Speaking of Books

There is one book that I never pack when we move.

Back in 1998 or so, I first was introduced to Jane Austen. We were travelling to Sydney the next day and I happened to catch one of the early episodes of Pride and Prejudice – the miniseries with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy – on the ABC. The story drew me in.

The next day we were at the airport, both in Adelaide and in Sydney, and I looked for the book. No joy. Why airport bookstores do not stock the classics, I have no idea.

So that night I went to bed wanting to read the book Pride and Prejudice, but not having it.

The next day we ended up in the main street of Sydney where all the shops are. It was an alien world to me – I knew the city of Adelaide like the back of my hand, where all the shops were, where to go and find what I needed or wanted. So I was completely lost and it was raining and the streets seemed slightly scary.

I can’t remember where or how but I did find a bookstore, and I found this book – The Complete Novels Of Jane Austen. It does not contain Love and Friendship (which I have never read yet) but it does have the 7 other stories that I love and can read over and over again without getting bored.

This book has travelled all over Australia with me. It never leaves my bedside when I am at home, it is the one book that never gets put on the bookshelves. It always stays on my night stand.

On the day where the nightstand gets moved, it will be picked up and placed next to my handbag where it will wait for me/us to leave.

It will travel next to me in the car if I am the driver – on my lap, if I am the passenger.

It will wait be placed next to my handbag in the new house, and once the nightstand is in the new spot, it will be placed on the nightstand.

That night, as my books will not be unpacked yet, I will probably pick it up. If I am not already in the middle of one of the stories, I will allow it to fall open to where it feels like, and then the book will have chosen which of the stories I will read next. I will turn back to the first page of that story and begin to read until I get too sleepy to continue.

books, Jane Austen, Moving House, moving on

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed.

Today we took the car in to be serviced (15,000kms) early (let me not get into the need to replace the front wheel tyres already – it is a performance vehicle not just a car with very low profile tyres and soft compounds etc – and let me not get into how much they cost – over $400 per tyre) and while we waited we wandered. I had a credit at a second hand bookshop so we went in to browse and ended up spending all my credit and then some.

I found a book called “Never Have Your Dog Stuffed” by Alan Alda. I’ve always been a huge fan of his so the book tempted me. After the bookstore we went to a cafe to have cake and coffee. I picked up the book and started reading it. Wow. I am only a few chapters in but I know this is incredible writing already by the story about the dog. One minute you’re wanting to cry and the next minute you’re laughing out loud.

Which is a little strange when you’re sitting in a cafe – The Other Half wondered what was wrong with me.

I think I’m going to enjoy this book. :)

books

Exposure.

I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the girl with the one track mind saga. It’s a blog on the internet where a girl has been pretty intimately blogging details of her life. Somehow it got turned into a book and the girl decided to release it under a pseudonym – however, she may have forgotten for a moment that she lives in the UK, and that is the home of tabloid journalism. A newspaper found out her real name, who she really was, and then published those details.

I feel really sorry for her – I can’t imagine blogging that sort of stuff, let alone having everyone from your parents to everyone in your entire country then finding out you wrote it, and reading that kind of personal stuff.

That and another incident which I have been reminded of have led to this blog about baiters and our potential exposure. I personally would feel *safe* if my real information got out on the net, because I live in a country where there’s not too many lads, but I would be plenty not happy all the same. For some of the baiters reading this who live in the US, Canada, UK, Amsterdam and possibly even South Africa, there’s a lot more potential for harm actually finding its way to a baiter who is exposed.

So when any of us tell other people information about ourselves, we *trust* that information won’t be given to others. There’s been a couple of occasions where I have *deliberately* led fellow **baiters** astray about who someone actually is. Once it was for a joke, which the baiter himself came up with, and several of us went along with. I believe there are still some baiters who are completely unaware that it was a joke – I do not believe the baiter involved ever got a chance to dispel the myths about himself. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he got busy. And they *were* brilliant myths.. that was a heck of a lot of fun, that joke.

Once it was because unknown to other baiters, we have an incredible secret in our midst, which myself and only the baiter involved are actually aware of – as far as I know. There’s very good reasons to keep it secret and I certainly do not intend to share the secret here but the reason I mention it is.. underlying everything there has been a fear that it will get found out somehow. Looking at the One Track Mind blog, I cannot imagine the aftermath if it were to be exposed.

Those of you thinking you know what it is, you’re dead wrong. To make sure you realise this, I will now state that the secret is who someone is in real life, not who they are on the internet. Just so you know.

And now to other topics of lesser import.

1. Pride and Prejudice. I read it again. What a surprise, huh? I love this book. I actually have a big book with all Jane Austen‘s books in there – Sense and Sensibility, P&P, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan and Persuasion. I bought it for $20 a couple of years ago. The amount of times I have read it, I would hate to think. This is the book I always read in between other books. This is the book I always pick up when I go to bed, want to read a little, but am too tired to start a new book. The language is so soothing. It is almost as good as Shakespeare but my Shakespeare book is way too heavy to hold up in bed. :(

2. Indiana Jones and the temple of doom. I was playing this at work today and a kid who was about 8 years old got scared by it. Hello? What closet has this kid been sheltered in? So his Mother says to me “You should have something a bit more kid friendly on”. I said, this IS kid friendly, it’s PG rated, and most of the other movies I have which “look” kid friendly are packed full of swearing. I can’t play animation because it makes the screens look terrible and we’d never sell any. So while I was doing the invoice, she kept telling this kid not to look but he was mesmerized, and he was starting to get a bit freaked out, so I said to him, hey mate, don’t worry, he’s Indiana Jones and it all turns out fine in the end. It makes me wonder what kind of movies (if any) this kid is allowed to watch at home. It was the bit of the movie where the little kid has the voodoo doll and is stabbing it while Indy is fighting some guy. If something as simple as stabbing a voodoo doll makes this kid freak out.. I fear for his future in this world. BTW I am gonna order this, too.

3. I just watched Girl with a Pearl Earring. There’s never enough Colin Firth. Even the 6 hour Pride and Prejudice did not contain enough of him. The movie was good though.

That’s it for now, off to bed. Night all.. :)

Angry Snoskred, anonymity, books, internet, Internet Safety, movies, pseudonym

Entertainment

Stephen King’s Cell – I read this book again over the last couple of days, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time. I don’t want to spoil the book for you because sitting down to read it should hopefully have an impact on you, but basically anyone who read Stephen King’s The Stand – swap superflu with cell phones.

There is only one thing I would change about the book, and that is the ending. I’d like to know what happened when Johnny Gee took the phone call.

I also watched Interview with a Vampire – to be honest, I’m not a huge Anne Rice fan, but this movie is actually pretty good. Kirsten Dunst in particular. And the costumes are stunning.

Recently seen too – Chocolat – I love that movie. :)

On the soon to be watched list – A Knight’s Tale – I have never seen the whole thing in one sitting as yet, but I have seen Jousting for real, in real life. It was brilliant.

Also Girl with a Pearl Earring – a bit of Colin Firth never goes astray ;)I’m going to take a bit of a break from baiting for most of tomorrow, I’ve been working hard today on the various projects I have going right now.

books, movies