I've been busy...honest!

Here are the things I have been busy with;
Reading.......Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Wow!, blew my mind away.  I read a hardback copy from the library but will definitely have to get a paperback copy for my bookshelves.  Read Time Riders by Alex Scarrow. Strangely, I stopped reading Cloud Atlas half way through the book and read Time Riders for a day and then back the Cloud Atlas. Interesting effect. Time Riders is a series of Young Adult fiction that I've known about and heard good things, but just never got around to reading until know.  I enjoyed it and looking to start the second book in the series.  Now I'm reading Sepulchre by Kate Mosse.  This is the second book in her Labyrinth trilogy.  I like how she weaves  parts of the previous story through this one.  I'm loving the strong supernatural element this book, actually sending shivers up my spine.
Taking Photos.......we've had some fantastic light this month and I've used it to full advantage by traipsing around the local area with dogs and camera.  I had a lot of fun taking the shots and now I'm using them in some image transfer experiments.

Craigmill Cottage, Panbride

Carnoustie House Grounds

Crocheting....With help and patience of the lovely Marta, I found some confidence to make a bag.  It was a really straightforward pattern but somehow I just couldn't get started.  'Hook-fright' if you will.  Now that it's completed and sewn up and looking around for another project and I think this one will include owls.

Painting.....I used a photo I'd taken in Glen Esk as an source and excuse to do some painting with acrylics.  Not my brightest colours, but good fun all the same.

Zentangling......More zentangles, but with some of my writing woven into them.  Interesting effect, I can see that I need more work on my typography.
Image Transferring...... Experiment 1 is with white emulsion.  I knew that in theory it would work, but I was still surprised by the results. Experiment 2 is with acrylics. Just done today, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if it works.

adding the white emulsion

the sponging off process 

and getting a job!....hurray!  Start work after the Easter Hols, well you can't rush these things.

Enjoying Pi and drifting on a cloud

I saw it!  Finally I saw the Life of Pi.  It was the 3D version, which if I'm honest wasn't the version I intended to see.  However, in retrospect, it was definitely the superior version.  This story has been spellbindingly held in my thoughts for weeks now.  I ruminate on it often and the reason for this is because it is story based on the philosophical debate about science over religion, reason over imagination and fact over fiction.  It has haunted me for the last few weeks and now that I've seen the film, I think it will continue to haunt me for some time to come.  My hat is off to Mr Martel and Mr Lee, splendid work gentlemen!

When I haven't been ruminating over Life of Pi, I've been reading Simon Mayo's Itch.  Yes, DJ Simon Mayo.  I rather enjoyed this unlikely tale of a teenage 'element hunter' accidentally discovering element 126 and taking the decision to change the world or not.  There was enough of the believable to help with the continuity of the narrative and the characters were likeable and realistic.  Great to see some strong female characters and a health dose of science.  Much, much better that the average celebrity novel. I'm looking forward to reading his next book to be launched later this year.

So now I'm reading Phantom by Jo Nesbo and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.  *rubs hands together gleefully*  An eclectic mixture of Nordic Crime and Sci/Fi Fantasy.

Shhh, I'm reading.

What I'd like to know, is who else reads more that 1 book at  a time? and why?

I've always put my bi-reading of books down to my mood swings.  That way I've always got something suitable to pick up depending on where my mood is.  It's the literature equivalent of me taking imipramine and lamotrigine. (you probably need to speak a little psychopharmacology to understand that comparison.)

A Piece of Pi

Loved it! What an extraordinary story, what a rich colourful palette of symbolism, spirituality and Zoology.

It was really thought provoking for me, especially the ethics of zoos.  I've always been first to say that zoos are a bad idea, not ideal habitats for creatures and certainly not to be encouraged or supported.  Ive always said 'Yes' to conservation, 'Yes' to nature reserves and protected environments, however I was compelled to listen attentively and to allow myself to be challenged by Martel's arguments and reasoning for zoos.  I'm not ashamed to say that I am one of those well-meaning and misinformed people who thought animals in the wild and 'happy' and 'free' and I am appreciative of his thought provoking reasoning for zoos.

I must say that as a vegetarian, I found Martel's descriptions of the 'zebra incident' and 'first fish kill'  very nauseating.  Resolving the moments after reading these passages NOT to see the film.  However, it would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to see all of the special effects for the sake of my lack of stomach about a few sections of the story.

I could really identify with Pi dilemma "a lifetime of peaceful vegetarianism stood between me and the wilful beheading of a fish"  I have wondered from time to time if I would have the courage and conviction to follow through with a similar act should circumstances compel me.  As Pi discovers, "a person can get used to anything, even to killing."

Well, after a thoroughly enjoyable read, I was in the library on Saturday to celebrate National Libraries Day, not that there was much going on in the way of celebrations.  I spied Jean-Christophe Castelli's the making of Life of Pi a film a journey.  It is new stock and was still to be issued for the first time.  I took pride in rectifying that.  A fabulous read for anyone interested in the process of how a novel is brought to life on the big screen.  Castelli was responsible for period research for the film, set in 1975.  What an interesting journey is catalogued in Castelli's book.  Wonderful illustrations and photos documenting the film research and story.  Storyboard illustrations, old photos of Tigers in Zoos, The cast, included the 3 Tigers (King, Minh and Themis) who star as Richard Parker,  Director, Ang Lee and superb location shots in Pondicherry and in the studios in Taiwan.  Well worth a read.

Yann Martel writes the foreword to Castelli's book. He says that the film that Ang Lee and his novel have the same title but each tells a slightly different story because each is told by a different author.  "

"Both the reader and the viewer must ponder the same question: Which is the better story: the one with the animals, or the one without?...... what does that mean tin terms of how you will live your life?"

So National Libraries Day (9th Feb)  has been and gone and I visited my local library in Carnoustie.  I was impressed by the amount of new releases in the stock.  As I said before, I borrowed Castelli's book, a copy of the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Itch by Simon Mayo and the first audio book I've borrowed for a while, The Nightmare by Lars Kepler.

I'm curious as to how the book 'sounds' when read by someone else rather than hearing my own voice reading the story.  It will also be interesting to hear how the Swedish words should be pronounced as opposed to how I pronounce them.

As I was checking the books out at the circulation desk, there was much amusement at the  anonymous review of The Nightmare.  It did get me thinking though, maybe a few more anonymous reviews could find their way into the library. wink! wink!

Read Precepts and Wonder

I took the opportunity today to read a book that has been given a lot of press recently.

 It was so good, I read it in a few hours.

This is R J Palacio's first novel, Wonder.  It has a strong anti-bullying message attached to wrapped around a whole melting pot of issues that Teens experience.  It's a very character driven novel with some really interesting characters.  August, the main character, is an ordinary boy with an extraordinary appearance that shocks everyone who first meets him.  However August's situation isn't unique. There are lots of kids who have these monumental hurdles to overcome just to be accepted.  Not all of these kids have physical differences either, as a Mother of a child with autism, I am all to aware of the painful daily struggles Claire has to be accepted by her peers.

A lovely touch that the author has included in her novel are precepts.  Some are well known No man is an island, entire of itself - John Donne and others less well known Don't be friends with Jerks. Henry Joplin.

On that note, I hope you have a relaxing weekend.  I'm off to Somerset this weekend to do some long overdue packing.  Oh joy!

A long pause and a favourite piece of imagery.

I didn't want to feel that I would have to blog everyday, but it's been a little while since the last one. Then again, I'm struggling to remember what happened a week ago!

I've spent a bit of time reading, quite a lot of time actually. I've finished Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  This is her third novel, published last year.  It was 'on my list' to read but I was reticent to read it as she is an American Thriller Novelist and the novel is set in America.  I've nothing against Americans or America per se, but the setting and the style of prose is dull and uninteresting.  The New York Times says that she is 'one of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time' with deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn. All I'm saying is it didn't do it for me.  The American dream setting, the obvious plot that (it's revenge served on a cold dish)  The ditsy male and female characters, sickly sweet sentimental stuff, lame psychopath...  Nah, not in a hurry to read her other novels.

On the other hand, I'm just about to finish Lars Kepler's The Nightmare and it has me gripped. What surprised me to learn was that this novel has duel authorship by Alexander and Alexandra Ahndoril. The setting...Sweden (that's pretty exotic to me), The intelligent repartee between the characters, strong male and female characters, links to art and music, guns, action, and my favourite bit of imagery for the week 'Silence fills the room. It's as if feathers are falling all around them.'  mmm, just let me mediate on that image awhile longer. Lush, all I want to say to Lars Kepler is

Anyway, it seems that I have found a genre I particularly like, Swedish Crime Thrillers, and I'll have to investigate further on the individual works of Alexander and Alexandra Ahndoril.

Enough bookish stuff.  I have also been busy researching courses in various subjects that I would like to undertake.  The trouble is, it all costs money.  Which has led me to start to apply for jobs. Not jump up for joy I love going to work everyday types of job, just low paid, fits in with the family routine kind of stuff.  Ah well, I'm certainly not alone in that department.

Blue Monday

this is the formula :



where weather=W, debt=d, time since Christmas=T, time since failing our new year’s resolutions=Q, low motivational levels=M and the feeling of a need to take action=N_a. 'D' is not defined.

So, just to live to tell the tale is impressive enough I think.  I don't really want to spend too much time adding my own failings into the formula.  Suffice to say, roll on Tuesday.

I've read a book this afternoon, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  It was a quick and easy read, but I wanted to see for myself why Teens seem to be so taken with it.  I get it, sort of, but I can see that you'd have to be Teen to take full advantage of the emotional roller coaster Green takes you on.  The feedback from the Teens on Green's website seem to agree that they loved the characters, plot and emotional roller coaster, but disagree about whether it's a love story or not.

The weather curtailed my grocery shopping adventure today and I headed towards Arbroath.  Disaster struck however, when my only Waitrose 'bag for life' was whipped savagely from my trolley by the wind before I had time to enter Lidl.

Oh nooo!

I'll never be able to afford another one, and now I don't even live remotely near a Waitrose ...sob.
I'll have to slum it with a Tesco, Sainsbury's or Asda bag from now on...the shame.

To cheer my self up, I went to Asda for the remaining  items on my grocery list and as I was feeling  very sorry for myself,  I bought books. A knee-jerk reaction, I know, but I'm weak.

Rant

When will publishers desist with this disgusting habit of 'printing' a sticker on the front cover?  It's bad enough that stickers are stuck on covers, very irritating and time consuming for me. I spend ages trying to peel it off in a oner and get a damp cloth to get rid of the sticky residue.
The printed on sticker is really a step too far. 

I feel a protest coming on..

Bleugh, Blue Monday Weather.

See!  Look at that offensive yellow sticker, It spoils the aesthetics of the front cover and feel of the book!

An Unexpected Journey

I've had a much more productive day today and it feels good.  Not productive in a work/earning/contributing way (stab of guilt).  More in a 'being a bit more spontaneous' sort of way.
I took full advantage of Claire's overnight stay at Gran's house.  Claire was to walk to Gran's house from school tonight, which left me with a day without the constraints of the school day.
I started off my morning with a refreshing and blustery walk in the park with the Rocket and Radar. Despite the hailstorm, I really enjoyed it.
I did resort to type when I returned home; cleaning floors, washing and ironing but that was all done by 11.30.  Then a notion took me....go to the cinema, see The Hobbit.  I checked online and the next showing was at 13.15, perfect.
Bliss. The whole cinema to myself... and then 3 people joined me. They were quiet, so I forgive them for encroaching on my solitude.

Result! Enjoyed the film, did a minor spontaneous thing and filled an afternoon without any anxiety.  More of the same please.




Carnoustie House Grounds, with a lovely sunrise this morning.



Radar, with a 'Watch out Rocket, I'm going to steal your stick!' look.