Great Forethought UK? #Brexit

Stephen King: Carrie. pp 1-25

A woman's menstrual cycle. Even mentioning the words starts to flash big red warning signs in front of your eyes. The problem with being a male is that I've never had one, but I've still had to put up with the consequences of them for a large proportion of my life. And yes, while those of the female persuasion start to cry out to me "You don't know what it's like! What it does to your moods and body!" - let me say that that is only partly true. Because who pays the price of this change of seasons every three and a half weeks? Who cops the brunt of the mood swing and the general awfulness that the female will have during this time each month? That's right, the poor old male who was just passing nearby on his way to the fridge for a beer.

The opening stanza of Carrie is confronting in that way. It combines that awkwardness that we may feel about that first period that women have, with a brief look into what is also an awakening of another part of Carrie White's inner consciousness. From King's own memories, it was his wife Tabitha who encouraged him to move ahead with this novel, and that she helped 'correct' some pieces that didn't ring quite true. No doubt the opening scene in the shower was one of those. The confused thoughts of the teacher Miss Desjardin who initially reacts with anger and then with incredulity when she understands that it is Carrie's first cycle, at an advanced age, and that she has no knowledge of them at all. And the fact that the light bulb shattered of its own accord during this, as has happened before, or so Miss Desjardin thinks to herself at that time. As is mentioned in the thesis after the events that are yet to occur, perhaps this should have rung more alarm bells than it did. But then again, when your mother delivers you alone in her own bed, also in a state of stubborn unknowing that she is pregnant, what can you really expect?...

31 Days of Scotch - July 2016

Once again this year, many people will be participating in the Dry July campaign, which raises money for people who are living with cancer. Dry July asks people to abstain from alcohol for the length of the month of July, to give up something they enjoy in order to show their support for the cause, and ask people to donate to the cause to show their support, and help out the families and patients concerned.

More information on Dry July can be found at https://www.dryjuly.com/

Last year, in 2015, I went against the grain, and instituted the 31 Days of Scotch for the length of July. Each day during July, I took a photo of myself having a nice refreshing scotch, and posted it on social media and my blog, proclaiming this my way of celebrating July. At the conclusion of July, I donated $50 to the Dry July campaign.

Why did I do this? Well, there were a couple of reasons why. 

Firstly, it wasn't to stick my nose up at the Dry July campaign as some people suggested. Indeed, if I was to have embarked on the Dry July campaign myself, it would hardly have been an effort, as my intake of alcohol is practically zero through the week, and only the odd expansion on a weekend if a situation arises. So my thoughts were that going dry for a month for me would not have been a stretch at all.

Secondly, there are a number of people I am acquainted with who I know have signed up for the Dry July campaign in the past, but have then noticeably not carried through with their part of the bargain, and yet collected donations from people who had stumped up the cash in the belief they were actually following through with their promise. That's great that money was raised, but where was the commitment from these people who claimed they would not drink alcohol for a month? So I wanted to do something where I would make the commitment, and have it proved each day, such that anyone who wanted to donate to my cause would feel justified that I had fulfilled my agreement.

So once again in 2016, I will be embarking on the second annual 31 Days of Scotch during July. Last year I donated $50 when I had a family currently unaffected by cancer. This year, with both one parent and one parent-in-law currently at odds with this disease, at the end of July I will be donating $100 to the Dry July campaign.

If you would like to join the 31 Days of Scotch campaign, it's easy. Just take a photo each day of yourself enjoying a refreshing scotch (yes, you need to be in the photo), and post it each day to social media, using the #31DaysOfScotch hashtag so that the world can see your fun.

If you would like to donate to the 31 Days of Scotch cause, please donate direct to the Dry July site at https://www.dryjuly.com/donate

And don't forget to let me know, so I can post a tally of my fundraising on social media.

Stephen King Book #1: Carrie

Book #1. Carrie. First published April 5, 1974. 

I can only remember having read Carrie once, and that was sometime back in the early 1990's when I was wading my way through the King back catalogue. I had, as with most people of my generation, already seen the film version starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie White and Piper Laurie as her mother, along with other notable cast such as John Travolta, Amy Irving and William Katt. Though I have always enjoyed the film, when I read the book everything became so much more clear. Not that I would have expected anything else.

I enjoyed it a lot. Which probably raises the question, why have I only read it once when I read so many other King books so often? The only response I can give to that is that I've never owned a copy of Carrie. I had borrowed that copy from the library, and had never come across a copy since. This will explain to you why I am reading this as an ebook in the photo here, because I downloaded it to get started with my 'project' as soon as possible, rather than returning to the library to find this book again.

So... away we go!

The Stephen King Marathon - Let's Read Every Single Book!

For no other reason than it is something I have always thought of doing but have never started it, I have decided that I am going to read the entire Stephen King bibliography, in chronological order. And while I do it I'm going to blog about it. Once again, because I've always thought about doing it.

Over the years since I read my first Stephen King book (and I must admit that I have no memory as to what that first book may have been, but it was somewhere about 1985 I think), I have read almost everything he has published, and enjoyed most of it. Yeah, sometimes the ending doesn't befit the excitement that built up preceding it, but who am I to judge? Ah, I'm the Constant Reader, you see! There are a couple of rogue books that I haven't as yet sampled, such as Cycle of the Werewolf and the ones he wrote with Peter Straub, more for their scarcity it being in either bookshops or libraries than for having avoided them. And there are a few that I have only read once, and the others that I read every year without fail.

I have no real reason as to why I am going to do this, except for the fact that I want to have read everything that he has published, and I am interested as to if his style noticeably changes as we move through each era. It won't stop me reading other books, I will be doing that as well when I find something I want to read. This is just a little project I have set myself because, well, we don't live forever do we, and if something takes your fancy, you should just go ahead and do it.

Review: End of Watch

End of Watch by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After the magnificence of Mr Mercedes, and the slight letdown of Finders Keepers, the final chapter of the Bill Hodges trilogy was, for me, a return to form. Sure, whereas the first two books were pretty much straight detective/drama novels, which for me were a fantastic read, the addition of a paranormal aspect to this story does in fact just come as a natural progression to the story being told, and doesn't feel like a cop out in the slightest. No pun intended.
Once again King has written characters of depth, drawn you in and given you a reason to care what happens to them - either in a good way or a bad way. That's the great thing about his writing, perhaps a character is the bad guy or evil, but you can still be rooting for them in the long run.
On first reading (and as with all of his books, there will be plenty more in the years to come) I enjoyed this thoroughly, enjoyed the plot twists, and the fact that I found it hard to put down every night, and indeed picked it up during the afternoons to complete, is as good an indication as any. No skipped pages, no flouncing over the words in order to get to the conclusion as quickly as possible, but a concerted effort to read this at a pace where I was able to enjoy the flow of the story and yet still get to the conclusion in a swift period of time.
Is the ending predictable? Whether or not you think it is, if it is done well, what does it matter? This is done well, as the majority of King's work is. I must say I enjoyed the detective novel trilogy, and won't be disappointed if King goes down this track again in the future.

View all my reviews

Jurassic Park. 1993. 5/5

Josh has been asking to watch this again for weeks, so given the rain that has flooded the Illawarra this weekend, and the fact everyone else was still asleep, we watched it again this morning. And once again it proved its durability in both special effects and storyline, as well as the performances form the principle actors. The plot is outlandish of course, and the fact that everything went wrong that could go wrong is the perfect disaster film plotline. But you so easily get swept up in the action that it of course all becomes so plausible. The creating of dinosaurs from fossilised mosquito blood is at once impossible and intriguing. The possibility of the carnivores attacking all and sundry exciting. The special effects and animatronics make it all appear so real and believable.

The actors and brilliant. Sam Neill and Laura Dern are great in their roles, heartwarming and believable. Sir Richard Attenborough is fantastic as the wealthy dreamer whose drive makes it all happen - "spared no expense". The kids play their roles perfectly, while Wayne Knight and Samuel L. Jackson both make their small parts worth watching. the star however is Jeff Goldblum, who again steals the show and the limelight whenever he is on screen.

Best Moment:  The scene when the cars stop at the Tyrannosaurus section. It is still one of the best 5-10 minute scenes in all film history. The water shaking, the T-Rex escaping and creating carnage, the car being pushed into the tree over the concrete barrier. It is all superb and edge of your seat stuff, even when you have seen it a dozen times.
Not the Best Moment:  There must be some part somewhere, but I honestly can't think of anything.
Times Watched:  More than 30 times now, and it never gets boring.
Rating:  Great story, terrific acting, wonderful special effects. It's a winner. 5/5

Twister. 1996. 4/5

With the wind blowing all around us, tonight it was time to go back to one of the favourites. I first saw Twister on our Queensland holiday back in 1996. Since then it has rarely failed to entertain. The fact that the special effects still hold up so well 20 years later is a testament to the techniques used at the time.

As action movies go it still works well. The humour laced in throughout helps to carry the plot line through the continued series of storms that the two groups are chasing over the long long day that eventuates. It helps if you don't try and break down the plot too much however. If you do, you will have a difficult time believing how quickly everything breaks down, and then reintegrated itself again. 

For me, it is the support cast that wins the day. The stars have their moments, but all of them are so annoying that if the support cast wasn't there, this film would have been a lot less enjoyable than it turned out to be.

Best Moment: anytime is on the screen. Long before his Academy Award winnings roles, he is the light in this film. "The Extreme! It's the Extreme!" "Losers! Move on!" "There's some positives in this. At least she we know she can fly". 

Not the Best Moment: Bill Paxton. Helen Hunt. Jamie Gertz. They are good in places - Paxton certainly when he was called upon to show how much his character actually knew about storms and twisters - but when the story fell into the relationship triangle, it felt like the movie stalled, again and again.

Times Watched: somewhere between 15 and 20. 

Rating:  The action and support cast help to keep this always watchable.  4/5

Pixels. 2015. 3/5

I had watched this with the kids when it was first released last year, and I get the feeling that they have watched it a couple of times since upstairs. We sat down to watch this last night as Helen had not seen it, and I guess I was up for some thoughtless viewing.

As it turns out, I enjoyed it more the second time than the first, I guess because I knew to expect that it was a ridiculous storyline, and that Adam Sandler was actually trying to act as though it was an Academy Award Nominated film and that he was the most intense leading man in the film. 

Apart from that, it is a fun romp back through those days that I lived as a teenager, and that Sandler obviously did as well. It was fun trying to explain to the kids that THESE were the video games we had grown up with, and that you generally had to go to video arcades to play them on stand up machines, not just turn on a 150cm TV and fire up the xBox. 

Peter Dinklage isamusingly over the top in his role as 'Fireblaster', while Josh Gad and Kevin James again felt under-utilised and poorly framed as characters. I mean, if you have to believe in a world where Kevin James has become President, then surely he wouldn't be such a weasly character?. Or perhaps I'm just wrong about what they may have to offer. as comedic actors.

(Actually, I think I am trying too hard to read stuff into a film where reality doesn't exist...)

Best Moment: The Pac-Man scene, driving cars aroud New York as ghosts chasing Pac-Man was entertaining and fun, and still ended up having to use the strategy we all used as kids to get those ghosts.

Not the Best Moment: Adam Sandler's attempt's to make his character seem more than it was. His performance (in places) was more wooden than ever.

Times Watched: 2.

Rating: If you are looking for mindless entertainment to pass 90 minutes, there are worse ways to do it than watching this.  3/5

Beetlejuice. 1988. 4/5

It has been a few years since I have watched this film. Probably twenty if I really think about it. And like with any film that you have not seen in that period of time, your perceptions can be completely different when you sit through it all over again.

Thankfully for me, that was not the case with Beetlejuice. The story was still as delightfully irreverent as it was initially, and the performance of the ensemble cast is still wonderful. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are both so naively young and witless, Winona Ryder easy to believe as the dark and lifeless daughter, Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones superbly over the top in their roles, while Michael Keaton once again cements his brilliance in any role with this crazy and jovial character. Really, you want him to win, don't you?

The kids probably didn't follow it all through the story, but they had fun, and that was the main thing.

Best Moment: The waiting room scenes are hilarious, just for the assortment of characters inside and what they've gone through to get there.

Not the Best Moment: Perhaps surprisingly, the dinner scene where the cast are forced to sing and dance. Reasonable enough, but the fact no one is scared off by it is a little unbalanced.

Times Watched: First time in probably 20 years. Approximately 10 overall.

Rating: Still a more than enjoyable, if quirky, comedy. 4/5

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E29: The Obsolete Man

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E29: The Obsolete Man

Burgess Meredith returns for another wonderful performance in yet another Rod Serling script that drips with his ironic method of weeding out those that have a lust for power and greed and become corrupted by them, and taking care of them in his own wordsmith way.

Our protagonist Wordsworth is declared as ‘obsolete’ in the New World as he is a librarian, and the word is now what the State tells you it is. He chooses to be executed on live television, but outsmarts the Chancellor by luring him to his room prior to his execution, thus sealing his fate as well as his own.

What follows is an example of some of Serling’s best writing, excellently provoking argument and answer from within such works as the Bible in the words of Meredith’s character, who has accepted his fate, while the Chancellor desperately tries to find his way out of his predicament.

This is another example of how Serling’s writing was ahead of his time, and manages to find a way to prod at those who gain and use power for their own advantage rather than for the betterment of all. Aided by the marvellous performances of Burgess Meredith and Fritz Weaver, this is an excellent episode with a serious message throughout.

Rating: When ‘in the name of God’ is a bit rich coming from an unbeliever. 4.5/5

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 28: Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 28: Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?

The old closed room detective story of trying to work out who the murderer is takes on a distinctly Twilight Zone feel in this episode, where a bus load of people are stranded by snow in a diner. The problem is, the bus driver insists there was only six people on the bus, but there are seven people in the diner.

Joined by only the owner behind the counter and two state troopers, the episode revolves around the usual plotline of moving around each of the people in the room, and trying to establish who they are and what they were doing on the bus. The troopers had been investigating a possible sighting of a downed flying saucer, and it is believed that one of the people in the diner is in fact the pilot of that vehicle. While it is mildly effective at throwing the suspicion at many of the occupants, it is the strange goings on just before they all re-board the bus to continue their journey that causes the most alarm.

The conclusion and the twist at the end of the episode folds neatly into the story as told, and the fact that a detective story has been enveloped by a science fiction tale makes for a satisfactory finale.

Rating: Who will blink first? 4.5/5

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E27: The Mind and the Matter

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E27: The Mind and the Matter

An interesting concept that unfortunately comes across as a boring episode due mainly to the fact that there isn’t much to see, and the resultant story has nowhere to go.

The fact that our protagonist Archie Beechcroft finds a way to concentrate so hard that he can make every person in the world (or at least in his world) disappear is a trifle difficult to take on board. That he then becomes bored and eventually returns the world to its normal state is even more unconvincing. That he abandons any further use of his new-found power in order to improve his lot makes the least amount of sense at all. Sure it seems to be an okay idea, but it seems that it is left with too much to do and none of it achieved.

Rating: Just get rid of the idiots then! 3/5

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E26: Shadow Play

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E26: Shadow Play

This is the kind of episode that makes you think all the way through, trying to work out exactly who is right and who is wrong and what exactly is happening. Is the protagonist right in his assumptions, or is he insane and in need of help? You can hedge you bets all the way through, but it comes across as a journey to the Twilight Zone should.

From early on you can take either side in the argument. A man is convicted to death, and yet his reactions tell of a man who doesn’t seem totally concerned with the verdict, just that he wants his own nightmare to end. His interactions with other people in this drama only serve to confuse them more, and as we progress we can see that they have reservations not only about what is going on but their own sanity as well. By the time we reach the conclusion of the episode it is easy to believe everyone is a bit mad, but surely there is little to support the claims of our convicted felon?

While the idea works well and the story is easy to watch and follow, for some reason it just doesn’t quite sit right. But then again, do these kind of stories ever feel right?

Rating: In dreams, I think of you. 3.5/5

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E25: The Silence

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E25: The Silence

Although this also ranks as an episode that doesn’t technically fit in with the whole Twilight Zone theme and integration, it is an enjoyable one despite the lack of science fiction or supernatural goings-on.

The story is a simple one, with a loud and rambunctious gentleman in a Gentleman’s Club being bet by another man within this establishment that he cannot go a whole year without talking. The wager set for this is $500,000, a great deal of money and something the younger man needs to pay off his wife’s debts, and as such he agrees, and is housed in a glass room within the Club so that all can see him and ensure he meets his end of the bargain. As the year progresses, and not a word escapes his lips, his suitor becomes nervous and looks for ways to have him stop his foolishness and take a lesser amount to end the bet, all of which is refused of course.

The end of the episode comes with a double whammy of twists, which while not technically from a shelf in the Twilight Zone, are still pleasantly memorable after the event.

Rating: If only my kids would take that bet. 4.5/5

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E24: The Rip Van Winkle Caper

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E24: The Rip Van Winkle Caper

Continuing on with the travelling through time theme that has been prevalent a lot in Series 2, this time we have four crooks who have pulled off a train heist of gold that was being shipped. However, their escape route is different from most criminals. Their scientist leader has designed four suspended animation chambers for them all to hide out in until they can be sure they won’t be caught, and that the gold will no longer be too hot to sell. And so they lay in wait, for 100 years.

On their awakening, they discover one of their number is dead from having his chamber crushed during their sleep, and another is soon killed by the greediest member. What progresses from this point is a trudge along the highway to survival, and hopefully riches. But will the two remaining members make it?

The idea is sound and workable, but by the end of the episode, and with the resulting twist, it becomes somewhat unsatisfying. For all, no doubt.

Rating: The man with the golden touch. 3/5.

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E23: A Hundred Yards Over the Rim

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E23: A Hundred Yards Over the Rim

Another of those time-travel mythologies that come thick and fast throughout this series, but here is one with a slight twist which works in favour of the enjoyment of the episode.

I enjoy how the story starts back in 1847, with a sick child who cannot be cured, and whose father goes off in search of food and water – and finds himself in the present (1961 of course) and faced with the noise and differences you could imagine.

I really can’t say how I expected this story to pan out when I first watched it. I guess it was always about finding some sort of medicine and getting back to save his son and the others, but the information offered to him outweighed that. The couple at the rest stop inadvertently give him the location of a nearby water hole where wildlife is also sure to flock to. He also discovers a book with the name of his son in it, offering him a vision of his future as well, and more incentive to go back and help him.

The episode moves along well, certainly after our protagonist Chris Horn makes it into the future, and everything pieces together nicely without undue effect on the space-time continuum.

Rating: If only the gun hadn’t disintegrated. 4/5

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E22: Long Distance Call

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E22: Long Distance Call

Making a call from the Twilight Zone are we? Well at least making one that passes through the Zone at least. Though really, this episode is a little too morbid and a little too sketchy to be rated one of the better ones.

The idea of a toy telephone being used as a link between a boy and his recently deceased grandmother is an interesting and reasonable one. However, the idea of the grandmother using it to coax her live grandson to bump himself off so he can join her… wherever she is… is a bit much surely. And the boy going along with it? Surely not. And then we come to the end of the episode, where the boy has tried to drown himself, and the paramedics say his chances are not good. So the father suddenly jumps on the toy phone and tries to convince his dead mother to let his son live. But how is his dead mother going to do that? Surely she can’t suddenly make him live? Yeah, that bit gets me a little bit.

Rating: Just a little bit too convenient one thinks. 3/5

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E21: The Prime Mover

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E21: The Prime Mover

You can’t help but like Buddy Ebsen in this episode of The Twilight Zone, even if the story feels a bit convenient and even a bit easy in the long run.

It’s all about another of those convenient daydreams, about what you would do if you had a special power available to you. Ace Larsen mightn’t have the power himself, but his buddy (no pun intended) Jimbo Cobb certainly does, as he discovers when he is able to move a car with his mind. Establishing that he has this telekinetic power, what would you do? Of course! You head off to Las Vegas to win big at all the gambling tables available! But what happens if the power of your friend causes him pain, and it all begins to run a bit askew?

Despite the obviousness of the tale, all of the ends get tied up at the end with the usual moral thrown in to make everyone feel happy, as well as the twist that everyone saw coming adding to the niceness about the ending.

Rating: Snake eyes. 3.5/5

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E20: Static

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S02 E20: Static

The notion of this episode is a good one, once again utilising those magical effects of the Zone to create a situation where a person who pines for another era can access it via a medium, which in this case takes to form of an old radio.

The protagonist of the episode doesn’t appear to be a particularly social man. He comes across gruff and disinterested, which is somewhat surprising given the way the episode progresses and it becomes obvious what he wants. To me it feels like Ed Lindsay is played a little too off hand, especially when his back story comes to full view.

The idea of the radio that is picking up transmissions from the past, and from a radio station that has closed down years before works fine in the same way that this idea is used in different ways through the entire series. What I don’t cotton onto as much is the abruptness of the ending and the conclusion of the tale. It appears to come so quick that the build-up hadn’t really gotten to that point yet, but the episode had run out of time and/or steam and it needed to be resolved. It’s interesting enough, but maybe not perfectly well finished off.

Rating: All we hear is radio ga-ga. 3.5/5