In the Actor's Studio

I have been watching a few of this series and they are always great, informing and absorbing. The programs with Ian McCallen and Richard Dreyfuss were particularly awesome. It is also good hunting for movies missed. I have always thought Dreyfuss brilliant.

I know there are still good movies being made, but I think they have fallen by the wayside somewhat and new talent does seem a bit thin these days.

Patrick and I have been bonding some of late and we both watch quite a few movies. He's also a bit of a thinker and it was he who got me listening to Alan Watts. If yo ain't heard this chap yet you are missing out big time.

Enjoyed Children of a Lesser God and Shutter Island this week.

Oi fairly okay now and Grace has really been enjoying having Grandma to stay. It has also given Oi and I a bit of a break. Grace is a wiggling, crawling bundle of fun right now and demands constant activity. Lucky for us she sleeps right through the night and always has done.

School has been fun and again, I am really enjoying not teaching in the evening. I have picked up the guitar again and have been learning some bluesy stuff (Sweet Virginia, John Martyn etc.). Been a few criers so far this term which are always fun to watch.

My evening walks are taken every night and I am doing a YRG (Yoga for Regular Guys) exercise DVD. Both are predictably awesome. The audio books make a great accompaniment.

World news? I think Obama is spouting off a bit too much at BP. He'll fall into a hole if he keeps up. And also of note is the admission that the whole recession thingy is really far from over and is more of a long term thing.

I noted Bill Bryson stating that England is full of "self-obsessed and greedy" people these days, far removed from the 70's when he was sleeping on benches at Dover harbour. This is something I noted when I was in UK. Not so much greedy or self-obsessed, but so fascinated by the latest gizmos and tech that they didn't take much note of a lot of the not-so-great stuff happening in the world.

A fun article from China tells of a bunch of kids in an internet addiction clinic, tied up the guards and escaped after being forced to do physical exercise and Chinese calligraphy classes. One mother said her son had been playing online games for 28 hours in a single stretch. Although tragic, it is interesting to hear of all the Apple workers jumping off the buildings and horrific the knife wielding poor farmers rampaging into the schools. From the society point of view it is interesting to observe.

Best call it a day before people start complaining.