Floating Leaf

Looks like it's been a while since I went crazy over a music band. I don't usually click "play" when people post music videos on Tumblr... but I did this time, and it was a case of instant fascination. The band is called Huldre. They play Scandinavian folk metal, and they're from Denmark. Their debut album, Intet Menneskebarn, was released in 2012. They don't seem to be well known outside of Europe, since my initial Google search didn't bring up much... but eventually I found their website: http://www.huldre.dk. You can listen to a few tracks for free on there, if you're interested. Strangely enough, I couldn't even find them on iTunes - until I clicked on the iTunes link from the band's website. That's when their album suddenly turned up in the store. It has now been purchased, downloaded and synced to my iPod - presumably to be played to death over the next few days.:)

So what's so special about this band? To me, it's mostly the vocals. Or, rather, the perfect harmony between the vocals and the instrumental arrangements. In a lot of similar bands, the overall effect tends to be ruined (for me, at least) by a male vocalist who shrieks as though he was being flayed alive. Here we have a strong, powerful, but clear female voice with amazing range, carrying gorgeous melodies that enhance the primal sound of traditional instruments (the hurdy-gurdy OMG). It's pure folk, served in metal sauce.:) Not the other way around. So, high points from me. Oh, and the lyrics are in Danish, too - which, again, sounds more authentic than the ubiquitous (and often poorly translated) English. Very refreshing.;)

In other random announcements, the new conditioner I just bought at Whole Foods (Nutrafix Hair Reconstructor by Giovanni) makes my hair look AWESOME. Now all I need is a facelift... and I can almost forget which birthday I celebrated last week.:D

Oh, and my most popular piece of Aragorn/Legolas fanfic on AO3 has reached over 3,000 hits. I mean... I can't even. I thought LOTR fandom was mostly dead by now, except for the dwarves. Just knowing that people still read A/L so much makes me almost wish I could write it again... *nostalgic sigh*

And just a tiny reminder to self before I sign off: never ever boast of the fact that your sinuses have cleared. You should know by now that as soon as you say that, they instantly become congested again. It's either due to the cold, or the heat, or the humidity, or the change of seasons, or the dust, or the pollen, or any other random trigger you can think of. There is always SOMETHING. Boil or freeze, rain or shine, the mucus production never stops. It's a fact of life. Get used to it. *weary sigh*

Just checking in very briefly at the end of another "long" weekend that flew by in a blink. I did a lot of laundry, some shopping and some internet catchup.:) As well as read a good chunk of Robin Hobb's Assassin's Quest. And I feel absolutely compelled to announce that I now have a new favorite pairing: The Fool and The Idiot (tindomerel will know what I am talking about :D). They make my heart sing a silly rhyme. Whether they are actually a "slash" pairing is still open for discussion at this point - but I adore them either way, and that is all that matters. <333

Also, as I mentioned previously, I really don't feel like re-reading any of Anne Rice's stuff any more... and so I was thinking to myself, why isn't there an online community that does chapter-by-chapter discussions of Robin Hobb's books?... or, you know, Mary Renault. And guess what? As it happens, there is this brand new Mary Renault comm on Dreamwidth, and they are planning a group re-read of the two-novel series based on the myth of Theseus: The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea. Now, HERE's something I'd absolutely LOVE to read again. If I can tear myself away from Robin Hobb, that is...;)

Well, that is the full extent of my pressing news at the moment. Bedtime.:/

So I did go shopping yesterday, but entirely failed to find any suitable winter boots or clothing. Instead, I bought a pretty summer blouse (it was ON CLEARANCE, for TWELVE BUCKS, it was BLUE and had a lovely frilly design - need I say more?... LOL), a new lunch box, a towel (in a nice geometric pattern of blue, green & gray), a pair of socks and a can of tea. THIS can of tea:



Bad picture taken with my "dumbphone" (as my friends call it) - because while my iPod Touch takes better pictures, I cannot then email them to myself, since I don't have WiFi.:( Anyway - how could I have resisted that? I hardly need more tea, I am running out of shelf space to house all the tea I already possess... but when I saw this nifty blue box (it is indeed royal blue, you have to take my word for it - no flash on the dumbphone camera, LOL), I had an immediate case of grabby hands, and so it was added to my already impressive tin collection.:P

Then I watched my latest Netflix DVD, Agora, which turned out to be another biopic about a scientist.:) Something I actually wasn't expecting, because the blurb on the DVD envelope entirely neglected to mention the fact that any of the characters were historical figures. I was expecting an entertaining period drama/romance - which would have been perfectly fine - but what I got instead was a truly stunning depiction of the turbulent events that shook the fabled city of Alexandria around 400 A.D. ( Read more... )

Once again, I am faced with the mystery of a 5-day weekend that passes by more quickly than a regular 2-day weekend. I've been off work since Wednesday, so of course I expected to be able to catch up on a ton of stuff... but somehow it's Sunday night already, and it feels like I've done very little. Of course, spending two days out of said five at my parents' house doing absolutely nothing certainly didn't help...

( Read more... )

Well, since this has become somewhat of a tradition...







Yes, this man is now 56 years old. Miracles happen. ;D

So, I should probably attempt some sort of progress report on my strange little cinematic "staycation"... but my mind is all over the place. As usual, the more I have to say, the more I struggle to make a journal entry. *sigh* Maybe I should give up entirely on trying to describe my life, and just LIVE it instead?...

We did see that old Polish movie with Adriana on Saturday. We both had a blast. And today I watched the latest film by Ferzan Ozpetek. Which wasn't as good as I expected. I mean, it was very good, but my expectations when it comes to Ozpetek are ridiculously high, based on his previous works of pure genius... and so I am a little disappointed. Still, it was nice to "meet" him in person.;)

Somehow, I thought I was going to get SOOO much done this week... but I can see already that I overestimated my organizational skills. I can be productive at home if I am not planning on going out; but when I know I have to leave at a certain time, I tend to get anxious about starting a project I might not be able to finish. I have always found it hard to estimate correctly how long something might take me; it seems to depend on so many factors outside my control. So I absolutely hate giving myself "deadlines"... but I also hate leaving things unfinished. This results in simply abandoning certain tasks... or in being late for appointments... or in having to suddenly dash about in terrible anxiety, because I don't WANT to be late, but have no fucking clue how the time got to be what it is.:/ (and if I REALLY don't want to be late, I sometimes end up being way too early... which is also frustrating) Anyway... my idea of a good, relaxing vacation shouldn't probably include having to get halfway across town (via public transit, no less) by a specific hour every day. But I only do this once a year, and so I tend to forget how exhausting it is... until the next time. *sigh*

Looks like Two Faces of January isn't playing yet this weekend, since we couldn't find showtimes for it anywhere. Which is just as well, considering I feel pretty crappy due to some sort of seasonal affliction. Nothing serious, I think - just the usual clogged sinuses, headache and fatigue. Last night I pretty much crashed around 9 p.m.... and all I managed to accomplish today was take a bath and go out for groceries. EXHAUSTING. I foresee early bedtime again...

I am off on Monday to see my chiropractor, because I missed the appointment last weekend (the bus didn't show up! again!), and would otherwise have to wait another three weeks (UNTHINKABLE). So maybe she can do some magic acupuncture trick to strengthen my immune system... and at any rate, I have an extra day to just lay around and take it easy and hopefully recover from this stupid cold (or whatever it is).

And now I am going to get horizontal and lose myself in a book. Or fall asleep... whichever happens first, LOL. *collapses*

You know how YouTube would "suggest" similar videos to the ones you're watching? Even if they're not really similar? In this case, there was one feature in common: the song was in French.:) I clicked on the pretty girl out of pure, shallow curiosity... and boom. Her voice pierced my insides with inconsolable longing.;) She sounds almost too angelic, too perfect, to the point where it borders on the saccharine... almost. But not quite. Or it doesn't quite cross that line for me, at any rate. You're welcome to judge for yourselves:



Wikipedia says she's a French singer, born in Paris, but of Algerian, Indian, Cambodian AND Egyptian descent. Ooookay. Sounds pretty uncommon - which is right up my alley. I just downloaded the full album (which appears to be her first one) from Soundike.com for $1.20. And it's all enchanting. They classify her as "Oriental pop" or "R&B", which sort of fits in places - but for the most part, I would say she's a French version of Enya.:) Which, from me, is a compliment.

Don't mind me, btw. I frequently self-medicate with music. I seem to be going through a French phase at the moment. It may or may not be coincidental. And just because I gush over something like a giddy schoolgirl, I am not automatically happy - but I am coping, and that is good enough for now.

So, I spent most of yesterday with the two friends mentioned in one of my recent posts, playing tourists in our own city. First we went to the Art Institute of Chicago, for the Magritte exhibition. I hadn't been to the Art Institute since 2006, so I took my time revisiting the permanent exhibits as well. There is a ton of interesting stuff to see in that place. We were there for a good few hours... Then we had late lunch/early dinner at the famous Exchequer Restaurant, which is nearby. After that, we strolled towards Lake Michigan and settled ourselves on the waterfront to wait for the 4th of July fireworks display. Which wasn't as grand as we expected, but still... I had never actually been to the official Navy Pier 4th of July fireworks, so there goes one item to check off the list of obligatory things to do in Chicago.;) After the show we all needed to use the loo, and there were no public restrooms nearby... so we went to the Miller Pub (another famous Chicago landmark) for desserts. I had an obscenely giant piece of tiramisu (which both my friends were happy to help me conquer, LOL) - and Agnes had a shot of cinnamon-flavored whiskey, which we also shared (it went perfectly well with the cake, I might add). By the time I got home, it was well past midnight...

I do hope we are going to get together more often in the near future. It feels good to hang out with people who pretty much take you as you are, with no veiled judgments or unrealistic expectations. Yes, we are all middle-aged women with various silly quirks and a lot of baggage. We are far from perfect and we know it - but we respect one another. No ego trips, power games or high drama acts in sight. What you see is what you get, from each of us. I always appreciated that, I think... but now I appreciate it more. For reasons, as some people like to say. *wry smirk*

Oh, and my friend Adriana introduced me to this awesome singer/songwriter/performer from Belgium - Stromae. He sounds like a modern, gender-fluid version of Jacques Brel. Simply delectable:

I got my period the other day. About two-and-a-half weeks after the last one. Which is a new record, I think. Of course, I have a pretty good idea what threw my cycle out of whack. Emotional distress is one of typical big factors, after all. Every once in a while, even when my brain thinks I'm perfectly OK, my body seems to believe otherwise - but this time they were clearly in agreement.:/

Well... at least it's mild. No horrible cramps or debilitating headache. No heavy bleeding, either. Just the usual grumpiness and fatigue. But I'm pretty sure the only reason it's so mild is because it's "out of schedule"...

I do realize I have barely commented on anyone else's posts in the past few weeks. And I no longer have the usual excuse of being busy with fandom and Skype... but, paradoxically, the very lack of said excuse has made me extremely reluctant to engage in any sort of human interaction. ( Read more... )

Anyway... what I was trying to say (before I got derailed by my incurable tendency towards pointless navel-gazing, AGAIN) was that I will eventually get back to my previous routine of LJ-interactions. And for those few people who have been supportive - please rest assured that I do read your posts, and that your presence here is a comfort to me, even if I don't always make the effort to say so. You know who you are.:)

Btw, I am still in a sort of split-personality state about the VC fandom. A part of me will always enjoy reading fanfic and fantasizing about the characters... but another part of me feels too heartsick to ever go back to "hanging out" with other fans as though nothing ever changed. Because, to me, EVERYTHING changed. ( Read more... )

Again, I was going somewhere with this, and that was to say that I am trying to "branch out" into other fandoms, where I can meet new people and interact without "baggage". The problem is, most popular fandoms these days seem to be TV-related... and I don't watch TV. Perhaps I should start to - pick a good show that is available on Netflix (I don't have regular TV or cable service - can totally do without paying the bill), then find the online "hangouts" of its fans?... Any recommendations?... Game of Thrones?... I do tend to prefer fantasy/period stuff to modern stuff - so that is why I thought of that. But then again, I read on some feminist blog that most female characters in GoT either get raped or threatened with rape at some point - and that just made me gag. So I really don't know...

Btw, I wonder if there are any active online communities where people discuss good movies - as in, real cinematic art from all over the planet (anywhere BUT Hollywood, basically... LOL). I haven't been able to find any on either LJ or Dreamwidth - but perhaps there are other places I am unaware of?... Good cinema is like a whole another fandom for me - one that can never be fully explored, because it keeps expanding in all directions. I am dying to discuss films with people - but often just finding someone who has heard of, let alone seen, some of my favorites appears to be too much of a challenge. It's all about the big Dream Factory of cookie-cutter crap these days...

Well... that will be it for the moment. Any advice welcome as to how I can find new human connections, in order to distract myself from my inevitable failures at... human connections. Right. That made sense, obviously. *sigh*