Always on?

Back at work yesterday, then the snow struck and I have decided to take today as more leave.
Being back, and now at home but feeling I should be productive, has made me realise the guilty pleasure I took over Christmas and New Year in totally ignoring all my emails, facebook etc.

Why guilty? Because I love the internet. I work with a website for god's sake. I love blogging, I love keeping up with a wider circle of friends easily through blogs, facebook and twitter. I love online shopping. Oh, and I really don't like it when OTHER people ignore the emails I send them...

After a day of emails at work, it's understandable if I don't embrace my computer in the evening. But why the urge to hibernate away from the lot just when I am free to revel in it? I suspect it's the pressure of being 'always on', always just checking. For a myers-briggs introvert like myself it becomes wearing, the sense of the phone or laptop practically nudging my elbow every other minute. Some would say online is pretty solitary, but not for me. Good to be back with the blog, however!

Avatar 3D

Yes those who carp about the story are absolutely correct - it's predictable, two-dimensional and probably objectionable in some of its detail. But that is to miss the point on several levels. First, of course, no one is going to see Avatar for the story, but for the blindingly stupendous, beautiful effects and the blend of real and CG. And also, to my mind, it's not about the story but it IS about the fable. This is not, in any traditional sense, a plot-driven film. But the story is quite deliberately a fable or parable - and guess what, they are almost always simplistic, in order to get a message across.

Anyway, what I mostly take from it is confirmation of my long held belief that people would be better with tails...

The Misanthrope

Had a great evening yesterday at The Misanthrope. Although it's on at the Comedy Theatre and billed at such, it's very much witty - sometimes laugh out loud witty - but not comic. In fact if anything it's rather tragic.

Damian Lewis is really excellent in the title role, confirming my opinion from seeing him on TV - it's nice to see Keira Knightley graciously and successfully play second fiddle, with a very convincing American accent. The verse is very successfully translated to English and to a modern context - it takes a few lines to get used to but is never heavy-handed. The play is very pretty to look at, very entertaining and also gives plenty of food for thought about all kinds of lovely philosophical and linguistic issues around relativism, postmodernism and the fine line between tact and hypocrisy.

The ending, where Jenny (Keira) sees her media world in all its hypocritical, savage lack of support and yet still chooses it over Alceste (Damian) has the ring of absolute truth. And it's particularly great that although one's sympathies are generally with Alceste, he is very far from perfect, showing the ugly side of his arguments in mistrust and possessiveness, as well as a positively irritating lack of pragmatism or compromise. Satisfying on all levels.

A brief lapse into pedantry

When you order your coffee, people, it's eSpresso, not eXpresso!!!