Thank you
3 months ago
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Ben Linus - He Lies, Because That's What He Does.
I really hope this doesn't mean what I think it does......I LOVE Ben. Probably second only to Sawyer.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Good!Jack and the pursuit of elusive happiness
I watched 24 from Day 1 of Day 1. Well, Day 1 in the UK anyway. Love the lovely BBC 2 for buying and broadcasting it - for taking a chance when Sky, owned by the people who make and show 24 in the US, wouldn't. And I enjoyed it. I did. To a certain extent. But I didn't really *feel* it. I certainly didn't get the Jack love. I liked Tony, me. Soul Patch, as TWoP (or was it MBTV in those days?) used to call him. But I stuck with Day 1. I came back for Day 2, but bailed midway. Can't remember why. Day 3 though - now that, I loved. Lots of Tony. And Chloe. Loved her. Jack was actually interesting too - I began to glimpse what others saw in him. Then he cut off chase's hand and, well......the day was over anyway, so.....
Day 4 I didn't like and bailed, Day 5 they killed Tony and I was done. Apparently there was a Day 6 and an awayday. I know little of these. We'd parted ways. Then, about 13 hours into Day 7 my sister mentioned Tony. I pointed out that good though Soul Patch had been, he'd been dead for years now. She then informed me he was back, and not as a zombie either (hell, I *would* have watched that, to be honest). Cue a frantic catch up using the magic of iTunes and iPhone during a 2 day trip to Paris.
And this time I *was* feeling it. This time Good!Jack (as opposed to Bad!Jack (Shepherd)) totally had me. Because he loved Tony. And Chloe. And Bill. And Aaron too probably. And how he suffered. No longer the happy amoral torturer he - everything he did (in that line - and, for him, realistically what other line is there?) destroyed a bit more of him. He lived by his choices but they were crucifying him. He had a conscience. He was society's acceptable sacrifice used and abused by a succession of evil pliticians and functionaries.
And now Day 8 is proving to be a thing of wonder. The Good!Jack/Renee dynamic has obliterated and residual Skate interest from my heart (I still like Losty best BY FAR - but Good!Jack and Renee have established in just over a year a more powerful and affecting relationship than any of my Losty favourites have managed in 5 years). Of course it's the certainty that Good!Jack cannot and will not ever find true happiness that makes it all so compelling. Renee must be toast, surely? But while it lasts it's required viewing. The tragic hero and heroine doomed to despair, torturing their way to oblivion.
Oh, and stuff gets blown up and a few weeks ago a thumb was cut off. Top Sunday entertainment!
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Day 4 I didn't like and bailed, Day 5 they killed Tony and I was done. Apparently there was a Day 6 and an awayday. I know little of these. We'd parted ways. Then, about 13 hours into Day 7 my sister mentioned Tony. I pointed out that good though Soul Patch had been, he'd been dead for years now. She then informed me he was back, and not as a zombie either (hell, I *would* have watched that, to be honest). Cue a frantic catch up using the magic of iTunes and iPhone during a 2 day trip to Paris.
And this time I *was* feeling it. This time Good!Jack (as opposed to Bad!Jack (Shepherd)) totally had me. Because he loved Tony. And Chloe. And Bill. And Aaron too probably. And how he suffered. No longer the happy amoral torturer he - everything he did (in that line - and, for him, realistically what other line is there?) destroyed a bit more of him. He lived by his choices but they were crucifying him. He had a conscience. He was society's acceptable sacrifice used and abused by a succession of evil pliticians and functionaries.
And now Day 8 is proving to be a thing of wonder. The Good!Jack/Renee dynamic has obliterated and residual Skate interest from my heart (I still like Losty best BY FAR - but Good!Jack and Renee have established in just over a year a more powerful and affecting relationship than any of my Losty favourites have managed in 5 years). Of course it's the certainty that Good!Jack cannot and will not ever find true happiness that makes it all so compelling. Renee must be toast, surely? But while it lasts it's required viewing. The tragic hero and heroine doomed to despair, torturing their way to oblivion.
Oh, and stuff gets blown up and a few weeks ago a thumb was cut off. Top Sunday entertainment!
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Chroma-fabulous
Imagine a world where many centuries before, Something Happened. Imagine a world where everything is, as far as possible, kept in stasis. A world where post codes and spoons are vital indicators of social standing. A world where most (?) people can only distinguish one primary or secondary colour from the spectrum, and everything else just looks grey. A result of the Something that Happened? Genetically modified colour blindness? As yet, that's unclear. But then, Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey is only the first volume of a planned trilogy and things are left very much in the air at its close - pretty much everything is still up for grabs....
God but it was hard work at the beginning. The first 150 or so pages were really hard going. I devoured the next 300 in one night. I think this was probably because the world building (although this is our world, right? Or.....not?) was complex and ambitious. Once the elements crucial to the plot had been put in place, and the central mysteries had begun to be hinted at, the story moved at a cracking pace.
Me, I love Jasper Fforde. The Thursday Next books are a triumph as far as I'm concerned. So I was predisposed to like this, and I stuck with it when the going was tough. I'm glad I did. The grim depressing and Logans Run/Soylent Green ending notwithstanding, I can't wait for the next installment.
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God but it was hard work at the beginning. The first 150 or so pages were really hard going. I devoured the next 300 in one night. I think this was probably because the world building (although this is our world, right? Or.....not?) was complex and ambitious. Once the elements crucial to the plot had been put in place, and the central mysteries had begun to be hinted at, the story moved at a cracking pace.
Me, I love Jasper Fforde. The Thursday Next books are a triumph as far as I'm concerned. So I was predisposed to like this, and I stuck with it when the going was tough. I'm glad I did. The grim depressing and Logans Run/Soylent Green ending notwithstanding, I can't wait for the next installment.
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Wednesday, 10 February 2010
If A Picture Paints A Thousand Words.....
The Stephen King gobblefest continues. Latest on the menu - Duma Key. Like Under the Dome, Duma Key is a fairly recent novel (post The Dark Tower, post Lost) and it's certainly not 'horror' (obviously, because otherwise I wouldn't have read it). Unlike Under the Dome, Duma Key isn't really an ensemble piece. There are several characters but only one viewpoint, only one 'star'. Edgar Freemantle - crippled accident victim and ...portal? channel? part-time host? for a malevolent, imprisoned spirit entity. Freemantle's frequent mantra is 'I *can* do this'. Sound familiar? Yeah. Me too.
The plot revolves around the power of Edgar's sketches and paintings - art he produces once he has moved to Duma Key, a spooky island off the Florida coast. While it's not horror, shedloads of people die and it's quite scary (but not *too* scary). It's certainly less scary than Under the Dome or The Dark Tower. And that's not a weakness. It's a strength. There's no terror to detract from the character piece - to detract from the beauty and sadness of Edgar's story. There is loss, redemption, friendship, courage. Not much hope though, at the end. Not for Edgar who has now lost two lives - his first 'ordinary' life, and his second life as an artist. And several friends (and closer than friends) on the way.
Despite the low key ending - there is no triumph, the defeat of the malign entity is bought at the expense of such loss and isn't even necessarily permanent (although the loss is, of course) - Duma Key is a fabulous book. Like a finely polished pearl - despite the links to The Dark Tower and (maybe) the nods to Lost - it seems to be all of itself. A meditation on the power of art (any art, ask Sai King) and where it comes from. And a celebration of friendship. The back cover contains a recommendation from Damon Lindelof. Good call.
The plot revolves around the power of Edgar's sketches and paintings - art he produces once he has moved to Duma Key, a spooky island off the Florida coast. While it's not horror, shedloads of people die and it's quite scary (but not *too* scary). It's certainly less scary than Under the Dome or The Dark Tower. And that's not a weakness. It's a strength. There's no terror to detract from the character piece - to detract from the beauty and sadness of Edgar's story. There is loss, redemption, friendship, courage. Not much hope though, at the end. Not for Edgar who has now lost two lives - his first 'ordinary' life, and his second life as an artist. And several friends (and closer than friends) on the way.
Despite the low key ending - there is no triumph, the defeat of the malign entity is bought at the expense of such loss and isn't even necessarily permanent (although the loss is, of course) - Duma Key is a fabulous book. Like a finely polished pearl - despite the links to The Dark Tower and (maybe) the nods to Lost - it seems to be all of itself. A meditation on the power of art (any art, ask Sai King) and where it comes from. And a celebration of friendship. The back cover contains a recommendation from Damon Lindelof. Good call.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
The Dark Tower. All 3000+ Pages Of It.
What can I say, really? I have no idea where to start. I've been submerged...somewhere, Roland's *where*, plus sundry other wheres and whens for such a long long time now...
Of course, it hasn't been a long time at all. Less than 5 weeks, probably. Why wasn't it a long time given it was certainly a long *read*? (And not fogetting the break I took to read the latest DWJ, too) Because I have gorged myself on Roland's quest, do it please ya. Absolutely binged myself silly. As addicted as Eddie Cantor Dean used to be to heroin. Lovely Eddie (say sorry). As addicted as Roland was to the Tower itself. Poor Roland. (Again, say sorry).
I started my own quest ( to finish the dam things) mainly because I wanted to mine all the parallels to Lost. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Someting to fill the deadspace between the Xmas/new year Dr Who extravaganza and emotional burnout, and the return of Lost at the beginning of February. Something to help with all the travel I'd be doing. Something to mini blog on tumblr.
Well. We seldom get what we expect (and the Sox'll never win the series). I did get all those things. More Lost stuff than you can shake a stick at, say thanks. An addictive time filler. A tumblr subject line. I also got - surprisingly - a series that I loved more than The Gap. So - in other words a new favourite book series. And probably, in Waste Lands, or maybe Wolves of the Calla, an individual book I love more than Ghost Written, or Deep Secret, or even Jane Eyre. And it has nothing to do with Lost, actually, and everything to do with Roland and Jake and Eddie and Susannah and Oy and the Pere. And Stephen King.
Oh, but to begin with it was hard work. Very hard. I wasn't feeling it at all. I almost bailed so many times. The Lobstrocities at the start of The Drawing of the Three nearly finished me (as well as Roland). And I didn't like him, not one bit (cos, you don't kill kids, right Sayid? Or let them die, Jack). But then...then the door opened. And it wasn't that thing anymore, that Tom Bombadil thing, that Real Story thing. It was this thing. This thing that had reached Rivendell. This thing that had boarded Captain's Fancy. This thing I could suddenly love. This thing I could adore. So, I did. And Jake came back. Hooray. Such a neat way to deal with bifurcated timelines ( operating in a many worlds scenario also). I wonder if any TV writers have taken note...
My favourite moments Reading these books include *cheering* the appearance of Captain Trips (cos everyone just loves plague, right); rooting for Randall Flagg when he was confronting Mordred (poor old ageless stranger, uttering nothing but lies) just cos I hate spiders; and the whole demolition of the fourt wall. Which of course was what made it art. (I so want to add 'basically' there but I'm not sure how well West Wing references would sit in this piece).
And what do I say, after it all? After the tears and the 'ending' and the hope and despair? I say thankee sai. I say I loved every minute of it. I say I'm happy to go back jack and do it again. Although I worry about the variables. I say that when I watched the Lost series 6 premiere in the wee small hours of Wednesday morning, I was looking for Dark Tower links in homage to *that*. I say The Dark Tower is an incredible work of narrative and emotion and I love it to bits.
I say true.
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Of course, it hasn't been a long time at all. Less than 5 weeks, probably. Why wasn't it a long time given it was certainly a long *read*? (And not fogetting the break I took to read the latest DWJ, too) Because I have gorged myself on Roland's quest, do it please ya. Absolutely binged myself silly. As addicted as Eddie Cantor Dean used to be to heroin. Lovely Eddie (say sorry). As addicted as Roland was to the Tower itself. Poor Roland. (Again, say sorry).
I started my own quest ( to finish the dam things) mainly because I wanted to mine all the parallels to Lost. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Someting to fill the deadspace between the Xmas/new year Dr Who extravaganza and emotional burnout, and the return of Lost at the beginning of February. Something to help with all the travel I'd be doing. Something to mini blog on tumblr.
Well. We seldom get what we expect (and the Sox'll never win the series). I did get all those things. More Lost stuff than you can shake a stick at, say thanks. An addictive time filler. A tumblr subject line. I also got - surprisingly - a series that I loved more than The Gap. So - in other words a new favourite book series. And probably, in Waste Lands, or maybe Wolves of the Calla, an individual book I love more than Ghost Written, or Deep Secret, or even Jane Eyre. And it has nothing to do with Lost, actually, and everything to do with Roland and Jake and Eddie and Susannah and Oy and the Pere. And Stephen King.
Oh, but to begin with it was hard work. Very hard. I wasn't feeling it at all. I almost bailed so many times. The Lobstrocities at the start of The Drawing of the Three nearly finished me (as well as Roland). And I didn't like him, not one bit (cos, you don't kill kids, right Sayid? Or let them die, Jack). But then...then the door opened. And it wasn't that thing anymore, that Tom Bombadil thing, that Real Story thing. It was this thing. This thing that had reached Rivendell. This thing that had boarded Captain's Fancy. This thing I could suddenly love. This thing I could adore. So, I did. And Jake came back. Hooray. Such a neat way to deal with bifurcated timelines ( operating in a many worlds scenario also). I wonder if any TV writers have taken note...
My favourite moments Reading these books include *cheering* the appearance of Captain Trips (cos everyone just loves plague, right); rooting for Randall Flagg when he was confronting Mordred (poor old ageless stranger, uttering nothing but lies) just cos I hate spiders; and the whole demolition of the fourt wall. Which of course was what made it art. (I so want to add 'basically' there but I'm not sure how well West Wing references would sit in this piece).
And what do I say, after it all? After the tears and the 'ending' and the hope and despair? I say thankee sai. I say I loved every minute of it. I say I'm happy to go back jack and do it again. Although I worry about the variables. I say that when I watched the Lost series 6 premiere in the wee small hours of Wednesday morning, I was looking for Dark Tower links in homage to *that*. I say The Dark Tower is an incredible work of narrative and emotion and I love it to bits.
I say true.
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Monday, 1 February 2010
Go Back, Jack, And Do It Again...
The wait is almost over. The final season of Lost is about to begin. I don't think I have ever been so excited, so desperate to get going and yet so scared of what might happen...well, not since the run up to Rose, anyway. Suppose they blow it? They could blow it. It's not, you know, technically impossible. And there's no way it ends happy. Well - no way it remains art and ends happy. Is it Dark Tower all the way, baby (not finished yet but nearly there now)? Or will we return to linear, corporeal life? I'm genuinely scared. This means so much to me. But I'm gritting my teeth. Excelsior!
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And So, The End Is Near.....
Scary and Exciting at the same time. Filled with promise .......and threat. Is my boy toast? Maybe. It looks that way. But who knows? Also.....falling off a cliff? Remember, there are other worlds than these......
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