Casual Causality

Some unrelated recent incidents got me thinking about the nature of narratives and plot structure in life. Which I will tell you about in a rambling post, so apologies in advance.

Sunday evening, I had a crippling headache come out of nowhere and knock me out. It was so bad I thought I was going to be sick if I even moved. In between bouts of trying to breathe in a pain-free manner, it made me think about the fact that, if this were a film, this would be a sign that I was going to die by the end of the movie. It wouldn’t have to be a big headache in the film – just a little one every so often – and it would be a death certificate, probably due to a brain tumour, or a massive embolism. Obviously, this didn’t make me feel any better about the headache …

A method I use to try and distract my head from the pain is to watch a brainless action movie. In this case, War, with Jet Li and Jason Statham. I didn’t know it was rubbish – I like Jet Li but unfortunately he is no guarantee of quality – but I thought it would suffice. The most annoying aspect of the film was the action film cliché of ‘killing the wife/girlfriend/child as incentive for ensuing violence’. I have watched so many films that I have become inured to it, but watching them with my girlfriend – who quite rightly gets offended by this – has made me more sensitive to this. It reminded me of the Women In Refrigerators in comic books – the nature of dramatic plots requires the hero to have an inciting event to initiate the quest and, unfortunately, dead girlfriends are an ‘easy’ way for lazy writers. I don’t know about you, but I would be completely devastated if something so horrible was to happen – I wouldn’t, in the case of War (and I should notify SPOILER WARNING for a very average film that you won’t watch), have plastic surgery to make me look like a notorious assassin and develop preternatural martial arts and gun skills in order to exact revenge.

The final moment that got me thinking about story twists was a true story that you wouldn’t believe in a fiction. I was out the night after the headache with my girlfriend’s cousin (and my lovely girlfriend, of course), telling them about the fact that my mother only has the time to phone me when she comes over to visit my brothers (who have children, so I don’t bear a grudge towards a gran and her grandkids). At the exact moment the words ‘phone call’ have left my mouth, my mobile phone goes off. And it’s my mother. This is the honest truth. But only the people who were there will really believe it. Because such coincidences are not allowed to exist in a film or book or television programme. Or, at least, this is how I feel after consuming so many fictions. Anybody else have an episode that happened that nobody would believe?

Time-Saving Idea

So, the clocks have just gone back this weekend, as we return to GMT from British Summertime. Apart from all the stupid people going on about how dark it gets so early, the best aspect of this is the lovely extra hour of sleep most people get on Sunday morning. Which got me thinking.

Everyone loves an extra hour of sleep, especially on a Sunday after a hard Friday/Saturday. Those recaptured 60 minutes revives and gives you more time for the last day before the week starts again. So wouldn’t it be good to give that to people more often? But where would we lose the extra hour in the first place in order to gain it on a Sunday morning?

And then it hit me.

Friday 4pm – everyone leaves work early on a Friday afternoon anyway, watching the clock until the weekend starts, so why not make it official? Turn the clocks forward to 5pm at 4pm on a Friday afternoon, then turn them back again on Sunday. It’s a win–win situation. How could anybody object?

So, who’s with me? Official campaign to make this a weekly event?

Why I Like Comics (Even Though I’m Not Getting Any This Week)

Nothing on the Incoming Inventory this week. This makes it look like I don’t like comics because I don’t buy enough of them. This is not true. I love comic books and the genre fiction that they do so well.

I believe that comic books are the best place for genre fiction because the suspension of disbelief is quicker in the comic book. This is not ‘childish’, the quality of comics that the majority of people associate with the medium (although there is a truth to the repetitive, simplified view of the good vs evil world exists in superhero comics).

It is ‘child-like’, the ability to imagine and pretend and believe in something unusual and out of the ordinary and accepting it completely. Teenagers from the future with planet-specific powers? Okay. Radioactivity giving super-powers, rather than an agonising death? Sure. A ring that gives you unlimited powers based on your will? Why not.

There is something about the nature of a comic book, the combination of words and pictures, that allows for any variety of mad, bizarre, crazy ideas. I’m not talking about the obvious insanity of, say, Superman of the ‘60s (shooting mini Supermen out of his hands?) – I’m talking about the ordinary, immediate other-worldliness of superheroes, or a samurai rabbit, or a sword-wielding aardvark, or an angel and a robot as a girl’s flatmates, or violent dairy products, or … well, you get the picture.

These outlandish worlds just work better and purer in comics. Something as simple as spandex works in comics, whereas it is an effort on film (which is why the X-Men wear leather), or the sheer physicality of the Hulk (which requires CGI on film) – the essential nature of the superhero, the costume, is allowed to work in the pages of a comic book.

The problem of doing superheroes outside of comic books has been in justifying them. Film and television have to set up and explain and rationalise the whole setting before you can even get to the good bits (or, in the case of Hulk, spend too much time setting up and then forgetting to even do the good bits). Comic books don’t need that. Open a page, and you’re there, straight away. Films have to find the right tone (X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman Begins) or it doesn’t work (Catwoman, Elektra, Punisher, etc.)

When I first read stories where a man shot concussive force out of his eyes, or another turned into organic steel, or a man with a tail teleported, or an unkillable man with claws housed in his arms, my first reaction was, 'Fucking cool!' Not, 'Well, that’s impossible, so this is nonsense.' You might say that I was predisposed to the ideas, which is why I sought out the material in the first place, but I believe the quality of comics allows for it.

(The ability to read comics, to cope with panels, dense with exposition, action and dialogue, and the transition from one to the next, is necessary, and some people simply can’t do it, dismissing it as childish, but the magic is still there for those who accept it).

Cartoons have, of late, being doing a good job of putting superheroes on screen (I haven’t seen much of the last 5 years of cartoons, such as Justice League Unlimited, as I don’t have Sky or cable to get the channels that broadcast them), even if they limit themselves by the constant need for action, for movement, and the pandering to a younger audience, but there still remains a need to justify it, by having a particularly stylised world for them to inhabit. You will never see the range of styles in comic book art in cartoons, although we can but hope.

Comic books are a great medium for telling stories that aren’t easy to do in most other formats. I have read many a comic book that has taken me to another place, and I look forward to doing that for a long time to come.

No Content, Just Commiserations

So, there will be no posting today. For several reasons.

1. I was away from town all weekend, so no comics were purchased. AGAIN. This is getting a little embarrassing …

2. England were knocked out of the World Cup this weekend, leaving me in no mood for being creative. The game was fairly even, but the penalties were just diabolical. Lampard and Gerrard should have scored theirs, no excuses. Penalties are a terrible way to exit a tournament, but England seem to be making it their very own. And, with both Brazil and Argentina being unexpectedly knocked out, it was the best opportunity for England to win it. Personally, I now want an Italy–France final, especially as they both started quite poorly but have gotten better. The World Cup – breaker of hearts.

3. I can’t even do any linkblogging, as everyone seems to be talking about Superman Returns, which doesn’t come out here for another two weeks yet, and I don’t want to spoil things for myself. I will leave you with the best review I have seen of the film, by Scott Kurtz:

Are You Going To Buy Comics To Review?

The weekend didn’t quite turn out the way I had anticipated; I couldn’t get my comics and haven’t read my New Avengers back issues yet, so I’m just going to groove on a wave of unrelated synaptic firings.


Because I have a disturbing weakness for watching really bad films about strong females in sexy outfits being violent in genre action flicks (cough, Ultraviolet, cough), and because I rather liked Equilibrium, I bizarrely want to see Ultraviolet, even though I know it will be bad (Empire says so, and Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t lie). However, I don’t want to pay good money to see it – that would be stupid. The only problem is that the film is only on in two cinemas in the centre of London; it would appear that everyone knows it is going to be a big pile of poo and decided not to book it in their theatres. This I find rather funny.


Thanks to John at Soreeyes pointing out that Battlestar Galactica was starting on Sky Three (first shown on Thursday but repeated on Saturday), I was able to finally catch the show that has been getting nothing but good reviews. This didn’t prepare me for the quality of the stuff in this double episode, which got me immediately hooked and jonesing to see more. The only question I had was, 'Why Sky Three?' Surely this has Sky One written all over it? Anyway, I don’t care – really good stuff, and the mini-series DVD is now on my rental queue.


I saw Broken Flowers on DVD; as my girlfriend put, I’m glad I didn’t see that in the cinema. Watching it drained any desire in me to write a review, which would probably have included phrases such as ‘slow’ and ‘why have famous actresses doing nothing more than cameos?' (Chloe Sevigny and Tilda Swinton barely get more than a few lines of dialogue). So, other than to say that it was well made and Bill Murray is always watchable, I hope I never see the film again.


Happy 2-year blogiversary to the incomparable Tom The Dog, writer of many quality posts and a man with impeccable taste.


I wanted to have a link somewhere to the FilmWise invisibles site, because I had forgotten about it and recently rediscovered it. A testament to the power of film and the power of Adobe Photoshop.


I had a moment of comedy expectations leading to disbelief over the weekend. There was an advert on television. It was three pretty lasses singing a cover version of Scarborough Fair while wandering around a forest. It then cut to the same girls in different flowing dresses and perhaps a different forest, but this time they were singing a cover Kiss From A Rose. There wasn’t a voiceover, and it looked really bizarre; so bizarre, in fact, I was convinced it was a piss-take, hopefully leading into the announcement of a new comedy show. Except, it didn’t. It announced that it was the new CD from Triniti, a trio of Dublin colleens, who actually exist – here is their official website, and here is the video of their latest song. I was stunned by it. I thought it had to be a joke, there was no way it could be real. You know what it reminded me of? That bit in Blackadder II, the Bells episode, where Blackadder is walking along to a K-Tel-like advert for love songs: 'My Love is a Prick (On a Tudor Rose), Hot Sex Madrigal in the Middle of my Tights and many, many more ...' BUT THIS WAS GENUINE!


Hopefully, I will actually get around to reading some comics and doing the whole reviewing thing I seem to enjoy so much. Feel free to join me.

Blame it on the sunshine

The sun is shining in Old London Town, which is a pleasant change, making my mood pleasant and benign. I have no desire to criticise or comment sarcastically, even on something like Countdown to Infinite Crisis, which is obviously asking for it.

Instead, let us visit other parts of the internet, and marvel at its glory ...

Diamond Geezer tells me more about Easter Day than I ever knew, and I was raised Catholic. He is a smart and informative chap with lots to say and to say well, like his Tourist Map of London, so go and be entertained.

Kevin Smith decides to share even more than usual in this diary post. I've read his article for Arena describing anal leakage, and yet even this seems too personal. Stuff like:

- An awesome 2 hour session of afternoon delight with the wife.

and

- I get up around six a.m. with a wicked piss-boner. Jen's still sleeping, so there isn't much I can do with it. Jerking off isn't an option, as Harley's taken to sleeping on our couch.

and

- I find Jen upstairs slaving over the Bunny cake, then head down to the bathroom for a half hour shit/Nintendo DS session.

Still, makes me feel better about the diary I keep.

The esteemable Greg is now a contributor over at Comics Should Be Good. This is his first column. Good job, Greg, and keep up the good work.

Ian mocks the House of M, and rightfully so.

Even though I live in England, I can't possibly absorb everything interesting that comes out here. Fortunately, Kevin is there to catch the things that get by, as in this post, where he links to a piece saying that Robert Louis Stevenson was under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs. Which explains a lot.

A different David does his weekly look at what is worthy of attention from this week's shipping comics, which is always a good place to check if you're missing out on anything.

And, in leaving, I just wanted to share that I finally saw Rio Bravo, a very enjoyable film, made moreso by it being the first time I can remember a character saying 'Jumpin' Jehosophat' in a non-ironic fashion.

Must. Get. Thoughts. Out. Of . Head.

My brain seems to have recovered since yesterday, although not enough last night to actually be able to read my comics haul, so reviews will come later.

But my brain is overcompensating by floating all around the place, so this post will digress. You have been warned.

I watched Teen Wolf on the weekend. I didn't go out of my way to; it was on television and I haven't seen it since I first saw it nearly 20 years ago, and I didn't want to watch anything specific while I concentrated on something else. Time is a strange thing, isn't it? The first half of the film is quite enjoyable, as Fox discovers the wolf aspect but, once he does, it's quite dire, with all that hideous 'Being True To Yourself' nonsense and excessive soft rock music to tell you exactly what emotion you are supposed to be feeling in the film at that moment.

And what sort of party with alcohol has arranged party games with the annoying Stiles dictating the juvenile fun? Ever so slightly embarrassing, especially for the writers, one of whom is Jeph Loeb, writer of many a comic book and consulting producer on Smallville. (An aside; how did he go from Joseph Loeb III to Jeph Loeb? Was it after Commando? Did his typewriter break?) The unintentionally funny scene was where the obvious body double for the 'hot' girl is removing her bra to seduce Fox in the changing rooms. All I could think of when I saw that scene was the line by Natalie Portman in Garden State when Large is being humped by the dog, 'Uh-oh, here comes the lipstick.' Come on, I'm not the only person to wonder if the wolf thing is confined to the hands and face ...

(It was also weird seeing the husband of Lynette in Desperate Housewives as Brad, one of the players on Fox's team – his name is Doug Savant, which I had to look up, obviously. Thanks, IMDB.)

In the world of television comedy, the BBC is showing The Two Ronnies again. The two chaps are both in their seventies but still the BBC will use them to get ratings, which is quite sad. I have warm memories of their show from a kid (I must have been around 12 or so when I last found it funny) with Ronnie Barker's talent for word play and the silly sketches (like the Mastermind sketch where the speciality is answering the question before last) even though, even then, I knew that Corbett's monologues were rubbish. They are mostly showing the old sketches, with some new linking material, but it still managed to pull in over 8 million viewers, which goes to show that people prefer wallowing in the warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia than finding something funny.

Talking of which, Ricky Gervais shows class {EDIT: link no longer works to Chortle news] by not taking the BBC 'golden handcuff' deal and retaining creative freedom for his new show, Extras. Turning down £5 million just so he can be proud of his work is quite something and my respect for him increases, even beyond the fact that The Office did so well in the States and he's not afraid to speak his mind. This at a time when the Americanized version is soon to air, as reviews like this discuss. I still think it is a strange idea, but that never stopped people doing whatever the hell they wanted to do.

In the blogosphere, Marc-Oliver quotes something I wrote, which is a rather lovely thing to do, so thanks for that. Check out his review site, Supercritical, which is very well written and has similar views to myself, only he expresses himself much better than I.

Finally, Harvey has the real deal on what happened to Malibu from the horse's mouth, which also goes to show that blogs can achieve something positive.

Edit: The BBC deny they offered Ricky Gervais a £5 million 'golden handcuff' deal.

Threadless post, concerning comics

Even after a great weekend, I feel like crap, so I could be coming down with something. Nevertheless, my urge to blog is overwhelming. Let's see what we can do ...

There was a lot of news from Wizard LA over at comic news websites, much of which didn't signify much, as evidenced by the lack of note by the blogosphere. One thing that got to me was in this article, where Joey Q worries me concerning the upcoming Mark Waid Spider-Man stories. About the authors writing the three main Spider-Man titles, he says:

telling more "unified" stories about Peter Parker. Quesada also said they've "plotted out the next two years for Spider-Man."

Personally, I want people telling the stories they want to tell, not a committee working out stuff that will happen over multiple series. Did that triangle thing work for Superman? I don't want to buy other comics to enjoy a story from someone with ability and a vision. Is it too much to ask for Marvel to produce Mark Waid-written, Mike Weiringo-drawn Spider-Man comics? Or is it just me?

I was thinking about the news of Whedon and Wonder Woman. I was wondering what the story could be. Wonder Woman has a strange history, having been created by a psychologist, suffered the curse of the bondage cover, had DC attempt to shoe-horn her into a position of importance in the DCU, while the most successful series in the books has seen the Amazonian aspect pushed to the fore. And, yet, to my mind, more people have the television series as the influence for the film. I only have vague memories of Lynda Carter swinging around to change costume, a painful looking leotard and a memorable theme tune, and I consider myself a comic book fan. Who are her main villains? How will Joss tell the origin story (as this must surely be the source for the film)? While X-Men and Spider-Man have years of stories and strong protagonists to choose from, what will Joss have to pick through? I'm hopeful, because I've enjoyed the various stories that Joss has given us, but I'm a little hesitant.

I was going to have a bash at the Marvel Solicitations for June, but I really don't have the energy. Hopefully I'll be up to the task of pouring through the hype tomorrow, and share my thoughts with you.

And in some good news, I have finally got round to buying my comics for the last three weeks. I'd be reading them now, but work tends to frown on me not actually doing the work they pay me for, so that will have to wait. I've got some serious reading to catch up on, followed by some serious reviewing.

Train of Thought Derailed

A bit all over the place, which might mean I'm coming down with whatever illness is beating my girlfriend's immune system at the moment. Still, might be fun, eh?

First all, don't mention St Patrick's Day. I'm half Irish and I get annoyed by the way the festival has been usurped for commercial purpose, and even by the harmless Google's shamrocked front page. At least the BBC provide you with facts. What was once a break from the harshness of Lent for Irish Catholics and a religious feast day, has now become something similar to a corporate identity, so I try to ignore it. But, in a world where you can buy Happy Halloween's cards, I think I'm in the minority.

In other news, Joss Whedon will be handling Wonder Woman (ooer, missus, sounds a bit rude, etc.), which could be very interesting indeed. And Empire lets us know that Matthew Vaughan is still in talks about X-Men 3 [EDIT: link no longer available], so no official confirmation yet. Newsarama informs us that Marvel will be increasing prices of their cheapest comics; in other news, water is wet.

I've seen some other films recently and didn't feel up to full reviews but did feel the urge to waffle on about them here. I saw Million Dollar Baby and couldn't understand why it won best film and the acting Oscars. I have never had formal film studies training, so it's possible I'm missing a lot, but I thought it was a good film with some nice directing but nothing more. Certainly, I couldn't see what was so special about Hilary Swank to get her second statue and, although I certainly don't begrudge the wonderful Morgan Freeman his Oscar, I thought there was nothing here to say he deserved it for this film, so it could be just the delay factor (for example, see Al Pacino getting his for Scent of a Woman instead of The Godfather, or Paul Newman for The Colour Of Money, instead of any of the other seven films he was nominated for before). I could, of course, still be dealing with my issues from Marty not winning ...

For some reason, I saw John Carpenter's Ghost of Mars. I can't remember why I thought this was a good idea but I'm getting old, and my brain plays tricks on me. Let's see; some criminals and cops team up in an enclosed location to deal with a bunch of motive-less psychos who are trying to kill them. That sounds familiar. Oh yes, his own Assault on Precinct 13, which was a remake of Rio Bravo, which is appropriate given the Western tinge to this version, but with some sci-fi and ghost hues to it. If you like watching Ice Cube biting on his lower lip when he thinks he's acting tough, then this may be the film for you. But perhaps I was burned after watching Escape from LA or Vampires or any other Carpenter film he's done recenlty. And keep that man away from a synthesiser, for crying out loud!

I also finally got round to seeing Anchorman, which was funny but not as funny as I'd been led to believe. There are some very funny lines in it that make me smirk remembering them ('they called it "San Diego", which in German means "whale's vagina"' or 'I don't know what we're yelling about! or 'It's so hot ... milk was a bad choice.' or 'The Human Torch was denied a bank loan.') but I thought the film didn't hold together as well as a film as, say, Dodgeball. (What is it with giving comedy films really long titles at the moment?) I think Will Ferrell has to watch out for being too Will Ferrell-ish at times, where he seems to give off the vibe 'look at me, I'm being really funny now'. Could be just me, and I like Will Ferrell, even if he did make Old School, which I found deplorably bad. The reason for my not thinking that it works completely as a film was clicked into place by the 'Making of ...' on the DVD, which informed me that the director and co-writer was Adam McKay, who was head writer on SNL, and how he was throwing in adlibs to the actors, even when they were improvising, explaining why it has the feel of an extended SNL skit. Still, some good comedy stuff going on, with Paul Rudd, Christina Applegate and Steve Carell doing some lovely work, and it leaves you with a goofy grin on your face after it's finished, so you can't hold a grudge against it.

Well, that's enough film stuff for now, I guess. I think I'll have a peek at the DC Comics Solicitations next, even if I'm joining the party late. You stay classy, blogosphere.

Brain prism: one mind, many links

My brain is all over the place today, so no real new content today. Instead, some links and turgid commentary.

Here is an article about those lovely comedy chaps, Mitchell & Webb. I've previously shared my love for their TV show (and their radio show is excellent too), and now everyone's jumping on the bandwagon. (The author might be trying to start a Little Britain backlash, which seems a little harsh, even if their comedy isn't as funny as in the first series; they can't help being popular and people enjoying their material, even if it is now only dressing up in silly outfits.)

Empire does a nice in-depth [EDIT: They did, honest. No longer there, even though it's a search result.] look at the Oscar nominees, helping me for my predictions/hopes, which I'll post tomorrow. I'm usually pretty bad at predicting the Oscars and tend to go for my favourites over what I know will win, but that won't stop me getting it wrong again.

Greg Rucka talks about OMAC over at Newsarama. I enjoy Rucka's work (the Atticus Kodiak novels are very enjoyable, and Queen & Country made by 100 List) but I do feel hesitant about picking up this when it's part of the DC Countdown event. See if he can persuade you.

As you may or may not know, Marvel has changed its rating system. Scott at Polite Dissent mocks this ever so elegantly in this post.

It was via Polite Dissent that I learned of Suspension of Disbelief, a new blog that checks the facts in comics books, and they're off to a good start.

Logan threatens physical violence on my personage for not reading Y: the Last Man. That's the way to get people to read good comics, Logan. (Only kidding; thanks for the recommendation.)

I was saddened to see that the Iranian blogger was sentenced to 14 years; the Committee to Protection of Bloggers [EDIT: blog no longer there] is still on the case.

In news of a more bizarre and less serious note, an odd man sues Sean Connery for living in an apartment that caused damage to his apartment and playing loud music, even though Connery doesn't own the other apartment, and hardly spends any time in New York anyway. Meanwhile, a woman is suing Hewlett Packard for secretly progamming expiry dates in their ink cartridges. The world is a very strange place sometimes.

Then there is the bizarre case of a cancer charity refusing a donation from Jerry Springer - The Opera due to a threatened protest by a religious group. I'm so dumbfounded by this, I can't think of anything clever or funny to say.

In a case of 'don't look up to someone for too long or you might hurt your neck', Kevin Smith disappointed me in this scan of a Stuff magazine piece, where he defends his right to drive an enormous, gas-guzzling SUV with the excuse that he wants to keep his kid safe. I really hope he was being facetious, as he usually is in print, but it doesn't appear to be, and using the same hive mentality to justify damaging the environment as all the other people who drive those stupid cars is rather sad for someone who is usually smart.

Finally, a bizarre thought that goes a bit serious. I live in London, which means that when I walk past a phone booth, I see postcards advertising prostitutes (these cards are also known as tart-cards), which are basically photographs of naked women, with perhaps some small stars to cover nipples and orifices. I thought, for some reason I can't quite remember why, that it might be a good idea to take the cards off the phone booth walls (being a nice chap and wanting to protect little kids, and to try and keep London a better place to live), scan them and post them on a blog (with the phone numbers removed) in order to highlight the issue. This sounds a little frivolous, now that I write it down, and it turns out that it's a little more serious than I initially thought. With 14 million cards being put in phones a year (according to this item), and the people who put the cards in the booths (called tom-carders) threatening violence to people who remove them (there is a scheme called Adopt A Phone Box [EDIT: there was a scheme, but the webpage no longer exists], organised by the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, where people take down the cards after the tom-carders have put them up) and the debate over whether it's better to have prostitutes working via this method or having to walk the streets (even though most prostitution is run by ruthless vice gangs), it becomes a little more complicated. It still sounds like the idea might work, if only because people love to look at naked women so the site would get a lot of hits but, just to show that I'm way behind, you can get a book on the subject already.

I told you my brain was all over the place. Congratulations if you read this far.

Content is an illusion, links doubly so

My brain isn't firing correctly at the moment. Bizarre thoughts percolate. I see a news item about how DVDs are going to be harder to copy – my brain wonders if that is going to make the DVD pirates say to themselves, 'Ah, look what they've done now. We're never going to crack them now, so we might as well forget it now lads.'? But then it thinks, why would they announce it? Are they laying down a challenge to the copiers?

Either my brain isn't as sophisticated as I thought it was, or I am getting old and my mental capacity is deteriorating rapidly. When reading that someone who had their mobile phone stolen and then found out it had been used for £625 worth of calls to Pakistan, my brain thought, why would anyone make that amount of calls to Pakistan? It's kind of sad, really.

Anyway, I want to write my review of the film screening I saw on Sunday (although, I feel a bit odd doing a review of a film that has been out in the US for a while, knowing that the global nature of the internet means it looks odd for someone doing a review of a screening so long after it has been out), but can't do it while the mind is melting. So, instead, by the power of linky blog magic:

The trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is online [EDIT: not any longer – link removed), at Amazon.com of all places (via Empire). Looks good, even if aimed at people who haven't read the book.

A review of That Mitchell and Webb Sound, by a slightly scary looking old woman, saying how wonderful it is, which is true, even if she gives me the creeps.

A review of Nathan Barley. I keep wondering if I should, in tradition of accumulating comedy catchphrases from programmes I enjoy into my vocabulary, use the ones from Nathan Barley; however, would that prove that I am an idiot, as in the show, by using the same vapid expressions invented by the creators to parody the lack of creativity of the very people they are lampooning?

An interview with James Jean, Eisner award winner for covers, at Newsarama, the day after I was saying how great he was. Spooky …

There's probably more, but head-controlly thingy not thingying properly anymore, so …