Saturday 21 February 2009

TV

Lark Rise to Candleford
2x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Let's Dance for Comic Relief
Episode 1 (of 4)
It's for charity, you can't begrudge it too much. Besides which, Michael McIntyre was an inspired choice for a judge (I hope he's on it every week) and Robert Webb's rendition of Flashdance was priceless. And to top it off there was the video for Nessa & Bryn's Barry Islands in the Stream -- fantastic.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poetry

a selection by Carol Ann Duffy:

  • Mrs Beast (from The World's Wife)
  • Anon (from Feminine Gospels)
  • Kipling (from Answering Back)

  • As part of my reading of new (to me) poetry (mentioned ages ago), I've acquired three books by Duffy, staple of GCSE and A-Level English lit and beloved by critics. This is thanks to the ever-wonderful Book People, who offered this selection of three books for a total cost lower than buying one individually. Hurrah for the Book People!

    The main reason I bought it was for the highly intriguingAnswering Back collection, in which 50 poets have written new poems in response to classics (though don't expect to have actually heard of a great deal of the new authors or that many of the 'classic' poems). Duffy's Kipling is in answer to the Nation's Favourite Poem, If--... and isn't even close to being as good, or as memorable. Anon, on the other hand, is a much better piece on a famous poetry author.

    These few are ones I've read as a randomish initial selection; I'll be reading the collections in full later.

    Articles

    30 Novels Worth Buying For the Cover Alone by Beth Carswell
    (from AbeBooks.co.uk)
    Can't say I agree with many of them, but, to someone who loves packaging as much as I do, it's a nice idea.

    RT Predicts the Oscars by Jen Yamato
    (from Rotten Tomatoes)
    As the day nears, more and more sites will be predicting things (if they haven't already, that is). RT's justifications -- and that they've made a prediction for every category -- make it a more interesting read than most.

    Why Alan Moore Hates Comic-Book Movies by Sam Ashurst
    (from Total Film)
    And all sorts of ranting about other stuff too. Depending on your perspective, what he has to say is either quite sensible or a bit loopy. Personally, I land somewhere in between -- his points about why America feels the need to create superheroes while the rest of the world doesn't seem pretty valid.

    New Zealand Internet blackout

    A reminder for the weekend...

    Join New Zealand Internet blackout
    protest against insane copyright law