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| ENGLISH LIT! |
| 12/8/2005 10:30:58 PM |
Charles Dickens - Bleak House Adaptation
BBC Bleak House Website

I was sent some video tapes of this absolutely knockout adaptation of the Dickens novel 'Bleak House'. Screenplay by Andrew Davies, top-notch acting, including a studied, beautiful performance by Gillian Anderson. If you can get hold of it, do so. The plot is amazing - anyone making modern films today should take time to read Dickens - he really knows how to carry a story and keep the audience interested. Scenery, casting, music, dialogue, even titles (mercifully short and non-offensive) all deserve awards.
I believe that PBS is showing it - it must be about 4-5 hours long, though I did notice that the conversion from PAL to NTSC robbed some of the clarity. I just found out it's available on DVD here so you can see it in all it's gritty, foggy glory.
My wife and I both gave this several thumbs up. (each)
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If you're using Internet Explorer, you can also download the Beta of the Google Toolbar which allows you to put the Scamdex button directly on your toolbar!
Scamdex Toolbar Button
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"In England's green and pleasant land"
Well, it's difficult to argue much with that. The country is cool and damp so grass grows with no apparent problems. That means hay is plentiful and grass for fodder, making cows, sheep and other pasture animals a common sight in the countryside. Hunting is mostly frowned apon.
The people are mostly friendly but wary of getting into embarassing situations so may appear standoffish at first - The best advice is to get yourself to a pub as soon as possible, and stay there for several hours each night. 3-4 pints of genuine bitter will do much towards loosening the social fabric, especially if you offer to buy a round.
 It is important to ask for crisps to go with your drinks. Asking for 'chips' will just confuse the life out of the locals or make you wish you'd stayed at home. Oh, yes, at least once, have a curry.
Plan on spending a month at least in England. Visit London at the beginnning and end of your stay (you will be shocked at how naive you were at the start of your visit). Get out and see the sights. Hire a car, go to Bath, the Cotswolds, York, Windsor, Stratford on Avon (half a day only here please!), Manchester and if you can manage it, nip up to Scotland to Edinburgh (pronounced 'Eddin-Bruhh', please!). Have some real chips (and a white pudding and a black pudding and a haggis) at any local chip shop.
Enjoy, have lots of beer, dont complain about the food - it's a lot better than you've been told. ignore the teeth of the people you meet (it's not that important, really) and relax. England is hectic and annoying (That's why I now live in California), but lovely to visit. and did I mention that there's beer?
If you have time (allow lots for travel), visit ireland/eire. i can't tell you much about this place, having only been to the north, but it seemed friendly. people go on and on about the 'craic' so there nust be something in it. ..... i lost a girlfriend there ... she came back from a field trip with someone else so maybe i'm still bitter....
bwah ;'[
| What about Wales? |
| 11/15/2005 10:17:22 AM |
Good Point!
I am ashamed to admit I forgot plucky old Wales from my notes. Wales is cool too, hard to get a bearing on it as there's quite a lot inland without many 'sights', beyond the majestic hills etc. The Geology is very interesting (I did a - mostly wet - field trip back in 1977). I think if you stick to the coastline you're in luck - lots of lovely castles. The language is hilarious! - we sent all our glottal stops and throat-clearings to the Welsh, who have made good use of them.
That reminds me, I used to work for a Research Scientist (Called Dai, natch!) who had that condition where you produce too much saliva, which with his broad accent made for some interesting spraying.
... and, in another spurious claim to Welsh affinity, my mother-in-law lives, there in Church Stoke,Powys.
Worth visiting Powys/Powis Castle. Very pretty.

Things not to mention when in wales:
The phrase 'come home to a real fire' (:')), BlackAdder, The use of the word 'Welshing' to describe someone dishonst and the wonderful old nursery rhyme 'Taffy was a Welshman...'.
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| 1/6/2006 6:41:40 PM |
Happy New Year!
as my three year old says 'Bah Humbug!' (we are committed Dickens fans).
Xmas was fun, New year passed without a trace. didn't even manage to
stay up till midnight this year. Drank a nice bottle of 'J' sparkling
wine (only two bottle left from the original case).
Back to work in time to read with a groan about the brit kid who set up the 'milliondollarhomepage.com' site. Check it out.
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| xmas guilt |
| 12/8/2005 10:33:37 PM |
Golly, I miss England at Christmas - London traffic, Oxford Street (slush, noisy buses, overheated stores, sore feet, crowds, xmas Muzak etc). There's no place like it to make you glad to be home though. My mum makes really excellent scottish soup in the winter. Keeps going for days. Soup, white bread and lashings of tea, sitting in front of the fire watching the Beeb. Superlative!
Problem with being an expat is that there is always the Christmas Visit Tension. It goes something like this:
Us: "Hey mum, we're coming home for Christmas!" Mum: "OK, give me some dates" Us: "Well (um) we're coming to you first for a couple of days, then we're driving up to Wales to the other half's mum ..." Mum: "Then you're soming back to us for Christmas day?" Us: " err.... well.... no." Mum: "oh"
Never mind that it's 6000 miles each way, we have three kids and we have to rent a car and that they're 200 miles apart and the visit nearly bankrupts us (5 x $700) and we'd actually prefer to stay in London and see some theatre. 'tis the season to feel guilty'. |
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