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Shared 19 books.
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Monthly Archives: March 2012
Tweets for 2012-03-29
- ♥ Vanderbilt Cup by Empty Pools #lastfm: http://t.co/YiTkoZdR ->
- @thisisyourfault SHARRRRRE
hahahahahaha in reply to thisisyourfault -> - @wanderlustlover SO. This is what Guy might look like drinking tea. http://t.co/HcSXBaCr Almost like kryptonite for Marian? ->
- @wanderlustlover That's pretty much the best time for him to spring a marriage proposal on her right? in reply to wanderlustlover ->
- @nikki @mrsmacg @danielguntrip …party tie? Does it light up? in reply to nikki ->
- @wanderlustlover >.> Possibly. I think he figures one day she will say yes and they will actually get through the ceremony in reply to wanderlustlover ->
- @wanderlustlover He could flutter his eyelashes aaaand offer to feed the poor with her? That's romantic right? in reply to wanderlustlover ->
- @wanderlustlover @thisisyourfault Someone should write it! in reply to wanderlustlover ->
- @babyduckie484 @thisisyourfault SHHH I HAVE A FEW MONTHS YET in reply to babyduckie484 ->
- Oh man. King oyster mushrooms are amazing ->
- @thisisyourfault @laharcourt @wanderlustlover ENGLAND in reply to thisisyourfault ->
- @thisisyourfault @wanderlustlover I'm keeping my fic brain in angry angsty mode for Guy's EYEWTKAS series… in reply to thisisyourfault ->
- @thisisyourfault @babyduckie484 Does this mean you are coming here? AND WATCHING NORTH & SOUTH? in reply to thisisyourfault ->
- @babyduckie484 @thisisyourfault ONE MORE WEEK AND YOU CAN COME HERE TOOOOOOO in reply to babyduckie484 ->
- @wanderlustlover @thisisyourfault @laharcourt …what if I want to be there AND be square? I could get some really kickin' shoulder pads in reply to wanderlustlover ->
- @wanderlustlover If the headvoice is telling you that Guy should be involved in epic smoochies, he does not disagree in reply to wanderlustlover ->
- @wanderlustlover Perhaps that headvoice could mention how nice Guy's hair is to other headvoices and that he should be involved in smoochies in reply to wanderlustlover ->
Review: The City & The City
The City & The City by China Miéville
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Something a little tangential to start with.
I was thinking about this quote I had rattling around in my head and knew that the original piece was said by a man to a woman but I couldn’t quite remember if it was in text or on film, in real life or in fiction but that I had heard/read it twice. In the end my google-fu turned up the film Bright Star which covers the relationship between John Keats and Fanny Brawne.
So.
That quote:
“The point of diving in a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore, but to be in the lake, to luxuriate in the sensation of water. You do not work the lake out, it is an experience beyond thought. Poetry soothes and emboldens the soul to accept mystery.”
Keats says this to Brawne after she turns up for her first lesson in poetry and he starts to wonder if he’s really up to that kind of task or if it can really be taught.
Anyway, having finished The City & The City, that line got me thinking about something Mieville said in the past about monsters.
“So I want to have monsters as a metaphor but I also want monsters because monsters are cool. There’s no contradiction.”
AND THEN, also about something that I occasionally hear from my favourite DJ on my favourite radio station, what seems like one or two people on tumblr and a handful of my music-loving friends on twitter…which is usually some variation on “Participate, not document” in regard to going to gigs and the sea of fellow attendees with cameraphones held aloft videoing the proceedings (I’m a phone Luddite, so generally I may take an actual camera with me but I still treat my digital camera like it’s a disposable film camera and if I do take pictures, I tend to end up with about 5 or 6 choice moments that may or may not be a little blurry).
(And no, I don’t entirely know what my point with that tangent was.)
The sort of general theme of wallowing in the experience probably applies to most of my take on existence. Which, I suppose, makes sense. I wallow in it. I don’t think too much about what the lyrics to a song might mean, but I enjoy the feel of them in my mouth.
And that’s the kind of approach I had with this book. I realise that, yes, there must be undertones of various messages threaded throughout…but for me that’s not the point. When I’m there, inhabiting the brainspace of the main character Borlu, I’m there. In Beszel or Ul Qoma. Unseeing and seeing. Weirdly (or not) I hear Borlu’s dialogue in Mieville’s voice. Another thing that occurred to me was that I regard both cities as somewhere much like Istanbul, but not. More almost but not quite, which I guess may be the point since any place mentioned in a detective story automatically becomes the alternate reality of whatever real place it might have been set in.
I liked it though. At one point I thought that Yolanda and Mahalia were the same person. I wondered if fic had been written of Corwi and Dhatt working together. I was highly suspicious of that one character who asked those very insistent, pointed questions. Other things.
Originally published at half girl, half robot. You can comment here or there.
Daily Digest for March 30th
Tweets for 2012-03-28
- @eoincmacken You can drop a book in the bath and not worry too much… in reply to eoincmacken ->
- @ChrissieM mmmm yummy in reply to ChrissieM ->
- @damienmolony Hah. that's just down the road in reply to damienmolony ->
- My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Spiritualized (3), McAlmont & Butler (3) & Junip (3) http://t.co/TZXrJzSm ->
- @kipoti I see nothing wrong with Busted. OWN that cheese in reply to kipoti ->
- @drop_of_indigo Ask Warren Ellis? in reply to drop_of_indigo ->
- Listening to EYEWTKAS on repeat. Amazing album ->
- @tweetchen As much as Hause is an adorable munchkin that I dearly love…I decided I'm getting too old to be out that many nights in a row in reply to tweetchen ->
- @tweetchen I am however, going to try my best to get birthday hugs from Hause and Alk3 at the Barfly
in reply to tweetchen -> - @thisisyourfault Have I mentioned it today? NORTH & SOUTH ->
- @tweetchen Hah. Revival Tour was aces, as was Hause's gig at the Windmill after. Maaaybe. Will prob bowl up on the day and see if I'm lucky in reply to tweetchen ->
- @tweetchen I am so so excited. I was so sad in Nov, when Skiba got his foot run over but having it close to my bday is awesome. AWESOME in reply to tweetchen ->
- @wanderlustlover @thisisyourfault @laharcourt I may be even slower than usual, thanks to Essay and Easter having a party in my brains in reply to wanderlustlover ->
- @Botanygeek 2nd one is catchier in reply to Botanygeek ->
- @thisisyourfault @wanderlustlover NORTH & SOUTH. It has hats! in reply to thisisyourfault ->
- @thisisyourfault GUESS WHAT I AM WATCHING? ->
- @thisisyourfault It has some guy with a prominent nose and awesome sideburns… in reply to thisisyourfault ->
- @thisisyourfault omg. Whoever he is, he's pretty intense. in reply to thisisyourfault ->
Daily Digest for March 29th
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Tweets for 2012-03-27
- @wanderlustlover Fiiiiiiiiic in reply to wanderlustlover ->
- @wanderlustlover Hmmm. I think we had Guy at 13 years older in reply to wanderlustlover ->
- I don't get why Trillian is no longer docking and hiding. Hmm. ->
- !!! @hausedave is playing 11th May, @Alkaline_Trio is the day after and then it's my birthday. Suspect I'm going to sleep through the 14th ->
- @wanderlustlover ALSO. Are Marian's ears burning? ->
- @canada_bear @penguinonrocks THOOOOOR. AKA Papa Kirk.
:D:D in reply to canada_bear -> - @penguinonrocks @canada_bear He's in the last Trek film, as Capt Kirk's dad. in reply to penguinonrocks ->
- @canada_bear @penguinonrocks And Stewart is basically kind of Joan of Arc via Gondor. There will be asskicking. in reply to canada_bear ->
- @penguinonrocks @canada_bear Isn't this the one with the kickass dwarves though? in reply to penguinonrocks ->
- @canada_bear @penguinonrocks AND FULL OF KICKASSERY. in reply to canada_bear ->
- @penguinonrocks @canada_bear No – this is the one that has Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins etc as dwarves. Kickass ones in reply to penguinonrocks ->
- @penguinonrocks @canada_bear O_O. Mirror Mirror does have Sean Bean. As the King. I think we know what will happen to him in 1st 5 mins in reply to penguinonrocks ->
- @penguinonrocks @canada_bear He is typecast! BY DEATH in reply to penguinonrocks ->
- @wanderlustlover heeee. With Elrond. Uh. Because of reasons. By the lake. WITH THE CANDLESTICK in reply to wanderlustlover ->
- @canada_bear @penguinonrocks Yup. Thor is definitely the fairest. in reply to canada_bear ->
- @penguinonrocks @canada_bear Don't hold the twiglet film against her! That thing's not her fault! in reply to penguinonrocks ->
- @penguinonrocks @canada_bear What about that film where she was Joan Jett? in reply to penguinonrocks ->
- @penguinonrocks @canada_bear That one was goooood. In fairness, no one can act in Twilight. They just…exist through it and hope to survive in reply to penguinonrocks ->
- @penguinonrocks @canada_bear Maybe RPattz IS a vampire then. He stole my birthday, maybe he stole her facial nerves? in reply to penguinonrocks ->
Daily Digest for March 28th
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Shared philnoto:
Yeah…we have a Hulk. . |
Tweets for 2012-03-26
- @thisisyourfault like I'm watching the repeat of #beinghuman and flailing? in reply to thisisyourfault ->
- @birminghampost typo in the headline there.. in reply to birminghampost ->
- @sebpatrick @Aiannucci I don't think I can contain my glee. omg.omg.omg. in reply to sebpatrick ->
- @eoincmacken I can only think of a ripoff of 2046 with it set in some kind of bizarro futuristic train. Soz in reply to eoincmacken ->
- the best part of my too long journey to uni will always be crossing the thames in daylight. ->
- will never understand the announcement on train to change at twickenham for strawberry hill… ->
- …when the next stop for this train is strawberry hill ->
- @wanderlustlover always! always with the dangling of interesting carrots when all i have is tweets by sms ->
- interval at duchess of malfi. is there *anything* that harry lloyd doesn't get his crazyface on in? ->
Daily Digest for March 27th
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