tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post1058975365159634771..comments2024-03-18T10:29:46.055+00:00Comments on Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: Hard to Keep UpKen Armstronghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-80358402786731182312013-05-13T07:52:41.527+01:002013-05-13T07:52:41.527+01:00I reckon you've got the life-balance thing nai...I reckon you've got the life-balance thing nailed, Ken.Marc Patersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-43242965334169760402013-05-12T22:54:09.362+01:002013-05-12T22:54:09.362+01:00I can totally relate to this: I have unwatched fil...I can totally relate to this: I have unwatched films and unread books in an ever-growing pile, presumably awaiting my retirement, while I spend all my free time in conversations, reading news or on the web gleaning the opinions of others on films and books which I haven't found the time to enjoy myself. As a consumer unit, I am a failure.Fleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17747615220445626388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-38441788180553415362013-05-12T12:10:16.804+01:002013-05-12T12:10:16.804+01:00We watch very little live TV these days, Ken. I th...We watch very little live TV these days, Ken. I think the only thing apart from the news in the morning is <i>Doctor Who</i>. That’s the only programme we stop what we’re doing to watch as it airs. In that respect technology is wonderful. I programme the TiVo on a Friday or Saturday for the week ahead and never have to worry about what’s showing when; it’ll all get caught up with eventually. Only it’s not getting caught up with is it? I know some writers are very anti-TV/cinema but I’m not one of them. I think writers can learn a helluva lot about how to structure a story from TV and film <i>especially</i> bad TV. One of the shows we watch is <i>Castle</i> and I cite it often as an example of groanworthy plotting but we like the characters and enjoy finding holes in the writing so where’s the harm in it? TV also saves time. My entire knowledge of Dickens, Austin and Christie comes from TV. I have never read a book by any of these authors and yet consider myself quite knowledgeable. Okay I know I’m missing stuff but that’s fine. It’s not as if I’m not reading. I’m just reading other stuff. I’m maximising my time. There simply isn’t enough time to read every book I’d like to read. I’m reading a lovely wee book at the moment called <i>Being There</i> by Jerzy Kosinski and, like me, I’m sure you’ve seen the wonderful adaptation featuring Peter Sellers. Sellers's performance was universally lauded by critics and rightly so but I’m not finding very much extra in the book. I’m enjoying it—don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely story—but the film is a far more efficient (and memorable) way of absorbing the material.<br /><br />I do, however, feel burdened by the sheer amount of stuff there is out there that demands my attention. When sending out e-mails begging for book reviews most bloggers tell me they have to-read piles that’ll take them months to get through. In that respect I’m quite lucky. I get very few unsolicited requests. Even people I’ve reviewed before “forget” to contact me when they have something new out. Now <i>that</i> does puzzle me because I’m not sure anyone else would put as much time and effort into reviewing their books but there you go. I did the maths recently and assuming I live to about the same age as both my parents (round about seventy-five) and assuming that I read a book a week for the rest of my life that means I’ve enough time to read about 1100 more books and when you start to think it terms like that then mortality suddenly comes sharply into focus. When I was in my late teens I went through a phase of only reading novels by Nobel Prize winners and a part of me kinda wants to return to that mentality. If my head is clear enough to read something decent then why aren’t I reading something decent? TV’s a little different. I watch TV when my mind’s not fit for anything else and even then I don’t just watch anything; I haven’t watched an episode of any soap opera in many years although I would’ve liked to have seen that episode of <i>Eastenders</i> where the entire episode featured June Brown doing a monologue.<br /><br />In this respect I do bemoan the fact that more good books aren’t being dramatized. There’s so much being written at the moment and yet the BBC insist on adapting the same old stuff. They’re getting a wee bit better but I think there’s still room for improvement. And I’ll never understand why there’s not an audience for a weekly <i>Play for Today</i> or <i>Armchair Theatre</i> type of play. I watched an old TV adaptation of <i>No Exit</i> a couple a days ago for research and it was wonderful—Harold Pinter played the man—and I cannot believe there’s not an audience out there for stuff like this. Outside broadcasts are relatively cheap TV—seriously how much does an episode of <i>Bargain Hunt</i> cost?—and so why aren’t they going along to the Old Vic, setting up a couple of cameras and recording for posterity some of the great performances that are simply vanishing into the ether? I think it’s nothing less than criminal. <br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.com