emelee
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Posts posted by emelee
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I wait MUCH longer with a novel than with a movie. A movie only takes about 2 hours to watch. A novel, much longer. I think that is why. There is one novel that I want to read again soon. Last time I read it was in 2001.
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I can't afford to be picky for the upcoming 2 months. I have 3 courses at 2 universities to finish. I will therefore focus on audiobooks for my free choices of books. I love going to bed at night listening to an audiobook until I fall asleep. Currenly listening to Clive Cussler's Sacred stone (The Oregon files series). After that, Leif G.W. Persson's 2nd novel in the Evert Bäckström series, He who kills the dragon.
If I can find time, I'll read Gone girl by Gillian Flynn and/or The shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. -
So far, I've only listened to Swedish translations of novels. Torsten Wahlund and Tomas Bolme are so far my favorites. Both of them are actors, which is of course one of the reasons why they are good.
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Ha ha ha yes. Tea just goes straight through for me.
I knew I couldn't be the only one! Tea is worse (or best, depending on how you look at it) than any other beverage for the bladder. It's like drink one cup - pee 3 cups.
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Anyone else get an over active bladder because of tea?
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I've lost hope for me with horror movies. I never get scared. I laugh sometimes though.
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I often buy the cheap Twinings teas
Right now, my favorite is apple/cinnamon/raisin, but also rooibos and blackcurrant.
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Big fan of subtitles. I don't really need them for english-spoken shows as I can manage, but I want the subtitles there. Just in case I miss something. On some shows (on DVD) that have Swedish voices, I choose to add subtitles, also in Swedish. Then it won't matter if there's noice in the background. You don't miss anything.
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Is there any worse weather to be out in than rain + storm + cold? You look like an almost drowned cat when you get inside.
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I can fully understand this! I get nervous too if I have to phone people I don't know well, I really dread it. My boyfriend has the same thing. Good luck with the phone call, I hope it went okay
.They did. I ended up having to make 3 calls. I think it's all about creating a secure environment around you when you make a call. I was in bed with my dog next to me. Anxiety level = low.
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Nabokov once said something along the lines of.....once the manuscript is published and out there, it's whatever the public thinks up. Way paraphrasing, but that's the jist.
I have heard that one too. And he was right. You can never be the author, you can never have experienced what he/she has and you can never be in the same situation. So it's really impossible to read a book with the eyes of the author.
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emelee, y'all are just beating your heads against a brick wall.....OP likes to stir the pot. Doesn't matter what you say, they will argue against it. Just for fun.
Yup. And I have now put OP on my ignore list.
Funny enough, 2 months ago, no one was on that list. Now there are 5 people on it (4 of them not from BCF). Is it something in the air that makes people behave strangely?
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Poem above is for Christmas.
Next is a classic New Year's poem. Read every year in Sweden (in swedish translation), just before the clock strikes midnight, at the Skansen Zoo stage and airing on TV, live. Read by a respected and beloved famous person. It's usually timed so that the ending of the poem comes just seconds before the bell rings, so the audience can do a joint countdown.
Lord Alfred Tennyson "Ring out, wild bells"
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be. -
Viktor Rydberg "Tomten" (translated from Swedish)
A tomte, nisse or tomtenisse is a humanoid mythical creature of Scandinavian folklore. He was believed to take care of a farmer's home and children and protect them from misfortune at night, when the housefolk were asleep. He was often imagined as a small, elderly man (size varies from a few inches to about half the height of an adult man), often with a full beard; dressed in the everyday clothing of a farmer.Nowadays, the word tomte is almost only used for Santa Clause (Jultomte)
Midwinter’s nightly frost is hard —
Brightly the stars are beaming;
Fast asleep is the lonely Yard,
All, at midnight, are dreaming.
Clear is the moon, and the snow-drifts shine,
Glistening white, on fir and pine,
Covers on rooflets making.
None but tomten is waking.Grey, he stands by the byre-door,
Grey, in the snow appearing;
Looks, as ever he did before,
Up, at the moonlight peering;
Looks at the wood, where the pine and fir
Stand round the farm, and never stir;
Broods on an unavailing
Riddle, forever failing;Runs his hand through his hair and beard —
Gravely, his head a-shaking —
»Harder riddle I never heard,
Vainly, my head I’m breaking.» —
Chasing, then, as his wont for aye,
Such unsolvable things away,
Tomten trips, without hustling,
Now, about duty bustling.Goes to the larder and tool-house fine,
Every padlock trying —
See! by moonlight, in stalls, the kine,
Dreaming of summer, are lying;
Heedless of harness and whip and team,
Polle, stabled, has, too, a dream:
Manger and crib, all over,
Fill with sweet-smelling clover.Tomten goes to the lambs and sheep —
See! they are all a-dreaming!
Goes to the hens, where the cock will sleep,
Perched, with vanity teeming;
Karo, in kennel, so brave and hale,
Wakes up and gladly wags his tail;
Karo, he knows his brother-
Watchman, they love each other.Lastly, tomten will steal to see
The masterfolks, loved so dearly;
Long have they liked his industry,
Now, they honour him, clearly;
Stealing on tiptoe, soon he nears
Nursery cots, the little dears;
None must grudge him the pleasure;
This is his greatest treasure.Thus he has seen them, sire and son,
Endless numbers of races;
Whence are they coming, one by one,
All the slumbering faces?
Mortals succeeding mortals, there,
Flourished, and aged, and went — but where?
Oh, this riddle, revolving,
He will never cease solving!Tomten goes to the hay-shed loft,
There, is his haunt and hollow,
Deep in the sweet-smelling hay, aloft,
Near the nest of the swallow;
Empty, now, is the swallow’s nest,
But when spring is in blossom drest,
She for home will be yearning,
Will, with her mate, be returning.Then she’ll twitter, and sing, and chat
Much of her airy travel,
Nothing, though, of the riddle that
Tomten can never unravel.
Through a chink in the hay-shed wall,
Lustrous moonbeams on tomten fall,
There, on his beard, they’re blinking,
Tomten’s brooding and thinking.Mute is the world, is nature all,
Life is so frozen and dreary;
From afar, but the rapids’ call,
Murmuring, sounds so weary.
Tomten listens, half in a dream,
Fancies he hears the vital stream,
Wonders whither it’s going,
Whence its waters are flowing.Midwinter’s nightly frost is hard —
Brightly the stars are beaming.
Fast asleep is the lonely Yard,
All till morn will be dreaming.
Faint is the moon; and the snow-drifts shine,
Glistening white on fir and pine,
Covers on rooflets making.
None but tomten is waking. -
Karin Boye "Ja visst gör det ont" (translated from Swedish to "Yes of course it hurts")
Yes, of course it hurts when buds are breaking.
Why else would the springtime falter?
Why would all our ardent longing
bind itself in frozen, bitter pallor?
After all, the bud was covered all the winter.
What new thing is it that bursts and wears?
Yes, of course it hurts when buds are breaking,
hurts for that which grows
and that which bars.
Yes, it is hard when drops are falling.
Trembling with fear, and heavy hanging,
cleaving to the twig, and swelling, sliding -
weight draws them down, though they go on clinging.
Hard to be uncertain, afraid and divided,
hard to feel the depths attract and call,
yet sit fast and merely tremble -
hard to want to stay
and want to fall.
Then, when things are worst and nothing helps
the tree's buds break as in rejoicing,
then, when no fear holds back any longer,
down in glitter go the twig's drops plunging,
forget that they were frightened by the new,
forget their fear before the flight unfurled -
feel for a second their greatest safety,
rest in that trust
that creates the world. -
Gustaf Fröding "Strövtåg i hembygden" (translated from Swedish to "Homecoming")
O’er the clouds is a glow, o’er the lake is a sheen,
There’s sunlight on beach and on ness,
Around them the woods are a glorious green,
The grass feels the south wind’s caress.
‘Mid summer and beauty and pure-scented breeze
I hail this my native strand. -
But there is a void by the maple-trees
Where my father’s home used to stand.
It is gone, it is burned, there is nought left behind
Save the rocks of all traces bereft !
But memory comes with the cool-breathing wind,
And memory is all that is left.
I see a white gable before me again,
A window stands open within it,
Through which there is wafted the rollicking strain
Of a melody played on the spinet.
And I hear now my father singing his best
As in youth when his spirit was glad.
The song was soon hushed in his languishing breast
And his life became weary and sad.
It is gone, it is burned. I will lie by the side
Of the lake here and hark to his tale
Of the woman who lived as the calm years glide,
The old wife of Asterdale.
He sings of her grief in a voice as low
And soft as a dream-song’s tone:
“That is over these twenty long years ago,
That’s dead and buried and gone.
Where you, lovely visions, would formerly throng
The moonlight falls lonely and pale. -
And that is the end of my cradle-song
Of the old wife of Asterdale.”
Mando Diao has put music to some of his poems. Here's this one as a song:
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We love discussing the motivations of the characters, the who knew what when, and why they took the actions they did. Symbolism fits right in, hand and glove with those motivations. It's also important to remember that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
I love the cross referencing, and analyzing involved. Some of our books are quite marked up with definitions, and referencing page numbers.
. It usually takes an initial read through to get the jist of the story, then another go-through for analysis. And sometimes, another. That's the fun of it! I think it is important to do the initial read-through without too much "interference", just so your own impressions are really your own. That's not saying you won't change your mind. That is part of the fun.That's what is so much fun. The whole sometimes a cigar is JUST a cigar. Not everything in a novel can be symbolism. You'd hang yourself if you thought that.
It's so often deciding what is just there and what is there to symbolize something. Before I was not even thinking that a book could be filled with symbols - until I was working with a language teacher whose favorite novel is Crime & Punishment and she could just make the longest list of symbols. This was by far the most intelligent teacher I've ever met, so it's really unfair to compare her to others. And unfair to me also, thinking I could reach her level. Never would I have figured out the yellow symbol or the bridges etc. Or the Russian names. I would never even have come to think that they even MIGHT symbolize something.
I am grateful for having had the opportunity to work with her. I learned so much. But to aim to reach her level would be to reach for the moon. Only few people reach it.
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Book discussions are not about knowing facts about a novel. That is assumed since it's assumed you've read it. What it's about is discussing how you felt reading it, what you liked best and what you had troubles with. It's about personal reading experiences. Not "did you know that the authors is known for repeating the symbolism of the cross in his novels?" or "one could interpret the author's upbringing to have a played a major factor in his writing". It's all about your personal reading and what you as a reader felt was compelling or what you didn't feel was described as well as some other part etc etc etc etc etc
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1) If I went to a knitting club and didn't knit they would be grateful for somebody to speak to
2) They don't read at a book club, they talk about books. I am talking about the topic. How is that rude?
That you don't realize it by what we have written makes me think it's impossible to explain any further.
Would you go debate a topic in a debate club without knowing facts? Without being interested in the topic you have signed on to care about?
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I can't drink many kinds of tea just the way it is. I need something in it. I usually put a little honey in.
I love the smell of tea, but I haven't found many teas that I love. Many just taste the same.
But I have some that I like better than others.
Kusmi tea chocolate mint
Glöggte - Glühwein tea (with cinnamon, cardamom, clove)
Gingerbread tea
Tea with blackcurrant
Rooibos blackberry
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The snow mealted away for the most part today. Good for the guys who are putting asphalt on the road they recently tore up to fix just outside the house. Putting asphalt on a snowy ground is probably not a good idea.
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I can understand why many get anxious. If your head is programmed to believe birthdays and Christmases are these big events, of course you will get nervous. Who doesn't get nervous before a big event? My dad always gets nervous about going somewhere. Even if it's just the city closest to ours. He always starts to complain about an upset stomach. So travel, no matter how short the distance, will get his anxious level up.
I get anxious about other "big events", like calling someone. Seems like a no big deal, but I am so nervous and anxious about making one simple phone call (not to my parents though). I have a call I have to make this week. I should have done it last week. But I keep pushing it forward. It's just a simple call to a union to tell them that I have not yet graduated, like they obviously believe I have. Just a quick phone call saying "I don't want to me a full member just yet". I'd much rather visit their office with this errand, but the flight there takes one hour..........
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Scary books and films have never bothered me. In fact, I've spent my entire adult life trying to find a book or film that will totally creep me out and give me the heebiejeebies. It's not happened yet. I can watch/read alone, in the dark, no bother and have absolutely no recollection of having ANY dreams, not even if I eat cheese before bed.
Same here with scary films. I just want to find at least ONE that scares the you-know-what out of me. I've asked friends and googled. Seen what they have recommended. And just rolled my eyes watching the movies. Even yawned. I just laugh at "The exorcist". I find the "Saw" films to be more thrillers than scary. "Psycho" was a child's game. "The Shining" was almost funny. "The ring" felt silly. "Jaws" felt like a documentary about sharks. Vampires, warewolves and such will never scare me because I just don't believe in them. I don't believe that you can become possessed by the devil either, so exorcism films won't work on me either.
I don't believe the earth will be visited by aliens either, but I do believe there is life on other solar systems. Logically, there ought to be considering how endless the universe is and how many solar systems there must be out there. So alien forms of some kind has a greater chance of working on me.
What will work on me though is real humans being extremely cruel, especially at night when you can't see and no one is around to hear you scream etc. When you can't even see what is threatening. It can't be ghosts though, cause I don't believe in the classic scary ghost.
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Well that's rude. I think they will appreciate the insight that I bring. The fact that I have more interesting things to do than come up with that insight is irrelevant.
What insight will you bring if you know nothing about the novel or the reading experience? What could you bring to the table that the other members couldn't google themselves, if they were interested?
It is most definitely not irrelevant that you find the concept of a book club unworthy of your precious time.
How would it look if I attended a costume party in my regular outfit because I found it to be nonsense to dress up and couldn't be bothered with it, but still wanted to attend because I wanted to prove to someone else that I could attend a "silly party"? You don't think they'd look down on me and wonder why the hell I wanted to crash their party?
Or if I attended a knitting meeting without bringing anything to knit, I just wanted to prove to someone that I could be part of such a group and share the experience?
It's just silly. And IMO, you are very rude to the people in the book club.
Tea
in Food, Cooking & Recipes
Posted
There is nothing better than an ordinary cup of black coffee with a little bit of milk in it when at school, during a very long lecture. No tea in the world can replace the coffee then.