The Corporation (2003)

Dir: Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbott

Vegetarian marathon that doesn't leave any room for dessert. I wanted to eat my fill and save the rest for later. Too much of a good thing?

The Corporation -

Minority Report, by Philip K. Dick

Collection of short stories. Published 2002.

I have read a lot of historical-based fiction over the last few months and most of this has been hard work. Fun, but not easy. With this in mind, I needed to give myself a brief holiday and look into some classic sci-fi. I have been bouncing a few sci-fi ideas around in my head for a while now, so I was looking forward to wading through this popular collection of Philip K. Dick's shorts as a source of inspiration. What I found was a writer rife with challenging questions of humanity and identity, but not so solid on plot structure.
Minority Report and We Can Remember It For You Wholesale (movie adaptation: Total Recall) are, as expected, the stand out stories. Both exploring 'what-if?' ideas from which a person defines himself, Minority Report explores predeterminism (what if you are given forwarning that you will murder someone you've not yet met?) whilst memory is the subject of the latter (what if your memory was artificial? When it unravels, who do you become?).
In some cases - with particular reference to What The Dead Men Say - his lack of plot delivery might be considered a strength. The ambigiuous, unexpected lack of closure of What The Dead Men Say reeks of authorly laziness, yet can be closely compared to his famous novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? Plot and characters supposedly continue in their miserably uncertain indentities with questions unanswered and no neat resolution. As a writer, I admire the strength of conviction, as a reader, this can be frustrating.
Even though the science and plot twists have both forgivably dated, I was still left with a minor sense of awe that didn't require the usual 'put-yourself-in-their-era' sort of appreciation. Dick definitely belongs to the real school of Sci-Fi that makes you think, and I believe I have learned a thing or two about exploring a concept within a character.

Minority Report -

The Best of 2006

To create a "Best of" list is a well recognised affectation of anyone who is hardcore enough to monitor their reading and viewing habits. I am certainly no different, however it is new to me to able to construct a list so definitively, as I have only in the last year started keeping such rigid records of my consumptions.
The following lists are inspired by a very good film critic friend of mine who can probably be blamed for my eventually deciding that I wanted to keep this diary. His annual "best of" movies are an event anticipated by many, I'm sure, and his 2006 choices can be found here.
And, without any further ado, my own following list are to be qualified as such:
1) I do not read quickly, nor do I watch half as many films as I believe that I should. These are in no way compiled from a comprehensive survey of what the year had to offer.
2) The list is drawn from those movies and books that I personally read - for the first time - during 2006. It is not restricted to 2006 releases only.

My Top Ten first time reads for 2006

1. The Time Travellers Wife - by Audrey Niffenegger

2. The Mary-Sue Extrusion – by Dave Stone

3. The Penguin History of Europe – by J.M.Roberts

4. Doctor Who: Fallen Gods – by Jonathon Blum & Kate Orman

5. The Big Ask – by Shane Maloney

6. Doctor Who: Camera Obscura – by Lloyd Rose

7. Be Cool – by Elmore Leonard

8. Girl With A Pearl Earring – by Tracy Chevalier

9. Pompeii – by Robert Harris

10. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything – by Steve D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner


My Top Ten first time views for 2006

1. Downfall (2005) [DVD]
2. Wolf Creek (2005) [DVD]
3. Sense and Sensibility (1995) [TV]
4. The Devil Wears Prada (2006) [Cinema]
5. School of Rock (2003) [in-flight]
6. Broken Flowers (2005) [Cinema]
7. Jarhead (2005) [Cinema]
8. Hogfather (2006) [TV]
9. Napoleon Dynamite (2004) [TV]
10. The Perfect Parents (2006) [TV]