Things I Did Yesterday 06/01/10

Sat in Starbucks by Tottenham Court Road watching the snow come down. Holy shit, it's 2010! Anyway, yesterday I:

- Got up a little late. Had the day off, as I really wanted to have at least one extra day off over the Christmas/New Year period. Glad I did, though I always feel vaguely guilty when I take an extra day off. Silly.

- Twiddled about on the internet for a bit.

- Headed down to Angel to go see A Serious Man, the new Coen brothers film. While I certainly enjoyed watching it, the ending felt a little abrupt. Without spoiling anything, I’ve no problem with a film that requires a little thought to interpret it’s intent, but I do find it a little disappointing when the narrative leaves quite so many things hanging. I guess the point is the character arc Larry takes to make the decision he does. But even so, it makes for a slightly disappointing experience. Mustn’t grumble, though. There’s plenty to enjoy, especially in the too-brief, scene-stealing appearances of Fred Melamed as Sy Ableman, a bastard in sheep’s clothing. It does a wonderful job of evoking the time, as well, not to mention the ordered, bleached ennui of the suburbs. So worth a watch, and certainly still within the realms of what you would expect from the Coens, light years away from the mediocrity of Intolerable Cruelty or The Ladykillers, which have thankfully turned out to be missteps rather than directions.

- Came home and did some domestic this’n’that.

- Played some Xbox. Had the distinct pleasure on Dragon Age of getting past a fight which had me stuck for a couple of days, only to careen into another. Frustrating. Shot some zombies instead.

- Made a lamb casserole which was delicious enough that I feel the need to mention it here.

- Watched an episode of Michael Palin’s Sahara which happened to be on TV. I thought I had seen all of his travel programs, including this one. Turns out I was wrong. Must track the rest of it down.

- Watched an episode of True Blood then hit the sack. Enjoying the various story threads running through this season, and I admire the juggling being done to fit them all in. One thing I will say about this season: it feels more like x-rated Buffy than ever.