Telephone

It was a long day at work. At least after today I am off work for a week. I'm really looking forward to it.

On my way home I stopped and got some groceries and, when I got home, I realised my landline phone wasn't working. It said it was something to do with the phone line, and I've checked the connections and they seem fine. It's not a huge problem though, because I've got my cellphone.

Super-Noodles

Last night was really quiet. I spent most of the time reading my new comic-books. I must have been really tired because I did fall asleep on my couch again. It was a really dull day at work, but it was kind of nice that the sun was still out at six when I left. My friend Chris gave me a lift back, because he was going in my direction, which was really nice of him. I got some microwave super-noodles, which I haven't had since I was a child, but when I was about 13 or 14 we used to have them at least once a week. They tasted exactly the same as I remember. The new annual leave year starts today. I have forty five days I can take off this year. I've decided to take Monday off, so it should be a nice long weekend. I've posted a review of the comic-books that I read last night over at Permanently Weird.

Darkman

Last night I watched a 2009 movie called Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno, directed by Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea. It's a documentary about the production of acclaimed director Henri-Georges Clouzot's unfinished and unreleased 1964 film Inferno. The documentary was triggered by the discovery of 185 film canisters (totalling 15 hours of footage) and some 30 hours worth of soundtrack. The movie comprises of footage from the unfinished film, a couple of actors performong scenes from the script on a blank stage and talking-head interviews with the film crew who worked on the movie telling the story of the production and it's eventual collapse. The movie Inferno was intended to be about a man who is driven insane by jealousy when he suspects his wife is having an affair, and they shot hours of test footage for the hallucinatory dream sequences. According to the documentary, Clouzot didn't endear himself to the crew. He was an insomniac who thought everyone else should sleep as little as he did, and was in the habit of phoning people up at all hours of the night whenever an idea came to him. He also didn't like people taking time off and on Sundays, when the crew had the day off, he would hang around in the lobby of the hotel where they were staying and grab the first crewmembers he saw and tell them to go out with him and shoot test footage. One of the camera crew apparently took to coming and going through the ground floor bathroom window in order to avoid Clouzot. It was a very interesting documentary and well worth seeing for movie fans and especially aspiring film-makers. It shows just how difficult film-production can be and how easily everything can just fall apart.

Later on I watched the 1990 movie Darkman, directed by Sam Raimi. It stars Liam Neeson as a scientist who is working on a synthetic skin, which always becomes unstable and melts after about an hour and a half. However one night he is attacked by gangsters and his lab is blown up with him inside it. He survives, but is horribly burnt. The medical treatment that he undergoes renders him unable to feel pain and gives him sudden bursts of superhuman strength and flashes of violent rage. He escapes from the hospital and uses his synthetic skin to visit his girlfriend (Frances McDormand) and take violent revenge on his attackers. It is a really fun movie which moves along at a good fast pace. Both of the movies are reviewed over at Permanently Weird.

Today I went out to a stationary store and got some cardboard magazine storage boxes for my comic-book collection, two packs of Sharpie pens, and two A4 size sketch-pad journals (which were in a "buy one get one free" offer). They'll be really good for drawing comic books and other stuff.

My parents are going to see True Grit this afternoon, and I'm meeting them once their movie is finished to go to Pizza Express for dinner. Tomorrow lunchtime I'm going to the Dental Institute, and then I'll probably get some lunch and go to the comic-book store or somewhere.

Week Off

Last night was pretty quiet. I was watching a few TV comedy shows, and I managed to get to bed before one o'clock in the morning, which for me is really, really early! I was up at half past five and headed off to work, arriving at about quarter past seven. There was a baguette run today and I ordered a white bread panini with roast beef, brie, savoury cheese, jalapeno peppers and English mustard. It was really nice. I was kind of rushing to get everything done before having my week off work. I didn't manage to get everything finished but I did get as much as possible done.

I went up to the comic-book store after work and got Wolverine: The Best There Is issues 1 to 4, Silver Surfer issue 1, X-Men issue 8, Freedom Fighters issue 7, Amazing Spider-Man issue 651, Sweet Tooth issue 19 and House of Mystery issue 35 (I really like that comic-book, it's set in a house in another dimension where people end up trapped and they pay for their food and drink by telling stories in the bar, and so in each issue alongside the main story there is always a really short self-contained story). On my way home I stopped off for a drink

Comics and Bills

Last night was pretty quiet. I was watching repeats of comedy shows on TV and doing a bit of reading.

I was up at half past five in the morning today and got into work at five to seven. It was a pretty quiet day although there weren't many people in and most people seemed slightly hyper due to the fact that it was Friday. We had some blueberry muffins brought in which were really nice and there was a baguette run. I had a panini with roast beef, English mustard, brie, savoury cheese, jalapeno peppers and onions. It was a really nice sandwich.

I left work at one today and went up to the comic-book store, where I got a pretty big haul this week: Hellblazer issue 276, Night of the Living Dead issue 3, Memoir issue 2, Fables issue 102, Daredevil Reborn issue 2, Superman and Batman issue 81, Wolverine issue 5.1, Wolverine issue 1000, X-Men: Legacy issue 244, The Suicide Forest issue 3, Let Me In: Crossroads issue 3, DMZ issue 62 and Batman issue 707. So, yeah, it looks like a good set.

There was an electricity bill waiting for me when I got home, which was slightly more than I had been expecting, but not by too much. Bills always seem to come at the wrong time, but then there isn't really a right time for bills.

This evening I'm off to see Carrie at the movies with the Horror Group, so that should be fun. This is only the second time I've been out with them, but so far it has been really good.

I've been thinking about my holdiay for this year. I had been thinking of taking few days in Amsterdam next month, but I haven't got round to booking it, and I'm not sure if I'm really all that hot to go. I've been to Amsterdam before and really liked it, but I feel like waiting and maybe doing something like I did last year when I was travelling around the US and Canada, but going to different places. Anyway, if everything works out I shoud be doing a lot of travelling this year.

Trying to Get Over the Cold

I watched a bit of the Superbowl last night, not much because it was on very late at night over here, and I pretty much switched over during the half-time show. What I saw of it, it looked like a good game.

Today I still had the cold, but it wasn't as bad as it had been. I've been taking paracetamol tablets and also these really disgusting throat pastilles.

It was another fairly dull and ordinary day off work to start the week. One thing I''ll have to do this week is put in for my couple of weeks off next month. I've still got a couple of weeks of annual leave left and if I don't use it by the end of March then I won't be able to use it all.

Smart People

Last night I was watching a live astronomy show called Stargazing Live, which I thought was pretty interesting. There was a section where they were debunking the science of science-fiction movies. I really doubt many people would be surprised to learn that Star Wars is not scientifically accurate.

Later on I was watching the 2008 movie Smart People, directed by Noam Murro, which was about a literature professor (played by Dennis Quaid) who is constantly bitter and rude towards everyone, and is consequently disliked by both his colleagues and students. After an accident he meets and falls for a former student who is now a doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker). Aside from this the professor has to deal with a visit from his lazy, irresponsible, adopted brother (Thomas Haden Church) who comes to borrow money and stays to help unwind the professor's lonely, uptight, intellectual daughter (Ellen Page). It's not a bad movie, and quite funny in places. To be honest, the best thing about it was Thomas Haden Church and Ellen Page. The movie is reviewed over at Permanently Weird.

Today I went out and bought some comic-books. On my way home I got a Whopper meal from Burger King. One of my favourite bookstores has closed down now, which I'm not happy about.

Today is the last day of the Christmas/New Year break, and so this evening I'll be taking down my decorations.

The Sea Devils

Last night I was watching a six part Doctor Who story from 1972 called "The Sea Devils" which starred Jon Pertwee as the third Doctor and involved intelligent undersea reptiles who used to be the dominant species on Earth but went into hibernation millions of years ago to avoid a cataclysm that never came and then wake up to find humanity the dominant species on Earth and start to sabotage shipping in order to reclaim the Earth. It was quite a good story. One of the more action oriented ones.

I had been drinking quite a bit of cider during the evening, but wasn't in any way drunk. However when I woke up this morning I had kind of an annoying headache. I decided to stay in today, and watched some TV. At the moment I'm watching the Ralph Bakshi directed 1978 animated version of Lord of the Rings, based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novel (Tolkien was born on this day in 1892, by the way). The animation isn't great, but there are some interesting effects. It uses a lot of a technique called rotoscoping where a scene is shot in live action and then painted over to animate it. Also the film only covers half the story. They originally intended to make two films but the second was never made.

Tomorrow is the final day of the vacation so I'll probably go out and do something then.

There is sad news that the actor Pete Postlethwaite died of cancer yesterday at the age of 64.

Crossroads

Last night was fairly quiet. I read the comic books that I got yesterday and watched a few of the review of the year shows. One of the comics I got was Let Me In: Crossroads which is a prequel to the movie Let Me In (the English-language adaptation of the John Ajvide Lindqvist book Let the Right One In, which was previously adapted as a Swedish film). The comic is an original story of events directly preceding the movie and it really works a lot better than I had expected. I bought it more out of curiosity than anything, because I really like both the movie adaptations and the novel. However I really liked the comic.

Today I went out and bought a couple of calendars and a diary for the New Year. 2010 has been a pretty interesting year, and the holiday in March was really good, although I'm still hoping that next year will be better.

Birthday and Christmas 2010

On Thursday it was my 32nd birthday. I went along to my parent's house and in the evening we had a Chinese meal. For my birthday I got the graphic novel Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, the graphic novel Local by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly, the novel Pattern Recognition by William Gibson, the DVDs of Inception and Alfred Hitchcock Presents season two.

I stayed with my parents over the Christmas period. On Christmas Eve we didn't really do much at all. We did the traditional Christmas thing of watching Carols From Kings which is like an annual carol service from King's College Cambridge, which my Mum loves. We watch it every year. Later on I was watching the Peep Show night. A whole evening of programming devoted to the show.

On Christmas Day the heating stopped working, which was difficult because the temperature was below freezing. We had to get small heaters out to keep the place fairly warm. I got a graphic novel called The Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, a book called Live & Work in Canada by Frances Lemon, a DVD of An Idiot Abroad, the game Gods of War III for the PlayStation 3, a 2011 paper diary, an issue of SFX magazine and some chocolate and candy. My parents seemed to be happy with their presents. Their neighbours came through in the late morning and had a drink. They were there for about an hour. We had the traditional Christmas dinner of turkey, rolled up bacon, cocktail sausages, peas with onions, brussels srpouts, roast poatoes and stuffing. It was really good. Later on we watched the Christmas Doctor Who special.

I went back home today after lunch.

I really hope that everyone had a great Christmas!

Extra Holiday

Last night was pretty quiet. I lisened to the second part of The Honourable Schoolboy on CD, read and played Assassin's Creed II for an hour or so.

Today was another fairly dull day at work. In the afternoon we had to go up to a meeting that lasted for nearly an hour. The meeting itself was pretty much pointless. One good thing is that I have an extra day added to my holiday! Instead of having to be in work on the 30th and 31st December, I only have to be in on the 31st. It seems there was a mix up in the processing.

Back from Holiday

I arrived back today after my two week holiday. I spent two nights in Nashville, Tennessee, took the Greyhound bus to Memphis and then took an overnight Amtrak train to Chicago, Illinois, where I stayed for four nights. Then I took a plane to Washington DC where I stayed for three nights. Then I took a plane to Canada and spent four nights in halifax, Nova Scotia, before catching an overnight flight back. Which means I have had absolutely no sleep last night. It was a really good holday and a real adventure.

The thing is that now comes the post-holiday blues, where it's like for weeks before I left I had this big exciting thing being planned and I was really, really looking forward to it but now it's all over and there's nothing left to eally get excited about, and also there's the prospect of everyday life starting up again, so I do feel kind of depressed about that.

I'll write a more detailed post about my trip later on.

Holiday Time

Last night was pretty quiet, but today was my last day of work before my three week holiday, so that was really nice. It actually already feels really good to be away for a bit.

I started reading Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane last night. I'm hoping to get it finished before I see the movie.

The Hand of Fear

Last night I was watching a four part Doctor Who story from 1976 called "The Hand of Fear". In this story the fourth Doctor (played by Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) arrive in a quarry on present day Earth, just in time to narrowly escape being blown up by a quarrying explosion. However Sarah is found unconscious and clutching a fossilised humanoid hand which is discovered to be millions of years old. When she awakes, it turns out that Sarah has been taken over by an alien intelligence from the hand, which she takes to the nearest nuclear power plant so the alien can use the radiation to rebuild it's physical form, and the Doctor has to hurry to discover the alien's sinister purpose. It was a pretty good story, with a fairly involving plot.

This morning Dad took me along to the Gyle and I got a new digital camera, in preperation for my holiday and a couple of books: Screen Burn by Charlie Brooker and Dawn of the Dumb by Charlie Brooker, which are both compilations of humorous essays and TV reviews.

I went to my parent's house afterwards and we had tacos for lunch followed by pancakes, due to it being Shrove Tuesday in a couple of days.

Organisation

It's been really quiet last night and all of today. I only went out once and that was to get my groceries for the week. Things have been really quiet recently, but then I've been pretty busy trying to organise my holiday and everything.

Another Half Day

It was pretty quiet last night. I spent most of the time again sitting in and watching TV.

I was on a half day at work today, and kind of glad that I was because the computer systems crashed again and caused absolute chaos. I went to the travel agent to sort out things about my holiday and then went to the bank to deak with some things.

Dental Check-Up

This morning I had to go to the dentist for a routine checkup. I'll have to go back so they can numb my mouth and clear up the tooth beside the wisdom tooth that was removed last year. I decided to book that appointment for when I've got back from my holidays.

I went to work straight afterwards and it was another really dull day in the office.

Control

Last night I was watching the 2207 film Control, directed by Anton Corbijn. The film tells the true story of Ian Curtis (played by Sam Riley) who grows up in the Macclesfield area of England duing the 1970s, works in the local Job Centre and marries his high school girlfriend Debbie (Samantha Morton). He is also the lyricist and lead singer of local band Joy Division, who quickly start to become one of the most influential bands of the British post-punk movement of the early 1980s. However as the band increasingly become more famous, Curtis starts an affair with a Belgian journalist and soon the pressures of fame, combined with his increasingly complex private life and his severe bouts of epilepsy cause him increasing problems. The movie is beautifully shot and very well-acted. The film is based on the book Touching From a Distance by Deborah Curtis, Ian's wife, and the director, Anton Corbijn, knew the band pretty well having worked with them on several music videos. In it's look and style, the film has a lot in common with the British social realist, or "kitchen sink", films that were churned out during the 1950s and 1960s.

I took a half day from work today and then went to the travel agent to find out about prices and schedules for my holiday. After that I went and met my Dad to have a look at cameras and we went back to my parent's house for dinner, so that was nice.

Suspiria

Last night I was watching the 1977 film Suspiria, directed by Dario Argento. The movie tells the story of a young American woman who goes to a ballet school in Germany, where she quickly learns that gruesome and bizarre events are underway. Like many Argento films the storyline is almost non-existant, and pretty much just serves as a thread on which Argento hangs his trademark elaborate and gruesomely violent set-pieces. The movie has a really distinctive look, full of strange overbright colours and scenes flooded in red, green and blue light. It also has a memorable shrieking score by Italian rock band Goblin.

This morning I went along to the Ocean Terminal shopping centre with Dad. We started off at Costa Coffee for a coffee and a muffin and then had a look around the mall. After that we went back to my parent's house. The latest issues of Sight and Sound and Fortean Times had arrived during the week. The travel agent telephoned to confirm some details about my holiday, and I listened to the third and final part of the radio adaptation of The Honourable Schoolboy.

Witchfinder General

Last night I was watching the 1968 movie Witchfinder General, directed by Michael Reeves, which starred Vincent Price as the historical figure Matthew Hopkins, who during the English Civil War went around the countryside and, calling himself "The Witchfinder General", was paid by villagers to basically torture and execute anyone accused of witchcraft. The film, which is set in 1645, involves a Parliamentarian soldier on a mission of vengeance after Hopkins attacks his fiance and kills her father. The film is not particularly accurate, historically, but it is very good. The movie is really gruesome, particularly by the standards of the time. When it was released in America it was re-named The Conqueror Worm to tie it in with the Roger Corman movies based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Although this movie has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Poe.

After that I saw a 1962 Ingmar Bergman film called Through a Glass Darkly. It is about a family living on a small Swedish island, the daughter of which is slowly growing insane, the father is guilty about the fact that he is more curious than anything to see how his daughter's condition progresses, and her husband and brother look on powerless to do anything. The film is really bleak and very powerful.

I went to the shops today and bought a CD of That Mitchell and Webb Sound: Series Four and the CD of the recent radio drama of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Then I went along to the travel agent to get more details about my holiday.

On my way home I stopped off at the supermarket for my groceries for the week and got an issue of Uncut magazine which was running a special feature about the band Joy Division.