The last Tintin
We all did stupid things when we were young.
I’m ashamed to admit that one of the sillier things I did in my teenage years was to dispose of my Tintin books.
After a while I realised my mistake, and started collecting them again, book by book. (I decided I preferred the full-size versions, not the 3-in-1 small editions.)
It’s taken me a few years, but last week I finally got the last one to complete the collection*: Flight 714.
Actually since I first owned it, they’ve amended the name to Flight 714 To Sydney, to better match the original French title, though I suspect I’ll always know it as just Flight 714.
When I bought it at Dymocks (their end of financial year 20% off sale) I had to ask for it at the Special Orders counter. I asked the lady why this was the case, and she said that Tintin books, apparently more than anything else in the store, let alone the graphic novel section, get stolen a lot.
Who knew? Apparently there’s a trade in stolen Tintin books. They’re probably smuggled inside statues with broken ears.
Re-reading it brought back some happy memories. Though I got the biggest laugh out of a bit I’d forgotten about, with the Proboscis monkey. And I like the mystery of their rescue.
*My collection does not include The Lake Of Sharks. I originally owned it, but it was not actually written by Herge, and the story is pretty naff. And actually, I don’t have Alph-Art, his uncompleted final work, either, and I don’t really want Land of Soviets. I do have a lovely edition of the original version of Congo that my sister gave me, and a number of very good books about Tintin.
Books and TV and movies and stuff
I used to give either thumbs up or thumbs down. I’m switching to thumbs up, thumbs down, or neither.
Microserfs — This is the kind of book I should just lap up, isn’t it? A geek novel? But I didn’t. It dragged.
J-Pod — More enjoyable than Microserfs. Douglas Coupland’s self-referential bits were a bit hard to take, but overall I enjoyed it a lot more.
Torchwood series 2 — Less gratuitious L/S/V, it’s calmed down a bit. The insertion of Martha and more Who references (especially in the penultimate episode) made it all more enjoyable to watch, though I didn’t think there was a stand-out episode this year, not in the same way I enjoyed Random Shoes. The finale was a bit of a let-down, but came up with some surprises. I’m not a hard-core Buffy fan, and don’t know what those that are would have made of Captain Spike. The BBC actually put out a PG-rated version, but I think even that is pretty dark for kids to see. I’d watch it again one day — it wasn’t brilliant, but it had its moments.
Fistful of Quarters: The King of Kong — Great stuff. Not so much about classic video games as about the personalities involved in the world of classic video games — so non-gamers will enjoy this. The people involved are geeks, and know they’re geeks. The trust from the score referees in the messianic Billy Mitchell, and their mistrust to his challenger is particularly interesting. Not surprised Mitchell wasn’t happy with the way the film portrayed him. Definitely thumbs up. (Maybe I should start giving the double-thumbs up where appropriate?)
Next I need to see Chasing Ghosts.
Funniest book I’ve read in ages
Bill Bryson: Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid — I’ve finally read it now it’s out in paperback. I know I was never going to be disappointed, but it was a great book. Hilarious in parts, poignant in others. Mostly hilarious though. The description of the Dick and Jane books and the characters’ robotic dialogue had me laughing out loud. Likewise the high school gym classes, where all the white kids found themselves thoroughly outclassed — even by “a three-hundred-pound spheroid named Tubby Brown” — not only had me guffawing, but re-reading it to Marita one night while waiting for a train had us in gales of uncontrollable laughter.
While Bryson grew up around 20 years before and a hemisphere away from me, I can almost see more similarities between 50’s America and 70’s Australia than 70’s Australia and 2000’s Australia. I could probably write a similar book about my childhood… if only I had the research, the writing skills, the keen eye for humour and the time.
Tramps like us
Tramps Like Us by Kristen Buckley — Kristen emailed and asked if I’d like to read and review this book, as its Australian launch is coming soon. I’m glad I said yes, it’s smegging hilarious. Kristen’s better known for being a screenwriter for movies that… well, frankly, I wouldn’t go out of my way to see. Thankfully the foreword makes it clear that this is no 102 Dalmations.
The book is Kristen’s memoirs of childhood, growing up in New Jersey in the 70s and early 80s, and as someone a similar age, despite the distant location, it has an air of familiarity about it. We can all identify with having childhood dreams — in this case, she wanted to meet Sting — popularity issues at school, the trials of family.
I know a book is funny if I find myself reading it on the train and laughing out loud — which happened while reading some parts of the book, like the rat infestation and the badly written TV captions. Is it all true? Maybe, maybe not, but it hardly matters. I found it a highly entertaining read. It’s the type of book I’d love to write myself, but I fear that even if I employed gross exaggeration, it would come out nowhere near as funny or interesting. Don’t know when this will get an Australian release, but watch out for it. Recommended.
A few things…
Dishwashers: On the subject of water (I think Andrew or somebody mentioned this a while ago) in last Sunday’s Age M magaziney thing, there was an article noting that dishwashers generally use less water than handwashing. Dishwashers are in the 13 to 20 litre per cycle range, whereas handwashing is up around 40 to 60. Yay — for once you can be lazy and environmentally friendly!
What they don’t appear to mention, however, is ensuring the dishwasher is full before using it. To do that, I’ve bought extra crockery and cutlery as appropriate, so I don’t run out of things between running it every couple of days.
Boomers: Saturday’s Age A2 section (which I’ve only just got around to reading) notes it’s ten years since Mark Davis wrote Gangland, a book I’ve been meaning to read for quite some time. Davis writes now:
Somewhere deep in the fabric of Australian cultural life it is forever 1974. The Whitlam government is still in office. This Day Tonight is still on television. Patrick White has recently won the Nobel Prize. The last fading bars of Eagle Rock echo from the Sunbury stage.
…
Many of the figures who stood out in 1997 as playing a disproportionate role in Australian cultural life by and large continue to do so. Kerry O’Brien, Robert Manne, Peter Craven, Phillip Adams, Christopher Pearson, Anne Summers, Helen Garner, Richard Neville, Keith Windschuttle, Ray Martin, Clive James, P. P. McGuinness, Germaine Greer, Piers Akerman, John Laws, Michelle Grattan, Laurie Oakes, Alan Jones, Gerard Henderson and George Negus are still out there, setting agendas, demarcating standards, creating much of the intellectual and cultural climate. Whatever they breathe out becomes the oxygen of Australian cultural life.
– Turf war; Mark Davis. The Age. Melbourne, Vic.: May 19, 2007. ; p. 12
I know what he means, though he misses the one I like to take potshots at, Barry Humphries. Maybe ‘cos Humphries too old to be a Boomer, born in 1934. Or maybe it’s not the type of cultural influence Davis is looking at.
But it’s a very interesting read, even if I don’t totally agree with all of it. I can’t find it publically online, probably as it’s due to be republished in fuller form in Overland, though it is available in Gulliver/ProQuest.
Parking: I’m not trying to dob people in, but I reckon the local council should send parking inspectors around to schools at morning drop-off time. People parking across driveways; people parking too close to corners; people backing up around corners; people parking (and leaving their cars) in “set-down only” areas. They’d make a fortune.
Crude: ABC TV, tonight 8:30pm.
Pastafarianism/Reviews
I’ve heard from two completely independent sources of Pastafarianism in the past week. Could it be that the age of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is upon us?
RAmen.
Anyway, here’s some quick reviews.
Michael Palin’s diaries 1969-1979 — Very interesting, especially for a Python fan like me, giving the background story behind the group coming together, making the TV shows then the movies, and how successful they became, despite problems with distributors censoring their work, and opposition over The Life Of Brian. Palin normally comes across as thoroughly nice, and it’s pleasing to see some hints of grumpiness in the diaries — so he is human after all! Some genuinely moving moments, too.
Thank you for smoking — Very funny look at PR. Anybody who does media work (or sees spin from afar) should get a laugh from (as well as be in awe of) the antics of Nick Naylor and his Mod Squad comrades.
Little Miss Sunshine — A very funny movie, with a slightly-disturbing (but amusing) ending. Like any good road movie, the best bits are the trip along the way, not the destination.
Summer reviews
A big bunch of thumbs ups for all these, from the past couple of months.
The First Casualty by Ben Elton — a mystery set close to a century ago, a bit like Julian Barnes’ Arthur and George, and also very reminiscent of Black Adder 4, but with a much more serious look at the Great War. Elton’s usual humour is absent for this one, but it’s a great read.
High Society by Ben Elton — a look at drugs: the war against it, its presence in society both high and low. But unlike the above, plenty of humour.
Kenny — very very funny movie. Spotted a few locations I’m familiar with.
Junebug — what happens when white trash meets culture. Interesting.
Caffe Latte — Malvern Road, Toorak — work Christmas dinner was delicious. Very good. Probably expensive — I don’t know!
Wah Wah — Richard E Grant’s semi-auto-biographical film. Quite funny in parts, very dramatic in others. The DVD (at least, the Australian version) includes the interview from Enough Rope, which is fascinating.
PS Sunday night. Oh hooray, yet another full-page Barry Humphries article in the Sunday Age. We needed another one.
Geek history books
So I was waiting for a train, while reading the geek history “On The Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore” (which — in my humble geeky opinion — really is excellent). The station host lady looked at it, and (given its lovely hardback binding and olde booke looke when it’s out of its dustjacket) asked if it were some classic piece of literature or history.
I said no, it was a history of electronics. (I dumbed my answer down a tad.)
She paused, her interest in it completely quashed, totally pounded without mercy into the ground. It would be a cold day in hell before she’d even consider glancing at such a book.
Then as politely as possible: “We really are all different, aren’t we.”
I couldn’t help but agree.
