Thursday 30 September 2010

The Ed Man Cometh

While we were away on holiday the Labour Party conference took place and the expected annointing of David Milliband as successor to Blair and torch-bearer for New Labour was party-pooped by his younger brother Ed, thanks largely to greater Union-block support. I've got mixed feelings about this. Ideologically I'm on Ed's side. He's hardly left-wing in the traditional sense but he leans that way at a time when I think a small dose of old-fashioned socialism is necessary to balance the ravenous old capitalist beast.

By the same token the Murdoch media machine will see Ed as a bit of a gift and get even more on his back. Shame to say, but in these shallow times when image is everything, his lisp and slightly 'foreign' appearance will be mercilessly played upon by the other side and the usual political wolves, bloggers and professional talking heads. Is he an electoral loser when his more safe-fit brother might not have been? I worry he just might be - the electorate are so gullable and the media so lazy and dumbed-down. I can almost hear Cameron and the Eton brigade sniggering in relief.

LAKE GARDA, ITALY 22-29 SEPTEMBER

Picked this one up as a great late-summer discount from Thomson Holidays, staying half-board in a quaint old hotel right on the harbour front in Limone at the top end of Lake Garda. Dramatic, mountainous scenery up there, where the lake narrows and the mountains tower over the lake in a fjord-like manner. Lucky with the weather which can be dodgy this late in the summer. Had only one bad day and otherwise warm and sunny throughout.

Town small and very picturesque, with the usual winding alleys filled with cafes and tratorrias. Ferries bustled in and out all day taking tourists (mostly German) to and from other towns around the lake. Our hotel was one of the oldest buildings in the town and deliberately oldy-worldy, which grew on me after awhile. It was set right on the water and immediately next to the ferry port, which made it noisey during the day though you got used to this very quickly and it was fun to hang out the window and watch the hustle and bustle of it all. Food was pretty average but included drinks served with the meal as part of the price which is unusual and very good value.

We spent most of our days travelling by ferry around the other towns up the north end of the lake - Malcesne, Riva and Torbole. Malcesne is easily the most attractive, its imposing lakeside castle surrounded by a warren of narrow streets selling artwork and ceramics amid the usual tourist nonsense and Italian leather goods that nobody ever seems to buy. We went here twice, the second time on Fi’s birthday for lunch and a few too many drinks. You can walk from Torbole to Riva along the northern shoreline, which gives you a chance to watch all the German windsurfers doing there stuff.

We also did a trip to Milan which started in foul weather. Busy Saturday in the city with demonstrations and a political rally by the dreaded Berlescolli’s. It was also fashion week and innumerable stick-thin models strolled the trendy streets filled by impossibly expensive designer boutiques. Cathedral and Galleria spectacular and worth seeing but not much time to take in anything else. Found an arty, slightly bohemian area beyond the cathedral full of trendy galleries and restaurants that would have been fun to explore. Perhaps some other time.

All in all a great and very good value holiday. Italy never lets you down. Is there a more beautiful country in the world? I doubt it.

Monday 20 September 2010

Flicker, by Theodore Roszak

Loved this book; its one of those big, philosophical, why-are-we-here, state-of-the-planet, apocalypse-in-waiting, Chinese box epics that keeps you intrigued and makes you think all the way through - ultimately growing way beyond its default mystery novel landscape until its pretty close to the borders of science fiction or future-noir.

Its a book that provokes a variety of reactions. Its possible to see the entire exercise as a reactionary right-wing diatribe against half a century of liberalism - something that’s always likely to raise the hackles of an old liberal like me. And yet the author, disillusioned and cynical though he undoubtedly is, makes too many pertinent points about modern society and the direction in which screened entertainment has gone to dismiss its negativity glibly. You can understand why its been reprinted again almost 20 years after it was first published - its paranoid message seems even more pertinent in today’s multi-media, image-obsessed world than the pre-cable and internet world it could only imagine, but still managed to predict, when it was written.

However I can only really recommend it to movie buffs. Its a very long book that takes its own sweet time to unveil its more sinister elements. Most of the first 400 pages are a love affair to the history of the movies, often reading more like a high-end academic text on film theory and the literal mechanics of projection than a page-turning mystery thriller. Unless you have a deep love of cinema - and by that I mean the whole history of cinema rather than a simple liking for movies - this book is likely to leave you frustrated and impatient. Fortunately there’s a strong cross-over between movie geeks and literary geeks, so get ready to enjoy the playfulness with which Roszak constructs his alternative history of old Hollywood (Orson Welles admitting he was barely responsible for Citizen Kane anyone?) The author could have done with paying a bit more attention to his time-frames and cultural references, but this is a minor point.
I don’t re-read many books these days, but this one will certainly get lifted off the shelf again at some point in the future (unless 2014 is true that is!)

Wednesday 1 September 2010

The new adventures of the Crab Man

Had my first ever operation yesterday, a hernia op at the Victoria Infirmary in Kirkcaldy. Suppose I should count my blessings that I've managed to last this long without going under the knife. Simple enough it appears - they walked me into the theatre, gassed me, I went out like a light and woke up rambling and incoherent an hour or so later (nothing new there then).

One toe-curling moment - on my first post-op trip to the loo I fainted like a big woos. Got up too early and collapsed in a heap. God what an embarrassment. So much for the ironic, detatched cool I was attempting all day.

They released me back into the community in the evening but I'm pretty sore and immobile, limping and hunched over. I can manage a crab-like scuttle that gets me about the house, but I'm unlikely to make it back to work for a week or so. Lets hope the early September weather keeps up and I can sit outside when not writing a load of crap here.