Shabby Background

Thursday, March 21

Celebrating Equinox

This post is linked with: Booking Through, Thursday 13 


Happy Spring Equinox, everyone. What book are you choosing to celebrate with?
Timeline by Michael Crichton. It works around some of my most favorite topics: archaeologists discovering something shocking at a medieval site.


Thursday 13: Dasa's bestselling travel non-guidebooks in my side of town. Any familiar author or title you might be interested in?

1. A fortune-teller told me by Tiziano Terzani
2. A cook's tour by Anthony Bourdain
3. Off the rails in Phnom Pehn by Amit Gilboa
4. Holy Cow! by Sarah MacDonald
5. The great railway bazaar by Paul Theroux
6. Notes from a small island by Bill Byrson
7. Finding George Orwell in a Burmese teashop by Emma Larkin
8. Ghost train to the Eastern star by Paul Theroux
9. Defiled on the Ayeyarwaddy by Ma Thanegi
10. Into the wild by Jon Krakaur
11. Lost Continent by Bill Bryson
12. Down under by Bill Bryson
13. To Myanmar with love by Things Asian Press

Thursday, March 14

Reading green

This post is linked with: Booking Through, Thursday 13 

Does your current mood affect your reading? Affect your choices?
It does. This week I'm in the mood for the St Patrick's day color so I'm reading a book of nature quotations. Its cover is of course green. Men are from Mars, women are from Venus is up next. Its cover also happens to be green.


Thursday 13: Random things that are green in honor of St Patrick's Day.

On my old computer desk
1-  poinsettia leaves on my tea cup
2 - candelabra 'legs' and a bowl where I put water for flowers to float in it
3 - coffee table book of nature quotations


On my dresser
4 - key and coin dish, Marks & Spencer hand lotion
5 - essay on political negotiation tactics
6 - vintage hand bag and ear rings
7 - books: Men are from Mars..., Piano preludes and postludes, Hallelujah Chorus


My restaurant brunch yesterday (I deliberately chose the greens from the menu)
8 - green shumai
9 - green tea ice cream
10 - green noodles with pakchoy and braised beef


On the pages of my illustrated and picture books
11 - birthstone, Everyday handbook for magical mothers by Mary Cicely Barker
12 - Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
13 - the May fairy by Mary Cicely Barker


Memories of green

"Let us make, instead of war, an everlasting peace...."
~ Virgil, The Aeneid 
Book 4, lines 130-136

For years I wondered why my father liked green.

I didn't mind that he bought Mama a pair of high-heeled glass slippers with a light green tint until he bought me a dress that was military green. Of all colors!

He was a typical man of few words and when he passed away, I realized I would never be able to ask him why he favored green so much. I resorted to guessing.

There are instances when I ask myself why I do certain things.
It was most probably Father why I colored this girl's dress green. She's around books and I relate to that.

Father gave me The Aeneid when I was in 6th grade.

I didn't understand the gift and wished he gave me the normal Nancy Drew instead. Why The Aeneid? Of all books!

Could it have been his Jesuit upbringing? (which reminds me of the new pope right now) I vaguely remember him mention they were grilled in classical poetry during his Notre Dame days.

Father was born in May. There sparkles the emerald.

Ex-MIL wears an emerald-studded ring. Rock in the center is almost as huge as this one illustrated by Mary Cicely Barker, which precedes her description of the May Fairy:

"The tiny May fairy always wears her lucky birthstone colour, a clear bright green"

In honor of loved ones who like green, I deliberately choose my tiny cup with green leaves today for tea, and of course picked a green book of quotations to read while sipping green tea.


Would you believe I got this tea cup for just 34 cents? That was thirteen years ago which makes the purchase 'vintage' in my books. One more green: when I ordered this green tea ice cream I had no idea it would be served in a bowl that's exactly what we used to have at home in the 70s!

Charles Baxter says in The Feast of Love, "put your trust in ice cream." Like joy I will!


Thursday, March 7

Bible spring

This post is linked with: Booking Through, Thursday 13 

Clocks change this weekend here in the US, which means one less hour to read … does anybody else begrudge that hour like I do? Wish the Powers That Be would just pick a time-frame and stick to it instead of inflicting clock-driven jet lag on an innocent public twice a year?
Luckily we don't have clocks changing in Thailand. There was that time thingy in the Philippines they called Daylight Savings Time or something when it seemed an hour was taken out of the usual 8 hours in a working day. I would not want an hour less to read if a clock change happened in our part of the world.


Thursday 13: Bible Story Titles that stumped me. MV Logos Hope is currently in Bangkok and I went book-shopping there yesterday. My loot includes an illustrated Bible for the kiddo. Over coffee this morning I skimmed the index, confident that at first glance and even despite not having read a Bible for 20 years, I still know every single story in the entire collection.  

The Wrestling Match - of course that's Jacob wrestling an angel for a blessing; or A Wall of Waves - easy peasy that's when Moses whacked the Red Sea with his staff for the Israelites to cross. But these titles? No idea. So I took a peep as it won't be much fun to look blankly at them forever.

Which Bible story do you like? Do you have a favorite?

1. Higher than the Clouds (Genesis 11: 5-9) it's when one man's 'hello' came to mean 'confused' to another. The Tower of Babel. When the whole world became multi-lingual: the origin

2. Mission Impossible (Genesis 24: 1-61) what the heck is Tom Cruise doing in the pages of my son's Bible? Ops. They were just finding a wife for Isaac.

3. Fighting in the Tent (Genesis 37: 1-4) Potent jealousy. Jacob's ten sons mad over their brother Joseph's new robe. Parents, beware of playing favorites among your children.

4. A Hundred and One Excuses (Exodus 3:11-4:9) Moses debating with God about being sent to Egypt to tell the Pharoah to let the Israelites go

5. An Expensive Meal (Genesis 25: 27-34) the stew that cost Esau his birthright; and I was thinking of my dinner in Sirocco, one of Bangkok's most expensive restaurants

6. I Spy the Enemy (Joshua 2: 1-3) two of Joshua's best men sent on a secret mission to spy on Jericho. I should add The Spy Who Loved Me to my 007 collection now.

7. The Wise Woman under the Palm Tree (Judges 4:1-16) - Judge Deborah consulting with Obama...err... Barak to do battle in Mount Tabor.

8. Who Will Kill Sisera? (Judges 4: 17-22; 5:1-31) a cousin of Sapphira? Oh... a general who met his death at the hands of a woman who gave him milk and then hammered his head as soon as he fell asleep. Ouch.

9. On the Edge of the Promised Land (Joshua 2: 23 - 3:13) the day the Israelites marked the end of their forty years of wandering

10. Listening in the Night (Judges 7: 1-15) a Midianite soldier talked about his strange dream of a loaf of bread tumbling into camp; Gideon was listening behind a tent

11. Peninnah Hurts Hannah (1 Samuel 1:6-8) ahhh... two wives of the same husband competing over having children. My thoughts led to Kate Middleton's 'Born to Bred' news yesterday.

12. The Choice of Life or Death (Deuteronomy 29: 1-30:20; 31:2) Moses asking his people to choose life by obeying God's laws and not forgetting how He brought them out of Egypt

13. Samson Tells a Riddle (Judges 14: 8-15;20) The strongest man yes, but I totally forgot that he had a riddle: "Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet."

Monday, March 4

Patty-patter

Patty patter 
goes the chatter 
I burnt some patty 
while the rain was pattering 
and I was turning 
off the AC 
and saving
electricity


More than two centuries ago a certain grain was generally given to horses in England but in Scotland supports the people. It's the grain I used two days ago to make these patties to celebrate the rain. Bangkok has been searing hot for too long that when it finally poured, I thought a celebration was in order.

Although patties are originally made of meat, sometimes I concoct meals and I'm happy doing that. Tuna instead of beef. I mixed in minced purple onion, honey maple syrup, evaporated milk, soy sauce, salt, sugar, a large egg and butter cake flour.


If you're wondering about the taste, well, it was similar to the one I concocted two years ago with mackerel. My son kept stuffing himself with those as soon as I piled them on a dish from the wok. There was almost nothing left for me when I finished frying the last patty. At least that's the idea.

Back to the grain. It is said to be the "Horatio Alger of cereals, which progress, if not from rags to riches, at least from weed to health food." OATS. Yummy softies. And when I have them in the midst of books, life just seems so pleasant.


Food Friday * Favorite Things Hop * Share the Joy * Color Connection * Blues

Thursday, February 28

Gables and Skyfall

This post is linked with: Booking Through, Thursday 13 

One of those quick, easy questions that I ask periodically because the answer is always changing: What are you reading right now? (And, is it good? Would you recommend it? How did you choose it?)
The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Started it last year and since then I have finished two John Grishams, one Nicholas Sparks, a Philippa Gregory and a few other leisure and work-related distractions. If anyone wants to explore themes of retribution or atonement or know what the consequences of greed were like around 1851, they may want to have a go at this classic. I'm developing curious sympathy for Hepzibah, poor old maid, so I'm going to finish this book before the next full moon invites howls from handsome shape-shifters.


Thursday 13: word associations from Skyfall. I didn't mind not getting around to watching the 23rd JB film until a bloggity friend commented on a post I shared with Judi Dench singing in it, saying she "just watched M die." Oh, blimey I hurried off to buy the DVD, and something caught my attention aside from their latest toys. I provide the 6th, 12th and 13th words as 007 and the psychologist mentioned only 11, and I doubt 'M' counts, as in M = bitch or that skyfall was really done.

I added a literary work that begins with the same word in bold. What are your associations of these words though? Any book, poetry or story you are reminded of with these words?

1. day - wasted -  Day with a courteous mother, A by Helen Hunt-Jackson
2. gun - shot - Gun for hire by Mack Reynolds
3. heart - target - Heart of Arethusa, The by Frances Barton Fox
4. agent - provocateur - Agent at the door, The by Walt Mason
5. woman - provocatrix - Woman who loved Chopin, The  by James Huneker
6. head - quarters - Head of Caesar, The by G.K. Chesterton
7. sunlight - swim - Sunlight on the soul by John S. Adams
8. moonlight - dance - Moonlight favor  by H.G. Wells
9. murder - employment - Murders in the Rue Morgue  by Edgar Allan Poe
10. bird - sky - Birds of spring, The by Wasington Irving
11. country - England - Country lass, The by Robert Burns
12. sky - fall - Sky is falling, The by Lester del Rey
13. lab - rat - Laboratory-Ancien Regime by Robert Browning

Four salad men and a daiquiri poet


Research papers or PhD proposals don't count, right? Yeah, I write those and sometimes a speech to kick off a university business meeting. The rest of the time I play with recreational haiku, and that's that. So I'm no writer, but once in awhile I date some daiquiri. When the calendar showed 1-1-11, I headed off to a beach town, the Thai Royal family's summer home. I did balance the table with something healthy.

Now we don't play with our food but we certainly can have fun:
Guess which writer loved daiquiri: Edward Thomas, Randall Jarrell or Robert Frost 
Clue: "The land was ours before we were the land's..." Read at JFK's inauguration
*More on writers and what they love to eat here.*


Someone once said 'it takes four men to dress a salad. One for the salt, one for the pepper, one for the vinegar and one for the oil." 

Can you name which men? Here are your choices:
a. yeoman, barman, monk, gamekeeper
b. wiseman, madman, miser, spendthrift
c. marksman, poet, undertaker, painter

Now have some coffee before finding your answers below

"Robert Frost loved daiquiris. At the Waybury Inn near one of his favorite dining spots - Frost would begin every dinner with a daiquiri. But only one daiquiri." THE AWL

"It takes four men to dress a salad: a wise man for the salt, a madman for the pepper, a miser for the vinegar and a spendthrift for the oil." ~ Anonymous

Leisure research, a memory of celebratory dining and its association with literature are to me sunbeams of joy to a quiet day off work. I hope you had fun guessing. 

Shared with Mellow Yellows * Inspire Me Monday * Color Connection * Food * Food Trip * Share the Joy * Creative HomeAcre * Favorite Things

Thursday, February 21

Libraries and cafes

This post is linked with: Booking Through, Thursday 13 and Favorite Things Thursday

How often do you visit a library? Do you go to borrow books? Do research? Check out the multi-media center? Hang out with the friendly and knowledgeable staff? Are you there out of love or out of need?
When I was a grad student I frequented the library out of both love and need. One biggest distraction to thesis-writing was pleasure reading. You know these things that you can't find in traditional or electronic books - databases and repositories that your university or company is subscribed to, are addicting. It's a world you may not mind spending hours or days in. Practically all collection of knowledge you can imagine is there; not to mention the 'scientific gossip.' And they say academic life is boring ;p


Thursday 13: authors and their food and drink. Let's have fun with who ate or drank what? There's a clue after the names. Answers are on the bottom of the list. And - many T13 participants are authors as well. We'd love to know what you like to eat or drink, if you want to mention that in the comments.

1. Daiquiri - Edward Thomas / Randall Jarrell / Robert Frost 
"The land was ours before we were the land's..." read at a presidential inauguration

2. Apples - Charles Dickens / George Orwell / Henry James
“... It was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light..." 

3. Liver sausage - Oscar Wilde / Frank O' Hara / Boris Pasternak
He had "liver sausages in the Mayflower shoppe." He died of ruptured liver. Larry Rivers, his long-time friend and lover delivered the eulogy at his funeral.

4. Claret - Percy Bysshe Shelley / John Keats / Lord Byron
"A thing of beauty is a joy forever..."

5. Champagne - Oscar Wilde / George Bernard Shaw / Frank Harris
"Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much."

6. Eggs - George Orwell / Victor Hugo / Charles Dickens
One of his masterpieces was recently released as a musical

7. Vanilla pudding - Jean Paul Sartre / Boris Pasternak / Gunther Grass
recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature

8. Soda water - Robert Frost / Lord Byron / George Bernard Shaw
One of his most famous poems was sang at the opening credits of the film Vanity Fair: "...like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies..."

9. Rabbit stew - Sylvia Plath / Virginia Woolf / Emily Dickenson
She advanced the genre of confessional poetry

10. Plum cake - Elizabeth Browning / Jane Austen / Charlotte Bronte
Her most famous novel is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year

11. Oysters - Vladimir Nabokov / Leo Tolstoy / Anton Chekhov
He once said, "medicine is my lawful wife; and literature is my mistress"

12. Milk - Honore' de Balzac / Frank Kafka / Moliere
 Le Peau de chagrin, Gobseck. "A mother who is really a mother is never free."

13. Espresso - Alexandre Dumas / Marcel Proust / Jules Verne
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower. "Happiness is beneficial for the body, but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind."

~Idea: theawl.  The rest of the research is mine~

Answers: 1 Robert Frost  2 Charles Dickens  3 Frank O' Hara  4 John Keats  5 Oscar Wilde  6 Victor Hugo  7 Gunther Grass  8 Lord Byron  9 Sylvia Plath  10 Jane Austen  11 Anton Chekhov  12 Honore' de Balzac  13 Marcel Proust 

Pelican brief dessert

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first. ~Ernestine Ulmer
Butter pan cake with warm chocolate, green tea ice cream and red bean jam

This dessert plate arrived on my table and I had my nose glued to The Pelican Brief. When I remembered to take a photo, the green tea ice cream had began melting. But who cares? This is one of those feel-good moments when you're doing two things you love simultaneously!


Thursday, February 14

Love story

This post is linked with: Booking Through, Thursday 13 and Favorite Things Thursday


Not the kind of “love” question you’re expecting for Valentine’s Day. No, what I want to know is:  what do you love most about reading?
I could be in Tuscany on Sunday and Athens on Thursday. I get to observe a medieval drunk lord in a nightie or analyze an assassin's motive while sipping coffee. I'm on top of the world when I'm buried in the pages.

***


Thursday 13: pieces of music you hear in films that were made from books. The name(s) after each title is either the *singer/performer, **writer, or ***composer. [Edit]I added the author. Can you name which book or story? 

1. Postcard to Henry Purcell  ***Dario Marianelli on Jane Austen's -
2. For the beauty of the earth  **Folliott S. Pierpoint on Louisa May Alcott's -
3. Weep ye no more sad fountains  *John Dowland (16th c.) on William Thackeray's -
4. On my own  *Lea Salonga on Victor Hugo's -
5. Lavender dream  ***Joshua Bell on William J. Locke's -
6. The banquet  ***Paul Cantelon on Philippa Gregory's -
7. Prelude for piano op. 28 no. 4  ***
Chopin on Nicholas Sparks' -
8. Winter light  *Sarah Brightman on Frances Hodgson Burnett's -
9. Wedding march  ***
Mendelssohn on William Shakespeare's -
10. Avonlea  ***Hagood Hardy on Lucy Maud Montgomery's -
11. Elinor remembers  ***Javier Navarette on Cornelia Funke's -
12. The conqueror worm  *Wes Bentley, ***Michael Edwards on Edgar Allan Poe's -
13. Your crowning glory  *Julie Andrews and Raven on Meg Cabot's -

Book / Story 

1. Pride and Prejudice
2.
Little Women
3.
Vanity Fair
4.
Les Miserables
5.
Ladies in Lavender 
6.
The Other Boleyn Girl 
7. The Notebook 
8. The Secret Garden
9.
Midsummer Night's Dream  
10.
Anne Shirley of Green Gables
11. Inkheart
12.
Ligeia
13.
Princess Diaries II 
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