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Happy New Year

tree
Originally uploaded by grange85.

I intend to update this blog more regularly as I also intend that this year will be a year to remember. My desultory existence is boring and, put like that, sounds very melodramatic which it isn't.

St Malo

St Malo
Originally uploaded by moley75.

St Malo in October 2005

My word, I have just discovered somebody is reading this...well, I suppose that was the point!

Anyway, I have been very slack recently, in fact, ever since my OU course finished and I haven't been up here looking for excuses not to study.

For my book club we read The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks which I remember reading when it was published twenty years or so ago. I was taken with it then but now it feels rather tiresome, sensational and poorly plotted.

I did enjoy The Dinosaur Hunters by Deborah Cadbury which is an account of the rivalry between Gideon Mantell and Richard Owen in the 19th century.

I have just finished Souls in the Great Machine by Sean McMullen, a science fiction novel set in a future where technology is on a level with the 16th century and The Call intermittently drags all mammals south east unless they are tied down. It was full of fantastic ideas but the characterisation was weak and the plotting all over the place. Still, I have ordered the sequel.

I was still persevering with Lost but only in a "I know this is crap but I need to know what happens" way.

Andy and I are currently on the fourth Season of Buffy which has had some of the worst episodes ("Beer bad") and some of the best ("Something blue" and "Hush").

I have Firefly waiting for us - on Maureen's recommendation I went to see Serenity and I loved it.

Tomorrow is the release day of Aerial by Kate Bush. On Thursday and Friday, I listened to all seven albums and I was blown away by how amazing she is. However, The Red Shoes is by far the weakest. I used to say The Dreaming was my favourite but I hate to be predictable but The Kick Inside is probably my favourite now.

1. The Kick Inside
2. The Dreaming
3. Hounds of Love
4. Lionheart (I even love Oh England My Lionheart now)
5. Never For Ever
6. The Sensual World (Heads We're Dancing and Deeper Understanding are what drag this down)
7. The Red Shoes (over produced)

Lost - I watched the most recent episode on E4 on Sunday and since that is now at least 8 episodes I have seen I can safely pronounce that it's rubbish. Inevitable comparisons can be made with Alias - in the fact that they were created by the same man and are both preposterous - the biggest difference is that there is nobody in Lost (except Terry O’Quinn and Dominic Monaghan) with any charisma which is what Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, Ron Rifkin and Lena Olin have in spades. All the actors in Lost are like Michael Vartan, Bradley Cooper and Merrin Dungey - nonentities. If you have to deliver stupid lines and react to ludicrous plot developments you need a bit of oomph. Two charismatic stars seems a lot but when they are relatively minor characters and you have to rely on Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly you're a bit stuck. I have tried very hard to root for Lilly but it's not easy.

My favourite trivia relating to Lost is the fact the the hobbit and the Canadian are an item - what a lucky boy.

"Frasier: Roz's Krantz and Gouldenstein Are Dead" - a good episode which could have veered into sentimentality since it was partly set in a old people's home. Lois Smith was particularly good as Moira. Since we have been rewatching Frasier on DVD I have noticed just how many jokes were made about Roz's promiscuity by Niles and it's rather tiresome.

The BBC's Listen Again is a boon. I spend my day at work, headphones on, alternating between CDs and radio programmes. I had meant to listen to Gideon Coe on 6 Music on Wednesday to hear Kate Bush's new single but completely forgot but thanks to the internet I was there today waiting with bated breath forwarding fifteen minutes at a time. The single is called King of the Mountain and is a continuation of her sound from The Red Shoes. It doesn't quite seem worth the very long wait but she clearly has a life well beyond music. I suspect it's a grower but I also suspect there will be better songs on the album. She is not a singles artist really - There Goes a Tenner, anyone?

Tracks to Wimbledon

Tracks to Wimbledon
Originally uploaded by Owen B..

Owen B's photos are stunning.

Va va voom

P9180234
Originally uploaded by moley75.

A French Morris Minor, sort of

"Sidetracked" by Henning Mankell - what a disappointment - good reviews on Amazon - recommended by a friend - but - no suspense, no mystery, a rather unbelievable plot, dull meanderings about Wallender's private life. It was a page turner despite being no good - I think I was desperate to get it finished.

"Millions" by Frank Cottrell Boyce - a delightful little story which was very funny in parts. It was cleverly and subtly written (it was never explained why Damian kept asking about a St Maureen but I bet it was his mother's name). The line that Damian was his mother's miracle made me weep. Super story.