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.
