Book Review and Shakespeare Meme

[redfiona99]

Book Review - Beyond The Limit - Professor Sid Watkins

Basically, this is part two of Prof. Watkins's autobiography, covering the time from 1996 to the end of the season in 2000, and some memories of older drivers. The writing sounds like him, wry and unflappable, which makes sense if you're having to minister medicine to the speed freaks and weirdos involved in F1. It does lead to a certain distance, and it's less frantic than you'd imagine. But he's the Prof and we love him. I enjoyed the book but I'm not sure how much someone who isn't an F1 geek would get out of it. Then again, I'm not sure why someone who isn't interested in F1 would be reading this. Either way, I'm definitely going to try to get the first of his books, 'Life At The Limit'.



Does involve the irrepressable Schumacher M. It's the Silverstone leg break. So Prof. Watkins and the medical car come rushing along, and it becomes obvious that it's just a broken leg. Schumacher is concious, and asks if Prof. Watkins could do him a favour and ring Schumacher's wife, who will be worrying, and tell her that it's only a broken leg, and then whether he could borrow the phone to ring Ferrari, because he's reasonably sure it was his brakes that caused the accident and he needs to tell them what settings to change on the other car so that the same doesn't happen to it.

I'm not sure what I love more about it, the 'please sir, can I borrow your phone' aspect or that, in the middle of a pretty horrible crash, he's busy figuring out what went wrong and how to stop it happening to someone else.

Actually, the book could be subtitled, 'the Schumacher brothers are lovely boys, as long as you're not racing against them'.


I'm giving the book an extra half a mark because the appendices actually covers the physics and anatomy of F1 injuries, and gives actual equations and numbers. I will always give extra marks for numbers.

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The librarything suggestions are mostly other F1 books, but I'm amused to spot Adrian Mole as suggestion number 11. Sadly, so very true. There aren't enough reviews for an unsuggestion.

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Shakespeare meme - Day 3 - Favourite hero

Is it just me or was Shakespeare not that good at writing heroes? I mean, he's fantastic at writing protagonists, but heroic heroes, not so much (possibly that's why he's so popular).

We'll take the name plays as an example, John, Richard II, Henry IV and Henry VI spend most of their plays being ineffective, Titus Andronicus cooks human pies, which is not generally heroic behaviour, Richard III is a glorious villain, Macbeth becomes a villain, Lear is a ******, and Hamlet is a jerk, I still can't remember whether it's the Gentlemen of Verona or the Two Noble Kinsmen that are similarly annoying, Henry V spends his play worrying about the concept of heroism and the day I call Romeo a hero hasn't happened yet.

I adore Coriolanus, but he is not heroic. Or rather he is, so long as heroism only involves killing people and leading from the front. I think he's as brave as a lion, but he has the brains of a mouse.

I can't really use Ganymede for this, and an awful lot of the lead male characters in the comedies are jerks. I think it only really leaves me with Benedict, because he at least grows into being a hero. Or at least a stand up guy, which really does make him stand out in this company.



Day #1: Favourite play
Day #2: Favourite character

Day #4: Your favorite heroine
Day #5: Your favorite villain
Day #6: Your favorite villainess
Day #7: Your favorite clown
Day #8: Your favorite comedy
Day #9: Your favorite tragedy
Day #10: Your favorite history
Day #11: Your least favorite play
Day #12: Your favorite scene
Day #13: Your favorite romantic scene
Day #14: Your favorite fight scene
Day #15: The first play you read
Day #16: Your first play you saw
Day #17: Your favorite speech
Day #18: Your favorite dialogue
Day #19: Your favorite movie version of a play
Day #20: Your favorite movie adaptation of a play
Day #21: An overrated play
Day #22: An underrated play
Day #23: A role you've never played but would love to play
Day #24: An actor or actress you would love to see in a particular role
Day #25: Sooner or later, everyone has to choose: Hal or Falstaff?
Day #26: Your favorite couple
Day #27: Your favorite couplet
Day #28: Your favorite joke
Day #29: Your favorite sonnet
Day #30: Your favorite single line

Comments

[angstbunny.livejournal.com]

Titus Andronicus cooks human pies, which is not generally heroic behaviour,

lololololololol