Nice tits!

[erastes]

Prodigal sauntered in after 24 hours... No more publicity for him--he only does it to get his name on LJ, I'm sure.

If I was going to start reading Diana Wynne Jones, where should I start?

Yesterday I had a wonderful treat - a whole flock, consisting of about 10, of long tailed tits.  I'd never seen them in real life before - although my mother said that she had once had a flock visit her garden. They always travel in numbers, apparently, and are never still, but they are the most beautiful of the tits (in my opinion) being white, and black and pink!

 

Cute eh?

OK. Off to finish this werewolf story. Yes!  Werewolves! Must have it done by tomorrow.

Editing amusement:  He sat reading Michael's feet.

Ok - so this is obviously some 17th century prognostication that I haven't heard of before, is it?  Foot Reading? Or perhaps Michael has taken the time to write out some Witchfinder's Instructions all over his feet, and for kinky reasons, Jon is reading them.

Amazing what the lack of one tiny word can do.

Comments

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

Oh, that birdie-picture is so cute! And beautiful. *squees*

And I learned a new meaning of a word. :-D

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Which word?

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

Well, tit, of course. I only knew that it was an expression for the female breast, but not that it also described those cute little birds.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Also can be "but he's a complete TIT." which means he's a bit of an idiot, rather than squashy with nipples.

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

Now that you mention it - I knew that one, but more in the way that I understood the meaning in a text, not in the way that I would have used it actively.

[crawling-angel.livejournal.com]

*agrees on tittage*

Our coal tits and blue tits are getting used to the new bird table aided by seed and cheese. It's right beside the window but I still have to be like Jack Flash to catch sight of them...the lil buggers!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

These are getting more used to me turning my head to look at them through the window. It doesn't help that the cats all sit on the windowsill and go "ack" at them.

[megleigh.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous tits! and chuckling about the foot reading thing.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *sticks them out*

[irreparable.livejournal.com]

Diana Wynne Jones:
Fire and Hemlock
Dogsbody

These are the 2 novels that have stayed with me for years after reading them.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *adds to reserving list*

[lovefromgirl.livejournal.com]

Seconding "Fire and Hemlock". Yummy.

[leni-jess.livejournal.com]

DWJ: the Chrestomanci books are excellent. So is the Dalemark Quartet (you might find that a good place to start). So is the one-off The Homeward Bounders.

They are all nominally children's books (though Fire and Hemlock is perhaps the most adult-oriented - and quite hard to follow, at first), but all are intelligently written, don't write down to anyone, and appeal to adults who are interested in the logical working out of fantasy, and always contain interesting puzzles to be resolved by the reader as well as by the characters.

They also tend to make the adults those responsible for the children's problems (though not necessarily the villains), but look up a bit of biography and you can see why she has this twist! She and her sisters were grossly neglected by their intelligent middle-class parents, to the point of near-starvation and hypothermia, over a long period.

The thing about her books/series, is that each has a completely diferent system of magic, beautifully worked out. Some, but not all, spring from known mythologies; in the later books she's more inclined to invent her own.

There is a community, http://community.livejournal.com/dianawynnejones/profile, but it's not necessarily given to much of the serious analysis her books merit. (And anyway, they're great fun, too!)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I like the sound of Fire and Hemlock, particularly - thank you, I'll give that one a try first!

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

From Godspell:
Did I ever tell you I used to read feet? Some people read palms, I read feet. (takes up one disciple's shoe) See? It says Rejoice!
Disciple: It says Ked...

I know about those missing little words.. I think sometimes we put them there and they slip off to the store for a coke and never come back.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Well then - Jonathan is obviously displaying a latent talent for feet reading!

I was told that it's a particular harmless disorder which inserts those missing words into the mind so that you see them when you read them - I'm very prone to it - and even more so when reading, i must have read that passage a dozen times and only just spotted it.

[sleveen.livejournal.com]

What a gorgeous little birdie! :)

Although the name gives me giggles. Long-tailed tits. Heh heh. Considering what gravity has done, mine could almost be called that... :-D

Glad your moggy is back! :)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

heh. My GArden is Full of Tits. Which would be a good name for a novel if I wrote that sort of thing...

Blue tits, coal tits, great tits... that would be mine...

[schmoo999.livejournal.com]

OH pretty birdie!!

The first book of Diana Wynne Jones I read was Howl's Moving Castle cause the horde and I love love love the anime movie. The book was quite good too:)as was its sequel, Castle in the Air. I have read all the Chrestomanci books except The Pinhoe Egg which is in my to read pile. I have really enjoyed all of her books that I have read so far.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I'll cautiously try one or two, still not sure where to start, suppose Howl's castle is the best place...

[lady-isabella.livejournal.com]

Howl's Moving Castle is a hoot, and it features a special appearance by Wales in it, so what could be better? I too loved the Anime Miyazaki film, although like Kubrick's version of The Shining, you have to see the film as "inspired by" the book in many respects, as opposed to a truly faithful transition. The sequel to HMC, Castle in the Air is a lot of fun too, even if it's difficult to tell exactly why it is HMC's sequel until the very end.

Re: DWJ

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Is that the best one to start with? Are they in any order? is there a series? My library webpage is USELESS.

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Did you hear them? They twitter beautifully.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Yes, funny little twittering peepings!

[m-barnette.livejournal.com]

Over here there are some little bluish grey birds that are named titmouse (titmice?, dunno). They are cute birds, but they can be very territorial. We had a group of them when I lived in Georgia that decided the bird feeder in the yard was theirs and only theirs. They would drive all the other birds away from the feeder. We wound up calling them the titmouse maffia because of the way they refused to let other birds into their territory.

[mzcalypso.livejournal.com]

I guess those would be what's meant by "tough titties..."

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*snorts*

[m-barnette.livejournal.com]

Could be. LOL

[kittymay.livejournal.com]

You got my hopes up there. But the birds are nice anyway *sigh*

btw, here you go: http://www.footreading.com/

[erastes.livejournal.com]

That's so wrong. I really can't have my taciturn repressed Witchfinder going all holistic!

*giggles madly*

[kittymay.livejournal.com]

You should let him throw a 'foot-reading party'. And remember "Even corns, verrucaes, callouses and fungal infections can be interpreted".

Eurgh!!!

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

Oh!! Look at the wee little beak!!
xoxox

[erastes.livejournal.com]

They are the cutest things I've ever seen.

[queeredfiction.livejournal.com]

I started my affair with Diana with Howl's Moving Castle, which I read years and years ago - well before the movie - and it certainly had me searching for further literary rendezvous.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I shall have to have a go at it! Thanks!

[lyras.livejournal.com]

My favourite DWJ books are Fire & Hemlock and Howl's Moving Castle, but the Dalemark Quartet are wonderful if you really want another world to immerse yourself in. There's also Deep Secret (more of an adult book) and its young adult sequel The Merlin Conspiracy. Er, I'd better stop there!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *adds to list*

[tharain.livejournal.com]

Yo. Nice tits. =D

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Not something you'd ever thought you'd say, is it?

*shows them off*

The men, they always like the tits.

[aunty_marion]

I started on DWJ with Eight Days of Luke, which hooked me once I realised exactly who Luke really was. I had a massive crush on Loki when I was a teenager... Start pretty much anywhere, though there are a few that probably ought to be read in the 'right order', like the Dalemark quartet (though I didn't, actually!). The Ogre Downstairs is another good one to start with. And there are a few - Wilkin's Tooth is one - that are aimed at somewhat younger children, but are still good.

Haven't had long-tailed tits in the garden yet - bluetits and great tits, though, and goldfinches (and sparrows). We'll see if anything else arrives when I put up the new feeders tomorrow!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I'll have to try those. Norfolk library is pretty useless, I'm finding, either that or i'm not searching properly!

I look forward to hearing about which birds you get. Lucius got a sparrow yesterday, so they are staying away at the moment, and i don't blame them! I wish I had squirrels!