ein Lichtchen

[nnozomi]

・Rereading The Interior Life. This is such a weird book, both in ways the author obviously intended and in ways she probably didn’t; I’m not sure into which category it fits that everything basically goes right for the heroine and everyone in sight gets a happy ending, but as a fan of happy endings I’m not complaining. Now I really want a sequel and/or fic featuring a fantasy adventure for Sue’s kids when they’re a bit older, conformist Kathy and comedian Mike and calm Mark; I also want it to have background long-established Sue/Siobhan/Fred (and I want Sue and Kelly both to get to go to college). This is also the book that introduced me to Osias Beert and his gorgeous paintings of fruit.

・Mahler 2 was on the radio today, which was nice even though it’s one of the few pieces where I feel like no recorded version can match a live performance. There are a lot of things I like about it, especially the tear-inducing “Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott” moment of affirmation in the fourth movement (no, I am neither Christian nor a particularly devout Jew, why do you ask), but the Ninth-ian crash of sound at the beginning of the fifth movement—I first heard it in rehearsal, in an old-fashioned auditorium with two thousand wooden seats and the acoustics to be expected, when I was the only person in the audience, and it made me want to hide under the seat in sheer delicious terror.

・Because I can’t do running/swimming right now, I have started doing little bits of yoga off YouTube, some with Y and some by myself; I’ve been trying to find Chinese yoga videos for 一石二鸟, not that I know all the relevant vocabulary. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions (Chinese or otherwise!).

・Work stuff, silly and tiresome: I did not actually ask this lady what time she thought a “16:00 AM” deadline was, but I was real tempted. I would have been less irritated if it hadn’t been the last link in a chain of assorted incompetence... Less annoyingly, I had to translate something about auger screws and I kept misspelling it as “augur.” No fortune telling in the combine harvesters please.

・Things I did not actually take photos of, but I wanted to: a boy in a black school uniform (the old-fashioned gakuran jacket with brass buttons up the front and a high collar) and bright red socks; a row of red tulips in a park with a woman kneeling to sketch them in pencil.

・Photos: A cat admiring its reflection, and then turning to look disdainfully at the camera; a tree in shadow form; a big mural under the train tracks, and a nearby magnolia tree with bonus train; a backyard going back to nature.



Be safe and well.

Comments

[presumenothing]

瑜伽 should turn up yoga videos, though I'm not sure how many these on YouTube will actually be in Chinese (CN video sites like Bilibili are another option), and if you have the Down Dog app that has various language options too!

[ermingarden]

That is the most beautiful kitty, oh my gosh!

That Mahler experience sounds transcendent. "Delicious terror" indeed!

[umadoshi]

I did not actually ask this lady what time she thought a “16:00 AM” deadline was, but I was real tempted.

*facepalm*

No fortune telling in the combine harvesters please.

No, indeed. o_O

[clevermanka]

the second kitty pic is very Girl with a Pearl Earring 🧡

[lilysea]

Less annoyingly, I had to translate something about auger screws and I kept misspelling it as “augur.” No fortune telling in the combine harvesters please

Heh! :D

[chestnut_pod]

What a good kitty!

Your Mahler experience sounds sublime.

[scytale]

What a beautiful kitty with a ringed tail! I want to pet the head and neck blotches. I love the tree shadow as well -- so fascinating, especially with the way it falls over the grille, and the colors on the mural are lovely.

I first heard it in rehearsal, in an old-fashioned auditorium with two thousand wooden seats and the acoustics to be expected, when I was the only person in the audience, and it made me want to hide under the seat in sheer delicious terror.


That sounds amazing, as do the photos you didn't take. :D

[trobadora]

I did not actually ask this lady what time she thought a “16:00 AM” deadline was, but I was real tempted.

LOL!

The pair of cat pics is perfection. (Purrfection?)

[nnozomi]

谢谢啊！ I found quite a few on YouTube, mostly with traditional characters (that's okay, I only know about a third of the vocabulary anyway, although I'm already learning words like 延伸 (as opposed to 眼神) and 深呼吸 and so on. (I didn't even think of Bilibili, I've only ventured on there a couple times to find some 刘畅 stuff)

[nnozomi]

That is the most beautiful kitty, oh my gosh!
It actually belongs to a beauty salon! So clearly high aesthetic standards ;)

And you're right about the Mahler, it was wonderful.

[nnozomi]

Equal-opportunity facepalming, myself and others... ;)

[nnozomi]

omigod, it is at that. That's delightful. Girl with Pearl Fur?

[nnozomi]

:) I need these little things to get through work...

[nnozomi]

"sublime" is an excellent word for that piece!

[nnozomi]

I'm glad you liked the pictures! There are so many photos I'd like to take and can't because they feature people, and it's not like I'm a professional photographer or anything who might have some excuse. Fortunately, cats are fair game ;) <3

[nnozomi]

purrfection! (完喵?) <3

[scytale]

Awww, yes. Your descriptions of the pictures you can't take care lovely nonetheless!

And yes for the cats being fair game ! So many cats and lovely trees around you.

[laireshi]

a row of red tulips in a park with a woman kneeling to sketch them in pencil.
Seems like such a Ghibli scene!

[china_shop]

I’m not sure into which category it fits that everything basically goes right for the heroine and everyone in sight gets a happy ending, but as a fan of happy endings I’m not complaining.

That sounds delightful!

I love the cat, and the tree in shadow form. <3 <3 <3

[nnozomi]

I'm very fortunate to live in a place with lots of flowers and trees and cats! <3

[nnozomi]

Seems like such a Ghibli scene!
Oh, yes! It could be the first scene of a Ghibli movie before a flashback to her childhood...

[nnozomi]

It really is a delightful book! Half epic fantasy, half middle-American housewife gets her life in gear. Recommended!
<3 <3 <3

[china_shop]

*pokes around amazon/audible to no avail* Who's the author?

[nnozomi]

Sorry! That was thoughtless of me. The Interior Life by Katherine Blake should find something.

[china_shop]

Not at all. Thanks! <3

[tinny]

This is also the book that introduced me to Osias Beert and his gorgeous paintings of fruit.

The most surprising thing about that painting is that the strawberries are smaller than the cherries. (the things that change in *cough* 400 years.)

I did not actually ask this lady what time she thought a “16:00 AM” deadline was, but I was real tempted.

Lolol. Sorry that work is annoying.

Photos

Heee, cute cat! Her striped tail! <3<3

And I love how the shadow of the tree so neatly fits onto the sidewalk.

[nnozomi]

The most surprising thing about that painting is that the strawberries are smaller than the cherries.
I didn't even think of that, but you're right! I suppose there are still little wild strawberries to be found here or there. (let's see if my veranda strawberry plant will produce anything, even if it's smaller than a cherry...)

Heee, cute cat! Her striped tail! <3<3
And I love how the shadow of the tree so neatly fits onto the sidewalk.
Thank you! That cat belongs to a beauty salon and absolutely knows it's good-looking. And I was really struck by the tree's shadow...

[tinny]

I suppose there are still little wild strawberries to be found here or there.

Yes! They grow in the forests where I grew up. We used to go pick them (and blueberries) every year. They're much sweeter and I also think they taste better than the large commercial kind (of both berries, actually). They still grow there, but I moved away and now I'm never in the right place at the right time. Blackberries are the only ones we still manage to pick sometimes, because they're ripe during the summer holidays.

[nnozomi]

They grow in the forests where I grew up. We used to go pick them (and blueberries) every year.
That's lovely. I do think of wild strawberries as a European thing for some reason. Berries you've picked yourself always taste better...

[elenothar]

Now I'm sitting over here wondering how someone would go about auguring with a combine harvester. I mean, people have augured with weirder things, right?

Mahler is often terrifying, at least from the point of view of my volume sensitive ears...

[nnozomi]

auguring with a combine harvester. I mean, people have augured with weirder things, right?
lol, weren't there people who told fortunes by casting straws, something like that? Perfect for a combine.

Mahler is often terrifying, at least from the point of view of my volume sensitive ears...
Ow, yeah, I see your point. My views on Mahler vary widely by piece, from "heavenly" to "pretty neat" to "long, boring, why bother"...

[thevetia]

Where did you find 'The Interior Life'?? I have been the only person I know who has read it for literally decades, ever since an acquaintance of the author (long story) gave me a copy. I believe it has origins in the SCA group of northern California.

I'm so glad you like it! It's one of my favorite books, not least for the happy ending(s) after some well depicted horror.

I also love it for the fantastic way all the separate streams are indicated by the typefaces, at least four of them IIRC.

[nnozomi]

oh hey, so glad to find another The Interior Life fan! I think I learned about it from Jo Walton's book of book reviews, and ordered it used on spec; it turned out to be just my thing. I think I like the mundane parts better than the fantasy ones, but they're both really well done, and you're right that the multiple typefaces give it a unique reading feel.