I actually think of myself as more of a jack of all trades and master of none or just plain old-fashioned dilletente but with less gin. Thanks for the decorating advice. For what its worth, it is a big room (but with low ceilings which is why the only place the shelves made out of an old rowing boat can go is next to the stairway) with a huge front window that you can see Larne Loch from (if you wanted to come and visit) and at the opposite end has two glass-pained doors leading to the dining room and then big double glass doors leading outside. So I think we are going to risk the burgandy and if it all goes horrible wrong, the Tedster will just get to repaint. I know there are those that think I am cruel, evil and selfish for putting together a list of fun activities for my parents when they visit. But really, they like to help out and they would get bored. Of course, that doesn't mean I am not evil cruel and selfish as well as quite tight when it comes to finances but hey I am not even buying the B&Q value paint this time but opting for premium paint! Of course I am worried just what I may end up buying if I go car shopping with the Tedster but I'll keep you updated on that.

And it isn't all Dashell Hammet. We get to revisit William Faulkner and the Coen Brothers as we hit another great noir writer, Raymond Chandler at number five. I struggled over this one. I thought should it be Casablanca? I can't do two Bogarts. And for the record Casablanca is probably the film I have seen the most times in the cinema. Easily 5 or 6. One of my favorite screenings was at midnight at QFT and you got a half pint of guinness with your cinema ticket (of course open returning home, the stalker ex-boyfriend showed up, but that is an entirely different story). But much as this list would have included Rashomon a few years back, it now no longer has Casablanca. It gets The Big Sleep instead. Think about it. Bogart. Bacall. Script by Faulker. Based on the novel by Chandler (who a) isn't sure what the plot is all about either and b) mentions Tehachapi in another novel). And well, it has great dialogue. I particularly love Mr. Marlowe saying, "I don't like my manners much either. I grieve over them on long winter nights." I do that too. Grieve over my manners. Not so much solving crime and getting shot at. And what is it with Mr. Marlowe. Women just throw themselves at him! Makes me want to go home and watch it again. Oh, and someday, maybe when I have friends again, I want to have a movie night and show it and the Big Lebowski. Don't know if I serve whiskey or white russians. But that is my idea of a great Firday night in.