Thank you
3 months ago
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Some Reasons Why Sawyer is Best
And it's all lovely. But. But but but but. Me, I'd have focussed on the funny. The nicknames. The dimples. And, OK, yes, the shirtlessness. But mainly the nicknames. He brings the funny like nobody else on Lost. Without him it would be a dull and humourless place to be - despite Hurley's in your face supposed to be funny but actually sad antics. I like Hurley, but like everyone else (except Miles) he's only funny when he's teamed up with Sawyer.
Let's face it. Sawyer is best. And he rocks. And he has very nice shoulders.
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!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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.
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