Moab Is My Washpot by Stephen Fry

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Normally autobiographies are not top of my reading list, or anywhere around the middle or bottom either for that matter. However, I am rather fond of Stephen Fry - television presenter / actor so I picked this up before jumping on a plane back from the UK to LA. That was two months ago and I have finally finished it. That should reflect more on my ability to sit down and read a good book than the book itself.

Fry mostly addresses his childhood and teen years which were largely spent at public schools in England. His tales are a fascinating inside look at the public school’s of Britain, although he does have a tendency to go off at a tangent and waffle on at times. Who doesn’t though? I find it a rather charming character flaw myself.

In fact I found myself liking Fry even more than I did previously - the kind of chap you’d like to have a beer with, but definitely not a game of Trivia Pursuit.

View all my reviews.

Video I took during my weekend in Big Bear - didn’t see any bears.

Another one of my favourite weddings featured on the (sanity giving) blog Off Beat Bride! Thank heavens for this site.

Check out Laura and Dave’s Karaoke wedding and what she has to say about the whole process. I think ““YouGotta’s” is the best expression yet for the way people get Wedding Nazi on you.

We are off to Big Bear this weekend.. never been before. Excited but hoping it will not be like the John Candy movie The Great Outdoors.

The most important thing that has happened to me in the last two weeks is the lead up to the season finale of Doctor Who. I am beside myself waiting for this week’s episode which will be the second from last which airs on July 5th in the UK. Sci Fi channel watchers will have to wait until till 3 weeks after that to see it.

I am fortunate enough to have Slingbox which enables me to watch it as it airs in the UK so we are going to have a little geek party next week at my friend’s house.. I can not wait. I actually can’t remember being as excited about anything since Christmas as a kid. No actually that’s a second to this.

So I do not spoil it for anyone the next couple of weeks days will be devoted to Doctor Who posts… mostly favourite things from Youtube.com so I apologise if you are not a fan. Kinda. ha.

Do not click here if you don’t want more spoilers. WM that means you.

I like television as anyone who reads this blog with know. I think at heart I am a frustrated Television programmer.. seriously getting to decide what’s on telly for a living - I don’t think there is a better job than that.

What is particularly interesting to me is when they take a successful UK show and change it for an American audience and vice versa.  The problem is TV execs seem to think we can not possibly watch straight imported shows because we the dumb audience wouldn’t get it. From experience this for the most part is bollox. I have watched numerous UK shows with my American boyfriend who aside from the odd really old cultural reference he gets what’s going on and what everyone is talking about. There are times we watch stuff and I have to explain and vice versa.. but that’s not a big deal really is it?! 

I think British audiences generally hate it when an American version is made and balk at the idea any UK show could be twisted and ‘ruined’ for a US audience. I disagree. The USA version of The Office was far better in my opinion that the UK one - why? Because Steve Carrell’s character Michael Scott the office manager added a totally different dynamic to the show than Ricky Gervais’s. Carrell’s Michael Scott you feel a little bit sorry for, and think what a idiot he is - Gervais’s David Brent you want to brain with your stapler because he makes you want to crawl inside yourself with embarrassment. Incidentally there is now a French, German, French Canadian, and Chilean version of The Office now.

What started all this off was the fact coming this fall (autumn) to ABC is a US version of one of my favourite shows Life on Mars. The trailer for US and UK versions are below so you can see for yourself.

I am a little aprehensive about the US version of Life on Mars from the trailer. 

The original. If you can find it on BBC America who showed the episodes haphazardly then I highly recommend it. 

It looks kind of crap. It could be the naff voice over. I am trying to think of successful remakes of US > UK and vice versa shows. I can only think of Steptoe and Son (UK version) which was called Sanford and Son here in the US, and of Who’s The Boss? (US) which was remade into The Upper Hand in the UK. Can you think of any more?

Sadly its a f**king mad world we live in. I was dumbstruck on the way to work to hear about the British parliament tossing aside the Magna Carta (what’s almost 800 years of history anyway?!) and saying its perfectly acceptable to lock people up for 42 days without any real reason. But not to worry because if they lock you up by ‘mistake’ you’ll get some cash compensation. Oh that’s ok then Gordon - why not round it up to a nice 50 then?!

Seriously are they going to build a Guantanamo bay style prison on the Isle of Wight next?! 

Today is a landmark for two reasons.

1. I have lost some weight! Yay. I know because now I can get into the ‘Close Guantanamo Bay’ t-shirt I purchased some time ago from the American Civil Liberties Union.

2. The day I decide to wear said t-shirt this happens. A step in the right direction. We’ll close it! Oh yes we will. Sign the petition today.