Firstly, I’d just like to follow-up my last post with one more random thing about emoticons (otherwise known as smileys): Dave Barry’s Emoticons. It’s an extract from one of his books. Some of them are incredibly random, and very funny. I quite like this one: :-D* Which apparently means, “Person laughing so hard that he or she does not notice that a 5-legged spider is hanging from his or her lip”.
In other news, I have a couple of reviews for you! Firstly, ‘Company’ by Max Barry. I don’t believe I mentioned this before, so I’ll mention it now. I’ve been reading Max Barry’s Blog for a couple of years (I started in my third year at university, when I was introduced to NationStates (I believe I mentioned it here the first time). I’ve long since stopped playing the game, but I’ve kept reading the blog… I really like Max’s style. It’s a bit like Scott Adams in that he’s humorous and quite random at times, but the difference is he seems to be a genuinely nice guy (Scott Adams’ blog recently hasn’t exactly enamoured him to me. But that’s another story).
The book is currently not in a UK edition, but you can buy the US edition which has been imported (mine arrived pretty quickly). Anyway. I finished reading it on Friday night… I actually stayed up late just to read it to the end. It’s a very good read, it kept me engrossed for a few hours, and it’s definitely entertaining! It’s basically a corporate satire, but goes into some interesting ethical questions. You can find more information on Max Barry’s website.
The other review I have is, I went to see the University of Essex choir sing Mozart’s Requiem at Charter Hall in Colchester (handily, about ten minutes walk away from where I live). It was really good! The Requiem is a beautiful piece of music, and the choir sang really well. The soloists all sang well, and the London Handel Orchestra played well. So all in all a good performance! I enjoyed it immensely, as I do whenever I go and see the UoE choir – they come highly recommended by me!
One thing I noticed at the end was – the female soloists were both given flowers. The male soloists weren’t given anything. I contend this is inherently sexist and unfair, and I propose that the male soloists get given a token gift upon the completion of a performance. Maybe flowers, maybe something else… let’s throw it open! What should male soloists be given at the end of a performance? Answers on a postcard (or you could e-mail me or leave a comment…)
Leave a Reply