Friday April 22, 2005

Bumble bee blues...

I may be the proud owner of my own Bumble Bee nest. All my garden waste is composted in plastic water butts. Some still have a round hole where the downpipe would have entered the lid. I spotted a Bombus terrestris flying into the butt. Further research indicated that they like to make their nests in dry places and a pile of mown grass can be a tempting favourite. Of course the butt is waterproof and on the top of the rotting material is guess what - lawn clippings. If further investigation means I am the proud owner of a nest I will leave it be until the winter and not subject the butt to a regular turning over of the rotting material to aid composting.

2001 A Space Odyssey

My favourite sci-fi book - quite possibly. Years ago I used to read more sci-fi than I do now. Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov were the two authors I liked most. But 2001 is a classic. I fear I may offend by saying the rest of the series 2010/2061 and 3001 were not as good as the first but I suppose they completed the tale. The idea of the monolith and its bigger brother is an awsome concept and how life on earth was manipulated by these higher beings. The journey by Discovery ( what an apt name for that doomed spaceship ) as Hal becomes more unreliable and paranoid is brilliant. The final words of Bowman as he tumbles into the monolith "My god its full of stars" has you on the edge of your seat.

If the book is excellent the film is just perfect. It complements the book very well (the book of course was written from the screenplay) and even when I see it now it does not seem dated.