BigWords

I can't find the linky right now, but there was a story about a coach driver who went on a massive road rage incident, swerving across three lanes of traffic to catch up to a driver ahead of him. And he had passengers as well. Makes me wonder what psychological evaluations are needed to become a bus or coach driver - not much by the sound of things...

Agreed. There are a lot of very funny ones these days, but I'd have to start pulling books from shelves if I had to remember specific titles... The place is untidy as it is, and if I start creating more chaos I'll never get anything done. As soon as I have time to put together a list of the best I'll post them here.

There is still Book & Magazine Collector (which you should be able to pick up just about anywhere), which has publishing credits and book information, and it is published once a month. I'm not sure if it is still going, but there was a paperback-sized quarterly called (I think) Slightly Foxed (not sure on the name, and I don't have a copy to hand) which runs (ran?) short essays by lots of very smart people who get to the point quickly. The writing magazines (Writer's Forum and assorted other titles) sometimes run features on authors, though more for people who wish to emulate their literary heroes. Reader's Digest, while becoming more dated by the year, is a fine place to look for excerpts of titles you may wish to peruse later... I'm running out of suggestions... Maybe there are some small press titles which might interest you in regard to specific authors, but a lot are filled with music reviews, comic strips and other material as well. This Way Up is good, and smart, though (again) I'm not sure if it is still running or not.

The Hurt Locker is playing at my 'local' cinema, but seeing as it is two bus journeys and a short walk away... Ugh, maybe I'll wait on the DVD. Anyone else here missing their in-town cinemas? It seems they've all been converted into bingo halls...

Welcome to the BCF. I haven't read any Catherine Cookson, but I have seen a couple of the TV shows which adapted her books. That counts for something, right?

Welcome to the BCF. There is nothing which can beat the smell of the big leather-bound Victorian books with all the plates inside. I'm not sure if it is the paper manufacturing process, the coloured ink or the leather, but there is a distinct smell from them. And they are so tactile as well. Yes, I'm sad and pathetic... I already know that.

Welcome to the BCF. What are your favourite books? Favourite writers?

I had heard of Celtic Films, but they didn't seem to have enough financial clout to pull it off properly. It needs to be epic - if you have read the books you'll know there is a lot of big scenes which would need considerable cost management - and a (relatively) small outfit would be overwhelmed very, very quickly. Raven, you're more likely to see a sequel to The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen than you are to see a period adap of War Of The Worlds. You can thank Stephen Spielberg and Tom Cruise for killing any hope we have of that.

The Avengers film has a rough release date, and that's about it. Oh, and Samuel L. Jackson is signed up for (I think) eight or nine films, so he should be popping up in just about every Marvel film until the release of Avengers to build some continuity. There is still no word on who major players will be - it's unlikely that any of the cast from Incredible Hulk will return, despite rumors which insists some of them will. There's an actual Clash Of The Titans film in the pipeline, using CGI instead of stop-motion. I so want to see how they handle the effects.

My problems with most vampire shows (and, for that matter, books) containing romance between vampires and humans still rests on the fact that it seems icky. The immortal guys wander the panet for decades (or centuries) then they decide to shack up with teenagers? True Blood managed to avoid some of the usual tropage, but there still seems something odd about them wanting to spend a lot of time with women who (to them, at least) are no more than children. The squick factor keeps me from getting involved enough to see their relationships as anything more than a passing fad for the immortal characters. And did I mention the ewww involved?

Welcome to the BCF.

Awesome story. I, unfortunately, don't have anything to compare with The Wheel Of Time urge, but I do pick up a book now and again simply because of the cover.

The level of insanity / paranoia / scheming etc. which in imbued into the character by performers varies. Some productions are very tight readings of the script, while others layer in the crazy aspects of the character with a ridiculous amount of hammy acting. The RSC tend (overall) to be good when it comes to the major plays, but smaller companies can be hit or miss.

Iron Man rumors are increasing, but rather than focusing on Scarlet Johansson everyone seems intent on picking up on a possible War Machine spin-off. It would be the next step towards Marvel's ultimate goal of an Avengers film - we still need Captain America to hit cinemas first for that to happen. The casting for Captain America is taking place now, and a proper announcement should be made in the next couple of months hopefully.

Welcome to the BCF. Two floors stacked full of books... I wouldn't know where to begin.

IIRC the book was written because the films were so popular they wanted another film for the franchise.

All major life decisions should be made by rolling dice, cutting a deck of cards or flipping a coin.

Sums up a lot of Ayn Rand's work. And some Heinlein. Oh, and lest we forget L. Ron Hubbard... That's more to do with authorial politicism of their work and a serious lack of editing, rather than merely bad writing. It's annoying either way, of course. The most irritating stylistic tic I've picked up on in the last few months is the tendency for some books (both in and out of series work) to leave major plot points hanging mid-way, as if that is going to convince a publisher to greenlight a sequel. I'm not bothered by minor plot details being ignored, but when something which the story absolutely hinges on is disregarded it can feel as if the book is unfinished. Works by more than one author (co-written books from big publishers specifically) tend to do this more than was customary even a decade ago.

Actually, I would counter that by saying Titus Andronicus is the one (dubiously attributed) Shakespeare play which is the most likely to appeal to teenage boys.

It has been a few years since I've seen a performance, but the one thing which has always bothered me about Macbeth is the relative speed in which the play unfolds. It feels like there is a scene missing, or at the very least several small bits and pieces which aren't there. Compared to Richard III (which feels epic) I never got the impression that there was as much space given over to all of the moments which build up to the ending - especially because of the way that Macbeth is depicted as either acting insane or actually insane (it isn't as clear cut as some adaptations play it out). The old Penguin edition isn't bad, but the cover isn't entirely to my liking. Project Gutenberg at least had the decency to keep the spelling consistent with the original text (it's meant to contain weirdness - or wyrdness - in the spelling), while the manga did nothing for me.Shakespeare works in the style Classics: Illustrated used, but the cuts made to the text are absolutely barbaric.

I can't speak for anyone else on this, but I have always been led by the text when it comes to the way a character speaks. You should be able to discern between regional variances and idiomatic speech patterns through the way the character is written, especially if there are clues within the dialogue to indicate the level of education and other details. My interpretation of some characters differs greatly from their use in, for example, film. There is a limit to this, especially in casts which are greater than six or seven characters, as overlaps between dialect can 'merge' characters in my mind. I had a horrendous time trying to wade through Lord Of The Rings despite Tolkien's hard work which went into creating it. I can easily visualize most of the locations now, but I'm still not entirely sure I agree 100% with the film.

Welcome to the BCF.

Welcome to the BCF. It's always good to meet (as it were) people who work in a magistrates court... Y'know... Just in case.

For the Scottish day-to-day experience you will probably be best looking at the various books on coal mining, fishing, football, jam (Dundonians have something of a reputation there, along with the manufacture of jute), textiles (again, Scots were sent to India to assist in setting up and working the looms)... It really depends if you want books where you follow the life of an individual, or if you are interested in the larger social picture, as plenty of titles have been published which go into considerable detail on specific aspects of Scottish life. The museum nearest to me has some books of local interest, so asking a librarian (or someone in a museum bookshop) to find these kinds of titles should throw up a considerable list of appropriate books.

Guess who paid my li'l ol' blog a visit... I'll give you a clue.