I lost the, uh, plot
I did a comics-run yesterday, and also ended up buying the region 2 DVD release of the Koyaanisqatsi double pack.
So I get home, hook up the projector, pull down the blinds, get
comfortable and ready for the full 5.1 experience… and a few minutes
in, I doze off.
There’s something about the hypnotic effect of sped-up night-time
motorway footage that acts as a trigger for me to switch off. Same
thing happens when I watch the light tunnel sequence in 2001. I, like
Bowman, open my eyes in the white room, imagining I must have missed
something important.
Which brings to mind the programme I saw on BBC2 last week about
orexin, a neurotransmitter believed to be responsible for keeping us awake. Which, in turn, reminded me of the character of Geoff in the movie
Monkey Shines who used stimulants to keep himself awake constantly.
I can’t seem to find the quote but, even though he knew the drugs and lack of sleep would shorten his lifespan, he justified it by calculating that technically he’d live more waking hours, and in younger body.
But then, if you’re a character in a George A Romero movie you’re not that likely to live to old age. And, come to think of it, probably not able to “sleep when you’re dead“.
