Nerds, Cars, and Old Musty Books

This past week has been marvelously rainy and cold here in Mandeville. It was almost as though I lived in a tiny cottage somewhere on the coast of England, just like in the Enid Blyton books I so loved as a child. It just felt so natural to be wrapped up in my blanket with my cuppa tea, listening as the rain pattered and the wind howled. Incidentally, the power went out for quite a few hours on one particular day, and I decided that I would read a book, one that I've had for quite some time. I'm still not quite clear as to how I actually procured said book. Anyhow, I delved into what is unfolding to be a rather riveting story, and even though the power came back on a mere 15 minutes later, it was only after I lost the battle to my fierce addiction to ice pops did I put the book down.

Suffice it to say, it was somewhat cathartic to actually hold a book, getting a whiff of that good ol' musty book smell each time I turned a page. Call me what you will, but I do believe books will be quite the treasure if the world ever ends up in any one of the many portrayed post-apocalyptic scenarios.

That said, here's a brief excerpt from my recent writings:

Daniel’s eyes flew open as he bolted upright from his sleep. Where am I? What happened? Oh God, what did I do this time? As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he racked his brain for memories while silently praying this wasn’t another blackout. His last blackout didn’t end well and he was still not entirely sure how or why he’d blacked out in the first place.  He felt his damp shirt and quickly ripped it off, scanning for any signs of blood. He instinctively reached to push his glasses up on his nose. Then he began to remember.

The body. The house. The woods.

Changing clothes on the train. Dying his hair. Putting in contacts.

Doctor Lucas.

He was at Dr. Lucas’ house. He should never have agreed to stay at her house. How stupid of him to put her in danger! He got up, shaking off the remnants of sleep and gathered his clothes and shoes. He had to go; he couldn’t risk the consequences of another blackout.

Let me just hasten to remind you all that this is still in the most infantile stages of writing. Mayhaps some would call it "fan-fiction" as I am, after all, woefully in love with Hugh Dancy, er the new TV series Hannibal...

I also had the pleasure of viewing two blockbusters at the cinema last week. Thanks to the awesomeness of Jamaican customer service, one was a free box ticket. That was my attempt at typing in the sarcastic font by the way...

Here's what I thought of them.

Star Trek: Into Darkness                4 stars

Having no prior knowledge of Star Trek, besides knowing of Spock thanks to Dr. Sheldon Cooper of TBBT, I must say that I was not expecting much from the film. It however turned out to be quite a gripping, action-packed spectacle, with riveting performances from Benedict Cumberbatch (my new favourite actor), Christopher Pine and Zachary Quinto. It also didn't hurt that they all wore tight leather pants. A solid story that didn't confuse non-Trekkies, at one point becoming a space version of Titanic--with a happier ending. Witty, well directed, much less "nerdy" than most would expect. Loved it.

Fast and Furious 6                           3 stars

"Vehicular warfare"....for the die hard, cargasm speed lovers. The flying cars and destruction began early, perhaps in an effort to make up for the predictable lines of strained humor. Between The Rock and Vin Diesel, there was so much muscle I'm sure I left the cinema with more defined abs. Kudos to the men who took their women to that droolapalaza. A great load of Paul Walker's self-sacrificing blue eyed blondness, with a huge dose of Tyrese and Luda's comical quibble, it wasn't the best of the franchise, but the action certainly lived up to its predecessors. All logic and realness aside, it was indeed fast and furious, with two surprise plot twists that made it just a smidge better. A smidge.

And here's a really accurate picture to finish off today's entry!