of words and such

I’ve noticed mentions here and there, that Oxford have made freely available, the Australian National Dictionary. As far as I can tell it’s the fulltext of the 1988 edition. I think I have a copy of the print somewhere…it’s hard to say exactly where as almost all of my books are in boxes. One day they will be free again. In the meantime, I seem to be accumulating new additions to my library at a rapid rate. Perhaps having books around me provides a certain degree of comfort; interestingly, and happily, I continue to read at a decent rate.

Albeit a quick read, I just raced through Paul Auster’s Travels in the Scriptorium, which I found a little ho hum and reminiscent of some Golden Age science fiction. Though at the same time I enjoyed his writing and would be interested in his other offerings. This particular one may have been less annoying as a short story rather than a 140 odd page novella. I had been anticipating the new Dessaix, and an interview with Dessaix on the weekend only served to increase my desire. I bought it the following day and the initial pages read well. Just wanted to polish off the Auster before I got stuck into Arabesques properly. I will eventually get round to blogging about the books I bought on my recent trip; I bought a few too many and came perilously close to my luggage limits. In other news of words, the government has been urged to assist in the preservation of indigenous languages.

blade runner

Okey doke, it’s out, The DVDs were due for release today and I was able to secure the 5 disc set in JB Hifi on Tuesday. JB had the best prices I’ve come across, factoring in at $80 (RRP $90) for the standard 5 disc set and $120 (RRP $150) for the limited briefcase edition. Given that the latter was $30 cheaper than I’d anticipated, I was rather tempted. I decided to stick with the standard 5 disc version as I reckon the briefcase would have ended up gathering dust. JB were also selling the single disc version which just has “The Final Cut” for $20. This being the version that Ridley Scott ultimately prefers and has worked toward.

oh bugger!

I have found out, in the last few minutes, that a new version of one my favourtist movies of all time was screening in Sydney. 4 screenings. The fourth, and last, commenced about an hour ago. The movie:

Blade Runner: The Final Cut

Aaaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I am, even now, considering the purchase of the briefcase, ultimate blah blah blah, edition, if only because it seems to be exhaustive, and is now, IIRC, $30-40 cheaper than a few months ago. It’s currently retailing for AUD$150 and I was sure it was around $180-190 previously. No doubt the strength of the aussie dollar against the greenback has played a part, if that’s the case. Whereas the 5 disc version, without the briefcase, is $60 cheaper at $90. Not as big a difference as my initial impression; my memory is probably failing but I don’t think the price for the standard 5 disc version has changed. Whereas the 2 disc variety, containing the new version and other bits, is around $25. There is no argument, I want the 5 disc version. It is Blade Runner afterall. It’s really a question of whether I want the additional trinkets, or am happy with just the dvds. I’m not a big trinket fan, but seriously considering making an exception this time round. Trinkets include:

• a briefcase (not fussed, will gather dust)
• lenticular motion film clip from the original feature (sounds cool)
• miniature origami unicorn figurine (sweet but hmmm)
• miniature replica spinner car (nice)
• collector’s photographs (could be cool and look good on the wall, maybe)
• signed personal letter from Sir Ridley Scott (ho hum, not big on autographs unless I get them in person and even then, not really my scene these days)

Either way, it’s the movie for me. I’m a big fan of the director’s cut, at least in part because I saw it first. With exceptions, fans tend to prefer whichever version they saw first. When the original came out, I really wanted to see it, but missed. Instead dad bought me the book, Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” which blew me away. The film is one of those rare beasts that managed to capture the essence of the book, though it omitted much of the detail. The book inspired for me a love of Philip K. Dick’s work, of which I read several, including some of his best. That in turn led me to Stanislaw Lem, another of my favourite SF writers (though Lem, nor Dick really, is not someone you can restrict to a particular genre though they often wrote within one).