Max Warp

Last night I listened to another Doctor Who radio play. This episode was called "Max Warp", and was set in the far future where one of the most popular TV shows is a spaceship show called "Max Warp", however when one of the presenters is killed when the spaceship he is testing crashes into a planet, the Doctor(Paul McGann) believes that it is more than just an accident, and that someone is trying to reignite an old interplanetary war. It was a really fun episode, even if much of it is a parody of the British motoring TV show Top Gear. Later on I listened to the fifth and final part of the radio adaptation of Murder at the Vicarage, based on the Agatha Christie novel.

Later on I watched the second episode of the new series of Peep Show, which was very funny. I was also reading a few more of the Just After Sunset stories by Stephen King. In "Mute" a man picks up a hitch-hiker and proceeds to rant about his unfaithful wife, and soon has cause to regret it. In "Ayana", a terminally ill man is miraculously healed by a mysterious stranger, however there is a price to be paid.

This morning I went out an walked to a shopping centre where I bought a new shower curtain, and on my way home I stopped off to get my groceries. While I was there I got the latest issue of Empire magazine. It had an interesting article about an aborted attempt to make a film of Frank Herbert's science-fiction novel Dune in 1974. It would have been directed by deeply eccentric Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky, art design by HR Giger among others, music by Pink Floyd and a cast including Orson Welles, Mick Jagger and Salvador Dali. It fell apart, but the book was filmed by David Lynch in 1984. Interestingly enough Jodorowsky is collaborating with David Lynch on his next film, a Western called King Shot, which will probably be more than a little weird.

This afternoon I have spent most of my time trying to clean my kitchen and bathroom. I think it went quite well.

Check-Up

Yesterday I watched a few episodes of The Corner which is a very good series, and very faithful to the book. I also watched a few of the extras on The Double Life of Veronique DVD. There are about two and a half hours of extra features, including an interview with lead actress Irene Jacob, an interview with the director Krzystof Kieslowski, a French TV documentary about Kieslowski and a selection of Kieslowski's short documentary films from the 1970s and 80s. I watched a very short documentary film from the 1950s that was on the disc called The Musicians about factory workers in Poland who play in a brass band in their spare time. I listened to an episode of the Doctor Who radio series, in which the Doctor (Paul McGann) finds himself in what appears to be mythical Ancient Greece, however the locals have access to futuristic technology and the rulers have a gruesome procedure to ensure that they remain young forever. The radio Doctor Who shows tend to have much darker themes than the TV version. I think because it's on radio things can slip under the radar a bit more. I was also listening to the fourth part of A Caribbean Mystery.

Today I left work early to go to the doctor's surgery for my New Patient check-up. The check-up was done by the practice nurse who took my blood pressure, measured my height and weight and asked me questions about my life-style and medical history. It was pretty much okay, but apparently I am slightly overweight and could stand to lose a couple of pounds. They also forgot to ask me for a urine sample, so I will have to deliver that at some point during the week.

I am off work now until Wednesday, which should be good.

DVD Sales

Last night I was listening to a Doctor Who story on the radio called "Horror of Glam Rock". In this episode the eighth Doctor (played by Paul McGann) arrives at a motorway service station in England, 1974, where he encounters vicious alien monsters lurking in the car park and a glam rock band called The Tomorrow Twins, who are apparently in contact with an alien intelligence. It was a pretty good story and a really effective radio story. I also listened to the third part of A Caribbean Mystery.

Today at work I decided to take a half day and go to the DVD sales at Fopp Records with Chris. I got a DVD of the complete series of The Corner and the movie of The Double Life of Veronique, so that made for a fun change.

Leave Sheet

Yesterday I was listening to the second and final part of the Doctor Who radio story, "Blood of the Daleks". It was pretty good. Later on I listened to the second part of A Caribbean Mystery, which is also turning out to be pretty good. I really like the radio dramas and stories.

It was another really quiet day at work. It took a long time for the work to come through on the systems today for some reason. We had the sign-up sheets for the Christmas and New Year leave. Apparently they need fifty per-cent of the staff in over the Christmas period. I've put in for the usual two weeks, and I really hope that I manage to get them. The sheet has come around very early this year.

Blood of the Daleks

Yesterday I was listening to the first part of a two part Doctor Who radio play called "Blood of the Daleks". The story starred Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor who arrives on a human settlement called Red Rocket Rising on a remote planet which has been devestated by an asteroid. The survivors however are expecting to be rescued by the Daleks, who are posing as benevolent, however the real reason they are there is to track down a human scientist who has been experimenting with turning humans into Daleks. The radio play is actually very good. In fact, due to them not having to rely on visuals and television special effects, they are able to conjure up much more spectacular images and darker themes than they would be able to do on the small screen.

I also listened to the first episode of a five part adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel, A Caribbean Mystery, in which elderly amateur detective Ms Marple (June Whitfield) finds her relaxing holiday in the Caribbean interrupted by a murder. It was pretty good.

Later on I finished reading the novel Clockers by Richard Price. Set in the fictional North Jersey town of Dempsey just outside of New York City, Rocco Klein is a tired and jaded homicide detective who just wants finished with his job. When a man is shot dead in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, it is seen as another drug related murder. However a couple of days later a young man named Victor confesses to the murder. A little investigation reveals that he is a family man, who works two jobs, is well-liked and has never been in trouble, however his brother Strike is the leader of a group of "clockers" (neighbourhood drug dealers). Rocco becomes conviced that Victor's confession is a lie and becomes determined to find the truth. The book is very well-written, powerful and suspenseful. It was turned into a film in 1995, directed by Spike Lee.

Today was a very quiet day at work. It was really busy but the systems were extremely slow again, so it was all clogging up by the end of the day. I have booked a New Patient check-up appointment at the doctors for half past two on Friday.

The Secret History

Last night I finished reading the book The Secret History by Donna Tartt. The book was first published in 1992 and tells the story of a student named Richard who goes from California to study at a prestigious university in Vermont called Hampden. Shortly after he arrives he discovers a group of five students who spend all their time together and are the only students to take a course in ancient Greek held by a charismatic and eccentrc lecturer. Richard manages to join the classes and soon gets drawn into the enclosed world of the group, only to find out that the student's extra-curricular activities are leading to murder. It's a very well-written book, and very entertaining. The story revolves around a murder and the first half of the novel depicts the events leading up to the killing while the second half deals with the events of the murder on the close-knit group. It's not really a mystery boook because the identity of the victim and the killer is revealed in the opening pages of the book.

I was also listening to a radio adaptation of The Big Sleep based on the Raymond Chandler novel. Set in Los Angeles, the story revolves around Private Investigator Philip Marlowe trying to track down a blackmailer. It was turned into a famous film starring Humphrey Bogart.

Today was really quiet. I went out broefly to and took a walk around, before stopping off to have a drink and read my book. Then I just went home.