#125: Read an awesome book
I admit I’m cheating – I finished this trilogy on Saturday. Some days are just more awesome than others.
Pamela Freeman’s fantasy adventure trilogy (for adult readers, rated M)
“Blood Ties”
“Deep Water”
“Full Circle”
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I don’t recommend reading just one book of these – you technically can, but the story arc won’t work as well. I do recommend reading all of them, and in order.
I first encountered Pamela Freeman at the Sydney Freecon, where both of us were guest authors (her because she writes excellent books, me because I know the organiser and he let me be a pretend novelleer, using my twitter tales as an excuse). Freeman started her reading by saying, “I’m actually a short story writer” and then read a chapter of “Full Circle” that made a complete short story on its own – a story that will haunt me forever.
Since I very, VERY rarely buy books (I’ve bought literally four books in my life, excluding presents for other people), I “encouraged” my mum to buy me the first book in Freeman’s trilogy for my birthday in February. It was only when I began reading that I realised Freeman’s conference story wasn’t a fluke. There are many similarly gut-grabbing stories scattered throughout, meaning that you not only get one giant story (which would be enough in its own right to recommend the books), but heaps of minor characters get their own stories. These stories are in a class with Margo Lanagan’s tales (and Neil Gaiman at his best), and I actually like them better than either. The stories highlight minor characters, and as a reader it meant I cared when red shirts died – in fact, I was devastated. (I cared for the major characters too, especially Bramble.)
If I have a criticism, it’s that sometimes I couldn’t keep track of everyone – but that’s a problem I have a lot, so it’s unlikely to bother anyone else. (In real life, I struggle to remember the names – or anything else relevant – of people I see every week. This makes small talk difficult, I find.)
One of the interesting things about the fantasy world is there are a few different magic/supernatural systems happening at once. The main one is “the gods”. Religious characters pray, give sacrifices, and obey or disobey commands from the gods (although not everyone can hear what the gods are saying). The fascinating thing for me is the nature of the gods. They care about the world as a whole, but are callous when it comes to individual lives. At the same time, they understand and see individuals in an incredibly special way. And they have feelings – worry, love, rejection, and grief. But being chosen by the gods is a very unfortunate fate.
I’m always fascinated by gods in fantasy fiction, from Aslan to the Ancient One (in Philip Pullman’s trilogy, which is largely a reaction against CS Lewis) to my own Jesus-inspired character, Boy. Freeman’s take on the gods may or may not have been based on her own religious experience, but it gave the books yet another dimension that makes me think and wonder.
“Deep Water” is quite different to books one and three, focusing on events that happened a thousand years ago. It’s still very good and utterly relevant, but not as tense as the other two (because we know roughly how the main plot thread ends). It’s the easiest to read on its own, and I will be getting that for Christmas this year (and borrowing it from the library in the meantime, because the trilogy isn’t whole without it).
When I finished the trilogy, I immediately wanted to start again – the whole thing. I’ve been resisting the urge, since I’m behind on my own writing quota, but I just started reading the first book for the third time in two months. *shrugs guiltily*
Play along at home: Read these books, or something else awesome.
Coming soon: A report on seeing a live choir, some kind of unusual exercise, a bubble bath, and Secret #2.
(The fish appear settled and happy, although it’s hard to tell with fish.)
Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may diet
Yesterday I watched the entirety of “Lord of the Rings” (mmmm) and this week is the last week of Term 1 (which means I have very little work next week and the week after). So I think it’s time to man up and stop eating masses of chocolate. Metaphorically, this is exactly the same as leaving my green homeland to do mortal battle with a giant flaming eyeball.
“There is always hope” – Arwen.
“Let it go! What are you waiting for?” – Sam (to Frodo in Mount Doom)
*chomping noise* – Gollum (to Frodo in Mount Doom)
I began doing small amounts of exercise last Friday (on my exercise bike), and although I still don’t think I’m safe for public pools (normally my main source of exercise) I mostly feel fine, and can now handle doing a proper amount of exercise.
All my blood tests came back showing nothing unusual at all, but I have a stomach X-ray and ultrasound this Thursday. I’ve been sick about three months now.
Right now I weigh 83.5 kilos – the most I’ve ever weighed. It’s roughly what I SHOULD weigh if I was nine months pregnant. I am glad to finally be at the point where I can watch the kilos go down, instead of up.
#124: Lord of the Rings marathon
7:30am: Awake and raring to go, an hour and a half before I usually get up (I moved one of my students so I wouldn’t have to interrupt the marathon). Gandalf (fighting fish) is okay, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli (zebra danios) are manic as usual, and Sam and Frodo (neon tetras) seem to be getting on fine – Frodo’s even recovered some more colour.
Er. . . for those who haven’t seen “Lord of the Rings”, there will be some spoilers. You need to go and watch it, if you like fantasy at all. Or heroes. Or men who are either: pretty, wide-eyed, valiant or hairy. Or short, with hairy feet. LOTR caters for all tastes.
House status: Pristine
Health Points: 5 (average)
10:30am: Decided to start with healthy snacks, so the natural degeneration is more rewarding. We have a LOT of food.
11:00am: And it begins. We have the core group of myself, CJ, Hannah and Bob. We’re only one hour later than planned. That’s gonna hurt at the other end. A last-minute bathroom break, and we’re off!
House status: Rearranged
Health Points: 8 (fresh fruit and vegetables)
11:40am: First floor stain. Even quicker than expected.
1:00pm: Change of disk, and addition of “morning tea” (choc chip cookies) to pre-existing snacks. Made chocolate spiders for later, and SMSed a friend to bring more chocolate.
1:30pm: Cave troll scene. Frodo nearly dies (again) and I’m reminded that I had a dream once that the cave troll found a nice lady troll and settled down to enjoy the quiet life.
2:30pm: Just finished “The Fellowship of the Ring”. Any time I’m running low on mojo, any one of the “Lord of the Rings” films will set me straight. It’s so epic, and so heroic. “The Fellowship of the Ring” for me is about masculinity – one of the least valued yet most valuable qualities in the world. I love that the hobbits don’t actually want to fight, but they take the strength they have and give it away. I love the power hidden in Gandalf. I love that Aragorn chooses to be a servant, and that Boromir pledges his life to the quest out of manly respect, and leaves aside his own opinion as much as he’s able. I love that all of them have intense and physical friendships, and that all of the warriors protect the hobbits with their lives.
House status: Tidy
Health: 7 (a bit hungry)
3:30pm: Gandalf just summoned the lord of all horses, and as it galloped across the green field Bob said, “This is what horse shampoo commercials look like.”
4:00pm: Just saw that brilliant scene when King Theoden was released from Saruman’s hold. For me, “The Two Towers” is the redemptive heart of the trilogy. I love it in its own right.
Just began our own “Lord of the Rings” drinking game with M&Ms. We eat whenever:
-Gimli is funny
-Frodo has a near-death experience
-Eowyn attempts to flirt with Aragorn
-a shot emphasises the blue of an actor’s eyes
-slow motion happens
-something or someone is especially creepy
-Gandalf is enigmatic
-there are subtitles
-Legolas gazes into the distance
-there are gratuitous scenic shots of New Zealand
-Gollum says “precious” or coughs
-they pass mysterious ruins
-Sam says “Mr Frodo”
-there’s an allusion to the industrial revolution
-someone has a crowning bad-ass moment
-Pippin does something stupid
-there is a shot of the giant flaming eyeball
-hobbits eat (or smoke weed, or get sloshed)
-someone is decapitated
-Aragorn handles a knife or sword
Health: 5, and dropping fast.
4:30pm: The first half of “The Two Towers” is over already. Faramir says, “This war will make corpses of us all.”
I go and look at the fish, and find myself saying, “Gimli! Leave Frodo alone.” That’s two M&Ms.
5:30pm: Aragorn opens a door better than any door has been opened before. Because he’s Aragorn, that’s why.
6:30pm: Finished “The Two Towers” while cooking dinner. Another friend showed up.
House status: Scattered with rubbish, flour, noodles and chocolate smears.
Health points: 3 (mildly nauseous)
7:00pm: Smeagol murders a worm, then his brother. And we’ve begun “The Return of the King” at last.
7:05: Enthusiasm rapidly fading. Over three hours to go.
7:30pm: As Pippin grabs the palantir, I came and checked my comments here on the blog, and was delighted to see Pamela Freeman herself has stumbled by. That’s roughly as cool as when a whole squad of Ents unexpectedly went and beat up Sauron.
8:00pm: One word: Beacons.
Bob is passing out on the day bed. It’s a good thing too – before we even began, he’d had four hours of sleep in the last forty-eight hours.
No more M&Ms for me. Too much chocolate. . . What has the world come to?
Health points: 2 (I ate a lettuce leaf with dinner).
8:30pm: Denethor stuffs his face and Pippin weeps as Faramir rides to certain death.
Can’t wait until Denethor takes a flying leap.
9:00pm: Final disk!
9:30: FRODO! BEHIND YOU!!!
10:40pm: The ring is gone. Things are blowing up. Yay!
Health status: 1 (bananas aren’t healthy when they’re in fondue)
My hair is greasy, my teeth have fur, I stink, I’m covered in chocolate smears, my hands are sticky and my face has new pimples since this morning – oh, and I seriously need a loo break. Plus my cats need feeding, and they’re looking thoughtfully at Bob.
11:06: The End (the ACTUAL end, when the credits roll) – or we could stay for the credits, and then we’d be here another two hours.
We’re watching the Easter eggs (appropriate, since there are Easter egg wrappers around the place). My foot hurts – but my bladder is A-OK.
“The Return of the King” is about triumph. A hopeless quest turns out successful. As an unpublished author, that’s a theme that resonates.
11:24: Everyone goes home, and I go to sleep.
PS I actually drove two people home – something I don’t usually do, because I get mild hallucinations when I’m sleepy (just for a second, my brain interprets things. . . differently). Today I hallucinated two cave trolls (what is it with me and cave trolls?), two ring wraiths, and a big lean-y guy from the Bree inn.
Bad, naughty hobbit
Sam is mean.
He’s a neon tetra, the tiniest thing in the tank (except for Frodo, the other neon tetra, who has at least learnt to hide now). Today I observed Sam biting Frodo, and was shocked. Shocked. It’s bad enough that Aragorn bit Frodo, but Aragorn’s a zebra danio, and those guys are nuts. But Sam? The faithful companion? Was Gollum right all along?!?!?!?!
Sam also bit Legolas today (Legolas is about ten times his size). He certainly has guts. Or is he possessed by Saruman, driven out of his mind by a giant flaming eye?
Frodo is at least living up to his name – he’s small, wide-eyed, perpetually terrified, and wins the “most likely to die” award hands down.
For those who don’t know/can’t tell, my mind is very much on the “Lord of the Rings” marathon happening at my house tomorrow (part of the http://twittertales.wordpress.com Daily Awesomeness). Eleven hours of static fun!
#123: A whole meal of one colour
This was FUN. Many thanks to http://insert-witty-and-apt-url-here.blogspot.com who gave me the idea by her own list.
Guess what colour I chose?
The meal is pea and ham soup with green chips (slightly overcooked, I confess), with lemon lime mineral water and zucchini and fetta pancakes for dessert. The only artificial colouring is on the potatoes. And also all over my fingers. (Still, as I type.)
I was planning to cook the soup, but I panicked at the last moment and bought a can.
It was surprisingly yummy and fun (especially since my partner had forgotten all about it, but of course remembered when he saw it all), and I recommend this for anyone.
Play along at home: The pancakes are made just like normal ones (milk, flour, an egg), but with a grated zucchini and some chopped fetta added (then a short visit to a blender). Or make your own completely original meal. Don’t tell your housemates, either, if you can help it.
Tomorrow: “Lord of the Rings” marathon. I can’t wait!
Incidentally, if you’re sick of visiting several times each day (not knowing when the Daily Awesomeness will arrive) then scroll down and look for “RSS Posts” on the right hand side of this page. Click on it and follow the instructions, and I believe you’ll get an automatic email every time there’s an update.
Aragorn bit Frodo on the fin, but other than that the fish are doing fine. I’ve decided that Legolas *IS* a man after all. Probably.
#109: Spend a whole day in a bookshop
Fine. I admit it. I stole this idea from http://wordgardening.blogspot.com.
Today I took my insatiable-book-loving partner and myself to Canberra’s biggest bookstore: Borders. We spent many hours there, and stopped for a hot chocolate and a chocolate caramel slice partway through. Before we even left the house, we had decided to buy one book each. No more, no less.
(Before I go any further, I should mention that my fish are all still alive, and I’ve now mastered that wacky pH thing, plus given the non-danios toys and places to hide from their manic companions.)
I spent large chunks of time reading – everything from “Lofts” (other people’s incredibly pretentious and clean-yet-uncomfortable looking living spaces) to “Up the Duff” by Kaz Cooke (giggling maniacally throughout, and wincing rather a lot at what I’ll be facing a few years from now). I finished “Deep Water” by Pamela Freeman last night, which is the second book in her Castings trilogy, so it was the perfect time to allow myself just one book to buy. Only one problem (other than wanting about nine other books before even looking at anything): Borders had sold out. In the end, we went and bought it from Dymocks. I definitely couldn’t wait until it came into the library. That could be weeks!
An interesting side effect of browsing is that I literally salivate. Ah, books. . . how wonderful you are.
My partner bought “Leviathan” by Scott Westerfeld, which he’s just read (borrowed from a friend), and wanted to own, “Because it’s not just a book, it’s an artifact”.
He’d give it a G or PG rating, and I’d give the Casting trilogy an M rating (nothing gratuitous, but there’s sex and rape, plus various other violence, and supernatural stuff involving gods and at least one goddess). Both are EXCELLENT speculative fiction books (“Leviathan” is steampunk, and the Casting trilogy is fantasy). Pamela Freeman is Australian, and Scott Westerfeld spends half his year in Sydney and the other half in New York.
Tomorrow: A whole meal in one colour.
Play along at home: Go hide in a Borders armchair and read whatever you like. Or spend a chunk of time at your library (sneaking snacks inside when you go). Or, if you have money, go on a wild shopping spree at a bookshop near you. But make sure you spend such a long time there that you start getting physically hungry. Alternately, raid a friend’s well-stocked bookshelves. It’s a technique that has served me well for many years (until I married someone who had over three hundred books. . . not the only reason I married him, I swear).
Internet, I trust you more than anyone
The title is true, but not because I’m an idiot (or not just because of that, anyways). I went to three different fish shops, and each one told me vastly different advice. The internet also gives me vastly different advice, but it’s pretty easy to find (a) a consensus, and (b) one that correlates with what I’ve observed.
My neon tetras are stressed. They’re not as pale as they are at night, but they’re not as bright as they should be. I’ll be focusing on the pH level to fix that (and possibly also buying more fish once the pH is respectable – like all nerds, they need a large group of their own kind to feel secure).
My danios should not be fighting (I KNEW it!) A lot of people consider them “peaceful” fish, which is directly opposed to this guy: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/McKane_Zebra_Danios.html who also says that they fight when their school isn’t big enough. My tank is only two-thirds full at the moment (I’ve been VERY slowly adjusting the water) so I’ll see if they settle down once there’s a full 15.6 litres in there. If not, I guess I’ll buy more. He also recommends NOT putting them with anyone who has decorative fins (like, obviously, the Siamese fighting fish – which is usually the first fish everyone recommends to put them with) which, since they’ve bitten him at least twice, is clearly good advice. Other than that, they and the fighter are fine, so I’m happy to see how things work out once the tank is full. It’s not life-threatening behaviour. If necessary, I can put the fighter in a separate tank – but I think he enjoys having room to move.
That web site also describes NORMAL aggressive behaviour between danios (which I’d long since called the jocks of the aquarium):
Typically, the display fights involve nothing more than two male danios staring at each other and straightening their pectoral fins. It will last for about twenty seconds until one of the danios gets scared off, forgets what it is doing or simply gets bored.
—————–
In other news, I think I’ll go with a Lord of the Rings theme for the naming. The fighter is, obviously, Gandalf. The danios are the warriors – Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn (although I think one is female, because she hasn’t been biting anyone. . . I’ll research that a bit more – or just call that one Legolas, since no-one is REALLY sure about him). And the neon tetras are hobbits.
Fish Politics
I have three types of fish: a siamese fighting fish (which isn’t interested in smaller fish), two neon tetras, and three zebra danios. (I wrote about them all yesterday at http://twittertales.wordpress.com.) I’m constantly worried about them, and I miss them when I don’t go and say hello every few hours. Presumably both effects will soon wear off.
The danios are bullies. Two have been fighting each other (definitely biting – and jerking as they are bitten) and at least one has bitten the fighting fish’s tail more than once. The neon tetras are much smaller, and they’re the only ones that don’t seem happy (despite their relatively peaceful existence), but I think I now (thanks to Google) know how to help them (it’s a pH thing – and they want more of their own kind, which I’m happy to do).
I haven’t seen fish fight before. Being accustomed to cats, I just want to reach into the tank and give them a good slap.
#122: Someone else’s tradition (and twitter)
Today’s awesomeness is to dive into someone else’s tradition (especially if it’s food). I tried tsoureki, a traditional Greek bread served at Easter. This is a picture of some with a boiled egg dyed red added:
There’s a recipe here: http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekbreadspitas/r/tsoureki.htm
The lady who gave me my taste said that it was very difficult to make, since it has to be cooked three times (unlike in the above recipe, which clearly is for wimps). It was heavy and subtley sweet, with an almond glaze. I didn’t think it was worth all that much trouble, so I suspect this is one of those traditions (like Turkey at Christmas) which grew out of the need to use a culinary invention, but to also make sure it doesn’t get eaten too often.
Today is Friday, so here’s “Bridezilla” so far:
1.
It’s pay day, so I buy pillows. Luckily my wedding dress makes a good maternity dress. I hope this plan works. Tomorrow, here I come.
2.
I dress as a VERY expectant bride and go to the bakery store. As I order a huge pile of hot cross buns, I put one hand to my giant stomach.
*
“Oh you poor dear!” says the matronly type I’ve been observing for days. “Don’t bother paying for those buns.”
*
She winks, “And may I STRONGLY recommend entering our restaurant-dinner-for-two competition?”
I obey her while silently applauding my act.
S#78: Adopt a Pet
Generally, if you want to improve your mental health, a cat or dog is best. But since I already have two lovely/neurotic/deadly cats, I chose to get fish.
Like most awesome things, it was more difficult than it seemed. Last time I had fish, no-one said I needed a filter or a heater or a pH balancer. All I had to do was let water sit for a day before putting it with the fish. And I fed them every so often. Although I had zebra danios both then and now, I apparently now need all those things. So getting fish costs around $200 if you want a choice of more than one or two super-hardy fish. I chose the semi-tropical route, meaning that my fish need to live in an environment between 22 and 28 degrees Celsius. Since this is the year-round temperature of me and any room I’m in, I may not need a heater. I’ll get a thermometer and monitor the tank carefully.
It turns out that photographing fish is difficult, so here’s my best effort:
The male fighting fish is definitely the old man of the tank. Fighting fish are generally introverted, placid types (when they’re not killing each other, but since I only bought one it’s chilled out) who don’t mind having no other fish around. He takes his time investigating, and is smarter than the others (I put a mug in so they could have privacy if they wanted, and he’s the only one who realised you can swim inside it). If he could speak, he’d say: “Hmm. . . *snore*.”
The neon tetras are the nerds, clearly stuck in the 80s and even more perpetually wide-eyed than the other fish. “Are we the ONLY ONES wearing orange?! I hope no-one beats us up. . .”
The zebra danios are the jocks. They spend every waking moment racing around, running into each other and the other fish, and bashing their heads against the glass as they catch sight of their reflections. They stick in a close group, which gives me the thrill of knowing I have a whole school of fish, not just several fish in the same tank. I’ve always loved danios, so I bought three. “What is it? Kill it! Race you! Race you again! Hey what’s that? Kill it!”
Play along at home: Adopt your own pet, or borrow someone else’s (especially if they need a dog or cat sitter, or their dog is bored).
My six fish lack names. . . suggestions welcome!
Felicity Banks 