Short story - The Richest Woman In The World

Here's another story published by Nautilus... I wish some of my English speaking friends could read it, they would get quite a kick out of it.

The Richest Woman In The World

2009 Travel Log: Budapest and Vienna

Or adventures with a GPS.

This vacation started with a promising vow: to finish our packing the weekend before our departure. It’s true we managed to gather everything on Saturday and send the clothes that needed cleaning to the washing machine, but somehow from there to actually make it into the suitcases on Friday at midnight we were still packing.

The difference from our previous vacations abroad was that this time it wasn’t just the four of us, we were travelling with my cousin’s family, two adults and two kids my brother’s age. To make the writing easier from now on my cousin=MC, her husband=CH, her son=CS, her daughter=CD, and little brother=LB. As usual no real names will be used. Let’s get on with the story…

Saturday, 22th of August

- our plan to start the journey as early as possible didn’t quite work; at 9:30 the boys were still in the parking lot cleaning out the car and washing the windows.

- at about 10 AM we were just about ready to leave.

- I had copied and printed routes for us to follow for the entire circuit and brought the papers with us but no one cared to look over them.

- after weeks of discussions and consultations with friends regarding the matter of acquiring a good but not too expensive GPS, they had settled for borrowing one from a friend. The last moment they had realized the charger inside the car wasn’t working and had to take it back to the garage, after just bringing it out, but that’s a small detail.

- so they had a new toy and were eager to use it. I don’t know what setting they chose, but it became obvious it was a different route than the one we had talked about at home. I didn’t say anything, I let them have their fun trusting Dad’s lifelong travel experience.

- we ended up following a route that went Iasi – Tg. Frumos – Pascani – Gura Humorului – Campulung Moldovenesc - Vatra Dornei – Bistrita – Dej - Zalau – Alesd – Oradea.

- I was familiar with the scenery up to Vatra Dornei as I had stayed at “Casa Alba” there for a weekend two years ago, and froze to death in the middle of the summer.

- lovely landscape, nice to visit but not to actually live there, not for me anyway.

- landscape still pretty after Vatra Dornei though different, flatter and less green.

- Bistrita was nice, although we didn’t go as far as downtown, I liked the trees separating the two lines of the road. We saw lots of wedding processions since the wedding season had just started again, one in particular was led by a formation of bikers and LB got a kick out of it. The road was closed due to some repair work and as we were paying attention to the GPS we got lost for a bit and had to take a large detour.

- we stopped the car next to a big willow tree and took a short break to eat and rest for a bit while listening to a fishing & cooking festival on the local radio station. On the other side of the road there was an unfinished house, no painting, windows or doors, but it had a nice location. There seem to be many houses in the process of being built all over the place.

- the real adventure started between Zalau and Alesd when we entered a country road full of holes, and I mean hole next to the hole and next to another hole in a way that made them impossible to be avoided. We drove on that road for like 10 mins, hoping it wasn’t going to last long, and then it entered the forest. Imagine a mix between Twilight and Wrong Turn, shudders, and the four of us jumping inside the car like Mexican beans. We encountered a lady leading a cow and we stopped to ask if the road was that bad all the way and she said, “Yes, up to Alesd,” with a Hungarian accent. We asked how long that was and she replied, “30 kms.” So we drove all 30 kms, it took us a whole hour and later we agreed that was the point where we should have turned back and look for another road. It was getting dark and more or less joking we contemplated the possibility of getting stuck and spend the night in the woods, as we had passed by a car that had apparently broken down and all the passengers were fussing around it. We came to the conclusion that there would be no danger as no wild animals could be around, they had nothing to eat and even them had better sense than to use that stupid road. No GPS has been cursed as many times as ours, I can promise you that.

- it was completely dark when we finally arrived to Oradea, close to 10 PM. We saw nothing of the city and went straight to the boarding house where we had reserved a room.

On the Internet it was called Pensiunea Z but the locals knew it as Pensiunea Bass so we almost missed it. The room was on the ground floor as requested but the owner had forgotten to tell us there was half a flight of stairs to get to the main entrance, and we had to carry all our baggage up. The room was clean, two single beds next to each other and one bunk bed, it had a TV and its own bathroom and there was a fridge available on the corridor. The only problem was that since it had been a hot day it was suffocating inside the room, and with the windows opening towards the walls of another building it felt like there was not enough air to breathe.

- Mom collapsed with exhaustion and was good for nothing for the rest of the day, while we ate something, watched a Dolph Lundgren movie that happened to be on, and then fell asleep.

Sunday, 23th of August:

- regardless of how tired and stiff we still felt, we were able to enjoy the hot water in the morning and eat some pastry from the shop next door.

- at 9 AM we manage to load the car and leave and soon we made it to the Hungarian border.

- as soon as we crossed the border it started to rain and it didn’t stop until we entered Budapest.

- the GPS messed up again and instead of taking us to the highway it led us through several pretty villages. One thing I liked was the way the villages spread on one side of the road and not like at home where the road passes right through the middle.

- we arrived to Budapest with half an hour delay and turned around in circles for a bit because several streets were closed for repairs and the GPS wasn’t aware of that.

- eventually we met MC & co. and arrived to our meeting point in front of the Astoria Hotel where the administrator of the apartment was waiting.

- the Diamond 2 apartment situated on Sip Utca consisted of one living room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen in the entrance hallway.

With only the necessary furniture existing it looked bigger than it really was, definitely big enough for our two families to live in it for three days. It was clean and fully functional, unlike the building that was very old and looked like it could fall apart any time soon. The elevator was making a dreadful noise each time the door was closing. Mom, Dad and I took one bedroom, MC and CH took the other one, and the kids were left to sleep in the living room on the couch and folding bed.

- we had a quickly fixed lunch and then we went out to explore our surroundings.

- we went on Vaci Utca, their famous pedestrian street, where MC bought a backpack for herself, then we crossed the Erszebet Bridge and went up North on the West side of the Danube.

- on the way we had to keep stopping and waiting for them to take photos, and with four cameras and one cell phone available that took some time. During one of those shooting stops CH put his wallet on the edge of the bridge and forgot it there. MC noticed it and quickly stashed it away without telling anyone. About a kilometer later we saw him jump up screaming “My wallet!” and running back. At first we didn’t quite understand what was going on, but then understood and seeing MC so calm we became suspicious. Mom was the only one agitated, insisting for them to call him back because he might have a heart attack. CH returned by himself a few seconds later caching up on our lack of agitation and everything ended up well. It was fun to watch him run away like that though.

- at the Margaret Bridge we stopped to watch the sunset and the Parliament turn pink in the last rays of sun, took lots of photos once the lights were turned on along the bridges and on the facades of the most important buildings.

- once we had enough we crossed the bridge and returned home walking on different streets.

Monday, 24^th of August

- early in the morning the boys took the cars to a paid parking, apparently there’s no way to park for free in the city, or at least close to downtown.

- the day was reserved to visit the Buda part of the city.

- we started once again on Vaci Uta, until we got to the water and we crossed it on the Chains Bridge, the most famous of them all and decorated with the highest amount of lights at night.

- we debated using the cable railway to get to the castle up on the hill but decided against it, too short trip for that price, so we followed the stone paved alley instead.

- at the top we took a tour around Buda Castle. Being Monday just one of the museums was open and the ones that interested us were closed.

- we saw a small traditional work exhibition, liked the colorful knitted table pieces.

- on to St. Mathias’ church: the façade was covered being under repair, and the interior I found to be too busy with that mosque-like pattern.

- the Fishermen Bastion we saw only from the ground, then we passed by Hilton Hotel and the Military Museum on our way back.

- return to the Danube on Batthyany Utca with a stop to buy a varied selection of cakes.

- we ate them in the square in front of St. Anna’s church.

- St. Anna’s church made a good impression on me with the green painted walls, gold decorations and little painting compared to the over-crowded St. Mathias.

- stop at the supermarket next to the church for a bathroom visit. It was the first and the last time we paid to use a toilet.

- since it was still early we crossed the bridge to visit Margrit Island. It’s like a huge park, with flowers, trees, a singing fountain, sport complexes, ruins, a memorial, a zoo, hotels, etc. I loved the trees, the fresh air and peaceful feeling. We made it up to the two hotels before it started to get dark and we had to go back. Later, reading the tourist guide we realized we missed the rose garden and the Japanese garden at least.

- our walk home passed by the Parliament, the back part looks very dirty and old, the Hungarian television and the theatre.

Tuesday, 25^th of August

- we started in the morning with St. Stephen’s church; big and impressive, what I found disconcerting was the fact that the interior looked somehow too polished, like it was brand new, not something I’m used to find in churches. I loved the gold plated chandeliers.

- followed Andressy Ut to get to Central Park.

- in the Heroes Square we entered the Museum of Fine Arts.

and spent most part of the afternoon there, up to the closing time actually. Mom and I moved faster and succeeded to see all the exhibitions, unlike the others. I discovered I quite liked Turner’s work. I’m not happy with their policy of closing the museums and most stores at 6 PM, more time would be better. It was nice to be able to go to the bathroom for free though.

- while Mom and MC went to the baths in the park for an hour, the rest of us took photos in the Heroes Square and then waited on the border of a pond watching the ducks because LB had injured his legs and had difficulty walking.

- return home on a different route.

Wednesday, 26^th of August

- LB was still injured so he stayed home.

- we went to see the market; it looked smaller than the one in Barcelona, only that it had an extra floor with clothes and other stuff upstairs; met two Romanians working there.

- the Synagogue was close and we went to visit that one too. A Romanian girl was at the info booth. I liked the cozy feeling of the interior, and the light bulbs, it gave me the impression of a restaurant/party hall.

- at this point we split, MC & co. went to visit the Parliament (it was closed) and look for catacombs, which no one was able to tell them where to find, so they returned to the apartment and played cards with LB. He’d spent the time sleeping, looking after the cute next door neighbor, and playing on the Internet. When I had booked the apartment I hadn’t asked for Internet access, but he’d been able to connect to a wireless network in the building so he was happy.

- meanwhile we were checking every sport store we could find looking for sport pants for him to help with his injury. It soon became clear that we needed a big department store so we headed for the West End mall next to the train station, quite a bit of a walk. It was a big mall, and the prices were big too, but at least we found what we needed and after touring fast the ground floor and first floor, towards evening we made it home with Hungarian beer and sausages. MC had brought ice cream and we had a feast.

- general conclusions after the first part of our trip: Budapest is a beautiful city, there are a lot of old buildings, many of them needing renovating. Many bicycles, and also many cigarette smokers. We learned a few Hungarian words: korut=boulevard, utca=street, ut=passage/path, ter=square, bejarat=entrance, zarva=closed, kiado=for rent, elado=for sale. LB started to speak with a Hungarian accent and said an “o istenem!” (oh my God) every other few words.

Thursday, 27^th of August

- at MC’s suggestion we stopped in Eisenstadt on the way to Vienna. We had to delay our meeting with the guy from the agency that rented us the apartment, but it was well worth it.

- in Eisenstadt we visited Esterhazy Castle, a place where Haydn worked and lived and therefore aside from the actual castle, lovely concert room, there was also a Haydn exhibition.

- MC & co. stayed a little longer, but we had to run and get the key before the office closed at 4 PM.

- a couple of more phone calls later we made it to the agency’s office, this time the GPS took us straight to the destination with no mistakes, and we had it all solved in no time.

- the apartment was in a different district so we had to drive a bit longer to get there. We parked the car right in front of the building, hurried to take our luggage upstairs, and then the boys went to look for a place to park as we had been warned the parking situation was even worse than in Budapest and without a parking ticket you could easily get a fine.

- apartment Oper had one bedroom which we immediately took over, and one large living room separated from the kitchen by a bar.

- while waiting for them to return we unpacked and prepared lunch, found Mom’s red top that miraculously kept disappearing, and then waited some more.

- when we started to worry and called them they had been touring the entire district and the only parking they had been able to find cost them 35 EUR per day. Outrageous!

- usually while I’m on vacation I don’t touch the PC, but this time I had to make an exception. The apartment came with free Internet access and since Dad had brought his laptop I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening looking for affordable parking places.

- in the evening they took the list I had made and the GPS, retrieved the car and went to check the parking places I had found. I stayed at the apartment armed with the phone and laptop and ready to give them more directions if needed. They returned with the metro after midnight, having left the car in a parking with 3 EUR per day in another district.

- we lost half a day of Vienna sightseeing.

Friday, 28^th of August

- Mom and I congratulated ourselves for choosing the bedroom to sleep in. The living room was facing a busy street and when the window was open the noise was very loud, plus the heating system was beeping every half an hour. To compensate, the mattress in our room was not that great and it was too hot under the cover.

- we discovered just how long it took us to get from Wahringer to downtown: 45 mins. A bit too much considering that we aren’t early risers and we had to walk the same way in the evening to get home, but that’s the disadvantage of a cheaper apartment.

- our way passed by Volksopera.

- walk on Graben and to St. Stephan’s cathedral. MC & co. were already there and we met in Stephanplatz. We walked around St. Stephan’s but didn’t enter. The cathedral was nice, with a façade decorated with lots of sculpting work, and part of it was in badly need of renovation, which was being done, part of the tower being covered. Carriages pulled by horses were waiting on one side of the square and the smell of horse manure was overpowering.

- we discussed what to see next, we hadn’t made a schedule in advance, and agreed to go to Belvedere Castle.

- apparently they weren’t that used to walking so we had to take the metro to get there. Given that my only term to comparing it to was the one in Athens I can say I really liked it. And I loved the elevators.

- hot day, but I was the only one not complaining as I was wearing sunscreen. I have a tendency to get sunburns on my face and arms while on vacation and spending the entire day outside walking on the street, and this time for a change I didn’t forget to bring sunscreen.

- we did it a little backward and stopped at the souvenir shop before entering the castle. I liked a set of liqueur glasses painted with Klimt’s ladies on them. We were going to discover that Klimt’s work, and especially The Kiss, were featured just about everywhere. We wondered if they had it printed on toilette paper too.

- it was very amusing when the lady selling tickets asked how old I was and before I could speak Mom hurried and said 18 so we got a family ticket, which was cheaper.

- I loved Belvedere, though we only visited the upper part and the garden. I especially liked a Delacroix painting, although I’m not usually into flower paintings, and of course Klimt’s famous Kiss whose reproduction I have on the wall in the living room at home.

- stop at the Russian Heroism Memorial, it reminded me a little of the Heroes Square in Budapest, and a short rest on the bench to admire the fountain.

- passed by the French Embassy on the way to Karlskirche where we took the elevator to the top platform to get a panoramic view.

- from there we continued along the Ring and saw the Opera, the Parliament, the Rathaus (City Hall), and Burgtheater.

- the kids were getting hungry by then and since there was a food festival in front of the Rathaus they went to look for Viennese sausages because CD insisted she wanted some. They returned very disappointed reporting there was all kind of food one could imagine except for sausages. LB decided to pass on the food when he saw the prices estimating he could buy three kebabs for the same amount of money.

- so we stopped at a Billa supermarket and bought some sandwiches that we ate on a bench before going to St. Peter’s church to listen to an organ concert. The kids fell promptly asleep and the adults weren’t far from that either. We could only withstand it for half an hour before getting out. I can honestly say my ears don’t agree with such kind of music.

- MC wanted to go to Prater to the fairground and try the big wheel and they took LB with them.

- we walked on Graben and adjacent streets some more and then we started the long walk home. I liked the way the problem of stairs and ramps was solved on a steep street that was permanently closed to traffic.

Saturday, 29^th of August

- as predicted it rained all morning and then random raindrops kept falling during the rest of the day.

- we slept in late and left the house shortly after noon when the rain seemed to have stopped. It was cold so I got the chance to wear my new red jacket I had bought just before leaving on vacation.

- tired after the previous day’s experience, we decided it would have been a shame not to take advantage of the metro given that there was a station right in front of our building.

- first a stop at the tourist information center in Albertinaplatz. We left with about a kilo of flyers that we never found the time to check. Then we entered a souvenirs shop and a perfume store when the rain allowed it.

- MC & co. were already at the Technisches Museum (it was close to their hotel), but we went to the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts. The website claimed the admission was free on Saturday and it didn’t lie.

- lots of interesting things, I particularly liked the chair exhibition.

- we stayed until closing time and by then the rain had stopped and the sky was beginning to clear up.

- MC suggested to go with them to Mariahilfer Strasse and then called right back to tell us all the stores were already closed and there was no point in going there.

- we walked some in the inner district, but technical difficulties forced us to retire early before dark.

- MC & co. came to visit us in the evening and although Mom had prepared dinner for everyone they had already eaten. The ice cream was from the Billa across the street and it was horrible.

Sunday, 30^th of August

- fixed the problem in the morning.

- went to Kunsthistorishe Museum (Art History Museum). MC & co. were at Naturhistorishe Museum (Natural History Museum) but then came to join us.

- we started the tour the wrong way so we saw the Roman and Greek collections first and then the Egyptian and Eastern collections. LB loved the sarcophagi.

- we discovered quite a big collection of Romanian medals and dishes made of massive gold. Their origin source was written with very small letters.

- of course my favorite were the paintings collections at the second floor. I loved several of them and especially Rubens.

- once again we commented on how things were better organized here than in Budapest where one could easily miss a room because it looked like a maze and there were no signs.

- the museum closed a few minutes before the scheduled time so we missed to opportunity to see the Coin Cabinet and check its bathroom. We’d figured out that since we paid for entrance anyway, we could make good use of its other facilities as well and it had worked so far.

- next we took the metro to get to the other side of the Danube, at Vienna International Center.

- it was an area full of modern building so Dad was in heaven snapping pictures all the time.

- we went through the park, stopped at the tower, no, not to bungee jump but for them to see the city from above.

- on the way out we saw the buildings again with all the lights on.

- we took the metro to the station closest to MC’s hotel where we said goodbye because they were leaving in the morning.

- at home we celebrated LB’s name anniversary.

Monday, 31^st of August

- because MC had already seen it during a previous visit to Vienna, we had reserved this day for Schonbrunn Palace.

- it was a different experience, in the sense that this time we didn’t get to see just art objects but full rooms preserved the way they were at the time when they were used by the inhabitants of the palace, Sisi, Maria-Therese, Napoleon, etc. We got tickets for the big tour and that meant a total of 40 rooms. I absolutely loved it.

- when we were done, Dad went by himself to take photos in a different district and we stayed to see the rest of that attractions.

- we took LB to the carriage museum and then through the park to the Zoo where we agreed to meet outside in half an hour.

- meantime Mom insisted for us to go up the hill and see the Glorietta. That was a hell of a walk.

- an hour and a half later LB still hadn’t showed up and Mom was beginning to panic. The zoo was much bigger than we had expected and there were two other exits she feared he might have used if he’d been his distracted self. We had no means to contact him, he’d taken Mom’s phone to take photos of the animals, so we had to page him through the zoo’s announcing system, twice. We saw many Romanians while waiting there.

- it was too late to go to Mariahilfer Strasse like we had initially intended so we had to make other plans.

- Dad came back and together we went to see The Hundertwasser House and Kunst House. I liked the first one better, it must have looked darn well in its glory days. The second one came out better in the pictures so maybe it was a light problem as it was getting dark.

- walk to the Danube, ate some pizza and then a longer walk downtown, including entering St. Stephan’s Cathedral. I was disappointed by the absence of paintings on the walls and ceiling and I lost interest to visit it during the day. We spotted a Swarovski store and put it on the list for the following day.

- late walk along the Ring to see the lit up buildings, Opera, The Parliament, and especially the Rathaus, which looked like a Christmas tree.

Tuesday, 1^st of September

- there was one last museum on my list and I insisted to go see it.

- Dad walked us to the Hofburg, there was some sort of festival in the main yard, but he didn’t enter, he went to take photos somewhere else.

- inside we saw the Silver Collection, tons of dishes, glasses, cutlery, and candle holders, the Sisi Museum, and the Imperial apartments, about a dozen of rooms not as rich as in Schonbrunn.

- we took LB to visit Natural History Museum but it was closed. Ironically, we’d had a huge argument in the morning regarding who was going to take which phone so the baby wouldn’t pull another zoo.

- from there we went on Kartner Strasse to the Swarovski store where I got myself a “sparkle ring”. When it sparkled into the light it reminded me of the sculptures at the top of the buildings and I thought it would be a nice souvenir from Vienna. LB didn’t agree. I also liked some flowers with metal stem but those were too damn expensive. Mom was into butterflies, grrr.

- we finally made it to Mariahilfer Strasse where we finished our shopping for the friends at home and later met with Dad and walked some more.

- evening walk downtown, passed through Hofburg and one last look at the Opera before retiring for the night.

- regrets: we didn’t see a market and Musikverein, we didn’t enter the Opera, we wasted too much time in the morning before going out, with the metro and because of the rain.

- Vienna conclusions: I liked it better than Budapest, wish we had more days to visit or just walk in the streets. The metro is a tricky thing, while easy and convenient to use it eats up the time when you could be out there seeing things. I liked the buildings and the way they protected the sculptures at the top with nets to keep the birds away.

Wednesday, 2^nd of September

- we packed our bags, the boys went to get the car and we made it out of the apartment before the cleaning lady arrived. That would be noon. I swear we’re not lazy, it must be a chemical unbalance or something.

- this time we chose the highway, although Dad and LB wanted to see more villages.

- rather boring, not mentioning hot, but such good roads!

- it all went well until the GPS messed up again. We were approaching Debrecen in Hungary and had been instructed to go straight ahead for another 30 km or so when M3 split into M3 and M35. Normally we stayed on M3 only to find ourselves driving on a road that didn’t even exist on the GPS’s map. We had to drive for another fifteen minutes to find an exit and then Dad and LB got their wish as we had to pass through several villages to get to the proper road.

- at the border we had to show our IDs, funny how only the Romanians asked that.

- it was dark when we entered Oradea, but Mom felt in the mood for cakes so we went downtown to look for a store still open. We found none.

- back to the pension Z, to the same room and the same sheets. Someone must really like those yellow sheets with blue and red roses.

- the shop next door was open and we did have some pastry for dessert.

- we concluded the night with yet another, bad, Dolph Lundgren movie.

Thursday, 3^rd of September

- we weren’t about to trust the GPS with the Romanian roads after the last experience and we chose our own route, the one I had printed in preparation for our vacation.

- before leaving we took a ride around downtown to have an idea about how Oradea looks like. The Hungarian and Austrian influences can still be seen in the buildings’ looks.

- the road to Cluj was packed and we were missing the highway already.

- in Cluj we did the same thing and toured the center of the city. Not bad, similar to Oradea only at a bigger scale, but it wasn’t what I expected and I can’t say I liked it much.

- more busy traffic once we left, and dry landscape, up until close to Reghin.

- Reghin is a cute little town that I liked a lot. Mom got out and bought wonderful cakes from “The Snowdrop” pastry shop.

- outside of town we made a stop to eat.

- the rest of the drive, Toplita – Tg. Neamt – Pascani – Iasi, was pleasant enough, road less crowded, pavement not too bad, refreshing mountain scenery, in spite of all the twist and turns.

- it was fun to watch the moon rest on top of a mountain or fall abruptly behind.

- when we passed through Vanatori we thought about a friend whose family lived there. The castle was lit in the distance but we didn’t see much of it.

- at 10 PM we were arriving home with no speeding tickets, yay! No disasters were waiting for us, just the cat and she was less stressed than the other times when we had been away. Oh, I almost forgot, there was also cooked food left by the friend who had taken care of the cat and the house in our absence.

Final conclusion: this trip was a success, longer and less tiring than others, even with the days wasted in the car. We are seriously considering doing it again.

Next year… maybe Prague.

See you!

Books & Memories

Here’s another entry inspired by a Nemira contest: “Un concurs al amintirilor”.

It looks like I don’t even have to bother to think about subjects to write about on this blog anymore. After having briefly read the entries posted by the other participants so far, it became clear to me that my chances for the first prize are rather slim. But that’s OK, I’m not aiming for the camera, I just want the books. :)

The trick about this contest is that it doesn’t require a review or a literary text, it’s based on a real life event related to one of the books published by Nemira before 2004. Now if I could write about a particular Peter James book, then we would have a real psychological thriller with horror influences on our hands and I’m sure several people would get quite a kick out of it, especially since I normally don’t believe in all that psychological crap. Unfortunately, I got that book about two Christmases ago and therefore the publishing date doesn’t comply with the contest’s rules.

So we’re back to my first choice, a book very dear to me that left me with the yearning to be able to write stories like that. Dune, written by Frank Herbert, was published by Nemira in 1992, which means I was the 8^th grade at the time. It came out in two volumes, but this memory is strictly related to the first one.

With few exceptions I was a good student who got mostly 10s (the highest grade awarded by our school system) and because of that I wasn’t too stressed by the upcoming exam I needed to be pass in order to be accepted to continue my education in a respectable highschool. Still, I wasn’t the type to bring books to school and read between classes or under the desk, maybe because I was the only one interested in sci fi in my circle of friends and they didn’t understand my liking for this genre. Come to think of it, they didn’t understand much my passion for reading either, but that’s another story.

In Dune’s case things happened a bit differently. Dad brought me the book in the middle of the week and in between homework and stuff I only had time to read part of it. I was anxious to read some more and I thought that during pauses and after classes while waiting for my parents to come and pick me up I could do that. So I put it in my school bag along with my text books and note books. I don’t remember if I actually got to read it that day, though I probably did, what I remember vividly is Dad coming to pick me up and what happened after that. We went home, had lunch with grandma, and then he went to take a half an hour nap before going back to work. How can he function on such short naps I still hadn’t figured out, but it seems to be working for him.

I, on the other hand, had made a habit out of starting on my homework as soon as possible to get rid faster of that unpleasant task. This time when I reached for my school bag I was looking for the book. An extra hour of reading before doing my homework couldn’t hurt, I reckoned. I pulled everything out, turned the bag inside out, but the book was gone.

A few minutes later Mom came home from work, found me with a long face and asked what happened. I told her that I had lost the book. I was very upset, first because I really liked that book, and second because such things didn’t usually happen to me. I didn’t lose things, and I had never lost a book before. Practical as always, Mom put her coat back on and went to school to look for it. She searched in every corner of the classroom, she even asked the cleaning lady, but all efforts were in vain, she wasn’t able to find it. The book had disappeared.

She returned home empty handed, gave me the bad news, and went into the room where Dad was resting to inform him of the situation. I could hear them talking from my room:

“You know, she lost the book you bought her…”

“What do you mean she lost it? I took it from her bag to read a few pages before falling asleep.”

Indeed, Dad had started reading the book too, but since he had less spare time than I did he was much behind and he was trying to catch up when he could. I was so relieved when I heard that, but also a little pissed because of how things had turned out. No need to say I didn’t let it out of my sight until I finished it, Dad had to wait, and I did the same with the second volume just in case.

True story!

PS The cat broke my scanner so here’s a photo of the cover.

Challenge: What Is The Devil Doing Right Now

“Don’t even think about it!”

“What?”

“Whatever you’re planning on writing, I won’t do it.”

He’s leaning against the windowsill and for some reason he looks like Hugh Jackman did while hosting the Oscars. Slick hair, tails, red carnation pinned to his lapel, shiny shoes. No top hat. He’s not Hugh Jackman.

“I’m not trying to make you do anything, I’m not God.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed. He’s got more gray hair and He doesn’t wear skirts.”

“Not funny.”

“I’m not supposed to be funny, my dear, though sometimes I am fun.” He leers. “And dangerous. So no more fooling around with my character. Last time you did that, Peter didn’t speak to me for a week. Do you know how bad hate looks on a Saint résumé?”

“He had fun too.”

“Yes, he did,” he chuckles at the memory. “Why do you need that book anyway?”

“You should be flattered since it’s about you.”

“Please, I’m much more than that… Why can’t you just buy it like regular people do?”

“It’s more fun this way, and cheaper.”

“Then ask daddy dear to get it for you… or borrow it from a friend… or… oh, I know,” he paces around the room as he starts getting creative, “hack into their website… or rob a bookstore! Yeah, I’d like that,” he grins.

“Not in this lifetime.”

“You’re no fun at all.” He glares and sighs. “Just don’t send me to some God-forgotten place… I was on vacation when you summoned me, on a tropical island with these two ladies and… ahem… you can fill in the rest, you’ve got a rich imagination.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

He pouts. “That’s your loss then.”

Curious, he comes to stand behind me and glances over my shoulder. “Scroll back up, I want to read from the beginning.”

“In a minute…”

“Oh, no… don’t make me do that… and don’t send me there, for God’s sake!... and… no… eww… I think I’m going to be sick…”

He vanishes in a cloud of smoke, but his voice still echoes inside the room. “I’m gonna get you for this!”

I giggle quietly, this is really fun, and start to check the text for typos and spelling errors.

That day the Devil happened to be on vacation…

TBC?

Author's note: This was written in answer to the contest on Nemira's blog and the prize is supposed to be L’evangile selon Satan by Patrick Graham. Dunno if the book is any good, though I've read some favorable reviews on-line, but I found the idea of the contest entertaining and I thought to give it a try. The text initially written was about twice as long and it was quite a pain to cut it back to the 2000 chars imposed limit. And if you're wondering, the adventures Mr. D. mentions can be read here.

Later edit: I've received the book. Now I have to make time to read it... Grisham is first in line though.

Tamar Katz Official Website

With some delay but here it is:

Tamar Katz Official Website

Book Reviews: Neil Gaiman - Coraline & The Graveyard Book & Stardust

Coraline





























I don't particularly remember if I reviewed the movie Coraline; I remember at the time thinking that it was entertaining, fun and highly imaginative, while not being exactly my cup of tea. This spring at the book fair I had the chance to hold the book in my hand and I hesitated wondering what to get since I wanted to read something by Neil Gaiman. Neverwhere and American Gods won in the end, partially because they were bigger and because I had already seen the movie. I don't regret getting Neverwhere as I quite liked it and I wouldn't mind reading a sequel to that one, but I can't say the same thing about American Gods. The part of the book that I liked was too small compared to the price paid for it. But back to Coraline...

The book is about a little girl who's just moved with her parents in her grandmother's house. It must have been a pretty big house since the groundfloor is occupied by two former theatre permormer old ladies, there's an odd man training a mouse circus in the attic and there's also an empty apartment left in addition to Coraline's. They have a big garden with a well, but that fails to keep the girl entertained for long. Her parents are too busy with work to pay attention to her, which leaves Coraline to spend most of the time by herself and potentially up to no good.

There's a locked door inside the house apparently leading to the empty apartment. When unlocked though, once it opens to a brickwall, while another time it leads to a tunnel Coraline is eager to explore. She enters another dimension in which everything seems to be better compared to every day reality, especially the perfect pair of parents who only want to love her and take care of her. Of course that's only up to one point, then the plot thickens and Coraline finds herslef caught up in an adventures at the end of which she has to find the souls of three children plus her real parents in order to set them free.

Except for a few details, the movie stays true to the book sufficiently enough. But after having read Neverwhere I can say I'm satisfied with it. The simple text with basic writing is obviously aimed at children in the 9 - 12 group and I simply can't get back to that age no matter how much I try. Come to think of it, I am pretty sure I wouldn't have liked it even at the appropriate age, and then it would have nothing to do with the writing style, but with the content. I'm just not into creepy things...

The Graveyard Book






























...which now sounds odd considering the next choice on my reading list. The Graveyard Book was recommended by a friend and picked up with some hesitation. I trusted the friend but not so much the outline written on the back cover. A boy raised by ghosts inside a cemetery? It sounded too much like a children story. And it is but once you pass by the general impression it becomes much more.

The life of the boy, named suggestively Nobody, since infancy until becoming a teenager is described with great detail, focusing on his interaction with other inhabitants of the cemetery, the problem of providing him with food, which is taken care of by his guardian who can interact with the living, his lessons at home, the appearance of a werewolf tutor from Romania, his public school experience and his adventures during several years.

There's a mystery/crime plot which deals with the murder of his family and the reason why he's only safe inside the graveyard. Another plot relates to a girl who becomes his friend and helps him in his search for truth and revenge. Both plots are secondary and less developed than one would expect them to be but that isn't really bothering in the end, the experience is fulfilling the way it is.

To say that Gaiman's writing style has evolved a lot since Coraline is probably an exaggeration since the two can't really be compared. But the story runs smoothly immersed in a fully developed fantasy world, not lacking a touch of gore and creepy things ever so present in Gaiman's work.

In another words I liked it, which I honestly can't say about...

Stardust





























When the Stardust movie came out, after all the promotion they made for it, I remember complaining that I had been expecting much more. Now that I think about it the movie wasn't so bad after all. Naturally, before starting reading the book, I was convinced I was in for something very good. Well, not quite...

The screen adaptation is better than expected, adding something that the book is lacking, and I'm not talking only about the pirate scenes, which I had found too over the top at the time mind you. As a side note, the book starts with a clumsy sex scene only to continue with almost no adult content at all, which makes it highly unbalanced. Furthermore the relationship between Tristan and Yvainne is under-developed and the epilogue is rushed and unfit to end such a story.

Even if I could pass by that and buy it all, I found it very hard to read because of the amount of accolades. Using them in writing is very easy, and I used to do it too, but I had to read this to realise how bad it looks. So never again.

And now I'm off to write a story about a girl who glows in the dark, and hopefully do her the justice that neither the book nor Claire Danes did. I have to, 'cause after all... Stardust is my penname in some circles.

Short Story - Dancing on the Wire

I know I promised a novel after the first short story was published, but I wasn't serious, not really... still here's another one, this time published in SFera Online.

Dancing on the Wire

Maybe I should take this more seriously.

Movie Review: Powder Blue & Crossing Over

*** MIGTH CONTAIN SPOILERS! ***

Powder Blue


Featuring: Jessica Biel, Eddie Redmayne, Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta, Lisa Kudrow, Patrick Swayze, Kris Kristofferson, Alejandro Romero

Genre: drama

Plot: A couple of days around Christmas in the lives of a few people whose life is on the brink.

Acting: Nothing to complain there though Jessica Biel makes for a really bad stripper.

Drama: Let’s see… one is dying, one’s kid is dying, and another one is begging to be killed, yep plenty of drama.

Action: a few bar brawls, nothing major.

Funny: Nope, it’s not supposed to be.

Visuals: Nothing outstanding, but it is nicely shot and pretty good editing as a whole.

Soundtrack: That was interesting because it had plenty of vocals and not just instrumental parts like most movie have. Wouldn’t mind getting a copy of that.

Official website: http://www.powderbluemovie.com

Comments: Since the beginning we get the feeling that this can’t end well, not with drug use, terminal cancer, coma, and suicidal characters. It’s pretty depressing. I wish people stopped making movies following the Crush recipe. This movie is far from it and I can’t say I liked even that one much. It’s about lost souls, and I found it a bit ironic and frustrating that the good man and the innocent child get the short end of the stick while the stripper and the priest get absolution. It doesn’t exactly seem fair. And the blue snow that's falling over LA is more then cheesy. I guess the producers/director/script writer thought they saved the movie once they gave it sort of a happy ending, but unless you really like Ray Liotta, like I do (I had to chuckle at the mention of his eyes), or want to see Jessica Biel wearing close to nothing, very few people will find it worth their time.

Rating: 6/10



Crossing Over


Featuring: Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Jim Sturgess, Cliff Curtis, Summer Bishil, Alice Braga

Genre: drama

Plot: The immigration issues in the US.

Acting: Good enough for what the movie needs to portray.

Drama: Murder, blackmail, terrorism suspect, etc.

Action: Factory raids in search of illegal immigrants.

Funny: The young man trying to get a working visa by pretending to be a Jew, and especially the interview scene.

Visuals: Nicely shot and good editing, loved the colors of the city lights during the opening scene, but Harrisson Ford should stop wearing short sleeves while in front of the camera if he wants to preserve his image.

Soundtrack: -

Official website: http://www.weinsteinco.com/#/film/crossingover/

Comments: This is another movie that follows the trend started by Crush, only that this one deals with a more painful reality: immigrants’ situation. The intertwined stories are touching in their own way. We get a peek into the system and get an idea of how it works, how it can be cheated and how it can screw you. Harrisson Ford is supposed to play the lead but enough attention is paid to the other storylines. I have to say there are a few unnecessary sex scenes and they’re not even artistically done. Aside from that the movie achieves what it was meant to do, with a bittersweet ending that makes you think about what’s fair in the world and what isn’t. I have to make a comment on how aging doesn’t do any favors to Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta, and that’s a shame because they are both quite good looking or they were at some point. It’s funny how Liotta is such a softy when he plays a good guy and still can make a character so more interesting when he plays a bad guy.

Rating: 7/10

Librex International Book Fair

Over the past few years it became sort of a tradition to go to the book fair in the spring and return home with a bag full of books. The tradition also says that Dad pays for them. This year he kinda cheated, meaning that he went ahead to prospect the market and got his art books before we could all go. The Librex fair opened on 6^th of May in Iasi and it was supposed to close on Sunday, on 11. We waited for the weekend to go there and see the offers. Saturday afternoon seemed like a good time to do it, the weather was great and there was still Sunday ahead to do the reading and enjoy our purchases.

As we walked down the street leading to Sala Polivalenta we couldn’t help notice that among the people coming up the hill towards the Palace of Culture were very few those who carried bags with what looked like books inside. What we feared became true once we got inside. Although there was a decent amount of visitors and discounts on every other stand, the number of actual buyers was considerably small. It was enough to look at the vendors’ bored faces to figure out the sells didn’t do well.

We started to the right, glad that we didn’t have to battle the crowd for a change. With a little patience, we could stop by each stand and check out the titles without being squeezed upon or breathed down our back. A voice was coming out through the speakers, too loud to the point of being annoying, a book launch or something, but that didn’t interest us, we were there for the books.

And books there were. Last year I missed the fair because of a cold, but before that the fair seemed to be smaller when it was hosted inside the Palace. Now there were over 100 publishing houses and a dozen of importers attending, or least that’s what the papers said. The numbers seem a little blown up to me but the place was nicely filled.

We did a full tour not missing one stand, big or small, important or not, interesting or not. From those that did interest me, I would have to say that Nemira was disappointing, from an aesthetical point of view but regarding the content as well. I was familiar with most of the titles, and those that might interest me I had to restrain myself and remember that I still had six coupons waiting to be used so I better spend my money somewhere else. The two boxes with books with a ridiculous high discount were rather tacky. No need to say people didn’t even look at them.

RAO looked good, it was probably one of the largest rented spaces, with classy bookshelves and small tables in the middle, on one of them the Twilight series being displayed and we gagged as we passed by it. Surprisingly, the place was almost empty, rarely one or two people entered to look at the books.

Vis-à-vis from it, Corint Junior looked nice and inviting full of colors as it was.

About an hour or so later we found ourselves approaching the exit and realized that we hadn’t bought a single book. Shock, horror, bitter laughter. Sadness. No, that would not do. We went back in because after all we did have to support the book industry. Long story cut short, I ended up getting The Time Traveler’s Wife and a couple of Neil Gaiman novels while little brother picked some fantasy books with a sexy chick on the cover, cause of course he didn’t bother to read the abstract on the back.

So now it’s not only the book industry, and world in general, that is going through a crisis. I have one week to finish a website and five books are winking at me from the corner of the desk. Feel free to guess what I am going to do tomorrow.

Movie Review: State of Play & Nothing But The Truth

*** MIGTH CONTAIN SPOILERS! ***

State of Play



























Featuring: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels

Genre: thriller, drama

Plot: The death of a politician’s mistress investigated by a tenacious journalist leads to the unveiling of an entire plot.

Acting: Good as far as the lead players are concerned.

Drama: Politics, mistress, love triangle not involving the said mistress, office competition, security, rogue soldiers.

Action: there are a few action scenes full of tension.

Funny: come to think of it Crowe has the most part of the funny lines and he delivers them nicely.

Visuals: Let’s see, Rachel McAdams looks quite good and so does Robin Wright Penn even as thin as she is, and of course Helen Mirren looks great for her age. Ben Affleck is still at a age when top shape is not in danger to be lost and since he basically always looks the same it’s only a matter of taste whether you like him or not. Russell Crowe though, now he could use some CGI to remove the extra pounds and long, and for once not greasy, hair. I don’t care if he and the director thought this is the image that would best portray his character, if I have to stare for two full hours at Crowe then I’d rather stare at a Crowe in his prime thank you very much.

Soundtrack: a little odd in places but alright I guess.

Official website: http://www.stateofplaymovie.net/

Comments: This movie looks like it was inspired from the 90s political thriller novels. Plot is well done with many twists and turns, but the pacing is off, too rushed to get to the next scene and the next scoop, which is in the detriment of the characters. There’s a lot of dialogue easy to follow and necessary to the plot, still this movie ain’t A Few Good Men, not by far.

We’re treated with good acting all around, even Ben Affleck delivers a decent, believable, and not flat performance, which is a rare thing in his case. Of course, you can see it from miles that this is Crowe’s gig, he even does a bit of singing in the beginning of the movie. He’s good as usual, not a surprise there, and if not better than in American Gangster or Body of Lies he’s definitely more enjoyable. Rachel McAdams draws the short end of the stick here, while she holds her own with what she’s given her character being down-played being a pale shadow of the hungry, witty, wannabe reporter, and looking more like a scared little mouse. Being only in a few scenes, Helen Mirren makes more of an impression than she does. No need to say Mirren deserved to have more screen time.

With the focus on the plot, that leaves little room for character development or even portraying them fully. The relationships are strained and more like sketched than fleshed out. We don’t really get a feel of them, just the idea of a stereotype.

There are also a couple of things that don’t quite work realistically speaking. The politician and the journalist are supposed to have been roommates in college when it’s obvious the physical age difference would have made it very unlikely for them to go to college in the same time, especially with Crowe looking older than his real age. Furthermore, everyone seems to be aware of the journalist’s crush on the politician’s wife and their affair, but the three of them have strange, unfit reactions regarding the matter and around each other.

Some clumsiness in the plot could be mentioned, Crowe’s reckless driving through the rain while making several phone calls in the absence of a hands-free device, the young journalist/blogger who never finds a pen and also doesn’t seem to have a mini-laptop, blackberry or cell phone to take notes or short messages, the new owners of the paper who are putting pressure on the redaction and so on.

Other than that it was an entertaining movie and not a waste of time as a whole.

Rating: 8/10



Nothing But The Truth







































Featuring: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett, Alan Alda, Vera Farmiga, David Schwimmer, Noah Wyle

Genre: drama

Plot: There is a fine line between what is right and what is right for a certain person.
Acting: Alright, although awkward in places.

Drama: Woman goes to jail, loses her family and has to live with a death on her conscience.

Action: Chick fight in jail

Funny: Not at all.

Visuals: Nicely shot, bland and depressing at times.

Soundtrack: depressing

Official website: http://www.nothingbutthetruthfilm.com/

Comments: After the alert State of Play this feels like dragging. It has an oddly put together cast of characters. We have the reporter who would protect the identity of her sources and go with it to her grave even it that destroys her family and she loses her child. And we get to see all that. While starting as a so-so youngster, Kate Beckinsale has turned out into a beautiful woman; unfortunately, just like Nicole Kidman, she cannot connect with the audience. One tries acting it and the other ones tries faking it but they both fails. That’s why the general public can’t really sympathize with her character. Sure, we understand her dilemma and feel bad for her, but we don’t “feel” her. Compared to her, Vera Farmiga’s character feels much more alive.

David Schwimmer as the reporter’s husband seemed an unexpected choice and totally down played in the second half of the movie, but he managed to play his part and look less silly and annoying than he did in Friends. It took me a moment to recognize him actually. Matt Dillon as the prosecutor attorney was an odd display and potentially wasted cast. He claimed he didn’t want to play the character as a bad guy, he wanted to play it as a good guy. Well, either way he failed. The attorney is not good or bad, he’s just someone who only cares about his work and has no human empathy for others. He’s like a terminator who once he’s got a mission just wouldn’t stop. There is no charisma whatsoever, and we all know Matt Dillon can do charisma damn well.

To this group Alan Alda is added as the lawyer defending the reporter. Another odd character, with a reputation based on fame and obsession for fine clothes and expensive items, who in the end turns out to be more human than we would expect. Angela Basset gives a hell of a lot of class to the scenes she’s in, as little time as that is. Not sure what Noah Wyle was doing in there, with his odd reactions, and I can not notice how badly he aged.

Of course, the moral question remains. Should have the reported divulged her source? Given the nature of her source we incline to believe that she should have. Just think about the money wasted with the investigation and all she’s been put through. There would have been no serious repercussions for the source, the CIA agent maybe wouldn’t have resigned losing her protection and therefore would have been still alive. Some people’s reputations would have been questioned, but that was a small price to pay. The way it is the ending is disappointing, and I’m not referring to the twist at the end. It sends the wrong message to the audience, saying basically ‘do not mess with the government because you will lose’. And that is just not right.

Rating: 7/10