Look, look, there it is!

I've read several books and things since we last spoke. Distress is impressive. The author's voice comes through with a clear view of the world, and one that is similar to my own. Often I snort derisively at the TV, films and sometimes books. Egan's work has the opposite effect, I find that I'm reading the kind of book I'd write if I had the talent.

I watched Easy Rider with Matt and Bill. Matt mentioned that it was one of the first films to use the 'lens flare' technique. At first I didn't quite know what he meant, so the first bit of the film was taken up by him saying, 'look, look, there it is!', and then after I'd got it, I started exclaiming, 'look, look, there it is!' whenever it appeared.

I'd been meaning to read Norman Mailer for some time. Ever since I saw him in some old footage of a debate with Germain Greer in fact. The Gospel According to the Son is probably not a typical Mailer. I like the way that Mailer's Jesus has private doubts, but I did find the miracles and talking to God and the devil a bit hard to accept. He did get the biblical tone right.

The Baader-Meinhoff Complex is, I understand, a controversial film. What the Baader-Meinhoff gang did was wrong. Why? On a formal level I'd say it's wrong because they broke the letter and spirit of the law in a democracy. Do I think the laws against blowing people up are right? Yes. I believe the laws maximize the aggregate freedom of the citizens.