Kazhes pierakstu burtnīca

It`s been a many long year since I read this book (at the moment of the writing that is), because this is one of the pieces that came into the zone of no return when my computer crashed last summer. The date of reading is probably wrong as well, but I don`t really care for that. This is a story of a long time communist named Aglaya Revkina that is a fan of Mr. Stalin and even organized a monument of his in the little village where she lived (or was it a small town? i don`t care that much about it) and when Stalin became unpopular she even held the monument in her own apartmenet. There was also some guy who did some blowing up for local criminals in modern (post-soviet) Russia who lived in the same house with Aglaya, then there were some modern stalinists that started visiting Aglaya, to be honest, that`s the most of what I remember from this book. Also I remember that the first part was somewhat interesting, but as we were heading towards the conclusion the book became less and less appealing to me - and Mr. Voinovich became more and more traditional in the sense that many modern Russian writers do the same gangster-criminal style, although I did get that his main target probably was showing that a criminal is worse than a communist, for a communist at least has some ideals, still most communists are criminals and have no ideals (yeah, there were some scenes with people that at first glorified Stalin, than spat at him and the glorified him once again). Not to mention that the only time in her life when Aglaya had an orgasm was by looking at the father of the Soviet Union in person.

I was a little boy when I read this book first. At that time reading in Russian was to me something similar to what reading in English is today but I managed to read the entire 7 book "Narnia" series which I got circa 1994 on Crimea. As you can probably guess I didn`t have much interest in these books after that for quite a while - and why would I. The first time I really remembered of Lewis was when the first film part of "Lord of the Rings" came out and then I thought - why wouldn`t they make a film after "Narnia" as well. Then something like year or so ago I watched a TV version of "Prince Caspian" which sucked big hairy... bears. And now when I intended to watch the first of the "Narnia" films on the big screen I thought it a good idea to reread this part of the book. As a matter of fact, todays, more than two weeks after the repeated reading I still haven`t seen the film. Maybe I will see it before 2005 ends, maybe I won`t, it still won`t change much. The book itself is a story about four children travelling through a wardrobe into a fantastic land where they have to fight the evil within themselves and a white witch. As a whole the book is too targeted for children and has a bit too much religious nonsense - it`s just like a kids bible with the crucifixion and resurrection of the lion. Although I still stay with my words that "Lord of the Rings" isn`t a book for adults, I have to admit that "Narnia" is intended for a much younger audience - its modern day equivalent would be Harry Potter. The storytelling is so preacherous that I can`t really enjoy this book. And what I hate most than all is that only because of having been written first this is also considered the first book of the series. I proudly stand as a supporter of "The Magician`s Nephew" as the first book (and it is certainly a much better written novel than the one about the wardrobe). If I had to order the books according to their quality it would probably go like this:

Interesanti - pirms pirmo reizi šo ierakstu klausījos, es no tā negaidīju neko. Pēc tam, kad noklausījos pirmo dziesmu, gaidīju no atlikušā albūma ļoti daudz. Beigās paliku kaut kur pa vidu.

Pats Vonnegūts "Čempionu brokastis" neuzskatīja par vienu no saviem labākajiem darbiem. Noteikti viņš to uzskatīja par vienu no nekaunīgākajiem saviem darbiem, tas gan. Kur citur tu vēl grāmatā redzēsi Vonnegūta zīmējumu, kas atveido dibena caurumu? Kur vēl citure par katru vīriešu dzimuma personāžu autors atklās viņa peņa garumu un diametru? Kur citur vēl būs paskaidrota atšķirība starp paplestu "beaver" un kokus grauzošu beaver?

The Hollies are virtually unknown in Latvia but it isn`t neither an advantage nor a disadvantage. Among the bands of the British invasion the Hollies don`t stand out as one with a particulary heavy sound. Oh, now, you won`t hear Graham Nash shouting that he can`t get no satisfaction. As for myself I`m not sure whether I prefer bands with a harder or with a softer sound. Probably it differs according to the mood I`m in at the moment of listening to a record. Today "The Hollies" sound perfectly adequate but I`m not raving mad for their poppy sound. "For Certain Because" is certainly my favourite of their records because there`s a lot of pretty songs on it. Examples include "What`s Wrong With The Way I Live", "Tell Me To My Face", "Stop! Stop! Stop!" But the most perfect song on here is "High Classed". It`s just so moody that I can`t find the right words to explain just how much I like it. The melody may be quite a simple one but I don`t give a damn about that. "Peculiar Situation" is a bit too sappy for my taste, although it has a nice chorus. "Ain`t this a peculiar situation? We`re lovers but we don`t make love." Another nice song is "What Went Wrong". Basically this album has amazing vocals, provided mostly by Nash, and a lot of uplifting lightweight bubblegum. "The Hollies" never made a revolution in music, they were never groundbreaking but they surely knew how to make a good album, despite being a bit too sacharine like for me (at worst they are close to "Mannfred Mann". As a matter of fact I like MM some time ago - not Manson but Mann, of course - but listening to their 60s songs is a terrible experience for my ears now).

Beidzot noskatījos līdz galam otro `Extras` sezonu. Šķiet, ka seriāla veidotāji pareizi izlēmuši to neturpināt - otrais gads acīmredzami padevies blāvāks par pirmo. Patiesībā pirmās sērijas bija pat ļoti labas, bet pēdējās - izteikti viduvējas.

Jāatzīst, ka Bernards Verbērs ir gandrīz vai apsēsts skudru fanātiķis. Vismaz kā savādāk lai izskaidro, ka šis autors ne tikai ir uzrakstījis romānu triloģiju par šiem kukaiņiem, bet arī citos savos darbos tiem atvēlējis ļoti lielu lomu?

First, let me state it clear. The subject of concern is a B-movie. Therefore one shouldn`t await good acting, a normal script or any form of special effects. What the film has is an interesting idea - some aliens make documentary about the most complicated mating dance in the Universe - the one performed by humans. As a part of the mating dance many things are treated - from the first kiss on to safe sex, more safe sex and until the situation where unsafe sex turns into a child. That`s about it - most things people say and do are totally cliched. At some parts the guy acts like a total loser, but still one thing is what makes this film worth seing (and it`s not Carmen Electra`s boobs) - it`s the silly things the alien narrator says interpreting many things in the silliest way. So, it`s nothing that one can remember for a long time but just a funny flick.

As somebody said before the film - a subject of high importance for me. It`s not true, of course, nevertheless the film was better than I expected. Yes, I know that every romantic comedy from the other side of the huge pond does have one massive problem - the ending is more than just predictable. But I do enjoy films which are designed to make the viewer feel bad about the hero and his stupid behaviour and to think what he himself would feel like under such circumstances. It is no high art by any means and some of the jokes seem forced but that`s ok. Not to be watched many times but it is not the worst possible way to spend your time.

A thrilling record. It`s almost impossible to believe that Cale is already more than 60. His music is still fresh and no aging problems seem to be visible. A very listenable record, certainly among the best 2003 could offer.