Ramblings of an Australian Writer

1. Red cliff Part One | Part Two.

This film. My god. I have all the feels about this film. If it isn't the awesome photography, it's the tremendouss fight scenes - both on land and on sea. If it isn't the amazing characters, it's their onscreen chemistry. (Seriously. Every time Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Takeshi Kaneshiro share a scene, no one else is worth watching. They are incredible together.) Fengyi Zhang as the bad guy, Cao Cao, was superb. The set building was gorgeous. The landscape was breathtaking.

I have no beef with anything in this film. I don't care that the full director's cut is nearly 5 hours long. I can watch it again and again and love it each and ever time.

Recommended for: fans of historical drama, Chinese cinema, John Woo as a director, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro and/or films like "Kingdom of Heaven."

2. Kingdom of Heaven.

While I dislike Orlando Bloom quite a lot and in this film he seems to not require a helmet, thus proving that he has weapon repellant hair, there is so much to this film that I can happily and easily ignore him. Liam Neeson and David Thewlis are truly wonderful, particularly their exchange early in the film about the time Liam Neeson's character took an arrow to the testicle. Marton Csokas, Alexander Siddig, Eva Green, Brendan Gleeson, Jeremy Irons are all superb supporters and Edward Norton was a welcome and wonderful surprise as King Baldwin. The other wonderful surprise was Ghassan Massoud as Saladin, a historical figure that I have been fascinated by for years.

The score is gorgeous and the sets are wonderfully done. The costuming is pretty perfect and the historical accuracy is acceptable to me. I know that sounds pompous, but this is the period I spent a *lot* of time researching and reenacting, so I'm ridiculously picky about it. And this film is wonderfully done. Apart from Orlando, Lord of the Weapon Repellant Hair of Jerusalem, this is a wonderful film.

Recommended for: fans of historical drama, the Crusades.

3. Jodhaa Akbar.

This is a beautiful film, and yes, it's Bollywood, but don't let that put you off. It tells the story of Emperor Akbar, one of the most remarkable men in the history of India. He's a very moderate, very kind emperor, and is very liberal minded and did some remarkable things. Despite being a devout Muslim and counselled against it by his advisors, he marries a Hindustani princess in order, at first, to heal the political divide and become allies between his empire and the kingdoms of Hindustan. The two of them gradually fall in love and end up ruling India together.

Hrithik Roshan, who is very easy on the eye, is superb as Akbar and Aishwarya Rai, one of the most beautiful women in the world, is Jodhaa. There's only a few song/dance routines, and the real winners in this film are the characters, the growing relationship and romance between Jodhaa and Akbar, and the battle scenes. Plus Hrithik fighting an elephant. And Hrithik sword training. Without much clothing. Mhm. Yes. Oh, and this is a long film, nearly 4 hours.

Recommended for: Fans of Bollywood, Fans of historical film, Fans of films like "Kingdom of Heaven", Fans of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai.

4. 20th Century Boys trilogy One | Two | Three.

Aaaaaah! So much love for this series, I can't even. I have all the feels about this, too. I'm currently rewatching them, with mum, this time, and seeing things I missed on the first watch. These films are funny, clever, witty and also quite topical, looking at things like childhood bullying, alienation, the power that cults have (which Japan knows a bit about, thanks to the saran gas attacks they endured), and the enduring power of friendship and that ordinary people can be heroes too.

I honestly really love these films. I'm not into manga or anime, so it didn't bother me one way or the other that these were based on a manga. I have no intention of reading them. For me, the joy is in the cinema, and there is a lot of joy to be had in these movies. I found each one engaging, entertaining and overall wonderful. They are told with flashbacks interspersed throughout the narrative and those flashbacks are shot with a light sepia tint, which give them a warm, lazy sort of look, like the eternal summer of childhood. I don't understand why anyone would find these too complex to follow, because they're not, the narrative is very well constructed and the characters are all likable and easy to identify and empathise with.

Recommeded for: fans of Japanese cinema, superhero stories, mecha and dystopian near futures.

5. Little Big Soldier.

This is Yoo Seung Jun's film debut, and admittedly, this was why I watched it. I didn't expect it to be one of the best films I've seen of Jackie Chan's. He wrote this and assisted in the direction, and the film has been close to his heart for twenty years, which is how long it took him to write.

Set during the Warring States period of Chinese history, this is a slice of those years of war and conflict, and combines action, history, and poignant drama with nary a blip. This is one of my feel-good go-to films, and I watch it pretty regularly. Plus, YSJ. Always a bonus, for me.

Recommended for: Jackie Chan fans, historical drama fans, Chinese cinema fans, fans of films like "Kingdom of Heaven."

6. The Avengers.

Really, do I need to explain this? It is awesome. They are all awesome. This is the only time I haven't wanted to throw things at Scarlett Johansson. And it's full of pretty people. And action. And giant metal space fish. And Loki. And HULK SMASH.

Recommend for: everyone!

7. Uncertain Glory.

Made in 1944, this little known World War Two movie starring Errol Flynn (I love him, ngl), is one of his finest performances. It's a wonderful gem of a film, and all the performances are terrific. Errol Flynn gives a wonderful performance as a happy-go-lucky crook who knows he's facing Madame Guillotine but decides to make a greater sacrifice of his life instead. Paul Lukas, as the world-weary inspector who has to deal with Flynn's character's foibles is wonderfully understated.

All in all, a fantastic film. You'll need tissues for the end, though.

Recommended for: Errol Flynn fans, WW2 movie fans, Classic cinema fans.

8. The Empire Strikes Back.

My favourite of the original Star Wars trilogy. I think it's the favourite of most people. Again, like "The Avengers", do I really need to explain? No, no, I do not.

Recommended for: Everyone!

9. Doctor Zhivago.

While Keira Knightley gives me a pain on the best of days, in this, she is stunning. Hans Matheson as the titular character brings warmth, grace and gravitas to the role that I think Pasternak would have been happy with, and Sam Neill as the villain is wonderfully cold and nasty. Russia is shown to be the harsh yet beautiful land that she is, and this Russian classic is brought to life with tremendous sensitivity and respect for the novel. A moving, powerful film, and it's long, clocking in at 2.5 hours. But it's worth it.

Recommend for: fans of classic literature, fans of Hans Matheson or Keira Knightly or Sam Neill, fans of Russian history.

10. Casino Royale.

It's James Bond. With Daniel Craig! I don't need to explain further, that says everything.

Plus, he really looks divine in that tux.

Recommended for: Bond fans, action fans, Daniel Craig fans.

11. Ladyhawke.

I've loved this film since I was a little L. J. and first saw it on the telly. There is nothing to gripe about with this. It's one of my go-to films when I'm feeling down and want to be cheered up.

Recommende for: Fans of fantasy film, Fans of Mathew Broderick or Rutger Hauer or Michelle Pfieffer.

12. The Princess Bride.

"You keep using that word, it does not mean what you think it means."
"Well, it's not so bad, I'm not saying we should build a summer house here, but it's really quite nice."
"AS YOU WISH."
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
"Never gamble with a Sicilian when death is on the line!"
"He's not dead, he's only mostly dead."

'nuff said, really. So much love for this, though. SO MUCH.

Recommended for: EVERYONE.

13. The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Fellowship | Two Towers | Return of the King.

Prior to these movies, I had no interest in the books at all. Then the films were made and I fell in love with a whole new (to me) series. While the books haven't been reread, the movies have all been rewatched - many times. The sets, the locations, the characters, the acting, the score, all of it. I love these films. And I am excited for "The Hobbit," although I have never read it and don't intend to.

Recommended for: Everyone.

Honourable mentions: Detective Dee and Mystery of the Phantom Flame - Andy Lau being badass. Plus, the Judge Dee books are awesome, and this film adaptation of one of them is also awesome. Infernal Affairs - Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu Wai together. And a wonderfully complex and interesting plot. Awesome film. The Matrix trilogy for when I want to indulge in existentialism or postmodernism or other philosophy -isms.

Rainbow Awards.

I am thrilled and honoured that the cover art for "No Quarter" made it into the finalists of the 2012 Rainbow Awards. Thank you!

Voting on the covers is up. Please do take a moment to vote! You can log into Livejournal and vote using your Facebook or Twitter or Blogger or Wordpress as well! :D http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/1720695.html

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Thursday 13.

So it's still Thursday somewhere in the world, right? This week, it's a quick and cheerful thirteen - thirteen Twitters you should all follow. Twitter is here.

In no particular order, here we go.

1. @YoungMasterPaul
Paul McDermott of Good News Week and Doug Anthony All-Stars among many other things.

2. @MorgonFreeman
Tweets from God. Not associated with Morgan Freeman or God, but some pithy tweets.

3. @ActualBenMiller
Actor (Primeval, Death in Pardise), scientist, comedian.

4. @Patisse_Cafe
Patisse is the cafe and dessert shop of the wonderful Vincent Gadan and his team.

5. @japastu
James Patrick Stuart. You may remember him from such TV roles as Dick in season 7 Supernatural.

6. @brianblessed
DOES BRIAN BLESSED, THE MR. SHOUTY OF BRITAIN, REALLY NEED ANY INTRODUCTION? CRY HAVOC AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!

7. @Liam_J_McIntyre
Liam McIntyre, currently playing Spartacus in the Starz series.

8. @iamsrk
Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood's most beloved actor. His tweets are introspective, thoughtful, and delightful.

9. @007
The Official James Bond twitter account. As it says on the tin.

10. @GroovyBruce
Bruce Campbell. Shot smart, shop S-Mart.

11. @MongolsSilkRoad
All about the Silk Road and latest archaeological discoveries. Awesomeness.

12. @Medievalists
Medievalists.net twitter feed. Always interesting.

13. @jumblejim
Jim Beaver, most known for playing Bobby on Supernatural. His tweets are great.

So that's it!

This Thursday Thirteen, I decided to post the last thirteen things I’ve read as part of research for a book. Some of these are for a semi-sekret project, some for “City of Jade” and some for the Archangels books.

1. Silk Road timeline.
2. Arcana of the Grail Angel.
3. Homily for the Day of Archangel Michael.
4. Unusual Motives for Murder.
5. Motives for Murder for Authors.
6. History of Chinese Immigration to Adelaide.
7. 1920s Beaded Flapper Dress.
8. Communist Party of Australia.
9. Fan-tan.
10. Dream Hatcher cottage.
11. Stuffed Green Peppers Recipe.
12. Digitised Newspapers Records for Chinese Immigration in Adelaide in the Early Twentieth Century.
13. The Clockwork Forest that Plays Music.

The stuff I've found on Trove, which is the digitised library of the National Library of Australia has been amazing. I said to my mum a few weeks ago that if Australian History was taught like this in school, I would have stuck with it - and loved it. There's all kinds of stuff on Trove, and I've learned a very great deal about the early history of my city, immigration, and more.

I plan to make that green peppers dish, it looks fantastic. And I can dream that one day, I'll be thin enough to fit into one of those gorgeous flapper dresses. Also, I'd love to travel the route of the Silk Road and see that clockwork forest for myself, wind the key and listen to the music. Too awesome.

Unrelated to today's thirteen, I'll be participating in the Hop Against Homophobia in May, so keep an eye for that. A lot of wonderful authors are participating in it, so there'll be a lot to see and do.

I, like a lot of writers, tend to whip up a playlist to suit whatever I'm writing. As the release date for "No Quarter" draws closer, I thought for this Thursday Thirteen, I'd share the thirteen songs that get played the most often on my playlist for this novel. Enjoy.

1. Afterglow - INXS Vid

Lyrics: Here I am, lost in the ashes of time, but who wants tomorrow?
In between the longing to hold you again
I'm caught in your shadow, I'm losing control
My mind drifts away, we only have today
Touch me and I will follow in your afterglow.

2. I Follow Rivers - Lykke Li Vid

Lyrics: I, I follow, I follow you deep sea baby
I follow you
I I follow, I follow you, dark boom honey
I follow you
He's a message, I'm the runner
He's the rebel, I'm the daughter waiting for you
You're my river running high, run deep run wild

3. No Quarter - Tool Vid

Lyrics: Lock all the doors, kill the lights.
No one's coming home tonight.
The sun beats down and don't you know?
All our lives are growing cold, oh...
They bring news that must get through.
To build a dream for me and you, oh.

4.Plans - Birds of Tokyo Vid

Lyrics: We made plans to kiss the sun at night
Hopeless dreamers, hopeless types
Shedding skin you show your beauty scars
Don't forget me or who you are
Soon it unfolds who we are in this masquerade of stars
Tear off the mask, the face you hide is what I'm missing

5. Edge of the Earth - 30 Seconds to Mars Vid

Lyrics: I found tomorrow in today
Apocalyptic and insane, my dreams will never change
Stand out on the edge of the earth
Dive into the center of fate
Walk right in the sight of a gun
Look into the new future's face

6. We're In This Together - Nine Inch Nails Vid

Lyrics: Well they've got to kill what we've found
Well they've got to hate what they fear
Well they've got to make it go away
Well they've got to make it disappear
The farther I fall I'm beside you
As lost as I get I will find you
The deeper the wound I'm inside you
For ever and ever I'm a part of

7. Bring 'Em Down - Lostprophets Vid

Lyrics: Stand down this fight can not be won,
It's over before it's begun,
Nowhere to hide, nowhere to run,
Who's on your side, you're still having fun
You ain't the first to come and die,
Digging these graves for miles and miles,
Through everything we still achieve,
In bringing all our enemies
DOWN

8. Drive By - Train Vid

Lyrics: Oh but that one night
Was more than just right
I didn't leave you 'cause I was all through
Oh I was overwhelmed and frankly scared as hell
Because I really fell for you

Oh I swear to you
I'll be there for you
This is not a drive by
Just a shy guy looking for a two-ply

Please believe that when I leave
There's nothing up my sleeve but love for you
And a little time to get my head together too.

9. Will You - Hazel O'Connor Vid

Lyrics: Oh I wonder if you'll stay now, stay now, stay now, stay now
Or will you just politely say goodnight?
I move a little closer to you, not knowing quite what to do
And I'm feeling all fingers and thumbs,
I spill my tea, oh silly me!
But it's getting kind of late now
I wonder if you'll stay now, stay now, stay now, stay now
Or will you just politely say goodnight?
And then we touch much too much
This moment has been waiting for a long long time
Makes me shiver, it makes me quiver
This moment I am so unsure
This moment I have waited for
Was it something you've been waiting for, waiting for too?
Take off your eyes, bare your soul
Gather me to you and make me whole

10. I Won't See You Tonight - Avenged Sevenfold Vid

Lyrics: Sorrow, sank deep inside my blood
All the ones around me
I cared for and loved
It's building up inside of me
A place so dark, so cold, I had to set me free
Don't mourn for me,
You're not the one to place the blame
As bottles call my name I won't see you tonight

11. Point Man - The Mark of Cain Vid

Lyrics: The others walk behind me
They're on semi-safety
So some itchy fingered FNG
Doesn't nail my arse

I take the fall
I witness full atrocity
Because, I'm the one in the lead
I'm the Point Man
I take the ride out
See what I can find
I take the ride out I take the lead
I take my men there

You know.
It's lonely out there
But I enjoy the solitude
It helps me push - I watch myself
I take myself to my own limits.
Point Man
Point Man, I'm a Point Man

Now listen very carefully
In the jungle, everyone can hear you scream.

12. Darkangel Gabriel - VNV Nation Vid

Lyrics: Give me time I will be clear.
Given time you'll understand
What possesses me to right what you have suffered.
I'm in this mood because of scorn.
I'm in a mood for total war.
To the darkened skies once more and ever onward.

So many years I stood among the thoughts
And tears of those I served.

13. Yesterday, Today, And - Yoo Seung Jun Vid

Lyrics: NA.

I know it's Friday here in Australia. It's surely still Thursday somewhere in the world, right? ;)

Thirteen Blogs that have nothing to do with Writing and are not on LJ.

1. English Russia
English Russia is pretty much what it says on the tin. Russia, in English. There's a LJ rss feed for it, which I love because then I don't forget to look at the main site. (Although you might want to wait a bit, as the most recent entry is taxidermied animals. Ugh.)

From the site: "English Russia is a daily entertaiment blog devoted to the events happening in Russian speaking countries, such as Russia (Russian Federation), Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, etc. Everyday something interesting happens in the countries occupying 1/6 of the populated world. We are here to inform you about it."

2. Urban Ghost Media
Urban Ghost Media is an online magazine/blog about abandoned places, and also has a rss feed on LJ. There's all kinds of things linked on this one, from the fascinating to the beautiful to the downright creepy (abandoned fun park with creepy clown bumper cars, anyone?)

Their about page says: "Urban Ghosts Media is best described as an offbeat online magazine about abandoned places, hidden history and alternative travel."

3. Vienna to Pyongyang
Vienna to Pyongyang is a travel blog, owned by Helmut, an Austrian man who loves to travel and loves trains. This blog details the journey he and a friend took from Vienna through Russia and down into North Korea, using a route that is forbidden to Westerners. He does explain why it's not wise to do this the way he did in detail and that he still isn't 100% sure how he and his friend managed to get away with it.

What we do get from him in this blog is an amazing and uncensored look at the countryside of North Korea. For that alone, this is invaluable, but Helmut's observations are fascinating and interesting and the whole blog is just wonderful. If I had a dollar for every time I'd read this, I'd be rich.

4. Damn You, Autocorrect
DYAC is not a place for sadness. It's a place of hilarity and lulz and if you're having a bad day, just go to DYAC and look at some of the hilarious mis-texts. It's impossible not to laugh.

5. Sleep Talking Man
STM is the recordings of the slumbering rambles of a mild-mannered Englishman named Adam, recorded and shared on this blog by his wife. His subconscious comes up with some of the most hilarious (and sometimes gross) statements ever heard. Highly recommended for a good giggle.

6. The Fat Nutritionist
The Fat Nutritionist is a great blog detailing how to be healthy when battling weight issues. The goal of the site is to educate without shaming and it's a great resource for foodies and the nutrition conscious alike.

7. Triggerpit
Triggerpit is a photoblog. So what you're going to get are amazing photos from all over the world of amazing things. I love this blog because there are so many wonderful posts with such beautiful photos.

8. Piewacket
Piewacket brings food, home renovation, decorating and other things together in a very pretty, very easy to read blog.

From the site: "I began Pie as a photo blog in April of 2009, I wanted to make it my own little online magazine about the things I love. I also hope to inspire a little along the way by sharing what inspires me."

9. Pioneer Woman
is a blog about life in the country, cooking, family, love and home and has a rss feed on LJ too. It's a feel-good blog and she has a recipe for the *best* roast garlic potatoes.

From the about page: "Howdy. I’m Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman. I’m a moderately agoraphobic ranch wife and mother of four. Welcome to my frontier! Here, I write daily about my long transition from spoiled city girl to domestic country wife."

10. The Daily Coyote
The Daily Coyote is the blog of the life of Charlie, a coyote who was saved as a puppy and raised by Shreve Stockton. He lives with her, a tomcat and a hound in Wyoming. It's impossible not to be touched by this beautiful blog and love the photos Shreve posts.

11. OMG Kitty!
OMG Kitty! is the cutest blog ever. It's another photo blog, following the adventures of Katamari, a Scottish Fold cat who has a rather cushy life in Brooklyn.

12. Hello Kitty Hell
Hello Kitty Hell is one man's battle with Sanrio's Generalissimo of Cute, Hello Kitty. While I have been known to purchase HK items from time to time, I feel that I, personally, own more than enough HK merchandise to last me a lifetime.

That does not, however, stop me from laughing or boggling or both at some of the finds that end up featured on this blog.

13. Touropia
Tourtopia is travelling the world from the comfort of your living room at its best. There's also a rss feed on LJ.

From the blog: "Touropia is a rapidly growing travel blog focused on travel lists about world-wide destinations and other travel related topics."

From Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet and Titus Andronicus.

1. "There was a star danced, and under that was I born."

2. "Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever,-
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never."

3. "O that he were here to write me down an ass! But masters, remember that I am an ass: though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass."

4. "Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably."

5. "The head is not more native to the heart."

6. "My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules."

7. "The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel."

8. "Unhand me, gentlemen.
By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me!"

9. "You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal; except my life, except my life, except my life. "

10. "O happy man! they have befriended thee.
Why, foolish Lucius, dost thou not perceive
That Rome is but a wilderness of tigers?
Tigers must prey, and Rome affords no prey
But me and mine: how happy art thou, then,
From these devourers to be banished!"

11. "Rome could afford no tribune like to these.
A stone is soft as wax, tribunes more hard than stones:
A stone is silent, and offendeth not,
And tribunes with their tongues doom men to death."

12. "If one good deed in all my life I did,
I do repent it from my very soul."

13. "The dismall'st day is this that e'er I saw,
To be dishonour'd by my sons in Rome!
Well, bury him, and bury me next."

Thirteen Things That Made Me Happy Today.

1. Tiger Balm.
OMG. My neck is in blissful no pain right now.

2. Fresh, crusty bread.
Made into sandwiches with ham, baby spinach leaves and a light spread of chevre. Nomomom.

3. RAIN.
Where are you????

4. Bills paid.
There's a certain satisfaction to getting those annoyances out of the way.

5. Global Bloxx.
This is Nokia's version of Tetris and I am addicted to it, I love it.

6. Travel blogs.
Seriously. I love reading people's travel blogs, especially ones that are about the experiences in very out of the way places or dangerous places or closed places, like Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Siberia or North Korea.

7. Twitter.
Ah, my eternal love. LOL.

8. New Poster for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo".
I'm just going to link it. The poster speaks for itself. This will be a fabo film.

9. Hearing Yoo Seung Jun's new single.
Seriously. It's cute. And here.

10. Coke.
I feel this is also self-explanatory.

11. Not being sick today.
Yesterday was a hell prison of pain and sick and yuck. I feel almost human today and it's wonderful.

12. Being able to smell the sea.
When I go outside, I can smell the salt tang of the sea air. The breeze is blowing up from the beach. It's glorious.

13. My dinner plan for tonight.
Salmon with garlic, mash potatoes and baby spinach leaf salad. Nomomom.

I've been pretty quiet on the blogging front here the last several weeks, and I apologise for that. Things have been all varieties of hectic, so I haven't had the energy or the time to participate in things I enjoy that I normally would, like Six Sentence Sunday or Thursday Thirteen.

It's been a period of medical specialists and treatments and I think November is going to be pretty much eaten up by this. I've got at least two different things each week and it doesn't look to be calming down once we get into December, either. I'm hopeful that it will eventually calm down, because, if nothing else, I like my sleep!

I have managed to get quite a bit done in Nanowrimo this year, which is good. I'm writing book two of my Archangels series, this one I'm grappling with the title too. I have a feeling that every book in this series is going to be accompanied by a zillion different titles before I settle on one that suits the individual book. At the moment, the working title is Beings of Light and Dark, which is also a homage to one of my favourite novels by Roger Zelazny, but I don't know if it will stay that. I'm already looking at it and wrinkling my nose, which is not a good sign for the survival of that title. I fear its days are numbered.

In between writing and medical stuff, I've been absorbed by Tetris. That's about the extent of my brain power. However, I've been very, very lucky in that my physio is awesome and happily geeks out with me during my appointments over books and TV. My GP continues to be awesome, and the educator at the Diabetes Clinic is fantastic, too.

I'm glad to say that my CT scan and X-ray came up clear, so this means that the issues in my knees are as we first thought, soft tissue related. I just hope I don't have to have another MRI, as I hate enclosed spaces and the MRI is like a machine version of a tomb, in my opinion. I hate them. And I'm just putting it out there, universe: no alien probes for me, mmkay? Kthx.

I've hit a really enjoyable part in the novel, and writing this is great fun, so I'm really excited about the whole writing procedure at the moment. I had my fears that this book would actually hit the 50K word mark, but now I think it will get to my planned minimum word count of 70K words. If it goes over that, even better.

There's not really a lot else to report. It's warming up here as we move towards summer and I'm dreading it, as it's been pretty humid already and humidity is the worst thing, don't you think? It's like breathing water. I hate it. I can cope with the heat of the Aussie summer, but the humidity, ugh. Do not want!

Hope you're all doing well and I hope we'll all touch base with each other real soon.

Oh, and I'm at Four Strong Women on the 2nd of December, so do come and say hi and commiserate with me about having noisy and unruly neighbours!

Thirteen things I have done today.

Now, this probably doesn't seem like a Big Deal to most people, but when you're like me and have two bung knees and one bung wrist, this is a Herculean effort and I'm bloody chuffed with myself. (Plus a really sore face and jaw, thanks to yesterday's dental stuffs, but only two more to go and on December 1st, my mouth reno will FINALLY be complete. OMG I can't wait.)

The cat, however, is wandering around the living room, all wide-eyed, like I've just altered his entire universe. And thinking the gap on top of the entertainment unit means that it is a new space for HIM to sit his furry little arse. Uh, no, Castiel. You are not a telly. Don't even think about it.

1. Threw out a BIG box and garbage bag full of paper.
2. From the recliner armchair, upon which had collected the entire paper production of a small saw mill, it seems.
3. Shifted said recliner to next to the armchair.
4. Shifted the airconditioner into the spot vacated by the recliner. Which, now it's there, I should have done in the first place, when I got the sofa three years ago. Now the living room looks a whole lot bigger.
5. Cooked and ate a magnificent lasagna.
6. Had a wee lie down.
7. Shifted a very heavy wooden trunk full of medieval garb into the bedroom. This trunk is heavy enough empty that a Strong Male Friend (tm) had to carry it for me when I bought it, some twelve years ago. So how did I move it? I pushed it along the floor.
8. Washed some dishes.
9. Changed the cat litter. Castiel still thinks he has to tunnel to China when he uses the litter tray.
10. Put out the non-working dvd player that is something like seven years old for hard rubbish. That was six hours ago; I went outside and it's now gone. As I knew it would be. Hard rubbish around here rarely ends up going to the tip.
11. Dusted. ACHOO!
12. Read twitter, LJ and the rest of the things I read on the interwebs daily.
13. Spoke on the telling bone to mum. (Which reminds me I need to look for a new phone because this old landline thing is slowly dying.)

All of this? In honour of a new telly arriving tomorrow morning, for which I am terribly excite. My current one is analog, twelve years old, dying and the digital set top box is five years old and dying. The new telly will be awesome.

Because I'm working on City of Jade right now, things historical are on my mind. So this week's 13 is traditional and folk music of thirteen locations that make an appearance in City of Jade.

1. Byzantium.
This isn't technically from Byzantium, because all the period music I can find is religious and I refuse to believe the people of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire had no other kind of music. Such a cosmopolitan empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, with such a rich culture and heritage would in no way, not by any anthropological pattern, have no other form of musical expression. /rant.

So here is a medieval dance piece - The Three Basse Dance.

2. Goreme to Antioch.
I chose Irfan for the Turkic lands, because they play traditional instruments with original songs written about the history of Turkey. This one is Return to Outremer, Outremer being the Holy Lands and what the Crusaders called it during the Third Crusade in the twelfth century.

3. The Holy Lands: Syria and the Levant.
Traditional music with a slight twist - only because of the dance in the video, which I wanted to include because it's a beautiful dance. So here is Autumn Ward: Rose of Damascus.

4. Persia.
The beautiful traditional rythyms and dance of Tajik-Persia. Folk music and dance of Persia.

5. Uzbekistan.
I think this is a tourist video from a cafe in Bukhara, but I also think it's as true to the history and culture of pre-Mongol Uzbekistan as I can find on Youtube. Having said that, the bored expressions on the faces of the dancers are made up by the fantastic overrobe the young woman explaining the music and dance is wearing, and of course, the music and dance itself. Uzbek traditional music and dance.

6. Turkmenistan.
This is only eleven seconds long but it's so awesome, I had to post it. I can just imagine Misahuen and Gallienus riding up that causeway towards the fortress with that music sounding in their ears.

7. Kyrgyzstan.
A group of young ladies playing the Komuz, shot at a wedding. Short clip but well worth watching for the incredible talent. Kyrgyz traditional music.

8. Turpan Oasis, China.
Because Turpan has belonged to various nations and empires over the passage of history, it's known by several different names depending which country you happen to be in. Turpan is the simplified Mandarin name, although it is also known as Turfan and Tulufan. It's at the north-eastern end of the former Shanshan Kingdom. This is a fabulous video of local dancers and musicians. Uyghur dancers and musicians in Grape valley near Turpan.

9. Chang'an, China.
Ah, Youtube, you did not disappoint me. This is a piece by the Ensemble Conservatoire Superieur de Xi'an (Chang'an). This piece is from the T'ang dynasty and is called Yu Lin Ling, which means 'The Sound of Rain on a Bell'. The story of this piece is as follows: Following a rebellion in 756AD, the emperor, Minghuang, was exiled to the west. The patter of the rain on a wooden bridge reminded him of the sound of the bell, his homeland and his love. Later, the emperor was to associate this piece with his love for his concubine, Yang.

10. The Gobi Desert and The Great Wall.
I have no idea what he's singing, I don't know who he is, This is from the Chinese TV show Taizu Mishi; the traditional Chinese art is gorgeous, the video clip is epic, the music is very stirring and epic and his armour is *fantastic*, a really lovely suit of Qing Dynasty armour. (Which is also very heavy.) So, here is Jing Zhong Bao Guo by Tu Hong Gang. From 2006.

11. Hangzhou, China.
Something a bit different. This is the musical fountain light show at West Lake, Hangzhou. Each night, there is a music, fountain and light show on the lake for the public.

12. Tian Mu Mountain, China.
And now for something completely different... Huiping Mo perfoms yoga asanas on Tian Mu Mountain. This clip has some breathtaking shots of the scenery of Tian Mu (which means 'Eye on Heaven') and is where Misahuen and Gallienus' story concludes.

13. Secular Byzantine Music.
While the Orthodox church might have tried to stamp it out, it couldn't get rid of non-religious music entirely. And huzzah, I found some. Byzantium's secular music tradition is being painstakingly restored by Greek musicologist, Christodoulos Halaris. So here is A Border Guard Was Building a Castle, which sounds to me like a melodic fusion of the Persian and Turkic sounds with western European courtly music. For those interested, Kourostatis' channel has oodles and oodles of Byzantine secular music.