The book stands up a lot better than I expected. In particular the motorcycle trip is eloquently described, and the family interactions pretty touching, though the symbolism gets a bit heavy at times. While the book has a whoa-man hippie reputation, a lot of the philosophy is surprisingly rigorous, at least by the standards of modern equivalents.

Reading it now I think I was pretty heavily influenced by it, not so much in overall terms but in the little details, like breaking out the Scientific Method by consciously writing things down step by step when I hit a significant problem.

Not sure whether to recommend it or not though: might seem a bit dated to someone trying to read it for the first time now.

What I'm Watching
Saw The Banksy Movie Exit Through the Gift Shop. Not sure how much of it is real, there are lots of rumours of hoaxhood floating around, but nothing there struck me as obviously false.

The movie is basically about Thierry Guetta, an LA-based shopowner with a habit of videoing everything around him. A relative of his was a graffiti Street Artist, and he started following various members of the movement (Invader, Shepherd Fairey) around, recording them while they did their thing, with a mind to making a future documentary. Eventually he encountered British graffiti artist Banksy and filmed him at work too.

However it seems Guetta wasn't so much a filmmaker as "a guy with mental problems and a video camera", and couldn't make a coherent documentary.

The film glosses over this part, but I suspect the deal was that Guetta would turn over his archive of tapes to Banksy, in return for becoming a Street Artist. Returning to LA, with the aid of his artist friends' contacts. Guetta set up a huge exhibition under the name Mr Brainwash. Practical artists built huge props, PR people created an immense hype, his friend furnished him with publicity quotes, and he instantly became a financially successful artist without any apparent talent whatsoever.

It's actually a good film: drily funny and well worth watching, with a few bits of fascinating footage of the graffitists at work. Well worth watching.

What I'm Watching 2
Saw Syriana on DVD. Rather preachy film about Middle East Issues. Various characters who don't have much to do with each other get involved in a complex and corrupt oil deal, and deliver lots of little speeches as they do so.

Has quite a good RottenTomatoes rating of 72% Fresh, but I couldn't get into it at all. The characters seemed pretty dull and stereotypical: a Grizzled Maverick Intelligence Veteran, an Idealistic Youngster in the Corporate World, a Terrorist Driven By Economic Oppression. The terrorist seemed especially flat after seeing Four Lions. It's hard to care about them, none of their stories are particularly compelling on its own, and there isn't much of an overall storyline either.

So, seemed a bit pointless. Might have worked better in the cinema where it's harder for attention to wander.

What I'm Reading
Finished First Lord's Fury, the last book in the Codex Alera fantasy series. Very well done, enjoyed it a lot after the weaker penultimate volume. The series comes to a grand conclusion with a well-orchestrated series of battles and fights. Definitely a great modern heroic fantasy series.

Theatre
Saw Michael Gambon in Krapp's Last Tape at the Duchess theatre. One-act, one-man Beckett play about an aging novelist whose habit is every year on his birthday to record a tape about the year, and listen to past years.

It's as grim as you'd expect, with a portrait of a lonely man whose life seems to have been one steady decline. He rages at the smug satisfaction of the earlier tape, finally bellowing out a disjointed cry of despair. Brilliantly acted: Gambon is compelling even when silent. Well worth seeing.

Review, review, review, review.

Museums
Saw Canaletto and his Rivals at the National Gallery. Pretty good exhibition, each room showing a Canaletto landscape of Venice alongside similar views by other artists.

Definitely some great artwork on display. Does get a bit samey though, especially since there are a lot of Canalettos around. £12 seemed a bit much.

Web
Video. Cat and printer. Dropped camera compilation. Silent movie Star Wars. Slightly offensive pie ad.

Articles. The Fighting Negro editor. Waiting for Superman: Charter Schools overrated? Where ideas come from: Eureka moments are rare. Cracked: we're already in a post-scarcity world ruled by bullshit.

Politics. Councils plan for exodus of poor families from London. Control Orders likely to stay. Labour loses the East End. Probation officer on drug rehabilitation. Sheffield Forgemasters contract goes to Germany after loan withdrawn.

Sci/Tech. Chupacabra explained? Download your own sundial.