In the aftermath of 'Lincoln'

Please don't misunderstand. This is not going to be a post exclusively about 'Lincoln', which I saw on Wednesday night. I don't feel even remotely passionate enough to write at length. I did find it to be very interesting, entertaining and successful but it's not a masterpiece. The ending fell a little flat, and I just didn't think they needed to show the dead Lincoln when they had already ended the movie perfectly in the previous sequence. Sometimes I wish Spielberg would make more movies like this, instead of going all out serious or trying too hard on things people don't really want to watch. He built his career on 'Jaws' and then seemed to turn at some point and try to be a director who wouldn't brush his teeth with something like 'Jaws'.

Gosh, 'Jaws' is awesome, and may be the movie of the night.

One of the good things about 'Lincoln', and the shark movie, is that they start with the story already in progress, 'en media res'. I really would like more stories to begin and end 'en media res' instead of in often unnecessarily contrived setups and resolutions. It's a far better way to tell stories and even have much better structured mid-sections. Sometimes a setup for a beginning and a perfect resolution to end is perfect but more often it's not. It's nicer to drop in to a narrative and work it out as we go.

<Note: I know nothing about writing.>

Writing a blog has been worthwhile, and continues to be worthwhile in many many ways. The power of revision, for example, is now clearly apparent. Even today, I have just restructured the whole post to read more naturally and it has improved dramatically. Write the way you would like people to speak. If someone sounds hokey reading something out loud then that writing is probably bad. There is a good bit in 'Lincoln' where the Secretary of War... no, no, just watch it. It's a good movie. He says something that we were all thinking. It's funny. Good show, Bruce McGill.

Aberystwyth has been dry for weeks now. It's worrying. All the moisture is dropping away from me and people could start reasonably confusing my appearance with that of a crumb of Ryvita. It has to rain soon, surely? It's not as bad as when I was in Hungary but still, where is all the water? Clouds roll over from time to time in a haunting teasing manner but it's not the same. I need rain! We all need rain - let's not be selfish - for very important reasons! And not just to make variety in the long walk into university each day, although I have an alternative route now, that is fifty-per-cent longer and more visually pleasing. There are sheep and if you stop paying attention you end up in a field in the middle of nowhere or playing golf and never going to work at all.

<Stops to think>

There shall be golf.
O.