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For me, it's Christmas. The choir I'm in sang a few of Britten's carols from A Ceremony of Carols for our Christmas concert, so I'd like to post a couple of my favorites from this piece, with children singing them - young girls from Oxford, and young boys from Cambridge. Enjoy! (BTW, these are really sound files, not movies.)
The first is "This Little Babe", sung by the teen girls:
And here are the boys, singing "In Freezing Winter Night". I think this text is very beautiful!
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless mary-j-59
The silent stars go by.
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
from the Christmas Song Generator.
The Snowball method of novel writing- thoughts on The Winter Prince, etc.
Anyway - have you ever wondered how and why some modern novels are so darn long? I think I understand now. All these writers who come up with enormous tomes are following the method I seem to have stumbled upon - the snowball method. ( Read more... )
http://hipwritermama.blogspot.com/2
It's very cool1
- Mood:
curious
Me to her: Costis needs a fish named after him.
So Costis it is! Here's a pic, I hope - or at least a link to one. He's a wild-type betta and his colors are spectacular.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/deirdrej/4
This may have been the first time I laughed out loud when reading this book. It wasn't the last.
( Read more... )
Here's the link:
http://www.torak.info/index.php?categor
http://sigune.livejournal.com/93168.htm
Follow the links for "the Darkest Hour" and read the whole thing - and you will see, quite clearly, what I only just realized. The Arthur legend is, at heart, a revenge tragedy about a seriously disordered family. And young Mordred - if you read him as the instrument of his mother's revenge; there are other ways of reading him - is actually not so much a villain, as the last victim of this family. Why didn't I see this before?
Anyway, the song and the comic are both terrific, and I look forward to reactions to them both. ) BTw, the little fellow who plays Mordred is much, much closer to my idea of young Harry than Dan Radcliffe. For one thing, he is slender and actually has greenish eyes.
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- Mood:
thoughtful
The problem with LJ: we all think we are so close, but really, we know nothing about each other. So ask me something you want to know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away. Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you.
And - I just found out Dad is in hospital again, so could all my friends who believe in prayer say a prayer for him and my Mom? Thank heavens for my younger sister, who brought him to the hospital; they suspect a mini-stroke, and it's always much better if they get to that fast. He sounds as though he's doing well. Still, it's a worry.
Final thing - I got another betta today. At first, I thought his name might be Aquila, but, once I got him into his bowl at home, I decided he was Severus Secundus, after all. He's very pretty, and seems to be settling in well; unlike Severus primus, he ate right away. But I only gave him one pellet, as an experiment, because the young man at the store told me I have overfed my bettas. Deirdre hasn't, and hers have lived longer than mine. Point taken!
Anyway, here's the pic:
You are The High Priestess
Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.
The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
Poor little guy. I really think he was a bit sick from the time I got him, and there was only one week or so in the two months I had him that he acted like a normal betta (making nests, swimming calmly, eating everything he was given, and so on). I am not as sad as I was when Charlie died, but I still feel bad and sorry about him - most of all because I wish I had known how to help him.
- Mood:
sad
Here are the rules Travis set out: For each character, try to sum them up with one word. I may add a word or two to explain my choices, being the talkative character that I am! If you like, you can list characters and single words before looking at mine, so you're not influenced by what I say. I'm also going to list the characters before doing the meme.Here goes:
( Read more... )
http://deirdrea.wordpress.com/2009/09/2
Then, we went to see and hear U2 at the Meadowlands on Thursday night. Exhausting, but wonderful. I got a pretty good pic of the stage set, and my sister took some striking experimental shots. We were up in the peanut gallery, but it was spectacular, anyway. And I was really noticing the band's musicianship, as well as the showmanship. I really, really want to see It Might Get Loud; I love the Edge!
- Mood:
happy
So - do I need to have completed the first draft before I begin the search for an agent, or may I/should I start while in process? At this point, I know I can actually climb this mountain and finish the draft, and I really think I will end up with a good book. I can supply a completed outline and sample chapters, plus a one sentence and one paragraph summary of the book. These are below: ( Read more... )
- Mood: hopeful
The Fallacy of the likeable protagonist: a review of The Demon’s Lexicon and Corbenic
Or, walk softly and carry a sharp sword
This post is inspired by a discussion we’ve been having recently, and also by two excellent books I just read. In the discussion, some people seemed to evaluate characters according to whether they liked them or not. That’s quite human, and I’d guess we readers do it all the time. I’ve done it myself. I’ve said, a few times, about books or films, “I didn’t like it because I didn’t like any of the characters”. But do you really have to like a protagonist for a story to work for you? (Or, in the case of our man Snape, to see that he really *is* the protagonist?) ( Read more... )
- Mood: cheerful
Sevvie the fish
Originally uploaded by maryj59
Here's my new little betta, who is, of course, called Sevvie. He is very pretty, but is worrying me because he won't eat anything. I hope he makes it.
Otherwise - thanks to all your comments, I realized most of you didn't know the books I was talking about.
Here is a link to the first few pages of Michelle Paver's Wolf Brother My sister also did a podcast where you can hear Iam McKellan reading the first chapter - he has done all the audio for these books. You can download it either by looking for kiscocast on podomatic.com, or by going to www.torak.info and downloading it there.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3096551
The BBC filmed the first Green Knowe book, and there are a couple of clips on youtube. Here's the first one - makes you wonder where Rowling got some of her ideas!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5a0jCn1
Enjoy!
