Saturday, January 05, 2013

a bit random for today, but it's been grey and dreary for days


small stone :: four

chickens pecking in the herb beds. a little half-grown grey cat stalks, doing the pre-launch wiggle of her haunches and then running straight for one little black hen. she aborts at the last minute, not daring after all. and the chicken gives her a good scolding.

small stone :: five

looking at a friend's photos of armenia on facebook. hearing the echoes of memories not my own in the beautiful, evocative images. feeling provoked to tears.

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vignettes of memories:

going to a bar in kazan with my russian (tatar?) girlfriends. it wasn't something they did often (or ever). all i really remember is their big, round eyes and the decor - which was faux cave, draped in plastic plants.

defying the last of winter in kazan (apparently my brain is in kazan) with long, cutoff jeans shorts on an april day. 

stuffing myself and my backpack onto a VERY busy tram (also in kazan) and at one point, being held up completely by the surrounding crowd, as my feet left the ground.

what is it about watching living daylights (the first bond with timothy dalton) that reminds me of kazan?

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is america in decline? and how much does it have in common with europe?
read more here.  

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i really like maria konnikova's thoughts on language.
while you're there, stay and read more of her blog posts, you won't regret it.

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have you read j.k. rowling's casual vacancy?
what did you think?

2 comments:

celkalee said...

i did read Casual Vacancy. Was on the verge of bored to death. If I had not paid full price for the hardcover, I would have tossed it. What a tedious bunch of people, she needs to stay in the fantasy category. Instead I finished it, felt rather irritable and donated it to the local library. What do others think? Am I just picky?

DahnStarr said...

Bought Casual Vacancy for my Daughter and I also tried to read it. Still like the way she writes but couldn't find a redeeming character and the overall tone was way too dark for my taste. Didn't finish it.