How Not to Be a Boy

Last night I was watching the latest episode of Strike, a TV show based on the series of crime novels by Robert Galbraith (who is actually a pseudonym for Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling).  It's been a really good show so far.  This is the fourth episode and the second book to be adapted.

It was busy at work.  I was trying to arrange for some books to be collected and sent on someplace else, which is apparently a lot more difficult than you might think.

I had some pizza when I got home, which was nice.

I read the book How Not to Be a Boy by Robert Webb, who is a British comedian, actor and writer, best known as one half of comedy duo "Mitchell and Webb", alongside David Mitchell, and co-star of long-running sitcom Peep Show. This book is his account of growing up in rural England during the 1980s and 90s, his start in comedy, and also his take on the traditional "rules" of how to be a man or boy, and gender norms, and whether they are any good for anyone. It's a thought-provoking book, and also very, very funny and often genuinely moving.

Spaceballs

Last night I was watching the movie Spaceballs, directed by Mel Brooks, which is a pretty funny spoof on the Star Wars movies from 1987. 

I also saw an episode of Peep Show, a British comedy show starring comedians David Mitchell and Robert Webb as a pair of losers living in London. The whole show is filmed from the perspective of the characters in the scene, with voice-overs revealing their innermost thoughts. I really like, although it is often pretty dark. They made a pilot for a US version, but it never got picked up. It was kind of similar to the original show, but not nearly as dark.

I was back at work today after my few days vacation. I was listening to the Robin and Josie's Book Shambles podcast where Robin Ince and Josie Long interviewed comedian Alexei Sayle. They discussed how people do seem to be becoming more engaged with politics and activism and are coming together and so on and so on, and how grass-roots creative culture can have an impact and provide a reason for hope even when things get really bad.

I got a take-out steak-pie and french fries, and I have got to 15,004 words on my NaNoWriMo novel.

Dreamcatcher

I finally finished watching Game of Thrones season four, which I really liked. I'm hoping to start season five this evening. 

I went in to work today, and I was pretty busy. I listened to the Just a Story podcast which was quite a dark episode about situations where actual dead bodies have been confused for Halloween decorations. 

On a lighter note, I listened to the How Did This Get Made? podcast which was discussing the movie Dreamcatcher, probably the worst movie ever based on a Stephen King novel - and that's saying a lot. It's about four psychic friends on a hunting trip who come up against aliens that burst out of people's butts. I saw it when it first came out in 2003, and according to the notes I made at the time, it's garbage. The podcast was funny though.

I also heard Talking Movies which was about those movies that you loved when you were younger, but are now reluctant to watch again for fear that they might not be as good as you remember, or movies that you once loved, but now think are terrible.

A Trip to the Moon

I managed to get out sharp today, which made a nice change. It used to be that you could leave work pretty much when you wanted, but these days if you get the rare chance to leave early you have to take it.

I went to the supermarket on the way home to get my groceries for next week.

I saw the 1902 movie A Trip to the Moon on DVD. It's the earliest narrative film and the first known science-fiction film. It's about a group of guys who travel to the moon by being shot out of a giant cannon. When they are there, they are attacked by strange alien creatures, which fortunately enough, explode if you give them a light push or tap. It's one of the most important films ever made, and the famous image of the Man in the Moon with the space capsule in his eye, is legendary. It is slightly dated now, and special effects have advanced a little in 114 years, but it is worth watching

More Stranger Things

It was another long day at work. I was really tired by the end.

Back home I watched an episode of Stranger Things. I'm half way through it now, and the story's starting to pick up.

I'm watching an episode of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? which was a 1970s show about two best friends who reunite after one of them has been in the Army for five years. Despite playing best friends onscreen, the two lead actors, Rodney Bewes and James Bolam, apparently disliked each other during the filming of the show and now completely hate each other. 

Mystery Train

I went back to work today after my week's vacation.

This evening I watched the movie Mystery Train, directed by Jim Jarmusch.  It consists of three separate but linked stories set over the same 24 hour period in Memphis, connected by a run-down hotel, a single gun shot and the legacy of Elvis Presley:  A teenage Japanese couple take a rock 'n'roll pilgrimage, an Italian widow is forced to spend 24 hours in Memphis after an unscheduled layover, and a hapless barber is unwittingly involved in a liquor store robbery by his aggressive drunk British brother-in-law.  It's a slow, melancholy but often very funny movie although it's comedy of the most deadpan sort.  It's a strangely haunting film with a real late night feel to it. It has a number of prominent musicians in the cast:  Screamin' Jay Hawkins as the hotel's night clerk, Joe Strummer (lead singer of The Clash) as the violent, drunk Brit, and Tom Waits as a late-night DJ.

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.

Our Little Sister

Last night I watched the movie Our Little Sister, directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, and based on the manga Unimachi Diary by Akimi Yoshida.  It's about three adult sisters who live together in a large house in Kamakura, Japan.  While at the funeral for their estranged father, who none of them has seen for fifteen years, they meet their fourteen year old half sister, and invite her to come and live with them.  It's a very gentle, wistful, quiet film.  Very little actually happens, just the quiet ups and downs of life.  Sometimes dark, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always warm, I really liked it.

It was a really long day at work, and I'm very tired.  I can't wait until my week off.

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.

Ivan's Childhood

Last night I saw the movie Ivan's Childhood, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. It's set on the Eastern Front during World War II and tells the story of 12 year old Ivan who is a scout for the Russian Army and, due to his small size, finds it easy to slip back and forth over enemy lines. However, his commanders grow fond of him and decide to send him to Military School, out of harm's way. Ivan, however, does not want to go, because he wants revenge on the Nazis for the deaths of his parents. It's a war movie, with very little actual combat shown. It's slow and very dark. However it's very powerful and sometimes very beautiful.

It was a pretty busy day at work today. I listened to How Did This Get Made? which was discussing the 1995 superhero movie The Phantom. I also heard Just a Story, about creepy urban legends associated with circuses, fairs and carnivals.

Podcasts and Comics

It was another pretty busy day at work, because there really weren't many people in the office. I listened to The Magnus Archives which is a horror podcast, this week dealing with a haunted abattoir, Fresh Air which was doing a story about the Patty Hearst kidnapping case from the 1970s and Bizarre States.

I went up to the comic-book store and got Batman issue 4, Deadpool issue 16, Wonder Woman issue 1, Superman issue 4, Silk issue 11, Green Lanterns issue 4, Suicide Squad: Rebirth issue 1 and Daredevil annual 1.

Myths and Legends Podcast

It was another long day at work. I heard The Myths and Legends Podcast which consisted of five very short stories about a trickster Turtle from east African folklore, one of the stories was a very amusing one about how you can build a house very cheaply if you borrow money from your friends and then trick them into eating each other, and it discussed a strange creature from Japanese folklore that will steal your eggplants, kill your horses and if you look at them you turn purple and die.

I walked home, and after I had some food I started a new comic.

Preacher

I saw the season finale of Preacher last night. I've kind of enjoyed it, I guess. I liked it enough to watch the whole series, but I always felt like I was waiting for it to be really awesome, and it never actually did. Also the entire plot is basically in the first and last episodes, which roughly adapts the first issue of the comic. I was kind of annoyed by it, but I will watch the second season.

It was a fairly quiet day at work. I listened to Chilling Tales: The Podcast which had two stories about a bad father who has an unpleasant experience in a fairground ghost train, and a gang of monsters hunting a little girl, who turns out to be a hunter herself. I also heard The Astonishing Legends Podcast which was discussing the mystery of the Mary Celeste.

Ghostbusters II

Last night I did some more writing, some reading, and watched some of Hostel Part IIwhich was on TV.

It was a pretty long day at work because there weren't many people in. I listened to some of a podcast called Saturday Night Freak Show which is usually devoted to discussing horror and cult movies, but this week was discussing Ghostbusters II, which apparently a lot of people do not like at all, but I remember really enjoying it when I saw it as a kid. When I was about 11 I thought it was funnier than the first one, which I have always liked but never really found particularly hilarious.

Invisibilia

Last night I was watching an episode of Stranger Things. 

It was a pretty long day at work. I listened to Invisibilia which was discussing the concept of "fake it till you make it", how if you pretend to be something (say confident or whatever) you can sometimes become that, Answer Me This, Ron's Amazing Stories presenting a story about an astronaut stuck on Pluto for years who starts hallucinating due to loneliness, and Mystery Theater about a woman who wants to stop doctors performing a life-saving operation on her evil son-in-law.

On my way home I stopped off for groceries for the coming week. I also got a copy of Empire magazine, the main feature was about Suicide Squad, the story behind the movie Aliens and a list of the Best Movie Villains.

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.

Calzone

On my way into work I was listening to Chilling Tales: The Podcast. This week's story was called "Ultrasound" about a teacher who decides to play a trick on an unruly class by playing a special sound that causes horrific hallucinations. Unfortunately, the hallucinations don't stop, even after the sound is switched off, and the teacher realises that the sound summoned up much more than just a trick of the eye. It was a pretty good one.

It was a pretty long day at work, but afterwards I went out to meet my Mom. We went to Ask Italian to eat. I had some garlic bread with mozarella to start, a calzone filled with beef tomato sauce, chili, pepperoni and ham, for dessert I had a chocolate ice cream and a raspberry sorbet. It was really nice.

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter

Last night I watched the movie Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, directed by David Zellner. It stars Rinko Kikuchi as Kumiko, a lonely young woman living in Tokyo, where she works in a miserable office job and spends her free time looking for hidden objects with the help of the embroidered treasure maps she makes for herself. One day she finds a buried VHS tape of the movie Fargo. Believing the film's opening title card, that it is based on a true story, she becomes obsessed by the scene where Steve Buscemi's character buries a case of money in the snow. She sacrifices pretty much everything in her ordinary life to travel to Minnesota, with no money, only a very shaky grasp of English and completely unprepared for the Minnesota winter, to look for a treasure that, of course, doesn't exist. I've seen this movie three times inside a year. I don't know why I like it so much, but I do. It manages to be both completely devastating and strangely inspirational. When I met comics artist Emi Lenox last year at the Thought Bubble Comic Con we kind of bonded over the fact that we were both big fans of the movie and I showed her a comic I had made based on the movie, and she showed me some fan art she had made based on it.

It was a pretty long day at work. I listened to a comedy show called Domestic Science and a radio adaptation of Journal of a Plague Year from the novel by Daniel Dafoe.

I started a new comic this evening.

Book Shambles

It was a pretty long day at work. I listened to Robin and Josie's Book Shambles podcast, a show about books hosted by comedians Robin Ince and Josie Long, this week doing a horror special from the Latitude festival. It featured Reece Shearsmith discussing a horror story he had written, comedian Rufus Hound reading "The Outsider" by H. P. Lovecraft, and a piece on the cursed occult library of horror writer Dennis Wheatley. Dennis Wheatley was a massively popular writer back in the 1960s and 70s with books such as The Devil Rides Out and To the Devil... A Daughter (both of which were filmed by Hammer) and many others. He also wrote a series of non-fiction books about occultism and Satanism, and the person who owns his extensive reference library is claiming that they are cursed.

On my way home I stopped off at the supermarket to get my groceries for the week.