dr who

Dr Who

The new “Dr.Who” began on BBC last night. Written by Russell Davies, he hasn't made the good doctor gay but the sensibilty is there. But then wasn't there always a not so hidden gay streak in all the doctors? Look at Eccleston in a battered leather jacket outside the 1950s police public call box. Like some bit of rough trade outside a public loo in 1950s London? I’m sure a thesis could be written about this! Anyway, the show is good. Good for 48 year olds anyway, I wonder how well it plays for 8 year olds?

silver dream machine

De Lorean

John De Lorean died yesterday. I’m not a car driver yet I have always loved his De Loren car that was manufactured for a short time in Belfast in the early 1980s. Shiny, futuristic and hopeful it was everything that grey blood splattered Belfast was not. The enterprise failed under cloudy Belfast skies and cloudy financial dealings. It was a brief strange stainless steel image that seemed to try and drag the streets of Belfast out of the past if not back to the future all those years ago. And it still looks like a dream of the future. And if I ever did learn to drive a car I would love to drive it.

skyfest

Went up on the roof tonight to take some pictures of the skyfest fireworks . I didn't think it was as good as it was other years, not as spectacular. This tradition really started in the boom years of the Celtic Tiger. It was an affirmation of our newly found self-confidence, it was as if we all stood there and said “ wow look at what we can do” Many of us did just that. And although that sort of thing had its detractors I was not one of them. I was fully behind this surge of desire to affirm ourselves and our place in the world. But I think we have moved on and need something else? That burst of fire in the same spot in the sky has become very predictable. Once you light up the sky in a spectacular fashion once, what can you do to better that? And although fireworks are beautiful they are very short lived. Then again, maybe that's the whole point.

Charm

Kate Kellaway interviewing novelist Alexander McCall Smith (author of the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books), in the Observer today writes, “The books, like their author, have charm. You cannot overstate the power of this - it's the missing ingredient in contemporary fiction.”

Head Cold

I’ve had this bad cold for nearly a week now. In the head, the chest, the bones – all over. I often used to get colds this time of the year and part of me even looked forward to it. But I can’t seem to get much pleasure out of confinement any more. There’s always this feeling that life is moving on and that I need to keep up with it. There is so much stuff going on within us and without these days. And as one gets older the endless days are endless no more. Nevertheless, I tried my best to make my fluey down days memorable. I bought a collection of SEINFELD Dvds – Seasons 1 , 2 and 3, and focused my lethargic brain on them. Still good but I thought it was striking how dated they seem, wasn’t expecting that. The 1990s are fading fast. That stand up humour thing , while often very funny and perceptive, has a clear line that can be traced back to the 1950s. The ghost of Lenny Bruce hovers around all the time. and that's no bad thing but - Is it all a little bit too “straight” now or something? Anyway, the DVD collection is a credit to its producers, lots of extras and a very good one hour documentary that tells how the show began.