Hidden in Plain View

I've just read a great book called Hidden in Plain Veiw: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad. The writting style was not my favorite, but the ideas that people used quilts to send secret messages to escaping slaves during the 1800's is really cool. The authors did extensive research into the symbols used and their african origins that affected many quilt patterns still used today. Even the way the knots were tied was a code for something. The book mentions other things such as songs, disguises, escape routes and the heroic people who made a difference. It is a dramatic story that really happened. I have gained a better appreciation, not only for the underground railroad, but also for quilting. maybe i'll make one.

a brave and startling truth

poem by Maya Angelou read at the 50th anneversary of the UN.

WE this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
from the fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms

When we come to it
When the curtain falls on the mistrel show of hate
And the faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean
When the battlefields and coliseum
No longer rake our unique sons and daughters
Up with the bruised and bloody grass
To lie in identical plots of foreign soil

When the rapacious storming of the churches
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased
When the pennants are waving gaily
When the banners of the world tremble
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze

When we come to it
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders
And the children dress their dolls in flags of truce
When land mines of death have been removed
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace
When religious ritual is not perfumed
By the incense of burning flesh
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake
By nightmares of abuse

When we come to it
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids
With their stones set in mysterious perfections
Nor the Gardens of Babylon
Hanging as eternal beauty
In our collective memory
Not the Grand Canyon
Kindled into delicious color
By Western sunsets

Not the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe
Not the sacred peak of Mount fuji
Stretching to the Rising Sun
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor,
Nuture all creatures in the depths and on the shores
These are not the only wonders of the world

When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade, and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people, on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That, in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistable tenderness,
That the haughty neck is happy to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradition
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, flouting body
Created on this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when and only when
We come to it.

better mexico blog

i actually switched my travel journal over to blogger from vox, because i didn't like vox so much. oh, and i got a digital camera for my birthday so i can post photos too. yippee!
so here is the new one.

happy birthday

Next saturday, the 21st, will be this blog's first birthday.

From London

I'm in London waiting for my travel companions to wake up for our flight home to Iceland. I am here on a working vacation with everyone from work. The owner decided to invite us all (9+him) to go to London and attend an event with comic writer Alan Moore and to explore the London bookstores espessially Forbidden planet on which Nexus the store where I work is inspired by. This is my sixth time in London and I always love coming here. The bookstores are great, Borders, Blackwells, Waterstones, Foyles, Murder One and Forbidden Planet to name some of them. Beside Forbidden Planet which is my favorite with it's humongus Sci-fi and fantasy selection I think Borders is my favorite. Ofcourse Murder One is always a delight with it's narrow staircase and small rooms crammed with books from top to bottom. Wish I had some pictures to share with you but I have been horribly lazy taking pictures. More when I get home.

Mexico

The new link in the links list on the left, Snowbirds, is a blog I set up to document our migration south for the winter. I like documenting...

deepa mehta

I've watched a couple of movies by director Deepa Mehta. I think she is really good and i hope to see more of her work. She depicts india so wonderfully yet so scary at the same time. most of her films are tragedies, especially against women so be prepared to cry. I think her most recent is Water, with previous films, Earth and Fire. I first saw Water and walked out of the theater very grateful for my protective husband and society that takes a little better care of the poor and destitute. I always hope that people have become wiser over time, even though there are tons of ways to disprove that. Her films also make me morn the lost rights of millions of women around the world. Her films are very intellegent, historically eye opening and beautiful.

poor is the new rich

So many people think more money would make them happy.
This is dillusional. Think of all the money that is spent on lottery tickets every day. I hear of so many stories of the people who win messing up their lives. Yet, people buy into this illusion that if they would just win the lottery, their lives would be so much happier. Why wait around for your life to be better, especially by something that you have no control over, like a one-in-a-million chance of winning a lottery. Start making your life better now on your own. And then there's the chase for the higher paying job. Those unfortunately come with higher stress and less time for a life. Is it really worth it?
Here are some quotes from Ernie Zelinski's book "The Joy of Not Knowing It All" (also published as "The Joy of Thinking Big"):
"People want to believe there is one big money deal that will take care of all their problems. This is believing in a form of Santa Claus; everything is going to be great once this savior brings something of great value for us. Remember how false this belief was when we were children. Our happiness was short-lived and our problems remained."
"A higher percentage of people making higher incomes are less satisfied with their income than people with lower incomes. A higher percentage of the rich have alcohol and drug problems."
"If we are unhappy and don't handle our problems well on $25,000 a year, we can expect the same of oursleves with a lot of money. We will be just as unhappy and handle our problems just as ineffectively, but with more comfort and style."
"The one-big-deal syndrome is one of those adolescent-rescue fantasies we all had in our younger years. Unfortunately I know many people who have carried these fantasies well into their fifties and sixties. eg. If I could only get a high paying job then I could start living."
"People are looking for an easy way to happiness, when none exists. Waiting for the one-big-deal avoids the effort to make life work."

Only when the last tree has died
and the last river been poisoned
and the last fish been caught
will we realise we cannot eat money.
-Cree Indian Proverb

the devil himself

click on george for a warping good time.

the fall of the library

I'm browsing through a book called Library: The Drama Within by Diane Asseo Griliches and Daniel J. Boorstin. It has made me think of the struggle that libraries here in Alberta, especially the smaller ones, face every year. The funding is always being cut and without the federal grants and fundraising societies, there would be a pretty dismal library system. The book is made up of an essay and photographs with short descriptions/explanations of the photo. There are a few quotes that I like. NYPD Officer Dombranski talks about some of the library closures in the US due to lack of funding: "Some kids go to the library...Others go to the street. But they can't go to the libraries if the libraries are closed." Malcolm X talked about learning to read in the library of a correctional institute. He said "My alma mater was books and a good library. I don't think anybody ever got more out of going to prison than I did. Ten guards and the warden couldn't have torn me out of those books. Months passed without even thinking about being imprisoned...I had never been so truly free in my life."
There was a picture of a tiny library that used to be a post office somewhere in Virginia that could only hold about 5 people. It inspired me even more to create a library when I live where there isn't one.
Some lady named Sheila Bourbeau says it so simply: "A library is books and somewhere to put them and some people to want them there..."
And here is one last quote from someone who's work I don't entirely enjoy, but I loved this:
"Come, take choice of all my library, and so beguile thy sorrow." - William Shakespeare
The picture on the cover of the book is of "The Grand Reading Room" of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, France. The picture below I thought was kind of cool because it is of an old jail turned into a library and it still has the barred cells, and a rope hook and trap door for the gallows were left on the third floor.

chocolat

I just received this magazine, chocolat, as a promotional first issue and i want everyone to know how sick it made me. i hope none of you ever buy it. it is catered towards woman who marry rich and have lots of money to waste on them selves from pampering your pooch by buying your dog a $400 kennel, to spiffing up your house by buying $200 flower pots and $300 pillows, to the latest in cosmetic surgery. After sean's last post i am disgusted that people can waste so much money on pointless frivolity that help no one. I am even more ashamed to know that this magazine is a canadian publication when i thought canadians were more unselfish and globally aware than that. Sean was right; cant the media focus on anything that really matters? ever?

help me

I need some fiction recommendations. I've got tons of nonfiction on the go right now but I need a good pretend story. Sorry Erika, I tried reading the Seventh Son, but I couldn't get into it. I have some books that I own that I want to read but I'm saving those for when I'm going to a country that has an inferior library system for six months. So if anyone has any good fiction to tell me about, bring it on. I'm gonna milk the library for all it's worth in the next two months.

scuba-diving

A recent outing to the hot springs in Fairmont, BC made me want to scuba-dive. We had on our goggles exploring the bottoms of the hot springs and my husband and I both think we have developed an appetite for underwater exploration. Our six year old got pretty into it too. I am proud to say that after years of being afraid, I have recently come to feel comfortable in the water. That peaceful weightless feeling of being underwater would only be cooler surrounded by multi-coloured fish and coral reefs. A large supply of oxygen sounds nice too.

Ender's Game

I just read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, mostly out of curiosity of the popularity of this author, and this one was recommended. I had fun with it. Although it's not the best book I've ever read, it was different than what I'm use to reading. I don't normally read Sci-fi. I found myself getting really into this one though, even dreaming about interspace battle strategies and maneuvering in zero-gavity, which this book is especially good at descibing. After looking for it on Amazon, I noticed that it is the beginning of a whole series of books about Ender.

the hybrid jackpot

Ligers and such...
Scroll down a little past halfway to the audio with images "When Mammals Mix"(with this picture). It's a little long, but worth it.
Here's another link to some interesting info.

continuing with my hybrid fascination...

here's a zorse.

another hybrid in nature...

There was the pizzlar (polar grizzly). Now there is a... morse?...hoose?...horsemoose...
I heard about it on CBC radio. There is some info on the web now. It's name is Bambi. It is undergoing some dna tests, so it hasn't been confirmed whether it is from a horse and moose cross-breeding or whether it is just a deformation. Here's a link. Who wants to bet that it's a moose-horse?

The Science of Sleep

Here's a preview to a movie that I can't wait to see. It looks so good it makes me drool.

wonderful ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ_mlwnAmr0

Watch this it´s marvelous

New series

I just started reading what looks like a wonderful fantasy series. In the first book "His Majesty´s dragon" you get to meet the incredible dragon Temeraire and his accidental handler/friend Will Laurence Captain of his Majesty´s navy. They are the main character and extremely well crafted. You get a good idea of Will´s character as early as page 2 and as soon as Temeraire cracks the shell of his egg soon after you love him. I´m only 1/3 into the book but I could hardly put it down to post this go to the loo and get a drink of water. I have a sinus infection and staying home from work so I have alot of time to read. More later. I think this could be the best book I have read in years.

a million little pieces

Well, sadly (or maybe gladly...?) I only made it to the third chapter or so of the second book in Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I just couldn't do it. I was bored already. Dagga, you are a better woman than I.
The gladly part is, a book that I have had on hold at the library for months finally came in for me: A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. I've only started it but so far it is the best book I have read since The Alchemist. It's written in a unique style; the dialogue is very simple with no quotation marks or he said, she said stuff. It contributes to the very introspective mood. It is the author's own addiction rehab story. I think I'm drawn to it because of the way my own life has turned around and although my life was definitely not as extreme, there are moments that are very familiar. I have a book by Elizabeth Hudson called The Carrion Flower (another chapter was added later and it was renamed Snow Bodies: One Woman's Life on the Streets)that is based on the author's younger years as a prostitute and heroine addict. It was kind of neat too, because it all happened in Alberta and B.C., so I recognized some of the places. I was drawn to this one as well for the same reason. No, I was never a prostitute or heroin addict! I think I just need the reminder that things could have been a lot worse.

Regina Spektor

here's a captivating video

book club update

I missed the last book club meeting (it was last wednesday) and I will probably keep missing them for awhile. It was fun while it lasted. But you know how it is, when you add something to your schedule, you need to take something else away just to keep the balance. I added something so I had to take something away, and that something was the book club. I am still, however, going to try to keep reading whatever their genre is every month, I am just not going to take it seriously or go to the meetings. July's is mystery. I once read a mystery novel by Janet Evanovich called Metro Girl. It was pretty fluffy, humorous, pure entertainment. I am reading An Ordinary Man right now, by Paul Rusesabagina. It's his account of how he saved some lives by sheltering them in the hotel he managed during the Rwandan massacres of 1994. (the movie "Hotel Rwanda" was based on his life) No fluff in this one. So when I'm done that I think I'd like some fluff to cool myself off a bit. And a mystery by Evanovich will do just that. One For the Money is the first in a series of twelve (so far). I am not intending to read all twelve, as I usually get bored of a series by book one or two, but who knows. Maybe I will fall in love with them.

cool prefab homes

This house is built by a company called BlueSky MOD. Their motto is "Retreat without a footprint." They are meant to be vacation homes but I think they work just fine as a small year-round home. Who needs a big freaking mansion anyway?@$%? Anyway, there are a lot of good eco-friendly things about these homes; they can come with composting toilets, solar panels, cedar siding (never needs painting/staining), low voltage halogen lights, straw-composite interior walls, etc. They do not need huge machinery to be assembled so they cause less damage to the land. I've seen somewhere, i don't remember where; some houses built on some kind of high stilts, so that the only damage to the land other than footprints from everyday walking would be the four stilts in each corner.

Then there's these homes, called weeHouses, that start with a basic model, prefabricated and delivered, then if you need a second floor or a guest room later on, you can order another prefabricated modular unit. They're cheap but not as friendly.

lego ring

When Rus and I were married we were thinking of alternative ideas for rings. The best idea we came up with was one made out of lego. It was really impractical and uncomfortable though. I just came across this one today and fell in love with it. I would prefer it without the stone though. Another alternative we looked into was tattooed rings but we were told that tattooes wear off easily on the finger and the pain wasn't quite worth it.

pizzlars


here's a picture
this is the news source it is from

Fanfiction

I am about half-way through Pride and Prejudice and am looking forward to being done so I can watch the movie, already! It has been a slow, difficult read so far. First of all, I had to "learn" the language before I could start enjoying it. Second, I just keep expecting it to be amazing, but it's not. I know I'm only half-way through it so maybe my amazement will come when I've completed it. I admit it's well-written, and there are times that I am completely absorbed in it and find myself smiling at the social commentary, but it has yet to live up to its reputation for me.

So, I was at the local library today and I noticed one of their new purchases was a book called An Assembly Such as This (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman: Book 1). It's book one in a trilogy of books taking the point of view of Mr. Darcy. When I was looking for it on Amazon, I noticed a lot of books derived from Pride and Prejudice; sequels,etc. I didn't realize that fanfiction was such a common thing. I hadn't actually heard the term until Dagga gave me The Night of the Triffids.

A Circle of Cats

Charles de Lint is fast becoming my favorite author, check out this beautiful children´s book illustated by Charles Vess. It´s a charming tale of a little girl bitten by a snake and saved by cats, tree spirit and a spirit panther. It´s loosely connected to Medicine Road that I talked about a few posts back.

poetry!

"True Love Leaves No Traces"
As the mist leaves no scar
On the dark green hill
So my body leaves no scar
On you and never will
Through windows in the dark
The children come, the children go
Like arrows with no targets
Like shackles made of snow
True love leaves no traces
If you and I are one
It's lost in our embraces
Like stars against the sun
As a falling leaf may rest
A moment on the air
So your head upon my breast
So my hand upon your hair
And many nights endure
Without a moon or star
So we will endure
When one is gone and far
True love leaves no traces
If you and I are one
It's lost in our embraces
Like stars against the sun
All this talk about poetry, especially Cohen's makes me think of this one. Rus e-mailed it to me when we were dating and it made me all mushy inside. Feel free to barf, but I thought it was another good indication that he was the man I wanted to marry!

book club

We had our monthly book club meeting tonight. We took turns discussing the books that we had chosen for the past month. It was so fulfilling just hanging out in someone's living room, connecting with these women through our love of books. Some books that were discussed:
Hannah's Suitcase by Karen Lavine (a holocaust story)
Survivors: True Stories of children in the holocaust by Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory
Every Good Thing (compilation of 1997 LDS Womens Conference Talks...one especially good one by James M. Harper, I think his name was...)
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander Smith (This one sounded the most intriguing, set in Africa. It is book 5 in a series. The first in the series is called The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency )
and then I talked about The Joy Luck Club. After I read it, I watched the movie (by the same name) and all the dialogue and narration in the movie was identical to the book, which is rare. It is a story of 4 women living in China who move to America and each have a daughter. It is told, in turn, from the perspective of these 8 women. The movie leaves out a lot of good stuff so I wouldn't recommend it. The stories of the mothers when they were growing up in China are pretty remarkable. I feel like they are true stories.
So, it turns out that I will be scratching another book off my have-always-wanted-to-read list because the club has chosen classics for the next month so I am going to finally finish Pride and Prejudice. Ah yes, it is all falling into place...

Planet called Treason

I just reread Treason by Orson Scott Card. It has been one of my all time favorite books for a long time. I remember my grandfather reading it to me and my cousin when we where kids. I must have been 7 or 8 at the time my cousin 11 or 12. He had a copy in English and translated it into Icelandic as he read on. I know now that he must have toned it down a bit for us as it is quite violent and bloody in parts. This is the third time I read it myself and it did not let down my memory of it. The story is almost lyrical at times, the character of Lanik starts out arrogant but ends up humble but always simpathetic. The violence is never just for violence sake it is always written to futher the story. The story itself is a journey of personal growth and a classical coming of age story, its also about greed, waste, and love. Orson Scott Card is one of the master writers of SF but he is very spiritual at the same time one of the few that can pull that of. Treason was only his second published novel but remains in my mind his best work beautiful in its simplicity, Ender´s game is a close second though.

mascato youth choir

the photo's not the greatest but i went to go see a coule of awesome choirs recently; the Kokapelli youth choir and the guests the mascato youth choir from namibia. they were great and if you want to hear clips you can go the their websites. the best part of the concert besides the traditional african folk music, the tenors that could hit a high G, the two blind guys in Kokapelli or the beautiful combined songs was that after the standing ovation, everyone picked up a drum and just started dancing. it was thrilling.

Something pretty

Medicine Road by Charles de Lint, illustrated by Charles Vess is a lovely book. De Lint braids a beautiful story full of celtic and north american folklore and music. The characters are instantly likable and at the same time very human with all the flaws that come with that. It is a spiritual journey and a lovestory.
I´ve never been to Arizona where this story takes place but the characters/authors obvious love for the nature and the local culture woke a longing in me to visit the place which I never thought I would experience (there are scorpions and spiders in the desert). The illustrations by Charles Vess are beautiful, he really is one of my favorite fantasy artists. http://www.greenmanpress.com/
Bottom line is everybody should read it. I have now ordered everything I can find by this author for the store, (read as me) .

Veniss Underground

I bought this book in London last year and finally got around to reading it. I had been looking forward to it as Locus listed it as one of 20 most interesting books last year. I do love interesting visions of the future but this one kind of left me feeling sick.
You get to know the city through the eyes of the twins Nicolas and Nicola in the first two parts and their description of a world falling to pieces draws you in.
The storyline takes second place to the city itself and I did not mind as the author is a first class worldbuilder and you just want to know more about the world around the city and why it is like this.
The third and final part of the story takes you to Veniss underground the city below the city, it is a hellish tale that has a distinctive mythological flavor, it almost reads like a fable. It´s also very disturbing on so many levels, a big part of the story is genetic enginering and dna manipulation and once you get to Veniss underground it gets really discusting, including cathedrals of human flesh and mountains of severed legs.
I like a good dark gothic tale once in a while but this one kind of went over the top.
http://www.veniss-underground.com/
So I liked it but it left me feeling sick and not wanting to read anything else by this author. Does that make sense?
I´m reading something pretty next.

Well, my nonfiction phase is over; didn't last as long as I would have hoped. I thought maybe I would become this incredibly learned individual, but alas, i am an escapist. The only thing that I am more knowledgeable about is gardening. I couldn't read more than a page of The Teacher Man, so I tried another one: Of This Earth by Rudy Wiebe, but only made it a few chapters before calling it quits. The Teacher Man was well written, I suppose, but I just didn't like the author's voice...does that make sense? I didn't like his personality I guess. Of This Earth is a really good book about growing up as a mennonite in the forests of saskatchewan. It was interesting and I know that someday I would like to read it but, like I said, my nonfiction phase appears to be over. So I am reading one the books from my have-always-wanted-to-finish list; The Joy Luck Club and I am genuinely loving it.

another way to love belle and sebastian

Two of my favorite things have come together; graphic stories and Belle & Sebastian.
Put the Book Back On the Shelf came out in February 2006. It is a collection of interpretations of their lyrics by different comic artists. It is still too newly published for me to get a copy from the library system, but I am looking forward to it...I will have to wait and see if any libraries will even consider it for their collection; it's probably not really considered popular reading...

edible flowers

Halli's recent post on gardening got me thinking of edible flowers. There is a book out there by Lois Hole called Herbs and Edible Flowers. Her books are good because they apply to the Canadian climate. This book lists some edible flowers that will grow well here and it even includes recipes for muffins, salads, etc. that use the flowers. My favorites are pansies because as a child I always loved their individual "faces". They have a pretty mild flavour; my kids like them. This year I am trying nasturtiums because they are supposed to be a little spicy and they attract bugs, keeping them away from the rest of the garden. Marigolds are supposed to be good for this purpose too. So with edible flowers you can have the best of both worlds: beauty and practicality.

club

Well I've done it. I've gone and joined a book club. Me and some ladies meet once a month. We will alternate between all reading the same book and all reading different books. This month is reader's choice and as I am on a nonfiction kick, I've picked Teacher Man: A Memoir by Frank McCourt. It's about his life as a teacher in New York. He's the guy that wrote Angela's Ashes (about his childhood in the slums of Ireland).

unresolved reads

Aside from Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, I have had several unresolved relationships with books. The ones that for some reason or another, I could never finish but that I just can't forget about and might need to finally finish someday.
Among them are:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift
Watership Down, Richard Adams
The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan

I had to give away Pride & Prejudice and The Unbearable Lightness of Being because I couldn't stand seeing them in my bookshelves; a constant reminder. Somehow the other ones didn't anger me so much. Probably because I didn't invest as much time in them. I gave up as soon as I realized I wasn't enjoying myself and stopped pretending that if I just kept reading maybe I would.

You have to see this

Finnish disco at it´s best

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8610362188397291938

Vampire fun

For smutty vampire fun read The Vampire´s seduction by Raven Hart. I picked it out randomly from the vampire literature I am ordering for the City Library and was plesantly supprised. Despite the awful cover and the corny goth pen name (Raven Hart has to be made up). The characters where lots of fun and are obviously this writers strong point. I almost put it down after the first few pages then realized that the writer was making fun of the (Anne Rice?) vampire novel with its over descriptive goth prose. A change of perspective soon brings the more down to earth voice of my favorite character, Jack a 150 year old vampire who runs an all night garage and loves cars. Beware, the sex is gory.

MEAT

This guy is on a mission to document his adventures in weird meat. I realize that I am culturally influenced into a barf reflex when i read his blog and see some of the pictures, but there's something about putting a creature in your mouth that's trying to bite you back that just doesn't appeal to me. Rus, on the other hand, thinks it's very cool. I am quite proud to say though that I was able to eat rotten shark meat in Iceland and he wasn't. HA! 2 points for me.

A book about books...

The author, an avid book reader, challenged herself to read one book a week for a year; not always an easy task for someone who is a mother and a full-time job-holder. This is a sort of diary of that year. I'm just in January but it is a surprisingly good read. I know it sounds horribly boring; reading about someone who is reading, but I have enjoyed it so far. I can relate to her and her frustrations and experiences. I like that she doesn't think she's a highbrow intellect or literary elitist. So this book sits by my bedside this week, along with squarefoot gardening and mexico guidebooks. I had been in a reading rut, where everything I picked up either irritated or bored me, until I got more interested in nonfiction and realized that I'm just heading into a nonfiction phase. I guess that means I don't need or want to escape the real world as much??

better than the zoo

We toured the pet stores in lethbridge with our kids yesterday. It made us too late for a wedding dinner and we missed out on the food and comradie, but we were having so much fun. One of our daughters was literally shaking with excitement at the mice scurrying in their cages. It's better than the zoo in some ways because it's free and you can cuddle the rabbits and let the birds hang out on your arm. Too bad Rus exudes something that makes animals aggressive. He was bit by a furious little albino hedgehog!

The Dorking Gap Affair!

I came across this book and just loved the title, in my head I had some good ole poking fun at the Gap kind of fun:
"The Dorking Gap Affair"

Turns out that it's actually some kind of "Mycroft Holmes Adventure" novel. Mycroft Holmes is Sherlock Holmes' brilliant older brother, apparently. Who knew?
So say the title with an English accent and maybe it will make sense.

pride and prejudice chick

i saw the new pride & prejudice. i liked it (even kierra knightly). the book (and the movie) is one of those impossible love stories that guys might find cheesy, but every woman secretly wishes for. who wouldnt want a loving family with a pile of sisters to support you. who wouldnt want to spend their days perfecting their artistic talents, in a mansion with servants to do the dirty work. who wouldnt want a lonley troubled millionaire to fall desperately in love you. especially one with the phattest side burns ever.

Rooftop Gardens

I have always loved this concept. What a great use of space. Just imagine a world where every flat-roofed building had a garden on top.

griffin and sabine

I finished the rest of the 6-logy... hexlogy... hexology... whatever. The trilogy in six parts (see post below titled "the end"). I think my brow was furrowed in agitated concentration the whole time. It took a lot of effort to stay focused on the story. The interaction between Griffin and Sabine became more intense,complicated, and mystical as another couple, Matthew and Isabella was added to the correspondence. I can't say that the story itself would stand on its own, as it was fairly ambiguous and confusing at times. It was the illustrations and the presentation that brought it to life. My imagination was exercised to the limit, which was agitating at times (hence the agitated confusion), but ultimately good for that part of my brain that has become lazy. phew! I'm reading something a little more obvious next.

The Concert

I´m still at loss for words over the Depeche Mode concert last weekend in Copenhagen. I admit that I have not been to many big concerts so I don´t have a lot of comparison but this one was just fabulous.

I did not take these pictures I got them of http://depechemode.com but they are from this tour. The stage was fantastic and Dave Gahan is just a maniac. The crowd just responds beautifully to him. I was not close to the stage but I could see it very clearly from the side and I saw the screens well and I had a wonderfull time watching the crowd interact with the band.

They started with songs from Playing the Angel
which I´ve come to like very much, and then
moved on to older songs, I got chills all over my body when they started "Walking in my shoes" which has not even been one of my favorite songs. The crowd (including me) went wild during predictable songs like "Personal Jesus" "Never let me down again" and "Behind the wheel"and "enjoy the silence" and ofcourse they where amazing.

The high point for me though was after the first encore when Martin Gore performed "Shake the disese" acommpanied only by keyboard.

He was so incredable, it was like he put his heart and soul into it. I´ve never seen or heard anything like it. He is just an incredable preformer.

Music just is not the same when played live, I had epiphany about the meaning of some lyrics at this concert and before you ask, I have not been taking any drugs.

They closed with a beautiful rendering of "Goodnight lovers" after 3 encours

The bottom line, best concert I´ve ever been to
magnificent band I might quit my job and follow them around. It´s all your fault Rus if you hadn´t given me that "Construction time again" tape I would still be sane.

I think this might be close to the order of the songs

> Intro> A Pain That I'm Used To> John The Revelator> A Question Of Time> Policy Of Truth> Precious> Walking In My Shoes> Suffer Well> Damaged People> Home> I Want It All> The Sinner In Me> I Feel You> World In My Eyes> Personal Jesus> Enjoy The Silence
encore> Shake The Disease> Just Can't Get Enough> Everything Counts
encore #2 Behind The Wheel> Never Let Me Down Again>
encore #3 Goodnight Lovers

gone to Copenhagen

I like penguins, tourists look for them all the time in Iceland which is really funny.
Anyway I´m gone to Copenhagen to see Depeche Mode in consert tell you all about it when I get back on Monday.

worst hairdo ever

Here's proof that this handsome young man does not wear a toupee, it's just a really bad combover.

the end

I know that sometimes a mysterious and unresolved ending for a story can be part of the writer's "artistic vision" but I get so frustrated when the end is left open for me to figure out for myself. I can't decide whether or not I should accuse the writer of getting out easy or whether I should respect their "vision" for the story. I just read the Griffin and Sabine trilogy by Nick Bantock. The presentation was entertaining (a collection of postcards and letters between Griffin, a postcard artist, and Sabine, a stamp designer who has visions of Griffins art). I hope this doesn't spoil it for anyone who has yet to read these but at least there were only two main options for the outcome. Either Griffin was insane the whole time or they finally got together. I haven't decided yet which one I have chosen.
Update: Lucky for me I just discovered that the trilogy actually continues for three more volumes...what kind of a trilogy includes 6 volumes??? So at least I haven't spoiled these for anyone...
(click on the picture for a larger view of one of the postcards)

challenges

I read the second book in a graphic novel series by Michel Rabagliati about a young guy named Paul, living in Quebec in the 70's. (I couldn't find the first one, Paul in the Country, and the third one, Paul Moves Out, is on its way)
Paul's job is as a camp counsellor for underprivileged and dilinquent kids. He starts out being scared of the woods, impatient with kids; pretty much defeated. He ends up falling in love with the kids, learns to rock climb and canoe and generally creates great memories for himself.
This just got me thinking about some of the times that I have felt defeated and overwhelmed (a prime example being when I start a new job). Because I didn't give up, I learned great things, made friends, improved my life. It makes me really regret the times that I have given up and potentially missed out on some amazing experiences.

my favorite author

recently i've found some time to read again and my first choice is Pearl S. Buck. here you can read a small essay she wrote on something dear to my heart. i like her for more than her books, but also for her life. she adopted over seas which is a dream of mine, but more than that, she recognized the need for foreign adoptions and she started her own adoption agency, all the while writing fabulous books about china and it's unique culture. her books are historically and culturally accurate given that she spent most of her childhood in china. i also love her because she presents the feminine role so compasionately and sympatheticaly. my favorite book is "pavilion of women". as one of my heroines, i named my van after her; the pearl.

Audrey Niffenegger

I remember the thing I really loved about The Time Traveller's Wife was how she would describe one of the characters making art. It was just so lively. Now that I have read The Three Incestuous Sisters, it makes sense that she can so vividly describe the visually creative process. This picture is from one of my favorite scenes in the book, when Clothilde gives her nephew (who is still just a fetus in her sister's womb) flying lessons.

piano man

I went to see Jon Schmidt last night with my piano teacher. He is a pianist and composer, started composing at age 11. It may seem strange that I would voluntarily pay to go see a pianist, but this guy is good. He's young and entertaining and not at all what I expected. He didn't wear a suit, he wore a t-shirt and pants. He did a Dana Carvey song about broccoli. He plays a mean piano, making good use of every key. He can get so many different sounds out of a single key. There has probably been plenty of people throughout history that have been able to do that but I think this guy has a little more fun with it.

I´ve been reading some very good things about The Three Incestuous Sisters. Lis have you read it yet? I remember you talking about it some time ago. It´s really interesting to know that it took the author 14 years to finish it. I was reading in Locus http://www.locusmag.com/ that she actually started The Time traveler´s Wife as a way to procrastinate on finishing The Three Incestuous Sisters.