Whatta Fiasco

This was the first Iain Banks novel I ever saw. I thought it was such a stupid title that I didn’t even bother to flip through it. It’s only some nine years later that I’ve finally gotten around to reading it. And I enjoyed it, but I think it was also better that this wasn’t my first experience with Iain Banks, or I might not have read the rest of his books. You may find it frustrating at first to read the diary entries of a character who is unable to spell properly (hence the odd title) but he turns out to be the most interesting person in the book. (And his point of view is only about a fourth of the book, so don’t despair.) There’s also a middle-aged female scientist who is one of his better female characters and could have carried the book on her own if given half a chance. Anyhow, it’s a good read.

Victorian fiction written in 1959. The characters and setting were about what I had expected, but the writing was way out in left field. I am rather fond of a species of Victorian literature and will happily plow through pages of description and analysis from Trollope or Dickens or Gaskell. But this novel, aside from a few sparse sentences describing each character and setting as they were encountered, is entirely written in dialog. It’s clearly a piece of social commentary, but the reader is provided with no exposition, no privileged view point. Although Victorian in setting, this is anything but a Victorian novel, and I haven’t yet decided if I liked it or not. I’m going to have to read some more of her work and think about it awhile before I can make up my mind.

[A Heritage and Its History]

This is the fourth book in a sort of series. It doesn’t stand quite as well on its own as the other three do, but if you read the other three and enjoyed them, you want to go ahead and read this one as well. It fleshes out the character of Myra Godwin, making much more of an already intriguing character.

Directed by Mark Neale.

The visuals are more than a little over done, but if you’ve ever wondered just what sort of geek William Gibson is, this extended interview should give you a good idea. Some good discussion about his life and how he became a writer. Hearing Bruce Sterling describe his reaction to reading early drafts of Neuromancer was interesting. (As was seeing Sterling come off an even more nerdy than Gibson.) If you’re a Gibson fan and enjoyed the visual editing of Koyaanasqasti, this one is worth seeing. Not a fan of Gibson? Pass.

Directed by Miu-suet Lai.

A film about romantic grief and new love, although the pay off doesn’t come until the very end of the film and is all too brief. Nothing fancy here, just a broken heart healing against a backdrop of pretty scenery. Sweet. Karena Lam and Liu Ye are lovely but the real star is the artwork at the end.

Things are going fine. I had a good weekend with friends, sat through a two day java class I probably shouldn’t have gone to, and am now getting caught up on everything. The weather is hot. I haven’t finished mudding and sanding the ceiling yet.I’ve been reading some good books, seen some decent movies, and been (mostly) getting enough sleep. But it’s become clear I need to take some time away from here instead of half starting something and never finishing or posting it. So I’m officially on hiatus here until August. Unless I decide otherwise. See you then.

Well, it wasn’t as bad as I had expected but neither was it the extravaganza of eye candy I had expected either. A little too pat and a little too smug about how few dangling plot bits were left over at the end. And I sincerely wish Will Smith would quit playing Will Smith and just act. I know he can do it. So, it’s fluff. If you’re considering seeing it, I wouldn’t bother waiting for the DVD.

[imdb]

I need to lay off the mysteries already. This one tries to be a scifi mystery but it just doesn’t work for me, as either a mystery or a scifi novel. There’s too much shoving the characters around on the board going on to get involved with them, too much hand waving going on to enjoy the sfnal part, and the plot twists were insufficient to keep me happy. It felt as though the book fell short of its promise.

More Bollywood, this time with Salman Khan, the younger brother. These soap operas in four hours really are predictable. The boy’s father is a wealthy business magnate. The family lives in an opulent mansion. The girl’s family is slightly less well-to-do and lives in town. There’s a younger sister (and sometimes a brother as well) who is more westernized and rambunctious, but everyone turns out to be a good, devoted family member in the end. There must be a scene involving cricket. There must be at least one wedding. (HAHK has two.) There must be a reference to the sound of a woman’s jingling anklets, preferably in a song.

As such things go, this wasn’t bad. There was even a touching scene where we find out that the two friends (who arranging a marriage between their respective son and daughter) had competed for the affections of the woman who is now the mother of the daughter. So the friend who lost out in that end up bringing that woman’s daughter into his household. Touching scene.

But if you want the real deal with the toe tapping music and buxom saree-clad women, go for Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham instead.

Can’t stand opera? This probably isn’t for you because in spite of it being a send up, it’s still opera. It’s also hilarious. We’ve got The Barber of Seville, Abduction From the Seraglio, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, and more all mashed together on one stage. Classic stuff.