Iain McNay 10/05

Books

Tony Hawks - 'One Hit Wonderland' Really enjoyed his 'Playing The Moldovians At Tennis' and this was also a lot of fun. I love his initiative and drive. He gets an idea and just goes for it, wonderful stuff.

Dominic Midgley and Chris Hutchins 'Abramovivh - The Billionaire from Nowhere' Hardly anyone in Europe outside Russia had heard of Roman Abramovich until 18 months ago when he bought Chelsea football club and very quickly spent over £100 million buying new players. This book is an unofficial biography but apparently has Abramovich's blessing. It certainly is a pretty amazing story of how Abramovich went from nothing to become a billionaire in around 5 years. There are certain details missing, and there is a lot of information on events that didn't directly concern him, It is still an interesting read, that is until you get to the second half of the book where he buys Chelsea. Any informed football fan is going to know the story from then on.

Hugh Cornwall - A Multitude Of Sins The ex Stranglers singer's biography. He does try to make it different from the average autobiography by making it non-sequential, and there are some interesting chapters, I enjoyed reading about his experiences in prison for example. Overall it just about works.

Claude Anshin Thomas - At Hell's Gate Autobiography of a Vietnam vet, turned Buddhist monk. Book came highly recommended. I would have preferred more biographical stories than the Buddhist handbook which it becomes about half way through. I tend to find the process of how people get somewhere much more interesting than the state they get too.

Ken Auletta - Media Man - Ted Turner's Improbable Empire Ted Turner comes across as a pretty good chap in this book. He gave writer Ken Auletta full co-operation and I found it very interesting. It documents what he is like as a human being as well as his business foresights and successes. It also covers the inside story of the AOL/Time Warner merger which is worth reading. A good read all round.

CDs

Marianne Faithfull - 'Before The Poison' Her best for a long time. Half the songs on the album are written by Nick Cave or PJ Harvey.

Leonard Cohen - 'Dear Heather' Had great reviews but I was a tad disappointed.

Luna 'Rendezvous' Apparently their final album. Good stuff.

Films

'Birth' A clever story. I really like the parts that Nicole Kidman chooses, there is always something interesting going on.

'A Sons Journey - My Architect' A really superb film; a son makes a documentary about his father's life. Interesting, fascinating and touching. Well worth seeing.

'Monster' Another great film. How does someone end up as a mass murderer? Some of the questions are answered here in this true story about the life of America's biggest female mass murderer.

'The Corporation' A bit of a slow start but once the film gets into its flow it is fascinating. The history and the dynamics of corporations. If they were individuals they would be locked up.

'House Of Flying Daggers' Beautifully filmed and some clever action sequences, but ultimately somewhat disappointing

Gigs

Kevin Coyne - Oxfordshire One of the best gigs I have ever seen. Despite his failing health Kevin gave it everything he had. Sadly, 4 weeks later he was no longer with us.

The Thrills - Reading Having really enjoyed their two albums there wasn't much doubt that I would have a good evening. The first night of their tour, the sound was great.

Human League - Reading It is only when you see them play that you realise they have had so many hits. Visually and sound wise they were superb. My only question I was left with; was the blond back up singer really the same Suzzanne that has been with them for the past 25 years or so?

Sporting event

Wimbledon v Bromley Ryman League 1-0 After some less than impressive performances of late the Dons finally seem to find some form again and win in style against a strong Bromley side.