fajrdrako | Strange weekend... (Reply)

I came home from work on Friday dead tired - almost too tired to think. Then I spent most of the weekend sleeping. When not sleeping, I lounged in front of

maaseru's television and watched things - including the first of the Battlestar Galactica episodes shown on Space, 33. It was at least as good a second time; what a terrific science fiction show in the classic mode. With such good performances.

Things I did over the weekend, besides sleep and sleep and sleep some more:

I read Caesar: a novel by Allan Massie. I didn't like it. It had its moments, but Caesar was dull; his intelligence and charm just didn't come through. There were other flaws, but that was the one that bothered me most.

I watched the movie Spartan with Val Kilmer. And excellent movie, a tense thriller with no car chases or big explosions, just a tough, tight plot, good script and acting.... And plenty of suspense.

I read Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe by John Boswell. A fascinating book in many ways, and no doubt telling a history that ought to be told - the long history of the instution of gay marriage, an aspect of history that for the past century or two has been so suppressed that most people deny that there even is a long history of gay marriage. Note: it isn't a history of of homosexuality, but of legal, ceremonial, personal and sexual social bonding sanctioned by the cultures and nations in question, and even the Christian church. Much as I appreciated the theme, I got impatient with a lot of the book that was simply linguistic studies of liturgy and a study of heterosexual marriage from many points of view, for comparison. I think this book need to be written, but considering that it was written and published in the United States in 1995, I think it had an aim that was more political than scholarly.

An episode of Century City that I had never seen before, called "To Know Her". I managed to tape it for rosiespark, too. Again, a though-provoking plot that wasn't overly obvious. And some terrific acting from Ioan Gruffudd.

Watched part of the Golden Globe Awards with maaseru and maaboroshi. Enjoyed it; the dresses were a lot nicer than those worn for the Oscars. It was fun seeing Liam Neeson. But so many people I don't recognize, and awards for shows I've never seen or (in some cases) heard of - it's a little frustrating too.

Watched Ebert and Roeper do their picks for the worst movies of the year. Ebert's picks for worst was a tie between Troy and Alexander and that got us discussing how some movies aren't so bad, but seem worse because of a disappointment factor - "Troy" and "Alexander" can only be considered bad if you expected them to be better. They aren't even on the same scale of some of those really bad movies. And I loved both Troy and Alexander on a purely visceral level, though I think both were flawed, in different ways.

Listened to the CD that I gave maaseru for Christmas; Il Trovatore, with Andrea Bocelli. Loved it.

Talked to my cousin Bob, who updated me on my father's condition. (Basically, he seems to be okay, but is having trouble walking.) Then I phoned my father. Why is that always so difficult? He was glad I called, and it was a pleasant conversation.