I'm in the mood to write. Just am. So going to write about books. (Don't look so surprised! If you're reading this you know me well enough.)

Book 1. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie (Finished)

"In an Empire where rats ruled, he was the king of the rats."- pg9

"It was raining, not violently, but with a quiet, well-bred persistence."-pg327

""The squirrel, my good Georges, collects nuts. He stores them up in the autumn so that they may be of advantage to him later. To make a success of humanity, Georges, we must profit by the lessons of those below us in the animal kingdom. I have always done so. I have been the cat, watching the mouse hole. I have been the good dog following up the scent, and not taking my nose from the trail. And also, my good Georges, I have been the squirrel. I have stored away little fact here, and little fact there. I go now to my store and I take out one particular nut, a nut that I stored away - let me see, seventeen years ago. You follow me, Georges?"" pg296

You know it's good writing when you pick bits to remember for later.

Book 2. Was Napoleon Poisoned? and Other Unsolved Mysteries of Royal History by Peter Haugen (unfinished and will probably remain so)

Sounded interesting. Got it out of the library. Haven't gotten past the introduction but currently it sound much less interesting.

Book 3. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (unfinished)

On the First Chapter. I left it for a day. Didn't remember names. Damn. This is the type of book one needs to read in one go. Double damn. It thick and I'm not good with graphics novels. Plus Rita wants it. (Well she cant have it, it's mine for three weeks and she read it already.(I think I'll give pretty soon don't you?))

Book 4. Tales of an Urban Werewolf: Howling at the Moon by Karen MacInerney

On chapter 7 or so. 1. I likelove this author. She introduced me to 'cozy' mysteries with her first series, so I was very glad when I saw this book on the library website. So far, not as good as the first series which is a great shame. The third book in that one came out but the library is yet to get it. (This author and her first series are on my 'personal library' list).

Despite all that. It's still good on the whole-or at least so far.


Book 5. Freedom of the City by Brian Friel. (unstarted)

Ok, so yeah I haven't read it. I've been away. And you really don't want to know the amount of books I read in Russia. Lemme do and approximation count:

Ahem. Looked in my Diary Found the Following Poem:
The dark night settles,
Her frost-ridden cloak,
Crunching the armchair .
Leg over leg, hair flapping back,
She smiles at the circle around her.
"I'm here, aren't I?"
Dawn, in her little silk dress,
Waves her feet in the air
and smiles her baby girl smile.
Twilight, snaps her filed sharp teeth
and flicks chapped nail polish.
"We could do with out you..."
Midday is asleep, snuffling slightly,
and the rest carry on
with their own affairs.
A day's gone by,
-and another begins.

I really should keep track of what I write. Should try the idea again.Found some other snippets of poems. Not writing them down.
So books: 15. And that's the ones I remember, and have written down + finished (and I also didn't read the first two weeks there). So school books? Not that much time.

Watercolour Pencils

Because I was feeling slightly inadequate with all these art geniuses I decided to experiment with portraiture and my watercolour pencils. Looks better in real life and from a distance so probably will photograph tomorrow.

I am tempted to ask you to guess who this is, but I know that it is doubtful that anyone knows. This is Captain John Hart as portrayed by James Marsters.

Sometimes, Just Sometimes, I do a Memo

Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line(s) from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 3.5: Don't let them cheat.
Step 4: Strike out the songs when someone guesses correctly.

1. Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner, Sometimes I feel that my only friend is the city I live in the city of Angels. Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chiili Peppers - Jason

2. The lights are on, but you're not home. Your mind is not your own.

3. Everyday I love you less and less. It's clear to see that you become obsessed. Every day I love you less and less by Kaiser Chiefs - Charlotte M

4. Something got me started, You know that I will love you,

5. Young teacher the subject of schoolgirl fantasy.

6. Do I have to change my name? Will it get me far?

7. Don't want you to leave me to the dark, Don't need you to tear my heart apart,

8. A lovestruck Romeo sings a streets a serenade, Laying everybody low with a love song that he made. Romeo and Juliet by the Dire Straits - Burnie

9. Together we will go our way, Together we will leave some day. Go West - Rita

10. Remember the good old 1980's? When things were so uncomplicated.

11. Oh I tried before to tell her, Of the feeling I have for her in my heart.

12. There's a little black spot on the sun today, It's the same old thing as yesterday.

13. I love you, sincerely, Yours truly, yours truly...

14. When two tribes go to war, A point is all you can store.

15.If I, I get to know your name. Well I, could trace your private number baby.

16. I would be your man, you would be my girl, oh yeah. I believe, I do. If there's any justice in the world.

17. It's not her fault that she's so irresistible, But all the damage she's caused isn't fixable.

18. Meeting you, with a view to a kill. Face to face in secret places, feel the chill.

19. Is this the real life, Is this just fantasy, Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen - Jason.

20. I don't like cities, but I like New York. Other places make me feel like a dork.

Hmmm, some are probably obvious, some I think no one would guess. (This is slightly embarrassing on my part, no? But, oh well. )

There is a fire in Heidelberg. It is not reported in the news curretly but I can see it out of my windows and doors. THERE IS A FIRE. Rita is curretly buying art supplies there and Grace and Jason (?) live there.

I can hear the sirens and helicopters.

Time: 16:12

"From what I could see, the fire is near the sports grounds or in that general area at least"

Time: 16:22

Found Fire on News

http://mapvisage.appspot.com/fires/FireMap.html

EAGLEMONT
Region: 13
Location: EAGLEMONT
Date/Time: 12/02/2009 15:58:00
Type: NON STRUCTURE
Status: GOING
Size: SMALL
Vehicles: 5

Not sure if it is the one I see.

Time: 16:32

"Ok, from what I am seeing, it's in the Yarra flats, but according to the news (just now on Channel 7 they had it in there as part of the bushfire news) Ivanhoe is under threat, "

I live in Ivanhoe. Watching Channel 7 as well.

Time: 16:43

The fire's in Ivanhoe. Burning. Grass.

Time:16:58

I'm calmer. Can't see the smoke anymore. One is allowed to panic once in a while. Somehow, this one and the Tasmania one were both calmed by Jason. I need a level head sometimes.

When I go outside, and it's 46 degrees- I think I'm in hell; and nature agrees with me.
Yellowed dull grass, lifeless shrubs, and the landscapes all flat and motionless.
Falling red leaves in February. That's neither here nor there.
I wasn't made for such climates...
Mine is cold winters and cool summers. White landscapes, harshest in beauty.
Where plus 7 feels warm enough to think about forgoing the coat,
And people forget to add minus in front of the number-they are understood either way.
Of hot, passionate hearts and cold, cold logic.
People see summer as flimsy, see-through dresses,
Short bright mini-skirts and walks on the beech.
Now when I think of summer I see is death,
Heat rising from the ground, hot air refusing to fill lungs.
Mirages, and wet pavement, hot drops drying up on the eyes.
Yellowed landscape and brown people, wrinkles and less and less water.
Yellow is the colour of wall in Russian asylums,
Van Gogh painted his house yellow also.
Sunflowers, were they about death too?
The heat is unbearable and sleep elusive.
In better times, in childhood, I remember the summers worth living.
Cold lakes, early morning, fishing and scrapes.
Wars, village on village, bows -made with string - wooden swords, plant spears,
A play untheath the apple tree.
Ground cold and stomped till concrete hardness.
No communication, no phone lines. A white dog; Belka.
Those summer weren't hot. They were filled with rain-storm and
keeping a fire going inside the house, because it was damp and cold.
A hail, holes in the umbrella, hail size of white fists.
I feel nature keenly, and can't sleep when hot, wake up when cold.
Life is monotonous and yet it all changes.

Ummm People

I've just been in the air and in and out airoports for the last 2 or so days. I've been flown St.Petersburg -> Munich (because there is snow in London and our original flight was cancelled) -> London -> Singapoure -> Melbourne. Plus they lost our baggage (so very little clothes, no scissors, and no present for anyone). So at the moment I am .... floppy (?).
I also found out (in Munich) that apparently school for yr10 started early, so people please: which class am I in, and what is the timetable for Thursday?
Will be very grateful for above information, however can't bribe because our suitcases were blooming lost!

(Yeah I'm calm)

(( Just reread what I written, my brain isn't with me at the moment ))

(((Re-read the 2nd time, added please. I need sleep. I can't sleep until it's evening. )))

On the subject of...Frog legs, Psychopath-looking Doctors and June air.

Some of the people I know are currently on a short visit to France, may you enjoy it there.
As for my Mud and Fallow. Well it's right up Fallows alley, she's been there many times; as for Mud. I hope that she'll enjoy her first time in a foreign land and be willing to travel alot in the future (with us two of course.)

As pretty much always I don't have time for a well written article of philosophical line of thought. However two notes:

1. The Eleventh Doctor is upon us!!!
2. And there are rumours that the Children of the Earth (short 3rd season story line) will be aired in June... (On BBC1, which is a big deal)
   

On the subject of... lyrics and dry tissues

Two artistic (meaning, not word for word) translations of Russian songs with lyrics I love:

Она идет по жизни смеясь

She goes through life laughing,

She's as light as wind

Nowhere in the world

Her face won't hit the dirt

A tried method of dealing with questions

Like they're not even there

In everything there's sunlight

She goes throught life laughing

Meeting and parting

No regrets in parting easy

and meeting each time

And all the new faces

Quickly mixing

Into a melting circle

Of friends

She goes throught life laughing

As a guest she's like at home

Where everything is known

Luck is with her

Life is Sucessful

With no exceptions

All with amazment

Watch her leaving

Not noting the night that are spent crying

By the one who goes throught life laughing.

The original, does sound much better however this is the best translation I can give. The tune is amazingly catchy (in style I personally call old-style rock) and it was sung by Машина Времени (Machine of Time).

Иностранец (part of lyrics)

Gift me with the first dance,

Take me away with you,

Far and wide I am a foreigner,

And everywhere I'm like their own,

Like a boat upon the ocean,

I have lost the shore my own,

Far and wide I am a foreigner,

Take me, mother, home.

The Original

Подари мне первый танец,

Забери меня с собой,

Я повсюду иностранец,

И повсюду я вроде бы свой.

Словно лодка в океане,

Затерялся берег мой,

Я повсюду иностранец,

Забери меня, мама, домой

Maybe this will tell you something about me. Maybe it wont. Don't over analyze it please. The original was sung by Валерий Меладзе (and the words and the music were by his brother).

I also suspect that at somepoint I shall take upon my self to translate Russian into English (I do take suggestions).

And finally...

Last weekend: Mother wonders if our visa will let us visit England.

Chance of going to England (for a quick holiday visit): 98%

This saturday: A week of finding absolutely no information and being always re-directed.

Chance of going to England: 60%

This sunday morning: Andrew saying that on the Internet there are tales of similar problems.

Chance of going to England: 10%

This sunday afternoon: Found confirming information in Wikipedia.

Chance of going to England: 0.1%

Chance of running out of dry tissues in the house: 90%

Holiday

My plane landed around 4 in the afternoon in St.Petersburg, Russia. While I have some photographs to show you, only my grandparents have internet and I doupt it's up for uploading photograhs. This also means I only have internet once a week or so.

I am taking a break and am glad to do so. While people can speak English they rarely do it unless they have to, so I am surrounded by Russians, it is 11 in the morning, and the outside tempreture is -12. The daylight hours last between 10 (in the morning) and 4 (in the afternoon). Well, when I say daylight, I mean it is somewhat lighter than at night, generally not enough light to read by the window. Accourding to my grandparents, today is the fourth day of when they could see the actual sun since the beginging of winter several months ago.

This is as far from Australia as one could get, cold, no-one speaks English and it is on the other side of the world. And I am relaxed.

A slight book review: Agatha Christie emains the Queen of Crime and 'The murder of Roger Ackroyd' proves it. I can't say a lot without giving away the plot. But if you are looking for a master peice: it is well worth reading.