The first picture taken of me tonight, as the office braces for its Halloween party. I am carrying two types of swords and I intend to run around and pose some more with the damn things, as I am quite happy with them and I have never had a chance to do something like this. XD
There should be more later, or I will try to get someone to take other photos, I don't know.....
I recently found cause to write about UP-Diliman, the university that I attended for a few years, in rather elegiac terms in a story.
As that story is supposed to be part of a project where both words and images come together, I took it upon myself to add some references for the artist who will draw my story, and to this end I went out last Sunday to photograph my uni.
Turns out it was perfect weather to take pictures: a blue sky overhead, a sun that was not overwhelming in its light and in fact was a bit moody and muted. There were also not a lot of people on the grounds, which my SO and I attributed to that weekend being the first of the semester break, meaning, everyone might have gone home for a couple of weeks.
He and I took turns with the camera. I'm pretty sure that the third photo is his.
The facade of Ang Bahay ng Alumni features a striking stained-glass half-circle window, which unfortunately is not that obvious in this light. [Hint: it's that massive window with the iron traceries.] The name of the building roughly translates to "The Home of the Alumni".
A look up, up, up the UP Carillon. When we were at uni together we used to spend afternoons listening to the distant songs of the bells as they were rung in this tower. Recently the whole thing has undergone a facelift and it now looks much better than it did ten years ago.
The facade of Palma Hall, also known as AS [Arts and Sciences] and LA [Liberal Arts], depending on your generation, as seen through some of the acacia trees planted along the Academic Oval. Photo by my partner.
A photo of one side of the Academic Oval, taken by me while sitting on the sidewalk opposite Palma Hall. I really like the atmosphere in this photo: it makes us look as though we were the only people in the area. In fact there were a few bicyclists making the rounds - I just got lucky; I took the photo while they were still far away.
For all its flaws and strange idiosyncrasies I still think my uni is gorgeous and a joy to be in. I hope these pictures help convey that.
[WARNING: this entry may contain possible spoilers for the novel and the film Let the Right One In.]
title: Låt den rätte komma in author: John Ajvide Lindqvist. His debut novel.
But first, before the review, have a listen to the song that's extensively quoted throughout the book: "Let the Right One Slip In" by Morrissey. [Yes, THAT Morrissey.]
There is a bit of vampire lore that does not quite get remembered as often as the whole bloodsucking/infection/undead thing: vampires need to be invited to enter a place.
If you've read the Artemis Fowl books you know that this concept has also applied to fairies. Only fitting, in a way....
Anyway. Over the weekend I treated myself to a new book: a copy of Let the Right One In. My edition has the cover that also says "The inspiration behind Let Me In" - which is the 2010 American remake of the 2008 Swedish film.
I read the novel in three big gulps over the weekend and let me tell you, this is one of the best vampire novels out there. It really is. The whole atmosphere is cold and forbidding, the characters are all too human and weak [yes, that includes Eli], and the whole idea is of this strange and twisted love that forms between a boy and an androgynous bloodsucker.
[If you prefer to have your characters STAY the gender they're introduced as, you're SOL with Eli, as the pronouns referring to the character actually change from paragraph to paragraph.]
Oskar, the main character, comes off as someone really believable, and it's on him that the narrative of the book is centered, even though there are several POV characters and their stories intertwine throughout the pages. If you cannot stomach/believe/accept the terrible experiences he goes through, you'll have a hard time understanding the relationship he eventually forms with Eli, the character that the title refers to.
A famous still from the 2008 movie shows a bloody Eli. I think I now know which part of the book this comes from.
Have I mentioned that this novel is scary? And only partly because of Eli, believe it or not. One of the important things to note in this novel is that some of the human characters are portrayed as being even more monstrous than the obviously undead ones - and it's really one of the major sources of the horror. You've met them, or I hope you haven't: the bully, the pedophile, the druggie, the shut-in, the isolated, the serial killer groupie. Each character is beautifully and frighteningly described.
[Guess which one of those is the actual PROTAGONIST. Yes, even Oskar has major flaws.]
His already impressive resume of beloved roles gets EVEN LONGER: from Tim Canterbury in The Office (UK), to Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and most recently Dr. John Watson in Sherlock.
Martin Freeman on the right, as Arthur Dent in his bathrobe, pyjamas, and towel. [Still from, of course, H2G2.]
And of course one needs a notebook to write in when one has a kickass pen, and THIS fills the bill quite well. I am also so happy because one of my local bookstores is stocking lovely Korean-made notebooks and they are pretty neat.
I also nearly bought one of those gorgeous sketch pads with acid-free paper - and of course I was going to WRITE in it because I can't draw to save my life.
NaNo merch and related stuff here. At the very least, I want to send in another donation to the OLL....
The joke of this Sunday morning was, "I want a sonic screwdriver and I want it now."
We WERE watching a couple of guys assemble the closet we'd purchased last week, after all.
Hard to believe that we've been living in our apartment for close to three years and only now managed to have enough money for a closet. That might have had something to do with the fact that moving in had been expensive all on its own, and I was directing most of my money to just getting by.
Now I have some money stored safely away, so I was able to get something we badly needed.
The nice thing about this closet: lots and lots of space for organizing clothes. There's a mirror in one of the doors, too, so it's now possible for us to do a complete check on our outfits before heading out the door.
The main storage space in the closet.
[Yes, those are our chocobos. I took them back home after a brief stint in the office with me.]
Now I have to spend most of tonight organizing a ton of things. Hope that the Internet holds out and that the storm doesn't hit us very badly.
The final proof of cold weather arrived on my doorstep this morning.
I'm going to pay even LESS for my electricity bill this month than I did last month.
Pretty much the only electrical appliances getting a workout at my flat are the ref and the PC. I don't always use the overhead lights because I'm home during the daytime and I'm out at night. [Same applies for my partner.]
Oh I'm just glad I can save up some money.
BUT.
If the cold months are coming I wish I could spend some money and dress like THESE hot guys.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes. I cannot wait for the second series and I really cannot wait to see the movie Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The cast will include Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Ralph Fiennes, Tom Hardy, and this gentleman.
*starry eyes*
Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, during his special appearance at the Doctor Who 2010 Proms. Here's a sample of the music they played during the concerts, with bonus badass dialogue:
Inspired by a comment in a recent entry, I guess this is the part where I say that yeah, I'm sorry, I have to skip NaNoWriMo 2010.
It's the busy season coming up at work, and as the work will occupy me eight hours out of a solid nine on shift, I predict more days in which I stagger zombie-like for home and pass out from sheer tired.
I HAVE already written something like 30k words in the past two months, though, so all is not woe and despair.
And I WILL be haunting the NaNo forums to encourage my friends - sheesh, self, noveling vicariously much?
I was on hiatus for a couple of weeks. As you might have noticed, the last blog entry had been on my birthday - and then radio silence here and on the Facebook fan page.
Well, that was due to a vacation. Took some time off, which culminated in me and my partner celebrating yesterday [Binary Day, otherwise known as 10-10-10] in a Chinese food marathon with friends and family.
Pics or it didn't happen, so here's some of the food from the past weekend:
I should try to go back to more regular posting from here on out. As it's almost time for the busy season to start at work, not to mention I've a 20k-plus story to write, I'll do my best.
It's National Coming Out Day. All my love to friends and readers and especially to a wonderful queer friend of mine in the US. And here is a possibly relevant video.
Chris Colfer [Glee's Kurt Hummel] for the Trevor Project: "It gets better."
