Notes from England - Random Bits

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to post a few random bits about what's going on in my life/mind at the moment.

Movies

Children of Men - Fabulous concept. Interesting execution. Rubbish ending. 2/5
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Great film, quite capable of standing alongside its two predecessors. It's lengthy, but it didn't feel lengthy. Great cast, great plot. Few minor niggly complaints. 4/5
Rocky Balboa - For those keeping score, this is Rocky VI. Ideally, the Rocky series has now reached 'el fin'. For most of us, Rocky lost his luster at Rocky III. Some would argue (incorrectly in my opinion) that the downfall was Rocky IV. The fact is, if you didn't like something between Rocky and Rocky IV, you'll find people to have a debate with. You won't find anybody to argue with you that Rocky V just plain stunk. It was the low point of the series...and it left a bad taste in your mouth about the series as a whole. Rocky Balboa cleanses the palette like a well-aged wine. It's not the best of the series, but it is remarkable, nonetheless. A great finale for a great character. 4/5
Dr Who - 'Blink' - Yes, I know Dr Who is actually Television. But if you caught the latest episode of The Doctor, 'Blink', then you might know why I'm putting this here. In contrast to so many rubbish, yet high-budget feature films, this hour-long episode of Doctor Who was not only more entertaining than many films I've seen lately, but it also was creepy as hell! No, it didn't make me want to pull the covers over my head...maybe I'm a bit too desensitized. But I can vouch for Helen squeezing the hell out of my hand when things got 'tense'...something she's never done before. It was freaky...and the thing of it was, the 'monster' was basically an inanimate object...a statue that didn't move. Major kudos to the writers...well done. Just goes to show that great entertainment doesn't necessarily require a huge budget...just a great script.


Books

Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?: And 114 Other Questions - An absolutely entertaining read...what you might call a 'bathroom' book. Of course, I call anything a bathroom book...but this one in particular. It asks, and answers, random questions sent in by the readers of New Scientist. The answers themselves are actually given by the readers...so you can imagine the variety of responses you'll get. For example...when a child asks why, if his finger fits so perfectly in his nose, as if they were made for each other, does his mother tell him to quit putting his finger in there? - he gets very scientific, fact-based responses, requiring much thought process...and then he gets '...try performing a snot-rocket instead...see what your Mum thinks of that!' Hilarious and educational! 5/5
The Illiad - Seen Troy with Brad Pitt? It's that...but different. The Iliad by Homer is not a book, I'm told...it's an 'epic poem'. I always wondered why, until I actually started reading it. Homer - the man is REPETITIVE!! To the extreme! He takes the time to tell you, in painstaikingly detailed text, exactly how the Greeks would dice and slice an ox and how they would prepare it as a sacrifice to the Gods. He would tell how they ate it and 'no man's want went without equal' or some other such nonesense...and then two chapters later, when another sacrifice is required, he does it all over again. But he does it exactly the same. It's like he had a computer and used copy/paste. The words are verbatim from one section to the next. And there's so much comparison. A greek warrior...let's say the King, Agamemnon, is fighting a group of Trojans all on his own. Homer goes into some great speech about '...like the wild boar who becomes surrounded in the thicket by a farmer and his hunting dogs; his pride and his fury do not allow him to become afraid, but he rages and lunges at his enemies, his razor-sharp tusks gnashing and biting; he takes down scores of his enemy and they cannot touch him; so the great hero-son of Atreus, Agamemnon, lord of men fought the Trojans in battle and crushed them beneath his mighty spear.' - or something like that. I've not got the book in front of me at the moment...but there's lots of that.

All that having been said, it's an entertaining read! It's nothing but huge, bloody battles and Homer doesn't mind pointing out the horrors of war in graphically descriptive detail...from the popping out of eyeballs to spears piercing a man's bladder to heads being cut off at the neck only to be left hanging by a flap of skin. Yes, Homer is graphic...so if you don't like graphic detail this book is not for you. However, if the Trojan war with the Greeks interests you in the least, if you find the story of Achilleus (Achilles) remotely interesting, if you want to read about what Hektor and Paris were really like, pick it up. You won't regret it. 4/5

Work
I'm starting work tomorrow, 13 June. That means that emailing/blogging will slow to a bit of a crawl for awhile, until I get the computer/intertubes running at our flat, as I won't be stopping by the in-laws to borrow their computer during the day. Please be patient with me, and I promise I'll get into a bit more of a regular routine in the not-too-distant future.

What am I doing? I'm working for a telecommunications company as a computer tech. I know that I'll be helping to solve people's everyday PC woes. Whether that is solving the problems of customers of the company or employees...or both...I don't yet know. I'll keep you posted!

Phone

We now have a phone line! Yay! As of 24 June, we should (fingers crossed) have our international calling plan! Yay! This will make communication with our friends and families in the States a whole lot easier. We can't call you yet, but we can still receive calls. Just don't forget that we're 5hrs ahead of US Eastern time. So don't go calling us at 7 or 8pm...we'll be in bed! ;-)

That's all for now! Take care all...keep in touch and leave your questions/comments below!

~Jer