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naljwrimo2006: Very Big Entry
Feb. 28th, 2006 08:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
petroniaI haven't made the final wordcount yet, but I'm sure I've broken the limit. What I've learnt from this experience is that I blog a lot, since all I did was can the majority of my entries for two weeks. XD
First, a recounting of my birthday weekend! It was totally worth the exhaustion, even though I am errrm basically down with a cold now (low fever, called in sick so I don't have to face the -30C outside temperatures, sitting bundled up at home guzzling chrysanthemum tea and writing Very Big Post). ^^;
On Friday I had a birthday dinner and cake with family. On Saturday I had dinner with friends at Au Coin du Maroc, on Saint-Denis just above Sherbrooke metro - all of us arrived between 45 and 90 minutes late due to various SNAFUs and time mismanagement, except for Justin and Erin. ^^; I should've made it for 8PM (but I suspect I say this every year). In any case the lamb shank tajine with apricots was excellent, and the green pea soup idem.
After dinner T v. kindly drove me home so I could pick up my ticket which I'd forgotten (>_>), then back downtown. Met up with Golitzinsky at Berri-UQAM, then went to Nuit Electronik (Cedric was there already).
The venue was Station C, a converted octogonal(?) greystone postal station with a belfry, two blocks away from Beaudry metro in the Village. The main room was dark and rectangular with high airy ceilings, and the stage was a 7' black monolithic curtained block with a tilted white screen running the entire length of the room behind, for projecting videos. Atmosphere suited to the music, which was much more techno than house, even minimal house. The sound was great. I'm kind of jealous - I think it's a gay club usually. :/
Wighnomy Brothers came on at midnight, one at a time. If you'd asked me to venture a guess I would've said two skinny clean-cut dudes in khakis (Golitzinsky and I spent five minutes compiling a physical profile of the Typical Techno Fan that also fits the DJs), but they were two stocky dudes with beards and glasses and a strong family resemblance. One had hair and beard that was an inch longer and much curlier/wilder than the other, hence they shall be referred to as Wighnomy Kempt and Wighnomy Unkempt. They were really fun to watch, because they did mini parapara routines to rev up the crowd (the basic condition for parapara, of course, being that you need at least two people standing side by side making the same gestures). XD They also held up their record sleeves or propped them up on the edge of the stage with water bottles so the trainspotters could tell what they were playing. One guy lent his empty water bottle for said purpose and received it back filled with vodka by way of thanks, so we all did shots. *thumbs up*
THE ONLY TRACK I RECOGNIZED IN WIGHNOMY BROS' SET: Depeche Mode, "Lillian"
...Ahahaha. They first dropped it into the mix at around 2AM - just the da-da-da-dum, da-da-da-dum loop - Cedric was like "Is that New Order?" (Cedric has a habit of assuming any synthpop he downloads from me is New Order by default.) Then they made it the set-ender over a techno beat, and I bawled out the lyrics alongside Dave Gahan with Golitzinsky staring as if I'd grown a second head. XD
I have a tendency to assume DJs are mixing different things together as they go along when they're actually playing preexisting tracks, but... I don't think there are any official remixes of "Lillian" yet? If you see anything like that, gmail me. XD
Dan Bell DJed 4AM-6AM, IIRC (it's entirely possible I'm off by half an hour either way), and Akufen from 6AM to not sure when (we left at 7:30AM). I thought both were awesome, but I can't actually remember in great detail because by 4:30AM I was asleep on my feet. XD;; I would literally drift off into nonsensical hypnogogic trains of thought, stand and sway for a bit (probably staring at the DJ with my jaw hanging open), then snap back awake and keep dancing.
Individual style comes to the fore when one catches several sets in a row like that. All three stayed within the same general genre-feel, but Dan Bell's was harder and more instrumental techno. Akufen's was funkier. I don't think I have any Wighnomy Brothers mixes but I've now seen Akufen DJ twice and Fabric 17 is pretty representative of what he does. Beyond that I won't try to split hairs, because I know I'll start babbling about colours again ("I think Akufen's mixes are earthy, like tan or ochre"). XD It's not as if I recognize more than 4 out of 21 artists on Fabric 17 by name, so clever discussion is a lost cause.
We left Station C at about 8AM and went to breakfast at Chez Cora near Berri-UQAM metro, where I (apparently hilariously) kept nodding off over my bacon, sausage and eggs. :/ Went home, showered, slept 11AM-5PM, got up in just enough time to guzzle a litre of Perrier and eat dinner and one last slice of cake before sallying out in frigid temperatures (much colder than when you were here, Jae, probably near -30C with wind chill) to see Belle & Sebastian.
The gig was worth the trouble of dragging myself there five times over. They... they actually really rock live?! I don't know if it's because the Metropolis was set to amp the rhythm section to MAXIMUM LOUDNESS, but they don't at all give off that vaguely frustrating impression of poke-it-in-the-stomach-and-it'll-fold wussyness as they do on record, even when playing their older songs. Oh, and for once I have the setlist - came close enough to catching the proper setlist in fact that the guy who did catch it agreeably split it with me. XD But I was feeling overachieving for some reason and wrote down all the songs (lyrics if I couldn't think of the title) as well as most of what was said in between(!). No wonder twenty songs seemed to breeze by so quickly.
1) The State I Am In
Stuart: *sniffs the LP of Push Barman To Reopen Old Wounds* I like the smell of vinyl..... hot vinyl.
Stuart Murdoch is quite chatty and personable and I think the accent makes everything he says funnier/better XD (see: Alex Kapranos, Shirley Manson - maybe I should tag along when Justin 'does' Scotland as he keeps saying he will). Strangely, the members of this band are quite decent-looking in person.
...Well, it is. Strange, I mean.
2) Another Sunny Day
3) Seeing Other People
Stuart: Sorry about all the bloody mistakes in the last song.
Stevie: Never admit to mistakes.
Stuart: Not when they're that obvious. *proceeds to tell a story about the dream he purportedly had the night before, in which an ex-girlfriend [cheeky shouts of "Isobel!" from crowd] introduced him to her little brother who was a robot with wheels instead of legs, and he didn't know whether it was socially acceptable to mention the fact*
4) Sukie In The Graveyard
One of the things about seeing B&S live is that I now have a very good idea of how they produce all the separate sounds on their records (although I'm sure I won't be able to remember who played what if it weren't for my photos, since all of them switched instruments for nearly every song). The rule of thumb is "more low-tech than I assumed": they had an iBook perched on the keyboards in back, but I have no idea what they used it for as all the stuff I thought were synth sounds turned out to be, say, Stevie playing the melodica. I had to draw a picture of it and google to find out what it was called. XD Even the tinky disco cowbell noise in "Your Cover's Blown" was bassist playing actual triangle.
5) To Be Myself Completely
First song sung by Stevie - there were people yelling out requests for "Jonathan David" (and "Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie") all night, in what I thought was a rather cheeky manner (and suspect the band did as well). But you got the feeling the fans felt they owned the band/music more than usual, if that makes sense. They'd actually set up a barrier fence to keep the audience two feet further away, and they've never done that at Metropolis or any other venue in Montreal I've been - I've always been able to lean my elbows on the edge of the stage when up front. But if they hadn't I wouldn't have been surprised to see someone attempt to climb onstage. Even the fangirls were more "fangirly", which was funny. For Pixies they were all \m/, for Franz Ferdinand they were like XDXDXD, but for B&S they were ♥_♥.
6) Electronic Renaissance (!!)
Stuart: This song always makes me want to dance like Molly Ringwald in... what was it? The Breakfast Club, that's it.
7) The Loneliness Of A Middle Distance Runner
Whistling! XD Erm, I didn't know this song. Ced has Push Barman... I think but I don't (IIRC I got the Stereolab comp instead over the summer). This was on the 1/2 setlist, for the rest I scribbled down a few lines of lyrics and combed through the official site. There were quite a few songs I didn't know, as neither Ced nor I have heard the entirety of If You're Feeling Sinister let alone all those EPs - pleasedon'tkillus. I suppose the fact that I liked all the songs is a positive sign w/r/t acquiring rest of discography.
Interestingly they played nothing off Fold Your Hands Child... at all.
Stuart: This next song is about... stuff. The kind that they ask you in interviews, "So what's that about then?" "I don't know. Just random thoughts."
8) The Blues Are Still Blue
Here's a 4.30MB movie clip I took with my camera - if I'd thought to clear out my memory card beforehand I could've taken more, but the sound quality is awful anyway. ^^;
9) Piazza, New York Catcher
Acoustic! Stuart explained he thought they should insert this just because, but he needed a lyric sheet to follow along. XD
Stuart: Sad to see the back of the Expos here in Montreal... Who's an Expos fan? [scattered shouts] Well, I can see why they left.
10) Slow Graffiti
11) Funny Little Frog
Stuart: Give us a tone. [Sarah makes amplified hand xylophone go BEEEEEEEP] Xylophone, beautiful instrument.
12) Mayfly
13) Your Cover's Blown
Stuart:*in response to yet more belted-out requests* We have some good strong voices up here... you breed your men strong.
Later he offered to buy something off the crowd for 20$CAN, with what intent I'm not sure. XD Some guy in the audience claimed to have the drumsticks from the New Pornographers. "Are you actually the drummer for the New Pornographers? I'm sorry, it's just that I haven't met all of you yet... I'm all embarrassed now." Followed by a girl piping up "You can have my babies!"** "Ah, but that'd cost you."
** It only just occurred to me that the wording of this is... odd. XD
I don't have photos of the best Stuart Murdoch moments, of course - such as at the last tremulous "...I think I'll go home" where he fell to the floor and assumed the "orz|||" position. XD I think I will hear an imaginary orz emoticon in this song henceforth. XD XD
14) Dog On Wheels
15) I'm A Cuckoo
I've only ever heard a remix of this up til today! I like the original version better, and the rockier live version better than that. :P
Stevie: We'd just like to say hello. *something about feeling like Elvis in Vegas, in response to "C'mon, Stevie - Jonathan David, make us proud!"* So - I'll tell a story about a boy and his best friend... and a girl.
16) Jonathan David
Other photo I don't have but should: Stuart trying to crown Stevie with the tambourine at "You're still king". XD;
17) White Collar Boy
18) Judy And The Dream Of Horses
There was a certain amount of conferring (in a huddle, beers in hand) before deciding on what to play for the encore. (Stevie: We're not the kind of band that decides in advance what to play for the encore, we think that's unfair.) The crowd had its own ideas: inevitably "Le Pastie", the giggling fangirls to stage right were shouting for "Fox In The Snow", some sent up the chorus to "I Fought In A War". I didn't shout anything but I think I would've plumped for the latter. XD Stuart claimed the band's final choice was "requested by a lady".
Encore 1) String Bean Jean
Encore 2) Sleep The Clock Around
I won't waste my time advising anyone to check them out, chances are if you're going to see them on this tour you have your ticket already. XD
On that note:
Tsuji Ayano - Tsuki
Tsuji Ayano - Yubikiri
Forone_if_by_land, who wanted more Tsuji Ayano. (I recently acquired the two-thirds of Tsuji Ayano's discography I was missing thanks to canis_m's good graces. Bing, you may want to get in touch with me privately. *waggles eyebrows*) These are quieter tracks from Calendar Calendar, her most recent album. It's twelve songs long, one for each month of the year beginning with April - "Tsuki" and "Yubikiri" represent September and November, respectively. As a guiding concept I find this utterly charming; for some reason it gets me listening to the whole album every time, end to end, instead of just the songs I like best as usually happens.
Tsuji Ayano - Ai no kakera ☆ Koi no kakera: from her 2002 album Balanco. I don't know if the star in the title will show up but it is important, I think. XD Tommy february6 makes this kind of song as huge candyfloss-pink synthpop. Tsuji Ayano makes it as twee folk-pop with ukeleles in. The balance is kept within the Force, or something.
Tsuji Ayano - Toshishita no otoko no ko (The Boy Who's Younger Than Me): from her album of covers, appropriately titled Cover Girl. The Hitsugaya/Boobies theme song IN MY MIND.
Cornelius - Clash
Cornelius - Seashore and Horizon
Cornelius - Tone Twilight Zone
Some Cornelius forcanis_m. I pretty much only have Fantasma and am not very fond of the crashy cut-up metal guitar tracks, but despite the name "Clash" (track 4) is only pleasantly shoegaze-drony even in its 'loud' moments. "Seashore and Horizon" (track 8) is the song I always think of when I think "Cornelius", for some reason. "Tone Twilight Zone" is from somewhere else - an FST? (...Tin's Tsubasa Chronicle FST? It has birdsong in.)
Maria Nayler - Naked and Sacred: this is, um, the other thing. REMEMBER I WARNED YOU IT WAS 1000 x CHEESY. If wordcount were not a factor I'd've probably sent you this via email. XD As for Orbital, scroll down. ♥
Faye Wong - I'm Happy Because You're Happy: requested bysesame_seed, who heard it recently over the radio as she sat playing an MMORPG on her rainy tropical island. I am completely making this up, except for the radio part and the MMORPG part and the island part. Over MSN she tells me it's not raining, but in my imagination it's raining a little, drops of water sliding off glossy green leaves and the muggy organic smog-smell of modern Sinic cities near the Tropic of Cancer. Maybe she was in a restaurant at the time; maybe she was in an air-conditioned mall. Maybe she'd taken a taxi to get somewhere, and this came on over the tinny car radio as the driver glided down the wet asphalt gracefully and maniacally dodging motoscooter traffic (in these dreams the backseats of taxis always stink a little of old cigarettes).
Or maybe she was sitting at home playing Lineage 2, which Golitzinsky says is a perfectly good game and if I ever decided to join up he'd join along with. I warned him that the company I keep plays elves a lot.
Right now I'm sitting at home, at the computer. It's nighttime. It's not snowing, but it snowed quite a lot night before last and none of it has melted. Faye Wong little-girl-sings in my speakers, conjuring mood like the embodied memory she is (a song from 1997, in the disposable world of contemporary cpop nearly an oldie). I don't even need to google to know this is one of her Cocteau Twins-penned tracks; not many songwriters compose melodies like this. I am playing this song because way on the opposite side of the spinning blue sphere we inhabit, someone heard it on the radio as she sat playing an MMORPG on her rainy tropical island. Or not.
Bran Van 3000 feat. Youssou N'dour - Montréal
Bran Van 3000 feat. Youssou N'dour - Senegal (same song, different mix)
Apparently Youssou N'dour lived in Montreal for a while?fabulous_papaya, this is probably not what you were looking for when you made the request. ^^; What it is, is the ultimate representation-thru-pop of a Montreal summer off what is essentially the ultimate Montreal summer party album - to people exactly my age I mean, I hope there are many more to come - God on Mount Royal (I imagine He only dropped in for the tam-tams), Kermit the Frog greening at a red light and Youssou N'dour sailing in at the end to make it all golden and right with the world.
Further notes on the album. Discosis (Bran Van 3000's second and last) came out in 2001, just before their record label and the group itself imploded on the verge of "making it big" - I have to believe this; I was a fan. XD At the time I wasn't nearly as much into music as a whole, but I've always liked eclecticists and the happy genre-and-language-splicing shaggy-dog-narrative popmusik of the BV3 albums holds up for me even now. They'd had minor hits and a sterling list of guest musicians and maybe shoulda coulda. A lot of things shoulda coulda happened at the end of the summer of 2001; a lot of them didn't.
Bran Van 3000 feat. Curtis Mayfield - Astounded
Anyhow. This was the first single off Discosis, and I have no idea how much airplay it got outside of Montreal - it could well have been a much bigger hit than I'm thinking. It's a mashup of sorts, Curtis Mayfield having passed away already at the time: a vocal track from a tape dug out of a basement archive, laid perfectly over a sparkling Latin house instrumental. Ultimate summer party, as aforementioned.
(When I am thirty this song will be ten years old. XD If I'm still in Montreal I'll throw a party; when things are hopping I'll play this song.
(ooooooh) All I wanna do is love you
(ooooooh) Feels like I'm already there
Maybe we'll all hallucinate we're twenty again for a minute? XD)
Bran Van 3000 feat. Summer Rose & Dizzy D - The Answer
In the interest of not getting too soppy, one last cut off Discosis. Say it with me:
JESUS CHRIST WAS A SUPERSTAR / A PIMPING BIG DADDY WITH A LINCOLN TOWN CAR / DROVE IT REAL FAST WITH THE FLYEST HOES / PLAYED CHICKEN WITH THE DEVIL FOR THE GREATEST APPLAUSE
Underworld - Mmm, Skyscraper I Love You (Necros Mix)
Underworld - Born Slippy
Forrondaview-as-iz-goin-to-Coachella. I am supremely unqualified to discuss Underworld compared to... a lot of people I know, actually, including RLers. For people around my age a phrase I'm using way too often Underworld is something one should rightfully have gotten into sooner rather than later (like Guns N' Roses? XD); I'm a weirdo and sometimes my wariness w/r/t all things musical and 1990s doesn't serve me well. "Born Slippy" aseveryonealreadyknows is their most famous track and was in the Trainspotting OST, it's one of those pieces of music that succeed in conjuring up a scene and a moment in time even if you were never there in the first place, because the memory is lodged in the collective unconscious or something... The Skyscraper remix was on serendip's DVD o' music, I like it lots.
Please note mp3s will only be up for a week, as the entry is public.
And now the fic for the Mile Long Pole challenge. It's sort of awful, I'll probably be spending the rest of the night editing it. XD; Have some Orbital to go along with first (the tracks being 9-10 minutes each, playing them through will take considerably longer than reading the fic):
Orbital - Belfast (Sasha vs The Light Remix)
Orbital - Halcyon + on + on
Not much to say either, apart from the fact that I named the fic after the latter track - not the working title! which was "Return Flight", but "Halcyon" is equally relevant (i.e. not very) and less obvious. XD Read Nick Southall's writeup of the song in Stylus, he expresses it better than I can manage.
EDIT 20/03/06 - Rewrote or rather finished writing this story - is now twice as long and here. ^^;
Friday evening (that is the 17th, since I'm writing this on the 22nd XD) I read The Lives of Christopher Chant.
I like it very much, better than I expected (I don't know why I expected to like it less - sequelitis maybe? The usual sad law of diminishing returns). Jae said that it was her favorite of the Chrestomancis, perhaps because Christopher Chant Himself is actually an easier-going placeholder than the other child protagonists of this series, and I rather agree. I think I would be more inclined to reread this book than the others, anyway.
angrybabble had informed me Millie plays an important part in this book, and she does, but that was so not remotely approaching any backstory I would have anticipated (in a good way). XD XD I receive the niggling impression DWJ is poking fun at... what? Enid Blyton? Ursula K. Leguin? XD;; All very good-natured, on a par with Terry Pratchett's brand of poking fun aka "take recognizable SF/fantasy tropes, make more British."
Now that I'm five books into the DWJ oeuvre I'm getting a sense of recurring leitmotifs:
Much as I think Lush's forte is in the bath ballistic and bubble bar lines, I don't take baths often enough (the only time I can really take a bubble bath without bothering anyone by running the water upstairs is on weekends, and I often go out on weekend nights). So this is yet another shampoo bar review, as well as short notes on regular soaps. :P
Seanick: this is the bright blue "marine"-scented bar that contains huge clumps, nigh sheets of nori. Other ingredients/scents are sea salt, irish moss, lemon oil, mimosa, orange blossom and jasmine. The overall effect when dry is difficult to describe, but that's always the case for "marine" scents - a light but penetrating saline floral, if that makes sense. Like most "marine" cosmetic lines, it doesn't smell anything like the ocean...... until you get it wet.
Then it really smells like the ocean.
This is the nori and salt, I'm pretty sure of it. It's not a pleasant experience. XD;; One has in one's hand something that could well have washed up on the beach five minutes ago, complete with slippery gross clumps of seaweed and the penetrating scent of the decomposing bodies of tiny crustaceans, and is now expected to rub it all over one's scalp. If one goes through with it one finds it lathers up quite nicely and does not actually make one's hair smell like rotting fish (the post-shower scent returns to the light salty floral), but one has to refrain from sniffing the bar itself for fear of gagging, which is distressing for a Lush product. And yes, it gets bits of seaweed in one's hair. Seaweed is gelatinous and melts in hot water, and is good for hair besides. But altogether a bit too Ariel the Little Mermaid, kitchen sink realism edition. XD
Luckily the just-washed-up-on-beach smell goes away after a few uses, or at least I no longer find it noticeable. One thing about Lush is their products always work as advertised, however bizarrely they might look/smell/behave otherwise. Godiva contains lanolin and softens hair texture, although it builds up after a while so you can't keep using it indefinitely. Seanick is supposed to make your hair glossy, and does: my hair tends toward shine so the visual difference is minimal, but I can definitely feel the change when I run my hand through my hair. It takes on a slippery-sleek quality that is pretty much what I'd expect from a carageenan treatment.
Angel's Delight: a sample I received with my Christmas shopping. Smells like and is the colour of fruit punch, a sort of pale red (the large wheel of it has swirls and blocks of colour, and some sparkles). Indistinguishable from any other fruity glycerine soap - actually, I remember when I was a kid, nine or ten, and translucent glycerine soap with scents like grapefruit or blackcurrant were awfully posh and not many people had them in their bathrooms. XD It's one of the ways in which the North American middle class has grown more discerning and upscale in the past fifteen years, like coffee.
Milky Bar: sweet orange oil, patchouli and soy milk. Another store sample. This is being discontinued, which is a pity as I actually quite liked it. :/ It's a delicate, rather sweet scent.
Gratuitous Violets: I just bought a large bar of this for household use. XD My mother scolded me, saying I didn't need to buy soap for the family as we have plenty already (which is true). Also she doesn't seem to like the scent very much, but I love violet leaf, and the name pretty much says it all. I said, doesn't it smell exactly like violet pastilles? She said, you have a whole jar of violet pastilles in the cupboard and you never eat them. I said yes, but who wants to eat perfume?
Whenserendip was in town she brought her BPAL imps, most of which she said she was meh about, and gave a number of them to me. ^^; Erin also took a few. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to write more reviews, Jae. XD
Cathode (Bewitching Brews)
A negatively charged scent. Ambergris, Spanish Moss, oakmoss and three electric mints.
We went to Jae's B&B, opened all her imps one by one and sniffed them - and half of them had the exact same bubblegum smell, so I thought I'd killed my nose after the first couple. XD Later I cp'd all the descriptions from the website and compared them, and it turned out what I identify as "gum" is simply the BPAL... mint.
This is sort of your classic chypre scent, meaning that I like the drydown because it reminds me of Polo Classic. The mint is however long-lasting, and disconcerting because I only perceive it as mint when I keep the fact in mind - when I catch a whiff of it under distraction it goes back to being chewing gum. I don't think it's how the mint component reacts with my skin so much as a matter of unfortunate mental association; it smells to me like that right out of the bottle, and the others seem to perceive nothing of the sort.
This is one of those scents that seem very light when they go on, nearly unnoticeable, but that sort of waft about as you move. So you shake your head or wave your hands about, and suddenly you can smell it again, and the person sitting next to you sniffs the air and says, "Who's wearing perfume?"
Undertow (Dark Elements)
The Dark Side of Water: clean and purifying, yet menacing -- lotus and juniper with a hint of mint. A scent dragged up from the depths to the Stygian shore.
Jae really does not like this one. XD While it does not smell like toilet cleaner on me as it purportedly does on her, I have to say it is rather odd, and not at all reminiscent of the description. The BPAL "lotus" seems to be smoky sweet and vaguely artificial/candy-like, at least in this mix, or on me. (Real lotus flowers have a minty, refreshing fragrance.) That combined with the inevitable mint makes this the most chewing gum-like of the mint-containing oils I tried; beside Cathode I also had a quick sniff at Ultraviolet (violet/neroli/eucalyptus/mint) and Envy (lavender/lime/mint).
The stick-of-Wrigley association disappears as the mint and juniper burn off, but the drydown is still artifically sweet. BTW, this is my least recommended BPAL oil so far, since I have yet to find anyone who likes it - everyone I've made sniff the imp or my wrist has had the same reaction of "Ugh, what is that?"
(The oils that get the most compliments/remarks always have a strong rose note. I don't know if it's because rose works well with my skin, which it does, or because rose simply has populist appeal. XD)
The Lady of Shalott (Love Potions)
The scent of calm waters just before a raging storm, limned with achingly-beautiful blooms, an icy scent, but somehow warm, and mirror-bright: bold gardenia, crystalline musk, muguet, water blossoms, clear, slightly tart aquatic notes and a crush of white ginger.
This is a white floral like The Ghost. They don't smell the same, but the overall effect is so similar that (after having worn each several times) I put them both on at once and am sniffing my wrists in alternation, trying to define the difference beyond simply listing the ingredients. The best I can say is that it's like the difference between watermelon and honeydew melon. XD The Ghost is antique rose coloured, and after it's been on my skin for a while the fruity aspect develops decidedly into watermelon hard candies. The Lady of Shalott OTOH is a crisp light green-white in colour and more penetrating. I can pick out the different notes clearly - gardenia, muguet (lily of the valley), ginger - because they're all familiar to me, whereas I can't really tell apart the flowers in The Ghost. I'm not sure where the aquatic notes come in. Gardenia and lily of the valley have a sort of green, drenched edge to begin with, and that's what I smell.
I find the drydown of The Lady of Shalott very pleasant. I wouldn't ever order it, though, because an imp of this plus The Ghost plus Phantasm are all the white florals I'll need for a very long time. (Spicy-musky Oriental florals like Lilith or Delight go fastest, because I dump them in my scentless after-shower lotion. XD I've always worn more perfume to bed than out and about.)
Both scents are decently long-lasting but not still-there-tomorrows like Oberon or La Belle Dame Sans Merci. Last evening I tried Oberon in lotion after my shower, and a cloud of it followed me around until noon the next day. It's been 24 hours and I can still smell it faintly on myself. x_x;
Kuang Shi (Diabolus)
Bust out the dzang dzi! This scent honors the zombies of Chinese lore. Mandarin orange, white musk, mango, and white sandalwood.
Sometimes I think, oh lord the naming wank. But other times I feel the names are half the reason to order the things. XD
There is definitely something about this one that doesn't sit right with me. I wonder if it could be the white musk again (although it doesn't go French-soapy - the other ingredients seem to prevent it)? The white sandalwood? Anyhow. I looked on the forum again and it seems a lot of people felt the same. Words like 'sharp' and 'cruel' are tossed about. I'd be hard pressed to call it unpleasant, but I would have expected to like something with a top note of mandarin orange much more. It is a very "Asian" scent, definitely.
The takeaway from this imp is that mango is a base note, of all things. XD It ends creamy, orange and sweet, exactly like mango pudding.
Silk Road (Wanderlust)
A panoply of cultural treasures, spanning the herbs, flowers, oils and balms of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Northern China, Eastern Europe, Iran, the Bulgar-Kypchak, Mesopotamia, the Crimean Peninsula, Anatolia, Antioch, and North Africa.
There's a bit of Sri Lanka in this - sandalwood and cedar - but the heart notes are more complex, lighter and sweeter. There's cinnamon, possibly ginger, and after that I run out of certainty: it's a bit like being asked to identify the herbs in one's gin. XD;; As it dries down a pleasantly sweet and dessicated milk note comes to the fore, at least on my skin. It reminds me of vanilla rice milk, or maybe weak chai. Certainly not the same creamy hot-milk as Skuld (see below).
Overall it's much shorter-lasting and not as overwhelming as Sri Lanka. To use as proper (understated) perfume rather than as body scent: when mixed with lotion it just sort of disappears into my skin.
Moon Rose (Rappacini's Garden)
A crisp, pale, almost translucent rose dusted by moonflower and midnight dew.
It appears from the forums this was originally marked gender neutral. Well! I tend to associate scents with fictional characters (to the point that I sometimes have vague fancies of, say, assigning a BPAL oil to each character in Bleach or Nana). If you asked me to describe this quickly I'd say "Dorian Red Gloria bathing in a mountain pool at night". But somehow I feel "works for women and Eroica" is not the true definition of gender neutral.
So basically, it is rose. Not sugary or spicy, but clean, elegant, dewy, satin white rose. WYSIWYG - what you smell is what you get - the heart note straight out of the bottle. An irreproachable classic... as long as you (and the people around you) like rose.
Lilith (Excolo)
Mother of Demons, Vengeful Fury, Darkest Seductress, Queen of the Djinn, Goddess of the Gate. Red wine, myrrh, black musk, and attar of rose.
When I first opened the imp and sniffed I said to Jae, "This smells like curry," but we were a bit sandbagged from opening ten imps at once and I haven't had that reaction since. The predominant wet top note is the red wine but I wouldn't have called it that before reading the description, I would have said "mulled spice wine" or "cloves and turmeric" or (most likely) "Chinese medicine wine, the kind that's yellow and has dead snakes in". The oil is even the right poisonous sulfuric colour, clinging thickly to the dipstick ahahahaha.
The wine dies off fairly quickly as the musk/myrrh combination warms up (I assume - I don't really get rose in this, which goes to show how strong the rest is as rose tends to bloom on my skin). I'm still surprised there aren't more spices in the ingredients list. There's an almost powdery sweetness to it, with underlying bitterness and a sort of musky animality. It kind of reminds me of Yoruichi.
I like this a lot, actually. XD 'Chinese medicine' is a comforting going-to-bed scent for me, but that's a personal quirk. Oddly, Justin said immediately and unprompted that out of the scents I had him test this was the one that "resembled" me most.
Skuld (Excolo)
Ylang ylang, honey, Egyptian and Arabian musks and labdanum.
...LOLZ HUNNY. Like really really strong musky creamy honey, not unlike Lush's Flying Fox shower gel with the jasmine taken out. Only EVEN MORE HONEY THAN THAT. Seriously, this is an extremely strong scent on me. I was also incredulous to learn there was no "milk" or "butter" note, as I get phantom milk scents with every sniff: hot milk, butterscotch, milk chocolate, crème brûlée... an endless procession of creamy desserts. This sounds awesome on paper but is actually unnerving at first, since "eat or it will spoil/melt/get cold and gross" is not really the olfactory impression you want to associate with yourself. After a few uses I got used to it, though; mixing with lotion leavened it out enough to be pleasant. Flying Fox is supposed to be good for PMS (it's definitely 'heaty' in the Chinese sense), I wouldn't be surprised if this were as well.
Of course I went to bed with it. I associate "hot milk and honey" with nighttime, and if it weren't winter I'd be terrified of going outside with this on anyway. I can picture myself being chased down the street by a swarm of bees. XD;;
And finally, the first two chapters of Traffic. In which absolutely nothing much happens, I'm warning you, so don't get your hopes up. :/
Traffic
Liu Fei Long, age 28
Chairman, LTG Holdings Co. Ltd., Hong Kong S.A.R.
Sam Leung was both greying and balding. Fei Long currently had an excellent view of the progress of these twin conditions. The top of the kneeling man's head shone under the lamplight, surrounded by a ring of hair like scraggly winter brush.
"Really, Uncle Leung," he said, "get up."
Leung did not move. Fei Long nodded at one of his lieutenants, who approached the older man and tapped him on the shoulder, not ungently, before attempting to lift him by the elbow. Leung allowed himself to be maneuvred into a chair, stiff as an arthritic. His normally sallow complexion had lost a further shade of health.
Fei Long adjusted the angle of his teacup lid. The tiny clink of china against china was readily audible: the room was still, but for breathing.
"I can't begin to contemplate what you were thinking," he said. "You're of an age to sit back and relax, surely? Let your nephews tend to the day-to-day affairs, go to the horse races, lose a few hands of baccarat in Macau..."
Silence.
"Was the money worth it?"
Leung whispered something under his breath. Fei Long waited. Eventually Leung repeated himself, in a louder voice that still trembled.
"Forgive me..."
There was movement in the periphery of Fei Long's vision. One or two of his directors were taking a lively interest in the floor near their feet; the rest remained stony-faced. He sighed.
"Outsourcing, Uncle Leung. The mainlanders and the Burmese manufacture, we put up the funds. The cutting houses supply only the local market: the less merchandise transships Hong Kong the better. I can't think of anyone who should understand the principle better than you. And yet here you are, setting up a factory in the New Territories.
"Did you honestly assume you would escape notice simply because you were moving product overseas? Ten thousand units followed by... what? Did you consider what the Japanese had in mind? Who takes responsibility if your deal triggers a war between the Yokohama organizations and their backers? Do I inform our Tokyo contacts that this was part of our business plan, we simply didn't feel the need to consult them on their home turf?"
Leung looked as if he were about to faint. Fei Long took a sip of tea. After a few seconds he added, gazing into his cup, "It is not only a question of fiscal liability. It is a question of trust."
Leung fell forward out of his chair, onto hands and knees. The movement was comical; no one laughed or tried to help him up.
"Forgive me," he babbled. "It was a mistake. The profit margin – I thought—"
Fei Long watched him in silence, absently running a finger over the edge of his cup. Eventually Leung ran out of stuttered excuses. He made a movement toward Fei Long's chair, a desperate, groping gesture. A fleeting expression of distaste crossed Fei Long's face, and he moved his foot away from Leung's reaching hand. Leung froze.
"You are relieved of your responsibilities toward the organisation," said Fei Long, slowly. "The management of your clubs will pass to Leung Kar-Sing, and the rest of the Leung group's assets will be redistributed accordingly. In view of your long service to the Liu family there will be no further punishment." He gazed down into Leung's face for a long moment – the man did not look relieved, far from it – then turned to the soldiers standing at attention behind him. "Please escort Mr. Leung from the premises."
When the door closed there was a muted but general exhalation of relief, and a certain amount of shifting in seats and wiping of faces. A couple of Leung's close cohorts looked green at the gills. He noted them as instances of a public lesson learnt; there was no evidence anyone but Leung was set to benefit from the deal.
Instead he said to the room at large, "When a man is found to be at fault, he should always be given a second chance to prove himself. What do you think of this principle?"
"Someone who betrays once will do so again at his convenience," said Wong Jian, a weapons trader. "And in Leung's case - for what?"
"Not mere shortsighted greed, if that's what you mean," said Fatty Mok from his favorite position near the lacquered screen. "He has ambition for those boys of his, whether or not they have any of their own. Why, Kar-Sing or Jonny could well rule Mongkok nightlife at the tender age of twenty-five—"
Someone gave a derisive snort.
"—If all they lack are the funds to buy out the opposition," Mok finished with a gleeful flourish, and leant back in his chair. "Blood runs thicker than gold, my friends. Nepotism will be the death of us all."
"Enough," said Fei Long, meeting Mok's eyes across the room. "The meeting is over."
Leavetaking took place with the usual amount of ceremony. Mok lingered, polishing his spectacles with a soft cloth and fussing with the case. He was known as a fixer, a Baishe associate of long standing – one of the aides who had the elder Liu's ear before his death – and among the first to support Fei Long in the power struggle that ensued, though no one had ever caught him favoring one candidate over another beforehand.
When the rest of the directors had left the room Fei Long set his tea cup down and nodded to Tao, seated on a stool in the corner. The boy immediately approached and removed the tray. After the door had closed behind him Fei Long said, "Do you believe Kar-Sing was the impetus behind this deal?"
"I believe Kar-Sing to have more wit than to make a play from his position," said Mok. "He has his eye on the long haul. And he'll keep Jonny and the others in check." Fei Long nodded.
"I want it kept quiet," he said. "Give it a month."
"Natural and unrelated, I assure you," said Mok. "What is Sam Leung without his clubs and his hostesses? I doubt his heart will take the strain." He hauled his corpulence out of his chair. "What of the deal itself, in the meantime? Does the white snake ride the trade wind while it's fair?"
Fei Long remained silent for a few moments, thinking. Mok waited. Finally Fei Long said, "Get me the factory manager. I'd like to see what convinced Leung to take the plunge."
Winston Tse Hsu-Ping, age 25
Ph.D. candidate (medicinal chemistry), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong S.A.R.
The door buzzed open. Winston swung his feet off the table and sat up, setting down his notes.
The men who entered were not ones he expected. He recognized the one with the slicked-back hair as a frequent background hoverer during Leung's visits – more secretary than bodyguard, he thought. Another was obviously muscle. The third had narrow eyes in a narrow, tanned face. The face looked bored, the eyes did not.
"What is it?" he said, addressing Slick-Hair. "I have a schedule to follow." The man found a source of inspiration in the periodic table pinned to the wall. It was the third man who answered:
"We're taking you to see someone."
"Mr. Leung?"
"Mr. Leung is no longer in charge of this operation. Bring samples of the merchandise."
Winston stared at him for a second, then stood up, went to the grey cabinet, and unlocked it. One of the shelves held three beakers, each half filled with pills. He took two from each beaker, placing each pair in a two-by-two-inch zip-locked plastic bag.
"Fine," he said. "Let's go."
***
He expected an excursion to a warehousing facility (the worst case scenario being a construction site sand pit), but an hour later he found himself being ushered down a tastefully-lit corridor on the first basement parking level of a Hong Kong Island skyscraper.
It was not an office building. The corridor was set with ornately framed, floor-to-ceiling mirrors in which he caught glimpses of himself half-hidden between two taller, dark-suited men (Slick-Hair had disappeared in the interim), and punctuated with elevator doors. Each elevator - Winston estimated - serviced one or two suites per floor only, isolating the inhabitants from each other insofar as it was possible.
He counted ten elevators. It was a long corridor.
The eleventh and last elevator featured a card reader. The narrow-eyed man retrieved a magnetic key card from his breast pocket and swiped it before punching the single available floor button (P5).
The ride did not take a long time, but it made Winston feel queasy.
Two burly men sat around a card table in the foyer. They wore dark suits and had wires hanging out of their ears. They looked up when the elevator doors opened.
"We're expected," said Narrow-Eyes. One of the men said something into his mouthpiece and nodded. The other one got up and patted Winston down with the efficiency of an afterhours club bouncer.
"What are these?" he asked.
"Samples," said Winston.
"He was told to bring them," said Narrow-Eyes.
The first man unlocked and pulled open a folding metal gate with a clatter. At the same time the door behind it was opened, from the inside.
"Please come in," said the boy. He was perhaps ten or twelve, dressed in old-fashioned embroidered silks, with a fresh-faced look Winston found jarring. "Master Fei is expecting you."
***
Winston wasn't expecting Master Fei.
He knew the name Liu Fei Long but not much more (excessive knowledge or the appearance thereof was generally not construed in his interest). He imagined someone like Sam Leung; a little younger and less greasy, perhaps, a little more obviously intelligent. He didn't think—
Had there ever been a Canto-pop star turned matinée idol more unbelievable in the role of Triad leader?
Even a female Canto-pop star?
Liu Fei Long looked him up and down, a flicker of perfect, almond-shaped dark eyes. Something about his gaze made Winston feel small and awkward and exposed. A pinky mouse, he thought – lovingly defrosted and dropped into a garter snake's aquarium. He kept his face still, but his hands curled into fists at his sides.
Liu must have noticed. He smiled slightly; the effect was stunning.
"So you're Tse Hsu-Ping," he said. "You've caused a fair amount of excitement. Do you have the samples?"
Winston took the zip bags out of his pocket. Narrow-Eyes appeared by his side, took the samples and carried them over to Liu, laying them in a row on the ornately carved teak side table beside Liu's chair. It was a distance of less than three meters.
"Tell me," said Liu. "What do these do?"
Winston took a breath. "The blue tablet with a diamond imprint contains 35mg caffeine, 40mg methamphetamine—"
Leung would have told him to answer the fucking question: what does it do, not what did you put in it. Liu allowed him to recite his entire list. Halfway through the enumeration of the third formula he opened the sample bag in question, shook out one of the pills and held it up to the light.
"The blue diamond," he said when Winston was done, "keeps the user in an alert and hyper-focussed state for a period of several hours, with comparatively negligeable side effects. The yellow butterfly is an euphoric relaxant. And this one—" he rolled it between thumb and forefinger. "There is a liquid form of this that can be administered intravenously. It has... interesting effects."
"It can also be inhaled," said Winston. "It was difficult to fixate for oral dosage."
"Indeed," said Liu, glancing up at him. It was an amused look. "Do you assess all your creditors in this fashion?"
He understood. Of course. "I feel more comfortable if I know whom I'm working for."
"If they're aware enough to appreciate your worth, you mean."
Winston was silent.
"Since I now hold your debt I've looked into the repayment schedule you previously were on with Sam Leung," said Liu. He leant forward in his chair, loops of dark hair shifting over his shoulder. "I applaud your sense of filial piety."
Winston laughed sharply. It sounded bitter even to himself. "Filial piety has nothing to do with it. I would have let you take the store and the flat if that would've been the end of it, but unfortunately I know how to add. You would have come after me anyway."
"The generic you, I hope," said Liu. "And, of course, with your father dead and the family business gone it would have been extremely difficult to finance your further education. But you made Leung see an investment with a sure expectation of return. No, not entirely a shortsighted fool."
The tone of voice made it clear. Remember to whom you speak.
Winston reminded himself to breathe. "What do you mean to do with me?" he asked finally.
"Very little that has not already been done," said Liu. "You will produce the next shipment as stipulated by Leung, but you will do it for me. I've raised your theoretical salary to slightly above the industry norm. As for your own ongoing arrangement—" he smiled that slight smile again. "Understand that your abilities are keenly appreciated."
***
Leung demanded "samples" on a frequent basis and always kept them. Liu returned them to Winston at the conclusion of the interview. Later that evening he dumped the contents of each bag back into its respective beaker, taking care not to touch.
Then he got down to work.
First, a recounting of my birthday weekend! It was totally worth the exhaustion, even though I am errrm basically down with a cold now (low fever, called in sick so I don't have to face the -30C outside temperatures, sitting bundled up at home guzzling chrysanthemum tea and writing Very Big Post). ^^;
On Friday I had a birthday dinner and cake with family. On Saturday I had dinner with friends at Au Coin du Maroc, on Saint-Denis just above Sherbrooke metro - all of us arrived between 45 and 90 minutes late due to various SNAFUs and time mismanagement, except for Justin and Erin. ^^; I should've made it for 8PM (but I suspect I say this every year). In any case the lamb shank tajine with apricots was excellent, and the green pea soup idem.
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| Birthday cake Raspberry cheesecake, had to be defrosted for 90 minutes before eating. Jae, this is one of the cakes we saw in the fridge at Duc de Lorraine - I plotted to acquire it. XD It was very tasty. |
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| Me with cake And Olympic skiing on in the background. |
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| Tania with dolls Tania with her birthday present to me... yeah. XD;; As you see. There's also an Ichigo plushie somewhere in the pile, but that one's official. I haven't come up with any good ideas for torturing Byakuya yet (they're disturbingly cuddly as are made of felt). There are other photos but most are blurry, and I don't have the gumption to do much uploading right now. XD Erin got me The Zombie Survival Guide (having received the brunt of my zombie defense rant after we went to see 28 Days together). The gesture is evil as well as thoughtful, since I can't get through more than a chapter at a time before the paranoia becomes untenable. |
After dinner T v. kindly drove me home so I could pick up my ticket which I'd forgotten (>_>), then back downtown. Met up with Golitzinsky at Berri-UQAM, then went to Nuit Electronik (Cedric was there already).
The venue was Station C, a converted octogonal(?) greystone postal station with a belfry, two blocks away from Beaudry metro in the Village. The main room was dark and rectangular with high airy ceilings, and the stage was a 7' black monolithic curtained block with a tilted white screen running the entire length of the room behind, for projecting videos. Atmosphere suited to the music, which was much more techno than house, even minimal house. The sound was great. I'm kind of jealous - I think it's a gay club usually. :/
Wighnomy Brothers came on at midnight, one at a time. If you'd asked me to venture a guess I would've said two skinny clean-cut dudes in khakis (Golitzinsky and I spent five minutes compiling a physical profile of the Typical Techno Fan that also fits the DJs), but they were two stocky dudes with beards and glasses and a strong family resemblance. One had hair and beard that was an inch longer and much curlier/wilder than the other, hence they shall be referred to as Wighnomy Kempt and Wighnomy Unkempt. They were really fun to watch, because they did mini parapara routines to rev up the crowd (the basic condition for parapara, of course, being that you need at least two people standing side by side making the same gestures). XD They also held up their record sleeves or propped them up on the edge of the stage with water bottles so the trainspotters could tell what they were playing. One guy lent his empty water bottle for said purpose and received it back filled with vodka by way of thanks, so we all did shots. *thumbs up*
THE ONLY TRACK I RECOGNIZED IN WIGHNOMY BROS' SET: Depeche Mode, "Lillian"
...Ahahaha. They first dropped it into the mix at around 2AM - just the da-da-da-dum, da-da-da-dum loop - Cedric was like "Is that New Order?" (Cedric has a habit of assuming any synthpop he downloads from me is New Order by default.) Then they made it the set-ender over a techno beat, and I bawled out the lyrics alongside Dave Gahan with Golitzinsky staring as if I'd grown a second head. XD
I have a tendency to assume DJs are mixing different things together as they go along when they're actually playing preexisting tracks, but... I don't think there are any official remixes of "Lillian" yet? If you see anything like that, gmail me. XD
Dan Bell DJed 4AM-6AM, IIRC (it's entirely possible I'm off by half an hour either way), and Akufen from 6AM to not sure when (we left at 7:30AM). I thought both were awesome, but I can't actually remember in great detail because by 4:30AM I was asleep on my feet. XD;; I would literally drift off into nonsensical hypnogogic trains of thought, stand and sway for a bit (probably staring at the DJ with my jaw hanging open), then snap back awake and keep dancing.
Individual style comes to the fore when one catches several sets in a row like that. All three stayed within the same general genre-feel, but Dan Bell's was harder and more instrumental techno. Akufen's was funkier. I don't think I have any Wighnomy Brothers mixes but I've now seen Akufen DJ twice and Fabric 17 is pretty representative of what he does. Beyond that I won't try to split hairs, because I know I'll start babbling about colours again ("I think Akufen's mixes are earthy, like tan or ochre"). XD It's not as if I recognize more than 4 out of 21 artists on Fabric 17 by name, so clever discussion is a lost cause.
We left Station C at about 8AM and went to breakfast at Chez Cora near Berri-UQAM metro, where I (apparently hilariously) kept nodding off over my bacon, sausage and eggs. :/ Went home, showered, slept 11AM-5PM, got up in just enough time to guzzle a litre of Perrier and eat dinner and one last slice of cake before sallying out in frigid temperatures (much colder than when you were here, Jae, probably near -30C with wind chill) to see Belle & Sebastian.
The gig was worth the trouble of dragging myself there five times over. They... they actually really rock live?! I don't know if it's because the Metropolis was set to amp the rhythm section to MAXIMUM LOUDNESS, but they don't at all give off that vaguely frustrating impression of poke-it-in-the-stomach-and-it'll-fold wussyness as they do on record, even when playing their older songs. Oh, and for once I have the setlist - came close enough to catching the proper setlist in fact that the guy who did catch it agreeably split it with me. XD But I was feeling overachieving for some reason and wrote down all the songs (lyrics if I couldn't think of the title) as well as most of what was said in between(!). No wonder twenty songs seemed to breeze by so quickly.
1) The State I Am In
Stuart: *sniffs the LP of Push Barman To Reopen Old Wounds* I like the smell of vinyl..... hot vinyl.
Stuart Murdoch is quite chatty and personable and I think the accent makes everything he says funnier/better XD (see: Alex Kapranos, Shirley Manson - maybe I should tag along when Justin 'does' Scotland as he keeps saying he will). Strangely, the members of this band are quite decent-looking in person.
...Well, it is. Strange, I mean.
2) Another Sunny Day
3) Seeing Other People
Stuart: Sorry about all the bloody mistakes in the last song.
Stevie: Never admit to mistakes.
Stuart: Not when they're that obvious. *proceeds to tell a story about the dream he purportedly had the night before, in which an ex-girlfriend [cheeky shouts of "Isobel!" from crowd] introduced him to her little brother who was a robot with wheels instead of legs, and he didn't know whether it was socially acceptable to mention the fact*
4) Sukie In The Graveyard
One of the things about seeing B&S live is that I now have a very good idea of how they produce all the separate sounds on their records (although I'm sure I won't be able to remember who played what if it weren't for my photos, since all of them switched instruments for nearly every song). The rule of thumb is "more low-tech than I assumed": they had an iBook perched on the keyboards in back, but I have no idea what they used it for as all the stuff I thought were synth sounds turned out to be, say, Stevie playing the melodica. I had to draw a picture of it and google to find out what it was called. XD Even the tinky disco cowbell noise in "Your Cover's Blown" was bassist playing actual triangle.
5) To Be Myself Completely
First song sung by Stevie - there were people yelling out requests for "Jonathan David" (and "Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie") all night, in what I thought was a rather cheeky manner (and suspect the band did as well). But you got the feeling the fans felt they owned the band/music more than usual, if that makes sense. They'd actually set up a barrier fence to keep the audience two feet further away, and they've never done that at Metropolis or any other venue in Montreal I've been - I've always been able to lean my elbows on the edge of the stage when up front. But if they hadn't I wouldn't have been surprised to see someone attempt to climb onstage. Even the fangirls were more "fangirly", which was funny. For Pixies they were all \m/, for Franz Ferdinand they were like XDXDXD, but for B&S they were ♥_♥.
6) Electronic Renaissance (!!)
Stuart: This song always makes me want to dance like Molly Ringwald in... what was it? The Breakfast Club, that's it.
7) The Loneliness Of A Middle Distance Runner
Whistling! XD Erm, I didn't know this song. Ced has Push Barman... I think but I don't (IIRC I got the Stereolab comp instead over the summer). This was on the 1/2 setlist, for the rest I scribbled down a few lines of lyrics and combed through the official site. There were quite a few songs I didn't know, as neither Ced nor I have heard the entirety of If You're Feeling Sinister let alone all those EPs - pleasedon'tkillus. I suppose the fact that I liked all the songs is a positive sign w/r/t acquiring rest of discography.
Interestingly they played nothing off Fold Your Hands Child... at all.
Stuart: This next song is about... stuff. The kind that they ask you in interviews, "So what's that about then?" "I don't know. Just random thoughts."
8) The Blues Are Still Blue
Here's a 4.30MB movie clip I took with my camera - if I'd thought to clear out my memory card beforehand I could've taken more, but the sound quality is awful anyway. ^^;
9) Piazza, New York Catcher
Acoustic! Stuart explained he thought they should insert this just because, but he needed a lyric sheet to follow along. XD
Stuart: Sad to see the back of the Expos here in Montreal... Who's an Expos fan? [scattered shouts] Well, I can see why they left.
10) Slow Graffiti
11) Funny Little Frog
Stuart: Give us a tone. [Sarah makes amplified hand xylophone go BEEEEEEEP] Xylophone, beautiful instrument.
12) Mayfly
13) Your Cover's Blown
Stuart:*in response to yet more belted-out requests* We have some good strong voices up here... you breed your men strong.
Later he offered to buy something off the crowd for 20$CAN, with what intent I'm not sure. XD Some guy in the audience claimed to have the drumsticks from the New Pornographers. "Are you actually the drummer for the New Pornographers? I'm sorry, it's just that I haven't met all of you yet... I'm all embarrassed now." Followed by a girl piping up "You can have my babies!"** "Ah, but that'd cost you."
** It only just occurred to me that the wording of this is... odd. XD
I don't have photos of the best Stuart Murdoch moments, of course - such as at the last tremulous "...I think I'll go home" where he fell to the floor and assumed the "orz|||" position. XD I think I will hear an imaginary orz emoticon in this song henceforth. XD XD
14) Dog On Wheels
15) I'm A Cuckoo
I've only ever heard a remix of this up til today! I like the original version better, and the rockier live version better than that. :P
Stevie: We'd just like to say hello. *something about feeling like Elvis in Vegas, in response to "C'mon, Stevie - Jonathan David, make us proud!"* So - I'll tell a story about a boy and his best friend... and a girl.
16) Jonathan David
Other photo I don't have but should: Stuart trying to crown Stevie with the tambourine at "You're still king". XD;
17) White Collar Boy
18) Judy And The Dream Of Horses
There was a certain amount of conferring (in a huddle, beers in hand) before deciding on what to play for the encore. (Stevie: We're not the kind of band that decides in advance what to play for the encore, we think that's unfair.) The crowd had its own ideas: inevitably "Le Pastie", the giggling fangirls to stage right were shouting for "Fox In The Snow", some sent up the chorus to "I Fought In A War". I didn't shout anything but I think I would've plumped for the latter. XD Stuart claimed the band's final choice was "requested by a lady".
Encore 1) String Bean Jean
Encore 2) Sleep The Clock Around
I won't waste my time advising anyone to check them out, chances are if you're going to see them on this tour you have your ticket already. XD
On that note:
Tsuji Ayano - Tsuki
Tsuji Ayano - Yubikiri
For
one_if_by_land, who wanted more Tsuji Ayano. (I recently acquired the two-thirds of Tsuji Ayano's discography I was missing thanks to canis_m's good graces. Bing, you may want to get in touch with me privately. *waggles eyebrows*) These are quieter tracks from Calendar Calendar, her most recent album. It's twelve songs long, one for each month of the year beginning with April - "Tsuki" and "Yubikiri" represent September and November, respectively. As a guiding concept I find this utterly charming; for some reason it gets me listening to the whole album every time, end to end, instead of just the songs I like best as usually happens.Tsuji Ayano - Ai no kakera ☆ Koi no kakera: from her 2002 album Balanco. I don't know if the star in the title will show up but it is important, I think. XD Tommy february6 makes this kind of song as huge candyfloss-pink synthpop. Tsuji Ayano makes it as twee folk-pop with ukeleles in. The balance is kept within the Force, or something.
Tsuji Ayano - Toshishita no otoko no ko (The Boy Who's Younger Than Me): from her album of covers, appropriately titled Cover Girl. The Hitsugaya/Boobies theme song IN MY MIND.
Cornelius - Clash
Cornelius - Seashore and Horizon
Cornelius - Tone Twilight Zone
Some Cornelius for
canis_m. I pretty much only have Fantasma and am not very fond of the crashy cut-up metal guitar tracks, but despite the name "Clash" (track 4) is only pleasantly shoegaze-drony even in its 'loud' moments. "Seashore and Horizon" (track 8) is the song I always think of when I think "Cornelius", for some reason. "Tone Twilight Zone" is from somewhere else - an FST? (...Tin's Tsubasa Chronicle FST? It has birdsong in.)Maria Nayler - Naked and Sacred: this is, um, the other thing. REMEMBER I WARNED YOU IT WAS 1000 x CHEESY. If wordcount were not a factor I'd've probably sent you this via email. XD As for Orbital, scroll down. ♥
Faye Wong - I'm Happy Because You're Happy: requested by
sesame_seed, who heard it recently over the radio as she sat playing an MMORPG on her rainy tropical island. I am completely making this up, except for the radio part and the MMORPG part and the island part. Over MSN she tells me it's not raining, but in my imagination it's raining a little, drops of water sliding off glossy green leaves and the muggy organic smog-smell of modern Sinic cities near the Tropic of Cancer. Maybe she was in a restaurant at the time; maybe she was in an air-conditioned mall. Maybe she'd taken a taxi to get somewhere, and this came on over the tinny car radio as the driver glided down the wet asphalt gracefully and maniacally dodging motoscooter traffic (in these dreams the backseats of taxis always stink a little of old cigarettes).Or maybe she was sitting at home playing Lineage 2, which Golitzinsky says is a perfectly good game and if I ever decided to join up he'd join along with. I warned him that the company I keep plays elves a lot.
Right now I'm sitting at home, at the computer. It's nighttime. It's not snowing, but it snowed quite a lot night before last and none of it has melted. Faye Wong little-girl-sings in my speakers, conjuring mood like the embodied memory she is (a song from 1997, in the disposable world of contemporary cpop nearly an oldie). I don't even need to google to know this is one of her Cocteau Twins-penned tracks; not many songwriters compose melodies like this. I am playing this song because way on the opposite side of the spinning blue sphere we inhabit, someone heard it on the radio as she sat playing an MMORPG on her rainy tropical island. Or not.
Bran Van 3000 feat. Youssou N'dour - Montréal
Bran Van 3000 feat. Youssou N'dour - Senegal (same song, different mix)
Apparently Youssou N'dour lived in Montreal for a while?
fabulous_papaya, this is probably not what you were looking for when you made the request. ^^; What it is, is the ultimate representation-thru-pop of a Montreal summer off what is essentially the ultimate Montreal summer party album - to people exactly my age I mean, I hope there are many more to come - God on Mount Royal (I imagine He only dropped in for the tam-tams), Kermit the Frog greening at a red light and Youssou N'dour sailing in at the end to make it all golden and right with the world.Further notes on the album. Discosis (Bran Van 3000's second and last) came out in 2001, just before their record label and the group itself imploded on the verge of "making it big" - I have to believe this; I was a fan. XD At the time I wasn't nearly as much into music as a whole, but I've always liked eclecticists and the happy genre-and-language-splicing shaggy-dog-narrative popmusik of the BV3 albums holds up for me even now. They'd had minor hits and a sterling list of guest musicians and maybe shoulda coulda. A lot of things shoulda coulda happened at the end of the summer of 2001; a lot of them didn't.
Bran Van 3000 feat. Curtis Mayfield - Astounded
Anyhow. This was the first single off Discosis, and I have no idea how much airplay it got outside of Montreal - it could well have been a much bigger hit than I'm thinking. It's a mashup of sorts, Curtis Mayfield having passed away already at the time: a vocal track from a tape dug out of a basement archive, laid perfectly over a sparkling Latin house instrumental. Ultimate summer party, as aforementioned.
(When I am thirty this song will be ten years old. XD If I'm still in Montreal I'll throw a party; when things are hopping I'll play this song.
(ooooooh) All I wanna do is love you
(ooooooh) Feels like I'm already there
Maybe we'll all hallucinate we're twenty again for a minute? XD)
Bran Van 3000 feat. Summer Rose & Dizzy D - The Answer
In the interest of not getting too soppy, one last cut off Discosis. Say it with me:
JESUS CHRIST WAS A SUPERSTAR / A PIMPING BIG DADDY WITH A LINCOLN TOWN CAR / DROVE IT REAL FAST WITH THE FLYEST HOES / PLAYED CHICKEN WITH THE DEVIL FOR THE GREATEST APPLAUSE
Underworld - Mmm, Skyscraper I Love You (Necros Mix)
Underworld - Born Slippy
For
rondaview-as-iz-goin-to-Coachella. I am supremely unqualified to discuss Underworld compared to... a lot of people I know, actually, including RLers. For people around my age a phrase I'm using way too often Underworld is something one should rightfully have gotten into sooner rather than later (like Guns N' Roses? XD); I'm a weirdo and sometimes my wariness w/r/t all things musical and 1990s doesn't serve me well. "Born Slippy" aseveryonealreadyknows is their most famous track and was in the Trainspotting OST, it's one of those pieces of music that succeed in conjuring up a scene and a moment in time even if you were never there in the first place, because the memory is lodged in the collective unconscious or something... The Skyscraper remix was on serendip's DVD o' music, I like it lots.Please note mp3s will only be up for a week, as the entry is public.
And now the fic for the Mile Long Pole challenge. It's sort of awful, I'll probably be spending the rest of the night editing it. XD; Have some Orbital to go along with first (the tracks being 9-10 minutes each, playing them through will take considerably longer than reading the fic):
Orbital - Belfast (Sasha vs The Light Remix)
Orbital - Halcyon + on + on
Not much to say either, apart from the fact that I named the fic after the latter track - not the working title! which was "Return Flight", but "Halcyon" is equally relevant (i.e. not very) and less obvious. XD Read Nick Southall's writeup of the song in Stylus, he expresses it better than I can manage.
EDIT 20/03/06 - Rewrote or rather finished writing this story - is now twice as long and here. ^^;
Friday evening (that is the 17th, since I'm writing this on the 22nd XD) I read The Lives of Christopher Chant.
I like it very much, better than I expected (I don't know why I expected to like it less - sequelitis maybe? The usual sad law of diminishing returns). Jae said that it was her favorite of the Chrestomancis, perhaps because Christopher Chant Himself is actually an easier-going placeholder than the other child protagonists of this series, and I rather agree. I think I would be more inclined to reread this book than the others, anyway.
angrybabble had informed me Millie plays an important part in this book, and she does, but that was so not remotely approaching any backstory I would have anticipated (in a good way). XD XD I receive the niggling impression DWJ is poking fun at... what? Enid Blyton? Ursula K. Leguin? XD;; All very good-natured, on a par with Terry Pratchett's brand of poking fun aka "take recognizable SF/fantasy tropes, make more British."Now that I'm five books into the DWJ oeuvre I'm getting a sense of recurring leitmotifs:
- There will be the intimation, usually through throwaway comment(s) by another character, that other people view the protagonist in a radically different light from the way s/he sees him/herself. However the protagonist will not clue in until much later on that s/he (or his/her central relationships with others) could be viewed in some other way.
- There is a recurring theme, not of sibling rivalry, but sibling inferiority complex. The protagonist feels that s/he is the less/least competent of the family. (Maybe I find Christopher's emotions easier to follow because he's an only child, and an independent-minded one at that? XD)
- The child viewpoint character will experience a paradigm shift whereby s/he revises his/her opinion of someone. This usually involves the realisation that an adult previously thought of as responsible and/or authoritative is imperfect and not to be relied upon, at least not unquestioningly.
- Somewhat contradictorily, child characters also often create trouble when they contravene rules they don't understand ("You might not have known exactly why but you were told not to and you did it anyway"). I told
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worldserpent once that this was a point of irritation for me - my uber!INTP philosophy of childraising assumes that children should be taught to exercise logic and restraint from an early age by having the principle behind boundaries explained to them, and that they cannot be expected to respect rules they don't understand in the first place - and Charmian said maybe the goal is to show that adults are imperfect when it comes to bringing up kids (like the preceding bullet point)? For some reason this thought irritates me even more, but I can't put my finger on why. XD I do know I've never read a YA book and thought, "OMG, that's really how parents are, they don't understand, how unfair." I've always more tended to think, "Well, you were dumb to have pulled that stunt in the first place," or "Yeah, you'll obviously get into trouble for that one, but in your place I might have done the same." - Basically, there is a sense that the life skill most emphasized in these books is the faculty of judgment and social astuteness: the ability to see other people as they are and oneself as one is, and to take measures accordingly. I'm inclined to find this moral congenial, since (going solely by my own example) it probably is the skill most needed by kids who always have their noses buried in books. XD
- Her endings seem a bit riotous and messy and not quite satisfactory to me, although they are actually expertly plotted and wrapped up, because the climax always involves the entire cast doing a lot of complicated things to and around each other all at the same time. I've never considered this before, but I suspect I subscribe aesthetically to the... shounen manga?... school of one-on-one fights, whereby the climactic confrontation involves one member of your party taking out one antagonist at a time until the hero(ine) is left to deal with the Main Baddie. o_O; (This is, btw, what the first Harry Potter book does.)
Much as I think Lush's forte is in the bath ballistic and bubble bar lines, I don't take baths often enough (the only time I can really take a bubble bath without bothering anyone by running the water upstairs is on weekends, and I often go out on weekend nights). So this is yet another shampoo bar review, as well as short notes on regular soaps. :P
Seanick: this is the bright blue "marine"-scented bar that contains huge clumps, nigh sheets of nori. Other ingredients/scents are sea salt, irish moss, lemon oil, mimosa, orange blossom and jasmine. The overall effect when dry is difficult to describe, but that's always the case for "marine" scents - a light but penetrating saline floral, if that makes sense. Like most "marine" cosmetic lines, it doesn't smell anything like the ocean...... until you get it wet.
Then it really smells like the ocean.
This is the nori and salt, I'm pretty sure of it. It's not a pleasant experience. XD;; One has in one's hand something that could well have washed up on the beach five minutes ago, complete with slippery gross clumps of seaweed and the penetrating scent of the decomposing bodies of tiny crustaceans, and is now expected to rub it all over one's scalp. If one goes through with it one finds it lathers up quite nicely and does not actually make one's hair smell like rotting fish (the post-shower scent returns to the light salty floral), but one has to refrain from sniffing the bar itself for fear of gagging, which is distressing for a Lush product. And yes, it gets bits of seaweed in one's hair. Seaweed is gelatinous and melts in hot water, and is good for hair besides. But altogether a bit too Ariel the Little Mermaid, kitchen sink realism edition. XD
Luckily the just-washed-up-on-beach smell goes away after a few uses, or at least I no longer find it noticeable. One thing about Lush is their products always work as advertised, however bizarrely they might look/smell/behave otherwise. Godiva contains lanolin and softens hair texture, although it builds up after a while so you can't keep using it indefinitely. Seanick is supposed to make your hair glossy, and does: my hair tends toward shine so the visual difference is minimal, but I can definitely feel the change when I run my hand through my hair. It takes on a slippery-sleek quality that is pretty much what I'd expect from a carageenan treatment.
Angel's Delight: a sample I received with my Christmas shopping. Smells like and is the colour of fruit punch, a sort of pale red (the large wheel of it has swirls and blocks of colour, and some sparkles). Indistinguishable from any other fruity glycerine soap - actually, I remember when I was a kid, nine or ten, and translucent glycerine soap with scents like grapefruit or blackcurrant were awfully posh and not many people had them in their bathrooms. XD It's one of the ways in which the North American middle class has grown more discerning and upscale in the past fifteen years, like coffee.
Milky Bar: sweet orange oil, patchouli and soy milk. Another store sample. This is being discontinued, which is a pity as I actually quite liked it. :/ It's a delicate, rather sweet scent.
Gratuitous Violets: I just bought a large bar of this for household use. XD My mother scolded me, saying I didn't need to buy soap for the family as we have plenty already (which is true). Also she doesn't seem to like the scent very much, but I love violet leaf, and the name pretty much says it all. I said, doesn't it smell exactly like violet pastilles? She said, you have a whole jar of violet pastilles in the cupboard and you never eat them. I said yes, but who wants to eat perfume?
When
serendip was in town she brought her BPAL imps, most of which she said she was meh about, and gave a number of them to me. ^^; Erin also took a few. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to write more reviews, Jae. XDCathode (Bewitching Brews)
A negatively charged scent. Ambergris, Spanish Moss, oakmoss and three electric mints.
We went to Jae's B&B, opened all her imps one by one and sniffed them - and half of them had the exact same bubblegum smell, so I thought I'd killed my nose after the first couple. XD Later I cp'd all the descriptions from the website and compared them, and it turned out what I identify as "gum" is simply the BPAL... mint.
This is sort of your classic chypre scent, meaning that I like the drydown because it reminds me of Polo Classic. The mint is however long-lasting, and disconcerting because I only perceive it as mint when I keep the fact in mind - when I catch a whiff of it under distraction it goes back to being chewing gum. I don't think it's how the mint component reacts with my skin so much as a matter of unfortunate mental association; it smells to me like that right out of the bottle, and the others seem to perceive nothing of the sort.
This is one of those scents that seem very light when they go on, nearly unnoticeable, but that sort of waft about as you move. So you shake your head or wave your hands about, and suddenly you can smell it again, and the person sitting next to you sniffs the air and says, "Who's wearing perfume?"
Undertow (Dark Elements)
The Dark Side of Water: clean and purifying, yet menacing -- lotus and juniper with a hint of mint. A scent dragged up from the depths to the Stygian shore.
Jae really does not like this one. XD While it does not smell like toilet cleaner on me as it purportedly does on her, I have to say it is rather odd, and not at all reminiscent of the description. The BPAL "lotus" seems to be smoky sweet and vaguely artificial/candy-like, at least in this mix, or on me. (Real lotus flowers have a minty, refreshing fragrance.) That combined with the inevitable mint makes this the most chewing gum-like of the mint-containing oils I tried; beside Cathode I also had a quick sniff at Ultraviolet (violet/neroli/eucalyptus/mint) and Envy (lavender/lime/mint).
The stick-of-Wrigley association disappears as the mint and juniper burn off, but the drydown is still artifically sweet. BTW, this is my least recommended BPAL oil so far, since I have yet to find anyone who likes it - everyone I've made sniff the imp or my wrist has had the same reaction of "Ugh, what is that?"
(The oils that get the most compliments/remarks always have a strong rose note. I don't know if it's because rose works well with my skin, which it does, or because rose simply has populist appeal. XD)
The Lady of Shalott (Love Potions)
The scent of calm waters just before a raging storm, limned with achingly-beautiful blooms, an icy scent, but somehow warm, and mirror-bright: bold gardenia, crystalline musk, muguet, water blossoms, clear, slightly tart aquatic notes and a crush of white ginger.
This is a white floral like The Ghost. They don't smell the same, but the overall effect is so similar that (after having worn each several times) I put them both on at once and am sniffing my wrists in alternation, trying to define the difference beyond simply listing the ingredients. The best I can say is that it's like the difference between watermelon and honeydew melon. XD The Ghost is antique rose coloured, and after it's been on my skin for a while the fruity aspect develops decidedly into watermelon hard candies. The Lady of Shalott OTOH is a crisp light green-white in colour and more penetrating. I can pick out the different notes clearly - gardenia, muguet (lily of the valley), ginger - because they're all familiar to me, whereas I can't really tell apart the flowers in The Ghost. I'm not sure where the aquatic notes come in. Gardenia and lily of the valley have a sort of green, drenched edge to begin with, and that's what I smell.
I find the drydown of The Lady of Shalott very pleasant. I wouldn't ever order it, though, because an imp of this plus The Ghost plus Phantasm are all the white florals I'll need for a very long time. (Spicy-musky Oriental florals like Lilith or Delight go fastest, because I dump them in my scentless after-shower lotion. XD I've always worn more perfume to bed than out and about.)
Both scents are decently long-lasting but not still-there-tomorrows like Oberon or La Belle Dame Sans Merci. Last evening I tried Oberon in lotion after my shower, and a cloud of it followed me around until noon the next day. It's been 24 hours and I can still smell it faintly on myself. x_x;
Kuang Shi (Diabolus)
Bust out the dzang dzi! This scent honors the zombies of Chinese lore. Mandarin orange, white musk, mango, and white sandalwood.
Sometimes I think, oh lord the naming wank. But other times I feel the names are half the reason to order the things. XD
There is definitely something about this one that doesn't sit right with me. I wonder if it could be the white musk again (although it doesn't go French-soapy - the other ingredients seem to prevent it)? The white sandalwood? Anyhow. I looked on the forum again and it seems a lot of people felt the same. Words like 'sharp' and 'cruel' are tossed about. I'd be hard pressed to call it unpleasant, but I would have expected to like something with a top note of mandarin orange much more. It is a very "Asian" scent, definitely.
The takeaway from this imp is that mango is a base note, of all things. XD It ends creamy, orange and sweet, exactly like mango pudding.
Silk Road (Wanderlust)
A panoply of cultural treasures, spanning the herbs, flowers, oils and balms of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Northern China, Eastern Europe, Iran, the Bulgar-Kypchak, Mesopotamia, the Crimean Peninsula, Anatolia, Antioch, and North Africa.
There's a bit of Sri Lanka in this - sandalwood and cedar - but the heart notes are more complex, lighter and sweeter. There's cinnamon, possibly ginger, and after that I run out of certainty: it's a bit like being asked to identify the herbs in one's gin. XD;; As it dries down a pleasantly sweet and dessicated milk note comes to the fore, at least on my skin. It reminds me of vanilla rice milk, or maybe weak chai. Certainly not the same creamy hot-milk as Skuld (see below).
Overall it's much shorter-lasting and not as overwhelming as Sri Lanka. To use as proper (understated) perfume rather than as body scent: when mixed with lotion it just sort of disappears into my skin.
Moon Rose (Rappacini's Garden)
A crisp, pale, almost translucent rose dusted by moonflower and midnight dew.
It appears from the forums this was originally marked gender neutral. Well! I tend to associate scents with fictional characters (to the point that I sometimes have vague fancies of, say, assigning a BPAL oil to each character in Bleach or Nana). If you asked me to describe this quickly I'd say "Dorian Red Gloria bathing in a mountain pool at night". But somehow I feel "works for women and Eroica" is not the true definition of gender neutral.
So basically, it is rose. Not sugary or spicy, but clean, elegant, dewy, satin white rose. WYSIWYG - what you smell is what you get - the heart note straight out of the bottle. An irreproachable classic... as long as you (and the people around you) like rose.
Lilith (Excolo)
Mother of Demons, Vengeful Fury, Darkest Seductress, Queen of the Djinn, Goddess of the Gate. Red wine, myrrh, black musk, and attar of rose.
When I first opened the imp and sniffed I said to Jae, "This smells like curry," but we were a bit sandbagged from opening ten imps at once and I haven't had that reaction since. The predominant wet top note is the red wine but I wouldn't have called it that before reading the description, I would have said "mulled spice wine" or "cloves and turmeric" or (most likely) "Chinese medicine wine, the kind that's yellow and has dead snakes in". The oil is even the right poisonous sulfuric colour, clinging thickly to the dipstick ahahahaha.
The wine dies off fairly quickly as the musk/myrrh combination warms up (I assume - I don't really get rose in this, which goes to show how strong the rest is as rose tends to bloom on my skin). I'm still surprised there aren't more spices in the ingredients list. There's an almost powdery sweetness to it, with underlying bitterness and a sort of musky animality. It kind of reminds me of Yoruichi.
I like this a lot, actually. XD 'Chinese medicine' is a comforting going-to-bed scent for me, but that's a personal quirk. Oddly, Justin said immediately and unprompted that out of the scents I had him test this was the one that "resembled" me most.
Skuld (Excolo)
Ylang ylang, honey, Egyptian and Arabian musks and labdanum.
...LOLZ HUNNY. Like really really strong musky creamy honey, not unlike Lush's Flying Fox shower gel with the jasmine taken out. Only EVEN MORE HONEY THAN THAT. Seriously, this is an extremely strong scent on me. I was also incredulous to learn there was no "milk" or "butter" note, as I get phantom milk scents with every sniff: hot milk, butterscotch, milk chocolate, crème brûlée... an endless procession of creamy desserts. This sounds awesome on paper but is actually unnerving at first, since "eat or it will spoil/melt/get cold and gross" is not really the olfactory impression you want to associate with yourself. After a few uses I got used to it, though; mixing with lotion leavened it out enough to be pleasant. Flying Fox is supposed to be good for PMS (it's definitely 'heaty' in the Chinese sense), I wouldn't be surprised if this were as well.
Of course I went to bed with it. I associate "hot milk and honey" with nighttime, and if it weren't winter I'd be terrified of going outside with this on anyway. I can picture myself being chased down the street by a swarm of bees. XD;;
And finally, the first two chapters of Traffic. In which absolutely nothing much happens, I'm warning you, so don't get your hopes up. :/
Traffic
Liu Fei Long, age 28
Chairman, LTG Holdings Co. Ltd., Hong Kong S.A.R.
Sam Leung was both greying and balding. Fei Long currently had an excellent view of the progress of these twin conditions. The top of the kneeling man's head shone under the lamplight, surrounded by a ring of hair like scraggly winter brush.
"Really, Uncle Leung," he said, "get up."
Leung did not move. Fei Long nodded at one of his lieutenants, who approached the older man and tapped him on the shoulder, not ungently, before attempting to lift him by the elbow. Leung allowed himself to be maneuvred into a chair, stiff as an arthritic. His normally sallow complexion had lost a further shade of health.
Fei Long adjusted the angle of his teacup lid. The tiny clink of china against china was readily audible: the room was still, but for breathing.
"I can't begin to contemplate what you were thinking," he said. "You're of an age to sit back and relax, surely? Let your nephews tend to the day-to-day affairs, go to the horse races, lose a few hands of baccarat in Macau..."
Silence.
"Was the money worth it?"
Leung whispered something under his breath. Fei Long waited. Eventually Leung repeated himself, in a louder voice that still trembled.
"Forgive me..."
There was movement in the periphery of Fei Long's vision. One or two of his directors were taking a lively interest in the floor near their feet; the rest remained stony-faced. He sighed.
"Outsourcing, Uncle Leung. The mainlanders and the Burmese manufacture, we put up the funds. The cutting houses supply only the local market: the less merchandise transships Hong Kong the better. I can't think of anyone who should understand the principle better than you. And yet here you are, setting up a factory in the New Territories.
"Did you honestly assume you would escape notice simply because you were moving product overseas? Ten thousand units followed by... what? Did you consider what the Japanese had in mind? Who takes responsibility if your deal triggers a war between the Yokohama organizations and their backers? Do I inform our Tokyo contacts that this was part of our business plan, we simply didn't feel the need to consult them on their home turf?"
Leung looked as if he were about to faint. Fei Long took a sip of tea. After a few seconds he added, gazing into his cup, "It is not only a question of fiscal liability. It is a question of trust."
Leung fell forward out of his chair, onto hands and knees. The movement was comical; no one laughed or tried to help him up.
"Forgive me," he babbled. "It was a mistake. The profit margin – I thought—"
Fei Long watched him in silence, absently running a finger over the edge of his cup. Eventually Leung ran out of stuttered excuses. He made a movement toward Fei Long's chair, a desperate, groping gesture. A fleeting expression of distaste crossed Fei Long's face, and he moved his foot away from Leung's reaching hand. Leung froze.
"You are relieved of your responsibilities toward the organisation," said Fei Long, slowly. "The management of your clubs will pass to Leung Kar-Sing, and the rest of the Leung group's assets will be redistributed accordingly. In view of your long service to the Liu family there will be no further punishment." He gazed down into Leung's face for a long moment – the man did not look relieved, far from it – then turned to the soldiers standing at attention behind him. "Please escort Mr. Leung from the premises."
When the door closed there was a muted but general exhalation of relief, and a certain amount of shifting in seats and wiping of faces. A couple of Leung's close cohorts looked green at the gills. He noted them as instances of a public lesson learnt; there was no evidence anyone but Leung was set to benefit from the deal.
Instead he said to the room at large, "When a man is found to be at fault, he should always be given a second chance to prove himself. What do you think of this principle?"
"Someone who betrays once will do so again at his convenience," said Wong Jian, a weapons trader. "And in Leung's case - for what?"
"Not mere shortsighted greed, if that's what you mean," said Fatty Mok from his favorite position near the lacquered screen. "He has ambition for those boys of his, whether or not they have any of their own. Why, Kar-Sing or Jonny could well rule Mongkok nightlife at the tender age of twenty-five—"
Someone gave a derisive snort.
"—If all they lack are the funds to buy out the opposition," Mok finished with a gleeful flourish, and leant back in his chair. "Blood runs thicker than gold, my friends. Nepotism will be the death of us all."
"Enough," said Fei Long, meeting Mok's eyes across the room. "The meeting is over."
Leavetaking took place with the usual amount of ceremony. Mok lingered, polishing his spectacles with a soft cloth and fussing with the case. He was known as a fixer, a Baishe associate of long standing – one of the aides who had the elder Liu's ear before his death – and among the first to support Fei Long in the power struggle that ensued, though no one had ever caught him favoring one candidate over another beforehand.
When the rest of the directors had left the room Fei Long set his tea cup down and nodded to Tao, seated on a stool in the corner. The boy immediately approached and removed the tray. After the door had closed behind him Fei Long said, "Do you believe Kar-Sing was the impetus behind this deal?"
"I believe Kar-Sing to have more wit than to make a play from his position," said Mok. "He has his eye on the long haul. And he'll keep Jonny and the others in check." Fei Long nodded.
"I want it kept quiet," he said. "Give it a month."
"Natural and unrelated, I assure you," said Mok. "What is Sam Leung without his clubs and his hostesses? I doubt his heart will take the strain." He hauled his corpulence out of his chair. "What of the deal itself, in the meantime? Does the white snake ride the trade wind while it's fair?"
Fei Long remained silent for a few moments, thinking. Mok waited. Finally Fei Long said, "Get me the factory manager. I'd like to see what convinced Leung to take the plunge."
Winston Tse Hsu-Ping, age 25
Ph.D. candidate (medicinal chemistry), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong S.A.R.
The door buzzed open. Winston swung his feet off the table and sat up, setting down his notes.
The men who entered were not ones he expected. He recognized the one with the slicked-back hair as a frequent background hoverer during Leung's visits – more secretary than bodyguard, he thought. Another was obviously muscle. The third had narrow eyes in a narrow, tanned face. The face looked bored, the eyes did not.
"What is it?" he said, addressing Slick-Hair. "I have a schedule to follow." The man found a source of inspiration in the periodic table pinned to the wall. It was the third man who answered:
"We're taking you to see someone."
"Mr. Leung?"
"Mr. Leung is no longer in charge of this operation. Bring samples of the merchandise."
Winston stared at him for a second, then stood up, went to the grey cabinet, and unlocked it. One of the shelves held three beakers, each half filled with pills. He took two from each beaker, placing each pair in a two-by-two-inch zip-locked plastic bag.
"Fine," he said. "Let's go."
***
He expected an excursion to a warehousing facility (the worst case scenario being a construction site sand pit), but an hour later he found himself being ushered down a tastefully-lit corridor on the first basement parking level of a Hong Kong Island skyscraper.
It was not an office building. The corridor was set with ornately framed, floor-to-ceiling mirrors in which he caught glimpses of himself half-hidden between two taller, dark-suited men (Slick-Hair had disappeared in the interim), and punctuated with elevator doors. Each elevator - Winston estimated - serviced one or two suites per floor only, isolating the inhabitants from each other insofar as it was possible.
He counted ten elevators. It was a long corridor.
The eleventh and last elevator featured a card reader. The narrow-eyed man retrieved a magnetic key card from his breast pocket and swiped it before punching the single available floor button (P5).
The ride did not take a long time, but it made Winston feel queasy.
Two burly men sat around a card table in the foyer. They wore dark suits and had wires hanging out of their ears. They looked up when the elevator doors opened.
"We're expected," said Narrow-Eyes. One of the men said something into his mouthpiece and nodded. The other one got up and patted Winston down with the efficiency of an afterhours club bouncer.
"What are these?" he asked.
"Samples," said Winston.
"He was told to bring them," said Narrow-Eyes.
The first man unlocked and pulled open a folding metal gate with a clatter. At the same time the door behind it was opened, from the inside.
"Please come in," said the boy. He was perhaps ten or twelve, dressed in old-fashioned embroidered silks, with a fresh-faced look Winston found jarring. "Master Fei is expecting you."
***
Winston wasn't expecting Master Fei.
He knew the name Liu Fei Long but not much more (excessive knowledge or the appearance thereof was generally not construed in his interest). He imagined someone like Sam Leung; a little younger and less greasy, perhaps, a little more obviously intelligent. He didn't think—
Had there ever been a Canto-pop star turned matinée idol more unbelievable in the role of Triad leader?
Even a female Canto-pop star?
Liu Fei Long looked him up and down, a flicker of perfect, almond-shaped dark eyes. Something about his gaze made Winston feel small and awkward and exposed. A pinky mouse, he thought – lovingly defrosted and dropped into a garter snake's aquarium. He kept his face still, but his hands curled into fists at his sides.
Liu must have noticed. He smiled slightly; the effect was stunning.
"So you're Tse Hsu-Ping," he said. "You've caused a fair amount of excitement. Do you have the samples?"
Winston took the zip bags out of his pocket. Narrow-Eyes appeared by his side, took the samples and carried them over to Liu, laying them in a row on the ornately carved teak side table beside Liu's chair. It was a distance of less than three meters.
"Tell me," said Liu. "What do these do?"
Winston took a breath. "The blue tablet with a diamond imprint contains 35mg caffeine, 40mg methamphetamine—"
Leung would have told him to answer the fucking question: what does it do, not what did you put in it. Liu allowed him to recite his entire list. Halfway through the enumeration of the third formula he opened the sample bag in question, shook out one of the pills and held it up to the light.
"The blue diamond," he said when Winston was done, "keeps the user in an alert and hyper-focussed state for a period of several hours, with comparatively negligeable side effects. The yellow butterfly is an euphoric relaxant. And this one—" he rolled it between thumb and forefinger. "There is a liquid form of this that can be administered intravenously. It has... interesting effects."
"It can also be inhaled," said Winston. "It was difficult to fixate for oral dosage."
"Indeed," said Liu, glancing up at him. It was an amused look. "Do you assess all your creditors in this fashion?"
He understood. Of course. "I feel more comfortable if I know whom I'm working for."
"If they're aware enough to appreciate your worth, you mean."
Winston was silent.
"Since I now hold your debt I've looked into the repayment schedule you previously were on with Sam Leung," said Liu. He leant forward in his chair, loops of dark hair shifting over his shoulder. "I applaud your sense of filial piety."
Winston laughed sharply. It sounded bitter even to himself. "Filial piety has nothing to do with it. I would have let you take the store and the flat if that would've been the end of it, but unfortunately I know how to add. You would have come after me anyway."
"The generic you, I hope," said Liu. "And, of course, with your father dead and the family business gone it would have been extremely difficult to finance your further education. But you made Leung see an investment with a sure expectation of return. No, not entirely a shortsighted fool."
The tone of voice made it clear. Remember to whom you speak.
Winston reminded himself to breathe. "What do you mean to do with me?" he asked finally.
"Very little that has not already been done," said Liu. "You will produce the next shipment as stipulated by Leung, but you will do it for me. I've raised your theoretical salary to slightly above the industry norm. As for your own ongoing arrangement—" he smiled that slight smile again. "Understand that your abilities are keenly appreciated."
***
Leung demanded "samples" on a frequent basis and always kept them. Liu returned them to Winston at the conclusion of the interview. Later that evening he dumped the contents of each bag back into its respective beaker, taking care not to touch.
Then he got down to work.
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Date: 2006-03-01 03:14 am (UTC)I don't know why, but I started laughing so hard when I read this ;)
I used to collect soap when I was a little kid. We had a lot of translucent glycerine soap in the house that never got used because of this. At some point we must have started depleting the soap collection, possibly after I started collecting stickers instead.