Had a slightly lazier day, though did start making notes about the new show and have now written all but one and a half pages of the programme. Inspired by the me of early 2008 that I have just been writing about I have also decided to get back on my once effective diet and get to the gym regularly. Weirdly writing an Edinburgh show feels a bit like a holiday after writing a 116,000 word book. A couple of hours work a day, plus about six gigs a week between now and August should knock it into some kind of shape. I have an awful lot of ideas that I wish to explore, so think I will, as usual, end up with way too much. It's just a matter of organising it into a tight and cohesive form. Can't believe that I am actually looking forward to it.
I still do not have the Toothbrush moustache, having decided to bring it back next week, after my trip to Belgium (or maybe for the journey back to see if it causes any consternation as I travel back through customs). Perhaps I should not be so thoughtful about it and deliberately seek out places and people where the moustache will be contentious, but then I will only be one step away from appearing on the next series of "Balls of Steel" and then just one step away from burning forever in the inner circle of Hell, whilst having to watch a constant loop of Justin Lee Collins presenting "Ooops TV".
I recently acquired a Blu Ray DVD player (only really because I needed a new DVD player and thought I might as well get one that can do all formats) and tried it out tonight with the film
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is excessively long and slow moving. In fact if you want to see it, I suggest you just watch the trailer on that link, which pretty much cuts out all the faff and tells the story just as effectively as the film (though I haven't seen the whole thing yet - I gave up after what felt like three hours before Pitt and Blanchett have even got it together yet). I can't work out if it's the film or the DVD player, but it seemed excessively yellow and perhaps it was the sharpness of the image but the special effects looked a bit clunky too. Maybe I've set the machine up wrong too, but I couldn't really seem to adjust the volume very effectively - any of you bright sparks know why that is. It's a Sony DVD and a Sony Bravia TV and it's attached by an HDMI cable. It's on one the AV channels. Anything that can be done? I hate the fact that I have conformed to stereotype and become technically incompetent and befuddled now I am in my 40s, but have no ten year old child to do it for me.
Still the film was a bit turgid and made me soporific and reminded me of Forrest Gump, which is not a compliment as I think that is one of the most embarrassing and offensive films of all time. BB was not embarrassing or really offensive, but it seemed to have a lot of scenes that could have been cut out without really affecting the whole piece (except to make it better) - for example when a crew member we know little about decides he doesn't want to join the rest of the men and go to war (who cares?). Maybe when I've seen the whole thing it will all make sense. But only "Eyes Wide Shut" seemed to be more languid and boring than this film.
It was nice to have a night off though, with no massive pressurising deadline. I ate heartily, but healthily. Another reason why watching the calories is good. With a bit of imagination and a bit of exercise you actually end up eating much more food.
