What’s going on
As cliche demands, I usually write some kind of personal review of the past year around late December/ early January. Unfortunately, a lowlight of 2009 has been my rapidly loosening grip on time. Essentially time has kaleidoscoped and for me, recent events seem to take place at one of two points - either within the last two weeks or at some time within the past five years.
So lets keep things simple. Here are some highlights from my past two weeks of delicious holiday freedom:
- The Shop Around the Corner remains the charming film that I first thought it was 13 years ago. This is one of James Stewart’s earlier films from 1940 and was remade as You’ve Got Mail in 1998 with Tom Hanks. And try as he might, Tom Hanks will never be the new Jimmy Stewart.
- I have finally discovered, at my tender and youthful age, the delights of TinTin. Captain Haddock = fabulous. And it’s written in proper grammatical French so I can actually read it.
- I have officially given up on Doctor Who and it is a weight off my shoulders. You know that TV programme Are You Smarter Than A Ten Year Old? Well, it’s clear from Doctor Who that I’m not. The show must be aimed at ‘the family audience’, but I still can’t understand it. I struggled through both the Christmas and New Year’s shows, completely bewildered by the excess emotion and random plot points. If Doctor Who is the last of the Timelords as I previously thought, how can they be back? When did the Timelords turn evil? Why does everyone always want to take out London? And why the hell does the head Timelord look like Robert Kilroy-Silk? Well, I no longer care.
- The David Sedaris Christmas special on This American Life.
- Neu! I have been listening to their first fantastic album for the past week. My delight at this new discovery is only undermined by the equally new realisation that Stereolab have spent the past 20 years ripping them off.
- I finally got round to watching the film of Carousel. As you may remember, this is one of my favourite soundtracks but I’d never actually seen the musical. It was as bad as I suspected it would be. Stick with the music folks.
- Despite it’s inappropriately time limited name, the Wedding Bells cocktail has made our new year. Try it: 3/4 oz orange juice, 3/4 oz gin, 3/4 oz Dubonnet and 1/4 oz cherry brandy.
January 3rd, 2010 at 11:18 pm
happy new year
January 4th, 2010 at 9:31 am
Wasn’t Doctor Who rubbish? Very disappointing.
I’m a huge Neu! fan. Try listening to them on a train as it passes through the cities of Germany. There’s nothing quite like it.
A very happy new year to you!
January 4th, 2010 at 10:25 am
I’m thrilled to hear you’ve embraced Neu! They’ll be your pals for life now.
Happy New Year to you!
January 4th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Happy New (or should I say Neu!) Year everyone. Thanks for coming back for another year.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Happy New Year Cocktails..
I haven’t seen The Shop Around the Corner since the 80s, I really must revisit along with The Southerner ( a film I first saw in ‘79, I know as found an old calendar/diary yesterday and made a note about it on there)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038107/
I’ve got Nue! 2 – I used one track under the Borley bit in our Halloween podcast..
Dr Who – thought the Christmas day one was deeply dreary, and part 2 dragged on forever
January 4th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
why limit the ‘dreary’ tag to the Christmas episodes of the Doc… I think the last 50 odd years would cover it. Never rated it, not as a kid and not as an adult…. have felt an outsider til now, glad someone else agrees with me!! Even that Tennet bloke gives me the hump! Something to do with that constantly “surprised\smug” look on his mug!
Happy New Decade!
P
January 4th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Mondo, I’ve never seen The Southerner either. It looks very good and I’m going to add it to my (somewhat lengthy) LoveFilm wishlist. Should probably add Neu! 2 to the wishlist as well. Good thing I didn’t make a new year’s resolution to spend less time and money on music…
Don’t get too excited Piley! I do like Dr Who and I always have, this is why the past series has annoyed me so much. I like the old style Doctor Who who fought cardbox monsters in quarries and didn’t have emotional issues to deal with every 5 seconds. I like David Tennant too. It constantly annoys me though that his role as the Doctor has over taken every thing else he’s ever done – like Cassanova, Blackpool and Takin’ Over the Asylum which were great, trust me.
January 5th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
Oooh Tintin- we got a DVD out the other week, it was in French but if that got a bit tricky you could change it to English and replay any vital bits that you hadn’t grasped. Not that the plots were too terribly demanding… now Doctor Who in French- there’s a challenge I won’t be taking up any time soon (I never got over Tom Baker’s replacement by Peter Davidson I think it was, or for that matter over finding out it hadn’t always been Tom Baker and used to be the bloke who went on to become Worzel Gummidge).
January 5th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
I’ve never seen the DVD – I’ve been reading the books! Isn’t it cheating watching the comics?! Watching Doctor Who in French would only be equalled by watching Startrek in French. Although come to think of it, you could probably still make out that the made-up scientific gobbledygook is still well, scientific made-up gobbledygook. Just pass me that thermal transmognifier Jonathan and I’ll save us both.