Black and white

[altariel]

So I had feeling down the past couple of days, and then today several nice things happened, and now I feel better and I've hoovered. That's all human life there that is.

Over the weekend, I read Philip Reeve's brilliant Here Lies Arthur (thanks steepholm for the rec) and must heartily recommend: Arthur for a turbulent age of spin and warlords. I have to say I didn't much enjoy Mortal Engines: are the others in that sequence worth reading, o my flisters? They are waiting to go back to the library unread, and since they're due back on Tuesday, I doubt I'm going to get through, particularly not when I'm absorbed in Sabriel by Garth Nix (thanks the_wild_iris!). I like Nix's strong narrative style: so many books these days read as if they've come from visual imagination, but this is wordy and doesn't have much dialogue. Next up, Le Guin's Annals of the Western Shore.

Tomorrow I'm going to answer this meme for which I was tagged by forodwaith, but in the meantime, here is Judy Garland belting out a sad song, because when you're blue, there's nothing better than joining in with someone belting out a sad song.

PS I wanted Jessie to win I'd Do Anything. Stupid British public!

Comments

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'm using the setting - the river and the gates - and the concept of his necromancers in fanfic.

Is this in your Harry Potter fanfic?

Thanks for the well wishes: I came to the end of a short but intensive piece of work last week, and then the weather has been bloody miserable until today. I'm sure I'll perk up over the weekend.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Cool! :-D

[executrix.livejournal.com]

I think Garland's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" deserves a place on any mix of "Songs to Feel Bad By."

[altariel.livejournal.com]

*goes to YouTube*

*wrings out hankie*

[iainjcoleman.livejournal.com]

when you're blue, there's nothing better than joining in with someone belting out a sad song

I favour Shostakovitch's 10th Symphony, myself. For simultaneous emotional release and perspective check, you can't beat a great composer being really, really pissed off with Stalin.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

An agenda we can all get behind. It's part of tonight's Prom on Four, btw.

[iainjcoleman.livejournal.com]

Thatnks for the heads-up on that. The last time that was shown on Four I saved it to our V+ box - then lost it (along with lots of other stuff) when the box had to be replaced. Grrr.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Argh, yes, we've lost stuff that way in the past too, bloody annoying.

[greylin.livejournal.com]

Aw, sorry you've been feeling blue. Nothing like a spot of hoovering to improve morale. Annals of the Western Shore is a joy and there's a bit of desert in there somewhere - the sunshine will do you good. :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Nothing like a spot of hoovering to improve morale.

I even went so far as to handwash a (grubby) white rug. (It was a gift, I'd never buy a white rug.)

All these soggy days, it's getting ridiculous! Yes, I could do with a bit of desert.

[edge-of-ruin.livejournal.com]

Very sorry you've been feeling glum ;-( Hopefully you'll feel better soon.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I'll get the usual rush of creativity soon - at least, I hope so!

[chazzbanner.livejournal.com]

Yes for the Sabriel / Garth Nix love!

I hope you're feeling better.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Aha! I recognize that icon now, after entering the book on LibraryThing, and getting offered a selection of covers!

I'm starting to feel much better, and I suspect this down patch will be a prelude to a creative upswing, as that seems to be my pattern. Thank you :-)

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

*hugs* for feeling down. I am glad that there were nice things happening today.

Judy certainly knew how to deliver a song. I am impressed at you being able to belt along with it - it seemed a tricky song to do that to to me. Also, that is a lovely frock she is wearing.

I was baffled by Annals of the Western Shore, but isn't that Gifts, Powers and Voices? There's a lot of wonderful things going on in those books - I hope you enjoy them muchly.

Also, I might do the meme if you feel like passing it on.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

See me slowly catch up with my LJ inbox.

When I say I belt along with Judy, I sort of roughly hit a small proportion of the notes. I can't do the middle bit at all, that's far to hard.

Yes, that's apparently the collective title for Gifts, Powers, and Voices. I was planning a reread of The Dispossessed next, and then I think I'll tackle these three.

On the song meme... How about J for Joy?

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

And as soon as you said J, my brain has not been able to come up with one single song. It has however provided many starting with M. Stupid brain.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Then you shall have M for Merriment.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

I hope that your feeling better today will prove to mark the end of your blues.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you - and I'm thinking of you.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

That's my favourite Garland song. And I've done quite a bit of hoovering, or Dysoning, since the new machine arrived. It's much more exciting now I can see the dust I'm extracting!

I hope the nice things continue to keep you on the upward trajectory.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I should have said Dysoning. Can't get into the habit.

Very nice things continued into this week: the lovely toft_froggy has been to visit.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I hope I'll meet her one day! Not to mention seeing you again. And again. And...

[applegnat.livejournal.com]

It gets better, the Mortal Engines stuff, without ever really reaching getting to impressive. It's good, solid stuff with its heart in [more or less] the right place. They're quick, jolly reads, in my experience. Apart from the fact that a lot of people die cruel deaths. I think if you can bring yourself to care about Hester, the series will work for you?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I suspected they got better: I think Here Lies Arthur was written after (?) and you could see the technical improvement. The first one wasn't "wow! gasp!" in the way that reviews had made out, but I suppose I should know better by now. Thanks for the tips.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you've been feeling down, but I'm glad about the nice things, and I hope that's going to be the start of a better period.

Hoovering, especially with a Dyson, is always a boost. Instant gratification!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thanks, gb. I'm sure it's just a prelude to a good period, couldn't have them without the down patches.

I even went on to mop the kitchen floor. Not so instant gratification!

[thanatos-kalos.livejournal.com]

PS I wanted Jessie to win I'd Do Anything. Stupid British public!

::g:: I actually preferred Jodie-- Jessie's not quite ready for that kind of pressure, IMHO. Give her a couple of years, though... ;)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I thought Jodie was great, but she never quite did a 'stunning' performance for me (tho' Son of Preacher Man came close). Jessie's performances in the final were streets ahead. (Tho' Rachel's Cabaret was the performance of the show for me.) But I think you're right and that Jessie will be a star a couple of years down the line.

[thanatos-kalos.livejournal.com]

Jessie was just too inconsistent-- another thing she'll grow out of, with training. And yeah, that was a great Cabaret, and I don't normally like Fosse!

(Also, is it sad that I was taking notes whilst watching about things to do and not to do? It is sad, isn't it... :P)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Not sad at all! I wish we could have seen more of Liza Minelli's masterclass with them all, just the clips were brilliant.

[thanatos-kalos.livejournal.com]

Not sad at all!

Oh good. :) I seem to have learned quite a lot, though we'll only really find out when the concerts start in a couple of weeks. I know what I want to do with each song; the trick is actually doing it.

I wish we could have seen more of Liza Minelli's masterclass with them all, just the clips were brilliant.

Oh yes. All of the masterclasses were-- the networking opportunities on that show seemed immense!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It's been great reading about the rehearsing. I'm sure they're going to go well.

the networking opportunities on that show seemed immense!

I read somewhere online that Rachel is working with ALW on this follow-up to Phantom that he's doing. And I see that the new Maria in The Sound of Music is one of the competitors who went out in an earlier round on that show... I wonder if we'll see Jessie replacing Jodie as Nancy in a year or so?

[thanatos-kalos.livejournal.com]

It's been great reading about the rehearsing. I'm sure they're going to go well.

I hope so. Though there has been a great amount of cursing various composers on our part... 'Why is this key change here? It makes no sense! Why must you go to a b-flat?! Whyyyyyy?!' ad infinitum.

the networking opportunities on that show seemed immense!

I read somewhere online that Rachel is working with ALW on this follow-up to Phantom that he's doing.

Not surprised to hear that at all. :)

And I see that the new Maria in The Sound of Music is one of the competitors who went out in an earlier round on that show... I wonder if we'll see Jessie replacing Jodie as Nancy in a year or so?

could be, certainly, unless she's all ready working on something else. :)

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

So glad you're enjoying Sabriel! Apart from the characterisation and, as you say, the narrative flow, I think Nix's combination of fantasy with realism is one of the things I love best about the series. There's an echo of WW1 in the scenes with the soldiers. (But I don't want to spoil anything.)

I've never read any of Philip Reeves' books, but I keep seeing them in secondhand shops. I should check out the one you recommend.

Much hoping that the upswings are long and the downswings as short as they can be x

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'm really enjoying, and thank you for it! I'll definitely go on and read Lirael and Abhorsen.

I suspect you would enjoy Here Lies Arthur, which is about political spin and storytelling. Grab it if you see it s/h (and if you don't like it, I'll buy it off you!).

And thanks for the well wishes. The downswings seem to come when I can't work. I ended up staying up late last night and tapping at the keyboard. I'm feeling tired today but a lot more resilient *hugs you*

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Well, Freud said that what we need to make us happy is love and work *hugs you back*

I feel that I owe you Lirael and Abhorsen, since they are a trilogy (but there's no point giving someone all three parts of a trilogy before you know that they'll like part 1!). The other two take up a separate but related story a generation after Sabriel.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

You're lovely!

Heffers was doing a 3-for-2 on children's books last week, and both Lirael and Abhorsen were there, so I'm tempted to nip in and splurge on that. There's bound to be another book I'd be happy to have.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

It's obviously up to you and depends how soon you want them; but if it would give you pleasure to have them as a gift, it'd be my pleasure too. Besides, I'll do anything to be called lovely :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Aiie! LJ has sat on this comment and it's only just turned up! I'm sorry to have seemed such an ingrate :-(

I would love to read the next two and it is incredibly kind of you to offer - although you are always getting me lovely presents and I hardly ever reciprocate!

[fjm.livejournal.com]

I loved Hear Lies Arthur.

You could try Larklight. It's a swashbuckle Victorian space romance.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I thought it was brilliant: the unreliable narrator, the cross-dressing, and all the leaping into lakes and rivers gave it a wonderful sense of fluidity. I'll look out for Larklight and give it a try.

I wish I'd liked Mortal Engines more, but I think it didn't quite tickle my sense of humour sufficiently, and I suspect that's a large part of the charm.

BTW, thanks for directing me towards Susan Price's Odin's Trilogy, which I thought were splendid.

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

I believe in the "happy songs on blue days, sad songs only when you're happy enough to deal with them" philosophy. But no-one ever called me a model of mental health. Hope you feel better.

Hoovering just depresses me more. Doing laundry, on the other hand (and occasionally sitting beside the machine while it runs, listening to the rhythm, Clarice Starling-style)...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

In fact, my sure-fire cheer-me-up song is Tubthumping by Chumbawamba; the lyrics are not unambiguously happy, but the tune could not be confused with a dirge. I am feeling a lot more cheerful, thank you.

The process of hoovering does nothing for me, but the end result makes me feel like some order has been restored to the world.

[mikekellner.livejournal.com]

Sorry to be late. I was going to answer this last night, put it off for a bit and here I am.

I bet I saw this on live TV. I remember watching her shows on TV as a child.

I hope you are feeling better. Sometimes you just need something to change your mindset.

And I learned a new word. Hoovering. Being a native speaker of American, I always struggle with English. We call that vacuuming. Back during the Hippie Era, Hoovering meant to inhale an inordinately large portion of the joint in one pass. Usage, "Quit Hoovering that joint, there are three other people here." ie, sucking it up like you were a Hoover vacuum cleaner.

mk

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'm feeling a lot better, mk, thank you. I had a good day's work yesterday, and that always helps.

Technically, I should have called it 'Dysoning', because it's a Dyson not a Hoover, but old habits die hard. I still talk about 'taping' things off the telly.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-)