The Week in Entertainment

DVD: a bit more News Radio - the last season wasn't as funny as the other four, but to be fair the loss of Phil Hartman had to hurt. Patrick Warburton is one very funny man, though.

TV: Doctor Who! What's going on with Saxon and the election, hmmmm? And will Martha's mother ever get to like him? I got around to watching Flash Gordon ... very ordinary. And what is it with SciFi and their taking old shows and turning major male characters female? Plus, this Zarkov is pathetic. Also watched an old Spencer Tracy-Frank Sinatra movie called The Devil at 4 O'Clock - impressions here.

Read: Well, I'm not sure it counts as entertainment, but I read Glenn Greenwald's new book - A Tragic Legacy. His depiction of Bush as "a Manichean warrior" seems spot on, and is scary. I defy you to read chapter 4 and not be frightened. Impeachment now! I then took a break and galloped through Chamomile Mourning and The Jasmine Moon Murder (yes, I picked up all six at once); they remain okay, though Childs has awkward syntax and odd breaks in POV every now and then (note: when you're inside Theodosia's head, don't say "she fixed Jory with a winning smile" - it really makes her sound calculating!), and a quick little read called Plato and a Platypus Walked Into a Bar - philosophy through jokes. I'm now embarked on the Russian translation of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather and so far (I got to about page 12) it's an excellent job, full of fun translations - like Санта-Хрякус (Santa-Khryakus) for Hogfather - khryak is a boar, and the 'santa' plus the -us catch the 'Father Christmas' analogy; Чудакулли (Chudakulli) for Ridcully - Chudak is an eccentric and Ridcully suggests 'ridiculous'; and then Чайчай (Chaichai) for Teatime - with Тчайтчай (Tchai-Тchai) for his "Teh-ah-ti-meh" pronunciation of his name.