Alexander

Just watched Alexander on DVD.

My, my, but doesn't it drag? And of course, being an Oliver Stone movie, Alexander can't just die of illness and exhaustion, he has to be done in by his generals. Very much the curate's egg of a movie: I enjoyed scenes; Christopher Plummer is always good value, as is (usually) Anthony Hopkins. Angelina Jolie clearly had an ageing portrait on the wall of a cave somewhere, but didn't do too badly. The girl from the Clio advert was unrecognisable.

Colin Farrell can't act, and the ancient Macedonians were all Irish. All barbarians were Russian and at no time was it clear what was going on. At two hours forty, the film is about three hours too long. A lot of the footage should be salvaged and given a decent travelogue voiceover by Michael Palin.

I am glad I didn't see it at the movies.

My PC clock tells me that it's now BST. I think it's lying - my digital radio insists that it's still GMT. I am in temporal limbo.

Alexander

Just watched Alexander on DVD.

My, my, but doesn't it drag? And of course, being an Oliver Stone movie, Alexander can't just die of illness and exhaustion, he has to be done in by his generals. Very much the curate's egg of a movie: I enjoyed scenes; Christopher Plummer is always good value, as is (usually) Anthony Hopkins. Angelina Jolie clearly had an ageing portrait on the wall of a cave somewhere, but didn't do too badly. The girl from the Clio advert was unrecognisable.

Colin Farrell can't act, and the ancient Macedonians were all Irish. All barbarians were Russian and at no time was it clear what was going on. At two hours forty, the film is about three hours too long. A lot of the footage should be salvaged and given a decent travelogue voiceover by Michael Palin.

I am glad I didn't see it at the movies.

My PC clock tells me that it's now BST. I think it's lying - my digital radio insists that it's still GMT. I am in temporal limbo.

(no subject)

I have just impressed myself.

It's not often that you realise that you have practiced something so much that it is now second nature. Second nature to the point where you have to make a conscious decision not to do it, like not reading a notice posted up in big, friendly words on a board somewhere, or not reading the headlines on somebody else's newspaper. These are things you just do without conscious thought, and is a different level of behaviour that even say, a virtuoso musician. The maestro, no matter how gifted or talented must at least make the conscious decision to sit at or pick up the instrument before playing it, even if the playing can be done as easily as breathing and take no conscious thought of its own. Reading, however, you cannot turn off. You just read stuff if it's there, even if it is instantly unforgettable.

I have achieved this level of excellence with activity displacement.

I have been just about to sit down and write since 2 o'clock. Without thinking about it, I instead went out and bought groceries. When I cam back, I managed to occupy my time quite nicely without a single conscious thought, and it was only on my fourth descent of the stairs to pick up something I don't really need, that it occurred to me that I was simply avoiding getting on with writing.

And I'm doing it AGAIN!

Right. WRITE.

(no subject)

I have just impressed myself.

It's not often that you realise that you have practiced something so much that it is now second nature. Second nature to the point where you have to make a conscious decision not to do it, like not reading a notice posted up in big, friendly words on a board somewhere, or not reading the headlines on somebody else's newspaper. These are things you just do without conscious thought, and is a different level of behaviour that even say, a virtuoso musician. The maestro, no matter how gifted or talented must at least make the conscious decision to sit at or pick up the instrument before playing it, even if the playing can be done as easily as breathing and take no conscious thought of its own. Reading, however, you cannot turn off. You just read stuff if it's there, even if it is instantly unforgettable.

I have achieved this level of excellence with activity displacement.

I have been just about to sit down and write since 2 o'clock. Without thinking about it, I instead went out and bought groceries. When I cam back, I managed to occupy my time quite nicely without a single conscious thought, and it was only on my fourth descent of the stairs to pick up something I don't really need, that it occurred to me that I was simply avoiding getting on with writing.

And I'm doing it AGAIN!

Right. WRITE.

Headaches

I managed two solid hours writing before my brain shut down on account of the sudden onset of a headache.

I have since dioscovered that paracetamol, coffee and lying on your bed with your eyes closed, listening to Porcupine Tree rights the world in no short order.

I am going to give it to the end of the album and hit the keyboard for the final stretch of this interminable piece of writing, finish it off and then format it.

One more then, before deadline, and one after that. I shall be be glad when it's all finished; I've had enough.

Headaches

I managed two solid hours writing before my brain shut down on account of the sudden onset of a headache.

I have since dioscovered that paracetamol, coffee and lying on your bed with your eyes closed, listening to Porcupine Tree rights the world in no short order.

I am going to give it to the end of the album and hit the keyboard for the final stretch of this interminable piece of writing, finish it off and then format it.

One more then, before deadline, and one after that. I shall be be glad when it's all finished; I've had enough.