I recently moved, and discovered that I had a great many books sitting around that I shall never read again and have no desire to keep around. While normally I would just donate them to charity or turn them loose via bookcrossing, this time I thought I'd first check to see if anyone else wants them.
( So here's the deal... )If you'd like any of these, stake your claim in a comment below. First in gets the book. Then I'll email you to get your postal address and your books will be on the way as soon as Catherinely possible.
smudge6699 at youtube is not a credible reference for your essay. Cite the pirated documentary he's uploaded by its true name and publisher/distributor, and don't tell me that you watched the pirate version.
Raising money for a good cause...I'm offering to make a bookmark of your favourite fictional character for the highest donation bid to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif){kind=small}
help_haiti. Bidding closes on the 20th, American time, and the bookmark should be posted by February.
I may also offer an amigurumi katamari if I can find the time to make both and think anyone will want it.
Eep, I'm so slack...So, how about yuletide, eh? I think I wrote somewhere that I was feeling way too swamped with finishing the PhD to sign up this time around, and it's still true that the thought of committing to something else with deadlines gives me more stress than the thought of submitting another job application (I'm working on another due on Friday, but I'm not that stressed, honest).
But that's not the point. The point is that I did end up writing a Monkey Island stocking stuffer for someone called Nic, entitled "The Elaine Song". It's very silly, but I'm told it made several people laugh, which is really all I ever wanted out of it. Poor old Guybrush, he's so silly.
That's not even the point. The real point is that I did participate in a satellite exchange, where the good people of yuletide sent each other boxes or packets of candy. I may not be able to commit to writing, but shopping for chocolate is one thing I can always find time for. And as for receiving chocolate....... YUM! Made my Christmas, it did.
So, here is a big thank you to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
bluebrocade, who sent me a lovely package of chocolate from Chocolate Heaven in San Francisco and a little hot chocolate mug as well. So delicious, and cute too!
bluebrocade. You sent me a lovely gift, and I'm sorry it took me this long to write it up. My best friend had a baby boy on Tuesday, Nicholas Demetrios Demetriou. He's my new favourite thing ever.
( click for photos )
*sobs*...I have a cold and it's making me miserable. I walked home (via the chemist for some paracetamol and cough lollies) feeling that I would never be warm again (and very sorry for myself) and as I walk in the door Jane hands me a package:
( cut for photo )and now I miss my mummy very much.
Having a blast in London...Haven't really had the energy to blog, so have a chunk out of my diary (I forgot to bring a book so I'm typing into a file). Note that it's not been edited, so may contain typos, sentence fragments and other awkwardness
Somehow my "awesome trip out to see the rest of the Thames festival" turned into "Catherine is entranced by Korean culture, to the point where she buys the soundtrack to the hybrid traditional/modern dance performance and freezes to death watching a kimchee western". And that was okay by me, as the music was great (and the dance too) and the movie was awesome.
No Korean food though, which was sad-making. I had a craving for a bibimbap, and all I could get was an apple and pork traditional english sausage (so good) and an apple and cinnamon crepe (rather average really). Ooh, and a Belgian hot chocolate, made from a chocolate fountain and something else that was nice and creamy and staved off the freezing to death for at least an hour.
Oh, and I finally bought some things at the markets: a terrorist scarf, because I had a feeling I wasn't dressed warmly enough.
Then to the movie, "The Good, The Bad, The Weird". It was awesome, a little gruesome, but I've come to expect that from the few Korean films that are exported to the rest of the world, and aside from a serious lack of female characters (which I expected from a western, but was vaguely hoping they'd subvert) I thought it was definitely worth the time in the cold.
Basically, it's the tale of a treasure map, and the people who will fight to get a hold of it and the treasure it points to. I'm not really sure I got the historical context for the film (they were in Manchuria, which was occupied by Japan, but all the named characters were Korean expats (and clearly feeling 'han' (okay, what is the correct way to use a foreign word for a feeling of sad quiet nostalgia in a sentence? (and where did all these parentheses come from and have I closed them all?)))
The best bit was when about three quarters of the way through I gave in to temptation and thought, "this feels so very Quentin Tarantino, I bet the director's a fan." At that moment, the Kill Bill remix of "Don't let me be misunderstood" kicked in and I couldn't help but laugh, despite it being a very serious moment in the film (an awesome shootout was about to begin).
And in the end, many hundreds of people (and horses!) had been shot, the treasure located (and unappreciated by its finders) and those that made it through went on with their lives. I was very satisfied and wouldn't mind seeing it again with anyone reading this who wants to watch a western with me sometime.
Hey you lot...I'm exhausted after several days conferencing, but I'm going down to London tomorrow and I'll not be back for a week or more. I don't know what my connectivity will be like, so don't panic if you don't hear from me again until the 21st of September.
I've got my phone if anyone needs me.
And any suggestions for fun things to do will be appreciated.
When I grow up...I want to be the Master of Trinity College.
Oh flist, not only did we have drinks in the Master's garden, but then we were allowed to explore the Lodge proper and gaze upon the bookshelves (full of books bequeathed by Masters past) and the portraits, and lounge in his sitting room and dream of playing the piano in his music room and then, best of all, he let us into his office. So many books and desks that have been worked upon by some of the greatest minds in their fields...
I think my favourite thing was the portrait of Elizabeth I in the music room, actually. She's beautiful, and I could have gazed upon her all night long. But he threw us out eventually, as he had to go and wish the Choir luck upon their upcoming tour.
Party Time!Today I emailled the boss a more or less "complete" draft of a thesis chapter. For all that it's chapter two, this is the first time I've actually sent him something for this project (honours was 5.5 years ago now, it hardly counts), so I'm a little terrified, but he replied back with a promise that "[he's] looking forward to making comments ranging from the bleeding obvious to the sublime", so I'm going to hope for the best and celebrate the achievement that saw me working all long weekend and not regretting a second of it.
( photo of cake! )
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