Saturday, September 13, 2008
(don't you put me on the back-burner)
& I'm trying to tidy my room. I've said this every other day since I moved into this apartment (almost a year ago). It's at that stage - you know the one - worse before it gets better? I may never get out of this mess alive.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Harold Pinter and Cheese
& I am such a bad, bad blogger and I can only apologise. Every time I post, I solemnly swear that I'll do better next time and then next time is about three months later. (Hyperbole for the complete and utter win!)
& Anyway, last Monday, I went to see No Man's Land, the production of Harold Pinter's play currently running at the Gate Theatre, starring Michael Gambon, David Bradley, Nick Dunning and David Walliams. Audiences at the Gate Theatre always seem as though they should be jam-packed full of famous faces (indeed, at a play last year, Nick Dunning was in the audience and, afterwards, updated us on the Arsenal result that evening). Last Monday, Matt Lucas was present, which was an excitement all of its own. But back to the play. The acting was superb. Obviously, Michael Gambon, as all the reviews stated, was marvellous. I have to say though, that I was blown away by David Bradley. It's a very sinister play (yes, yes, I know. Pinter) in places but quite light-hearted in the second act (and I was informed that it smacks of Beckett by people who know about this kind of thing).
& Cheese. In a recent comment from my cousin, I started wondering about the true definition of cheese. In my opinion, cheese is very earnest music, with big hair and fluorescent pink leg-warmers, and, preferably, pre-dates the 90s (although I will allow that the 90s did offer us some cheese). It should be most ideally experienced by singing along (into a hairbrush). Examples of 'my' definition of cheese include: I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight (The Cutting Crew), If You Leave Me Now (Chicago), Alone (Heart) and so on and so forth. Opinions?
& Anyway, last Monday, I went to see No Man's Land, the production of Harold Pinter's play currently running at the Gate Theatre, starring Michael Gambon, David Bradley, Nick Dunning and David Walliams. Audiences at the Gate Theatre always seem as though they should be jam-packed full of famous faces (indeed, at a play last year, Nick Dunning was in the audience and, afterwards, updated us on the Arsenal result that evening). Last Monday, Matt Lucas was present, which was an excitement all of its own. But back to the play. The acting was superb. Obviously, Michael Gambon, as all the reviews stated, was marvellous. I have to say though, that I was blown away by David Bradley. It's a very sinister play (yes, yes, I know. Pinter) in places but quite light-hearted in the second act (and I was informed that it smacks of Beckett by people who know about this kind of thing).
& Cheese. In a recent comment from my cousin, I started wondering about the true definition of cheese. In my opinion, cheese is very earnest music, with big hair and fluorescent pink leg-warmers, and, preferably, pre-dates the 90s (although I will allow that the 90s did offer us some cheese). It should be most ideally experienced by singing along (into a hairbrush). Examples of 'my' definition of cheese include: I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight (The Cutting Crew), If You Leave Me Now (Chicago), Alone (Heart) and so on and so forth. Opinions?
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
& I'm really sorry, honest. This serious blogging is all well and good when I can motivate myself to do it. [I mean, my brain sort of works in blog posts? Yet when it comes to typing them up, I get distracted and wander off and before I know it, it's three weeks later.]
& Anyway, my dear cousin has tagged me to do a meme. A meme of six things that make me happy. Let's all remember that I'm really terribly fickle, so if I were to do this meme next week, my answers might be entirely different.
i. Jon McLaughlin.
Singer-songwrighter-pianist from Indiana. I've been listening to his music obsessively-and-on-repeat for a while now. Also, he's pretty.
No. Really, really pretty. Not well-known in Ireland at all although he did perform at this year's Oscars (a song from Enchanted). Of course, that's not going to mean very much to the Irish audience, given that the show was most convincingly thieved by Glen Hansard and the wonderful Marketa Irglova but this guy writes some rather sweet songs and is pretty awesome on the piano and there is something heartening about knowing that people still write songs like Perfect (& in my life if i can have one thing i don't deserve/then i have never wanted anybody else but her).
ii. Saturday mornings.
Which is funny, given that I try to sleep right on through Saturday mornings if at all possible. I very rarely have to work on a Saturday which is rather wonderful. Occasionally, I manage to crawl out of bed and even make it to the shop to buy the Guardian and bacon and eggs. (Note: I do change out of my pyjamas in order to go to the shop but sometimes, I'm in the minority down at Spar.)
iii. DVD Boxsets.
It's OK! I will narrow this down. A bit. While working as a junior doctor, I very rarely had the time to watch television at normal person hours. I might occasionally catch a late night repeat of Battlestar Galactica or Heroes but that would be about the height of my consistency of viewing. So, I began to invest in boxsets (and this is where Saturday mornings come in handy). I'm one of those people who can quite happily sit down and watch episode after episode of a given TV show. Once, I watched the entire third series of The Mighty Boosh in one sitting. The next morning, I woke up with an actual hangover, no joke.
iv. Neil Gaiman.
My favourite author (and anyone who knows me, knows how much I love reading and having and owning books, so this is big, man). Mr Gaiman is reason I read - nay, purchased - graphic novels, in the form of Sandman because I figured that if he wrote them, they must be worth a look (they are). I think I was first introduced to his writing by way of a recommendation. American Gods is an incredible novel with incredible scope and if you haven't read it ... why the hell not? I have countless new books I haven't actually read yet but I know that I will re-read American Gods, Stardust, Sandman, &c many, many times before I get around to reading some books for the first time.
v. Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato.
OK, so I'm a sell-out. But there's something about this particular coffee that reminds me of summertime (and given what Irish summers have amounted to in recent years, that's no mean feat). Also, that much caffeine and that much refined sugar do wonderful things for my energy levels and I can conduct conversations at a much higher rate than usual!
vi. Manuel Almunia, Francesc Fabregas & Theo Walcott.
Yeah, I know that there are three parts to vi. but these three guys can come under the umbrella of the three Arsenal players for whom I have any emotional attachment. Sorry, that should be the only three Arsenal players for whom I have any emotional attachment.
& I swear I'll try to update more often. I still have movies and plays to review and I'm going to see No Man's Land at the Gate Theatre next week. Oh, what a life I lead.
& Anyway, my dear cousin has tagged me to do a meme. A meme of six things that make me happy. Let's all remember that I'm really terribly fickle, so if I were to do this meme next week, my answers might be entirely different.
Things I Like. Yo.
(in no particular order)
(in no particular order)
i. Jon McLaughlin.
Singer-songwrighter-pianist from Indiana. I've been listening to his music obsessively-and-on-repeat for a while now. Also, he's pretty.
No. Really, really pretty. Not well-known in Ireland at all although he did perform at this year's Oscars (a song from Enchanted). Of course, that's not going to mean very much to the Irish audience, given that the show was most convincingly thieved by Glen Hansard and the wonderful Marketa Irglova but this guy writes some rather sweet songs and is pretty awesome on the piano and there is something heartening about knowing that people still write songs like Perfect (& in my life if i can have one thing i don't deserve/then i have never wanted anybody else but her).
ii. Saturday mornings.
Which is funny, given that I try to sleep right on through Saturday mornings if at all possible. I very rarely have to work on a Saturday which is rather wonderful. Occasionally, I manage to crawl out of bed and even make it to the shop to buy the Guardian and bacon and eggs. (Note: I do change out of my pyjamas in order to go to the shop but sometimes, I'm in the minority down at Spar.)
iii. DVD Boxsets.
It's OK! I will narrow this down. A bit. While working as a junior doctor, I very rarely had the time to watch television at normal person hours. I might occasionally catch a late night repeat of Battlestar Galactica or Heroes but that would be about the height of my consistency of viewing. So, I began to invest in boxsets (and this is where Saturday mornings come in handy). I'm one of those people who can quite happily sit down and watch episode after episode of a given TV show. Once, I watched the entire third series of The Mighty Boosh in one sitting. The next morning, I woke up with an actual hangover, no joke.
iv. Neil Gaiman.
My favourite author (and anyone who knows me, knows how much I love reading and having and owning books, so this is big, man). Mr Gaiman is reason I read - nay, purchased - graphic novels, in the form of Sandman because I figured that if he wrote them, they must be worth a look (they are). I think I was first introduced to his writing by way of a recommendation. American Gods is an incredible novel with incredible scope and if you haven't read it ... why the hell not? I have countless new books I haven't actually read yet but I know that I will re-read American Gods, Stardust, Sandman, &c many, many times before I get around to reading some books for the first time.
v. Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato.
OK, so I'm a sell-out. But there's something about this particular coffee that reminds me of summertime (and given what Irish summers have amounted to in recent years, that's no mean feat). Also, that much caffeine and that much refined sugar do wonderful things for my energy levels and I can conduct conversations at a much higher rate than usual!
vi. Manuel Almunia, Francesc Fabregas & Theo Walcott.
Yeah, I know that there are three parts to vi. but these three guys can come under the umbrella of the three Arsenal players for whom I have any emotional attachment. Sorry, that should be the only three Arsenal players for whom I have any emotional attachment.
& I swear I'll try to update more often. I still have movies and plays to review and I'm going to see No Man's Land at the Gate Theatre next week. Oh, what a life I lead.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Time sort of got away from me there.
& aw, man. Where did those two-and-a-bit weeks go? I totally meant to blog, like, every other day. I've to ramble about 3 movies (one of which does include The Dark Knight, so my esteemed first cousin can stop mocking me now, OK?) and a play, but it's 12.30am and I have to work tomorrow.
& it sort of occurred to me today that I don't measure the time it takes to walk to work in actual minutes. I count it in songs. Currently, I listen to a particular playlist on my iPod (a playlist imaginatively entitled august oh-eight). I hit play when I leave my apartment and I get through Jon McLaughlin's Beating My Heart, Ryan Adams' Touch, Feel & Lose, REM's Near Wild Heaven, The Killers' When You Were Young and the first half of Leonard Cohen's Anthem. Well, I thought it was an interesting observation (and sometimes I want the journey to be longer so I can listen to more songs).
& it sort of occurred to me today that I don't measure the time it takes to walk to work in actual minutes. I count it in songs. Currently, I listen to a particular playlist on my iPod (a playlist imaginatively entitled august oh-eight). I hit play when I leave my apartment and I get through Jon McLaughlin's Beating My Heart, Ryan Adams' Touch, Feel & Lose, REM's Near Wild Heaven, The Killers' When You Were Young and the first half of Leonard Cohen's Anthem. Well, I thought it was an interesting observation (and sometimes I want the journey to be longer so I can listen to more songs).
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
& two nights running. Hold the phone.
& I'm just back from going to the cinema. I've heard tell that there's a movie called The Dark Knight doing the rounds, not to mention a little film called Mamma Mia! and I do want to see both of them, honestly (although possibly not in that order, oy). No, today, I saw Summer Hours, and I'm not sure what I thought of it. Not much happens which, in itself, isn't a flaw. The plot, such that it is, revolves around a family of three grown-up children and their mother's estate. There's an element of intrigue, involving the relationship between their recently-deceased mother and her uncle, a renowned painter but it's really just alluded to.
The acting was rather good - Juliette Binoche and Charles Berling were impressive, as was Isabelle Sadoyen, as the elderly housekeeper. It's the biggest role in which I've seen Jérémie Renier and he was convincing as the youngest brother. I'm debating as to whether to mention that he's exceptionally good-looking but that might make me seem superficial.
Hey. Wait.
Nevertheless, I left the movie feeling unfulfilled. I'm not entirely sure what sort of point the movie was trying to make. There's a scene, towards the end, when the youngest generation have a party in the old house and it felt a little bit like the party scene in Love in Thoughts, but generations and leagues away.
& it just occurred to me that I'm wearing Blogger hoodie while typing this. Ooh. See what I did there?
& I'm just back from going to the cinema. I've heard tell that there's a movie called The Dark Knight doing the rounds, not to mention a little film called Mamma Mia! and I do want to see both of them, honestly (although possibly not in that order, oy). No, today, I saw Summer Hours, and I'm not sure what I thought of it. Not much happens which, in itself, isn't a flaw. The plot, such that it is, revolves around a family of three grown-up children and their mother's estate. There's an element of intrigue, involving the relationship between their recently-deceased mother and her uncle, a renowned painter but it's really just alluded to.
The acting was rather good - Juliette Binoche and Charles Berling were impressive, as was Isabelle Sadoyen, as the elderly housekeeper. It's the biggest role in which I've seen Jérémie Renier and he was convincing as the youngest brother. I'm debating as to whether to mention that he's exceptionally good-looking but that might make me seem superficial.
Hey. Wait.
Nevertheless, I left the movie feeling unfulfilled. I'm not entirely sure what sort of point the movie was trying to make. There's a scene, towards the end, when the youngest generation have a party in the old house and it felt a little bit like the party scene in Love in Thoughts, but generations and leagues away.
& it just occurred to me that I'm wearing Blogger hoodie while typing this. Ooh. See what I did there?
Monday, July 28, 2008
& I just ate half a tub of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream. The one with the ickle white chocolate polar bears in it? The environmentally friendly sort? The sort that's going to make me fat if I continue to imbibe it at this rate.
& I watched Stardust (2007) yesterday. I love that movie and not least because it's based on a novel by one of my very favourite authors, Neil Gaiman. It has some scenery-chewing turns by the likes of Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole and Michelle Pfeiffer, a Who's Who? of British television actors (Julian Rhind-Tutt, Nathaniel Parker, Mark Williams, David Walliams, Ricky Gervais), our very own David Kelly, as well as some beautiful young things, Ben Barnes, Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Henry Cavill and Sienna Miller (all of whom also act). It's a charming movie, based on a charming book, with a Take That song on the soundtrack and I am easily pleased. Watching it, though, I couldn't help but notice that every fantasy looks a little bit Lord of the Rings. At first, I just assumed it was because everyone's decided to start filming in New Zealand, but apparently not? (Who knew that Hertfordshire could look so vast?). Looking back on it, even The Princess Bride (1987) looks a little bit LotR and it was filmed in the Burren. King Arthur (2004) is another impressive-looking movie but, to the best of my knowledge, Wicklow doesn't actually look like that in real life (with neither the snow or the women wearing strips of leather and blue face paint).
& I still don't know what the hell I'm doing here but I'm off to an OK start.
& I watched Stardust (2007) yesterday. I love that movie and not least because it's based on a novel by one of my very favourite authors, Neil Gaiman. It has some scenery-chewing turns by the likes of Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole and Michelle Pfeiffer, a Who's Who? of British television actors (Julian Rhind-Tutt, Nathaniel Parker, Mark Williams, David Walliams, Ricky Gervais), our very own David Kelly, as well as some beautiful young things, Ben Barnes, Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Henry Cavill and Sienna Miller (all of whom also act). It's a charming movie, based on a charming book, with a Take That song on the soundtrack and I am easily pleased. Watching it, though, I couldn't help but notice that every fantasy looks a little bit Lord of the Rings. At first, I just assumed it was because everyone's decided to start filming in New Zealand, but apparently not? (Who knew that Hertfordshire could look so vast?). Looking back on it, even The Princess Bride (1987) looks a little bit LotR and it was filmed in the Burren. King Arthur (2004) is another impressive-looking movie but, to the best of my knowledge, Wicklow doesn't actually look like that in real life (with neither the snow or the women wearing strips of leather and blue face paint).
& I still don't know what the hell I'm doing here but I'm off to an OK start.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
[shuffling feet]
-if patroklos was a popstar? (A line from some writing that meant something once and means something else now)
& yet another attempt to indulge in a spot of grown-up blogging. Hopefully, this one won't be like those diaries I tried to keep as a youngster. There would be a flurry of activity. I would be obsessive in my writing for a month (or more, or less) and my interest would gradually wane. The only long-term commitment I've ever had to a diary has been my secure, not-open-to-the-public LiveJournal but that is a story for another time.
& I have half an idea that I'll blog about books I've read (except I have no time to read) or movies that I've seen (but I've an appalling taste in films) or music that I like. I may even write about writing (it's one of those things I pretend I don't do).
& it will be watch this space.
& yet another attempt to indulge in a spot of grown-up blogging. Hopefully, this one won't be like those diaries I tried to keep as a youngster. There would be a flurry of activity. I would be obsessive in my writing for a month (or more, or less) and my interest would gradually wane. The only long-term commitment I've ever had to a diary has been my secure, not-open-to-the-public LiveJournal but that is a story for another time.
& I have half an idea that I'll blog about books I've read (except I have no time to read) or movies that I've seen (but I've an appalling taste in films) or music that I like. I may even write about writing (it's one of those things I pretend I don't do).
& it will be watch this space.
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