Culcha, innit?

After running out of things to watch I followed a friend's recommendation and took a look at Battlestar Galactica. I have vague memories of the original series as lightweight and relatively unchallenging entertainment, with the typical pantomime view of good and evil. I have to say the new version is much better, and has the potential to be really great. The idea of introducing evolved 'human looking' Cylons was something of a masterstroke, allowing the use of real actors in the role of machines which in turn allows a lot more depth of character to be explored. Humans are no longer purely good, Cylons are no longer purely bad and there is a rich vein of 'what makes us human' to be explored in the plots. Also the monotheistic belief system of the Cylons creates some interesting possibilities when compared to the polytheistic belief system of the humans in the show, and the 'religious war' background offers some interesting links with the older show - 'we have all lived before, this has all happened before' is one of the oft repeated mantras, of both religions, which indicates a fundamental belief in reincarnation of both individuals and the entire universe. So far I don't think the show has really reached it's full potential as far as exploring these issues is concerned (I'm near the beginning of the second series) and there's an obvious risk it won't ever reach that potential before degenerating into soap opera like most long running US TV shows, but if it even stays as good as it is now for another full season it will gain a deserved place in the classics.

This week I've been reading 'Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West' by Gregory Maguire. I first saw the book when I was out Christmas shopping (for me, mostly an excuse to visit bookshops) but couldn't afford it at the time, when I went back when I could afford it I couldn't remember what it was called or who it was written by... Last Saturday I spotted it in the Waterstones in North Finchley and, being conveniently flush, I purchased it and repaired immediately to the Costa next door. Since then it hasn't quite been "couldn't put it down" but every moment when I've had time to be reading I've spent engrossed in this book. As the title suggests, it is the story of the life leading up to the moment when Dorothy pours a bucket of water over the Witch, Elphaba, but it takes the black and white, good and evil morality of it's source material and turns it on its head. The Wizard is a totalitarian dictator and Elphaba a freedom fighter. Of course the ending couldn't really come as a surprise, but the story leading up to it is frequently surprising, shocking and sometimes very funny. The main themes of the book are the nature of evil and the possibility of free will, but the book manages to avoid getting bogged down in philosophy and is an excellent read as well as a thought provoking one.

I'm just about finished reading the new Harry Potter book for the second time, and before I go any further I'd like to point out that I liked it enough to have read it twice within two weeks of release I can't help feeling this is the first Potter book which isn't 'stand alone' - that is, there's not really enough plot in the book to keep someone reading if they didn't care overly about the major revelations going on every other chapter (ie. someone reading their first HP book). It seemed to me a bit more like "Here's all the things you're going to need to know before the final book" with a few chapters of action tacked on at the end.

This week I've just finished reading Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. I actually bought the book before Christmas but it's been languishing in a Waterstones bag under a pile of other stuff at the foot of my bed until I got round to doing some tidying earlier this month.

I can now say I wish I'd tidyed up sooner! I've been a big fan of Murakami's since I read his Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World back when I was a student. His writing is clear and uncomplicated - or I should say the translations are - yet the books generally feature ordinary (if sometimes over-imaginative) people in extra-ordinary situations, and we're not contained by mere physical reality here. Oh, and cats, usually several of them.

Very real characters in very unreal situations are a feature of Kafka on the Shore, in a plot which deals with dreams, reality and destiny. And cats. If you like slightly off-beat fiction then you'll find this an excellent read.

I upgraded my EMusic account this week, so I could download an extra 25 songs a month. I've downloaded quite a few things as a result but, at the moment, my favourite has been The Decemberists, I've been listening to their album Picaresque which reminds me a bit of 90's indie band Cast.

This weekend I've been reading Jennifer Government by Max Barry, a satirical look at a near future world dominated by free markets and corporate greed. It was a highly entertaining and not overly heavy way to pass the time, the main characters were engaging and the plot was gripping enough to keep things moving along. Overall a recommended read. I should add, the only reason I bought the book was because I started playing Max's online game - Nation States - a few months ago, a cunning marketing strategy by the authour I think.

Not posted for a while, not that anyone's reading, but just to keep things ticking over I thought I'd mention that I've been thoroughly enjoying listening to Manda and the Marbles recently. Sort of like a smoother Transvision Vamp, I downloaded the whole album from Emusic.com.

The book I'm reading this week is Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. It's not a new book, by any means, and the third of a trilogy which I have been slowly working my way through over the last five years. I've been sort of looking for this book for a while, every time I was in a bookshop I'd have a quick check, but I finally found it in Waterstones in Leamington Spa, of all places. The author obviously has a good enough grasp of the technology, ranging from terraforming through orbital mechanics to genetic manipulation, but the stuff which really seems to interest him is the interplay between political structutes and personal relationships and how each shapes the other. This weekend I've come across my favourite paragraph in any book so far this year (not much competition yet, granted...):

If democracy and self-rule are the fundamentals, then why should people give up these rights when they enter their workplace? In politics we fight like tigers for freedom, for the right to elect our leaders, for freedom of movement, choice of residence, choice of what work to pursue - control of our lives, in short. And then we wake up in the morning and go to work, and all those rights disappear. We no longer insist on them. And so for most of the day we return to feudalism...

Inspiring stuff! Almost enough to convert me to socialism But since I'm not (yet) part of a Mars colonisation effort I guess for now I'll just stick to updating my CV.