LoTR Binge

I have relaxed form watching the Buffy DVD binge and instead from yesterday and this morning watched the complete three movies of The Lord Of The Rings.

It is along time since i have seen these movies, but what a great adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkein story.
And Arwen is the most beautify of the elven race.

Book 39 - Iain Banks "Stonemouth"

Iain Banks "Stonemouth" (Abacus)







A long time ago i read his The Crow Road and before that The Wasp Factory. his is the first of his non science fiction books i have read for a considerable number of years. This one is a gritty drama played out in a small insular Scottish town, named Stonemouth. Stewart has come back to Stonemouth after five years away. The reason for his absence and the reason behind the local's reaction to his return are slowly divulged over the weekend. Through the use of flashbacks and Stewart's introspective thoughts of the events before his departure we gradually are drawn to the dramatic conclusion of the book. In other words,a highly recommended read.

Book 40 - Julian Barnes "The Noise Of Time"

Julian Barnes "The Noise Of Time"  (Vintage)





Shostakovich and his struggles to maintain his artistic integrity in the face of the sometimes urgent, sometimes insinuating pressures of "Power" are brought to life beautifully in this short novel. As he gets older, Julian Barnes seems to need fewer and fewer words to get across what he needs to, and this novel is short but intense, and primarily about Fear.

In this telling, Shostakovich is primarily driven by fear and the seeming inevitability of being crushed by Stalin's apparatus of repression - always referred to as "Power". The lasting image from the book is of the scared composer, standing every night outside his apartment by lift, with a small suitcase, waiting for the secret police to arrive (so that they don't disturb his wife). And yet, they don't come for him, whereas they do come for many of his peers. The paranoia of being one who remains, seems almost worse than being arrested (but of course, not actually worse).

Shostakovich is not portrayed as a hero, not even as a courageous man, although he does his best to stand up to Stalin in a telephone call where the Man himself smoothly persuades (but what choice does he really have?) the composer to join a cultural delegation to London. Its both a brave, pathetic and utterly futile resistance. Is he compromised - undoubtedly yes, both personally and artistically. In my opinion Barnes lets him off a little easily here but his point is to show the gradual assimilation of the composer and is ultimate submission to "Power"

2017 Comic Con Talk Practice Buffy / Angel Stream

TPN has posted a pre-CON practice stream that expands on the philosophy of the whole Buffy and Angel universe - for an hour this is worth watching.

2017 Comic Con Talk Practice Stream (jump to 3:48)

TALK BEGINS AT 3:48

As I did last year, I'd like to terrorize myself with a deadline BEFORE the talk itself. This was a livestream stream of me practicing my 2017 DCC talk, Top 10 Buffy or Angel Episodes (that inspire us to be strong.)

Because I can't count on everyone at the live talks having seen the channel, there is a LOT of repetition of content from the channel. I even reuse passages of scripts. But I did find last year, that a full run through on camera helped my prep quite a bit.

Birthday Greetings

Greetings and salutations to deathxpixie. May you have , or have had, a great birthday

Doctor Who - The Doctor Falls

So the tenth season of Dr.Who has ended - an ouroboros in which the 12th is the first, like a snake eating its own tail. So what becomes of Bill now and wasn't that a tenuous link to the Pilot? So whom will be the next Doctor? Philosophically we can say it a circle of life, of regeneration and rebirth. An introspection,an eternal return.
So,in such belly watching and meditation how did this season fare overall.

What do you think?