Round-up

It's been exceptionally frustrating this past week not being able to access the internet - when one is incommunicado because of remote geography, that is one thing; to be in a Western urban centre where the internet is practically sloshing around is another.  For instance, I was unable to tweet on the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games - that what I saw of it anyway.  I was watching Poseidon Rex on the SyFy Channel and then I channel surfed and came across the last of the teams entering the arena - Malta, Northern Ireland, Wales and finally Scotland; even in a politically neutral event, the organisers in Glasgow still had to emphasise spurious links with the Celtic fringes, England entering somewhat earlier (strangely, the Isle of Man, which is part of the Celtic community was overlooked in this grouping but that's the simplicity of Scots nationalism for you).  I felt the neon-suited dancers incredibly amateurish - a modicum of choreography but essentially many just moved their arms and legs pretty much as they liked, as if they were at some sort of school disco.  Nevertheless, there was a vibrancy and friendliness to that part of the proceedings I saw - for instance, I don't recall any Olympic processions where some athletes sat on the shoulders of others, but then again for teams like Northern Ireland this is their moment in the sun and it was heart-warming to see them enjoy themselves.  I liked Billy Connolly's video-link anecdote about Glasgow's connection to Nelson Mandela, even though Connolly said Mandela was released in 1993, thereby unintentionally incarcerating the South African titan for three years longer than the history books state.  As for the actual Games, it's all passed me by, even though competitors like Jersey and Guernsey are interesting for their exclusion for other international sporting events and hence their uniqueness here.
I wouldn't say it was a great loss that Poseidon Rex took up more of my evening viewing on Wednesday.  It conformed to all the conventions of sci-fi schlock horror (any protagonists, especially beautiful women, that suffer facial lacerations will die; single people are vulnerable, etc.) and the CGI was pretty ropey, the budget extending to only animating the amphibious dinosaur and a couple of its offspring - thus the monster had the effect of a neutron bomb, wiping out people but leaving buildings and forests untouched.  It was all pleasing in a silly way and the producers knew what they were doing when they made the hot blonde woman (who's also a scientific anthropologist, of course) get jiggy with the rogueish main protagonist (she knew single people are vulnerable).  I watched American Dad after the opening ceremony and that episode concluded in a remarkably similar way to Poseidon Rex which I watched no more than a couple of hours earlier - a massive monster emerges from the deep and receives a bazooka straight into the mouth, blowing up the head, the bazooka operator standing in a stationary speedboat - what a coincidence.
Anyway, my internet was fixed on Thursday morning.  On Thursday evening, I went over to some friends' place, stayed longer than I intended, drinking whiskey and latterly vodka. The next day I suffered a moderately severe hangover, was fairly busy at work, came home, ate my dinner, then fell asleep to 1.30am.  And here I am now.