Two new pieces at the top of the widget here - one of them includes some Bartok violin duet.

On Sunday night I watched The Reader on TV. I was very impressed - not just by K Winslett's acting which won her an Oscar. The film has been criticised for treating her character too sympathetically. I didnt feel this - after all she commits suicide at the end of the film. I thought the film had an interesting line on how far literacy binds you into a community. This is not an original idea but I thought the script twisted the thought in an interesting way.

I hear L Cohen is about to release an album after an eight year gap. I enjoyed the astronomical TV programmes on BBC2 the last three nights.