There’s a meme going on, spread by the Struggling Author among others, and I thought I’d join in, since Christmas is a time of sharing. The meme’s challenge is to list the five most embarrassing gaps in your cultural knowledge.
Here are mine. Go ahead and snigger.
1 I don’t read fiction any more
Okay, with the slight exception of Patrick O’Brian’s historical novels (which are more or less non-fiction at times), I don’t read fiction any more, just non-fiction. I just can’t get into it. Maybe it does “illustrate the human condition” or something, but then so does an Oxfam Christmas newsletter or a good psychology text book, usually more succinctly.
2 I haven’t watched Spaced
I really just can’t begin to formulate a reason for this. I just haven’t, even though I know I should. Can you get a cure for this problem on the NHS? Prescription HMV vouchers or something?
3 I’ve not watched The Sopranos
It’s five seasons long. I’m not starting now, no matter how hard my sister begs me to. And you Martin. Yes, you.
4 My indie credentials are gone
The edgiest piece of music I’ve listened to recently was Snow Patrol’s latest album. Every time I switch on XFM in an attempt to fix this problem, they’re playing Razorlight, so that’s no help. The problem’s so bad, I’m like a tone deaf Donald Rumsfeld: I don’t even know how much I don’t know about indie music any more.
5 I’ve only watched three Martin Scorsese films and I didn’t like them
Casino, Goodfellas and Taxi Driver. Hated them all. Absolute pants. Everything else of his I’ve steered clear of. Is this wrong?
We’re now up to part three of I, Davros, a potted biography of the inventor of the Daleks and the universe’s least politically correct villain. Cos, you know, those disableds are all evil cos they’re not like everyone else, you know, and they wish they were.
