managed to engage fully with the genre.
Remember, kids - cyberpunk is a mindset, not a genre. It's easy to get caught up in the trappings, but if you do you're missing the point. Far too many people, both readers and authors, did latch onto smartguns and mirrorshades back in the day. I think that's what killed cyberpunk. Idoru marked a comeback, thankfully (though I prefer Virtual Light).
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