Passing The Time

[poliphilo]

The engineer rummaged through the inwards of our boiler and extracted two organs that weren't working. One he replaced,  the other he'll be coming back to replace on Wednesday. In the meantime the boiler isn't entirely broke- and we'll have washing up water occasionally. Thankfully the shower has its own heater.

We go into Manchester so rarely these days that when we do it's an event. Judging by the fact that I had an uncashed gift card left over from my birthday I reckon our last visit was in January. I notice that the seedy little gun shop on the corner of Shude Hill seems to have shut down. Joe dragged me in there once. You had to ring the bell to be let in and there was a newsprint union jack taped to the wall behind the counter.

We went to HMV and I exchanged my giftcard for a couple of movies by Michael Hanecke. I may even watch them sometime. And then we went and spent the remains of another giftcard on food at M & S- including a lot of cheese and stuff for my father-in-law's birthday. He's 82.

The afternoon I spent in the garden with the French Revolution. The king has sort of shrugged and given up and blood is beginning to flow.

Comments

[loxian.livejournal.com]

A newsprint Union Jack is a really poor effort. Like, BNP, but not really that into it.

Nice revolution summary.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That was exactly the ethos. We'd support the BNP if we could be arsed.

Louis XVI had rather the same attitude to kingship. Basically he was in it for the hunting- and everything else was a bit of a bore.

[ibid.livejournal.com]

Reading Antonia Frasers' life of Marie Antoinette I was amused he couldn't even muster up enthusiasm to make babies!

Haneke is interesting. I loved Code Unknown, had a visceral horror of the Piano Teacher and could muster up no interest whatsoever in Hidden. I don't think he's a great filmaker though.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've seen Code Unknown- at least I think I have. Is that the one where the guy kills all his cows? The ones I've just treated myself to are Hidden and the White Ribbon.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, all the old independent gun shops are being driven out of business by those big out-of-town gun superstores, like "Semi-Automatics R Us" and Snipers. It's sad.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Shude Hill is the last street in central Manchester with any sort of "character".

[trixibelle-net.livejournal.com]

You're inspiring me to have a go at Schama. I can stand him on telly but he may be more palatable in book-form! I'm a sucker for a good history book. I shall have a nose in Wellington library and see if he's there.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

His writing style is very different from his self-consciously populist TV style- he turns an elegant sentence and he's brimming with ideas.

Haneke

[all-unnecessary.livejournal.com]

I can't recommend The Castle (with the late great Ulrich Mühe) enough, though it's hard to find. The Time of the Wolf is also fun, for a postapocalyptic film (the cast's a who's-who of French cinema). And I always thought Benny's Video would make a great double feature with Atom Egoyan's Family Viewing....

Re: Haneke

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'll look out for those. The only One of his movies I've seen to date is Code Unknown.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Cheese is good..

An afternoon in the garden with the French Revolution sounds good...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've just discovered a very good mature cheddar from Cornwall. I won't be able to afford very much of it.