After our Rottnest hell, we treated ourselves to a (discount) movie at Freo cinema on Friday night. We saw Identity, an interesting movie with John Cusack heading a good cast. A bunch of strangers end up at a hotel following a series of coincidences, and they gradually get bumped off by an unknown murderer. Meanwhile a hearing is going on elsewhere to decide the fate of a serial killer. The story twists a little, and I figured out what was going on before it was revealed, so I was happy. The film turns into something more, and less, than a standard bump-em-off killer film. If that sounds like film-review rubbish, don't worry - it means nothing. Three and a half stars.
In the nice Bunbury YHA the nice man let us watch a DVD (joy!) for free (double joy!) We watched The Mothman Prophecies. This is supposedly based on actual events, but seems so far fetched as to make that claim a hindrance to your (my) enjoyment. A bunch of US yokels making some odd claims would be ignored if it weren't for the presence of a Washington Post reporter. Would have been interesting to watch the DVD "doco" (as they're called here). Two and a half stars.
As for books, I've had less time to read. In part this is because I've been home to the UK, but in part it's because we've been busy and there's more to see in the south-west. I read the two Douglas Adams Dirk Gentley novels: Dirk Gentley's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Souls. I'd not read these since I was a teenager, and it was good to read them again. I like his writing a lot, but I didn't think the second of these two tales was his best. Still enjoyable.
I then read Jared Diamond's sciencey book, Why Is Sex Fun? This is an interesting look at the odd sex-life of humans (compared to animals) and what it says about our evolution. It's a short book (160 pages) and worth a look. Last year I read the author's book Gun's Germs and Steele, which is a really good look at why agriculture and advanced societies evolved where they did. That book's harder going, but recommended too.
Now I'm reading the second volume of Spike Milligan's war memoirs - the oddly titled 'Rommel?' 'Gunner who?' Like the first, it's odd but fun.