A little later than planned... but isn't it always? ;-)

Anyway, slowly the "Gothic November" projects begins to take form:
I'll not be writing reviews about the movies or films (or whatever other thing I might include in this), except if I manage to write a review for the Period Drama Challenge and maybe combine the two projects (I have about 7 unfinished, but started, reviews for the PDC here... I really have to get them online!). So maybe I'll watch Dracula and review it for both challenges, maybe Sleepy Hollow as well, we'll see.
It's mid of November and tthis is a kind of final list, maybe with options, anyway no must-do-all-of-it list.
But I have a few goals I want to reach as a minum:
Read one short story (e.g. Poe, Gaskell, Dickens, etc.) per week; watch two movies per week and finish one book.
And another thing, my November this year last at least one week into December, as I'm kind of skipping next week to take a lovely, but not at all dark and spooky holiday...

... and here's the new list (with way too much stuff to do in just one month, so this is just brainstorming and maybe also collecting ideas for another Gothic month next year?):


Read:
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
- E.A. Poe (The Masque of the Red Death;)
- The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters
- No Name
- E.Gaskell short story
- Udolpho
- DuMaurier
- Les Fleurs du mal
- The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Vampyre by Wiliam Polidori
- Villette by Charlotte Brontë
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- Anne Rice
- The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
- The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
- Mr. Darcy, Vampire
- Dragonwyck by Anya Seton
- Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
- The Manuscript Found in Saragossa by Jan Potocki
- The Italian by Ann Radcliffe

Watch:
- Dracula (
√ - Sleepy Hollow
- Wuthering Heights (2x)
- The Phantom of the Opera (Charles Dance version)
- Carrie
- Interview with the Vampire
- Jane Eyre (version?)
- Rosemary's Baby
- The Night of the Living Dead
- the Skeleton Key
- The Grudge
- The Woman in White
- From Hell
- Shining
- Heavenly Creatures
- The Munsters
- The Crow
- Lost Highway
- The Corpse Bride
- Snow White (Miranda Richardson)
- Rebecca (2 versions)
- hush, hush sweet Charlotte
- The Others
- The Moonstone
- Make a special from all series I have on DVD with their Halloween episodes


TA DA!

And back later with a report... ;-)

So Halloween's done with (actually I kind of skipped Halloween... or does watching a documentation about how Russian woman try to get richer count as spooky?), less fuss about it this year, I had the feeling.
But I'm in a kind of spooky and eerie mood and declare November to be my personal Gothic Month!
I'm really embracing the Gothic mood as it is: last night while riding the bus I am pretty sure there was an invisible man sitting right behind me. I'm reading "The Legend of Sleeping Hollow" by Washington Irving (via dailylit.com) right now, so maybe I got a bit dragged along... but I swear, there was an invisible man sitting right behind me! The bus was empty except for me and the driver and I was sitting in the backmost part. And someone was coughing and clearing their throat constantly. I looked around several times, because I startled and was confused. And I really felt like someone was present... It was really spooky!

Anyway, back to the November - The Gothic Month:
It'll be my own personal challenge (while anybody interested of course can take part!). I'll try to watch as many gruesome movies as possible and read as many nightmarish books as possible.

I have a little list ready (just what came from brainstorming) and will see how it goes. Some of those I already started reading, some are not really too gothic, I'll see, what else comes my way.
As of now I only have this idea of my Gothic Month, but no real "goal", like how many movies to watch etc. But maybe that will change...

Here's the temporary list:

Read:
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
- E.A. Poe stories
- The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters
- No Name
- E.Gaskell short story
- Udolpho
- DuMaurier

Watch:
- Dracula
- Sleepy Hollow
- Wuthering Heights (2 different versions)
- The Phantom of the Opera (Charles Dance version)

+ So getting to my 8am lecture this morning in time did actually work (and I manged to stay awake for at least 45 minutes, before fighting the sleep got in way with being able to follow the prof's speech). I would only hope that the lecture would remain as interesting for the rest of the seminar as this part is... I just love to hear about the ancient Romans...

+ The highfalutin lit-art-philosophy-seminar last week was a bit overwhelming indeed. I am still not quite sure, what the exact point is (but that's normal, I guess) and feel kind of overstrained* and inadequate, well... we'll see how that goes. My topic in the seminar (or part of it), is Bachtin's view of bodies... hm, I'm trying to find out about that.

+ Yesterday I held a genuine book from 1772 in my hands - oh, how I love that! I can order any books from the library and end up touching (or maybe even reading!) those really old books. And that without any precaution (aside from them keeping the books locked in a safe until I want to read them). Not that I question this availableness of books to everybody, but handing out gloves to protect a 327 year old book from my hand's oils and acids wouldn't hurt too much.

+ Dreary weather lately, real "stew-weather". All dark and foggy and wet... I'll be heading over to the cafeteria now and see what they have.


Funny, mainly study-related entries lately... but I don't do much else lately. I would want to, however!



(*see more about that over in the old place...)

First day of the semester... I hate first days of the semester (all those "freshmen"! So many of them! Always standing everywhere in line for something or standing in crowds, walking in hordes, waiting in bunches, everywhere...), but I love the first week of a new semester, all is fresh, you think you can do it all, finding out about all the classes you're going to take...

Actually I skipped three of four possible classes today, because I still haven't finished this one paper, and as I already have another one due next week, I'm determined to finish it today.
I went, however, to my Ivo Andrić class, now I want to read everything he has ever written, and a biography, too... I'm certain this is going to be an interesting class, but I have a lot of reading ahead of me there.

So, my other seminar in literature (or rather art or philosophy) is on thursday. I'm slightly scared because I don't really know what to expect and also because it is a seminar for the so called elite degree program "Historical Discourses of art and images" (or something of the sort) - ain't that fancy! But we "normal" post-preliminary students are admitted also...

Anyway. I'm so tired right now, my head still aches and all I want to do is sleep and sleep. I do not want to get up at 7am and go to that stupid lecture about History of Romanic languages (the lecture probably isn't stupid at all, but to hold it so early in the morning is just mean!).

No, I won't pull an all-nighter. What a dreary thing to do anyway (if it's not to do something fun that is...).
It's close to 3 am and I'll be getting some sleep now, in front of the tv probably, but sleep none the less.

I tried to finish that paper on Catherine the Great and censorship today, but I really couldn't. Aside from a lack of time and motivation I got a really bad headache, too, and now I feel like I'm getting a cold... no wonder anyway, it's not fall here anymore, no, it's winter already, a bit of snow and it's freezing (as in water becomes ice outside). It's supposed to be warmer coming week, but still. I'm only glad my Whoogas are here already! More golden they are, than what I would have wished for, but what warm feet they make!

Wow, I tend to blabber, when I'm tired.
Anyway, there's nothing cuter than a cat licking/drinking milk (what's the word for that?) and nothing more annoying than a cat demanding attention while you try to work on a paper...

Tomorrow is the first day of the new semester... I'm going to skip two out of three classes...

And I'm gone for now.

So, long time no update? Well, first I've been busy, real busy. And then I got lazy about writing, real lazy. Unwilling you might say. So, no updates, no reviews, no letters, no papers, no nothing which would have required more than a sentence...
but, I do hope I'm over this phase now, as the new semester starts next week and I have two papers due (well, actually more than two, but two really urgent ones - urgent partly owing to the mentioned lack of writing enthusiasm).

Not that I accomplished anything today. Didn't really do much for my two papers which I have to hand in by the end of the week. But another thing gives me some peace of mind:
I think I made up my mind today. Finally. Study literature it shall be.
I should have decided whether to focus on literary studies or linguistics about a year ago, but somehow never could.
I cannot forget about linguistics completely anyway, won't be rid of it, as I still have to do my preliminaries in Spanish linguistics (much dreaded exam, which I have to find out more about this semester, so maybe I can prepare for it...)
But to bring my main studies to an end someday I'll focus on literature. Why tantalize myself with linguistics, which I find terribly interesting, but never really got warm with? While doing literature analysis and theories come just so natural to me.
Funny, just while I was typing this (sitting int the library this afternoon) my favorite Russian literature professor came by and stopped, just to ask me how I was. Sign? Fate? Omen? I had a very short conversation with her in an elevator last semester (did I report that?), where she told me I needn't entirely focus on either subject, but might be able to combine both, which really did encourage me. Such a lovely woman she is. I must visit her lecture this coming semester.

Well, I'm off now to try and book my lectures and seminars for the next semester online. Yay, great fun (note the irony), all students of our university are supposed to book all their lectures online for the first time, all at once. And then you're not supposed to get into any seminar you didn't book in the first place. Gosh. I never had to sign up for any of my classes before, never. I'm certain it's going to be a huge disaster and will not work at all and I'll spend the first week in the semester to try and sort out my schedule.

(Well, to many italics in this post, as Emily's Mr. Carpenter would say.)

Could I have used this last half hour to do something for my papers? Well, yes. But no, I didn't. I'm tired.

I'll be participating in the Period Drama Challenge of one of my favorite blogs: Lights, Camera... History!.
It's a year-long challenge with different levels (I'll take the highest... come on! It's about watching movies! ;) ) and different themes (where I haven't yet decided on one or two). Great idea! :)



And while I did already start watching, I don't have time to write any reviews right now, but will post a list of candiates for my challenge (and maybe even get the theme from there...).

As of now I want to watch:
- Emily Clims (tv series)
- Jeeves&Wooster (tv series)
- De Legende van de Bokkenrijders ( tv series)
- Tess of the d'Ubervilles (twice... the Nastasja Kinsky one and also the one with Justine Wadell)
- A Good Woman
- Romea&Julia(Zeffirelli verison)
- Draculas Brides (well, if that fits the criteria... but why not?)
- The Secret Garden
- Middlemarch (BBC)
- Lady Chatterley (mini-series)
...and probably many more, we'll see what comes along. :)

Well, and there's also the second season of "Rome", but I'm not sure I should include this here, as it may take years, till I finaly watch it, like it is with so many great things...

So I hope I'll post the first review next week (I already watched the olf BBC-version of "Mansfield Park" over the last two weeks...)

Just a few thoughts...

+ I'm in love with Olivia de Havilland; (I bought this wonderful Errol Flynn boxset because of Errol Flynn of course, but I find that I adore her at least as much!)

+ Somehow, despite my misantropism, I really do feel blessed (and that's the wrong word, but I've got no better) how many really, really intesely precious people I know and have or had in my life. [/sappy mode off]

+ there're several book and movie reviews I wanted to write and haven't yet... stuff that clutters my mind

+ I need a Beatles CD! Or better all Beatles records (well, not "Yesterday", I hate that one)

+ Part of my love for Jane Austen might come from the fact that in her books the days of the characters are always so organized. Not that much would happen, but this nothing is finely organized, late breakfasts, talking a walk for exercise (another great concept!), tea, visitors that may only stay a quarter of an hour, evenings spent with reading - all that seems like a perfect holiday to me.

Aside from that I'm in way over my head with school stuff. Argh. And I'd love to do a perfect presentation on friday, but again I don't have enough time left and I hate it!

Anyway, the rain prevails...

Well, now, it's decided. I was pondering about this for a while and now since the UN actually did ratify this absurd resolution against blasphemy (or as a PDF), I will join the movement of worshippers of the FSM (see: Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or in short, what Wiki says).



One of the first things I would pledge myself to do is learn how to spell spaghetti (I do think that I already spell it correctly most of the times, but I'm always doubting myself, which certainly can't be good for any Pirate).

Of course, you wouldn't want to jump the gun over such a decision, I was also debating to rather become a follower of the Invisible Pink Unicorn (also a very nice abbrevation: IPU), invent my own private Russell's teacup or maybe just be the creator of a sencient puddle (which, I even may do at some later point in my life, who knows, a sencient puddle does indeed have a special attraction), all in all however I think think the Flying Spaghetti Monster suits best my needs.

And this summs the rest up, I guess:
"The reason organized religion merits outright hostility is that, unlike belief in Russell's teapot, religion is powerful, influential, tax-exempt and systematically passed on to children too young to defend themselves. Children are not compelled to spend their formative years memorizing loony books about teapots. Government-subsidized schools don't exclude children whose parents prefer the wrong shape of teapot. Teapot-believers don't stone teapot-unbelievers, teapot-apostates, teapot-heretics and teapot-blasphemers to death. Mothers don't warn their sons off marrying teapot-shiksas whose parents believe in three teapots rather than one. People who put the milk in first don't kneecap those who put the tea in first."
- Richard Dawkins. A Devil's Chaplain. Houghton Mifflin.

Why oh why can't I just write this stupid paper?
It's ridiculous. I've now spent close to three weeks considering to think about deciding on a topic!
I actually find the subject interesting and I do have some research done (only I did not really find helpful stuff), but I can't make myself go to the library and get started. Dreadful.
But I do keep thinking about this everyday...

There's another Me laughing about this unreasonable, procrastinating, dtupidly not-writing Me somewhere.
I only wish there was yet another Me around here, which would do some kicking my ass.

So I'm sitting here in my living room and am close to crying for the simple reason that I long so bad to go to Spain.