Salvage Trail mobile

So today after visiting the library, I decided to go for a drive out north as I hadn't been out of the city for about a week. It was pretty fun, I ended up visiting Refuge Cove and then I went and hiked the Salvage Trail and went on a portion I had never gone on before. I forgot my camera, but luckily my new phone had one. So here's the results:

There's a little snow!

The fixed landslide

My favorite part of the trail

The end of the path

Me!

Happy Fall

Thanks Annika, Eli and mom for the leaves! Here's what I did with them. Loved the pics Now it's hanging on my wall next to Henry's picture.

The Woman in White

What you ask? It isn't the last day of the month. Well I finished October's book a couple days in advance while listening to the Halloween playlist by Alan. (I enjoyed Paris 1919 the best, followed by Vampires in Blue Dresses). And the novel was an excellent pick. I really enjoyed this introduction to Wilkie Collins, I only lament the fact that I haven't read him before now.

The Woman in White is comparable to the construct of Dracula, each taking its narratives from different accounts and perspectives. Each novel also has an evil Count.

I can understand why the novel has never been out of print since its initial publication in 1859. It draws the reader in with all of its intrigue and suspense. At the heart of the book is the plot of Laura Fairlie and her marriage to Sir Percival – with him marrying her for her inheritance.

On the outskirts there is Laura's true love, Walter Hartright; her sister, Marian Halcombe and their efforts to stop the inheritance from reaching Sir Percival and the Count.

Then there's The Woman in White — a woman escaped from the asylum who seems to stand at the center of all the mysteries and hold the answers to the secrets of which we as readers so desperately want to know.

Our first encounter she meets Walter in the road on his way to his job to teach art: Collins' description:

"There, in the middle of the broad, bright high-road — there, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth or dropped from the heaven — stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white garments; her face bent in grave inquiry on mine, her hand pointing to the dark cloud over London, as I faced her."

The Count is dastardly; his wife a serpent; and Wilkins provides an apt description of the Count's pride toward the end of the novel when the Count is attending an Opera.

"He looked about him, at the pauses in the music, serenely satisfied with himself and his fellow-creatures. 'Yes! Yes! these barbarous English people are learning something from ME. Here, there, adn everywhere, I — FOSCO — am an Influence that is felt, a Man who sits supreme!' If ever face spoke, his face spoke then — and that was its language."

The book — the first sensation novel — lives up to its name with insanity, spoilt love, burning churches, questions of paternity, inheritances, travels abroad, and much more.

Some funny lines:

• Even lawyers have hearts; and mine ached a little as I took leave of her. Mr. Gilmore
  
• 'I am thinking' he remarked quietly. 'whether I shall add to the disorder in this room by scattering your brains about the fireplace.' Count Fosco
  
• 'Chemists, I assert it emphatically, might sway, if they pleased, the destinies of humanity.' Count Fosco

And now I have kept my goal thus far of reading my destined book for each month. as an aside, I plan to continue this goal into the next year and I am formulating the list for 2010.

From a suggestion, I have decided to open up the month of July to a Reader's Choice, as that is the month that I plan on seeing most of those of whom read this blog.

So send me your suggestions for that month via e-mail or through the comments section. I plan on collecting them through November, choose a few among them and have my blog readers decide July's book (which I encourage everyone to read).

Next month's pick: Night and Day by Virginia Woolf

Alaska State Troopers

National Geographic has a new series highlighting Alaska State Troopers. Enough said.

12.5 days of music

So tonight at 8:10 p.m., I finished listening to every single song collected in my iTunes. The process started in January 2008, when I bought this computer. Now I've listened to 12.5 days of music.

The last song to receive its first listening to via my Mac was "Shame on You" by the Indigo Girls.

The most frequently played song is a tie between George Michael's "Faith" and Coldplay's "Till Kingdom Come," each played 14 times. Those two are followed by"Joseph Smith's First Prayer" as played by Paul Cardall and "Save Me" by Remy Zero, each played 12 times.

The only song played exactly nine times is Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi."

Some of the songs first played on my computer, but not played since are Five for Fighting's "Freedom Never Cries" and "California Justice" as well as "Honky Tonk Dancing Machine" by Tracy Byrd.

The longest songs I own are Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire" and Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet Overture," both around 20 minutes. The shortest are They Might Be Giants Fingertips classics, such as "Who's Knocking on the Wall?" at 6 seconds; "I Heard a Sound," 7 seconds; and "Leave Me Alone," 8 seconds.

The albums that I most recently acquired and listened to were Brendan Benson's My Old, Familiar Friend, The Decemberist's Hazards of Love, and Choir of Young Believers' This is for the White in Your Eyes.

Songs I played on my birthday this year included "What For" by Rooney, "God of the Sun" by America, "Oxford Comma" by Vampire Weekend, "I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)" by Black Kids, and "She" by The Monkees.

The last song alphabetically (excluding number songs) in my iTunes is "Zoom" by The Commodores; the first is "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend.

And here's a random video of a re-enactment of the Fingertips songs, and for some reason the Andy Griffith tune at the end.

Happy Alaska Day

Ketchikan

Devil's Club

Higher in the Secret Waterfall

Bugge Beach

I just liked this picture and thought you guys should enjoy it as well.

Things that happened to me this week:

• I finally got a new phone; now when I get a text message it's to the theme of Battlestar Galactica.
• My microwave decided it had enough and called it quits.
• I worked. (Borough, sports bar, mental health, recycling were a few topics of news here this week).
• I finished reading the Book of Alma.
  
• On my hike on the Rainbird Trail, there was a crow that was doing back flips. True story, it would be soaring with the wind then it would turn upside, then right itself. It was the funniest thing.
• The wind blew the orca statue on Orca Corn to look directly at my workplace. So now looking out the window, there's two ominous Orca eyes staring at me.
• I ate a pomegranate Tootsie Pop.
• I made apple crisp, which turned out OK; but I can't settle for OK apple crisp so another one must be made!
• The Big Bang Theory was watched at least three times. (Personally, I'd choose pirate). House was excellent; Psych was funny; Monk was, well Monk; The Amazing Race was disappointing;
  
• G-chats were all too short; and the Yahoo! chat was entirely missed!
  

So there's a few highlights from my week, so far. It's the mid-way point of the month, and of course I am only 100 pages into my selected book of the month. Who is the mysterious Woman in White, I'll know by month's end.