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mousetrapplingIncludes some spoilers for Doctor Who at the end...
Fiction: Finished "Memories of Ice" Steven Erikson - it actually wraps up in a pretty satisfying fashion, the long term issues that drive the story don't get resolved but if the series had stopped here as a trilogy you'd not be left with a feeling of unfinished business. Presumably he was initially contracted for three books and it was the success of those that meant he got to carry on with the series.
Started "House of Chains" Steven Erikson - this book starts with what seems to be a completely unrelated narrative thread but gradually it becomes clear how it interweaves with the events of the previous three books.
Non-fiction: Still reading "The Making of the Middle Sea", Cyprian Broodbank - he's now also covered Mesopotamia c. 3500 BCE to 2200 BCE in brief as well, and is moving on to the Levant during this period & how these two increasingly powerful states (Egypt & Mesopotamia) affect it.
Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing: Act 1 Scenes 1-3, Act 2 Scenes 1-3 - we've set up the two couples in whose lives other people are to meddle (maliciously in the case of Claudio & Hero and not so in the case of Benedick & Beatrice).
Podcasts: ep 264-264c of The History of England - he's covering the reign of Lady Jane Grey in a series of mini-episodes released every day over the next two weeks. Not actually a day per day but that gives the feel.
ep Eleanor 2 of The History of England Shedcasts - more scene setting, in this case for Eleanor's family & lineage.
ep 59-63 of The History of China - moving on through the Southern & Northern period, which appears to involve an awful lot of murder in the royal families of both powers (the Northern one institutionalising some of it by having a "family tradition" of the mother of the Crown Prince having to die when he gets the title).
ep 177 of The History of Byzantium - some listener questions about the state of the Empire c.1025 CE.
bonus episode of The History of English - a talk he gave where he was giving an overview of what the podcast is about, using the proto-Indo-european word wer (sp?) as an example of changes through time. It ends up in English in many forms, including things like beware and regard.
ep 210 of The China History Podcast - continuing the story of Jewish Refugees in China, moving into the late 1930s.
Sunday Podcast: an episode of In Our Time about The Long March - the long retreat of the forces of the Red Army in the 1930s and how that march became an integral part of Communist China's foundation myth and a part of Mao Zedong's rise to power.
Music: While running I listened to Guns'n'Roses and Bon Jovi. In the evenings I listened to more Beth Orton EPs plus her album "Trailer Park".
EEG Talk: "The Coffins of Nespawershefyt and Pakepu at the Fitzwilliam Museum" Helen Strudwick - she took us through the construction & decoration of each of the coffin sets, and also talked about what is known about the people whose coffins they were.
ep 4 of Dynasties - Painted Wolves this time. Perhaps the least charismatic of the animals who have been main features, tho more charismatic than the hyenas who were also featured in this episode.
ep 2 of the Mediterranean with Simon Reeve - continuing round the Mediterranean visiting Cyprus (both sides), Lebanon, Israel and Gaza. Continues to be really rather depressing.
ep 1 & 2 of Egyptian Tomb Hunting - Tony Robinson (of Time Team) visiting several archaeological digs in Egypt which are investigating tombs of various eras. Very enthusiastic television, and made us smile a lot whilst also giving more of an honest flavour of how archaeology works than some Egypt series.
ep 4 of The Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure - Japan this time. Still making us hungry ;)
ep 2 of Animals with Cameras - watched the first episode ages ago but had almost forgotten we had it on going. The hook in this series is that they are putting cameras on the animals and so we (and more importantly the scientists studying them) can see how they behave with no humans around. Highlight of this episode for me were the cheetahs.
ep 1 of Digging for Britain - it's Digging for Britain time! Tho that episode wasn't as good as they sometimes are, it covered the north and we felt like only a couple of the digs were really interesting. But still some neat things, including some well preserved wooden household objects from the Iron Age dug up from the peat of the Black Loch of Myrton
ep 9 of Doctor Who - judging by what I've read elseweb this has divided people somewhat. I thought it was rather good, an evocative fairy tale of an episode about grief & loss. Another case where the "villain" isn't malicious, and in this instance I ended up feel sorry for the Soletract who came across like a poorly socialised child who just wanted to be friends but couldn't work out what it was doing wrong. Probably best not to dwell too deeply on some of the episode though - I do agree that the underlying message of exclusion as the right thing to do to badly socialised children is more than a bit problematic. I liked the anti-zone in its fairytale sort of way and that it had a Troll living in/under this metaphorical bridge. I liked the Ryan/Hanne interaction - of course he thinks her father has abandoned her in his grief over her mother's death, coz he would wouldn't he? And he's not wrong either, which is why she doesn't like him and reacts against him, because that's what she fears. And I liked how Ryan & Graham's relationship has developed, the moment between the two of them at the end of the episode was such a good emotional pay off for their arc this season that J wondered if we'd mis-counted & that was the last of the season (it's not, there's one this Sunday too).
Books
Fiction: Finished "Memories of Ice" Steven Erikson - it actually wraps up in a pretty satisfying fashion, the long term issues that drive the story don't get resolved but if the series had stopped here as a trilogy you'd not be left with a feeling of unfinished business. Presumably he was initially contracted for three books and it was the success of those that meant he got to carry on with the series.
Started "House of Chains" Steven Erikson - this book starts with what seems to be a completely unrelated narrative thread but gradually it becomes clear how it interweaves with the events of the previous three books.
Non-fiction: Still reading "The Making of the Middle Sea", Cyprian Broodbank - he's now also covered Mesopotamia c. 3500 BCE to 2200 BCE in brief as well, and is moving on to the Levant during this period & how these two increasingly powerful states (Egypt & Mesopotamia) affect it.
Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing: Act 1 Scenes 1-3, Act 2 Scenes 1-3 - we've set up the two couples in whose lives other people are to meddle (maliciously in the case of Claudio & Hero and not so in the case of Benedick & Beatrice).
Listening
Podcasts: ep 264-264c of The History of England - he's covering the reign of Lady Jane Grey in a series of mini-episodes released every day over the next two weeks. Not actually a day per day but that gives the feel.
ep Eleanor 2 of The History of England Shedcasts - more scene setting, in this case for Eleanor's family & lineage.
ep 59-63 of The History of China - moving on through the Southern & Northern period, which appears to involve an awful lot of murder in the royal families of both powers (the Northern one institutionalising some of it by having a "family tradition" of the mother of the Crown Prince having to die when he gets the title).
ep 177 of The History of Byzantium - some listener questions about the state of the Empire c.1025 CE.
bonus episode of The History of English - a talk he gave where he was giving an overview of what the podcast is about, using the proto-Indo-european word wer (sp?) as an example of changes through time. It ends up in English in many forms, including things like beware and regard.
ep 210 of The China History Podcast - continuing the story of Jewish Refugees in China, moving into the late 1930s.
Sunday Podcast: an episode of In Our Time about The Long March - the long retreat of the forces of the Red Army in the 1930s and how that march became an integral part of Communist China's foundation myth and a part of Mao Zedong's rise to power.
Music: While running I listened to Guns'n'Roses and Bon Jovi. In the evenings I listened to more Beth Orton EPs plus her album "Trailer Park".
EEG Talk: "The Coffins of Nespawershefyt and Pakepu at the Fitzwilliam Museum" Helen Strudwick - she took us through the construction & decoration of each of the coffin sets, and also talked about what is known about the people whose coffins they were.
Watching
ep 4 of Dynasties - Painted Wolves this time. Perhaps the least charismatic of the animals who have been main features, tho more charismatic than the hyenas who were also featured in this episode.
ep 2 of the Mediterranean with Simon Reeve - continuing round the Mediterranean visiting Cyprus (both sides), Lebanon, Israel and Gaza. Continues to be really rather depressing.
ep 1 & 2 of Egyptian Tomb Hunting - Tony Robinson (of Time Team) visiting several archaeological digs in Egypt which are investigating tombs of various eras. Very enthusiastic television, and made us smile a lot whilst also giving more of an honest flavour of how archaeology works than some Egypt series.
ep 4 of The Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure - Japan this time. Still making us hungry ;)
ep 2 of Animals with Cameras - watched the first episode ages ago but had almost forgotten we had it on going. The hook in this series is that they are putting cameras on the animals and so we (and more importantly the scientists studying them) can see how they behave with no humans around. Highlight of this episode for me were the cheetahs.
ep 1 of Digging for Britain - it's Digging for Britain time! Tho that episode wasn't as good as they sometimes are, it covered the north and we felt like only a couple of the digs were really interesting. But still some neat things, including some well preserved wooden household objects from the Iron Age dug up from the peat of the Black Loch of Myrton
ep 9 of Doctor Who - judging by what I've read elseweb this has divided people somewhat. I thought it was rather good, an evocative fairy tale of an episode about grief & loss. Another case where the "villain" isn't malicious, and in this instance I ended up feel sorry for the Soletract who came across like a poorly socialised child who just wanted to be friends but couldn't work out what it was doing wrong. Probably best not to dwell too deeply on some of the episode though - I do agree that the underlying message of exclusion as the right thing to do to badly socialised children is more than a bit problematic. I liked the anti-zone in its fairytale sort of way and that it had a Troll living in/under this metaphorical bridge. I liked the Ryan/Hanne interaction - of course he thinks her father has abandoned her in his grief over her mother's death, coz he would wouldn't he? And he's not wrong either, which is why she doesn't like him and reacts against him, because that's what she fears. And I liked how Ryan & Graham's relationship has developed, the moment between the two of them at the end of the episode was such a good emotional pay off for their arc this season that J wondered if we'd mis-counted & that was the last of the season (it's not, there's one this Sunday too).
