Peanuts
Holiday Diversions
With snow coming down outside in one thick blanket
(we're expecting up to 35 cm by the end of Saturday),
today is a good day to curl up and do nothing. Not
that we've been doing much for the past couple of
days! Mostly reading and watching DVDs.
Patti borrowed a number of vids from the local library for the holidays and we've plowed through most of those. In honour of my commitment to reading all of Dickens, she picked up the BBC mini-series of David Copperfield (starring a very young, pre-Potter Daniel Radcliffe) as well as the recent theatrical film version of Nicholas Nickleby. We watched the first 90 minutes of the mini-series (the thing is more than 180 minutes in total) before giving it up as too depressing. Nickleby lasted only 20 minutes before we hit "Stop" and walked away. Maybe Dickens is better read than viewed.
As I was flipping among the various American college football bowl games yesterday, I noticed that Vision TV was showing all six hours of the BBC's version of Little Dorrit, the Dickens novel I am actually reading right now. Awful. Though it did seem to be a little more light-hearted than the others, it was still really bleak. I'm starting to reconsider my intention to read the whole Dickens oeuvre.
We have been watching the first season of Mad Men, the American TV show set in the 1960s, and are finding it a challenge. Yes, the racism, anti-semitism and misogyny so blatantly on display in the show are likely accurate representations of the time but they are very hard to watch. And I can't help but wonder if the decision to set the show during that time period and to focus on those kinds of behaviours (as well as smoking and drinking) isn't, itself, a form of backlash against the small progress we've made as a society towards inclusion and equity. Many have argued that the show represents a critique of such conservative, hate-filled attitudes (a la All In the Family) but I'm not so sure.
I'm happy to report, however, that the problematic aspects of the show seem to decline as the first season goes on while the plots develop in interesting ways and the characters and their relationships continue to be quite fascinating. The jury is still out but we still have six episodes of the first season to watch before drawing any conclusions.
I have enjoyed reading the two volumes of The Complete Peanuts I received for Christmas: 1971-72 and 1973-74. These two Peanuts volumes involve the introduction of both Marcie, the bespectacled little girl who calls Peppermint Patti "sir" all the time, and "Rerun", the baby brother of Lucy and Linus. As a result, I was concerned that, at this point in the comic strip's history, we might have reached the "jumping the shark" moment that plagues many a successful series (be it a TV program or a comic strip), when the writer runs out of ideas and the characters become mere caricatures of themselves.
I'm pleased to find that my fears were unfounded. In fact, I think I've laughed out loud more often with these two volumes than with any of the earlier books. And I'm finding it very interesting to see how Peanuts strips are reflective of their times. For example, in a February 1972 strip, Snoopy mentions Star Trek, the first time that iconic sci-fi show was ever mentioned in the Peanuts world. This is notable because the original series of Star Trek aired on television between 1966 and 1969 and passed unnoticed by Charles Schulz into oblivion. It was only when the show began to pick up speed in syndication that it became important enough a cultural force to make its way into Snoopy's world.
OK, so maybe I'm just pleased to see Star Trek make an appearance in Peanuts. Cool. I like to see my interests meld. Now all we need to have is Hermione refer to Spock and McCoy in the next Harry Potter film.
Patti borrowed a number of vids from the local library for the holidays and we've plowed through most of those. In honour of my commitment to reading all of Dickens, she picked up the BBC mini-series of David Copperfield (starring a very young, pre-Potter Daniel Radcliffe) as well as the recent theatrical film version of Nicholas Nickleby. We watched the first 90 minutes of the mini-series (the thing is more than 180 minutes in total) before giving it up as too depressing. Nickleby lasted only 20 minutes before we hit "Stop" and walked away. Maybe Dickens is better read than viewed.
As I was flipping among the various American college football bowl games yesterday, I noticed that Vision TV was showing all six hours of the BBC's version of Little Dorrit, the Dickens novel I am actually reading right now. Awful. Though it did seem to be a little more light-hearted than the others, it was still really bleak. I'm starting to reconsider my intention to read the whole Dickens oeuvre.
We have been watching the first season of Mad Men, the American TV show set in the 1960s, and are finding it a challenge. Yes, the racism, anti-semitism and misogyny so blatantly on display in the show are likely accurate representations of the time but they are very hard to watch. And I can't help but wonder if the decision to set the show during that time period and to focus on those kinds of behaviours (as well as smoking and drinking) isn't, itself, a form of backlash against the small progress we've made as a society towards inclusion and equity. Many have argued that the show represents a critique of such conservative, hate-filled attitudes (a la All In the Family) but I'm not so sure.
I'm happy to report, however, that the problematic aspects of the show seem to decline as the first season goes on while the plots develop in interesting ways and the characters and their relationships continue to be quite fascinating. The jury is still out but we still have six episodes of the first season to watch before drawing any conclusions.
I have enjoyed reading the two volumes of The Complete Peanuts I received for Christmas: 1971-72 and 1973-74. These two Peanuts volumes involve the introduction of both Marcie, the bespectacled little girl who calls Peppermint Patti "sir" all the time, and "Rerun", the baby brother of Lucy and Linus. As a result, I was concerned that, at this point in the comic strip's history, we might have reached the "jumping the shark" moment that plagues many a successful series (be it a TV program or a comic strip), when the writer runs out of ideas and the characters become mere caricatures of themselves.
I'm pleased to find that my fears were unfounded. In fact, I think I've laughed out loud more often with these two volumes than with any of the earlier books. And I'm finding it very interesting to see how Peanuts strips are reflective of their times. For example, in a February 1972 strip, Snoopy mentions Star Trek, the first time that iconic sci-fi show was ever mentioned in the Peanuts world. This is notable because the original series of Star Trek aired on television between 1966 and 1969 and passed unnoticed by Charles Schulz into oblivion. It was only when the show began to pick up speed in syndication that it became important enough a cultural force to make its way into Snoopy's world.
OK, so maybe I'm just pleased to see Star Trek make an appearance in Peanuts. Cool. I like to see my interests meld. Now all we need to have is Hermione refer to Spock and McCoy in the next Harry Potter film.
Lions for Peanuts on a Star Trek
My writing slump has gotten so bad people are now
calling me on the telephone to see if I'm okay. "You
haven't blogged in days," they say. "We thought
something was wrong!"
Well, many things are wrong but none of them terminal. I haven't been able to sit myself down at the computer and write. That's the long and short of it. I actually built a fire the other night, got it going good and strong, then promptly fell asleep on the floor in front of the fireplace.
My mind is working on the next scene (a conversation between Gold and Stacey McLean) but I just haven't started writing it yet. It's getting quite frustrating. And the fact that my Rapidweaver program has now decided it doesn't want to insert Em Dashes any more I'm really upset.
So instead I've been spending my time reading The Complete Peanuts, watching movies (Lions for Lambs, starring Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Tom Cruise, for example) and taking advantage of the surprisingly warm New Brunswick November to go golfing rather than working on the novel. My end-of-December deadline for a finished draft is still in play but I think it's getting more challenging with each passing day.
Meanwhile, Star Trek (2009) has finally come out on DVD. Of course, they have to make it complicated by releasing both a single disc version (which I take it just has the movie and not many special features) at about $20 and the two-disc steel box set that costs around $10 more. I have to admit, I'm less excited about this DVD release than I was about the last Harry Potter but I think, if I'm going to break down and buy it, I'll have to get the two-disc set, at least to see what kind of extras they include.
Lions for Lambs, by the way, was surprisingly good for a film that Rotten Tomatoes rated at about 18%. Structured more like a stage play than a major movie, it was a lot of talk but interesting talk and we thought the scenes involving Streep, as a cynical reporter, dueling with Cruise, a powerful Senator, were exceptionally good. Redford does a better job of directing this one than he does acting in it: I find the older he gets, the flatter his performances. The film's worth seeing, however. At least we think so.
Well, many things are wrong but none of them terminal. I haven't been able to sit myself down at the computer and write. That's the long and short of it. I actually built a fire the other night, got it going good and strong, then promptly fell asleep on the floor in front of the fireplace.
My mind is working on the next scene (a conversation between Gold and Stacey McLean) but I just haven't started writing it yet. It's getting quite frustrating. And the fact that my Rapidweaver program has now decided it doesn't want to insert Em Dashes any more I'm really upset.
So instead I've been spending my time reading The Complete Peanuts, watching movies (Lions for Lambs, starring Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Tom Cruise, for example) and taking advantage of the surprisingly warm New Brunswick November to go golfing rather than working on the novel. My end-of-December deadline for a finished draft is still in play but I think it's getting more challenging with each passing day.
Meanwhile, Star Trek (2009) has finally come out on DVD. Of course, they have to make it complicated by releasing both a single disc version (which I take it just has the movie and not many special features) at about $20 and the two-disc steel box set that costs around $10 more. I have to admit, I'm less excited about this DVD release than I was about the last Harry Potter but I think, if I'm going to break down and buy it, I'll have to get the two-disc set, at least to see what kind of extras they include.
Lions for Lambs, by the way, was surprisingly good for a film that Rotten Tomatoes rated at about 18%. Structured more like a stage play than a major movie, it was a lot of talk but interesting talk and we thought the scenes involving Streep, as a cynical reporter, dueling with Cruise, a powerful Senator, were exceptionally good. Redford does a better job of directing this one than he does acting in it: I find the older he gets, the flatter his performances. The film's worth seeing, however. At least we think so.
Time Out Continues
My extended break from writing continues. I don't
know what's behind it but I also don't seem to be too
interested in fighting it. As a result, I'm getting
nothing done.
I've taken up reading the Peanuts comic strips from start to finish. I have the first eight volumes of The Complete Peanuts in my book collection so I have finally taken it upon myself to read them through. I've always been a big Charlie Brown fan so this is a very nice way to appreciate the art and wit of Charles Schulz in a more concerted, comprehensive way. I'm only on the second volume right now but it's fun to watch as the now familiar characters take shape across the pages.
Phillip Gold remains on the back burner but much in my mind while Abigail Massey lingers as well. About the only writing I have been doing lately is an almost daily blog on sporting topics on the Fannation website associated with Sports Illustrated online. It's interesting to post a brief splash, say, on US college football and then watch as 10 or more people read it in the first half hour. Not that things continue at that pace for long: my most popular post has been read by all of 85 people. But it's kind of fun.
I have also added a temporary special section to this website. It's a page called "Buttons" (see top left) which offers a photo gallery of all kinds of different accessible door buttons and elevator buttons from around my place of work. We're planning a campaign to stop people from using these assistive devices if they don't need them; the more they're used, the sooner they wear out, the more often the accessibility of a particular building or room is compromised.
I like the photos, though, for some reason. So I thought I'd post them here for a while. Their presence on the web also gives our poster designers access to them without resorting to massive e-mails.
I will, I trust, be back in the courtroom with Philip soon; I'll let you know when that happens.
I've taken up reading the Peanuts comic strips from start to finish. I have the first eight volumes of The Complete Peanuts in my book collection so I have finally taken it upon myself to read them through. I've always been a big Charlie Brown fan so this is a very nice way to appreciate the art and wit of Charles Schulz in a more concerted, comprehensive way. I'm only on the second volume right now but it's fun to watch as the now familiar characters take shape across the pages.
Phillip Gold remains on the back burner but much in my mind while Abigail Massey lingers as well. About the only writing I have been doing lately is an almost daily blog on sporting topics on the Fannation website associated with Sports Illustrated online. It's interesting to post a brief splash, say, on US college football and then watch as 10 or more people read it in the first half hour. Not that things continue at that pace for long: my most popular post has been read by all of 85 people. But it's kind of fun.
I have also added a temporary special section to this website. It's a page called "Buttons" (see top left) which offers a photo gallery of all kinds of different accessible door buttons and elevator buttons from around my place of work. We're planning a campaign to stop people from using these assistive devices if they don't need them; the more they're used, the sooner they wear out, the more often the accessibility of a particular building or room is compromised.
I like the photos, though, for some reason. So I thought I'd post them here for a while. Their presence on the web also gives our poster designers access to them without resorting to massive e-mails.
I will, I trust, be back in the courtroom with Philip soon; I'll let you know when that happens.