twilight of the 1800s

On Saturday I went to see "Götterdämmerung" with my Wagner-geek friend. It was totally awesome! What amazing singers! Six hours (with two imtermissions) of bombastic, strident music -- in the very best sense of the words -- and forceful singing. Brünnhilde is my new hero. Well heroine. And Jay Hunter Morris made his Siegfried act just like a brash 17yr-old, so cute. Not a word you usually associate with that character, I suppose. Oh, and Eric Owens's Alberich...

It was awesome!

Now to see how the New York critics blast this production, as they did with "Siegfried"...

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I recently finished Umberto Eco's "The Prague Cemetery" or whatever it's called in English -- my first Swedish translation of one of his books. It's a novel about 19th century Europe and the hate movements running through it like bile-green threads. It's actually more like a collation of some of the wilder fantasies about Jews (also Freemasons and Jesuits, cause they're kinda like the Jews aren't they) and how they're about to ruin everything. The mind boggles at the utter lunacy these people got up to! Jaw-dropping! And of course, the "sequel" to this book is the Elders of Zion protocols, of much infamy.

Read it!

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Last weekend the tolkienists had a small but cosy get-together with the theme C S Lewis. It was really cold and sunny, with sparkling, squeaking snow underfoot. It would have been just right to go out for a walk in the forest and find some lamp-post to gather round... but it was too cold. So we ate and talked and then watched the Moria scenes in LotR on bluray -- oooh, it's still a most impressive movie. Time to see them again, yes?

Speaking of tolkienists, there's the Scandinavian Sci-Fi Fair here on 1 April, where we should attend and spread PR and goodwill ahead of the Hobbit movie. Then there's a big happening in England in August that it would be great to attend, if it doesn't clash with our next school get-together. Also Eastercon, which isn't tolkienist but it's in England, and it's big. There won't be any "Doctor Who" season premiere this time, though, as that show is currently on hold. And I won't be able to watch it whenever it starts because of stupid FBI stupidly shutting down Megaupload and other services. Boooh. Catch some real criminals instead, FBI. What about the war on drugs?

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Coming up on Lent, and time to do good deeds. I'm not very good at that but I'm going to repeat the collection we did here at work before Christmas, money for charities and stuff for the nearby charity shop. Also a good opportunity to maybe clear out some of my clutter. Not much hope for that, though, there's simply too much of it. Better not look at it, that way it doesn't bother me.

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And last but far from least, I learn that one of my oldest friends is getting married. Congratulations, A and H! Live long and prosper!