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.
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.
posted by Sentinel at
2:27 PM
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