small world :: byd bach

relocating the blog

nospam@example.com (rita) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:45:55 +0200

construction work is well under way. find the new blog here.

all things must come to an end

nospam@example.com (rita) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:14:55 +0200

today i received an email from the admins that they are going to shut down 1on in two weeks. so from here on out, i'll be busy saving my data instead of producing new one. thanks to everyone who has read and commented over the years. it was fun, while it lasted.

just brought out the heavy artillery

nospam@example.com (rita) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 07:25:57 +0200

it's not yet 7.30 in the morning and i just pushed a batch of brownies in the oven. i have a baking reputation to lose if i don't make up for the lacklustre reception of the savouriy short cakes from last week. so my heavy duty brownies it is then. death. by. chocolate! do your magic!!!

blueberry blossoms

nospam@example.com (rita) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:49:54 +0200

or: the bit of the bunch of flowers in the vase that has survived the feline onslaught. after a week stuck in the vase, the buds have finally opened up. now all that's left for easter is the cherry blossoms to come out, too.
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the joys of listening to independent local radio stations

nospam@example.com (rita) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 20:20:26 +0200

the programme switched in the last hour from classical music to grind core, but not without forgetting to squeeze in german lady rap. i love this radio station! and right now they are elaborating on the etymology of 'fuck'. and it's not even 10 pm.

cabaret (1972)

nospam@example.com (rita) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:00:27 +0200

after having stumbled across a blog on the topic a while back, i had started to watch a couple of films in b&w instead of their intended techinicolor in order to see whether the author was right and there are indeed a number of films that would have actually been better had they been intended as b&w films. one of these examples in case is cabaret (1972) by bob fosse. it's remarkable just how much better and much more dramatic it looks with the colour switched off. all of a sudden, the film is acquiring an almost documentary-style kind of look and also shows off the marvelous lighting used on the sets. it's absolutely mind-blowing. but see for yourselves.
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three guesses who'll be presenting a paper in st andrews this august

nospam@example.com (rita) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:16:09 +0200

elementary sherlocking: 'the three gables' (1926)

nospam@example.com (rita) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:41:26 +0200

as of late, i've been running behind my self-imposed reading schedule once again and the head start is once more dropping away as i'm writing up these reviews. i'm only about a handful of stories short from having read through the entire canon. and currently that jane austen woman is keeping me busy with her most wondrous tale about the dashwood sisters. but once that novel is finished in a few days, i'll return to the holmesverse so that this project will see more than just the light at the end of the tunnel. so without further ado, let's have a look at that house with the three gables.
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a voice of cream and honey -- and booze

nospam@example.com (rita) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:57:18 +0200

find behind the cut a delightful interview that young master o'toole gave to the beeb in 1960 -- before he went off to the jordanian desert to ride his camel gladys for the next two years and emerge on the other side of that project covered in dust but world famous. he may have been only 28 years old at that point, but you can already hear his great talent with words which he proved much later in his two autobiographies. he's one of those guys who'd be able to read the phonebook of greater london, the only problem is, though, that you'd have a difficult time sitting through it because the voice is so soothing.
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cherry short cakes with chocolate glazing

nospam@example.com (rita) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:39:01 +0200

it all started with 4 eggs left over from last monday when i set out to make a sheet of muffins. today, i was overcome once more by the urge to bake something and settled on my fail-save recipe for short cakes. only to be stumped again by the realization that this is one of the recipes in my cook book that doesn't call for eggs. having made sure that i hadn't copied faulty instructions from the original recipe, the cakes went in the oven a mere 15 minutes later. truly, no eggs needed -- and i'm still left wondering what to do with those 4 from earlier this week.

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cat content

nospam@example.com (rita) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 10:59:01 +0200

it's sunday. before i return to yet another fabulous amy dillwyn novel, there be cat pictures. perhaps i should put these on the adverts for the room i've been advertising to let for the past three weeks. spots of light generate cats. perhaps spots of cats generate new flatmates...
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sprrrring is here

nospam@example.com (rita) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:31:20 +0100

birds are calling. skunks are crawling... well, maybe not the latter, granted this is central europe. but spring is here no less and i took the camera for a first outing around the park -- and later on joined kati and her parents for the official annual commencement of the barbeque season in their garden. now all that's left is for the temperatures to pick up some more. but let's not rush it and just enjoy the first sunshine that's drawing all the people from their wintry hiding holes.

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i just poked myself in the eye with my crucifix pendant

nospam@example.com (rita) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 09:14:26 +0100

if you think that is painful, don't come knocking at jesus's door!

unqualified commentary about the belgians

nospam@example.com (rita) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:05:53 +0100

yesterday morning the second potential flat-mate showed up at my door step to inspect the flat and room he'd be renting. he was chatty, nice, he didn't find the idea of heating his room with a coal stove repelling and enjoyed the view of the back garden. but on top of it all -- HE PETTED THE CAT!!!! please, move in and i will bake you muffins and cook you food, young MA student from belgium! alas i will have to wait till tomorrow until he gives me notice because he's still got two other flats to inspect.

till tomorrow then i'll be sitting on ~~hot~~ cold coal, waiting for the heads up.

edit: two days later -- no belgian flatmate. the search continues.

elementary sherlocking: 'the mazarin stone' (1921)

nospam@example.com (rita) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:38:29 +0100

once more, tardiness reigns. this time it is all to do with my personal watson having moved out of the flat. my former flat-mate of eight years (though not biographer) has deserted me and relocated to her new abode last week. since then i have been ever so busy cleaning up my personal mess to make these rooms presentable to prospective new watsons. btw. i still take applications. but that's enough with that. let's turn to ACD plagiarizing himself this week.
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