How I Spent My Weekend

"Some people are heroes. And some people jot down notes." – Terry Pratchett, Truth

I have a bit of a voice back today, a horrible croaky voice, but at least I can finish sentences without it quitting on me. I’m still cranky though, last night I was in bed for an hour or so before I could actually fall asleep, thanks to all the coughing. The up side is that I brought some Mark Knopfler with me to work today, so it helps mellow me out.

Yesterday I watched Dirty Pretty Things. They call it a thriller, but I don’t know that it’s all that thrilling. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the movie, but thriller implies lots of “Oh no, don’t…Ah!” That comment aside, it was really good at being dark, and at showing how far people can go when they’re pushed. Chewitel Ejiofor got some recognition for his role as Okwe, and rightly so, he did a wonderful job. Note: Chewitel also did beautiful, disturbing acting in Serenity (which everyone should see). Audrey Tautou co-stars and also packs a lot of punch in her character, Senay. There’s a twist at the end, which I have to admit I didn’t expect. Since I expect a lot of things before they happen, I was pleasantly surprised when I was watching and thought “Oh my, that’s what they’re going to do.”

Saturday I read Without You, a memoir by Anthony Rapp who originated the role of Mark in Rent. It was interesting to learn that the guy who plays one of the few straight characters in the musical is, in fact gay. I liked the book and although I think this guy definitely has issues, I liked how up-front and honest he was. Another book I tried was Spin Doctor by Leslie Carroll. While it had some good points, there were redundant “Progress Report” sections and a lot of sentences and paragraphs that left me confused as to what was going on. I blame the editor more than the author, these are things that he/she should have caught. In the end, I stopped reading about half way through.

I notice, of late, that my nit-picking has been coming out more strongly than usual. I don’t know if this is a temporary change, or a more permanent one. Time will tell, I guess.