Tome Time - The Death of a Mafia Don by Michele Giuttari

Started August 21st, finished August 24th
This is my favourite so far of this author's books.  Either he is getting better or I'm getting more accustomed to his style.
This is a very Italian crime novel.  Looking into the Mafia and what surrounds them.  The author is still enjoying planting the character he seems to write himself as at the centre of everything in the world he's created.  This irritated me less in this book than the others.  Described these books could sound very similar to the Brunetti series.  In reality I'd say they're very different.  I see this author as an Alpha Male describing himself as he sees himself in these books.  The other characters aren't as well described but that doesn't really cause me problems.
I found this a good story I rolled through quite easily.  I found the final chapters a tad fantastic but I let it go.  The bit I found most irritating was the the consequences of the final chapters wasn't ever looked into.  Maybe in the next book?  This is a fun crime story that can't be read with a critical eye.  Just roll with it.  I wouldn't advise reading this without reading the book prior to this though A Death in Tuscany, as that forms the backbone of a lot of this book.
3.5 pawprints out of 5
Next - The Haunting of Gad's Hall by Norah Lofts

Britfilm - The Inbetweeners Movie (no spoilers)

In the last few months I discovered The Inbetweeners.  I was very late to the party but glad I got on board.  The first series was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.  We got through the entire series in one night.  I can't remember that many belly laughs in one evening before.  Series two was also hilarious but seemed just a touch less funny.  Still brilliant though.  Series three I enjoyed but didn't feel it was as good as the first two.

I was therefore wondering what I'd get with the film.  Would it be a step too far?  Would taking the lads out of England lose the charm or would a 'lad's holiday' give them the material they needed to get the original spark back?

Well, I suppose it was a bonus that they had a new environment to focus on.  With all the 'traditions' they could use from a lads holiday.

I found the film very enjoyable and I laughed a lot.  Mr Meks felt slightly let down by the predictable parts but I took them as usual in this kind of film.  This is no cinematic masterpiece, it's just a fun watch.  In fact it's pretty much what you'd expect to see from The Inbetweeners on holiday.  It's predictable in parts.  Some of the storylines are believable some aren't.  

I'm not sure how I'd have found the film without knowing the characters from the tv series.  You'd still find parts laugh out loud I imagine but I don't think it would be as good a watch.

Will I ever watch this again?  Probably, when it's on Channel 4.  It's not one I'd go out and buy though.  I can't see what could be gained by a re-watch.  It definitely entertained me and I got my money's worth from the trip to the cinema though.

4 out of 5 pawprints.

Tome Time - Dr Who and the Daleks by David Whittaker

Started August 15th, finished August 19th.
This is a read-along with Paul's Target blogging.  It is also the first of the re-released Target novels.  It's teh only one I've bought so far but I'll probably pick more up in time.  Paul gives a good overview of the new editions here.
I remember the weird feeling I had when I first saw the Dr Who story The Daleks.  A strange sense of deja vu.  It took my weak brain a while to figure out why this was.  then it dawned on me.  My childhood viewings of the Cushing films.  I hadn't realised they were lifted from original, unseen by me, scripts.  
I was wary of what I would make of the book from the dual viewing of one story already.  I am a fan of teh second Cushing film but not so much the first.  Even the foreword by Neil Gaiman couldn't ready me for what I found between the pages.  I found the rewriting of the opening scenes off-putting enough.  The real killer for me though was the new Ian Chesterton.  I love Ian Chesterton I don't want him changed by an annoying Roy Castle or a writer who's fiddling.  The revamped Ian and especially his 'will they, won't they?' with a temperamental Barbara was very distracting throughout the tale.  It did neither character any favours if you ask me.  I couldn't understand why the Doctor was sidelined for Ian.  It was a bit like a prior Rose Tyler Show.
The Daleks story is quite long and drawn out.  The 'journey' parts do quite well here, better than the tv or film, at making it seem like a journey.  I just couldn't get into the story though.  The narrative from Ian put me off as well.  I can't understand the Thals reasoning for not taking a stand.  I'm surprised they've evolved at all if that's their viewpoint.  This book is not a highpoint in the Target universe for me.
As for this edition.  It does add something to the books when you get to read about famous DW fans for the Target novels.  I am immensely fond of them and I like to see them praised.  Although Gaiman's intro was hardly going to win over new readers on its own.  I couldn't think what was missing from my copy.  Until I read Paul's blog, it was the Target logo.  I imagine no-one wants to put a defunct and not their own logo on a book.  It would have been nice to see it though :-(  The explanation of the story at the end was useful.  How it put into perspective the aired version vs the novel.  Unfortunately it was a bit of a grind finishing the story so I was weary by the time I got to that.  
All in all, I'm glad teh books have been reprinted.  I won't be reading this one again any time soon though.  I wonder what they've done with Doctor Who and the Cybermen.......
2.5 pawprints out of 5
Next The Death of a Mafia Don by Michele Giuttari

I miss Ice Magic

One of the fond memories I have of my childhood is Bird's Ice Magic.  It was the perfect Ice Cream topping.  It used science! to make a chocolate sauce that went hard due to the coldness of your ice cream.  You could then crack it with a spoon or if you were really adventurous....  Stir it, really quickly into your ice cream creating your own version of choc-chip.  It came in a cool upside down cone bottle.  The lid then looked like some Ice magic that had been squirted onto ice cream.

The different colours for different flavours.  Chocolate, Chocolate Mint and Chocolate Orange are the ones I can remember.

A Google search suggests that you can get hold of a product called Ice Magic but it's bloody dear and critically, comes in a boring bottle with a flip top lid.

Bird's Ice magic also had a very cool advert for a kid.  The 80's were mainly crappy but there were a few stand out stars.

Yeah, I know that it wasn't the perfect item to live in the cold North West with.  But, you could always run it under the hot tap to get it out of the bottle ;-)

Apes will rise?

NO SPOILERS

I was looking forward to seeing this.  Hearing Andy Serkis interviewed and his enthusiasm for it helped a lot.  The trailer made it look very good and exciting.  The original film is a classic.

The film looked great.  The apes looked fantastic but it isn't new technology anymore, I expected it to be good.  Technically there was nothing wrong with the film for me.  It had Brian Cox, always a bonus.  John Lithgow gave a great performance, heartbreaking.  James Franco was ok.  Didn't rate him, didn't hate him.

The message of the film is pretty sledgehammer.  Nevertheless it struck a nerve with me.  I found the opening scene upsetting.  It's very clever for setting up how you should feel for the rest of the film.  If none of the film is subtle it still worked on me.  Which is unusual, slamming a message into my face usual shuts my empathy down.

My huge problem with the film was its predictability.  You knew what was going to happen and when.  Making the majority of the film drag and drag.  There was an awful lot of stuff you knew was coming for the last payoff of the last 10 minutes.  

I did enjoy the last ten minutes.  Even though they were as predictable as the rest of the film at least there was some excitement.  It ends plausibly for the original film to then come into being.

There are many nods to the original film.  Some clever, some not so clever and one that took me out of the moment.  I missed a few.  Luckily Wikipedia has a nice list of them.

All in all, I couldn't fault the cast.  It looked great.  The apes were much better than I expected.  The predictability was what ruined it for me.  I was bored for a lot of it.  There wasn't a plot point you couldn't see coming.  I can't see me ever sitting through it again.

2.5 pawprints out of 5

Food Standards Agency Ratings - How clean are your favourite establishments???

I found a link to this via the Manchester Confidential mailout.

I have found it totally addictive.  The Food Standards Agency has put the results of its inspections online.  You can find your local cafe, restaurant, pub and more to see how clean their facilites were when they were inspected.  The scores range from zero to five.  Zero being 'Urgent Improvement Necessary'  and Five 'Very Good'.

I had a good scout around my regular haunts.  Some of the results were quite offputting.  I won't be eating in some of them again.  Luckily though quite a lot scored 4 or 5.

The visits range from very recent to 2 years ago. I'm not sure how often food supplying businesses are checked.

Below is an explanantion.  Go on you know you want to check your local!  http://ratings.food.gov.uk/AdvancedSearch.aspx  This works for England and Wales.  The Scottish have a similar scheme though.

The food safety officer inspecting a business checks how well the business is meeting the law by looking at:

• how hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored
• the condition of the structure of the buildings – the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
• how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe

At the end of the inspection, the business is given one of the six ratings. The top rating of ‘5’ means that the business was found to have ‘very good’ hygiene standards. Any business should be able to reach this top rating.

The food safety officer will explain to the person who owns or manages the business what improvements are needed and how they can achieve the top rating of '5'. The local authority will check that these improvements are made.

Tome Time - Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich

Started August8th, finished August 14th.  312 pages.

I borrowed this one from the local library after heating the author interviewed.  Much was made of his writing the books behind 21 and The Social Network.  I quite enjoyed 21 but can't say it shook me in any way.  I still haven't seen The Social Network.  This book sounded more up my street.

It is the story of a NASA intern who steals a quantity of Moon Rocks.  Now the title should have been a giveaway.  It's gratuitous to say the least.  In the interview the author had defended this saying it wasn't his idea.  Maybe not mate but you still used it.  His style of writing is very sensational.  Even when the story isn't really that exciting.  I couldn't gel with his style.  It didn't help that one chapter never flowed to the next there was always a jump in time and often tone between the end of one and the start of the next.

THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW, rollover to view.

I think the author wants us to sympathise with the subject of the book.  I couldn't.  No, not even his fear for his life and his pretty awful upbringing made me empathise with him.  He's a pretty shitty character really.  Builds his future on his wife's work.  Cheats on wife.  States how he presents a false face to everyone he meets at NASA because he wants to be someone else.  Abuses everyone's trust at NASA who are giving him chances a lot of people would kill for.  Claims it's all for love.  Packs in his teaching of other inmates in prison because he's had 'his heart broken'.  Destroys a man's life work.  This man is a self centred romanticist with a nasty lack of conscience.  The real clincher is the lack of remorse I find between the pages.  I'd describe him as a total French roof.

END OF SPOILERS

Don't believe the hype on the cover.  Be put off by the unnecessary gratuitousness of the title.  Look the story of Thad Ryan Roberts up on t'interwebs if you have an interest.  The part of how they pulled off the heist is not going to make a very tense film.  They'll need lots of ominous soundtrack.

2 out of 5 pawprints

Next - Doctor Who and the Daleks by David Whittaker