i am watching field of dreams

How did I ever avoid this film until tonight? I didn't even know it was on tonight until a couple of hours ago...

'My father's name was John Kinsela?' But that's a well-known Australian poet's name.

This is like a film about baseball or something. I don't have a clue about baseball except what I have gleaned from bits I am not interested about in American drama and comedy.

OK so we just got through the preamble about Kevin Costner's character's life up to the age of 36. Oh my god we have only just begun and already he's heard the voice. I figured there would be a whole lot of background drama first... no... we even got it twice. Lame. He's out in the cornfield and shit... it happened a third time. My first point of interest is how many lights Ray and his family leave on in the house when they're not in it. The second one is he drinks milk, which is something I can never really take when it comes to adult men, but then, I haven't drunk milk since about the time this film was made. He's heard the voice about 5 times now. I am glad I saw this film anyway because I always thought it was 'if you build it they will come', but it's '...he will come.' Are they really listening to the Lovin' Spoonful over dinner? I mean, nice idea, but odd. I guess they're supposed to be sixties people. Shoeless Joe. Who cares.

'I wanna build that field... d'you think I'm crazy?' God that woman's face when she says he should do it! How on earth is it spontaneity to do something a voice tells you to do?

How come the vision was for a baseball field next to the house, but he's demolished the cornfield in some other part of the property?

How on earth is it spontaneity to be obsessed about someone called Shoeless Joe? Is Costner going to get reconciled with his dead father or something? Where did he get the money to do this? 'We used up all our savings on that field, Ray'. What a dork. This film is totally improbable. Is it going to be over in 25 mins? Because he's come. What the hell else happens in this film? Does Ray buy a pony or something?

Now Joe Jackson has shown up, and he's not singing about any dirty martini. This film is so preposterous. I remember when it came out, people used to say it was preposterous, but great nonetheless. I think it might have been too long in my consciousness, so I have no pleasant surprises here, so far it has been pretty much all what everyone said.

panel of judges

...at the New Estate album launch last night, as seen by someone who died on the dance floor and was ascending when they took this picture

this is also brilliance

So I am going to do a chapter on Small World Experience in my rock book. I have no regrets - mind you I haven't done it yet. But I mean christ, they weren't even mentioned in Pig City!!! And they are/were (whatever) one of the best bands ever.

ponderin'

So much to catch up on diary. Batrider were really good last Friday - they are amazingly tight these days and either they have a style all their own or, I'm just not up on things. I suspect they do have a style all their own. It's both hilarious and chillin'. Mum Smokes didn't sound as great as the previous week. It happens. Suze bought me a felafel and Mia a (oh that'll never be easy to say, luckily I'm writing it) kebab. What a generous soul. I was to take her and Toby to the collectables fair in Camberwell on Sunday but they were 'tired'. I'm not using those inverted commas to imply they actually had better things to do, just quotin'.

At the collectables fair - actually a mega record fair with a few Star Wars figurines and ba-a-a-a-d comics - I got the following: Australian Crawl's Sirocco for only $2; Jethro Tull's This Was for only $3 (cool album); Mississippi's self-titled and only album for, well, $15 (I figured if it had one song half as good as 'Kings of the world' on it, it'd be worth it, but, well, side two doesn't, I'm looking forward to one day hearing side one); Roxy Music's Flesh and Blood; Phil Manning's I wish there was a way (which I note some pedant has titled on the spine, 'I wish there were a way'; Queen's A day at the races (I've wanted a copy of that for thirty years, now I'll wait thirty more to play it), a Polish prog album one song per side keyboard whiz it would seem; that's all I can recall at the moment though I am sure there were more (I've put them away now, never to be seen again). Oh, and the Bay City Rollers' 'Rock and roll love letter', which is just an amazing single.

I think that's about it. I'm looking forward to Easter. How about you?