Flaming Zinc

That is until Superman Returns (I might have a think for men in tights).

Mission Impossible 3 was okay. A ten denier plot, not enough Jonathan Rhys Meyers and too much Tommy boy. X-Men 3 was better, but not as strong an outing as the previous two instalments. The Da Vinci Code was a fun popcorn movie and wouldn’t it be cool to have the superpower that makes symbols and letters glow when you look at them. It wouldn’t be as much fun as walking through walls or controlling the weather but would make you one kick arse scrabble player! Ian McKellen and Paul Bettany stole the show from Hanks and Tautou. In fact they (Hanks and Tautou) could have been edited out and it wouldn’t have made much difference (Hanks’ portrayal of Dr. Bob gave a new meaning to the word aloof). At the end I was left sympathising with Silas the albino monk over Tautou and her little girl lost act. It must be my age because I just wanted to swoop down and give that Silas a big hug and good meal.

Now back to Superman Returns. I didn’t have high hopes and was worried that they would be going over too much old ground, but the powers that be managed to move the Superman mythology on (super-heroes in a post 9/11 world) . The explosions and action elements are intertwined around a story that focuses on the complex relationships between the central characters. i think Brandon Routh makes a better Superman, not just because they scaled back the slapstick that always made Clark too much of a prat but through his calm and centred approach to the role.

I find myself at a loose end dans le bureau and I start to flick through Dave Courtney’s autobiography. I turn to the back to see if his associates have any good handles. I am disappointed. There are twenty-three with the ephithet ‘Big’. Why must the underground fall back on the tried and test rather than taking a risk with a Massive Murray, Hulking Henry or Walloping William?

After gathering dust in my Mum’s living room for a few years her stylish fan is taking pride of place above her stylish cooker in her soon to be completed stylish kitchen that looks over her stylish decking. It would appear that my inheritance is maturing nicely!

I made it to page 100 of Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and decided to call it quits. I found it annoying, unduly muddled and this summer is too short to struggle with something that I am only enjoying in patches. I faired slightly better with Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth, in the sense I got to page 237, the latest challenge from Reading Matters. To cleanse my palette I read a PD James (I am slowly working my way through the Adam Dalgliesh back catalogue) and now I am speeding my way through an Inspector Brunetti mystery. In fact inspired my Brunetti (or rather his wife) I came home and cooked a rather tasty shrimp and asparagus risotto.

In the mosquito handbook there must be a list of the most amusing places to bite a human. Between the eyes, the end of the nose, or the sole of the foot. I was bitten just below my right ankle and it has swollen up nicely so it looks like I am double jointed. Surely that deserves to make the all star list?

Based on the trailer for Casino Royale it looks as if they have successfully managed to re-boot the Bond franchise, and the new Woody Allen comedy Scoop looks good (Hugh Jackman and Ian McShane in the same movie what a treat). Superman Returns appears to be generated a lot of positive buzz. I can’t quite believe that it has been 19 years since Reeves donned the tights and cape. I guess that between repeats on telly, Louis & Clark, and then Smallville we’ve hardly been free of the man of steel in the intervening years. I am going to keep an open mind (got to support he who brought House to our screens) and will hopefully see it later this week.

I just ordered book shelves and a desk so it looks like I wont be buying a new outfit for the wedding I am going to at the end of July. Oh well, I very much doubt if anyone at said wedding will have seen my bias cut olive green dress from Jigsaw, that I purchased many moons ago for a work do……unless of course someone from the party was also at the Sea Container Summer Ball ‘00 at the Savoy?

I have been in the office for about 45 minutes when I make my first trip to the bathroom. As I am washing my hands I noticed that I am only wearing one large silver hoop earring. Hmmmm….did I loose the other one or was I distracted as I adorned myself this morning? I have spoken to practically everyone in my office this morning and the guy at the front desk of the building and the three people in the coffee shop opposite the office AND no one enquired where my other earring was? Am I thought of as that eccentric and off the main street that I might, for kicks and giggles,  wear just one hoop….like a pirate?

I am currently the proud owner of an involuntary eye spasm. Without notice my right eye goes all blinky-winky and it’s no laughing matter. A few years ago Alex had the same thing, and I kept teasing him by doing exaggerated impressions of a twitchy eye. So as you can image, he can’t believe his luck that my mimicking has come back to bite me in the bum two fold. I am trying to figure out what could have triggered this since I don’t really have anything stressful in my life at the moment. It could be the geological flashback I experienced last night (cold sweat etc) or pre-match anxiety for the USA vs. Ghana (I drew the latter in the office sweep) game or perhaps it’s the looming prospect of tackling Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children.

In an attempt to save a few pennies I ordered a couple of text books for the forthcoming academic season from Amazon Marketplace.  Since I generally buy new I find myself daydreaming about the previous owners. Take for instance my copy of Richard Alston’s Aspects of Roman History AD 14 – 117 a quick flick through and I discover that 4 lines from the first chapter have been high-lighted and nothing else.  Is the book that dull that the previous reader could get no further than page 11, or did they decided that everything is book is relevant and it would be pointless (and expensive) to high-light everything.

Too much navel gazing going on here me thinks, especially if you include the analysis of last night’s dream.  I was sitting my Greek Lit exam and one of the question was geology based! It was a nightmare trying to remember the basics of stratigraphy until I thankfully woke myself up.

The weather is glorious here today. In fact it is so lovely that I did not want to go home after work and stew in the flat so we went out dinner in the West Village. We headed over to a little French bistro that has a jardin and particularly garlicky escargots. Afterwards we meandered our way down Bleecker Street to Bruno’s bakery for coffee and desert. How come the more spontaneous nights out can be more enjoyable than planned in advance and over thought.

The sweltering temps are to continue over the weekend so I’ll be staying in with the air con on and the curtains drawn. But, there are plenty of things to read from my book stack and watch on BBC America. For one thing there is Hex a British Buffy of sorts except with cider drinking and shagging from the get go. Next up the new political comedy The Thick of It with the wolfish and devilishly handsome Peter Capaldi. Finally, I have a summer of Sharpe ahead of me, starting from the beginning and I am really getting into it.