(no subject)
Sunday, January 6th, 2008 10:43 amOh. It's the 6.1. already? Whoa.
Happy new year, dear flist!
Happy new year, dear flist!
I do believe in fairies, I do, I do
Friday, December 28th, 2007 01:49 pmOk, f-list, you are all very intelligent, well-educated people, can you do me a favour?
Can you tell me whether you think "privilege" exists? (As in, white privilege, male privilege, heterosexual privilege, etc., etc.)
I think it does. Never named, the concept was touched upon in nearly all our gender studies related courses at the uni. I think it is a rather good concept, and in keeping with other's theories on this (well. Just Connell and Bourdieu, really. I really never read into it that much). Being primarily a literature and now of late an education student, I don't know what the current positions are, of course, but I like it, it seems rather insightful.
It has happened rather often during the last half year that I brought up the term in a discussion and the people I was talking to put a lot of energy into convincing me of the fact that it does not exist, does no longer exist, or has never existed. When I insisted that yes, it does, the responses they gave me betrayed the level of incredulity they'd show with someone who is claiming that fairies exist, or the Easter bunny.
In the latest incident on a message board is not as though I rounded on them, accusing anyone personally and challenging them about their views, it was during yet another discussion on an HP forum about the women in the HP series. I argued that there was evidence of male privilege in the book and was completely shot down by the others, called sexist for advocating reverse sexism, being an extremist feminist, a man-hating feminazi, accusing others of not seeing my point because they are men, the works.
So, please, does "privilege" exist?
Can you tell me whether you think "privilege" exists? (As in, white privilege, male privilege, heterosexual privilege, etc., etc.)
I think it does. Never named, the concept was touched upon in nearly all our gender studies related courses at the uni. I think it is a rather good concept, and in keeping with other's theories on this (well. Just Connell and Bourdieu, really. I really never read into it that much). Being primarily a literature and now of late an education student, I don't know what the current positions are, of course, but I like it, it seems rather insightful.
It has happened rather often during the last half year that I brought up the term in a discussion and the people I was talking to put a lot of energy into convincing me of the fact that it does not exist, does no longer exist, or has never existed. When I insisted that yes, it does, the responses they gave me betrayed the level of incredulity they'd show with someone who is claiming that fairies exist, or the Easter bunny.
In the latest incident on a message board is not as though I rounded on them, accusing anyone personally and challenging them about their views, it was during yet another discussion on an HP forum about the women in the HP series. I argued that there was evidence of male privilege in the book and was completely shot down by the others, called sexist for advocating reverse sexism, being an extremist feminist, a man-hating feminazi, accusing others of not seeing my point because they are men, the works.
So, please, does "privilege" exist?
The 50 book challenge was fun, all in all, and I think I am going to take part again next year. It's fun, effort free and a great way of keeping track of what I've read, which is interesting to see. Also a good way of checking up titles which escape me.
Books between challenges
54.
52.
51.
Books between challenges
54.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon.53.
Great book. I am not sure how accurate the description of the autistic perception is, but I completely loved this book. Reading about the way Christopher perceives the world is absolutely fascinating.
Suicidal Behaviour in Europe. Schmidtke (ed.) et. al.
Interesting read I still need to finish parts of.
52.
Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney.
The far-famed translation with the "So." beginning. It is beautifully done, although I think that I favour the older verse translation. The older language has a ring to it that Heaney's doesn't always have.
51.
Elling by Simon Bent, based on the novel by Ingvar Ambjornsen.
Genius. Pure genius. I usually don't like reading plays, but this one was really entertaining. SO funny! The situations! Really a great read. I'll have to check if I can't get hold of a recording of a performance.
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 24th, 2007 05:44 pmI hope all of you have great holidays and a lovely time!
Happy birthday!!
Sunday, December 9th, 2007 01:40 am
I hope you are out there partying and dancing with the young!Severus fellow right now and you're having a great, great time!!
Book Challenge: 50.
Saturday, December 8th, 2007 02:35 pm50.
Daughters of a Coral Dawn, Katherine Forrest.
How a group of lesbian Sues goes off to live on a pink planet. There are a few truly great ideas in this one, and some passages are really funny, and I could not help but like Minerva the Historian, but the plot or the characters are really not.. that great. I don't think I want to read Daughters of an Emerald Dusk. As a commentary on other books in the genre of feminist Utopias, like Herland, it is interesting, but not by itself.
Book Challenge: 45-49
Friday, December 7th, 2007 05:08 pm49.
48.
47.
46.
45.
"... ist unstreitig homosexuell": Diskriminierung von Lesben und Schwulen in Arbeits- und Zivilrecht, Manuela Malt.
A book on the discrimination against lesbians and gays in civil law and employment law. Another chilling one. There are a lot of quotes in it, some of them from politicians, and most of them unbelievable bullshit. Also, even though it's from the early nineties, there's little that changed.
48.
A hat full of sky, by Terry Pratchett.
I think The Wee Free Men is a better book, but there are many things in this book I really love. Great one.
47.
The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett.
I can't shake off the feeling that I have read this before, this year. Well, maybe I have not, who knows. It's one of my all-time favourites. I love Tiffany, I love the self-insertive components of her, I love the Nac Mac Feegle, I love Terry's Scots. Great.
46.
Beyond Sex and Romance? The Politics of Contemporary Lesbian Fiction. By Elaine Hutton.
Very interesting essays on lesbian literature, mostly from the eighties, little new from the nineties. One very annoying article by Elaine Miller, who showed that lesbian feminists can be bigoted idiots by suggesting that FTMs are subverting "women-only spaces" which she sees as crucial for the development of feminist politics. Two paragraphs which annoyed the hell out of me in her otherwise very interesting essay.
It's funny, finding my reading list crowded with books on feminism and lesbians all of the sudden.
45.
Lesbische Frauen: Lebenswelt - Beziehungen - Psychotherapie, Kristine Falco.
And I continue the trend. Book about lesbian women and therapy, mainly, but there are also a few chapters addressed to non-psychologists. Very interesting.
First line of the month meme
Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 04:54 amNot counting flocked entries and Memes:
- January: Seriously, years are shorter than they used to be in the old days.
- February: Happy birthday, Greg!
- March: Yesterday was the last day of my internship, and every teacher told me how well-prepared and how well-thought out my lessons and sequences were, and what a good teacher I am going to be.
- April: When does this ever stop?
- May: Hagenbeck's 100 this year.
- June: I may not be able to post any entry longer than three lines at the moment, but maybe I can post pictures?
- July: The Collar
- August: Crocky and I spent the HD release weekend in London rather spontaneously, for the HD release, and also as a little treat just for the two of us to celebrate.
- September : As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme;
- October: I am such a good girl.
- November: Third-Person Limited Omniscient Narrator Blown Away By Surprise Ending
- December: I'm out job hunting again, writing scores of applications and offering myself up to the dark forces of the job market.
Favourites: Gerard Manley Hopkins
Thursday, November 29th, 2007 08:08 pm
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came.
Í say móre: the just man justices;
Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is—
Chríst—for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.
( Read more... )
Book challenge: 43-44
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 12:14 pmOnly a couple of weeks to go for my six final books, but the daily one-hour commute to the university and back is really doing wonders for that challenge.
I found some very interesting books on lesbians in the library, although most of the more recent stuff is permanently out for some reason.
44.
I found some very interesting books on lesbians in the library, although most of the more recent stuff is permanently out for some reason.
44.
Ganz normale Mütter: lesbische Frauen und ihre Kinder, Birgit Sasse. (Completely normal mothers: lesbian women and their children).43.
Very interesting, if sadly not very scientific book on lesbian women and their children, the effects such unusual parents have on children, and the experiences of the mothers. The results were fairly predictable - if children grow up in lesbian households from the beginning, they end up as happy as children from families with parents of opposite sex, and if children first grow up in "normal" households they have difficulties accepting the new partner of their mother, which is mostly down to the fact that their beloved parents split up rather than down to the same-sex orientation of the mother. One or two of the children the author interviewed did say it might be nicer if their mother had another man, as it would make it easier to explain their household to their peer group. Those two were teenagers, and all of the younger and all of the older children were comparatively happy with their lot, although most of them did not like the fact that their parents had split up in the first place. Most of the problems the children reported arose from the divorce more than the new partner, and the troubles within the new family constellations mostly from quarrels between the exes rather than the new orientation.
Interesting was that even children who were happy with their two mothers dislike or disliked the term "lesbian" initially when assigned to their mothers as they thought it was an insult and something bad, even though their life at home would have suggested something else entirely, and continue to avoid the term.
She also referenced a study conducted for Psychology Today in the early eighties without saying which and whose it was which showed that children who grow up with same-sex parents are as healthy as children who grow up with opposite-sex parents. I want to read that study.
Lesbische Identität in der Adoleszenz, Karin Kolbe (Lesbian Identity in Adolescence).
A doctoral thesis. I could have cried. It was published 1989, the author references a lot of texts from the early seventies, and many of the statements are still true. The dissertation included a study on the subjectivity and identity of women based on a questionnaire, and she got her sample through a "snow-ball-system", which means that most of her subjects were organised in societies and organisations to promote same-sex rights, introducing a - in my opinion - hefty bias not uncommon in those studies, especially from the eighties and nineties. Most of the women were very happy with their lesbian identity and had always seen it a very positive part of their identity, most of them lived in the city, most of them were raised in fairly liberal families - all a very good basis for being happy with parts of an identity that are not considered the norm, anyway.
The only really interesting difference was the class difference - lesbians from lower class backgrounds had a tendency to be less happy with their lesbian identity than lesbians from the middle- and upper classes, which she says is down to the greater importance traditional female roles have in those. Other sources on the realisation of masculinity in relation to class show similar things. Hee.
42.
41.
40.
38.
The Robber Bride, by Margaret Atwood.
Can't say much on this one so far, as I've only just started reading it.
41.
Der Umgang der nationalsozialistischen Justiz mit Homosexuellen, Carola von Bülow.
A very interesting dissertation on how the national socialist justice system treated homosexuals which I am only counting as a book because it's too long to count as an essay. Not exactly unexpected findings, although it's always amazing with what kind of craptastic arguments people can come up with to justify why homophobia is just the thing. It tends to be in keeping with the politics of the day, here it's the fact that male homosexuals undermine power structures, lure poor innocent children and of course undermine the Aryan breeding scheme. Take out the Aryan breeding and it's what fundies are saying today.
It can even be found online here.
40.
Zeit der Maskierung - Lebensgeschichten lesbischer Frauen im dritten Reich, Claudia Schoppman.39.
Great book that contains autobiographical notes on lesbian women during the third Reich of all kinds - very different women and truly alarming stories, as autobiographies from that time tend to contain.
It's sad to think that in the twenties, everything was looking up for homosexuals, especially life in the bigger cities - especially Berlin and Hamburg, in parts - had just become more liberal and open-minded, and that in the third Reich everything was crushed again. The Nazis had very much the same opinion on homosexuals Christian fundies have today. Verbatim, sometimes. Makes me wonder how many of them read Himmler's speeches under the covers.
Glenraven II, by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Awful. I hated it. Although I developed a thing for the Kintari, there were just too many things that really pissed me off - not only the - at least I thought they were- overdone reaction to the lone Wicca, the glorification of murder and handguns really, really got to me. This is exactly the kind of element Fantasy can do without.
What also made my mind boggle was the fact that the translation is called "In the Shadow of the Castle" or something to that effect - only - which castle? There was not one castle, unless the destroyed shopping mall counts. Or the Ruddy Smeachwykke which features in the last five or so chapters.
38.
Glenraven, by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
I used to love her books as a child. Some elements in this story are just so dreadfully forced and just clonk along (how do I get my North Carolinian heroine into a magical medieval valley in Europe? I know! I have her be "just drawn towards" a magically enchanted Fodor's travel guide. Did not really work for me.), but when the story is up and running, there are really nice things in it and it made me remember why I liked her so much. Although maybe that's just Matthiall.
"Maybe we sort too soon."
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 07:50 pmIn the Potterverse, the future life of a child is determined when they are eleven without any possibility of changing that later on by sorting the child into one of the four houses, influencing how it is going to be perceived later in life, as it says a lot on their character, influencing also its peer group. In Germany, the same happens at the same age, and possibly even earlier. In the Potterverse, a magical hat determines where you are to be sent, and the decision is based on your character. The system is infinitely better than the system currently employed by the German education system.
The decision, which is allegedly based on the competences of the child, is very much influenced by factors like the milieu the parents are from, by nationality and ethnicity, by economical factors. Of course there are many people who are sorted according to their competences, but there are clear tendencies that show that the people who end up in the school they do end up in because of other factors.
Our politicians should definitely think about the magic-hat system. It's fairer, and it's at least based on the child's character.
The decision, which is allegedly based on the competences of the child, is very much influenced by factors like the milieu the parents are from, by nationality and ethnicity, by economical factors. Of course there are many people who are sorted according to their competences, but there are clear tendencies that show that the people who end up in the school they do end up in because of other factors.
Our politicians should definitely think about the magic-hat system. It's fairer, and it's at least based on the child's character.
Exhausting
Saturday, November 17th, 2007 06:59 pmAnd in more than one sense, but most of all emotionally. I know that Hamburg is a city in which a lot of children live in broken homes or come from incredibly poor and difficult backgrounds.
I feel so silly. I knew these things were going on, but hearing people talk about them who had witnessed them made them more real, and more horrible.
Somehow, I am at the same time both sad and glad that I did not take part in such a more "difficult" trip instead of the six comparatively easy weeks at the kindergarten. I would have wanted to do something to make them - all of them - feel better - but I would have never been able to, and that, and the terrible burden of knowing that there are children who are raised in such horrible conditions, would have just about killed me. This seminar really makes me want to find a way to reach out to children living in such difficult conditions and help them, one at a time, so that I can help without breaking.
I feel so silly. I knew these things were going on, but hearing people talk about them who had witnessed them made them more real, and more horrible.
Somehow, I am at the same time both sad and glad that I did not take part in such a more "difficult" trip instead of the six comparatively easy weeks at the kindergarten. I would have wanted to do something to make them - all of them - feel better - but I would have never been able to, and that, and the terrible burden of knowing that there are children who are raised in such horrible conditions, would have just about killed me. This seminar really makes me want to find a way to reach out to children living in such difficult conditions and help them, one at a time, so that I can help without breaking.
37.
36.
Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood.
I loved The Handmaid's Tale so much I set out to find more books by the author in our library. This one has a very promising start and I really enjoy reading it so far.
36.
Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters.
I loved the movie, and because I did I had been looking forward to reading the book a lot. Still, somehow this book is not nearly as good as The Night Watch was, for me. The characters's plots are interesting, so is learning about them, but being told the story three times is not, even though it is interesting to read the different ideolects she gives her characters.
To the end, to the end they remain...
Friday, November 2nd, 2007 09:13 pmI have seen the above line on war memorials rather often, but it never occured to me before to Google the line. As chance willed, someone had a poppy icon with the probably most famous stanza from this poem in a community I frequent, thus I did find the poem after all.
I think I'll backdate this because it's not of immediate interest, really.
Laurence Binyon, For the Fallen (21st September, 1914)
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is a music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncountered:
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end they remain.
I think I'll backdate this because it's not of immediate interest, really.
Laurence Binyon, For the Fallen (21st September, 1914)
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is a music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncountered:
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end they remain.
Memememe...
Friday, November 2nd, 2007 01:14 amSince this is making the rounds:
* Name a fandom you know I know and I'll tell you:
1. The first character I first fell in love with
2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now
3. The character everyone else loves that I don't
4. The character I love that everyone else hates
5. The character I used to love but don't any longer
6. The character I would shag anytime
7. The character I'd want to be like
8. The character I'd slap
9. A pairing that I love
10. A pairing that I despise.
* Name a fandom you know I know and I'll tell you:
1. The first character I first fell in love with
2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now
3. The character everyone else loves that I don't
4. The character I love that everyone else hates
5. The character I used to love but don't any longer
6. The character I would shag anytime
7. The character I'd want to be like
8. The character I'd slap
9. A pairing that I love
10. A pairing that I despise.
"Ahh, Music, a magic beyond all we do here!"
Saturday, October 27th, 2007 01:22 pmSo, who plays a musical instrument, and which?
I'm curious.
I am curious because I lovemusicians music and always envy musicians for their proficiency. My own career as a maker of music with any instrument is pretty short and filled with unrequited love.
When I was six, my mother thought it was a good idea to have me learn the recorder. I hated it. I was not alone with the teacher, there are other children there, I liked that, but I hated the lessons. I was bad. The teacher always had me play our homework assignment in front of everyone as a punishment because I couldn't keep up with the others. She was a fiend in human shape, another musician who had never made it and now got by by giving lessons to young children. I stopped going to those lessons fairly soon. I didn't even like the sound of the recorder, and the knowledge that I could go on to nicer instruments once I'd mastered that dreaded thing was not really a great consolation for me, either.
I always wanted to wake up and be able to play the Cello. It's my favourite instrument, but I fear that it's far too difficult to learn for me now. Or the piano. That might even be fun learning. I've always envied people who were able to play it, like![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
angie_21_237 and, of course, Crocky.
I half-heartedly tried learning the tin whistle, with great sheet music with drawings of the whistle under each note so I could directly play according to the little drawings, but that was a very short-lived experiment. I never really managed to get proper notes out of the thing whenever I tried overblowing.
Currently, I'm thinking of learning how to play the trombone. Not easy either, but I really like the sound of that instrument, and it's possible fairly quickly to join a little amateur ensemble and play together with others, that's more fun than practising on my own, which I never keep up for long, I know myself. And I'm still looking for a choir, one that meets at a half-way decent time at a place that's half-way close by. The ones I found are either meeting on Thursday, when I have a seminar, or are just too far away. I somehow don't want to make an hour trip to get to my choir.
I'm curious.
I am curious because I love
When I was six, my mother thought it was a good idea to have me learn the recorder. I hated it. I was not alone with the teacher, there are other children there, I liked that, but I hated the lessons. I was bad. The teacher always had me play our homework assignment in front of everyone as a punishment because I couldn't keep up with the others. She was a fiend in human shape, another musician who had never made it and now got by by giving lessons to young children. I stopped going to those lessons fairly soon. I didn't even like the sound of the recorder, and the knowledge that I could go on to nicer instruments once I'd mastered that dreaded thing was not really a great consolation for me, either.
I always wanted to wake up and be able to play the Cello. It's my favourite instrument, but I fear that it's far too difficult to learn for me now. Or the piano. That might even be fun learning. I've always envied people who were able to play it, like
angie_21_237 and, of course, Crocky.I half-heartedly tried learning the tin whistle, with great sheet music with drawings of the whistle under each note so I could directly play according to the little drawings, but that was a very short-lived experiment. I never really managed to get proper notes out of the thing whenever I tried overblowing.
Currently, I'm thinking of learning how to play the trombone. Not easy either, but I really like the sound of that instrument, and it's possible fairly quickly to join a little amateur ensemble and play together with others, that's more fun than practising on my own, which I never keep up for long, I know myself. And I'm still looking for a choir, one that meets at a half-way decent time at a place that's half-way close by. The ones I found are either meeting on Thursday, when I have a seminar, or are just too far away. I somehow don't want to make an hour trip to get to my choir.
Books 24 - 35
Thursday, October 25th, 2007 04:14 pmI can't believe I forgot about this thing again. I have no clue if this list is complete.
35.
34.
33.
32.
27.
Ok. Back to The Handmaid's Tale.
35.
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood.
I LOVE. This book. It's absolutely unputdownable. There are not many books which nearly make me tap my foot during lectures, looking forward to the break so I can get back to my book, this is one of them. Absolutely great.
34.
Making Money, by Terry Pratchett.
Eerie. I had a lot of Going Postal flashbacks, reading this. Again great to see more of Vetinari, but on the whole... Where is the author of Small Gods?
33.
Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett.
By far not my favourite discworld novel, although it does have it's highlights. Not many, but they're there. When I read it back in '06, I thought that it's good to see more of Vetinari, and I liked Spike a lot, but on the whole... I never thought I'd say this, but where's the author of Small Gods?
32.
Imperium, by Robert Harris.31.
Great read. Experiencing Cicero's very impressive career and his various schemes through the eyes of his slave Tiro is interesting enough, and the amounts of history textbook personalities around him add to the appeal of that book. The probably most interesting character in this novel for me was not Julius Caesar, or the obscenely rich Crassus, or the notorious Verres I know from the speeches, but his Cicero's wife, Terentia.
I cannot, for the life of me, understand, why he divorced her later in life. Of course he must have his reasons, very probably political reasons, knowing the two. Still. I didn't find much information on her, but what is known seems to suggest that she was a very independent woman who knew what she wanted, and even though there never seemed a lot of romance between her and her husband, she always supported him. She invested considerable amounts of money into his career, and stood by him while he was exiled. After more than thirty years of marriage, he left her for his rich young ward who was no older than twenty - about ten years younger than his daughter.
Dragonsbane (albeit in German, Der Schwarze Drache), by Barbara Hambly.30.
I love this book. It's not the best fantasy novel there is, it's not that well written, there are whole passages which are ... long, most of all. Still, again, what makes this novel for me, is the characters. The main character is a witch in her late thirties, she's torn between pursuing what she feels is her true calling, her career as a witch, and her family, her husband, down-to-earth Lord John and her two sons. It's great to read a fantasy novel which is not about people in their twenties for once.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J. K. Rowling.29.
Carpe Jugulum, by Terry Pratchett.28.
I am an Agnes fangirl. There should be more Agneses in literature. It also contains some of the best quotes on literature, and I've always meant to write an essay comparing Granny Weatherwax's and Vorbis's views.
Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett.
This is the book which made me love Terry Pratchett. It's the second book I bought, and when I read it, I fell in love with Death and Granny Weatherwax at first sight.
27.
Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett.26.
Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett.25.
I doubt that there is anyone who dislikes this book.
The End of Alice, by A. M. Homes.24.
Another very recommended book. It's very well written, and the way it forces you into the psyche of the abusive, paedophile character and narrator of the story is deeply disturbing, but also very captivating.
Incidences in the life of a slavegirl, by Linda Brent.
I really recommend this book, although the main character's story is horrible. Not an easy read.
Ok. Back to The Handmaid's Tale.
Some good things do come of reading texts for education courses. I proudly present: the education buzzword bingo!
Create your own buzzword bingo cards here.
Also, feel free to add education buzzwords. I realise some of these are not really that inventive, but I found it hard to come up with 25 buzzwords, after all.
Create your own buzzword bingo cards here.
Also, feel free to add education buzzwords. I realise some of these are not really that inventive, but I found it hard to come up with 25 buzzwords, after all.
(no subject)
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 10:45 pmYou Are Absinthe!
You have a unique personality. Although most like you, sometimes you take some getting used to. You can be a bit strong. You are full of energy and sometimes flamboyant. You are the life of the party but if people are not careful you can knock them on their ass.
What Naughty My Little Pony Are You?
Unique. My favourite buzzword. Also good to know that I can be a bit strong and sometimes be flamboyant. Tehee.
You have a unique personality. Although most like you, sometimes you take some getting used to. You can be a bit strong. You are full of energy and sometimes flamboyant. You are the life of the party but if people are not careful you can knock them on their ass.
What Naughty My Little Pony Are You?
Unique. My favourite buzzword. Also good to know that I can be a bit strong and sometimes be flamboyant. Tehee.
Becoming Jane
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 12:36 pm
What has the poor woman done to deserve this?
Not that I even like Jane Austen, but I feel that summing up her life so blandly as a boy meets girl story and a heartbroken romance - which also seems to be the sole inspiration for her novels - is selling her short. She is one of the greatest writers in the English language, and what does this movie do to her? Put her into an inspiring love story à la Shakespeare in Love. Of course there are people who suggest that she harboured deeper feelings for Lefroy, but there is just not enough evidence to prove or disprove what is hard fact and the basis for the story of this movie.
What is a fact is that Jane Austen was not a stomping, lovesick teenager, and nor did she write some of the greatest novels in the English language because she was one. The suggestion that she would not have been able to create the characters she did create without encountering exact real-life models is absolutely insulting. Of course she based some of her characters on people around her, she mentioned this herself, but this direct translation of reality into fiction really annoys me.
The only thing which saves this movie is Maggie Smith.
Stine. Has eaten. Two of my applications.
Not more.
Just the two.
All others are fine.
Two seminars I know I have applied for, because they were the first seminars I applied for.
Also, I was turned down for the two education courses I really need, which means I'll probably have to graduate a semester later just because of those two seminars.
High five?
Not more.
Just the two.
All others are fine.
Two seminars I know I have applied for, because they were the first seminars I applied for.
Also, I was turned down for the two education courses I really need, which means I'll probably have to graduate a semester later just because of those two seminars.
High five?
This Lime-Tree Bower my Prison - Coleridge.
Saturday, October 6th, 2007 10:31 pmBecause I'm also feeling left alone and whiny about it. Although I did not come to quite such beautiful conclusions as Coleridge here.
Author's Preface
In the June of 1797 some long-expected Friends paid a visit to the author's cottage; and on the morning of their arrival, he met with an accident, which disabled him from walking during the whole time of their stay. One evening, when they had left him for a few hours, he composed the following lines in the garden-bower.
This Lime-Tree Bower my Prison
Well, they are gone, and here must I remain,
This lime tree bower my prison ! I have lost
Beauties and feelings, such as would have been
Most sweet to my remembrance even when age
Had dimm'd mine eyes to blindness ! They, meanwhile,
Friends, whom I never more may meet again,
On springy heath, along the hill-top edge,
Wander in gladness, and wind down, perchance,
To that still roaring dell, of which I told ;
Author's Preface
In the June of 1797 some long-expected Friends paid a visit to the author's cottage; and on the morning of their arrival, he met with an accident, which disabled him from walking during the whole time of their stay. One evening, when they had left him for a few hours, he composed the following lines in the garden-bower.
This Lime-Tree Bower my Prison
Well, they are gone, and here must I remain,
This lime tree bower my prison ! I have lost
Beauties and feelings, such as would have been
Most sweet to my remembrance even when age
Had dimm'd mine eyes to blindness ! They, meanwhile,
Friends, whom I never more may meet again,
On springy heath, along the hill-top edge,
Wander in gladness, and wind down, perchance,
To that still roaring dell, of which I told ;
( Read more... )
I am torn between "OMG! How awesome" and "OMG! How scary".
If they really do that, I am so going to buy that.
I am such a good girl. I never really bother checking communities which are likely to offend me. Still, I thought, things can't get too bad, as they are famously on the paranoid side, and the member conduct says,
Nope.
So they are condoning this kind of nonsense because it's not hateful?? What is hateful if that is not hateful enough?
Yet another good reason to leave LJ.
"XVI. MEMBER CONDUCT
You agree to NOT use the Service to:
Upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive to another's privacy (up to, but not excluding any address, email, phone number, or any other contact information without the written consent of the owner of such information), hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;"Hateful content: not allowed. Racism: not allowed. Good. When I found this post (warning, racist bullshit from a community full of racist bullshit), I therefore thought that reporting it would do the trick and the mods would delete it, as it is hateful and offensive. I am so naive.
Nope.
( LJ's answer )
So they are condoning this kind of nonsense because it's not hateful?? What is hateful if that is not hateful enough?
Yet another good reason to leave LJ.
Dear travellers in the USA,
Saturday, September 22nd, 2007 03:21 pmRemember to think twice about taking your book about building your own bomb at home on the plane. The information might will be recorded for future reference, and maybe people will come to call on you at some point. The effects of reading Harry Potter on the plane and whether it will be recorded are still not confirmed, but potentially offensive material or material which shows that your views do not directly reflect those of Fox news might be noted and recorded.
Collecting such a lot of data must be a lot of work, and the brave men and women who run the Department for Homeland Security will be pleased to hear that there are indeed people whose experience and expertise they can draw upon, people to support them with their efforts. After all, the GDR ceased to exist less than twenty years ago, and even though they may not be up to scratch with the latest technological developments, their years of training will be bound to come in handy, even for their former opponents. I am sure they will will support them with they will be happy to help the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to protect freedom and the democracy, as they themselves have been doing nothing else while they were still working for their employer, the famous GDR Ministry for State Security.
These guys were good at collecting data.
Collecting such a lot of data must be a lot of work, and the brave men and women who run the Department for Homeland Security will be pleased to hear that there are indeed people whose experience and expertise they can draw upon, people to support them with their efforts. After all, the GDR ceased to exist less than twenty years ago, and even though they may not be up to scratch with the latest technological developments, their years of training will be bound to come in handy, even for their former opponents. I am sure they will will support them with they will be happy to help the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to protect freedom and the democracy, as they themselves have been doing nothing else while they were still working for their employer, the famous GDR Ministry for State Security.
These guys were good at collecting data.
BBC Book list
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 12:38 amNicked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
firenightingale. These book lists usually result in embarrassing results for me, and they did this time. And I call myself a literature student? Pshaw.
( 56/100 )
Which reminds me. I still have to read Midnight's Children. I don't know if I'm quite up to it after Grimus, The Ground Beneath her Feet, East, West and The Satanic Verses, though. I really liked the Satanic Verses, but the other ones... I can' even remember what it was that bothered me, but something did bother me so much I never picked up a book by Rushdie again after 2001. There must be something good about the book, though, ifmoonystone likes it. I have faith in her taste.
firenightingale. These book lists usually result in embarrassing results for me, and they did this time. And I call myself a literature student? Pshaw. ( 56/100 )
Which reminds me. I still have to read Midnight's Children. I don't know if I'm quite up to it after Grimus, The Ground Beneath her Feet, East, West and The Satanic Verses, though. I really liked the Satanic Verses, but the other ones... I can' even remember what it was that bothered me, but something did bother me so much I never picked up a book by Rushdie again after 2001. There must be something good about the book, though, if
moonystone likes it. I have faith in her taste.Happy Birthday!
Thursday, September 6th, 2007 12:02 am
count_tygath!Well, happy belated birthday, I should say. Sorry I didn't make it earlier! We just came back to Hamburg from painting our flat. I hope you had a really lovely, stress-free day!
As kingfishers catch fire,
Sunday, September 2nd, 2007 10:13 pmAs kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came.
Í say móre: the just man justices;
Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is-
Chríst—for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.
- Gerard Manley Hopkins
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came.
Í say móre: the just man justices;
Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is-
Chríst—for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.
- Gerard Manley Hopkins
Not work safe. At all.
Friday, August 17th, 2007 06:51 pmSo, I never post NWS stuff, but when I stumbled upon this vid on an education site I spent a couple of minutes trying to find out what on earth it was supposed to tell me, and was really glad when they showed whose video it was at the end. Of course the context of the site I found it on should have made that clear, but I still did not really get it at first.
( The NWS vids: nudity and sexual situations )
( The NWS vids: nudity and sexual situations )
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 10:06 pm
Of course they made a movie.
If you don't know the books, you definitely ought to check them out, they are awesome. The story is not all that innovative, but the characters are very sweet, and there are a lot of aspects which make this story well worth the read and it's a pity that the books only take twenty minutes to finish. The story is about three children who move from New England to ... er, England, although I don't know where, exactly. They move to the inevitable Victorian mansion they inherited from their old and frail grandmother, with their now-single, recently divorced mother. The mansion is also ridden with fairy tale creatures. The dreamy, creative Jared sees them, but it takes a while to make his twin, the animal-obsessed, tidy Simon and his sister, fencing, angry Mallory, believe that the person responsible for all the broken things and all the pranks was not him, trying to annoy his mother for moving to Britain, but a group of fairies and pixies.
Although Jared rocks, of course, the real reason to read this book is Mallory.
She's the coolest character in the entire book.
Ok, ok, this is only funny because I have been awake for 36 hours and had just survived six hours of kindergarten - when it struck me - you know what?
LORD VOLDEMORT IS A RETRIBUTION PALA!
Why?
Because he has to let others do the damage for him?
Because whenever he tries to deal damage he needs to apply himself to the services of the guild healer instantly?
No!
Well, not only.
Because he placed Nagini in a friggin' BUBBLE!!!!
That absolutely killed me when I thought of that while cooking my lunch. I had to share with my brother, who raised an appreciative eye-brow at the giggling heap that was his sister and then launched into this great big explanation on why he could also be a mage and how this and that class was more likely but no, no, I was quite right, a retribution paladin he could be.
Awesome.
My brain is melting. Will now go and get some sleep.
And then finally go and catch up on all your entries! I really haven't been around much, reading, for the past weeks. Sorry about that. And I have to find out what that recent LJ suckage was all about.
LORD VOLDEMORT IS A RETRIBUTION PALA!
Why?
Because he has to let others do the damage for him?
Because whenever he tries to deal damage he needs to apply himself to the services of the guild healer instantly?
No!
Well, not only.
Because he placed Nagini in a friggin' BUBBLE!!!!
That absolutely killed me when I thought of that while cooking my lunch. I had to share with my brother, who raised an appreciative eye-brow at the giggling heap that was his sister and then launched into this great big explanation on why he could also be a mage and how this and that class was more likely but no, no, I was quite right, a retribution paladin he could be.
Awesome.
My brain is melting. Will now go and get some sleep.
And then finally go and catch up on all your entries! I really haven't been around much, reading, for the past weeks. Sorry about that. And I have to find out what that recent LJ suckage was all about.
Scraps from the table
Friday, August 10th, 2007 07:13 pmCan someone kindly explain to me, please, please how homosexuals marrying harms the protection of the family that the German and EU government think is so important they keep quoting it in this context?
I know I am probably annoying and boring everyone with the sudden outburst of LGBT rights-related issues, and I am trying to keep them as low as I used to, but I'm going insane with trying to see the sense in the arguments. It. Does. Not. Harm. Families. And nor does it mean that families as they are and marriages as they are are somehow invalidated or defiled or desecrated. Seriously. "Homosexuals can't procreate and hence not really have a family", seems to be the sole reason, really. I'd like to see all those people who are married and not procreating stripped of some of their rights, then, please.
The best thing about this - German law does not actually take the trouble to define what a "marriage" is, they just say that everyone has a right to have one - oh, the fucking irony, as I quite apparently do not. The only thing which brings "man" and "woman" into it are the legal commentaries - and the ECHR, which is apparently designed to be especially explicit and has,
... although that still does not say that they have to marry each other, but again, the commentaries. But of course, since we have now been graciously offered the chance to get a civil union, we "can't complain".
I wonder how long that will take to be changed - but considering how long it's taken for women to be allowed to work or vote it might just take a wee while.
I know I am probably annoying and boring everyone with the sudden outburst of LGBT rights-related issues, and I am trying to keep them as low as I used to, but I'm going insane with trying to see the sense in the arguments. It. Does. Not. Harm. Families. And nor does it mean that families as they are and marriages as they are are somehow invalidated or defiled or desecrated. Seriously. "Homosexuals can't procreate and hence not really have a family", seems to be the sole reason, really. I'd like to see all those people who are married and not procreating stripped of some of their rights, then, please.
The best thing about this - German law does not actually take the trouble to define what a "marriage" is, they just say that everyone has a right to have one - oh, the fucking irony, as I quite apparently do not. The only thing which brings "man" and "woman" into it are the legal commentaries - and the ECHR, which is apparently designed to be especially explicit and has,
"Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and to found a family, according to the national laws governing the exercise of this right." (Article 12 ECHR)
... although that still does not say that they have to marry each other, but again, the commentaries. But of course, since we have now been graciously offered the chance to get a civil union, we "can't complain".
I wonder how long that will take to be changed - but considering how long it's taken for women to be allowed to work or vote it might just take a wee while.
Looking for Group
Monday, August 6th, 2007 08:09 amLooking for Group is a webcomic centred around four WoW-type characters on a quest, featuring a Blood elf who does not want to be evil, a wise Tauren, an adorably sarcastic Undead who is the reason for reading this comic (Riiiichaaaaard ♥), and a green Priestess of "unknown pedigree". I am usually not a big fan of all things comic, but this one is really funny.
Now excuse me while I fangirl Richard a bit more.
Now excuse me while I fangirl Richard a bit more.
Potterdämmerung by Sean O'Hara
Sunday, August 5th, 2007 09:35 amSomeone snarked the entire DH. It can get a bit long sometimes as he sometimes just takes the original text and pastes that, but all in all, there are enough funny bits to make it well worthwhile to read it.
The German law making same-sex sexual relationships between men a criminal offence punishable with up to 5 years of prison only stopped being in use in 1994.
I was eleven in 1994, I had just come to a new school, a friend of mine was in love for the first time, I was wondering why some of the other girls were suddenly interested in boys, and all over Germany, men were being imprisoned or fined or otherwise criminalised for having sex with other men.
The law responsible had been taken from the law introduced 1851, which had been altered in 1935. This version was much stricter than the 1851 one, of course. After the end of the Third Reich, the law, §175, remained in use as it did not strike the people responsible as a particularly nazi law, and hence did not need to be abolished along with the others.
As, if not more embarrassing: with their usual speed of action the German government decided in 2002 to rehabilitate men who had been imprisoned as homosexuals during the Third Reich. Two-thousand and two? I wonder how many of the original victims were even alive then. Better late then never, of course, but two-thousand and two?? These men had been interred in concentration camps like all the other people who were considered either unworthy or dangerous, but when the camps were liberated by the allies, some prisoners staid behind - murderers, rapists, thieves - homosexuals. It is so ridiculous that these men have only been rehabilitated in 2002, what the fuck has taken them so long?
The men interred in these concentration camps were subjected to the most gruesome torture, castrated, and as they were criminalised even after the end of the Third Reich. This would only end in 1969, and because they were only criminals, and as unpopular as they had been, their fates were ignored.
In 1969 the law was changed to something which was not a lot less ridiculous, but at least did not mean that all homosexual men would be interred for their relationships. The new system introduced two age limits - under 18 it would not be against the law to engage in same-sex acts, but if the men were older then 18 but younger than 21, it was a criminal offense - completely ridiculous. Still, seeing as underage sex as such has also always been a matter of debate this was probably a really modern law. Too bad it remained in use until nineteen-fucking-ninety-four.
And why did it vanish?
Did someone have a sudden brainwave?
No. Because of the German reunification. The paragraph had not been in use in the GDR since 1957, and it had been abandoned completely in 1989. There had been a debate about whether this paragraph ought to be in use in both parts of Germany, and they decided against it -last minute, I might add, as the deadline for including or chucking it was 1994.
I was eleven in 1994, I had just come to a new school, a friend of mine was in love for the first time, I was wondering why some of the other girls were suddenly interested in boys, and all over Germany, men were being imprisoned or fined or otherwise criminalised for having sex with other men.
The law responsible had been taken from the law introduced 1851, which had been altered in 1935. This version was much stricter than the 1851 one, of course. After the end of the Third Reich, the law, §175, remained in use as it did not strike the people responsible as a particularly nazi law, and hence did not need to be abolished along with the others.
As, if not more embarrassing: with their usual speed of action the German government decided in 2002 to rehabilitate men who had been imprisoned as homosexuals during the Third Reich. Two-thousand and two? I wonder how many of the original victims were even alive then. Better late then never, of course, but two-thousand and two?? These men had been interred in concentration camps like all the other people who were considered either unworthy or dangerous, but when the camps were liberated by the allies, some prisoners staid behind - murderers, rapists, thieves - homosexuals. It is so ridiculous that these men have only been rehabilitated in 2002, what the fuck has taken them so long?
The men interred in these concentration camps were subjected to the most gruesome torture, castrated, and as they were criminalised even after the end of the Third Reich. This would only end in 1969, and because they were only criminals, and as unpopular as they had been, their fates were ignored.
In 1969 the law was changed to something which was not a lot less ridiculous, but at least did not mean that all homosexual men would be interred for their relationships. The new system introduced two age limits - under 18 it would not be against the law to engage in same-sex acts, but if the men were older then 18 but younger than 21, it was a criminal offense - completely ridiculous. Still, seeing as underage sex as such has also always been a matter of debate this was probably a really modern law. Too bad it remained in use until nineteen-fucking-ninety-four.
And why did it vanish?
Did someone have a sudden brainwave?
No. Because of the German reunification. The paragraph had not been in use in the GDR since 1957, and it had been abandoned completely in 1989. There had been a debate about whether this paragraph ought to be in use in both parts of Germany, and they decided against it -last minute, I might add, as the deadline for including or chucking it was 1994.
So, I did go.
It was one gigantic party in central Hamburg. The weather was great, the mood the people were in and the costumes were, too. There were a lot of really interesting information desks belonging to various clubs and organisations, which was awesome. I never realised just how many support organisations there were, which is something I ought to know, especially as a future teacher. I took some of their info material just in case, and found to my delight that there were quite a number of support organisations for older lesbians, like the "Golden Girls", a group for lesbians in their fifties who meet once a week, and another about old age and lesbians. A brilliant idea, definitely - and one I had been wondering about. There are a fair number of support hotlines and info centres for children and teenagers, but it must be even harder to come to terms with your sexuality and resulting difficulties when you are aging - even though you have most likely learned to live with it.
I still did not buy a rainbow-colour flag, which I have been wanting to do for a while because I think they are really pretty, but I did find a little labrys pendant - not so much a statement as a pretty item of jewellery, though. The one I bought in Glasgow broke a while ago, and I have always been wanting a replacement.
Interestingly enough, while they did not take part in the parade, our ruling party deigned to put up an info stand as well. Well done, CDU, I would not have thought it possible.
( Pretty parade pictures (25) )
Colour Meme
Saturday, August 4th, 2007 05:51 pm-RED-
-ORANGE-
-YELLOW-
-GREEN-
-BLUE-
-PURPLE-
-PINK-
( Read more... )
-ORANGE-
( Read more... )
-YELLOW-
( Read more... )
-GREEN-
( Read more... )
-BLUE-
( Read more... )
-PURPLE-
( Read more... )
-PINK-
( Read more... )
Morrigan (Molly)
1998 - 2007
Molly, the lovely little black rabbit.
Molly has been ill occasionally for years, with strange fits of sneezing occasionally (though not rabbit flu), and most notably a seizure in June 2004, but she always got well again, and the vet was always able to reassure us that everything was fine with her. Always. Until today, when I noticed that she had difficulties breathing when I gave her her breakfast, which she did eat with an appetite. Still, she kept breathing through her mouth, and it seemed to give her considerable difficulty.
When I clipped her claws she panicked completely, which was very unusual, because she is not new to having her claws clipped, so I put her on the floor to calm down, but she did not. Her breathing became worse and worse, and she died while I was on the phone with the kindergarten, telling them I could not come because I had to go to the vet's. I wish I had been there, it was a question of minutes, and the thought that she must have suffocated is horrible.
The worst thing about this is that Crocky, who fed her two days ago, said that Molly's breathing had sounded strange. When I checked on her that night she was fine again, but I could have done something if I had gone to the vet immediately that night. She usually did sneeze when her cage had been cleared out because the dust from the hay got in her nose, and sometimes over a period of days, and her breathing occasionally sounded strange because there was slime in her nose, but it always went away again. It sounds as though it has really been rabbit flu this time, and that can be cured if you act immediately - and can be fatal if not.
1998 - 2007
Molly, the lovely little black rabbit.
Molly has been ill occasionally for years, with strange fits of sneezing occasionally (though not rabbit flu), and most notably a seizure in June 2004, but she always got well again, and the vet was always able to reassure us that everything was fine with her. Always. Until today, when I noticed that she had difficulties breathing when I gave her her breakfast, which she did eat with an appetite. Still, she kept breathing through her mouth, and it seemed to give her considerable difficulty.
When I clipped her claws she panicked completely, which was very unusual, because she is not new to having her claws clipped, so I put her on the floor to calm down, but she did not. Her breathing became worse and worse, and she died while I was on the phone with the kindergarten, telling them I could not come because I had to go to the vet's. I wish I had been there, it was a question of minutes, and the thought that she must have suffocated is horrible.
The worst thing about this is that Crocky, who fed her two days ago, said that Molly's breathing had sounded strange. When I checked on her that night she was fine again, but I could have done something if I had gone to the vet immediately that night. She usually did sneeze when her cage had been cleared out because the dust from the hay got in her nose, and sometimes over a period of days, and her breathing occasionally sounded strange because there was slime in her nose, but it always went away again. It sounds as though it has really been rabbit flu this time, and that can be cured if you act immediately - and can be fatal if not.
So, dumbness or arrogance?
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007 10:26 pmThe Seeker - The Dark is Rising.
Right.
I am still going to watch it, but MAN.
I like some of the things they've done, and I think that it will still be fun to watch it, but I fear that it will be nothing special any more, not the way the books were (not even for me, I know that my inner fangirl will never be satisfied, but what made the books special).
Right.
I am still going to watch it, but MAN.
I like some of the things they've done, and I think that it will still be fun to watch it, but I fear that it will be nothing special any more, not the way the books were (not even for me, I know that my inner fangirl will never be satisfied, but what made the books special).
Deathly Hallows Release in Piccadilly
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 08:28 amThere was an amazing amount of people waiting in front of Waterstone's at Piccadilly even by the time we got there, which was around 4pm, most of them dressed up, some in really complicated and crafty outfits. The mood these guys were in was really great, it was basically one gigantic, vaguely scary party. There were a lot of spontaneous discussions among strangers prompted by signs or dresses about the series, too, it was just awesome. I am not usually a fan of great, big crowds of people, but those guys in the queue were fun to be around.
There were people from the various internet sites handing out stuff, even, like SnapeCasters who handed out Snape's Personal Shampoo, a lady who went round offering to paint lightning-shaped scars and Dark Marks (we did not go for it, though), and all sorts of people handing out flyers of sites we all know. We really should have been wearing Pensieve tees, I thought later on.
We learned that some of those guys had been there since Wednesday, camping outside the book store, in spite of the heavy rainfalls, and many had come from other countries, too, flown in only for the event. Queuing next to us were several "Beauxbaton students" from France, but there were also Italian quidditch players, Eastern European house elves, Dutch Gryffindors and German Gryffindors. There were Death Eaters who invited Crocky to "duel" the DA with them - or would have, if the cowards had showed up (thus, the Death Eaters automatically won after the period of grace they had given the DAers was up). There was a "Dumbledore", there was a Mad-eye Moody, there were the four founders, there were the Malfoys, there were two Trelawneys, there was a Firebolt, there was Hogwarts, there were several people with Hedwigs in cages - in short, it was a lot of fun which truly frightened my grandma, who saw it on telly.
Crocky has taken these great pics:
( In front of Waterstone's, Piccadilly )
And, a day later:
( ... at King's Cross )
There were people from the various internet sites handing out stuff, even, like SnapeCasters who handed out Snape's Personal Shampoo, a lady who went round offering to paint lightning-shaped scars and Dark Marks (we did not go for it, though), and all sorts of people handing out flyers of sites we all know. We really should have been wearing Pensieve tees, I thought later on.
We learned that some of those guys had been there since Wednesday, camping outside the book store, in spite of the heavy rainfalls, and many had come from other countries, too, flown in only for the event. Queuing next to us were several "Beauxbaton students" from France, but there were also Italian quidditch players, Eastern European house elves, Dutch Gryffindors and German Gryffindors. There were Death Eaters who invited Crocky to "duel" the DA with them - or would have, if the cowards had showed up (thus, the Death Eaters automatically won after the period of grace they had given the DAers was up). There was a "Dumbledore", there was a Mad-eye Moody, there were the four founders, there were the Malfoys, there were two Trelawneys, there was a Firebolt, there was Hogwarts, there were several people with Hedwigs in cages - in short, it was a lot of fun which truly frightened my grandma, who saw it on telly.
Crocky has taken these great pics:
( In front of Waterstone's, Piccadilly )
And, a day later:
( ... at King's Cross )
One fannish weekend
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 08:26 amCrocky and I spent the HD release weekend in London rather spontaneously, for the HD release, and also as a little treat just for the two of us to celebrate.
We went there with one of those bus tours where you spend 16h of the trip in a bus, trying to sleep in the confined space offered to you. I was glad that none of the tours the company offered were compulsory, I had not been sure about that from the beginning and we wanted to spend time together. Luckily, we were able to bypass the day trips they offered, although I would have liked to go to Eton. Another time - we need to go to London again, anyway, to meet our Pensievers there.
So, here are some rather general pics of London, I'll put the really lovely Piccadilly midnight release pics Crocky's taken in another post.
( Ah doo believe in ferries, Ah doo, Ah doo )
( Baker Street (5) )
( Random tube-y pics (6) )
( Assorted pics of central London (11) )
( Wicked (3) )
We went there with one of those bus tours where you spend 16h of the trip in a bus, trying to sleep in the confined space offered to you. I was glad that none of the tours the company offered were compulsory, I had not been sure about that from the beginning and we wanted to spend time together. Luckily, we were able to bypass the day trips they offered, although I would have liked to go to Eton. Another time - we need to go to London again, anyway, to meet our Pensievers there.
So, here are some rather general pics of London, I'll put the really lovely Piccadilly midnight release pics Crocky's taken in another post.
( Ah doo believe in ferries, Ah doo, Ah doo )
( Baker Street (5) )
( Random tube-y pics (6) )
( Assorted pics of central London (11) )
( Wicked (3) )
 |
I love the Onion for things like that, even though I realise that the stereotyping is outrageous and that technically, I should not be laughing at things like that.
From the mouths of babes
Thursday, July 26th, 2007 05:19 pm- A girl, aged 3, and a boy, aged four, playing at horses. Suddenly, the boy falls over, stops whinnying, and the girl and another friend look on. A moment's hesitation. Then,
"Hey, Ben's dead! Let's EAT him! Yum, yum yum!" - A girl, aged 4, and a boy, aged 4, sitting at a table. On the table is a naked baby doll as I enter.
"What are you guys doing?"
"We want to eat the baby!"
*splutter* "Why?"
"It's so rosy!" - A boy, aged 7, comes into the room, all dressed up in black skirts and dresses so that he is entirely covered
"And what are you? A ghost with a suntan?"
"I am a dementor!"
"Argh! Expecto Patronum!"
"Hm. ... Ok, I am Lord Voldemort. Avada Kedavra!"