Heading for Halloween

This time of year – like pretty much any other time – is a good excuse to buy a book, and this Halloween I can confidently say that  My Headless Son Fred and His Head Baby Brother Headley, is the perfect book for this mini season. 

The reason I can so confidently assert my opinions is because I did some editing work on the book a while back, and enjoyed the story and the offbeat comedy that kept me entertained through multiple readings of the text.

The cover looks gorgeous, and with a chaotic family that is both grounded in the realistic, as well as the undead, its all too easy to cheer them on in their adventures, when, morally, the reader probably shouldn’t…

Filmon Trout sits in his home, shut off from the outside world. One Halloween night, he finds love in a nearby cemetery. But what Filmon doesn’t know is that his newly found love interest isn’t human.

Months later, they become parents of two unconventional but lovable boys, soon emerging as an adventure-loving family seeking to survive amid a serial killer, a corrupt CIA agent, and an evil Hollywood executive.

But the Trout family isn’t a typical little family…

Good For a Laugh

I refute that this is a lazy post, it is actually a carefully planned post where I have spent literally minutes collecting together some short YouTube comedy clips with which to – possibly – amuse you…on another note, I have had word of an annoying voice advert that has been popping up on the blog, has anybody else encountered this?  Rest assured I am looking to poke the problem with a stick.

A classic:

Historical realism from Lou Ferrigno:

Topical(ish):

Eyeballs

Just a short review today, as there isn’t that much to say about this type of book. Due my unpredictability, this 300th post is not the high drama one I’m sure you all anticipated…that will be the 400th one where I will attempt something unexpected and probably embarrassing.

Some people excel with language and thought, some leave you flabbergasted and that is why we can be thankful for books like this that disconcert and amuse in equal measures.

Those self-sacrificing readers of Private Eye magazine never miss an opportunity to send in contributions (especially when a small fee could be involved) that will amuse. Published within are a selection from a couple established columns and a smattering of never before published examples.

What the reader gets is a light-hearted read, well more of a book to dip into really, something for the coffee table and to amuse friends in a more placid moment of whatever it is you happen to be doing.

Dumb Britain is a column that has been running since 1997 and showcases the worrying extent of some people’s grasp on knowledge and common sense guesses when taking part in quiz shows.  Commentatorballs highlights the humorous slips of the tongue on live TV and Radio by newsreaders, sports personalities and Politicians etc.

Sometimes the Dumb Britain entries can seem a little too sneery and I agree with that to a certain extent but that is possibly because the compilers and the audience are perhaps more educated.  This is a minor point though as there are many examples of the surreal in some of the answers given.

Silent Flight (of Fancy)

Recently I have been re-indulging in silent films, such is my desire to get into a little bit of everything and as usual I have been agog at how the simplest of situations can be turned into something really clever and still visually stunning.  Today’s post then is more heavily accented on the visual than usual.

Part of the charm that these films have, apart from crossing language boundaries and being universally accessible in any era, is their inventive nature.  With such constraints in place as there were in the technology, there was a need to innovate to capture the viewer, especially people of today who are spoilt with all their HD, 3D Ultra sharp coloured up special FX.

It’s art in its purest form, the whole body portrayed in dramatic terms to convey to the watcher what the character is experiencing.  Which is reminiscent of the actors in Greek plays who wore masks and would manipulate their voices and bodies in order to bring their message to the crowds watching.  Constraints always bring innovation and these days physicality is less important in films but perhaps it should be an inspiration to build on.

The Jeeves and Wooster Series – P. G. Wodehouse

As quintessentially English as Morris Dancing and Cricket, P. G. Wodehouse’s novels are not just veritable feats of humour but some of the best stories that I have ever buried myself in.

Some novels I have read in the past seem to try to contrive a plot around an already worked out ending, or just use characters with a few witty one liners or running jokes, these books seem shallow after a jaunt with Jeeves And Wooster.

Wodehouse though achieves the perfect balance with all of the above tactics and adds his own inimitable writing style to the fray, which moves from clever plotting to over the top, energetic, whimsical hilarity.

The novels centre around Bertie Wooster a dim, monied, upper class chap who spends most of his time either falling in love, avoiding marriage or getting involved in mishaps, misunderstanding and down right farcical situations.

His ever faithful valet Jeeves is a man of the utmost discretion with a love of the philosopher Spinoza and a general mastery of a wide range of subjects, not to mention a subtlety with which he is able to discreetly maneuver people around to his way of thinking. He also has a critical eye for fashion.

Wodehouse’s plots are a finely balanced tapestry of goings on, never complicated but with enough plates spinning to keep the reader interested in the machinations of the characters.  Each plot is almost an intermingling subplot within the structure of the book, often when a mini plotline seems to have come to its amusing conclusion it is brought back later on for a further humourous effect.