Media Cuisine

Torchwood: Slow Decay, by Andy Lane

2007-03-22T16:02:00.000Z

Published 2006

The first thing I look for in a TV tie-in novel is for the characters and feel of the series to be faithfully reproduced. Of the three Torchwood books released last December, I chose to home in on Andy Lane's story, because he has previously written some fantastic Dcotor Who and proven to be a very clever writer. He has not let me down here.
The recent Doctor Who novels, tied-in to the new TV series, have generally disappointed because they have to cater for a younger, easier audience and lack sufficiently advanced concepts. Torchwood, it would seem, has no such similar concerns, allowing Andy Lane to weave a much more involving 'adult' concept into his 'episode'. There may also be benefits from having several regular human characters to work with, rather than just one omnipotent time-travelling alien and a daft assistant.
After a shaky start, the vibe and humour of the show is rendered quite well against the backdrop of the drama, and there is even a very good sense of character development.
Lane takes good advantage of the opportunity to get inside everyone's heads and have a good look at what makes them tick. Backgrounds are subtley fleshed out in addition to the detail provide in the series, and there are even overlying story-arc hints dropped - all as if this genuinely were a 'missing episode' within the structure of the first season.
In some ways, it might be sucessfully argued that Torchwood gains from portrayed in novel form. Sci-fi concepts and personal storylines can be more deeply explored and noone is subjected to John Barrowman's acting!

Well-rounded and easily devourable, with little of the usual remorse associated such trash.

Torchwood: Slow Decay -

The House of Doctor Dee, by Peter Ackroyd

2007-03-17T20:12:00.000Z

First published 1993.

OK. Having been passed through the hands of two other book-crossers whilst managing to not yet be completely read, I was determined to plough through this one.

How difficult a task had I set myself?

It was whilst trying to explain to my wife how I felt about this book that I think I hit upon a winner: Reading this novel was like watching a film by David Lynch. You know that what is going on is amazing, well-written stuff, but it is all so damn high-brow that it walks that very very fine line between 'brilliant' and 'extremely difficult to understand'.

I am on record for hating David Lynch. He is a talented Director that never seems to use his talents to create coherent stories.
Do I hate this novel? Not quite. The individual scenes - both in present-day London and the pre-scientific world of advanced philosopher John Dee - were sometimes vividly realised and most of time extrememly interesting. Yet it was a deep struggle to maintain enthusiasm for the overall book because of the obscure themes.

Without giving anything away, the final plot twists/revelations are of the kind that either make you re-evaluate the entire novel or shake your head in dismay. Personally, I like the type of questioning of the reality of narrative that the conclusion introduces, but it was too little too late to rescue the ungraspable, high-brow nature of the majority of rest of the book.

This may be an absolute gem for the right person. Perhaps a historian/scholar in early science/magic or someone really interested in philosophical thoughts on the identity of great cities like London over vaste expanses of time.

Give it a go, but don't hesitate to pass it on if you don't like the first three chapters. It doesn't "settle in" at any stage.

One of those deals where you suspect that the fancy ingredients are supposed to impress you, but they're not as good as more common fare. Chicken generally tastes better than pheasant.

The House of Doctor Dee -

This was a book-crossing book.

I Capture The Castle (2003)

2007-03-08T23:48:00.000Z

Dir: Tim Fywell

Had all of the right ingredients and great service, but the memory of this one is already fading...

I Capture The Castle -

Minority Report (2002)

2007-03-01T00:06:00.000Z

Dir: Steven Spielberg

An old-fashioned recipe prepared for modern tastes. Classic science fiction gets the Super-Size treatment, but still grimly retains some of Philip K. Dick's secret herbs and spices.

Minority Report -

The Corporation (2003)

2007-02-26T23:00:00.000Z

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

2007-02-24T16:49:00.000Z

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

2007-02-18T14:27:00.000Z

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]

Podcasting: The Ultimate Starter Kit, by Steve Shipside

2007-02-10T16:50:00.000Z

Published in 2005

Selling itself as a tiny tidbit info package about Podcasting, this gimick from a series of '52 great ideas' books hardly surprises in it's inability to stretch Podcasting in 52 different directions. 30+ of those ideas are passed off as genre listings of variously recognised podcasts, whilst the few I valiantly held out for - the actual how to sections - were slipped in towards the end.
Nothing you can't work out for yourself from the 'Net.

Looks like Nando's, tastes like Kentucky Fried.

Podcasting: The Ultimate Starter Kit -

The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Irving Stone

2007-02-07T23:03:00.000Z

Published 1961

What a staggeringly huge undertaking this book is!
This book is solely to blame for my having had little opportunity to read anything else this year. It is huge, it is dense, it is chock full of the most incredible detail and interpretations of the life of one of the greatest artists who has ever lived - Michelangelo.
Now, I have to admit, I have been going through a big historical phase over the last half year, so I was more than ready to take this tome on. But I should warn anyone else that this is no light read. If you are eager to absorb seemingly every minute detail of Michelangelo's 90 year life - the incredible trials and tribulations of religion and art amongst the birth of Italian Renaissance philosophy - then, by all means, pick this one up. You will be very well rewarded. Irving Stone has recreated 90 years of Renaissance Italy and its influencial cast in staggering, loving detail. I feel like a qualified art and sculpture expert having just passed through.
This tribute is about as far from a quick frolick around David and the Sistine Chapel as you can get. One gets the impression that every single known fact and body of work connected to the great artist is woven into this story - and it takes a helluva long time in getting through them all - but is never uninteresting.
A monumental achievement, it can perhaps be paralleled with some of Michelangelo's own projects. Only an inspired psycho would take on such a comprehensive, exhaustive project and yet live to tell the tale.

A relentless banquet so huge that it may be considered inhumane to face it all in one session. One or two walks around the block in between courses is highly recommended.

The Agony and the Ecstasy -

That list of books you are going to read...

2007-02-04T22:07:00.000Z

Every avid reader must have one of these. That list of those books that you want to read but can't because you are too busy trying to finish the ones you already have open.

Right now, I'm slogging my way through a very absorbing, but very loooooong book. It's great, but it has been weeks since I have allowed myself to read anything else. Of course, it is still very easy to wish I was reading other books - not the least because I cannot shake the appalling habit of walking into every book store I come across. Now that I'm in London, this condition has degraded significantly.

My 'To Read' list is much longer than usual right now.

Because I find the process of choosing my future reading menu to be almost as interesting as the actual 'devouring', I thought I'd start a 'To Read' list and a 'Currently Reading' list.

(Of course, I also hope that these will influence the choices of future blog readers who may wish to sync their reading with my own!) :-)

Me, You and Everyone We Know (2005)

2007-01-26T20:58:00.004Z

Dir: Miranda July

This is one of those films that only a writer/director could make. It is full of those wonderful, visual character moments which cannot be written or interpreted through a shared script - only imagined and determined through one mind. Miranda July, who also stars, has thrown together a brilliantly realised ensemble of characters - most of them younger children - in this surprising "romantic comedy". I say "romantic comedy" because it manages to subvert most of your expectations of that genre.
But don't watch this film because it's a rom-com - watch it because each and every character is played for real. Not a single rom-com "line" is responded to correctly and - from the teenagers who convince themselves reluctantly that they need to have sex to know about it, to the younger girl who has very seriously, secretly, planned her future marriage - every character answers their own personal momentum, rather than a constructed narrative cause and effect. To that end, I was fully engaged throughout.

A refreshing approach to a standard combo. Some of the ingredients were surprisingly delightful.

Me, You and Everyone We Know -

The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink

2007-01-20T22:09:00.000Z

Published 1995

This book is a very good short read. Surprisingly devourable, given the heavy expectation of a novel dealing with the holocaust, Schlink introduces a complex humanity to all sides of his story. Guilt, and the proper ownership of it's past, are intrinsically connected to the relationship between a young man and older woman representing two very significant generations in recent German history - those that lived through the Second War and their children, who grew to denounce their parents' complicity.

A poignant story that refuses the luxury of dehumanising that which we don't understand.

Done to perfection, this high class dish can be easily enjoyed by anyone. Highly recommended for a quick bite.

The Reader -

This book was a BookCrossing book.

Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003)

2007-01-16T17:27:00.000Z

Dir: Peter Webber
For those of you not in the know, this movie is an adaptation of a book, which was itself a fictional 'adaptation' of the painting of the original Dutch masterpiece of the same name (by Johannes Vermeer). I am a sucker for adaptations, as it is always fascinating to analyse the decisions made in the conversion - so you can easily imagine how drawn I was to this unique trilogy of media. After especially enjoying Tracy Chevalier's novel, with her intelligent and understated heroine in Griet (the 'girl' of the main tile) and an excellently drawn 17th century Holland, I looked forward to savouring the movie.
As a largely silent character who maintains her place in the Vermeer household as servant, I remember reading a reviewer at the time of release commenting that only Scarlett Johansson could pull off being so compelling (and demure) whilst remaining so quiet. Indeed, the movie was a delicious visual feast, as gorgeous as the novel, but it was sadly missing a lot of the intelligence of Griet. This is almost certainly a concession of the movie - the heroine's inner thoughts can hardly conveyed as well as in the novel - so that Griet has become a lot more gormless and a lot less determined to do what is best, despite her unknowable desires and difficult circumstances. Just watch the way Griet (Scarlett) hangs her mouth open throughout the film - it's just like the painting. In the book, Griet presses her lips together all the time, because she wanted to seem in control and proper - therein lies the signficance of the open-mouthed pose in the painting. The movie makes of for this by making a scene out of Vermeer ordering her to lick and moisten her lips for his pose - thus placing a more obvious emphasis on what is supposed to be on The Girl's mind.
A lot of other elements have been left out from the book, and some could have been swapped for others, but all this is just part of the fun of adaptations. If you like historical fiction, then certainly give the novel a read and then treat yourself to the book - let me know if you
feel the same way about the different interpretations of Griet.

The Girl With A Pearl Earring -

Jpod, by Douglas Coupland

2007-01-14T16:25:00.000Z

Published 2006.

It has been a while since I have read a book as casually outrageous as JPod.
Focusing on the daily distractions and philosophies of a seemingly average gaming programmer, Ethan, Douglas Coupland gradually heaps an increasing amount of absurd realities onto Ethan's daily plate. The catch appears to be that because Ethan lives, breathes and works in an 'unreal' world of micro-management and forced, bizarre creativity, he accepts the daily insanity in his 'real' world with the minimum of protest.
Ethan, along with his 'JPod' colleagues - all surviving together in a Microserf purgatory (read: "Microserf", another of Coupland's acclaimed novels) - spend more time using their genuine intelligence to evade the reality of work, then they do in pursuing their mutual potential. This is the great blackhole of productivity that is 'the JPod' work environment, and just in case we don't get it, Coupland writes himself into his own novel as a support character to make a few points 'in person'.
A deliciously written novel, a lot of inane fun is had by author and characters alike as they amble through the very lightweight plot. There is, fortunately, an underlying sinister criticism on the wasted potential of the brighter new generation, all utterly apathetic in the face of a reality governed by their parents' generation - the 70s/80s corporate, selfish, self-empowering generation.

A good looking lunch item that promises more on the menu than delivers in the eating. Nonetheless, a satisfactory snack.

JPod -

Jarhead (2005)

2007-01-03T22:06:00.000Z

Dir: Sam Mendes

Very well made commentary on the inhumanity of training young men into a massive army of ‘soldiers/killers-on-a-leash’. Falling short of actually criticising the Gulf War efforts, it nonetheless destroys the notion that there is anything noble in the act of being a warrior in this day and age. Especially when the foot soldiers are mostly tokenistic due to modern weaponry, yet they are still converted into potential killers waiting for some adrenaline and action. To take half a million of your own population and ‘train’ them to be soldiers with no real intention of them ever becoming functioning social humans again is an act of evil. This movie shows that, but it does not say it.
Directed by Sam Mendes of American Beauty fame – another movie which championed showing the trauma, that film was a little closer to home. Isn’t that always the problem with these computer game wars on the other side of the planet?
If you like this movie, go get Three Kings - right now.

This dish delivers exactly what you expect: A decent slab of Jake Gyllenhaal action, with a side order of cynicism

Jarhead -

A Key To My Tastes...

2007-01-01T09:05:00.000Z

The Rating System:

- Cuisine! How best to prepare food.
- Great! I would be happy to eat here again.
- Interesting. Well-made.
- A disappointment. I'll not hang around for desert and a coffee.
- Food poisoning...

The class of cuisine:

- A high class establishment
- A decent dinner.
- A casual eat.
- Fast food.

New Year's Resolution

2007-01-01T08:01:00.000Z

I have always been a big consumer of media. Books, TV, movies, theatre, computer games. Is it all just one big consumption binge? The more I consume, the less I try to produce myself. So here's where I start trying to turn it around. I'm going to start producing my thoughts on every movie and book I read. Occasionally, I might try my hand at a 'formal' review, like it, and attempt to share it with a journal somewhere.
It is my hope that people will eventually begin to treat this site as a sort of 'book/movie club' forum. If you've read the book, then make a short comment or ask a question and I'll respond/retort. If you are intrigued by what I have had to say, then absolutely go get it for yourself and tell me I was completely wrong.

Let's get Socratic on this. Dialogue is good.