"I'll always take the long way home".
Aug. 5th, 2010 11:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
f4f3Lots of updating to do, but only a little time before I flake it.
So, still looking for a new contract, no bites yet, just nibbles.
Went to see Inception on Tuesday. A lot of folk say it's not as clever as it thinks it is. I say it's exactly that clever, and that's not necessarily praise.
It's either a rather stilted caper movie, or a rather sophomoric metaphysical caper movie, and in either case it's curiously uninvolving. I suppose partly this is the curse of mainstream movies covering concepts that became cliches in SF about 40 years ago (I was going to type "30 years ago", but then I remembered that Roger Zelazny's "He Who Shapes" novella came out in about '68, and the novel version, "Dream Master" in about '69. And Zelazny wrote much better dialogue). So there's lots of sub-Jungian waffle, and a have your cake and eat it ending. It isn't terrible, but it has some terrible quarter hours. Fantastic tailoring though. Suits to die for, amazing shirts.
As a PSA, I'm up in the cottage tonight. I took the bus (about 3 1/2 hours for a 90 mile trip) up today so that I can cycle back tomorrow (my bike is here because I cycled up last time and took the car back down). The journey was pretty unremarkable, and a bit unpleasant. For one thing, it cost me £13. That's roughly what it would have cost in petrol for me to drive here. And this was a full buss, with about 50 passengers. Someone is making a lot of money out of the Glasgow - Campbeltown route. For another, I got motion six just before Inverary, bad enough that I was considering getting out there and walking the remaining 26 miles. Luckily we stopped there for 20 minutes, and I grabbed some Rennies, but even so, not pleasant.
Tomorrow, if it's not raining, I'll set off about 8.30 to cycle the 24 miles or so to the ferry just south of Skipness which will take to Arran.
The first 10 miles are not my favourite part of the trip - they're on the A83, which has beautiful views and a lot of traffic, most of it doing over 60 m.ph. The next 14 are a mixture or single carriageway and single track, a bit hilly but a joy to ride. If I miss the 11.00 ferry I get to go to the Skipness Seafood Shack for lunch. Oh boo hoo.
On Arran I'll have about 3 and a half hours to get to the Brodick ferry, either taking the coast road (a bit hilly, 14 miles) or the String - 24 miles across the middle of the Island, more or less following the Highland Fault Line. This would take me up to about 700 metres or so, which is a lot, for me, but it isn't a route I've done before.
I suspect I'll let the weather decide - if it's raining, or if the cloud ceiling is lower than about 500 metres, I'll take the coast road, and spend the extra time having the tour at Lochranza distillery again. I have a softspot for that particular malt. If Arran is, as the cliche has it, Scotland in Minature, then Lochranza is Malt Whisky Distilling in minature. It's an enthusiast's venture, and it shows.
The Brodick ferry gets in at Ardrossan, where I'll jump on the train to Glasgow Central.
If it's raining HERE at 8.30 tomorrow, I'll spend an extra day at the cottage on my own.
So - see you on the other side...
So, still looking for a new contract, no bites yet, just nibbles.
Went to see Inception on Tuesday. A lot of folk say it's not as clever as it thinks it is. I say it's exactly that clever, and that's not necessarily praise.
It's either a rather stilted caper movie, or a rather sophomoric metaphysical caper movie, and in either case it's curiously uninvolving. I suppose partly this is the curse of mainstream movies covering concepts that became cliches in SF about 40 years ago (I was going to type "30 years ago", but then I remembered that Roger Zelazny's "He Who Shapes" novella came out in about '68, and the novel version, "Dream Master" in about '69. And Zelazny wrote much better dialogue). So there's lots of sub-Jungian waffle, and a have your cake and eat it ending. It isn't terrible, but it has some terrible quarter hours. Fantastic tailoring though. Suits to die for, amazing shirts.
As a PSA, I'm up in the cottage tonight. I took the bus (about 3 1/2 hours for a 90 mile trip) up today so that I can cycle back tomorrow (my bike is here because I cycled up last time and took the car back down). The journey was pretty unremarkable, and a bit unpleasant. For one thing, it cost me £13. That's roughly what it would have cost in petrol for me to drive here. And this was a full buss, with about 50 passengers. Someone is making a lot of money out of the Glasgow - Campbeltown route. For another, I got motion six just before Inverary, bad enough that I was considering getting out there and walking the remaining 26 miles. Luckily we stopped there for 20 minutes, and I grabbed some Rennies, but even so, not pleasant.
Tomorrow, if it's not raining, I'll set off about 8.30 to cycle the 24 miles or so to the ferry just south of Skipness which will take to Arran.
The first 10 miles are not my favourite part of the trip - they're on the A83, which has beautiful views and a lot of traffic, most of it doing over 60 m.ph. The next 14 are a mixture or single carriageway and single track, a bit hilly but a joy to ride. If I miss the 11.00 ferry I get to go to the Skipness Seafood Shack for lunch. Oh boo hoo.
On Arran I'll have about 3 and a half hours to get to the Brodick ferry, either taking the coast road (a bit hilly, 14 miles) or the String - 24 miles across the middle of the Island, more or less following the Highland Fault Line. This would take me up to about 700 metres or so, which is a lot, for me, but it isn't a route I've done before.
I suspect I'll let the weather decide - if it's raining, or if the cloud ceiling is lower than about 500 metres, I'll take the coast road, and spend the extra time having the tour at Lochranza distillery again. I have a softspot for that particular malt. If Arran is, as the cliche has it, Scotland in Minature, then Lochranza is Malt Whisky Distilling in minature. It's an enthusiast's venture, and it shows.
The Brodick ferry gets in at Ardrossan, where I'll jump on the train to Glasgow Central.
If it's raining HERE at 8.30 tomorrow, I'll spend an extra day at the cottage on my own.
So - see you on the other side...
