el_oquent

This day's attempted to think of a suitable quote was thwarted by Mr. Shuffle, which gave me a live version of Our Lady of Sorrows. 'Nuff said. :p
It was given to me at a good time, since I seriously needed a pick-me-up that moment, so thanks, Mr. Shuffle and Mr. Way.

Now, this day started with me going to distribute those bigger ads. I started with my home uni, which is a 14-story building - woohoo!

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I just had the bright idea of starting every post of my BAV (Business Ad-Venturing) record with an MCR quote, but then inadvertently remembered what line my shuffle gave me a second after I told Meda about my idea to call my 'brand' 'iType'. Which was 'the girl's not right in the brain'.

I was not let down for more than a few seconds, though, because Medical assured me that 'he must approve of insane things from time to time', and I realised that indeed, coming from Gerard 'not right in the brain' is a huge compliment. XD

So, the first day of my adventuring started out... badly, actually.
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Warning: this post does not pretend to be politically correct or polite, contains no disclaimers and/or apologies to Stephenie Meyers or fans of the Twilight Saga, and the author means every word of it.

By way of an epigraph:
'meyers is 4 lil' kids who r eitha 2scared or 2 lame brain 2appreciate da tru essence of a night walker!!'

However allergic I normally am to netspeak, the above quote really sounds like a wail of an anguished soul that had watched a favourite legend, to paraphrase my beloved Terry Pratchett, 'mugged, ravished, stripped of all true meaning and decency and then sent to walk the gutter' for Stephenie Meyers. I can feel your pain, friend.
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This is the result of me deciding to be a more thorough fan and listening more attentively to songs from Bullets (to those of you living in an MCR-deprived environment, that's I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, their first album, the one I listened to the least up to date, but also the one that has Vampires).

The drabble was inspired by the song Demolition Lovers.

Lyrics
( Lyrics )

Now, the song, as well the concept of the album itself, is about a rather Bonnie-and-Clydesque couple. My drabble started out as being along the same lines, but mutated in the process as I realised that in reality, Scott and Alice are just kids, and are sooner trying to make things sound more dramatic (particularly Scott) than are actually in trouble. Anyway, without further ado:

Earrings
( Earrings )

This is it, the first big day in my php career. The day when I put the first official test version of DL online for user testing. There's still heaps to do, but it's more behind the scenes, and it's mostly usable now. A very official alpha, in my opinion.

*extremely proud of self*

~El

Снова замерло всё до рассвета,
Мышь не пискнет, не падает лист,
Только слышно - на клавишах где-то
Одинокий уснул программист...
(c) bash.org.ru

Well, it's been what, four hours since I spammed in Rosie's comments urging myself to get creative instead of writing about it, and I've been coding ever since, and now just need something to unload my brain, since I feel tired (but not sleepy), lonely and hungry.

Listing achievements is always a good thing, right?
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(No, I couldn't resist.)
So... to sum up.
Time since beginning of read-a-thon: 24 hours
Of which reading: 16 hours
Of which sleeping: 8 hours (shame on me!)
List progress:

1. 
   Lord of the Rings - prologue and chapter one done. (65 pages).
   
2. The Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb - didn't get to;
   
3. The Mayfair Witches saga by Anne Rice - didn't get to;
   
4. Some excerpt from Alchemical Tractates by Basilius Valentinus - seven pages read and digested, more or less;
   
5. History of Chivalry - read in entirety (243 pages);
   
6. Scary Fairies - read in entirety (45 pages);
   
7. The Catcher in the Rye - read in entirety (115 pages).
   

This makes it 5 items out of 7 a success (and 475 pages). I guess I would've made a start on the remaining two as well, had I not fallen asleep (I blame the cold).

Impressions:

• Lord of the Rings - the language does not seem difficult this time around. Will continue reading;
  
• History of Chivalry - starting from the middle, it stops being a book for a leisurely read, but remains one very useful for anyone writing about medieval times. Also, made me want to re-read Ivanhoe.
  
• The Catcher in the Rye - Blew My Mind.
  

With this, I am signing off. This was fun, and a great way to get my hands on the books I otherwise couldn't get to, and a great brain stimulation (even if said brain was getting very blurry at points... although I guess a woozy and sleep-deprived state was just right for reading about a protagonist in a woozy and sleep-deprived state), and an inspiration for some ramble-posts in the nearest future.

Congratulations to all Read-A-Thonners, a big thank you for Emma and Rosie who cheered me, and a special Thank You to SHANRA who, in addition to the cheering, got me to actually participate here. Love you all!

~El

Time spent since last post: sleeping and dreaming a few interesting dreams, and woken up just as I was about to save someone from something supernatural.

Back to business and reading Lord of the Rings.

Time left to read: 2.5 hours.

Time elapsed: 13 hours (o_O)
Pages: 243 + 7 + 45 + 115 = 410
Books finished since update: The Catcher in the Rye
Total progress: 4 items out of 7

Just finished Catcher. Under some serious impact. I guess that the fact that I've read it before and couldn't remember a single thing about it meant that I had read it at the wrong time. Right now, though... Yes, very definitely the right time for it.

Can't write impressions about the book without going on a long, long ramble - or several. I think I'm going to take a break now - not because I'm sleepy, I'm more ill than sleepy, actually - but rather, I just feel I need a break to digest this book before I can move on to anything else.

If I manage to get a few hours of sleep while at it - all the better.

~El

P.S. And yes, including MCR as a tag for this post was not a slip-up. Not at all.

Time elapsed: seven hours
Pages read: 243 + 7 + 45
List progress: 3 items down, 4 to go.

The fairytales were really nice - but not nearly as scary as I was expecting. ;)

Hmm, if I were to pick a favourite one... I'd say The Child That Went With the Fairies. I liked the image of little Billy's ghost/spirit/presence/whatever appearing in the house some time after his disappearance.

In the tale of Enthna the Bride, this made me giggle:
"But the young lord had a brave heart, and he made the men go on with the work;"
Indeed, it takes a brave heart to give orders to people. :p

Hmm, and now I think I'll try my luck with Catcher in the Rye... But first - coffee!

~El

Time elapsed: six and a bit hours
Pages read: 243 + 7 (yes, only 7 pages in the last hour because it's Alchemy)
Which amounts to: one book and a bit, BUT two items on my list, because my original intention was to read as much of the alchemical text as I can stomach without a brain drain

Seriously, though, this stuff is fascinating, especially everything about metals. On one hand, there are seven metals with a planet for each. On the other hand, metals are referred to as living matter, and Valentinus writes that 'during creation, the Creator gave to each matter, so that it would not decline and disappear, seeds with which humans, animals, herbs and metals could multiply.' Therefore, this would mean that metals are just as sacred as all life, because they are, from this point of view, alive. He also says that 'only the supreme Creator may create such seeds, otherwise the man could become a Creator too, which cannot be, as this power belongs only to the Great Almighty'. Considering the modern-day science, man-made elements of the periodic table, and nuclear synthesis, I can sum up that we, meaning mankind, are pretty much screwed! :p

And on this lovely note, I will read fairy stories.
~El

Time elapsed: five hours (o_O)
Pages read: 242
Which amounts to books: 1
Books completed: History of Chivalry by Just-Jean-Etienne Roy

So... first book complete. I must say that the first 88 pages I posted about were the most interesting part of the book. The rest was mostly descriptions of various rituals and tales of warriors of old. However, I have the following points of (alleged) interest to make:
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Time elapsed: two hours
Pages read: 88
Which amounts to books: 0,37
Book: History of Chivalry by Just-Jean-Etienne Roy, translation to Russian

It's a book I bought a few years ago and couldn't really get my hands on, except for a few pages here and there. Just some thoughts I've had along the way:
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Where are you reading from today?
My favourite corner of the couch, as the original plans to maybe go out to some coffeeshop were put on hold by a sore throat.

3 facts about me …
- I'm a very happy freelancer and aspiring php programmer;
- I love coffee and resent any accusations of being an addict!;
- I saw a 3D movie about sea life yesterday and squealed like a five-year-old when I saw seals right in front of my face!

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
Seven, most of them quite big... I just don't have small books, it seems.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
I don't think it's physically possible to finish some of the books on my pile in 24 hours even if I read one book non-stop, so my main goals (as I'm new to this) are:
- actually survive the 24 hours or as long as I can;
- make useful notes from my alchemy book, which will hopefully inspire some potion ideas for my Severus Snape fanfic(s);
- just have fun!

~El *who is off to read History of Chivalry*

This is something written rather randomly and inspired by a wonderfully creeeeeeepy picture.

***********************

The air was the special kind of cold that you only get right before dawn, and even the whitening colour of the sky seemed to carry that chill. ( Read more... )

Seeing there's little time left, I think I'll post a tentative list of the books I will be getting my hands on during the Read-A-Thon...

1. Lord of the Rings (second attempt to read in in English; the first one was years ago);
2. The Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb;
3. The Mayfair Witches saga by Anne Rice;
4. Some excerpt from Alchemical Tractates by Basilius Valentinus (small doses only!);
5. History of Chivalry (can't find the proper spelling of the author's name in English);
6. Scary Fairies - Four Fearful Tales of the Fey (sounds fun!)
7. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (don't ask why I suddenly remembered about this book... I've read it once before, in Russian, and I guess it's high time I read it in English.)

That's it for now. I know it's verrrrry small, but I'm new to this. ;)

~El

For all my telling myself to wait with the posting and analysis before I have the time, I get to it when I should be doing something else... Again. Ah, well, here we go.

Song: Vampires Will Never Hurt You (by - guess who!)
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Well, it's 3-26 am, I'm on page 6 of the 16 pages I should've done by now, and what do I do? Get a coffee and get to blogging, of course, as any normal freelancing nightowl should.

So, just something I obviously need to get out of my system. My Chemical (or Alchemical, as befits?) Romance.
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Well, I never really used this before, but now that I signed up for the Read-A-Thon (while helpfully providing a WRONG link in my sign-up information), I guess I'll make a start.

And yes, I am fully aware that this just THE right kind of theme for a reader-oriented blog. ^_~

~El

EDIT: Rosie, dearest, if you're reading this, know that I can hear your jaw hitting the floor all the way here. :p