September 11, 2007

  • I'm not sure if more British writers are getting published or maybe I'm reading more of their works because I now live in London. Maybe both reasons are valid.  But I seem to feel like every book I read is more or less the same (even some of the American ones have copied the same theme).  I'm sure a lot of other authors have been influenced by McEwan's Atonement 'masterpiece' but since I am just now reading his book - I feel like he is being unoriginal but perhaps he was quite original back in 2001 when the book was published.  Upper middle class English family living in the countryside during the early to mid-1900s.  A restless youth has their world changed by war.  The men may not survive battle but the women are also dealing with their own battles at home.  Family secrets tearing people apart. The surprise twist ending.  It was all there in Atonement along with other books I've read in recent memory.  McEwan's style of writing is meant to set him apart I'm sure.  But I can't appreciate his writing style which to me is over-descriptive and too showy.  When a writer throws words and descriptions around, it makes me feel like they are trying to impress me when their usage of the Oxford English dictionary and this detracts from the story.  I don't feel like McEwan has added much to the pot in terms of storytelling skills but perhaps his writing style is quite widely admired although I am not in agreement. 

    I did some quick five second research on Amazon US and Amazon UK to see if perhaps more people in London do read British authors.  My scan of the top 25 books on each site has yielded the below findings, none of which help solve my mystery.  

    In order of importance to each side of the pond, from most to least important:

    The Brits love cookbooks, want to know how to get rich, and want tips on how to be a good mum.

    The Americans (of course) also want to know how to get rich, need self-help as well (most interesting title being The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed), and then the surprise topic of interest - Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light.  The #5 book on Amazon.com!   You won't find many people interested in that here.  That book is ranked 1,645 on Amazon UK. 

    Anyways, on Atonement, I rate it 3 out of five.   

     

September 2, 2007

  • Prince - The Earth Tour

    The Artist formerly known as a symbol Prince is playing 21 concerts in London this summer at the O2 center (ironically formerly named the Millennium Dome).  I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see this legend in concert before his rumored retirement from touring.  You know that you could count on him to put on a really great show and that he did.  He flexed his musical genius: guitar to keyboard to versatile vocal range.  The crowd was going crazy for him all night and I've never seen such an enthused crowd during a concert before (ok, with the exception of boy band concerts I attended during middle school).  It's been a while since I've danced so much.  A local paper is reviewing each one of his concerts since he plays a different show each night.  It's a bit of shame if you don't get to hear your favorite Prince song on a particular night that you go.  But I guess that demonstrates true talent if you can rearrange your shows on a nightly basis and not have each detail rehearsed to automation.  You really felt that he enjoyed entertaining the crowd and had audience members dancing up on stage with him during the first few minutes of the show.

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September 1, 2007

  • Firenze

    Another year...another birthday spent in Italy, Firenze.  Hadn't been there in about five years so it was time for a revisit and to refresh those photos.  It was so relaxing except for the night when we decided to drive around the city center on our own (not advisable).  The Italian hospitality is second to none and Tuscan food in particular is now definitely a firm favorite of mine. It's just simple and good food - like your Italian grandma would make ... if you had one. 

    A thoughtful gesture from the owners of our guesthouse

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    The Duomo and Baptistry 

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    You can't take photos of the real thing so here is a David replica.

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    Firenze's famous Ponte Vecchio

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    View of Firenze from Piazza Michelangelo

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August 29, 2007

  • 0330448447

     

    Here’s another book that I have ended up devouring pretty quickly.  The premise is that the narrator is holding onto a life long secret and of course you won’t find out what this is until the very end.  I found that I wasn’t overly concerned with figuring out or knowing the secret as the story in itself kept me interested.  Set in the early 1900’s, the story revolves around the life of a privileged family in the English countryside and the narrator was one of their servants.  It was endearing to see the level of commitment that a servant could have to their employer and life from their point of view.  There is so much self sacrifice to being in service which is pretty admirable.   There’s a lot which made this book appealing with many interesting topics are covered: life during the war, industrialisation, women’s rights, sibling rivalry, ageing etc.   All in all a very good story and light read which is what you need at times after completing some heavier reading or during the summertime. 

     

    Four out of five    

     

August 14, 2007

  • We took a lovely jaunt out into the English countryside this weekend - to Chris and Clare's humble abode *snigger*.  I've been to royal palaces/residences that are smaller.   I can't believe only 2 people live in this place because you could not see the other person for days on end.  The house was built in 1605 and sits on 67 acres of land in Sussex.  It looks like a movie set right? 

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    The adjoining Coach House is as big as a regular house!

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    Me with the lady of the manor, Clare.

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August 12, 2007

  • Brussels 2007

    Bigfoot's mom was over visiting so we took her over to Brussels since it's an easy getaway on the Eurostar train.  I didn't have any expectations of the city and so it ended up really impressing me.  It's such an interesting and diverse city despite being very small.  There are large populations of Africans and Asians.  People mostly speak French but everyone is willing to converse in English with you which is helpful.  Belgians are artsy and have a cheeky sense of humor.     

    Brussels has a beautiful main square called the Grand Place which is a natural gathering place for all tourists.  Buildings with interesting architectural details surround the square. 

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    A view of the square from inside Cafe de BXL.

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    Brussels does not have many famous monuments.  Its most famous one is the little peeing boy.  We happened upon a procession of people dressed up in medieval garb walking towards the peeing boy.  The little boy has a collection of over 600 costumes and he was wearing one on the day we were there.  Otherwise, he is normally naked with water coming out of his spout. But since it was some kind of special occasion, they had beer coming out of the fountain. Eeer - yum?

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    Brussels is famous for its food: beer, waffles, chocolate/sweets, mussels. 

    Lollipops

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    Marcolini chocolates - supposedly one of the finest chocolatiers in the world. 

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    Beer tasting, L to R: Cider, Raspberry flavored, Lager, Ale, Wheat

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    There's touches of art throughout the city which I really liked. 

    Buildings under construction are made to look a bit more interesting with murals such as these.

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    The town cathedral sits next to this building so it is not hard to guess where the design was inspired from.

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    Belgium is also famous for its comic strips and murals such as this one can be found throughout the city.  I like the juxtaposition of the new design amongst old buildings. 

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    A wonky picture of us on the cathedral steps.

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August 10, 2007

  • Paris 2007

    ** Edit **

    Bigfoot pointed out that I neglected to mention what happened on the way to dinner at Le Grande Cascade.  We were in the taxi and drove through a park in a pretty residential neighborhood.  There is a two lane road running in both directions through the park and pretty heavily wooded areas close to the road.  It was around half 8 and starting to get a bit darker.  We are driving along and I see a lone woman standing in very suggestive clothing and I raise my eyebrows. Look at Bigfoot and he nods.  Soon enough, we start seeing loads of prostitutes 'working' the park.  These women were wearing next to nothing and standing around in packs close to the bushes.  You could see men approaching them and some men standing around them which I assume to be their pimps.  I have never seen such blatant prostitution outside of Amsterdam.  Very amusing and disturbing at the same time.  I just looked it up and this park is called Bois de Boulogne which is known for its adult prawlings at night and also Brazilian transvestites. 

    I found a funny article about it from 2000 on www.salon.com :

    Paris prostitutes uprooted
    Storms force fur-clad hookers out of famed Bois-de-Boulogne.

    - - - - - - - - - - - -
    By Hank Hyena

    Jan. 25, 2000

    Ladies of the night have been selling their skin for years in Paris' verdant park, the Bois-de-Boulogne. Like wood nymphs, the prostitutes entice eager customers into sequestered leafy crannies for coital cavorting. This erotic arrangement has pleased prudish Parisians who want to keep hookers out of view, off the public boulevards.

    Mon Dieu! Tempestuous weather destroyed this humping harmony on Dec. 26, when winds lashed the park, stripping branches and uprooting trees. Huge groves are presently cordoned off because of the danger of falling timber, forcing the naughty nooky merchants to flash their wares in an elegant adjacent neighborhood.

    "All they have on is a fur coat and a pair of string panties," Christine Andre, Boulogne-Billancourt town hall spokeswoman, told Agence France-Presse on Monday. "There they are from late afternoon, just when our children start coming home from school. We have had it up to here."

    The prostitutes are advertising their pudenda in front of the posh homes, horrifying the inhabitants. Clients and voyeurs flocking to the district are entangling the locals in traffic snarls. Drug dealers are also slithering in with pharmaceuticals that keep the nearly naked women warm.

    Boulogne-Billancourt town hall has begged Paris administrators to reopen the park as quickly as possible, so that its titillating species can return to the shadows. "We don't want any trees to fall on them or anything," Andre explained. "We just don't want them here."

    Paris prostitutes enjoy an exalted position in French culture as revered subject matter in the paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec and numerous other painters. Literary figures have also praised the French whore: When the National Assembly abolished brothels in 1946, poet Pierre Mac Orlan lamented, "The entire structure of our civilization has collapsed!"

    Naked World is confident that the current femmes, buttressed by their proud heritage, will successfully surmount all meteorological and suburban obstacles and gloriously continue their ecstatic social duties.

    ___________________________________________________________________________________

    We went for our yearly (-ish) jaunt to Paris a few weekends ago.  I didn't take many photos because I've been there several times before. We rented an apartment in the the St-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood which gave us a better feel for living in the city as locals do.  Shopping and eating were both fantastic as usual.  It is refreshing to have a taste of good service, even if it is just for the weekend.

    Laduree is a well known tea/pasterie shop and restaurant along the Champs Elysees.  Their macaroons are absolutely amazing. My favorite flavor was raspberry.  Had a few before I thought to take a picture.  The prices are steep, though.  This box set us back 30 euro!

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    We had never visited Paris in July or Aug previously and didn't realise that many restaurants close for those 2 months. We couldn't get our first restaurant choice but ended up going to Le Grande Cascade in the Paris suburbs which was very very good.  I think it possibly wins out over Le Cinq.  Bigfoot found the restaurant after calling up the Four Seasons and pretending to be a guest there.  Good technique, eh?  We also discovered our new favorite wine, Domaine du Clos des Fees Vieilles Vignes.  I believe the year was 1999 but Bigfoot can correct me if I am wrong.  I could really see drinking that bottle as a substitute for a meal.  It felt that filling and satisfying.  

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August 9, 2007

  • I loved this book.  It's one of those simple, quiet stories about familial relationships.  For me, those types of stories can either go one of two ways: a bore/cliche or meaningful.  Lawson's book was a page turner and touching. It also made me really glad that I didn't have any siblings! Sometimes a sibling relationship can be extremely complex and drive you up the wall as this book discusses.  When I hear about things like this, I'm somewhat happy that I just have to deal with myself and my relationship with the 'rents. 

    I was surprised to find that the characters were based in rural Canada, albiet a fictional town.  That was interesting to me as I don't recall ever reading a book based in Canada.  Much of the book takes place during WWII and it was eye opening to see how the Canadian were affected and their views on the war as well. 

    Four out of five    

August 5, 2007

  • The premise of this book was interesting to me but I can't say that the author held my attention very well.  I think you can easily tell that I didn't enjoy a particular book when there is too much time lag between postings.  That means that the book is boring me and I don't need to read it obsessively.  The Memory Keeper is a father who takes photos as a hobby, hence 'memory keeper'.  He sends his daughter away right after child birth because she was born with Down's syndrome (not a spoiler, you find this out in the first few pages).  This is rural Kentucky in the 1960's and I suppose this is probably not unusual as there is an institution that takes in these unwanted children who are challenged.  He finds it very difficult to live with the secret and neither his wife nor surviving son (fraternal twin to the daughter) recover from the 'death'.  It is interesting to see how a secret can shape people's lives and the possibilities of a different life if there was honesty in the first place.  Also, would you ever reveal that you've lied about something this huge after keeping it a secret for half a lifetime?  Not a page turner for me, though.  Too Lifetime original movie I think.

    Two out of five.   

July 25, 2007

  • After not being in love with Eleven Minutes, it's been recommended by several people that I should check out The Alchemist.  However, after reading The Alchemist, I still don't know why Paulo Coelho has such a big following.  I found The Alchemist to be remarkably similar to Eleven Minutes but had heard differently from my recommenders.  It was same basic storyline of following your dream.  The Alchemist was more solely focused on this theme but it was definitely a big part of Eleven Minutes as well.  I felt like I was reading a self-help book with a fable thrown in.  There's nothing revolutionary about what Coelho is trying to say.  Everyone has a dream/destiny.  Not everyone chooses to seek it due to fear.  Achieving one's destiny is not an easy road and all the obstacles faced will make you stronger.  Sometimes you search far and wide for your dreams but what you desire can be right in front of you.  Isn't all of this obvious?  I don't get it ....

    He's trying to be spiritual but I really don't need to be preached to by Coelho.  Snooze.

    One and a half smileys  m99220377