Currently reading: Nada by Carmen Laforet. 2007 edition, trans by Edith Grossman. London Library copy.
Currently writing: a short story for the Swedish group This Year’s Model. It’s for their CD booklet, and the other contributors are Vic Godard (Subway Sect) and Jessica Griffin (Would-Be-Goods). My story is called “Rhoda’s Pocket Doomsday.”
Currently listening: Radio 3 or Radio 4, some BBC news and arts podcasts, plus “The Arts And How They Was Done” by the National Theatre Of Brent, on Radio 4. The funniest thing on the radio.
Currently watching: Doctor Who, Peep Show, a new documentary on The Carpenters and an old documentary on the Chelsea Hotel (Arena, 1981, it’s quite famous in itself). All via downloaded torrents.
These days, I only really use my real TV and DVD player for playing Region 1 DVDs, as that’s one of the few things the iBook can’t do. There’s no ‘region hack’ for the iBook either. I do hate that ruling about regions. Either put out a DVD which you can play anywhere (as opposed to buy anywhere) or don’t, I say. Or make all equipment multi-region, or don’t. When I buy an imported American edition of a book (eg because there’s no UK edition), it doesn’t ‘not open’ in the UK. Though if there was a way to make that happen, I’m sure publishers and lawmakers would implement it at once.
I feel the same way about CDs and digital formats that only work in certain machines, even though you’ve paid for an official copy entirely legitimately, with the proper slice of your money going to the creators.
Oh, and I feel the same way about unskippable copyright announcements at the start of DVDs themselves. And unskippable adverts for other movies that go on forever. I’ve paid my money, I own the product, so stop ordering me about, thank you very much. Put the warnings and trailers on the disc, sure, but don’t make them unavoidable.
It’s all about ‘rights’. By which they mean, the rights of the manufacturer eclipsing the rights of the consumer who’s actually bought their product.
I should stop ranting.
I forgot to mention: I met JP Donleavy of “The Ginger Man” fame at Victoria Mary Clarke’s book launch. He’s another author with a beautiful speaking voice, and spoke elegantly and articulately at the event about his admiration for Ms VMC. A lovely man.
I should also mention I’m doing my own reading-aloud debut outside of London very soon. It’s at a festival called Cambridge Wordfest, or “cambridgewordfest” as they advertise it. There’s Michael Rosen, Jeanette Winterson, Billy Bragg and something with me called The Decadent Cabaret. Here’s the details.
Saturday 28th April, 10.15pm. Cambridge ADC Theatre.
cambridgewordfest presents
The Decadent Cabaret
£8/£6A scandalous entertainment of readings, burlesque and music, performed by contributors to The Decadent Handbook, which is edited by Rowan Pelling. Exclusive to cambridgewordfest the event includes a performance by Miss Sugar Kane, a top burlesque striptease artiste, music from ska-punk duo Salt Peter and Norman Brock’s band Doghammer. There will be readings by assorted libertines and jezebels including Michael Bywater, Salena Godden, Dickon Edwards and Medlar Lucan and Durian Gray (internationally debauched authors of the Decadent Gardener and Decadent Cookbook). Not for the faint-hearted.
Michael Rosen is on at 10 in the morning there, doing an event called “Wake Up With Poetry”. I have fond memories of him captivating young audiences at The Puffin Shows in the early 80s and am toying with the idea of catching an early train to see him, and to make a day of it in Cambridge.
