Last nights religous experience

I love meat, but I know very little about it. I don't eat steak that much in restaurants, mostly because I prefer to eat ethnic food. There is always that awkward question when you order meat: "how do you want it done?" Last night the question was phrased different. I was eating at the River Cottage Bistro in Plymouth. I was told, the steak comes "medium rare",  but do you want it cooked any other way?

Long ago I moved from ordering steak "well done" to "medium", but eating steak cooked "rare" was almost a religious experience, because it was so tasty. I hope I am not changing into a gourmet.

The Door into Summer

I have finished reading the novel "the door into summer" by Robert A Heinlein. This was a great time travel novel, with an engineer with lots of ideas for novel for robotics. But what haunts m the most was the starting story. In the winter, a cat is going round the house trying all the different doors. The cat is hoping to find the door into the summer.

Of course there is a strange "love" affair in the novel, that looks wrong.

Stolen - a crap Cage film

This week I watched the film Stolen with Nicholas Cage in it. What the fu*k happened to Nicholas Cage. I could see the plot was like a mis-mash of his earlier action films, but done in a very unconvincing way. Still it was OK for late night viewing stretched over two nights. It looked as though the film was a straight to video.

I now want to watch Vampire's kiss, when Cage was more insane and committed.

I borrowed from Plymouth library:

Ex Machina TP Vol 07 Ex Cathedra 

a great graphics novel.

I was a bit confused at the start of the book, because it didn't make much sense.  There were a number of sub-threads of the plot. About 20% of the way through the book I realized what was going on. However, it was volume 7 of the series. There was a superhero and the mayor of New York, who was visiting the pope. Good stuff. The Mayor could talk to machines.

Dr Who on Netflix

This week I watched Resurrection of he Daleks on Netflix this week. I don't think I have ever watched this Dr Who episode before. I didn't remember how violent these late classic shows were. There was a lot of chemical warfare in the show. The body count was high

The Black Eyed Blonde

I have just spent a short break in Torquay. While there I read The Black Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black. The angle for this book is that is about Philip Marlowe. I just loved the mixture of hope and jaded cynicism. There was booze drugs and shootings and dames.

Pointless quest for Bar Oasis

I have been using google services to look for stuff to do close to my flat. Google tells me that the nearest bar is Bar Oasis on Beaumont Rd, But I have searched and searched for it, but I have not found any cozy bar at all. It looks as though the bar has been closed and then converted into a doctor's surgery.  Grr. People are taking this fitness and health thing too far...

Artemis Fowl

I picked up in Plymouth library the graphic novel: Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel. Although this is clearly a children's book, I enjoyed it. It was a battle between a young boy genius and armed fairies. I want to read more of the stories now...

Roy Kane: TV Detective

I picked a couple of graphics novel from Plymouth public library. One of which was: Roy Kane: TV Detective. I have been fairly brain dead for the last 6 months. So I was happy my mind could focus on this book. However it is clearly a children's book. Still words ...

The avengers assemble

I have wanted to watch "the avengers assemble" for sometime, but Itunes didn't rent it. Luckily netfix is now streaming it. So I watched it over the last of couple of nights. I particularly like the hulk character. Hulk had less angst and he was more funny, but he still managed to smash stuff

Mouse dreams

Last night I had a dream about time travel. I was trying with someone else to break into a hospital. There was some important reason for the break in, but in the end I just remember we were after upper and downer and pills. At the end the police came after us. We escaped prison by  better understanding of functions.

At the end of the dream I was trying to stop a mouse following my friend. I electrocuted the mouse. It stopped following my friend through the earth, but at some stage it just ignored the electricity and started to burrow through the earth. Then I woke up in fear of the mouse coming out out of the bed.

Theory of illness

I have had a cold for about three weeks. I thought I was getting better on Friday, but in the afternoon I started to feel really bad. It was a real struggle to get home. I did think of going for a beer, but my stomach was messed up that I couldn't face it. Yes I was that ill I couldn't drink a beer.
I went to bed as soon as I got in and slept until the next day.

On Saturday I planed to get chips, gravy and a pie, but again I couldn't face it. (I did manage to drink a beer later, so I knew I was getting better.)

Of course the ultimate test of illness is not being able to drink tea. If I can't drink tea, then I must be dead.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Last week I watched the film: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. It was OK, but it didn't do a lot for me. It was a typical Hollywood film, with two of the main characters wearing leather and talking sassy to each other.  There is a great deconstruction of the trailer of the film from the guardian.

As Peter Bradshaw says in the Guardian

These are dark days. The Oscars are over, and now morale doesn't get any lower, as the very worst films are dumped ignominiously into cinemas like a vanload of cook-chill equine lasagnes delivered to schools and hospitals. This movie is a case in point. It's a film which is so demeaningly bad, so utterly without merit, that there is a kind of purity in its awfulness. There is a Zen mastery in producing a film which nullifies the concept of pleasure.

I agree with Kermode's review.

Interestingly enough Netflix have just sent me an email to say that the TV series Grimm is available. I was surprised, because it was a personal email, but then I did a web search a couple of weeks ago.

Why I joined netflix (well because I wanted to watch archer)

I saw that Channel 5 had a series called archer, but their online player wouldn't let me actually watch it. I was going to buy the box set, but it was on netflix, so I signed up.

In the past I have watched a lot of America Dad episodes, I liked archer much better. The familyness of the America Dad and Family Guy get on my nerves, because of all the family stuff.

The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 and Part 2

On Amazon's love film I watched Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 and Part 2. This was the animated version of the great comic by Frank Miller. I liked the darkness of the original comic. I felt the rage of Bruce Wayne, as he sits alone drinking. I liked this film too. This is an old batman, not too sure of himself, but kept alive by rage.

 I never did trust that Superman guy.

Talk in a Plymouth chip shop

I was in my local chippie just before closing time. There was a woman who claimed to be a producer of some local TV program, but who was doing a chip run. She had slightly strange body language, but was basically OK. It seemed a bit weird to be boasting about her job, but the guys serving the food were in good spirits. I had drunk a couple of beers, so I was mellow. They know about the North gravy connection.

Iron man 2

By the magic of netflix I watched iron man 2 this week. I enjoyed the film, but I just liked iron man 3 so much more. There was more a level of insanity in the third film, which was missing in the second film.

Dreams of the evil dead

I had a dream last night, where I had some very evil book. I had to get rid of it. I had to give to a person. I knew a satanist, but he was a bit of a dick, so I didn't want to send him to hell. I was worried the book was starting to control me I was scared, but it was a happy dream.

Anyway I recently watched on of the evil dead films, so I think that explains a lot.

On being a regular

I went for a beer after work yesterday to a pub I swear I only go to once a fortnight. The woman serving knew my order. This freaked me out a bit, but she said it is a bit of unusual order: staroparen beer and a shot of Plymouth gin. There is a very good chip shop close to me. I only go in once a week, but the guy knows I like steak and kidney pie, chips and gravy.

I have only been in the UK for 6 months and I am already a regular.

Valentines day and flu

I have been suffering with a cold/flu the last week. I have not been so ill that I have to take time off work, but I have felt like shit and everything is even harder work than normal. I worked from home yesterday, but around 18:00 I went for quick beer and to pick up some chips and a pie. The wind was blowing hard and as I limped through freedom fields park, I was the staggering of the trees. I felt cut off from reality in my flu like state.

Below is the remains of my meal on Valentines day.