Book #393: The Meaning Of Everything (Simon Winchester, 2003)
An unlikely book for me to like. I'm the kind of person who can't be bothered to use a dictionary. If I read a word I don't understand I simply try to infer the meaning from context and continue right along.
I guess that's what makes this story so fascinating. For 71 years, a whole slew of people skipped nothing: they spent their lives tracking down every word in the english language which included not just its meaning but also its origin.
Actually, kind of fun.
Note: anyone in Vancouver can browse the OED free of charge with a valid library card
Movie #1837: Blast Of Silence (1961, Allen Baron)
Cheapy hit man movie made in New York City on a shoestring budget. Most of it was done using voiceover and the strange thing is the guy doing the voiceover sounds just like Lionel Stander. Even stranger is it turns out it was actually Lionel Stander - he'd been blacklisted by Hollywood so he was taking any work he could get.
The whole thing was very effective but unfortunately Mr Baron was lured to Hollywood and ended up making TV junk like Love Boat and Love American Style.
Movie #1838: UHF (1989, Jay Levey)
Long string of gags. Some are a bit humourous but after a while it starts getting very old. Avoid.
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