The El 'N' Gee was to New London like the Rat was to Boston. This is the same location but its not really the same place. The original closed down and reopened as a rave/all ages hangout which then changed its name back to the original. Most touring bands playing between New York and Boston had a slew of other more popular venues to play i.e. Toad's in New Haven, the Agora in Hartford, the Living Room in Providence and so on. So only a few 'name' bands actually chose to stop in New London. We did see some great shows though. The Breeders, Social Distortion, Rev. Horton Heat, the Bosstones (2 nights in a row), and a Quiet Riot reunion tour were just some of the highlights.

Anyway saw some flicks recently due to someone's current obsession with James Bond aka Daniel Craig. Layer Cake was pretty good and they have been playing it a LOT on cable. We also saw Sylvia with Craig as poet Ted Hughes, movie was better than I expected. Paltrow was good and also along with her role in Proof seems to be quite adept at playing 'crazy'.

Last night we watched a Starz production Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride, a documentary on Hunter S. Thompson. It was very uneven. Not surprisingly it focused on the films made about him Where the Buffalo Roam (great job by Peter Boyle and it's sad to see him go) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. However it tended to repeat portions of its interviews as if the audience would not remember seeing the same clips earlier in the film. There are some great interviews with Depp, Murray and other actors that were drawn to HST as well as footage and clips of the man himself. Overall its worth watching but it also shows just how difficult making a good documentary really is.

Recent perusing includes Umberto Eco's collection of lectures On Literature, a new Cynthia Ozick collection of essays, The Din in the Head (her previous collections are well worth picking up: Quarrel & Quandry and Metaphor & Memory). I had the new LeCarre novel on reserve, another Africa one, The Mission Song when I also found the most recent WWII spy novel by Alan Furst, the true heir to Eric Ambler. So I will be busy with those for a bit but I am also begining to read all of the Ross Macdonald, Lew Archer series. Good, dark, L.A. noir.