Size Matters

I decided I wanted to crochet a hat with ear flaps.  Here is the result:

 

What was that? Where are the flaps? Well, as you can see it didn't quite turn out the way that I had hoped.  I did make the flaps (and they are actually still attached, just hidden), but the hat was about 2 inches two big for me. Because of the size being off the flaps fell in a weird position and just looked silly on me. 

I really like this particular color of yarn though (I think it is called Lagoon) and I might try again just with a modified pattern to try and make it fit my head more closely. 

By the way, this here is the website where I found the pattern.  Obvsiously, mine looks nothing like the example.  The pattern is in fact pretty easy to follow.  I have a hard time following written patterns so the pictures were super useful.  And to be clear, there is nothing wrong with the pattern itself, I just a) don't know how to crochet very well and b) have a small head.

A Tale of Two Exorcisms

Concerning The Last Exorcism and Exorcismus

I watched quite a few scary movies in honor of Halloween and for Peril on the Screen including two about exorcisms. There were some overlapping features, but they diverge enough that I thought it might be interesting to review them together here.

(Sorry there are spoilers)

Both movies are about young girls possessed by a demon of some sort. In each, the exorcism is recorded. I found that for the most part the characters' behaviors were realistic and they responded in believable ways (there are a couple of exceptions, but we can ignore them for now). The acting wasn't spectacular, but I would say that in both films the main characters-- the priests and the girls-- did a good job portraying the drama and terror of the ritual. These two movies are full of the “standard” tropes of such movies; body contortions, speaking in tongues/different voices, writing in blood, etc. I really wonder if there can be anything original about future exorcism films.

Despite these similarities, the two movies diverge in significant ways. The first The Last Exorcism is filmed as a documentary (mockumentary). I actually don't mind this usually, I'm not bothered by the “shaky camera." The premise is that an extravagant preacher (for once not a Catholic priest) from Baton Rouge, LA has been faking exorcisms for the past few years; he hashad a serious crisis of faith and has a rather contemptuous attitude towards his congregation at the beginning of the movie. He has decided to do one final exorcism, but will document the entire experience from deciding which case to take, during the investigation, and to the end. His purpose is to expose exorcisms as being not only fake, but, in fact, harmful to those undergoing such rituals. The girl he decides to visit lives in rural Louisiana.

Exorcismus is a Spanish movie (in English) filmed in the standard style, rather than as a documentary though there are scenes from the recorded exorcism. Here we have a Catholic priest who has been involved previously in a botched exorcism and, while not entirely removed from the Church, is in disgrace. He is presented as deeply religious. The possessed girl is his niece and they all live in an urban neighborhood (possibly in England, but I'm not sure).

The differences in the religious figures (priest/preacher) lead to differences in the ways that the exorcisms are cast. In The Last Exorcism, due to his lack of faith, the possession is portrayed as being purely social/psychological. The preacher arrives at the girl's house as a skeptic (well, disbeliever in fact) and interviews various people trying to piece together her life looking for secular reasons for her behavior. The priest in Exorcismus, on the other hand, firmly believes that his niece is possessed. Furthermore, there are incontrovertible signs that there is something supernatural going on with her that could not be explained away by a viewer such as her levitating off the ground. In the first movie, everything the girl does can (theoretically) be caused by something mundane rather than demonic.

In both films, there is a surprise development, a twist in the plot, revolving around the priest/preacher and the audience's perception of the possession. For the Louisiana preacher, it turns out that his client is in fact possessed by a demon. But in order to get to this point (after all the contrary evidence), the plot becomes totally derailed. The ending, which is over the top potentially to prove once and for all that the girl is possessed, is five minutes of some of the most ridiculous footage that I've seen in a movie. And here The Last Exorcism devolves into a series of stereotypes that seriously lowered my opinion of it. As I stated above, they are in rural Louisiana. Even from the beginning there are some cliches overplayed, but by the end what you have are incestuous, ignorant, backward superstitious country folk who just happen to be part of a Satanic cult. To top it off, the “manifestation” of the “demon” at the end just looks stupid, and I was definitely rolling my eyes during the final sequence.

The twist in Exorcismus, on the other hand, actually succeeds in making the movie better. The priest as we discover is not only a believer but actually an insane fanatic who is happy to destroy his entire family just so he can capture definitive evidence of demons on camera. Due to his disgrace from a previous exorcism, he hatches a plan to capture a demon in the act so that he can regain his position within the church and prove to people that he his behavior during the botched ritual was justifiable. He teaches his niece about demons and blood sacrifices and when she does become possessed he quickly jumps in to take over. As we find out though, his actions during the taped sessions do not quite match up; he has not been trying to cast out the demon because he wants it to get stronger – he wants to catch it in the act doing something undeniable such as levitating. There are some holes here. It is not a perfect set up, but overall this surprise addition to the plot works much better than the “surprises” in store for you in The Last Exorcism.

I give Excorcismus 3 ½ stars and I would have given The Last Excorcism the same score if the last 5 minutes of the movie didn't exist (yes, it is that bad). Instead, I give it maybe 2 stars.

RIP Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

            Two dueling magicians chose two protégés to battle one another in a mysterious contest known only as “the challenge.”  As children Celia and Marco, each learn a different system of magic.  Their teachers care only about winning, but once the two are thrown together they fall in love.  The venue for their challenge is a traveling circus --Le Cirque des Rêves--full of colorful and eccentric characters, elaborate shows, and dangerous magic.  The contest set up by their masters ensnares everyone in the circus and leads to deadly consequences as the two contestants struggle to figure out the rules of the challenge and discover what they must do to win.

            The book is written from several points of view including the main characters and several secondary ones.  It is broken up into short chapters that are often not in chronological order.  Inserted between different sections of the book are second person narratives that describe the circus as if the reader is walking through experiencing the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes for herself.  

            Overall, this is one of my favorite books of the year.  The author provides amazing details of the circus from the taste and smells of carnival treats to the intricate workings of the troupe’s custom-made clock.  Colors play a prominent and symbolic role throughout the book.  Le Cirque des Rêves is mostly black and white – the tents, the exhibits, the costumes, etc.  But here and there splashes of red appear very much in a similar way that colors often intrude in dreams.  

            In fact, the whole book has a dream-like quality not limited to the circus (which is of course constructed to be a series of dreams), but also in the structure of the narrative itself.  At first, I was annoyed by how the chapters skipped back and forth in time, but I think this fits ultimately with how dreams often are not linear stories.  Rather, they are often fragments that need to be pieced back together in order to see the whole story.  And if we see dreams as stories (as our own personal stories) then the ending is nearly perfect as we learn that what we have just read is a story being told by one of the characters to Marco’s instructor.  

            There were a few nitpicky things that bothered me—the beginning was paced a bit slow for me, sometimes the author was bogged down in her own descriptions (such as saying a character was “elegant” 5 or 6 times in one tiny chapter)—but I do think the book lives up to all the hype.  4 1/2

R.I.P. Review: Drood

I must say that I did try very hard to like this book after so many recommendations, but I found it rather boring.  Drood is a fictional exploration of the last years of Charles Dickens' life as told by Wilkie Collins.  Dickens meet the mysterious stranger Drood in the aftermath of a terrible accident and basically becomes obsessed with him.

There is no denying that Simmons can write. He has a knack for sumptuous descriptions of people, places, and moods.  The chapter when Dickens and his hesitant sidekick Collins first explore London underground was exceptional and genuinely creepy.  If only more of the book had started off like this.  I also enjoyed the ambiguity of Wilkie's situation at first - is he experiencing hallucinations due to his drug addiction or are there supernatural events occurring around him?

What I really didn't like was the whole "society novel" aspect.  I just didn't really care to read about the London gossip, the dinner parties, etc.  I also didn't like Wilkie or Charles and couldn't see any point in slogging my way through nearly 800 pages in the hopes that maybe eventually things would get more interesting. 

__________________________
I read The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.  I prefer Shirley Jackson.  Hill's book wasn't creepy enough for me and I found it rather bland. (addendum: I just found out Daniel Radcliffe is staring in a movie version of this book and the trailer is 100 times scarier - The Woman in Black).

I am also reading The Passage, which is kind of hit or miss - some sections are super engrossing and others I feel like I should skim.  Also, the book didn't need to be that long.  Reminds me of the judges on Project Runway this season constantly telling Josh to edit. You don't need to throw every single idea into one creation.  Seriously.

Finally, about halfway through The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  Its super cool.

Peril on the Screen

Seconds Apart 2011

(I tried to keep this spoiler free, but it might be spoilerish).

Twins Jonah and Seth have telepathic powers, which they use to torment people.  This movie is a mixed bag.  It starts off with a gory round of Russian roulette that sets the scene, showing us exactly what the twins are capable of it.  The mass suicide also introduces us to the detective who is a central character in the film. (Unfortunately – but I’ll get to that later). 

What I liked: The twins are creepy.  The actors did a really good job of giving us detached psychopaths.  The twins’ parents are creepy.  The early scenes with them are some of the best in the entire movie.  Had the film makers concentrated on those two elements (the twins and their parents) this would have been a much better show.  Some of their abilities are pretty interesting like they can make people forget they were there, induce delusions, and control people’s actions.  They also are able to control reality in the sense that they make the victims see only what the twins want them to see. 

What I didn’t like: The detective ruined the movie for me.  His back-story provides a suitable tragedy so that he is the tormented yet driven hero.  Unfortunately, I think less effort was put into making his story/character and believable.  I honestly could have fast-forwarded through the parts with him, which is unfortunate because he is central to the entire plot of the story. 

What I hated: The end.  There was such potential when we start to learn about the twins’ childhood and how their powers developed and what really happened to their parents.  But by the time all of those elements came together the movie had pretty much fallen apart. 

But the twins are really creepy.  So I’ll give this one 3 stars.  

_______________________________________

I've encountered some really awful "horror" movies in my search for something to watch for this challenge.  I feel like its been a bad few years for the horror industry as a whole.  Or maybe I'm becoming more critical (or both).  

I'm currently reading Drood, but I have to say that I'm not all that into it.  I'm about 150 pages in.  I only kept reading because so many people enthusiastically commented about it.  I think I'll stick with the book a bit longer, but not sure if I'll finish it.  We shall see...

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI

Yep, its that time again

I have recently been complaining about the demise of summer, about how August (and July and June) went by too fast, and how Halloween candy is out too early.  I think, however, I will stop whining now since it is time for the annual RIP challenge hosted by Carl at http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/.

In past years (I think is my 3rd?), I have gone for Peril the First, which involves reading four books in the mystery/horror/thriller category.  Since I should be busy with arranging a year long trip abroad, I'm going to play it safe and go for the Peril the Second challenge which is reading two books in any of those categories.  (All is explained much more eloquently here).

In addition, there is Peril on the Screen and since I do enjoy a few scary movie marathons I will probably also post a brief review or two here for whatever I get around to watching.  Although, honestly, I'm not up-to-date on current horror films, so if anyone has suggestions for recent movies, I'm listening. 

There is also a new category for a group read if you are into that sort of thing. I tend to be very bad at them though the books they are reading do sound interesting.

_________________________________________________

So you might be wondering what I am going to read.  Well, since I am still slogging my way through my 2011 LT Challenge, I thought I'd just pick two books off of there that I'd planned on reading anyway.

1) Drood by Dan Simmons
2) World War Z

Those are the two that immediately jumped out at me as being good fits for this challenge, but as everyone knows who has ever read any post on this blog about reading, I am very bad at sticking to these lists I make.  Therefore, you can expect almost anything really.  I tend to get sidetracked in libraries, attracted to new shiny books, or even old worn books so long as they aren't the books that I've said I was going to be reading.

If you are even remotely interested in books, or in Halloween, or in watching movies, I definitely think you should give this challenge a try.  I've always found it to be immense fun!

The Moving Blues

Oh my god, I seriously hate moving. It might be the worst thing on earth.  Next time I swear I'm hiring someone to do this for me.  At the advice of people who know, I called a local charity to come pick up stuff, which they are nice enough to do. I did get rid of 9 boxes of books* and lots of clothes.  Unfortunately, my living room furniture was not acceptable as a donation.  Apparently it is too old.  I completely understand since it is really old (and pretty ugly, but I got it for free), but now there are new difficulties like getting it out of my apartment in a few days.  I asked around to see if anyone could help out, but so far no one has responded seriously (a friend from Canada offered, but of course she was joking). As the kids I used to work with would say "My nerves are bad." 

If I were more clever I would turn this into a blues song, but alas...  I have, however, been listening to a lot of blues music in my half-serious quest to learn to play the harmonica.  I figured I should get a feel for the sound before I started trying it myself.  Ironically, I don't really like blues that much, I just like the sound of harmonica in say "Roadhouse Blues" or "When the Levee Breaks."  Maybe if I listen to enough of it I'll find some stuff that I do enjoy. 

*This actually makes me wince every time I say it.  I'm really attached to my books, but I had way too many.  They needed to be culled, and I'm now on a book buying moratorium

Aggravating the Neighbors

I'm trying to pick up a new hobby b/c I feel like I need one.  Especially when people ask me "what do you do for fun?" and I don't have a good answer.  

I've always really liked the sound of a harmonica, and my brother happened to have two, so now I'm trying to learn to play.   I did take a year of piano and I played the clarinet in junior high - I wasn't very good at either of these things.  I'm not very musically talented, so I'll probably be really annoying to my neighbors.  

Also, since I'm soon turning 30 friends who have already passed that milestone suggested I learn something new.  So I have multiple reasons and besides it is actually pretty fun!  I do need to buy a better book though for lessons b/c the one I have is rather lame. 

Thing in the Cupboard: Bling

I'm so excited that I found this. I really thought I had accidentally gotten rid of it. In fact, I found it just in time to give it to my friend's boyfriend (against her will) so that he can wear it with his authentic Russian tracksuit (Adidas or possibly Puma I can't remember which).  

Luckily I didn't buy it.  One Christmas during a White Elephant party I acquired the necklace.  It has come in handy for various costumes (Halloween and otherwise).

Vacationing: Weddings, Babies, and Stuff

My sister got married! Her and her husband are a super adorable couple.  The wedding was perfect - it was beautiful, it was small, and it was relatively short (for the sake of my feet at least b/c I totally picked the wrong shoes to wear).  The wedding party as a whole had a great sense of humor which we all managed to reign in for the actual ceremony -- for the rehearsal not so much.  The pastor literally said "I really worry about all of you getting through this tomorrow."  She was just a bit too serious, but really nice and she did a good job.  The wedding photographer has a whole series of hilarious pictures that I can't wait to see!

Two of my oldest friends had babies over the summer so I got visit with all of them for a few days, which was really nice especially since I don't know when I'll see them again.  Both of the babies are boys and both are adorable.  N. is about 3 months old and has a precious smile.  J. is soo tiny I was afraid to hold him at first, but he makes the funniest faces - I have a feeling he is going to be a hilarious child.  

Also while at home I had my annual sno-ball.  This time it was mango w/condensed milk.  Actually its good I wasn't down there longer b/c I might have gained 10 pounds from eating those things.  I enjoyed lots of fresh vegetables as my dad decided to do a garden this year.  He used to do one every year, but hadn't been recently.  I ate probably a cucumber a day and way too much creamed corn.  

In other news, I still have to pack. I am very bad at this obviously.  Today I sorted through my books and I'm determined to get rid of half of them, but that still leaves me w/over 200!  Oh and I found out that I will be going to Ukraine in December. Hurray!! I might actually finish this graduate program. 

Thing in the Cupboard: Vampire Pig!

I have all sorts of Halloween themed stuff, not surprising since it is one of my favorite holidays.

And it is animated - or should I say RE-animated?

Today's feature is a bright red Vampire Pig.  It walks and it sings The Adam's Family - very very loudly.  I made the mistake of pushing its little foot to see if it still worked and it definitely did.  Origin: my mother some Halloween or another.

Question of the Day

Why do straight men go to gay bars to pick up women?  And a secondary question, why can't people just enjoy dancing without thinking it means something more?

Thing in the Cupboard: The Voice of God

My next treasure comes to you all the way from Heaven.

  

The text reads (with identifying information redacted):

12-31-05

_____'s performance report


outstanding job


_________'s intervention regarding 3-11 shift on male ____ side resulted in hell not opening it's portal hole of sulfur gas, flames and the screaming of the damned masses and swallowing ________.  For her heroic actions - she should be given a rosary.


Signed
GOD

Thing in the Cupboard: Alas, Poor Yorick!

I'm moving pretty soon and since I've been at my current place for years & years, I have basically accumulated all sorts of stuff.  Even better, a lot of this stuff I simply forgot that I owned.  Therefore for the amusement of self and others (but mostly myself) I'm going to start a regular installment known as "Thing in the Cupboard" which will consist of photos of the weird/random things that I find as I'm cleaning, clearing, and tossing useless junk away.  Maybe this will also make moving more fun since I'm seriously stressed about it, and perhaps will give me motivation to actually look through those cupboards and boxes.

Today's edition: Alas Poor Yorick!

Yep, its a bright pink skull

This gem's origin is unknown, it did however once function as a light-- sadly this feature is no longer functional.  It is made of some rubbery substance and is of a decent size.

The North Country

A couple weekends ago I finally got to take a short trip to Northern WI, stayed in a hotel on Lake Superior so I've now visited two of the five Great Lakes.  My friend said the season was about two weeks behind up there, the trees and grass were a noticeably different color of green that was quite pretty.

Lake Superior, old pier

I love this tree.

 We also went to one of the state parks up there that is known for its waterfalls and the strange color of the river (due to some sort of mineral) which basically resembled iced tea.

Iced tea river

Local fauna, a momma dear and her baby.

This is partly due to the sunlight, but the river really is a crazy color.

Waterfall!

We also went to a county park that was less maintained, which meant that we could get closer to the river (and also that we had to be more careful about poison ivy & such).  The fall here weren't as big, but they seemed louder.  Also, infinitely more difficult to get a good view of.

This photo and the next were taken w/me dangling over the side of the cliff.

This park didn't have guard rails, so you go off the approved track & do silly things like lean over a 50 ft drop.

128 - my friend counted on our way back up, but this was the only path to the river.

So that was my Northern adventure.  This weekend I was in Indiana on a lake w/other friends, I didn't really take pictures, but I did finally watch Avatar.  I'll give you my two cents at some later date.

Yeti Xing

Just a brief note, I had a long and exciting weekend, but I'm too tired to post about it right now, so I thought I would leave you with the most important picture of the past two days:

Yep, that is a Sasquatch crossing sign.

p.s. I do know that a Yeti and a Sasquatch are two different things, but I think Yeti Xing sounds much funnier than Sasquatch or Big Foot Xing. 

2011 LT Reading Challenge

We are now in the 6th month of 2011, which feels wholly unnatural to me.  Time has alternately been dreadfully slow or moving by super fast.  Either way, I can't keep up.  Since the year is nearly half over I thought I would do a quick check-in to let people (someone? anyone?) know how I was doing on my 11 in 11 challenge over at Library Thing.  The idea is to read 11 books in 11 categories for 2011. Now I didn't exactly do that b/c it would be way too many my list is staggered so that category 1 has only 1 book, cat. 8 has 8 books.... you get the picture.  I tried to structure it so that the categories I knew I would be reading more of any (like sci-fi/fantasy) had a higher # of books, whereas my category "Ukrainian" has only one. 

Well, as far as book challenges go, it has always been clear that I never finish them.  I try really hard, but I just end up reading other things, or not finishing books, or getting distracted.  I don't know, there is some perversion in my head that stops me from reading books I say that I will read.  In other words, I have been saying for years I would finish The Brother's Karamazov, but I never touch it.  This does not mean, however, that I'm not reading books, just not the ones I'm "supposed" to read.  Whatever.  Ultimately, compared to my previous attempts at this themed challenge (I tried it for 2008 and 2009), I'm doing ok I think.  Overall though I've read less than half of the books on my list; roughly 30%. 

I've started reading about 10 on the list, not exaggerating.  The problem is that I tend to try to read too many things at once, and then I see a new book someone posted about on some blog and then I want to read that one too, so I get it from the library, but then it sits on my shelf and sometimes I renew them, but usually they just get late fees.  Yeah, you see.  Anyway, the silver lining is that I'm not traveling this summer so theoretically I will have time to read.  However, I'm also supposed to be rewriting grant applications this summer.  (But at least to help motivate me w/that I joined a writing group). 

In case you are curious, the list is below of what I intend to read vs. what I have actually read.  Feel free to point and laugh at me if you want. 

1.      1. Ukrainian

1.

2.      2. Theory/Philosophy

      1.

2. Heidegger (bro.) 

3.   Tomes

      1. War and Peace (own)

      2. Don Quixote (own)

      3. Drood (own)

4.   Books from the Family (own all)

      1. Decolonising the Mind

      2. Wizard of the Crow

      3. Parlor Politics

      4. Planning the Past or the Invasion Within

Bonus: Ashes of Waco

5.   Left Behind

      1. The Brothers Karamazov (own)

      2. Dead Souls (own)

      3. The Windup Girl (own)

      4. Landscape Painted with Tea  (UW)

      5. Lanark (MPL)             

Bonus: Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (MPL)

6.   Listed

      1. Iron Council (started) (own)

      2. Ash (UW?)

      3. Life of Pi (own)

      4. Gulag Archipelago (own)

      5. Beloved (own)

      6. Old Man’s War (MPL) (Tor’s list)

7.   South

      1. Sound of Building Coffins (MPL)

      2. All the King’s Men (MPL)

      3.  The Missing, Tim Gautreaux (MPL)

      4. A Confederacy of Dunces (MPL)

      5. Antarctica, Robinson

      6. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (MPL)

      7. The Reavers are the Angels by Alden Bell

      Bonus:  The Strange Career of Jim Crow C Vann Woodward,  Kaleidoscope Odessa

8.   Its New to Me

      1. North and South (MPL)

      2. Light, Harrison

      3. Storm Front, Butcher

      4. Perfume, Suskind

      5. Equations of Life, Morden (MPL)

      6. The Dervish House

      7.

      8.

9.   Science Fiction/Fantasy

      1.Vivia by Tanith Lee

      2. Tomb of the Undergates Sam Sykes

      3. The Half-Made World Felix Gilman

      4. Titus Groan (own)

      5. Habitation of the Blessed Valente

      6. The Cardinal’s Blades

      7. Nights of Villjamur

      8.

      9.

10.  You Tell Me  (MPL)

      1. The Yawning Heights

      2. Pastel City, Harrison

      3.

      4. The Book Thief

      5. World War Z

      6. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Kundera

      7. 2666, Bolano 

      8. Detective Story by Imre Kertesz

      9. Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood

      10.

11. Ongoing Faulkner Challenge (Own)

      1. Pylon

      2. Absalom Absalom

      3. The Unvanquished

      4. If I forget Thee Jerusalem

      5. The Hamlet

      6. Go Down Moses

      7. Intruder in the Dust

      8. Requiem for a Nun

      9. A Fable

      10. The Town

      11. The Mansion

Bonus: Collected Short Stories

Review: Absalom, Absalom!

Absalom, Absalom!

            This is the tragic story of Thomas Sutpen’s attempt to establish a dynasty in the 1830s.  He arrives in Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha County, MS as a strange outsider with wild slaves, a mysterious source of seemingly limitless income, and a rigid plan—establish an estate, find a wife, produce a male heir.  While Sutpen does accomplish his life’s goals, his unwavering adherence to an ideal brings out the ruin of him and his family.  The story of Sutpen and his various il/legitimate children is told primarily through the point of view of Quentin Compson (the same as in The Sound & the Fury).  The book, however, is much more than a straightforward narrated life history.  Absalom, Absalom! is layered through multiple points of view.  It is a richly detailed story, but is also complex.

            If you are not a fan of Faulkner’s writing style, I would not recommend this book.  Other works by him, though still distinctly “Faulkner” in style, are much more accessible.  Here Quentin and his roommate Shreve spend a cold winter night at university telling the Sutpen tale to one another.  It is obvious that Shreve has heard much of the history before as he interrupts, embellishes, and at times takes over the narrative.  The story is not only about Sutpen, but also about Quentin’s experiences in Jefferson, about the ways in which he learned bits and pieces of these events over time from a variety of characters such as Aunt Rosa (Sutpen’s wife’s sister) and his father – who himself is retelling it from Quentin’s grandfather.  He experienced other events directly.

            The hearsay third-hand jumbled nature of the transmission is important because the reader experience the plot not as a straightforward narrative, but as a palimpsest of events across nearly a century.  The reader learns details in waves; at the beginning of the book, you get the basic idea and then Faulkner builds upon that foundation by adding details or retelling a section through a different character’s point of view. Unfortunately, many characters are unreliable, so as they passed on their story to Quentin or his grandfather, they edited and/or omitted crucial information.  “’Your father,’ Shreve said. ‘He seems to have got an awful lot of information awful quick, after having waited forty-five years.’… ‘Grandfather didn’t tell him all of it either, like Sutpen never told Grandfather quite all of it.’”  (220).

            Another example that is illustrative of the mangled transmission of key information, involves a tragic incident between Aunt Rosa and Sutpen; specifically, he has told her something, which she never is never able to forgive him for saying.  The reader is left in suspense about what exactly he said for over half the book, and the answer comes embedded within a page long sentence casually thrown into a paragraph on an unrelated topic.  There you finally learn, with little warning, of how Sutpen insulted Rosa.  Faulkner does not make reading easy.

            I could go on for pages about the way the book is written, about foreshadowing (“The day after we—after that night when we—“), and flashbacks, and mind-numbingly long rambling sentences.  I will not.  However, I do think ultimately, Absalom, Absalom! is worth reading.  First, you discover much more about Quentin’s personality and inner turmoil that I think helps clarify his actions in The Sound & The Fury.  He is a fascinating character.  Second, it is a powerful book about important issues—idealism, blind ambition, doomed Romanticism, and the end of an era.  It is also about deep-seated racism, so unwavering that incest is preferred over relationships between people of different color.  Finally, it is also about rigid class differences in the South.  It is a hard read, but worth the effort.

______________________________________________

In case you were keeping up, I have read 9 books by Faulkner at this point:
A Soldier's Pay
Mosquitoes
Sartoris
The Sound & the Fury

As I Lay Dying
Sanctuary 
Light in August
Pylon

Absalom, Absalom!

The reason why there are not reviews for that second collection - As I Lay Dying to Pylon - is because a) I read As I Lay Dying a long time ago and did not re-read it and b) because Pylon is the worst book Faulkner ever wrote, unreadable in fact.  As for the other two, I just didn't get around to reviewing them & now it has been too long.  I will say that so far Light in August is my favorite and I recommend it to any/everyone. 

Гуляю

In Ukrainian, гуляти means to walk or wander around.  It can also have the same slightly negative sense as in "to wander the streets" as in you are out and about in town and up to no good.   Here I mean it in the general sense of walking.

Its Spring!!!

It was 80 and sunny today!! Its about damn time.
Here are some other pictures, but from Chicago last week:

Baha'i Temple

Baha'i Temple (its huge!)

Detail of some of the inscriptions found all over the Temple.

A very cold beach

Lake Michigan

An Actual Post

I have been spending way too much time on Twitter. This has had an unfortunate effect upon me posting here, but I've never compared myself to those "serious" bloggers.  I don't even regularly review books, just randomly & sort of haphazardly (except during Halloween when I try a little harder). Anyway, this semester has been seriously boring and I have too much time on my hands - which does not mean I have anything interesting to update about.  W/o school or employment I have all this free time & zero excitement.  I did decide to read every ethnography on Ukraine ever published. Actually, this is not impressive b/c a) there are about 10 and b) I should have done it a long long time ago.  Maybe I'll try to review some of them.

The point of this post is to talk about my much belated trip to Chicago this weekend.  I have actually never been despite living pretty close.  I also did not end up doing any of the standard tourist things b/c my friend who I went to see lives there.

Karyn's Raw Cafe

A friend of mine has recently become really interested in the raw food movement.  I don't cook at all mostly due to laziness so the sheer amount of preparation (and creativity) needed to follow this sort of diet just boggles my mind.  This Karyn person though is apparently pretty famous w/in the community of raw food aficionados so we went to her cafe in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.  

The restaurant is part dining area part raw food store.  One half is a small fairly swanky looking eating area, while the other is full of cook books, self-help "change your life" type manifestos, a small conference room in the back for weekly classes on how to become a raw food enthusiast, and lots of dehydrated foods.  

All of the menu selections sound like "regular" food you've had before - ravioli, pizza, ice cream, nachos, etc - but are really very different from the food that inspired these creations. Now obviously they are different b/c they are made from raw or dehydratedfood, but they are also entirely vegan and mostly gluten-free, so you can imagine that limits the type of ingredients that goes into the dishes.  Everything was delicious and I have zero complaints about the restaurant side of things.  However, the store was just a bit too "new age" for me - not the food, but the literature being promoted.  Such as the book that practically declared you could cure everything with a salt/water concoction known as sole.  Clearly, some people are really in to this particular scene, its just not for me.

Ukrainian Village

My friend grew up here so we walked around this historic neighborhood for a while.  Many Ukrainians have moved from the area, but you can still hear Russian, Ukrainian, or Polish spoken on the streets pretty regularly.  We visited a couple of delis, which made me really nostalgic for L'viv.  Also, b/c everyone I ever met there seems to be going back this summer - except me - seeing all the imported foods made me a little sad.  I know it might be silly, but I really do love being in L'viv and while I'm not specifically attached to Ukrainian food it was just working yesterday to remind me of all the other things I am attached to.  

 

We also visited several churches.  Significantly you can find on the same long street, separated by several blocks two Ukrainian Catholic Churches (new calendar and old calendar), a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a Russian Orthodox Church, and a Polish (Latin) Catholic Church.  That street is a fairly good indicator of the complicated religious history in Ukraine, where all those same churches (and many others) compete for parishioners, funding, and real estate. 

Baha'i Temple

If you are ever anywhere near Wilmette (close to Evanston) you should go see this architectural masterpiece.  It is one of the most amazing structures I have ever seen.  Unfortunately, they were remodeling the gardens, but the pictures of the fountains and hedges shown in the brochure are magnificent.  I have for a while been passively interested in Baha'i after hearing about it in a World Religion class, but I don't actually know that much about their beliefs or practices.  What I learned from the flyer is that this temple in Wilmette is the national center for the Baha'i in the U.S.  It was started in 1912, and finished about 40 yrs later.  There are only seven temples in the world.  It is 9 sided, domed, and carved all over with symbols of various faiths; Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and others.  I'm not even going to try to describe the fabulous lace-like stone-work that is featured inside or out, I seriously could not do justice to the building. 

I hope that was long enough and interesting enough to make up for my lack of posting.  I will honestly try to do better.

Florence + The Machine

On the way back from Chicago yesterday (see next post), I was introduced to a song that I absolutely love.  Fairly newish, 2009 I think, but I am hopelessly out of date regarding music so extremely new to me.  I don't listen to that many groups w/strong female leads - mostly just Niyaz, early Tori Amos, and a little PJ Harvey - but I this this singer is dynamic.  I saw comparisons to Amy Winehouse, but since I never listened to her I can't comment.

Dog Days Are Over
 
Happiness hit her like a train on a track
Coming towards her stuck still no turning back
She hid around corners and she hid under beds
She killed it with kisses and from it she fled
With every bubble she sank with her drink
And washed it away down the kitchen sink

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are coming
So you better run

Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father
Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers
Leave all your loving, your loving behind
You cant carry it with you if you want to survive

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
'Cause here they come

And i never wanted anything from you
Except everything you had and what was left after that too, oh
Happiness hit her like a bullet in the head
Struck from a great height by someone who should know better than that

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
'Cause here they come

Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father
Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers
Leave all your loving, your loving behind
You cant carry it with you if you want to survive

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
'Cause here they come

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are coming
So you better run

The Sound of Building Coffins

My review of an awesome book that everyone should read (now).

New Orleans in the late 18th to early 20th century.  A place full of death, hope, and rebirth, of yellow fever, voodoo, and the discovery of jazz.  This story is about the Morningstar family and a cast of others connected with them through fate, coincidence, or love.  It is hard to place Maistros’ book into one particular genre.  It is historical fiction, magical realism, and horror, but more importantly it is also literature at its very best.  

From the first page, the grotesque (a theme throughout) is evident as we are introduced to a nine year old boy carrying “a burlap bag, full of fresh fetuses.” The supernatural permeates the story; ghosts, zombies, and voodoo Queens.  Music is also important, one of the main characters is Buddy Bolden said to be the first man to front a jazz band.  But not just music in an abstract way, rather literally music - lyrics and sound - are central to the plot of this story.  In fact, the entire book is a sensual experience, encompassing the sights of turn of the century New Orleans, but also the sounds, smells, and even the texture of the city.  

Maistros’ novel is about people, the hard times they lived in and the difficult choices they had to make admist death, violence, and racism.  Ultimately, however, the author has produced a story about hope and rebirth (both literal and metaphorical).  Water is a key symbol of these themes whether in the form of the Mississippi River, the bayou, or the storms that bring flooding (both nurturing and destructive).  It is hard to imagine this book in a pre-Katrina era.  The motifs that take center stage here are ones expressed recently by residents of New Orleans who did not evacuate or those who left only to return because they could not stay away.

The Sound of Building Coffins is an amazing first novel, an amazing book in general that I would recommend to anyone no matter your usual tastes.  I won’t say that it is perfect of course.  There is some initial disconnect between Book 1 and Book 2 (it takes place several years after the opening scenes).  It took me a few chapters to get back into the story after the break.  Also the writing is at times disjointed, but for me this fit with the mood of the story. Others might find it off-putting. Regardless of these minor issues, this book is absolutely worth checking out!

The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros (2009)