Atticus

Aye, those manipulative bastards. Putting stuff in food that makes things taste nice but leave you hungry, meaning you go straight out to the store and buy MORE of them. Despicable.

Or, since you're already at the store you could actually buy real food. Y'know, ingredients to make something that tastes nice? Fills you up?

Nah, fuck 'em. Buy more shite and we can all rage at the Machiavellian bastards. Taking away our ability to make sensible choices.

:wink:

I saw Glenda Jackson on a number of occasions in Tesco in Lewisham.

True story.

Oh aye, I realise we just look for different things in the books we read. It's obvious to me that most of his books that I dislike are still well written; they're just not the type of stories I enjoy reading.

My dislike of sci-fi books is just down to laziness on my part. I can't be bothered constructing all these weird and wonderful settings and concepts in my own head. If it's a movie or a comic that's all done for me. Laziness.

So I'm sure even Banks' later, more realised SF books won't interest me, no matter how well they're written.

EDIT: Although I will give the 2 you recommend some consideration.

I generally don't like reading sci-fi, but I gave Consider Phlebas a go a few years ago, since I'm a fan of his other stuff. It didn't really grab me in anyway, but that is more down to my own bias than the quality of the book. Still, I haven't picked up an Iain Menzies Banks book since and I can't see myself starting now.

On the other hand, I've been a big fan of Banks since reading Espedair Street but I'll confess apart from The Steep Approach To Garbadale (which itself isn't any high watermark moment) I haven't really enjoyed too much of his output in the last 10 years. Transition was a bit too sci-fi for my tastes, and Dead Air was just ok.

Of all his books I've noticed I tend to enjoy the ones based around some sort of family the most (even The Business, which had The Business as a foster family of sorts). I just find I enjoy his typical fractured, non-linear method of telling a story when it involves piecing together a family's problems and a family's history. But that's probably just me. Many of the books praised here I'd regard as some of his poorer efforts, so it's all a question of taste.

He's still an author that I do go back to though, even if I haven't enjoyed his previous work. I've got Stonemouth sitting on my Kindle for my next book, which does sound more up my street than Transition.

Anyway, my Top 5 Banks books would have to be:

1. The Crow Road ("It was the day my grandmother exploded" is still the best first line of a book I've read)

2. Espedair Street (The number of times I've walked down St Vincent Street in Glasgow looking for St Jude's Folly is ridiculous since it doesn't exist)

3. The Wasp Factory

4. Complicity

5. Raw Spirit (which I would recommend for Charlie K as a whisky lover, if he pops in this thread)

Bottom 5....

1. A Song Of Stone

2. Walking On Glass

3. The Bridge (ugh, it was like reading someone's acid trip; which is actually worse than reading someone's dream)

4. Transition

5........actually can't put another in here, I enjoyed all the rest in some way.

Oh synchronicity I do love you.

Just decided tonight - of all nights - to watch Bad Santa for the first time (had it recorded since Christmas).

Then, to hear Billy Bob Thornton describe safecracker Andy Pitz thus:

"They say he can get into anything.........anything. They say he's been in Margaret Thatcher's pussy"

It's all in the timing......

Ritz hotel now being served with a Bedroom Tax notice?

Well, that was good on some levels, and poor on others. Overall though, I enjoyed it.

Pretty thin story-wise, but enough going on with the characters to make it fun. I liked the scenes with Clara as a child, although the image of a strange man sitting on swings in a playpark reading the Beano (and talking to an unaccompanied child, as in the prequel) now has all sorts of unattractive connotations. Even if he does look as dapper as Matt Smith in his rather fetching frock coat.

However, I enjoyed those little bits of Clara's backstory being filled in, and appreciated her suspicion at the Doctor's motives when she placed him as being near the grave of her (very attractive*) mother.

Otherwise, a bit disappointed at the Power Of Leaf ending, and the Akhaten's Got Talent mass singing for survival. Thought the Flash (aah-aaah!) sky-cycle bits looked a bit dodgy, and didn't Clara get the hang of that thing pretty quick?

I did very much enjoy the Doctor's come-and-have-a-go-if-you-think-you're-hard-enough speech, though.

*Aye, aye, I know that's not very PC and probably a bit sexist. But she's a damn fine looking woman.

I'm reminded of Frankie Boyle's quote about the cost of a funeral for Thatcher, when he said that for that money "they could buy everyone in Scotland a shovel, and we could dig a hole deep enough to hand her over to the devil himself"

I would normally try to not speak ill of the dead, and would usually say nothing at all if I couldn't say anything nice.

This is not one of those times. Glad to be rid of her. I hope if there's a judgement to be made on her soul it will satisfy the millions she brought misery to.

Sex is over-rated....... but it really picked up by the climax

Fnarr fnarr

Sorry, not getting anything there. But then I'm on my phone and can't always get all the links. I'll check next week when I'm back on my computer. Looking forward to an episode I've somehow managed to miss!

I must have missed the mockney episode. Which one was that?

Compared to David Tennant's mockney, Marsters' (and Juliet Landau's) was pitch perfect.

Wow. I'm surprised to hear that, since any accent I've seen him do is usually decent.

Where did he do a mockney/cockney accent?

Or just Google "pink rectangles red background".

It's a symbol for the Marriage Equality Act in New York, to allow same sex marriage (or "gender neutral" as I believe the new term is).

Apparently. I googled it.

8 pages with dialogue, 56 pages of decompressed action.

Aye, true.

But the release date can always be pushed back .....

Hi Ohaname, welcome to the forum. You're not being rude at all.

I think someone posted a link somwhere about all 300 copies of Hellblazer being made available online. Should be a good place to start.

And by all means join in, no need to just lurk!

No, I think he means that the link in the very first post that kicked off this thread took you to site with every one of those mock posters on it.

If someone doesn't do a version of the forum banner with "Hellblaxer" instead of "Constantine" I'll be very dosappinted.

That's how the pros do it.

I like to think of myself as a talented amateur

Didn't watch the whole thing, made an executive decision to go to bed at 2.30.

Made it into work early, bright eyed and bushy tailed, and on course for the weekend.

It's 1.50am and I've probably had too much wine, weed or whisky (or, quite possibly, a combination) and I really should get to bed for a 6.30 start.

But I've just put on a 2hr documentary about the Falklands Conflict.

And they've just mentioned the Harriers.

And there's still half a j in the ashtray.

Bugger.

It's British Rail rolling stock Lou - I don't think it would be possible to move any closer than already were.

Aye, I opened it on the train home. Think it shocked the lady sitting next to me. Sorry, old lady.

There was a story on Bleeding Cool - can't do the linky thing from my phone - that Warren Ellis is doing a new Avengers title later this year. I might just pick that up (it'll probably take 3 years to get to #7, then he'll lose interest).