The world ended. Didn't you get the memo?

So, as I predicted, Christmas has hit this blog hard. I can’t help it really, I’ve had so much to do, what with moving, going away, unpacking (I only actually finished yesterday) and preparing for the holidays, that this just hasn’t been priority number one. I can’t promise to get more than a couple of blogs up before the end of the year but hopefully when January hits, I’ll be able to get back into a rhythm, maybe two a week or so.

So what’s been happening? Well, I haven’t spied any new TV or films, although I did finally manage to start on The Walking Dead and I am hooked. When I heard about the show, I decided I was going to retrieve my bring-on-the-guts-and-gore attitude from my teens (lost when I saw the new Dawn of the Dead in the cinema and then returned home to an empty, eerie house) and get into the show. I borrowed the first three graphic novels from a colleague a couple of months ago to get a feel for it and really enjoyed them. A MASSIVE amount of dialogue to contend with for a graphic novel but it seemed really interesting and had a pretty solid plot, if possibly a few too many characters that the audience was supposed to invest in.

The TV show has got off to a great start (here’s hoping it doesn’t fall flat on its face), combining zombie invasion with deep personal drama and conflict. The characters are well presented and it is interesting to come into the story almost at the end of the drama – usually when dealing with zombies we look to films, where the outbreak, battle and ultimately, death or survival, is all wrapped up in a solid ninety minutes. The characters are usually one dimensional, with little to no background story and often entirely too predictable.

Walking Dead is changing that.

Because of the need to make the drama last for at least twelve episodes, if not more, the characters needed to have more depth. And depth they definitely have. Death and ‘zombification’ are nothing compared to their problems of domestic abuse, adultery, racism and general outbursts of manic rage from more than one character. The plot is so involved that it’s unlikely that any of our survivors will actually escape unscathed from their messy trip.

All that said, I genuinely love the show. It’s been added to my ever growing list of favourite shows (the list is truly now insane – maybe I’ll post it up) and I can’t wait till more episodes arrive. I’m also very tempted to go out and read the rest of the series; some shows are so visually brilliant that knowing the plot in advance really doesn’t spoil them.

So that’s my newest acquisition. Once again, many apologies with the delay, hopefully in the New Year I’ll sort it out.

I can see what's happening...

Just a quick note, to prevent anyone overestimating my writing prowess; most of the titles of my posts are quotes. Some are from films or books but many are simply plucked from the joy that is the internet. Some are by famous people and some are not. But all, if you type them into Google, will most certainly come up with some other genius' name. Not mine, I can assure you.

Just to clear any confusion.

Lazy Sunday TV Time

So all this Sunday, I have been frantically catching up on some much missed bad tele. I know, I should be all sophisticated and psuedo-intellectual and watch stuff like The Wire or The Sopranos or maybe some uber fashionable new documetary series, but to be honest, I think everyone needs the bad tele sometimes.

We also need the bad movies, books, music and games but, at the moment, I'm just going to talk about the bad TV.

I've been watching Hellcats. Yeahhhh, the new series about a poor law student who loses her scholarship and has to join the cheerleading squad to stay in school. So cliched it's insane. Said law student is played by Alyson Michalka, of Aly and AJ music fame, and the head cheerleader is played by Ashley Tisdale from good old High School Musical. If you enjoyed that particular franchise, you will love Hellcats.

The plot of Hellcats is paper thin, the acting stilted and the characters all outlandishly good at everything they turn their hands to, but it's good fun and requires no mental straining.

Exactly what you need on a lazy Sunday.

I just try to concentrate on concentrating.

Ha.

One week of focus and then another week of nothing. However, I've been moving house this week so I think I have an excuse. After this weekend, posting should become a little more regular though as I get settled and all that.

So see you soon folks.

Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.

See how much I can get done when I decide to be productive? It’s amazing really. Also probably has something to do with finally sorting out my housing situation, feeling better at work and looking forward to no more stressing over bills.

But I’m going to say its all down to my decision to be productive. I’m just hoping it sticks this time. At least until Christmas when everything gets manic again and I freak out.

En Ma Fin Est Ma Commencement - In my end is my beginning.

Finished The Other Queen by Phillippa Gregory finally! After two years of owning the book, I eventually got round to reading to the end. It was good, although not as gripping as her other Tudor novels. Don’t know whether it was really the best way to end the series; although one of the previous novels was based during Elizabethan England that came near the beginning of the collection, when Gregory was less well known. I think after the success of The Other Boleyn Girl, the cold, passionless lives of the characters of Other Queen are boring. Gregory’s other novels always heavily featured sex, intrigue, plots and romances and although this novel is big on the plotting, it’s not really big on much else. Although we are given Bess and Talbot’s relationship to ponder over - will Mary seduce George completely and steal him away from Bess? – none of this really compares to the drama of women lying, cheating and sleeping their way to the throne. Henry VIII’s love life was, simply put, a lot more interesting that the petty trifles of an Earl and Countess. Even if the one getting in the way of their relationship is the Queen of Scots.

I love Gregory’s novels but this one just didn’t hold the same thrall for me. Since reading many of her Tudor novels, I picked up her Wideacre trilogy, a set of books so completely astounding that I think the tameness of Other Queen left me bored. Still historical novels, they explore themes of, incest, sadomasochism and murder, to name a few. The books are a revelation and, although possibly not to everyone’s taste, show us the true lengths a woman will travel to claim what is, in her mind, rightfully hers.

If you like historical fiction, give Wideacre a try. Even if you hate it, at least you’ll have opened your eyes to something new. And then you can leave it alone and never read it again.

There's a time and place for everything, and I believe it's called fanfiction.

I wonder whether authors really care about people writing fan fiction about their characters and worlds. Surely, it’s just a way for fans to express their love of the author’s creation. Also, all publicity is good publicity, right? And even if your characters are doing things WAY out of character (most of the stuff I end up reading doesn’t tie in with anything even resembling canon), its all fun and games. So unless someone is actively out to destroy your career or steal all your royalties, then I’d let it go. Be pleased that people care enough about what you’ve put into the world to put something of their own in too.

It’s an homage, a tribute.

So suck it up, be grateful, and stop suing people.

The story I am writing exists, written in absolutely perfect fashion, some place, in the air. All I must do is find it, and copy it.

Today I tried to write. I got as far as a pretty random poem (not even I know what it means, and I wrote the thing).

Power lies with giving, not receipt.
To be taken, stolen, the power lies waiting.
Perhaps a final piece left to retain,
your own kept power, secret power,
stifled, released from its sleeping master.
It lies with its possessor, its captor, it’s thief in the night.

Not a long one, and not particularly good one either. I want to write a story but I have no real idea where to start. I did a module of The Short Story at University but, although I did enjoy it, I didn’t exactly follow the regular patterns for writing. I thought I knew better than the teacher (which I still think is true) however, I do concede that I still should have paid more attention. Possibly it would have come in useful at this point in time.

There are a few reasons behind my wanting to write a longer piece.

* I was having a discussion recently with someone who shared my opinion on drafting. Now this being rare in itself, I was rather pleased. He then proceeded to tell me that I must be a “proper writer” because I didn’t feel any need to draft my work. It was nice to hear to be honest. I have no qualms with people that do draft their work; I personally think there is little distinction between writers that do and ones that don’t, it’s simply a different way of working. I do, however, have problems with people that tell me I can’t be a writer if I don’t draft. But it’s the “proper writer” comment that threw me; I feel a little bit fraudulent, calling myself a writer when I can’t even write a story, and, even worse, haven’t really written anything creative in months.

* Second reason is that I want to challenge myself. I’m much too set in my ways for someone so young and I shouldn’t limit myself to one style of writing. If I am as decent a writer as I like to think I am then I should be able to write anything. I won’t necessarily write it well but at least I will have tried.

* I need something to do. I need some pure focus in my life that does not revolve around making sure I’ve watched this week’s episode of Glee. I should really try and be more well rounded in my interests and activities.

* Eventually, I have an epic poem that I would like to write. It has been started but, unfortunately, after having being left for many years (I think I begun it in 2005), I’m finding it very difficult to pick it back up again. I think starting on something like a novel length (god help me) piece of fiction will help me get over my I-have-to-finish-everything-in-one-go mindset.

So, at the moment, those are my reasons. Any suggestions for getting started, very welcome (not that I really believe anyone reads this) and hopefully, once I’ve got the ball rolling, I’ll update with some actual, possibly truly terrible, pieces of writing.

These are dark times. There is no denying.

So Harry Potter again. Just a quick buzz to say I loved it. So much. Bloody brilliant as Ron would say. The only slightly bad thing I have to say about it is that I feel they rushed through it a little bit. I know it was almost two and a half hours but what happened in the film takes up the large majority of the final book. The last battle isn’t one half, it’s actually a mere few chapters. I can see why they’ve done it. They can promote Part One as a quest story and then Part Two is a big old action fantasy film. I get it. It’s smart. But it’s aggravating when you feel things have been overlooked or missed out. I feel that way with most film adaptations, and with all previous Harry Potter films, but I would’ve liked to not have that this time.

However, all that said, what was lost in this film was minor compared to its many attributes. The cinematography and special effects were amazing (although there was a significant lack of the latter – saving it all for Part Two I imagine) and the actors have most definitely come into their own. Even though he wasn’t in it for long, Jason Isaacs in particular played the part of Lucius Malfoy brilliantly. I loved how Malfoy had become so unkempt and nervous because of Voldemort’s presence in his home.

Anyway, it’s still early in terms of the release so I’m not going to pick through the film because I can’t be fussed with “spoiler alert”-ing everything. I did love it though and am desperate to see it again, if only to satisfy my growing Rupert crush. In the mean time, I have succumbed slightly to PotterMania and am finding any and every source of HP related material just to keep myself sane until Deathly Hallows: Part Two. Once that’s over I have no idea what will happen. I might just curl up in a small ball and cry. Or invent new stories for the characters in my head. Possibly involving whipped cream.

The end is nigh...

Tomorrow, I go to see HP7 Part 1. I am extremely excited and have been psyching myself up for, oh, the past month or so.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to re-watch all six films and then this week decided to do so again. I also dragged out my copy of book 7 and devoured in all of a day.

I really like the Harry Potter franchise. I know I’m an adult and I should leave well alone but I can’t help it. When the series began on screen, I was the same age as the characters. I’m the same age as many of the cast as well and because of this I feel this weird affinity. My friends and I watched these films growing up, we had schoolgirl crushes on the male leads (I still have a big adult crush on Rupert Grint – Ron) and stuck photos in our lockers. They’re like an extended family, in a world that I wish I could join. I think every boy or girl has fantasies about escaping to a magical world but the boarding school thing heightened it for me too.

When I was younger, I loved Enid Blyton’s books about boarding schools. Malory Towers, The Twins at St Clare’s; I dreamed that I was one of them. And as I got too old to think of going to a school like that as a student, I decided I wanted to be a teacher, have my own boarding school and live there forever. I imagine it’s got something to do with escaping my dreary middle class life and doing something, if not exciting, then at least something no one else I knew had done. I’d go far away, on a big adventure. Also, the fact that everyone seemed to love and respect books and learning at these places enthralled me. I didn’t really know anyone growing up who read like I did and I was always seen as a bit odd by my friends because of it. It wasn’t really until University that I met people who really loved books and read just for the pleasure of it.

So you combine boarding school, magic, cute boys and, to me, you’ve got a pretty solid starting block. Add in all the villains and intrigue and the books take you on a brilliant, exhilarating ride. The films do that just as well in my opinion. They’re not as good as the novels of course. They leave too many important details out (as with almost every other book to film adaptation) and they haven’t really matured with the audience and the characters as the books did. But on the whole, they do give me the warm and fuzzies. I’m sad that soon it’ll all be over, gone but hopefully not forgotten. It’s is the ultimate guilty pleasure, the series that spawned special adult editions so that commuters didn’t have to hide their books on the train. It generated official clothing, video games, merchandise and a theme park, along with all the unofficial fanfiction, websites, podcasts and conventions hosted up and down not just the UK but the entire world. It has poured tourists into the country, desperate to see the places described in Rowling’s books. Even Kings Cross has erected a plaque to mark where every witch or wizard on their way to Hogwarts must cross into Platform 9 ¾. Whether people enjoy the series or not, they cannot argue that it has captured and inspired an audience around the world.

Your blog is your unedited version of yourself.

I think it has been decided that I am a bad blogger.

I have a tendency to abandon projects halfway through unless I am completely immersed in them. That’s why twitter works. It’s there every second of every day; you have a thought and you just write it in and away it goes to the, in my case small, number of followers that you have.

Blogging involves more effort, time to think about what you want to say. It’s a mini essay every time you make a post; if it’s not important or interesting to read, then why bother putting it out there?

Maybe that’s another issue I have with blogging. Why would anyone want to read what I say? Yes, ok, I like books and films and like to think I know what I’m talking about when I dismiss or recommend titles. But, really, I’m only one person, with one tiny opinion.

So from now on, this blog is for me. I’m going to attempt to blog about what I want to blog about. I might even grace the interweb with some new poetry, if I ever get round to writing any, or post a soliloquy on my favourite song lyric that week. It might be a little juvenile but then I’m only 22.

I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it.

I watched The Color Purple (it feels so wrong spelling it that way) again the other day and was shocked after watching Precious a couple of months ago by how much the latter is based on the former. Both have obviously been adapted from novels, however, Precious (from the novel Push by Sapphire) is such a blatant re-writing of Color Purple (Alice Walker) it makes me quite angry.

I have no problem with re-writings, especially if they are done well. Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea is a brilliant re-imagining of Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) and Margaret Attwood's The Penelopiad is an outstanding sing-song version of Homer's Odyssey. Thing is, Precious is not a re-writing. It's a simple copy of a much better and much more poignant novel. If you're going to use a novel like Walker's as inspiration, at least have the decency to change the plot a little and to credit the original.

I loved Push when I read it and though Precious was a great adaptation. Now that I've watched Color Purple again (I read the book about three years ago as well) I'm just disappointed that Sapphire chose to rip off a great novel. She's an exquisite writer and the character Precious is excellently portrayed, but Celie and herself are such similar characters, even down to having the same amount of children by their fathers. Both uneducated, underprivileged, black women who overcome their oppressive parental figures (In my mind, Mr. in Color Purple still constitutes a father figure - he treats Celie just as her father treated her) and become better people for it.

Both novels are worth a read, however, I am going to have to take back any brilliant things I previously said about Push in other blogs. It is well written and an important novel to read but I think it is unjust of the writer to plagiarise Walker and receive so much credit for it.

All that said and done, Walker wrote an amazing novel and Whoopi Goldberg's debut performance as Celie in the film version (directed by Spielberg!)is really brilliant. Read and watch them both.

You can live your whole life not realising what you're looking for is right in front of you.

Having just finished (as of about one hour ago) One Day by David Nicholls, I felt a strong desire to let everyone know just how bloody brilliant it is. Nicholls is an amazing writer - I'm debating whether to borrow Starter for Ten from the library - and the format of the novel is unique and interesting. Told in short excerpts, each one the same day - 15th July - of each consecutive year, the two main characters, Dexter and Emma are revealed to us.

Dexter and Emma meet on the night of their graduation from Edinburgh University on 15th July 1988. This date takes on no significant meaning to the characters, however, Nicholls chooses to focus on it as the moment in which their lives were forever defined. However they live their lives, whoever they become, and whether they realise it or not, they remain the most important person is each others lives.

The book was chosen for the Richard and Judy Book Club and has had outstanding reviews from just about everyone, all of which are richly deserved. I was openly sobbing in the street as I finished the novel! The quote from the Mirror on the back cover sums it up perfectly, stating that it is "destined to be a modern classic".

I urge people to read the novel (it's my book club choice for this month) and to recommend it to everyone they know, as I will certainly be doing.

Trashy Fun

So I've finally managed to get all my stuff out of storage, which means I have, for the first time in a year, seen all the books and dvds I own. It's a lot, but nowhere near as much as I thought. I do, however, have about twenty books that I have started but never finished, most of which are classics from University. An English student that hasn't read Pride and Prejudice?? Or Great Expectations?? Poor Show. I am making a vow to read them...it's just when that's the issue.

Anyway, because of all these books I have found, I haven't really read anything new. Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger was the most recent finished novel. A cheesy, trashy read by the author of Devil Wears Prada. And although it was the simplest thing I've read in a long time, it was extremely enjoyable, possibly because of that fact. It isn't clever and it isn't fancy but that's what makes it brilliant. We all need a little trashy fun every now and then.

Blogging is an art, same as any other method of self-expression. Some are better at it than others.

I am ashamed to say I am not good at it. As witnessed by the two-and-a-half month absence from the blogosphere, I have obviously been a little lax in my postings.

After watching Julia and Julia again, I am going to step it up. Julie Powell had a full time job, a husband, and 547 recipes to complete in a year. I have a lot more time on my hands and no deadline. Maybe that's the problem. So since I have just turned 22, I'll make a promise.

Before my 23rd birthday there must be 50 full posts on this blog. I must evaluate over 100 books, films and websites. And during that time, I must find one list to begin the next year with. Whether it's 1001 Books Before You Die, BBC Big Read or the longlist to one of the many prestigious book awards out there.

So here we go, wish me luck.

Until next time.

Letters To God Trailer

A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction.

I haven't watched a lot of films these past couple of weeks, apart from dredging up some oldies-but-goodies, including Se7en and A Little Princess (always makes me cry!). I did go to see Dear John, another adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel. Starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, it didn't get anywhere near measuring up to The Notebook and hopefully wasn't foreshadowing his next film The Last Song, with Miley Cyrus. People have been going crazy for the Avatar release (I saw it in the cinemas) but I'm going to wait till November...when they release it again, and in 3D. Might as well wait to be honest. Also, we've had Alvin 2 and Glee on DVD, and Sherlock Holmes comes out in the next couple of weeks. So it's been a bit slow.

But TV. Ahhh TV. A friend at work has got me hooked on Modern Family. I am in love with every character, they are all brilliantly written and very funny in their own little ways. Yet another sitcom from America but one that does deserve its place in the schedules.

I've also been keeping up with the new Doctor Who. Obviously a controversial subject at the moment with any DW fan but I'm still not convinced by Matt Smith. I think the new look Doctor Who is aimed too much at children, probably because of the success of the Sarah Jane Adventures. I was so looking forward to the Weeping Angel episodes as well but found myself distinctly not scared, which was disappointing. The Angels should be terrifying, even more so than any other Doctor Who monster. and it's a shame that they weren't.

Five Daughters, also on the BBC, was a three part drama about the deaths of five women in Ipswich in 2008. I unfortunately didn't pay a lot of attention when the incidents actually happened (considering I live in Essex, I probably should have) but maybe because of this, I found the drama extremely interesting and harrowing. I thought each girls personal struggle with drugs and prostitution was portrayed very sensitively and the actresses involved, including Jamie Winstone, did an amazing job.

As always, I'm keeping up with the American shows, including Glee and Fringe. Glee is as entertaining as its always been and Fringe is keeping me hooked on the edge of my seat every episode. The last episode, Brown Betty, was a bit of a strange one, with musical interludes in a show that really doesn't need them.

That's all Folks! Until next time.

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.

I may have deserted my posts over the last couple of weeks but I have spent the time doing some serious reading, finishing off many a novel that has been sitting around for ages.

First off was Small Island by Andrea Levy. I love history so historical novels tend to creep into my personal reading list quite a lot and although they usually end up being based in the Tudor period, I have picked up a few Victorian and World War II novels. This being one of the latter, I really enjoyed the alternative perspective that the Jamaican characters lent to the novel. You don't often get anything but a British or American view of the home front but it was interesting to read about the different reactions these two groups had towards the changing times. Definitely an interesting book; I'm trying to find the BBC adaptation as apparently it was very good.

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Simply put, an absolutely astounding book that shows the current unfortunate trend of school shootings in a new light. A mother struggling to come to terms with how her son has grown into a person who would commit such a crime writes letters to her estranged husband, examining how they have raised their child. A novel that at every point asks whether people can go against their natures, whether good parents and good schools really make any difference. From a person who doesn't have children, it struck a chord so I can't imagine the strings it must pluck in parents. I honestly don't know why I didn't read it sooner.

I've had a bit of a thing for end-of-the-world fiction in the past couple of weeks. After reading The Rapture by Liz Jensen, I've found that books about this subject seem to invoke writers to explore the best and worst of human nature. The Rapture, for example, follows the story of a psychiatrist trying to understand why one of her patients, a teenage girl in a high security mental institution, can seem to predict natural disasters. These predictions lead our main characters into various precarious situations and finally into a tense and high stakes climax.

Another of this type of novel is Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer. A brilliant young adult novel in which the moon's sudden movement in the sky disrupts so much of Earth's natural functions that the inhabitants are forced to try to survive in a harsh and new world. Although Pfeffer's first novel about this world is great, following one teenage girl and her family, the sequel, The Dead and the Gone, is nowhere near as interesting. For one, we follow a different family, surviving in a very different way and facing new challenges. However, the protagonist of this novel, a teenage Puerto Rican boy in New York, is not as interesting and his journey seems nowhere near as perilous as the first. I would recommend the first novel, however skip the sequel as it isn't necessary and no further insight is really offered.

I also borrowed The Silver Linings Play Book by Matthew Quick off a friend and although I didn't think it was amazing, it did have me sobbing on the train so it can't have been all that bad! Following Pat Peoples as he is released from a mental institution in which he believes he has been for a few months. He is currently on 'apart time' from his wife and is working hard to improve himself so that this time will end sooner. The novel deals with the difficulties of escaping mental illness and rejoining society. Quick deals with these issues very delicately and smoothly, showing us the joy that can be found in the simple things.

Also finished A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire, finally! I loved Wicked! the novel and am still desperate to see the show but whereas Son of a Witch (the second Wicked novel) was great Lion Among Men just doesn't compare. It is slow and unfortunately the Lion is simply not as interesting a character as Elpheba or Liir. He is pompous and annoying and although the interludes with Yackle are particularly good, the Lion's life, although full, is largely uninteresting. A shame, as Maguire is a great writer, but I think has chosen the wrong character to pursue.

Another blog to follow, on recent TV and Film.

Until next time.

You say goodbye, I say hello.

Hello fellow blogees and blogettes. Once again apologies but it has been a crazy few weeks and, unfortunately, this has fallen by the wayside. Anyway, I'm back now and will crack on regardless.

TV, Films and Books this week. I watched the trailer for Scott Pilgrim the other day and found my interest peaked. A colleague had been talking about the movie for ages and I finally broke and watched the very brief trailer and was pleasantly surprised. Definitely interesting.

Finished Stolen by Lucy Christopher this week and, considering it was a book I picked up on a whim, I really enjoyed it. The main character, Gemma, is kidnapped and the novel is comprised of a long descriptive letter to her captor. However, because Gemma's dialogue remains squarely in the past, we are unaware how her life has progressed; whether she has escaped, been rescued or learnt to accept her life. By the end of the novel, we are of course treated to the outcome, and I'm pleased that Christopher doesn't give away any of the plot before we need to know it.

I'm attempting, at the moment, six novels. Small Island by Andrea Levy, We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver and A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire are all so close to being finished and hopefully I'll have reviews for you next week. A Lion Among Men I've had for much too long and it's just getting ridiculous.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro was one I did finish though. And I am so glad I did. Ishiguro brings to life an impossible alternate reality that, although steeped in our own history, focusses on a entirely different future. Like I said before, parts of it truly are spine tingling and Kathy, the main character, makes us question completely what it means to be human. If you haven't already, it is a novel that deserves to be read.

My final book thought is on Push by Sapphire. The basis for the film Precious, it is simply sensational. Whatever your preconceptions about the book or the film, it is an essential novel for our times. Precious Jones is a beautiful yet destroyed young woman and it is amazing to watch her progress and her gaining of independence through her education. Sapphire is a truly spectacular writer and her characters jump off the page until you want to carry all of them away and to safety.

So it's been quiet on the book front for a while. Films and TV have been thriving however. I saw Alice in Wonderland the other day for example, and I must say I was very underwhelmed. Such a big hype, so many big names but such a small film. Burton seems to be walking a line between the absurd and the traditional and it, unfortunately, doesn't work in this particular film. Burton is a master of his craft but I think his style has become slightly stale. His films no longer shock because we expect the weird and the wacky. The films that shock now have to break different boundaries. Take Kick Ass for example (a film I am still dying to see). Seeing a child swear THAT profusely and kill without regret makes us sit up and pay attention. Not much else does.

I did say last time that I had almost finished In Treatment Season 1. I am now on the final two episodes of Season 2 and am still enjoying it so much. It's great mostly because you feel like you really shouldn't be hearing what these people are saying, witnessing their breakthroughs and breakdowns. It feels illicit, watching their private lives unfold and for this reason I would recommend watching it alone. If you're with someone else, it breaks the spell.

I'm going to leave it there for today. Until next time.

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date

Apologies for my absence the past two weeks, Easter has taken me a little by surprise. Although there's no time for a full scale blog now, I will try to have one up by Tuesday.

Until next time.

Day Two in the Big Brother House

Isn't that supposed to start soon? The last one ever? Thank God, but you realise they will find another way to rehash it and bring it out as something else. Brilliant, just another new reality TV nightmare.

Talking of reality TV, I caught a glimpse of Project Runway today, for the first time ever. It was nowhere near as bad as I imagined. Next Top Model on the other hand...

Anyway, so this week. Not been a big week on the media front, I've been re-watching some old films and so reviews are pretty thin on the ground. Book wise, I'm almost finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Both are novels, I have to admit, I only started because of the fact that they're best sellers, not that that's always a bad thing. But I genuinely barely even read the summaries before borrowing them from the library (Yes, I'm a big borrower. To be honest, when you read as much as I do I'd go bankrupt if I tried to buy everything that even vaguely interested me) and I've been pleasantly surprised. Never Let Me Go is nothing like what I expected (It's a Sci-Fi Novel in Drama clothing) and it reminds me a lot of 1984, Children of Men and, well, basically every dystopia future novel I've read. Also, Repo! The Genetic Opera the film because it some parts it feels actually quite spine-tingling, perhaps because a lot of the novel is looking back at the memories of a child.

We Need To Talk About Kevin is great. I love the letter format, especially when most of the text is focussing hugely on the past because it really makes you feel like the husband; you're the reader, remembering the shared past with the characters. I do feel that since reading Sixteen Minutes by Jodie Picoult (I know, I'm sick of her too now) that the idea of school shooting as the main plot device is extremely overdone. Obviously it's a topic many authors and film makers want to cover as it's hugely important and, unfortunately, is becoming more prevalent in American culture, but it is difficult to find a unique and yet still sensitive perspective on a devastating crime. Shriver has managed to interject something new into the old nature vs. nurture argument however, and this does add to the novel. As Picoult would say, What Would You Do?

DVD wise, It's been a quiet week. I finally bought a copy of Batman: The Dark Knight and watched that for the first time on DVD. I still maintain that film has around three endings and is much too long but the performances are outstanding and I'm hoping that there are plans for another. I did get a little free comic in the DVD as well though, which was nice.

New things I've watched this week...mostly I've been catching up on Survivors Season Two. I loved Season One but managed to miss all of Two on TV and on BBC IPlayer so had to rent it. Not as thrilling as number One but still with some great cliffhangers and once again leaving me yelling "NOOOOO!" at the Computer screen as episode six (the finale) finished. Why, I ask you, can the BBC not make a series longer that about thirteen episodes? Just because it goes on longer than a few weeks doesn't mean we'll all lose interest. American shows goes on for much too long (*cough* 24) yet they still drag in the ratings. Please give us a show we can really get invested in. It takes you at least three episodes to get into a show and then a good while after that to actually begin to care about the characters. I promise that if the BBC produce a decent drama/sci fi show lasting for more than a week, I will stick with it for at least seven episodes, just to prove a point.

So quick little update over. Hopefully, I will have a media filled week and will have much more to say next week. Also, I promise a big old review of In Treatment (I'm on episode 40, we're almost there!) and hopefully, a look at some more recent books.


Until next week.

the best laid schemes of mice and men...

Go often askew. As mine have done.

So with all the best intentions in mind of beginning this blog and updating regularly, I apparently couldn't even get past the first introductory post! Unfortunately, I've begun to really love that 150 character limit on Twitter. All expectations of witty and intellectual comments are null and void, which makes it a lot easier to sit down to write anything.

Even so, I'm going to attempt this. I make no promises and apologise for any extremely short posts. At least they're posts right? Anyway, I'll crack on.

Just this week, I finally got round to reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I wasn't holding out a lot of hope, especially when I realised it's a travel memoir. I will say I love Bill Bryson but I've never been compelled to read any other travel writing. A term at University of Travel Writing only convinced me of the fact that it was very difficult to write interesting and exciting travel books. You may have had the most wonderful time away in Singapore or Australia but it doesn't mean it will necessarily translate back in dreary old England. Thing is, Gilbert managed, for me, to make her writing feel much more personal than most travel writing. I have no desire to live in an ashram or study with a medicine man but she made both those experiences sound exquisite and profound. Italy I have visited and perhaps because my experience was vastly different to hers it made it very enjoyable to read. Gilbert has definitely made me see how visiting a country for a holiday and staying for as long as she did are very different and give you often completely conflicting views of a country or city. I've never really been interested in travelling before and although I haven't felt a huge peak in my interest since reading the book, it has made me understand the desire to see a country from that angle.

As always, I'm watching more films and T.V. than I really should. This week it was Driving Aphrodite, Adam, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and the BBC version of The Other Boleyn Girl. Also, I'm attempting to catch up with In Treatment with Gabriel Byrne.

Driving Aphrodite was (another!) Nia Vardalos number. Not saying she's not entertaining but I do feel sorry for her that is never cast in a film that at some point doesn't refer to Greece. In this one, she is an American teacher, living in Greece who has ended up working as a tour guide. Of course, she is hapless, without a clue and hilarity ensues. Complete with a host of racial stereotypes, it ticks every box if you want to switch off your brain for an hour and a half.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a manga creation and it was only when the teenage characters referred to 'jerking off' did I realise it wasn't a Ghibli film. Apart from that, it has all the characteristics of a regulation Miyazaki masterpiece. Perhaps the animation is slightly under-par but otherwise it lived up to my expectations. I do have to admit, I watched it dubbed. I'm fine with subtitles in live action but I can't stand them in animation. And, as in the case of Spirited Away, the drawing is so beautiful I don't want to have to look at the ugly text at the bottom.

Adam, with Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne, was a film I found really interesting when I first heard about it. A man living with Aspergers Syndrome (a condition I have witnessed) meets a woman who opens up the world to him and introduces him to things he has never even considered. Although not quite as good as I had imagined (to be honest, I probably expected something way too sensitive for Hollywood), it was interesting, if only to have a look at a syndrome that I've only observed in children. Hugh Dancy plays the title character very well and Adam's discomfort in social situations is brilliantly illustrated. I recommend it, especially if it's a condition you're unfamiliar with, as around 1 in 100 people in the UK have it.

BBC's version of The Other Boleyn Girl is a film I watched quite a few years ago and only recently bought. It still shocks me every time as it's really low budget for a BBC production and I hate the way the characters talk to the screen as if it's a confessional. However, it is more true to the novel than the recent Hollywood remake and that does endear me to it. It is truly disturbing in parts and although Mary Boleyn is portrayed as much more shrewd in it than in the novel, Anne's insecurities and humanity are allowed more of a forum. If you enjoyed the novel, it's an interesting adaptation to watch.

In Treatment is Gabriel Byrne's relatively new T.V. show about a psychiatrist and the relationships he builds with the patients he sees every week. A brilliant format, each episode focussing on one session and one day a week, we experience the shocks and the reveals as the character would. It is infuriating having to wait five episodes to get back to a storyline you find particularly interesting but as the series progresses, the story lines tend to merge. I'm about half way through the series at the moment but I will keep you updated! It's definitely worth a watch but make sure you've got the patience, it's 43 episodes long!

Well, that's all from me for today. What I'll try is a post like this once a week and we'll see how we go. Until next time.

an introduction...

I'm not the biggest blogger. I've dabbled before but it petered out after a while. There was no particular purpose to my writing before so I think this will be more focussed. I'm going to try and keep a sort of media journal, review the books I read and films I watch, and the internet sites which bring something interesting to my day. I'd like to be a small resource for anyone who finds the vast amount of stuff we can experience a little bit daunting, just as I do. With so many new books and films out every week, it becomes a challenge to decipher the appalling from the outstanding and I would quite like to be, if not a road map, at least a small signpost by which others can measure their way.

So, onwards and upwards.