evadne_noel

Tuesday, 8 December 2009, at 8:00pm

Washington Psychotronic Film Society presents

( Jailbird Rock )

I visited my parents this past weekend, and had a chance to look through a family photo album I had never seen before. Most photos seemed to date from not long after the Civil War. Only a few were identified as family members, and overall the photography was not that great (lots of blank stares and creepy frozen expressions.) So I was getting a bit bored, and then I turned a page and saw this:



My immediate reaction was that it seemed very interesting, though surprising, that someone would have created Washington/Lincoln art back in the day, but then I noticed the angels and the laurel wreath and figured out the context of this embrace. But I do still wonder if some 19th century viewers of this image imagined Washington/Lincoln scenarios...

Bonus image: Washington/Lincoln: the edible version.

P.S. thanks for the snowflake cookies!

Author: Sulaiman Addonia
Pages: 342
Published in: June 2008
Grade: 4/5 stars

This was quite an unusual and wonderfully moving love story - desperately sad at times but very compelling. It centres around Naser, an Eritrean who was sent by his mother from a refugee camp in Sudan to live in the insanely inhumane world of Saudi Arabia - where men and women both live in the city of Jeddah yet at the same time coexist in two completely different worlds. Women are practically segregated from society, forced to wear veils when walking outside in the streets; they have separate compartments in public transport and even inside their own homes. It is a place where "religious police" meticulously patrol the streets, making sure that men are inside mosques during prayer times and that women are completely covered up at all times. It is a place where women who are sexually abused or raped are cast out as whores or apostates. It is a place where the price for adultery is execution by beheading - in public. Because men and women are kept so far apart men are often forced to turn to each other for sexual and emotional gratification - even if they are heterosexual (women, of course, are simply expected not to have sex at all unless they are married). However, after five years of this existence, a veiled woman suddenly scurries by and drops a love letter at Naser's feet, and his life is changed forever.

It's an extremely suspenseful and oddly erotic book; the romance is sensuous and emotional without crossing over into overly smutty or Harlequin territory, which quite suits the characters and their setting. It's also clearly based on the author's own experiences - Addonia himself was a Sudanese refugee who lived and studied in Jeddah during his teens.

The prose is quite poetic in some parts, yet at the same time very simple and a little childlike which in a way reflects Naser's - and his lover's - naivety concerning affairs of the heart and their complete inexperience with sexual relationships. Arabic words and phrases are constantly used throughout the book, but a Glossary is included at the back making for a very helpful reference. As a Maltese person I found the Arabic comfortably familiar as my language is very similar :)

One point that the book makes is that the religion of Islam is not to blame for the violence and insanity that goes on in Saudi Arabia - it's the constant use and abuse of Sharia Law and privileged men who get off on their power over the citizens and who use their fundamentalist views as an excuse to get away with their behaviour. Naser believes in an Allah of love and mercy despite imams preaching of hell and Satan and hatred.

It is far from your usual fluffy and happy love story, but that is why I loved it. It made me all the more thankful that where I live, I live freely and can love whoever I want to love. Unfortunately for Naser and his woman behind the veil, they are trapped in an almost dystopian society where any move you make could very well be the wrong one.

69. Red Seas Under Red Skies - Scott Lynch - 640 pages (8.5/10)

This is the second installment of the Gentleman Bastard series. I absolutely adored the first installment and followed suit with the second one as soon as I could. This one is still enjoyable, but not as amazing as the first.

Locke and Jean have left their home country of Camorr and traveled to Tal Verrar and the Sinspire, which is basically the swanky parts of Las Vegas in a tower. It's an amazing initial setting, and I wish more of the novel had taken place in it, to be honest. For two years, they have been slowly cheating and amassing wealth. But, of course, as usual, something has to go wrong and they are caught up in a larger game and forced to be pawns . However, Locke and Jean don't make very good pawns.

Under the threat of a latent poison, they are forced to go on the high seas and pretend to be pirates to upset the stability of Tal Verrar. But this does not go entirely according to plan, either. It is this part of the book I didn't find as exciting. I liked the characters on the boat, but seas and ships and run-of-the-mill port towns are just the same as in so many other fantasy books. Lynch has the talent to make such amazing settings, that it seemed a bit of a cop-out to stick them on the high seas.

That's not to say this is a disappointing book. Overall, I still enjoyed it and I will read the next installment. The dialogue and humour is witty and sharp, the characters strong, and the plotting intricate. I'm still gutted that the next installment won't be out until sometime next year. Lynch is worth reading; just don't expect Red Seas Under Red Skies to be quite as incredible at The Lies of Locke Lamora.

Yesterday I talked to my dearest, darlingist muffin Kit-kat for like two solid hours and it was \o/ with an extra dash of squee. We talked mainly about life and the future and social things and it's kinda freakish how alike we are, sharing the same worries and fears and the like. Love ya, muffin ♥

The presentation didn't go terribly bad, I mean, I talked too fast and skipped a lot of things I'd meant to say and failed at explaining a few things, but in general it went alright. So \o/ on that then.

After the presentation, I hung out with Willy! Which is definitely \o/ We had lunch and talked about school and boys and life and The Future and squeefull things like her beau coming to visit all the way from Kenya and had a grand ol' time.

I'd meant to finish writing the Dean&Icarus coda tonight, but I had Glühwein and watched Dylan Moran's show instead. Ah, the joy! I adore Dylan and his unruly hair :D And now I'm off to read tracy_loo_who's And I Will Walk on Water (Dean/Castiel, Realistic Hurt/Comfort with Plot), because I am so addicted to it.

So life's pretty alright, even though point-blank questions of "Are you happy" get a negative response and my knees hurt for no flippin' reason (ow). I've got to get my final thesis PDF approved tomorrow, then it's all printing and binding and database fixing. I also think I might have a meeting with my supervisor (although we never set a time) and I want to snag some "this is where you may find gainful employment" advice (i.e. the "what the hell am I good for?" question).


Video of the Day: Dylan Moran's show What It Is, live (part 1) ( Embedded )


Links of the Day:
Supernatural: ( Read more... )
Doctor Who: ( Read more... )
Random: ( Read more... )


* Dylan Moran, What It Is

It hurts when I swallow -- I hope this is just an extension of the sneezing/itchy nose cold I had two days ago, and not strep.

ZOO is a collection of short stories by acclaimed Japanese horror author, Otsuichi. It’s translated, which always begs for an original reading to see what, if anything, has been lost or gained in the switch to another language. The writing isn’t too descriptive. It borders on the extremely bare-bones, minimalism to the point where I began to imagine the narrative in comic book form with illustrations to fill in the emotion I felt was missing from the text (my rating reflects this--it would be a 4 star otherwise). To be fair, my only other experience with Japanese horror was The Ring and that as manga. I can never bring myself to watch the film (or any Japanese horror film), but I was so scared by the end of reading the comic I gave it away when I was finished. That being said, I steeled myself for jumping into ZOO. With time and distance, I was sure I’d appreciate the tingly terror Otsuishi’s writing would elicit.

While some of the stories read quickly, there’s always some lingering emotion left over that makes you want to stop and think about what was just read. Because this is an ARC, I won’t quote the book, but I desperately want to. There are some gruesome scenes that, when combined with some of the more incredulous and ridiculous dialogue and behavior clash against my sensibilities of propriety. I think there’s a certain appreciation that comes with Japanese horror that has to be taken into consideration before anyone attempts to read something like ZOO. It’s not Stephen King by any stretch of the imagination. There’s always something a little ridiculous and weird in the premise of a Japanese horror story--something that require a strong suspense of belief in what you’d expect to happen or what’s accepted behavior, or turn of events. There’s a lot of fantasy that has to be believed in order to appreciate the fiction created. Also, there’s a lot of corny dialogue that begs for re-writes, but don’t be put off. A lot of the stories have an underlying creepiness about them that stay with you long after the story’s been put to rest. And that, I think, is the benefit of reading Japanese horror.

( Read the rest! )

ICONS
50 from Get Smart and various appearances



( THESE + 47 MORE )

Can anyone recommend affordable places for a group to meet on a Friday late morning (10 to 10:30 start time) for breakfast close to Arlington National Cemetery? I am looking for something in between iHop and the $17-$20 all you can eat hotel breakfast buffet options. Since most of the people attending are from out of town, proximity to the cemetery is more of a priority than 5 star cuisine. (I also recognize breakfast that late limits options.) TIA

I forgot to announce the winner of Week 1 of the Winter Holiday Book Giveaway Extravaganza! And the winner is...

im_writing! Congratulations. */:-)

The entry for Week 2 will be posted shortly.

Someone gave me paid LJ time? Whoa. *and* I got more cookies? I have no idea what I've done to deserve this much kindness, but feel free to tell me so I can keep it up.

Thank you to all of you. And you know I love you guys even without cookies and incredibly generous donations, right? So thank you to everyone else on my flist as well, for being so smart, funny and interesting. You rock, each and every one of you. ♥


I AM THE FRANK TO YOUR LIZ LEMON, FLIST, AND NEVER FORGET IT!

OMG OMG 30 userpics?!

PS: If anyone of you sees me online in the next five hours, please shout at me until I go away. Time to get productive (even if I'd much rather play around with my 24 (!!!) new icon spaces).

Wow, thanks for all the cookies. They look so wintry and pretty on my profile page. :)

In return, I will now answer a question that no one has asked, and make you lose all respect for me in the process. It's a twoofer!

You know that classic Friends episode where the guys bet the girls that they know them better than the girls know the guys, and Monica and Rachel end up losing their apartment over it?

There's this exchange:

Ross: Rachel claims this is her favorite movie.
Chandler: Dangerous Liaisons.
Ross: Correct. Her actual favorite movie is?
Joey: Weekend at Bernie's.

Well, this is my Weekend at Bernie's. It's lame, it's outdated, it always, always cheers me up, and I titled my journal after it.



*sits back and waits for the defriending stampede*

I believe the correct English term is kicksled

I want to get a copy of this. So, looking for the Miami Herald, Guardian, Le Monde, El País, Toronto Star, Irish Times, Hindu, etc. Preferably in north Arlington (esp. Rosslyn) or downtown DC. Suggestions?

Yelp likes News World by Farragut Square. Yea / nay?

Maybe a pre-security newsstand at National Airport? Hudson News seems to usually only have a few (a local paper, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, maybe USA Today or Financial Times).

Thanks!

Title: The Da Vinci Code
Author: Dan Brown
Genre: Mystery, thriller, spirituality.
Setting: Modern day France and England.
Reason for reading: Curiosity. From all that international acclaim you see.
Pages: 593
Copyright Date: 2003
Cover: Da Vinci's top part of his face, with swirling fragments of parchment and letters around his mouth area.
First Line: Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the musuem's Grand Gallery.
Best Part: The feeling of intrigue and honestly not knowing what was going to happen next.
Worst Part: It didn't live up to my expectations. I didn't see what was so amazing about the big secret.
Grade: B
Recommended for: History -interested people, fans of James Patterson, conspiracy enthusiasts. I do not recommend not knowing anything of bible myths (I was completely not in the know; being athiest. So a lot of it didn't have that big of an impact on me)
Related reads: Angels and Demons (Dan Brown), The Romanov Prophecy (Steve Berry)

I enjoyed this book but I do not think it was all that it was cracked up to be. I had avoided it before because I thought it would be a really stodgy, complicated read full of tons of hard religious stuff but I actually found it a speedy, easy read; although I still didn't understand some of the religious references. Overall; I thought it was worth reading.

Dear Friends,

Wednesday I met up with my old friend Nick at a coffee house about twenty minutes from my house. He wanted to hear about japan, and he told me that I have a gift for finding adventures. I am not allowed to stay at a desk. "You're a philosopher!" he said, "you need to embrace the world and it's experiences. That's what you study!" He was generally funny, and I enjoyed spending time with him.

Nick is a friend of a friend, who is sort of nerdy in most traditional ways. Bit skinny, wears glasses, and enjoys computers. I soon discovered though that he considers himself an amateur philosopher, and enjoys reading bits of pieces of Chinese philosophy in his slow hours at work. This immediately lead to a very long, complicated conversation where each of us mapped out our conception of the world around us. Then we went outside and the wind picked up as the moon broke through the clouds and the universe let us know how very small our conceptions of it are.

Thursday I went to the planetarium with some old coworkers. It was sort of depressing, because the show was not very interesting. I was able to talk to people I haven't seen in a while though, and that is what matters. The actual complex is fantastic. I love to sit back and look at the false heavens spread out above us. The reason we did not enjoy ourselves is because the show we saw had very little to do with planets and stars. It was focused on traditional holiday customs, which apparently translates as international cuisine.

Friday I went and saw Full Radius Dance with Joy and Vance. Seeing Joy always lives up to her name. The show was fantastic. It is amazing and inspiring to see the people whirling around the stage in their shining chairs. There was one piece that was unlike the others, as it was written in honor of several deaths in the artists family. They returned the Vivaldi from last year, which amused both of my companions.

There is a comedy troupe that entertains the audience between dances, allowing the dancers time to change. They were, well, they were there. They provided family friendly entertainment for the audience, which although bland, was enough to make the children in the audience giggle. Unfortunately, they were the same troupe as last year. They have new members in their cast, but not a single new joke. That in itself is humorous, but only in a very sad way.

Afterwards, I talked with Joy's husband. His sense of humor goes well with my own. While she reconnected with a friend who's been too busy to see her, Vance and I snarked outside. We ended up eating fries at a bar down the road from the theater after the show.

There are a lot of hipsters downtown. I'm not really sure how you put on jeans that tight, let alone why that is considered attractice.

I was invited to see the aquarium with them.

Joy asked if there was anything interesting in my life right now. There isn't, and she said that is okay. Still, I feel that I should have things to talk about. I do stuff, but used books and youtube videos are not the most versitile conversation topics. Rosmini's theory of knowledge and Sexy Vampire Song are not everyone's cup of tea.

Paderau

So I’m a little bit enamored with ( google search stories. )

Especially ( this batman one. )

Of course, I’m supposed to be writing a research report, but that’s neither here nor there.

GIVE ME ADDRESSES

Also, I failed NaNo this year. Miserably. I wrote like, 2000 words tops. I kind of felt crappy at the beginning of the month, and then got busy, and then realized I have no idea how colonial people spoke casually, and how accurate it should be, or if I should just have my characters dropping slang all over the place. I still like my idea, and plan on working on it a bit post-NaNo, but it just didn't happen this year.

Instead, I read a lot. And it was excellent. I read:

Skulduggery Pleasant (twice), Playing With Fire (twice), and The Faceless Ones (twice and a half), all by Derek Landy, because The Faceless Ones just came out, so I reread the first two, then read the new one twice because it was awesome, and then started reading them all out loud because I wanted to convince ohnonerdland that it was an awesome series by reading the first few chapters to her. And she got hooked, but for some reason I'm still reading out loud and she is paying me in coffee. Anyway, the series is about a girl who gets wrapped up in a world of magic when she teams up with a detective, who is also a wizard, who also happens to be a skeleton with a fantastic sense of style and a very dry sense of humor, after she's attacked by a man who's after something that belonged to her murdered uncle. It is quite excellent, and I've been pestering people to read it all over the place.

Cthullu Rising- a collection of stories inspired by Lovecraft's mythos- some scary, some hilarious, some just bizarre, but a very good read.

Geektastic- a collection of short stories that you have to be pretty nerdy to enjoy. And I did.

The first few books of The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, per the recommendation of alory_shannon, also about a dude who is a detective and also a wizard (although not a skeleton), and full of humor and violence and magic, which is all I really need in a series. Currently I'm working on the fourth one.

Monster Island, Monster Nation, and Monster Planet, by David Wellington, a zombie series based on his online stories. Or a printing of his online stories. Or something like that- I haven't read his online stories, I just know they exist. But they are pretty amusing, and are a fast read.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians and the two sequels, by Brandon Sanderson, about a boy who discovers that the world he thinks is real is actually enslaved and kept in ignorance by a massive conspiracy of Evil Librarians who rule the world with an iron fist. They're pretty entertaining.

To Say Nothing of the Dog and The Doomsday Book, both by Connie Willis, and both taking place in the future and the past, in a world where in the near future, scientists discovered how to time travel, but there are very strict rules, and it's used primarily by historians and researchers. The first one is a comedy, where a man suffering from time travel exhaustion goes to the Victorian era for a rest, but gets caught up in one ridiculous situation after another. The second is more of a thriller/tragedy, where a young woman goes back to the Middle Ages. She arrives, but arrives very, very ill, and back at home a vicious strain of flu sweeps across the university town and doctors rush to discover the source as the death toll climbs. Both are excellent, and I intend to seek out other books by her as well.

There were some others too, I'm sure, but for the life of me I cannot remember which others. But all in all, I don't feel it was a wasted month.

In worser news, I now know for certain that I'm getting laid off in 6 months. Joy.

We got 5.5 inches of snow yesterday. It is very pretty.

I hope you all are doing well, and that you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Hay guyz!

It's the annual screened give-me-your-addresses-so-I-can-stalk--send-you-a-card post!

So. Give me your address in the screened comments, so I can send you a holiday card. DO IT.

Just posted Review: Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink