It

Last night I went out and saw It, based on the Stephen King novel.  I saw the two part miniseries adaptation from 1990 when I was about 15, and it was really my introduction to Stephen King, and I saw it several times.  I also read the book when I was 15, and I was on this massive King kick and buying pretty much everything I could find from him.  It is still one of my favorite Stephen King works.  The movie is good, and sticks fairly close to the book, although the setting is updated to 1989.  It's set in a small town in Maine (where else?), which is being terrorised by a string of mysterious disappearances of children.  Seven outcast kids band together to find out what is going on.  They soon learn that the culprit is a weird clown called Pennywise, which is just one manifestation of a hugely powerful, evil, shape-shifting entity, that the kids just call "It".

I saw the show with my friends Alan and Jackie, and we went out afterwards to Five Guys for some food.  I had a bacon cheeseburger and fries.  Then we had some drinks before heading home.

I went along to my parent's house today for lunch, which was fun.  When I got home I got the book I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist delivered.  I had pre-ordered it a few weeks ago.  Lindqvist is a Swedish horror writer, who is probably best known for Let the Right One In which was turned into a hugely successful Swedish movie, and was re-made in the US as Let Me In. 

I also got some writing done.

Christine Rides Again

Last night I downloaded a new audiobook from Audible. This month I chose Christine by Stephen King, read by Holter Graham. Christine is about a teenager who buys a broken down old 1950s car but finds himself slowly possessed by an evil force in the car, which comes to life and starts running down his enemies. It was made into a film in the 1980s by John Carpenter. i read the book when I was about 16 and it was one of my favourite Stephen King books at the time.

On my way into work I listened to Chilling Tales: The Podcast, the stories this week were about an aspiring screenwriter who has a gruesome encounter in Hollywood, and a woman trapped in a down elevator, that takes her into a horrifying world. I listened to a new episode of one of my favourite podcasts You Must Remember This about the "secrets and/or forgotten history of Hollywood's first century". This was the first in a series of episodes about the life and career of Joan Crawford.

Back home I listened to a podcast episode called Punt PI where comedian Steve Punt investigates odd old mysteries, and mysterious crimes. This one was about the mysterious death of a reclusive elderly actress in the 1940s after she had apparently vanished for ten years. I also heard an episode of The Moth, which had a story about a family drama that blows up during a Bar Mitzvah, a man has a strange adventure in Morocco while searching for author Paul Bowles, and a struggling writer who tries to combat writers block by shutting the world out.

End of Watch

Last night I finished reading the novel End of Watch by Stephen King. It's the concluding part of the trilogy that began with Mr. Mercedes and continued with Finders Keepers. In this one retired detective turned private investigator Bill Hodges investigates a number of apparent suicides connected by an old handheld games console, and apparently linked to a serial killer who has been lying comatose in hospital for the past six years. However there are rumours of bizarre paranormal phenomenon surrounding the killer, and Hodges soon realises that he is not as dormant as he appears. It's a good book, a real page turning thriller with supernatural overtones.

I went to the dentist today for my six month check up. It all went fine though. I was only there for a few minutes. I went straight on to work afterwards. I went along to the comic store afterwards and got Black Panther issue 3 and 4, Harrow County issue 14, Batgirl issue 1, Action Comics issue 960, Ms. Marvel issue 9 and Civil War II issue 4.

I started a new comic this evening, but I haven't finished it yet.

Myths and Legends

Last night I did some reading (currently End of Watch by Stephen King, which is really good so far).

It was fairly quiet at work today, it always is at this time of year with a lot of people being away on vacation or training and so on. I listened to an episode of The Myths and Legends Podcast which was about the creation myth in Norse Mythology, an amusing story about Thor and Loki being challenged by giants to an eating and drinking contest, and having to wrestle an old lady and lift a cat. I also listened to an episode of Make It Then Tell Everybody interviewing cartoonist Erika Moen. I managed to get away quite sharp today as well, which made a change.

Misery

Last night I watched Misery, directed by Rob Reiner, and based on a novel by Stephen King. The movie tells the story of Paul Sheldon (played by James Caan) the best selling author of a series of historical romances, featuring the character Misery. Sheldon has decided to end the series and kill off Misery, so he can work on more literary fiction. After a car accident in the Colorado mountains, a badly injured Sheldon is rescued by nurse Annie Wilkes (played by Kathy Bates), who happens to be his "number one fan". However when she finds out that he has killed off her favourite character, and reads his unpublished manuscript, she is extremely angry, and demands that he brings Misery back, if he wants to live. It's a really good movie, with some great performances, especially from Kathy Bates. The novel was inspired by the highly negative fan reaction that King received for his non-horror fantasy novel The Eyes of the Dragon, and his feeling that he was trapped in the horror genre and unable to get away from it. For the director Rob Reiner, he was best known for comedies and wanted to make more dramatic films. 

Today I went over to my parent's house for lunch, as usual for a Sunday. It was nice, we had some roast chicken, potato croquettes, peas and stuffing, with profiteroles and strawberries for dessert. This evening I was listening to the Just a Story podcast, which was telling the story of the lie detector test, which apparently was initially developed by William Marston, the same guy who created DC comics character Wonder Woman.

Myths and Wind-Up Birds

It was a pretty quiet evening last night. I was reading the new Stephen King novel,End of Watch, and a couple of episodes of the comedy show Peep Show, which I really like, even though I don't normally find it hilariously funny.

I was pretty busy at work. I listened to The Myths and Legends Podcast which was doing the story of Hong Gildong, basically a Korean Robin Hood, about the illegitimate child of an aristocrat who takes revenge by robbing wealthy, corrupt aristocrats and giving the money to the poor. Except he also has magical powers and fights demons. I also heard an episode of RadioLab about a man who basically tried to record every detail of his life on tape, basically wearing a wire everywhere he went. I've been listening to the audio book of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which I got as the free download when I signed up with Audible. It's very long, but it is really good.

I did a long day at work, so I paused on my way home and got a take out steak pie and French fries.

At the moment I'm listening to the Talking Comics podcast, which is probably the best and certainly most comprehensive comic book podcast.

Friday Feeling

I'm back on here again!

Yesterday evening I went to the New Yorker bar next door to the office for a few drinks with my friend Joe. I had three pints of beer and a plate of chips (French fries) covered with melted cheese. When i got home, I watched the second part of Desperation, based on the Stephen King novel. It's pretty faithful to the novel, which is a pretty good read, if not one of King's best.

Today was quiet, and the office emptied pretty quickly, as it almost always does on a Friday. There never seems to be much done on a Friday as people entertained themselves by flicking rubber bands at each other.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. I've got to get birthday presents and cards for my brother and Jackie, and get Jackie's present wrapped and organised before the party in the evening.