Sun & Moon

Maybe it is about finding a balance. Now that the social communication is no more restricted, and we can freely travel and go to events and hobbies as well if we like, it takes a bit of time to find out where the puzzle pieces should lie for us to feel well. For me the most reading-time-consuming things (apart from working) are doing sports, learning to play bass, spending time with my fiancé, and communicating with my family and friends. I do read, bit by bit. At the moment I'm reading The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen (in Finnish, the original language). My father recommended this book for me. It's the first part of a trilogy, and it's hilarious and absurd. I can't recall laughing so much while reading in years. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B8J35QQ6?binding=hardcover&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_thcv Side note: I'd love to have a house with a front porch. Our summer cottage with it's large porch is so far away that a relaxing reading or bass playing session only takes place during summer or autumn on my vacation. But I do have a balcony facing a beautiful park, and I have used this place for reading. That's quite nice, too.

Wow!

I'm very sorry to hear this. My condolences to your brother who's just lost a beloved pet. It must feel empty in the house for a lengthy time.

That's nothing to be ashamed of. Horror's not my cup of tea at all, either.

Meeting family at my sister's birthday today. Such a lovely party. We ate well. I sang karaoke with my sister. I gave a short speech. People had fun, the kids played in the big house, my sister and her family and my cousin joined a group hug before I left. I've never had one before. In a bus back home I met a nice person who's a music professional. We just started talking spontaneously. He had his custom made guitar and his violins in cases, and that gave a good start for chatting. It turned out he lives in the same neighborhood with his wife who also is a musician. It's so nice to meet open-hearted, friendly folks.

Clementine, Book One by Tillie Walden. Seems like another tough one from one of the top graphic novel artists of today. I'm not the kind that has ever enjoyed or can watch horror films or series. This graphic novel, based loosely on the Walking Dead character Clementine, is beautifully illustrated (as the works by Walden tend to be). The walkers, too, are horribly beautiful. Since one of them attacked me in a nightmare I had after reading the first twenty pages of the book I had to reconsider my choice but then decided to see how Clementine's surviving. The story seems to have just enough layers to carry through the first book, but I'm not sure if I'm going to endure the anxiety that is present in that post-apocalypse setting, and foremost, the slow proceeding of the story. I'm not at all familiar with the Walking Dead world so I have no idea who Clementine is and how she's been portrayed in other WD products.

I'm sorry for the loss of your buddy.

I wish you strength and wisdom through this very hard time.

I'm sorry to hear this. My condolences.

Great news! Congratulations, Nova! Have you already met the newborn?

Happy, happy Birthday, Super25Smasher!

I really enjoy graphic novels, have been loving them since my teens. In the 1990s I read the Corto Maltese adventures by Hugo Pratt, various works by Robert Crumb, Ghost World by Daniel Clowes, and such. I like stories that are touching, funny, bizarre, cranky, melancholic... Here's a couple I've read within the past few years - I don't know about the recommendations, though :) . - Blankets by Craig Thompson. (A beautiful story about growing out of teens.) - Melody : A Story of a Nude Dancer by Sylvie Rancourt. (A witty and sympathetic Canadian autobiographical account from the 1980's with naivistic graphics.) - Megg, Mogg, & Owl by Simon Hanselmann. (What can I say..? Be prepared for.. anything. I've found myself laughing my lungs out on some very suspicious turns of events .) - Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life by Ulli Lust. (Hitch-hiking and lessons learned.) - Shit Is Real by Aisha Franz. (In all it's avant-gardism, this is a perfect description of a broken heart.) - Spinning by Tillie Walden. (How can Walden catch loneliness and abandonment with just a few colours?) - The Twilight Man : Rod Serling and the Birth of Television by Koren Shadmi. (A bit boring, but I wasn't familiar with the Serling story itself.) - In Waves by A. J. Dungo. (Fine graphics, and a big plus for the surfing history subplot, but this sad, sad story was too long.) One of my favourite graphic novels of all times is Kosmista kauhua ("Cosmic Horror") by Aapo Rapi and Peppe Koivunen. It is a story about a vampire and his friend whose relaxed way of life is suddenly interrupted as a bureaucrate knocks on the castle door. What follows is an encountering with modern horrors with both bureaucracy and prejudice by "the normal". This sounds like a really sad story but is written with a warm and empathetic touch and illustrated with bold colours. The album has been translated from Finnish to French.

Happy Birthday Turbine Freight!

Many happy returns, librarian!

Puffball by Fay Weldon. The first novel by Weldon I've ever read. So far the story seems clever and fresh.

This may be one of the best Christmas poems I've read recently.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Love Sense: the Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships by Susan M. Johnson (the Finnish translation). Truly a game changer.

Today is the independence day in Finland. I'm glad to be celebrating it, especially concerning what has been done in Ukraine by our common neighbouring country. I lighted up two candles and placed them by the window like has been done for about a hundred years. I have a kind of a solemn feeling.

Thank you Rhyta.

I remember reading The Picture of Dorian Gray maybe 15 years ago, and what I recall of it was some kind of a stagnated emotion and perplexion. A very ambitious and skilled newer (2012) translation of Ulysses to Finnish has been on my reading list for many years now. As is another massive and tricky one day novel, a Finnish classic Alastalon salissa by Volter Kilpi (1933). It is probably THE book that most often is being left aside after a while because it is such a peculiar (but highly praised) book. My father can, however, boast of really have read that masterpiece. But he is a man with a lot of patience and curiosity. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastalon_salissa

Same here. On the very day My Effin' Life was published the commercial audio book service that I've occasionally used happened to offer me one month/20 hours of listening time for 0,10 €! So I can enjoy Geddy reading his memoir for no money at all. Quite a timing! I've only listened one hour to the section where Geddy describes the aftermaths of passing of his father. Not an easy read, but quite interesting so far.

It would be nice to try a bass with fanned frets for just to hear and feel how it is. It could take a while to get accustomed to those frets, but anything that gives more low end...

Happy Birthday, ST3V! Hope you enjoyed your day!