Nov 30 2008
Nov 29 2008
Just watched the last episode of The Shield… spoilers follow:
Damn… pretty hardcore, yet real. A lot of big moments, but it stayed in the right realm of reality for the show. Vic sort of does get away with it, and yet his life is destroyed. His family hates him and is gone, his team is gone, dead or betrayed, and he’s trapped in a new job that is virtually a jail.
And in a lot of ways he’s ended up like this because of his complete lack of morality. He still can’t see what he’s done as wrong, and he still can’t change. Shane was a screw-up and gutless, but at the same time, his actions at the end, while truly awful, were the actions of a man with a really guilty conscience. Someone who, if nothing else, at least knew how wrong his actions were.
But damn, that final act of his was the sickest and saddest thing in the whole episode. There’s really no sympathy for someone who kills their whole family like that, no matter the situation. Shane was gutless, but he knew he was guilty.
And damn, didn’t they all work to give Vic a taste of guilt. Ronny got it in the end, taken down because of his own blind loyalty. That’s what he got for trusting Vic for all those years. For a while it looked as if Ronny might be the one to get away, but he went in even further with Vic at the end, and paid for it.
As for the rest of the characters, life goes on for them, for the most part. Claudette is sick and getting sicker, but she’s always been tthe moral centre of the show, and she showed that. When she couldn’t get Vic in any other way, she at least made sure the scorn of the rest of the Barn, and the shock of Ronnie’s arrest was rubbed in. Dutch was briefly troubled, but even he got his guy — the teen serial killer — with some satisfaction. Dutch is a little awkward, but he was always the good cop, like Claudette.
As a finale, it matches up pretty well. It ended things where it needed to, and kept things broad and open in some places. Vic had the talent to survive, and the luck, so it made sense the way it went down. But he’d burned too many bridges to make it all go his way. It’s deliberately Shakespearean in the way it went, and the horrors of Shane’s end are offset by Vic’s coldness. Shawn Ryan, as writer for this last episode handled it pretty well, with some deliberate fireworks but also some quiet reflection. Clark Johnson directed with the style he established in the pilot, and also contributed a cameo that had me recalling his time on Homicide in the 90s, as the cop that takes Corinne and the family to their new lives.
I’ve been reading a lot this week how The Shield has been criminally underrated and ignored for years now, and if that’s true, it’s a real shame. The Shield has been consistently one of the best dramas, and certainly the best crime drama, on TV for years. Easily the best cop show this decade (matching with Homicide:LOTS in the ’90s) and one of the best dramas fullstop.
A worthy ending to the series, and one to savour.
Nov 28 2008
Nov 27 2008
Nov 26 2008
Nov 25 2008
We headed back home today, for what seemed originally like a mammoth drive, but now the more I do it, actually seems surprisingly easy.
It’s always an early start up on the farm, so with everything packed, we left just about 9.30am. Just 40 minutes into Coona and we stopped for a walk and some shopping. The fact there’s no bookshop in town left me with some interesting thoughts, but after farewelling Sallie’s Mum at the family history shop, we hopped in the car for the two and a bit hours to Mudgee, for our lunch stop.
This time we went all out on lunch, eating at one of the nice cafes on the major street across from Big W. Big W is still a mandatory visit for Will, even though we have one up the road in Sydney now. But I’m further reminded that Guitar Hero: World Tour is $50 cheaper here for the full pack than anywhere else, and since I really want it at Christmas time, this is the place to get it 
Lunch was good but expensive, and then we spent some time in a big local park, with a really excellent play area.
The kids loved this one, and with the ramps it’s accessible even for Alex, so top marks there. Back on the road, and it’s only three hours home, and we even had a small stop at Lithgow for a coffee fuel-up.
All round a nice little trip, with a good hire car — a Ford Explorer — so it was bigger, handled well, and had way more room than usual. Now back to the usual daily programming here
Nov 24 2008
Pretty quiet day again today. We didn’t leave the main farm area, but instead we spent a large part of the day over at Tom and Kylie’s place, where Will and Alex played with Millie and Emma for a while, I played a little Wii gaming (first time in a little while), and we just enjoyed ourselves.
Will’s getting right into Lazytown, which is another one for the Christmas list, and they’re both really enjoying so much hanging out with their cousins. It’s not just fun for them, it’s beneficial as well, and you can’t deny that. It makes the holidays even more worth it really. And being up here is relaxing, even though conventional wisdom might tell you that hanging out with your in-laws shouldn’t be. It is relaxing up here, and I’m glad of that.
And the possibility of moving out somewhere like this soon enough does seem closer, at least when you’re experiencing it directly.
Nov 23 2008
Just a real relaxation day today. Went into Coona to see the Sunday markets. Somehow I take a little money out intending it to last until we go home, but instead spend most of it this morning. It was on presents for everyone else of course, and various food. Spent some time in the park with the kids until Will got worried about the giant geese there, which I could see his point, but as usual he was a bit over the top about it. But he did enjoy the slide immensely while we were there.
And damn, it was cold today — crazy cold, like Winter again. Even snowed in many parts of the state. Ridiculous stuff for late November. Is this going to be another rubbish Summer, weather wise? Worse than last year even?
I haven’t written much this weekend… doubtful I’ll do 50,000 words by the end of the month. But I don’t care really — if it takes me 6 weeks to hit that number, that’s still brilliant, and it’s still such an extraordinarily larger total that I’ve managed in practicaly the last 6 years. This NanoWriMo thing is a triumph even if I can’t fit the total… if it gets my work practices going again and making me productive, I win anyway (not to mention the eeePC helping that too.)
Not even sure if the story I’m on is working right, but again that doesn’t matter. Instead of spending 8 months jus thinking about it (which I spent half this year doing), I spend 4-6 weeks writing, then see if it works right there, and get the writing practice regardless of whether it works or not. If it works, great, if not, I just move on to a different project. won’t write it off yet, as I know it needs a tonne of editing after this first draft anyway.
It’s such a good process to actually be making this work (as in just producing pages, regardless of final product), so that counts for almost everything right now.
Nov 22 2008
We’re having Christmas early this year, or at least Christmas 1. That’s why we’re here, and it was quite the thing to have a big Christmas lunch with family, and present giving with five little kids.
Will got a cool Cars laptop thing that I would have got him next month otherwise — he’s playing with similar things as kindy. Alex got some more toys. I bought a Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver for cousin Millie — she’s just older than Will but she’s a big Doctor Who fan. The glee with which she’s taken to it would just amaze old Who fans.
And by arrangement, Sallie and I finally managed to get ourselves Wii Fit, which should open up a whole new thing for us. Good stuff.
Lots and lots of food today, especially Christmas pudding, and oddly enough, lots of really cold weather. Strange, wintery wind, and a cold night. For late November. Very odd.
Then I go and finish the night by watching Full Metal Jacket on SBS. Creepy and harsh stuff, but you know it’s good.
Nov 21 2008
Day off work today, and we’re heading away for nearly a week. Off to Sallie’s parent’s place in the country, for an extended family get together, basically for an early Christmas gathering.
So that’s a day driving, three days of relaxing fun, then another day’s driving. Not too bad really. The driving isn’t even too bad, with basically three hours to Mudgee, then two hours break for lunch and shops, then three more hours to the farm. Will had a really good time at the MccDonald’s play area, so much so that he hardly wanted to eat. Which might actually be a good thing, but we really had to eat something, and during road trips is one of the few occasions we happily tolerate Maccas for the kids.
But the play area was so good for Will. It’s a narrow but very tall maze thing, where you climb and explore and slide down and start again. At first Will wanted me to help him climb up the start, but after a while it was so good to see him get it himself… then do it again and again… and not want to come back
We we got to sallie’s parents, Will cousins are there. Millie and Emma are similar ages, but they only see each other twice a year at best. So as soon as will, and Alex too, arrived, they were tearing around, excited and crazy. Alex attacked every sliding door in the house, while will was keen to make as much noise as possible.
But on the good side, Will is immediately eating better, and Alex seems to want to communicate more. These family get togethers always exposes them both to other kids and family, and that’s always a good thing. They pick up more, and just get to do a lot more with their cousins that they otherwise don’t get to see too often. Good stuff.