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Pleasant day. Did a little meditation. Road a very odd bus - it has the weird bendable device in the middle of it. Reminding me of why I don't like buses, possibly the most dangerous mode of travel known. The things that can go wrong. And far too dependent on the driver's expertise. Really hate bus travel. Always have convinced I'm going to get killed. The only buses I ever enjoyed are in England and Wales. In Wales, ( back in the 1980s, I don't know if they still exist haven't been there since 1988) they had these nifty double decker green buses, you could sit on the top, at the very front and it was bit like riding a rollercoaster up and down those hills. London buses are fun too, but nothing like those old Welsh double deckers...also oddly safer than the US long distance buses. My dad drove a bus in a former life - not in Wales, in Yellowstone and Glacier National Park.

Have been re-reading bits of Checkmate by Dorothy Dunnett (this is the last book in the Chronicles of Lymond historical novels. Granted, I've been reading George RR Martin lately, but she still an odd writer. Dunnet writes around things. She doesn't write directly about something or describes it directly, she eludes to it.

Here's an example of a sex scene or love scene between her two main characters:

And so, incontinently, the striding flame that consumed them, without words, without courtship became, instead of the echo of lust, the cauterizing fire which expelled it for ever. For in the total extremity of need, with the fine mind overturned and subjugated for once by the overwhelming desires of the body, there still remained, drowned and helpless but there, the shadows of grace, and care, and courtesy, caught fast like stars in the deluge.


In short, they had wild passionate sex, which as described, oddly, inspires me to giggles. (Possibly a sign that I've read far too much erotic fanfic on the internet for my own good?) Flowery writer, Dunnett. Although the scene is relatively short and points for an economic use of language. She also has the oddest tendency to insert words that I don't know and foreign languages in the middle of the text, along with Gallic 16th Century Poetry - which is admittedly fitting, I think the story takes place in the 16th Century or thereabouts. Although I'm not sure someone would be reciting Gallic poetry during it...but who knows?

( more which contains spoilers assuming of course you care or have never read the Lymond Chronicles by Dunnett. )

Good Wife and Once impressions...

Quickly because I have to go to bed. First a few things to get off my chest so to speak, although I always think this goes without saying or at least if feels obvious to me...which is 1) in response to a question of what sort of things I am willing to do for six hours at a time to relax and meditate, that I constantly practice at - I said, I write. Often in a blog. No rules, or few. Under another name. Sometimes delete. I feel free when I do it. As if I can be fully myself...just let it go and when I go into the zone, I feel a sense of peace. I seriously doubt anyone else blogs that way. But there it is. 2) I'm not a specialist, I'm a generalist. I am interested in tons of things and know a lot about a variety, yet not enough to be an expert...for some I think this looks arrogant or disingenuous or dangerous, but I disagree - specialists scare me more - because they see themselves as experts, nothing left to learn, so stuck in one area, they don't look outside of it, they become in a way bureaucratic stuck inside their own cubicle, they never look outside the box or think outside of it or admit...they don't know. I prefer generalists, I was raised by generalists and taught by them - to question everything and that the wisest thing was to say I don't know and admit when I am horribly wrong. And more often than not, as you well know, I am. Being wrong is being human. I think we need to admit it more. Or I do. Admitting when I am wrong, even when it is bone-crushingly embarrassing and it often is. It gives me at least the gift of humility. Arrogance...leads to bullying.

Case in point tonight's The Good Wife proved me deadly wrong on an assumption I'd made about the age of Eli's daughter and who her mother was. LOL! Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

( Good Wife spoilers )

Once Upon a Time - my second favorite show. My favorite shows are right now: Good Wife, Once Upne a Time, Vamp Diaries, and Revenge. (currently airing - Game of Thrones is in there somewhere as well of course).

My only problem with Once is the male guest-stars could be better. CinderELLA's prince charming is no Dougray Scott, just saying. I liked the actress who played Ella/Ashley though. And I adore Rumplestilskin/Mr. Gold. Robert Carlyle's Gold is almost as good as Alan Cummings Eli Gould.

Of course, I love Rumplestilskin - he's a trickster character and I adore tricksters, you can't quite predict what they will do next. Also a character that makes things happen, a catalyste character - a character type that I am exceedingly fond of. Jimmy McNulty, Omar, Spike, Rumplestilskin. They aren't either good or evil, they tend to be ambiguous ...and often shake things up. They bring about change. Helps that Rumple is portrayed by the fabulous Robert Carlyle - who was the star of The Full Monty and various independent British flicks, before popping up as the star of Star-Gate Universe (which I tried to watch, but most military based sci-fi adventure bores me. I can't watch it.)

( Spoilers for Once )