Filler 47

I realise there's been a shortage of actual blogging on this blog lately. I don't think that situation is likely to change very much in the coming weeks, but perhaps a quick catch-up post will serve for now.

Life is mostly dominated by school, which is variably entertaining. My current case essay, on molecular dynamics modelling of HIV treatments, is an exercise in hand-waving tedium; I'm also rather backlogged on case note write-ups here. I may try to get case 10, which is a fun one, out of the way later today; 9 is partly written but bogged down, 11 viewed but not really thought about, and the presentations for the 12th and final case are scheduled for tomorrow and Tuesday.

Most other activities have been considerably reduced in comparison, although a visit from Ian's parents this week prompted a couple of theatrical outings, and of course it was pancake day on Tuesday. Last weekend also broke a couple of droughts, including (alarming to relate) my first cinema outing of the year.

Starting with that, then: The Science of Sleep offers ample opportunity to fall in love with Gael Garcia Bernal, and lots of fantastical imagery rough-hewn from cardboard and crinkly cellophane. I liked it a lot, though it's less coherent than Gondry's previous Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and doesn't really add up to much in the end.

The annual Shrove Tuesday gluttonfest was depleted by the last-minute absence of Devan, but several other usual suspects were rounded up and even Dan briefly contacted thanks to the power of SMS messaging. Large quantities of sugary goodness were consumed and it was all reassuringly familiar. The whole escapade has been going on for so long that several people are getting a little blurry on its history, but I shall choose not to hold that against them :)

The current West End production of Cabaret proved a slightly uncomfortable choice for a parental outing, on account of being rather aggressively sexed-up -- lots of nudity and fetish gear -- but eventually everyone settled down and went with the flow. It's a long time since I saw this show on stage, and it was a lot more random and disconnected than I remember, although it comes together somewhat in the second act. The performances were uneven and a lot of the staging seemed clunky; Javier de Frutos's choreography mixes muscular contemporary dance and glitzy showbiz much less successfully than some of his old solo work, notably Transatlantic. I wouldn't recommend against seeing this, exactly, but it certainly doesn't merit a ringing endorsement.

Friday's viewing of Motionhouse's Driven was more successful. It's over-extended and doesn't really break any new ground from Perfect a couple of years back -- similar high-energy gymnastic dance mixed with video projections and low-altitude aerial work inside a technically-sophisticated but rather claustrophobic box of rigging -- but it's engaging and very watchable. The in-laws enjoyed it too and their visit was rounded off nicely by the walk back across the river on a rather pretty night. (The wheel was red again, for some reason.)

Now, let's see: inherited bacteria...
Posted by matt at February 25, 2007 03:24 PM