Torching the peach (revised)

What does it mean to 'torch the peach'? Well, as coined recently in a recent Film Bin commentary, to torch the peach is to explain something via a tortured physical analogy with an overly demonstrative finale. "Now, this peach is the world and this flame thrower is the sun. See what happens when we turn off the electromagnetic shield?" Ouch. A necessary component to any scene where the peach is torched is an absence of due subtlety. True peach torching is rare but it does exist. Any examples outside of the movie which may not be named due to prior agreement will be welcome in the comment section below!

Here in deepest South Wales, the Christmas fortnight has begun with rain, rain and more rain. Ah, there's nothing like predictability to soothe the soul. The one thing you can say about Wales is that it's consistently wet. Wetter than anywhere except a jungle or Ireland. Nothing is wetter than a jungle IN Ireland, and that now forms the ultimate example of wetness. A ten on the Oliver Bain wetness scale is now Cork Swamp, home of their world famous tapioca refinery and pogo stick race course.

Ah, best get back on topic before the nonsense takes over. Where were we? Christmas! That's right, I wish a Merry Christmas for all! And a hat for everyone! With that merriment done, it's time to think of what there is to do for an agnostic/atheist with no real attachment to the ceremony of it all? Well, as mentioned previously we can celebrate the renewal of the seasons and be pagan. Hello, pagans! Seriously though, that renewal is the psychological event of the season and something tangible to celebrate. That does raise the interesting idea of what to think about in mid-Summer? As daylight becomes less plentiful do we celebrate seasonal death of all? Yay? It's a confusing time. If I behave festively am I a hypocrite? If I do not then am I necessarily a curmudgeon? There is no winning, so the festive losing choice is surely superior.

Over the next week or so I'm anticipating a massive increase in my reading and watching of things, as well as the writing thereof. You can expect articles on some of the following books

'Timeline' by Michael Crichton,
'Red Harvest' by Dashiell Hammett,
'Whose Body?' by Dorothy L Sayers,
'Master And Commander' by Patrick O'Brian,

and some of these movies too

'The Philadelphia Story',
'Green Card',
'Batman',
'Safety Not Guaranteed'.

All of this will be dependent real work being done. Mathematics is the primary concern, as always. Maths, maths, maths. Well done everyone. We made it through a whole post without torching the peach. Coming soon: News on the Film Bin Sting Project!

O.