Insomnia II (in which is covered such topics as "Tolkein vs Sleep", and "Richard Pryor: Not As Crude As They Said He Was")

so it's 4:27am and I just woke up after a couple hours of fitful dozing in the Lay-Z Boy, and I'm actually reasonably satisfied because, as bad as the sleep was, at least it was during the darkness hours.

Haven't gotten into bed before about 7 or 8 am for the last week.

Yesterday I managed to lie down by 6am and it was a great achievement. Couldn't get to sleep for about an hour, but getting out of bed at 10:30 (only an hour and a half after the alarm went off) was an even greater achievement. Forced myself up to try and get back into some sort of diurnal-waking regularity... this going to bed after sunrise and getting up at 5pm when it's almost dark again is no good.

Of course, I'm completely to blame for getting myself so out of whack. (Question for extra credit: What is it to be "in whack"?) I could blame Electronic Arts, or I could blame Peter Jackson for inspiring them and giving them such incredibly rich material to work with, or I could even blame the Great One himself for making the tale of The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King such a fascinating, absorbing, engrossing, and all-encompassing read. But I accept that this is my own obsession, and with the joy that it has given me over the years comes the responsibility to accept the blame for the nights of playing the immersive and beautiful "The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth" PC-Game from EA.

Anyway, it's not like I was doing a hell of a lot else with my time this week.

(After those two or three hours' doze, I actually feel pretty fresh. I'm debating staying up, watching some TV, and trying to cruise through the day on coffee, in which case I'll be good and tired by this evening. Might work? Let's try it and see.)

(Wow. just checked the g-mail and there are 11 unread messages! Since about 6 hours ago! But they're mostly from Andrew and Matt with more editing, which is good. Productive, busy - yesss, Preciousss, we like that...)

When I initially dozed off (tonight/last night) - not sure how to refer to it at this point, guess it depends on whether I sleep any more before daybreak - but anyway, when I initially dozed off I had just finished watching a Comedy Central special showcasing Richard Pryor, which was real eye-opener. Growing up after he had left the stage, I pretty much missed all his stand-up work, but I heard that Eddie Murphy derived a lot of his act for Pryor, so I assumed they were similar. But then he came in at no. 1 in CC's "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time" a few weeks ago, and while presenting a retrospective of George Carlin's work, Jon Stewart referred to the Holy Trinity of stand-up being Carlin, Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor... and that was followed by an outstanding showcase of Carlin's first 40 years in comedy. And hey, if Jon Stewart says he that good, I'll check him out.

So glad I did.

Absolutely first-rate. Hysterical, witty, brilliantly and charmingly delivered. Yes, I said charmingly. After years of hearing that he was rude and potty-mouthed, I didn't find him to be crude in the least. Yeah, he swore a bit. Deal with it. It never seemed gratuitous, and he certainly didn't swear any more than I used to in high school. His stuff was fresh and insightful, and I think what has been percieved as crudeness was, in reality, a cutting and uncomfortable honesty about aspects of life which are not generally discussed at dinner-time. And, for that matter, I didn't find George Carlin offensive in the least, either - he may be famous for his "Seven Forbidden Swear-Words", but he certainly doesn't use them unnecessarily.

(In contrast, watching Eddie Murphy now is a mix between funny and uncomfortable. He had some great material, but his completely self-absorbed egotism and completely gratuitous swearing both detract from the potential humour of his shows. Chris Rock is the only one I've seen from the years since Richard Pryor who is really in the same class.)

And on that note, I have another George Carlin special on the DVR which I've been meaning to get to, so I think I'll brew up the first pot of coffee and wake up with some refreshing comedy.

Local Colour

One of the spin-off (benefits? not sure) of living here is the unique

turns-of-phrase which one encounters from time to time... as in today's

comment from someone at the Christmas Eve dinner:



"Dang, it's colder than a wart on a gravedigger's ass!"



And with that, I bid you the best of providence in the coming year. 

May it be fruitful and joyous for us all!

Starbucks in the Snow

Woke up this morning to the sight of snow falling outside! In Texas! WTF???

Very surprising. Bobo was highly sceptical about going outside this morning. He sniffed the snow and quickly scurried back into the house. Forecast has it dipping to -10 degrees on Friday. Looks like we'll have a white Christmas after all.

To be honest, it only makes me more nostalgic for Christmas dinners outside on the veranda at 6 Princes Close in Harare. Port and coffee with after-dinner chocolates sitting on the lawn seems to me to be the finest conclusion to a Christmas dinner yet devised. And then an out-door family lunch in the garden on Boxing Day, complete with swimming and cricket on the lawn. Not planning to try and re-create it this year, though.

Went to the mall so I could work on the laptop in Starbucks, ended up buying a few PC games. Well, I've got a lot of time to kill the next few days. Also got a new Nick Horby book, so all is well again in Michael-land.

The mall was reasonably sufferable. I can only attribute that to the snow.

Parents stocking up on thousands of dollars worth of mindless crap for their offspring. Do they need it? No. But it's their money to spend, ja? And if you don't like it, stay out of the malls in December. Or go live in North Korea. Not so much conspicuous consumption happening there. Not at all.

Glad to be well out of the whole Christmas debacle, though. One secret Santa gift the whole season, and that's already taken care of. Two family gatherings this weekend. Whenever you find that [holiday meals] > [gifts], you know you're prioritising Christmas the right way.

All I want for Christmas is a job...

Well, the New Year should bring in better prospects on that front. As would learning Mandarin. Shall have to look through Joseph's library this week. Not going to help too much unless I can get enrolled in a real class for it, but it'll be a start, bu shi?

The Spanish Eggplant

Watching "L'Auberge Espagnole", or "The Spanish Aubergine" - no, I mean, "The Spanish Apartment". Surprising myself by enjoying it immensely.

Mental note - must become laid-back student in a university in Barcelona at some point. Must get back to Europe soon.

More importantly, must learn more languages. Improve my French. Pick up Spanish, German, and (of course) Mandarin.

That would be a start.

But for now, must get back to the movie...

(an hour later)

Excellent. Simple, elegant, witty, hysterically funny in parts and arrestingly real in others.

But this isn't a movie critique. It's more of a mission statement.

A quest, if you will.

I am resolved. I have started by charting my journey, now I must make my first strides down the road.

Must study languages.

How?

(not important. only important thing is to do it)

Must write more, too, but then I'm obviously doing that...

DFW Traffic Lights

Two hours to get from DFW back to McKinney.

But on the way, a strange thought.

Stopped at a traffic light. The green was very short. Do short lights feel inferior? If the green is short, it follows that the red nearby must be very long. Are there any Napoleonic green lights who strive mightily to take over the traffic-light world to compensate for their diminutive duration? How do the amber lights feel? Not only are they typically the shortest, but they're in the middle. Do they suffer from characteristic "middle-light syndrome", without the distinguishing status of being either red or green?

More disturbing was the fact that we had to stop en route to the airport so that Joseph could buy some gin. It is a sad day when you're asked to fly from Dallas to London without even a complimentary G&T. There once were free headsets on offer for movies, now they sell you a really crappy set for two bucks a pop. Can pay-per-view-only movies be far behind? Will we once reminisce about the glory days when the emergency oxygen masks were free?
"To release flotation device, please deposit 50 cents."
"Life-raft admission five dollars."
"Sorry, sir, before we can use the defibrillator to get your heart going again, we'll need a down payment. And your medical insurance. And your first-born child as a security deposit."

But at least the Simpsons was on when I got back, with the Japan episode... now that's good TV.

Insomnia

Sitting here at 1:50 am after a disorienting day brought on by too much sleep one night and not enough for the rest of the week, watching a strange montage of cinematic produce blur across the screen as I edit some of my work and help a friend with her resume, all the while chatting on MSN and surfing movie websites...

Had "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" on before, with Gene Wilder, and suddenly that Family Guy episode with the beer factory tour makes so much more sense. From that I moved over to "Secretary", which I started watching sometime last year when I downloaded it off the 'net while living in Seoul. Somehow never got around to watching it, just skimmed through, decided it looked unusual enough to sustain my interest and that I'd have to check it out sometime. Burned it to CD, but now I really couldn't say if that disk is here in Texas or in South Africa.

Hmm... probably best if my parents don't randomly stumble onto that one. Having them watching all my Simpsons episodes is all cool, but I'm not sure how they'd take that one. Maggie Gyllenhaal was a delight, though. Remarkably expressive and subtle performance.

So, let's see, that get's an 8... and I'd better rate "Willy Wonka ..." on IMDB, too.

And before that was the TV series of "Ghost in the Shell" - disappointing. Just a cop show. No philosophical edge, nothing distinctive except the futuristic setting. Now the movie sequel... That'll be worth watching.

Damn, who'd have thought Texas would get this cold in winter? My feet are freezing.

(finally done with the MSN conversation)

Something else has come on now, but I didn't catch the title... looks like it has Johnny Depp in it, though, so it can't be too bad. Something about a writer?

...but it's late enough that I must try to get some sleep. Joseph and his wife are leaving tomorrow, so I'll have to get up to take them to the airport. Then 11 days by myself over Christmas...

But at least my Mexico trip is booked - that's an accomplishment for the day. 3 nights in Cancun... something to look forward to. Now, if only I can get my job sorted out, I'll be able to afford it.

Damn, I hate insomnia. Never quite awake, never quite asleep. Not tired, not alert either. Simply existing, in a state of suspended consciousness.

As the cold creeps up to my knees.

Should get up to get a blanket, but that's too much activity. My fingers are a blur across the keyboard, the words pouring out, but getting up out of the chair seems like far too much work.

Well, paradoxes are common at 2:16am.

What time is it in Australia? Are they happy with the work I sent them? I hope so. I hope that thing really gets off the ground. That would be nice. An idea born on the streets and in the bars and up the mountains of Korea, coming to fruition and bringing in the ships of everyone involved. And it's only because of that business that I'm even on this site!

Just popped in to check on the formatting, 'cause they said it was a good site layout. Which it was, I guess, since it pulled me in like a fish. I'll have to get some pics...

Johnny Depp is talking about going to sleep and taking a nap, and I agree with him. That's all the cold feet that this scribbler can take for tonight.

Have to send a reply to Oz first, though...