The sky is high. The Czar is far.
The traffic outside sounds like the sea. Also, the genius of Julian Barnes appears to be ruining my life, but more on that at a later date.
Who The Fuck – P J Harvey
Control – Poe
Favorite Thing – the Replacements
As If By Magic – La Roux
The Bad Thing – Arctic Monkeys
Ring of Fire – Johnny Cash
The Last Carnival – Bruce Springsteen
Send Me on My Way – Rusted Root
The Trapeze Swinger – Iron & Wine
King Kong Five – Manu Chao
Also, after an intense Victory Day weekend, this is only appropriate:
Every spark of friendship and love will die without a home. Hear the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone.” – Arcade Fire
And as for modern observations, check out a couple of videos I took of planes over Moscow today (I’m uploading a couple of the really short ones, but they kept coming overhead for a while. I felt like a kid again.) You can hear the screaming start off in the distance, as the planes are spotted by the people in the next street over.
For some reason, this year, it’s especially hard for me to look at pictures of WWII. It’s hard to consider the reasons why we hang on to our military so dearly, on this day in particular. Over 25 million dead is more than a statistic, it’s a seismic wave.
“You were born for the saddle,” my grandfather once told me, after he saw me ride for the first time, in America. I will never forget his happiness on that day, the way he smiled as if I had handed him a present, and all I had done was emerge from behind a line of trees, on an Appaloosa or some mix thereof, and trot up toward him. And then he paused, and added, seemingly randomly – and I will never forget his words, or his eyes behind his glasses when he said it – “Remember when to hold on.”
Read the placards welcoming Western troops for the May 9th Victory Day parade in Moscow. This year, on the 65th anniversary of victory, Western military personnel will participate in the parade for the first time. Makes me glad, personally.
There’s been some stink raised by the Communists over this, but the Communists relish every opportunity to raise a stink. They’re as PR-savvy as anyone, these days.
Here are some pictures from the V-Day Parade rehearsal (from a charmingly disgruntled photographer who complains of lack of adequate press space and the sheer amount of rehearsals this year – as he puts it, “I suggest next year we start rehearsals in January, that way we can have 30 – 50 parades”).
And do you see those planes? I saw them passing over the city from my office window yesterday morning. Every normal Muscovite is jaded when it comes to these sights – I’m the one who still erupts in childish glee, but there are personal reasons for that.
V-Day makes me miss my grandfather. I wasn’t there to bury him. And so it goes.
I am despondent, for all sorts of miserable reasons, but at least my lymph node isn’t as swollen up as it was this morning. Who knew that acute tonsillitis can go on for days with hardly any symptoms – until you’re on the verge of going septic, apparently?
And you really do find out who matters and who doesn’t, in the process of something like this.
I’m Looking Through You – the Beatles
Dying Over Europe – Jah Wobble
Close to Me – the Cure
Bonfires (live) – Rickie Lee Jones
Green Eyes – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Ung & Sänkt – Ebba Grön
Fix You – Coldplay
Day Tripper – the Beatles
The Perfect Crime #2 – the Decembrists
Good – Better Than Ezra
Honey, you hurt me bad this time.
You nearly tore me from my mind.
Hm, you know, speaking of Better Than Ezra, here’s an appropriate childhood classic:
Reading this comment from Sarah on the subject, I am reminded of how the issues surrounding the pseudo-religious slut-shaming of women are not just issues that happen to “people over there.” Plenty of us experience directly, regardless of our personal religious beliefs, or lack thereof. I experienced it on a regular basis in Jordan, for example. Though I am also saying this as a fairly religious person myself – one who goes to church on a regular basis, and covers her head when she does so.
As I mentioned in my previous post – no, Boobquake was not a serious action. Neither was it inclusive. But it was also a preposterous response to a preposterous statement and as such, I believe it worked.
Ironically enough, one of the people to call my attention to Boobquake on Facebook was a Muslim friend who, although a fairly conservative dresser and not planning on participating herself, thought I might find it “fun” and “[my] cup of tea.” She read me correctly, of course. It certainly wasn’t her cup of tea, not by a long shot. While I don’t believe that trotting out one of your friends at a moment like this makes for any sort of argument – I did appreciate the sentiment behind this. This is a person who has intimate knowledge of just how badly I struggled with issues of both self-image and safety while living in Jordan. She knew I would immediately relate.
There isn’t one correct way to respond to slut-shaming, after all. People have different arsenals, and use them the best way they know how. Does this somehow negate white Western privilege? Well, uh, no. But it can lead to points of contact for us all.
Also, here’s a beautiful, wonderful, a little scary and fairly NSFW Monica Bellucci gif. Because, any excuse, really. Any excuse:
Natalia A. 