Tragic Maise

I was told there were pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston?

[tragicmaise]

Took a Parade's End break...

I finished "A Man Could Stand Up" and wanted to bask for a bit in a happy moment for Tietjens before, I assume, things get worse in the last installment.  I'm open to discussion on any part of our saga!

In honor of Veteran's Day and Armistice Day, here is a fascinating little video from the Smithsonian on a French soldier's room, left untouched since his untimely death in WWI:  

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fallen-french-soldiers-bedroom-has-remained-virtually-untouched-he-died-world-war-i-180953280/?utm_source=facebook.com&no-ist

[tragicmaise]

Authority...

So I'm just coming out of Hell Weeks 1-2, which seriously curtailed my leisure reading.  In addition, it took FOREVER for the person who had the library's copy of Jeff Vandermeer's Authority (the second novel in the Southern Reach trilogy) to return it.  But once I got my hot little hands on it, I absolutely inhaled it, completing it in less than 24 hours.

To quickly review, without giving too much away (and again, I STILL can't really say what's going on, so there's not much to spoil at this point), part of the U.S. has been closed off by an invisible, mysterious barrier, creating a pristine wilderness known as "Area X."   Area X is filled with sinister features, such as a bizarre underground "tower" that is almost beyond description and a lighthouse that was once a scene of carnage and sinister creatures that seem to be part-human/part-animal. Anything that was in Area X prior to the "border" coming down has disappeared or returned to nature. Expeditions sent into Area X have met with tragic ends.  The government agency that monitors and tries to explore Area X is the Southern Reach.  Nothing and no one are as they seem.

In "Annihilation," (the first novel), our protagonist was the "biologist" (names are purposely avoided as a psychological tactic in dealing with Area X), who was a member of the 12th expedition into Area X, and things quickly went to hell.

In "Authority," we are introduced to John Rodriguez, aka "Control."  He is the new director of the Southern Reach, as we learn that the psychologist from the last expedition (who is MIA) was the former director.  Although his title makes him sound pretty important, he actually has zero "control," as he is being closely watched from above and gets no cooperation from anyone below.  His assistant director, Grace, is especially hostile.  He spends the majority of the novel trying to get a grip on what exactly Area X is and what a character now named "Ghost Bird" might know.  

We get some interesting information about the "psychologist" in this novel and descriptions of some chilling video footage from the first expedition to Area X.  The book is certainly a page-turner, but I think I was slightly disappointed that we didn't spend any time within Area X itself.  Also, I can't say at this point that any mysteries have been solved, although the stakes are higher by the end of the book, so I'm just going to have to be patient and get through the last novel, "Acceptance."  

[tittiestatties-deactivated20141]

[clittyslickers-deactivated20250]

very into charts about naps

[shrimpojess]

Nap charts guys.

[johndarnielle]

want the NASA nap, but fear I would get stressed out by its proximity time-wise to the Bad Nap

[enname]

I hate the bad nap, makes me groggy and drunk. The slow wave nap and the full cycle are best… great thesis options.

[tragicmaise]

Very interesting.  When I nap, it's hard for me to not turn it into the full 90-minute nap.

[tomhiddleston-gifs]

Adam “dancing”

[hobbitbilbo]

[tragicmaise]

"You didn't even change your clothes. Then it's time to add a splash of colour."

I never get tired of this gif

[womenwhokickass]

BREAKING: Malala Yousafzai Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Malala, now 17, was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman two years ago in her home country of Pakistan after coming to prominence for her campaigning for education for girls.

She won for what the Nobel committee called her “heroic struggle” for girls’ right to an education.

She is the youngest ever winner of the prize. (x)

[tragicmaise]

We Are Fresh Out of Parades, I'm Afraid...

[tragicmaise]

samofwinter:

I’ve been so excited for people to get to No More Parades - I read the whole series a couple months ago and wanted so desperately to talk to people about it but no one I know irl would do me the favor.  Their loss. I actually just started re-reading it to refresh my memory (and because I can’t imagine a better way to spend my time) and I’ll post something more in-depth about it tomorrow, but for now I’ll just make a couple of brief comments.

Read More

This is the first time I've reblogged someone's reblogging of me, so I hope it works out the way I'd like.  

I agree that there's a lot of unexpected comedy in this book...indeed, the entire bedroom scene with Sylvia and Perowne and General O'Hara is an absolute farce, but of course it's Christopher Tietjens, so it's got to end with him stoically accepting that he's going to be absolutely shit on by life and the people around him.  And maybe he thinks it doesn't even matter...both Tietjens and Valentine reflect on the end of the world they have known.  No more parades, no more respect...how do you come back from the trenches?  (It turns out that you don't...you make some interesting art for a while and then go right back to war, but they can't even imagine that in the face of the annihilation they have witnessed.)

God, I was hating General Campion at the end of this book (and I haven't gotten through the last two).  My jaw was just hanging open at the end. The scales had fallen from his eyes, and he understands EVERYTHING about Tietjens' situation, and THAT'S the best solution he can come up with?!  A death sentence?  I got a sense that the General felt he was in a no-win situation, but oh my God, it is maddening and devastating, and of course the General represents that old idea that there is inherent honor in a war death, an idea made absurd by the millions who were slaughtered in this war.  Everything shitty that everyone has done to this innocent man comes to home to roost in this one moment (Sylvia's destructive behavior, the lies told about him accusing him of being a French spy, some asshole who abuses horses), and in that moment, even though you know there are two books left, you are there with Tietjens, staring down death...having a glimmer of hope and then having it shot down again.  

Sylvia is an effective torturer because she knows him best.  "He wants," Sylvia said, "to play the part of Jesus Christ."  

And he does.  Christopher Tietjens ends this book being crucified for the sins of others.  And they're the stupidest sins to modern eyes.  Thank God we live in a world where you can get divorced without it being your ruin.  I suspect Tietjens would be stubborn on this matter even today.  He's the old-fashioned sort.

Even though we spend a great deal of time in Sylvia's head, I still don't feel like I understand her at all.  How about you?

[tragicmaise]

We Are Fresh Out of Parades, I'm Afraid...

So basically I've been working 12- to 14-hour days five days a week and 6- to 10-hour days on the weekends, and I am trying not to die of it.  I have limp hair and dead eyes.

So progress has been a bit stalled on Parade's End, but I am about to start the second half of A Man Could Stand Up.  The good news is, we have yet to discuss No More Parades.  So let's get that going, shall we?  I'm not sure how far along people are, so let's just assume that there are going to be SPOILERS GALORE in this discussion.

My thesis is that No More Parades is the Empire Strikes Back of this tetralogy.  We open the book in the middle of battle.  Our hero is separated from home, friends, and love.  By the end of this novel, the curtain closes on a moment of despair that left me uneasy and haunted for days.

Part One of this novel doesn't give us any prelude to chaos.  As per Ford's style, we are in the middle of a scene.  We have no idea what the hell is going on, where we are, or whom we're looking at.  At the beginning of Some Do Not, this was absolutely maddening, but I'm more comfortable with this structure, confident that sooner or later, all will be explained.  Tietjens seems to be on the outskirts of WWI, in France...it's dangerous enough that the Germans are lobbing some shells in the area, but safe enough that Tietjen's wife can come waltzing in and RUIN EVERYTHING LIKE SHE ALWAYS DOES.  There is a sense that Tietjens is protected here, is liked and respected and needed here, is much better off here than anywhere else in France, even though a man can suddenly die right in front of him at any moment.

Tietjens the soldier is a man trying to do 5,000 things at once, some of it banal, some of it having political and personal consequences, some of it artistic diversion, some of it just trying to run away from his personal problems...I think if you are getting men outfitted to meet their deaths, and knowing that delays lead to more death, and seeing death *right in front of you*, you have to occupy yourself with the little things, or you will absolutely lose it.  So his thoughts are dominated by the obligations of work, helping soldiers with finances and their wills, composing a sonnet, reflecting on Valentine and on Sylvia, approving a shady-sounding leave and worrying that the man will be a deserter...a million things are running through his mind, like someone who can't shut off the "to-do list" in his or her head at bedtime, and you're just about ready to SCREAM at Tietjens to recognize two things, which he can't be bothered to acknowledge: 1) that McKechnie is Macmaster's nephew (not that that seems to amount to much at the moment, other than vaguely alluding to Macmaster being a horrible person, but GOD, it's so obvious!) and 2) Sylvia has arrived for some epic shit-stirring.

That gets us to the end of Part II, and maybe that's a good place to open this up to other people's thoughts.  Of course, the REALLY exciting stuff is soon to come.

Some other random observations:

--So far, this isn't what I expected from a WWI scene.  I only think of trenches and machine guns and gas masks (and we'll get to those later). Right now, Tietjens has landed in a world of busywork and stretched resources and random death (with a punchline!  "Ere's another bloomin' casualty.").  He's one cog in an enormous wheel of a machine that is falling apart.

--Is it just me, or does Tietjens seem to be in his element in this section?  Sure, he's traumatized by O Nine Morgan, and he's preoccupied with his love triangle, but he also seems to relish handling all of these small details, and he truly cares about the men with whom he's been entrusted, and they seem to respect him in return.  It's a world where he can function better than high society where his standoffish attitude and promiscuous wife are a perfect storm of ruin.  However, his civilian world is about to intrude upon his military life...

[tragicmaise]

These Unseen Photos From World War I Are Unbelievable

Typically, when long-lost photos are found and restored they're a bit underwhelming. But this new series of images, captured by an unknown photographer, are just incredible — from their portrayal of life in the trenches to the intimate glimpses of famous leaders.

Something my Project Parade's End friends might find interesting...

[queenundomiel-blog]

[kyrafic]

"Never did like that much," is a baller and superb way to express your irritation with the way the patriarchy refuses to acknowledge how badass you are.

[lisa-maxwell]

Word.

[johnskylar]

Before World War I, she shot a cigarette out of the mouth of the Kaiser of Germany at his request.

After the war started she sent him a letter asking for another chance, as she was afraid her aim might’ve been a little off.

[certified-p0ser]

Annie Fucking Oakley everyone

[torrilla]

Tom Hiddleston as Adam in Only Lovers Left Alive [HQ]

[tragicmaise]

I could watch this movie every day of my life.

[wonderlandinmymind]

[tragicmaise]

Good God!

So last night I stayed up way too late and finished No More Parades.  I'm excited for our discussion of that book on Project Parade's End because I am positively haunted by this book.  I felt wounded by the ending, and it was all I could think about on my morning commute today.

[shencomix]

[tragicmaise]

Man, does this ever sum up my life right now.

[hiddlesy]

[lokisbeastie-deactivated2014082]

He fucking knows he’s perfect…I don’t need this shit right now, you fucker.

[tragicmaise]

Could watch this for HOURS.

[tomhazeldine]

focus on the hands.

[sherlockspeare]

Cumberbatch is clearly riled up by trivia questions from his co-star Martin Freeman. When Benedict admits he has never heard of a particular actor, Freeman shoots back “I assumed you’d probably been christened by him. I thought you knew every actor over 50. I thought there was a by-law.” by Radio Times article(x) about Sherlock outtake (X)

Sorry for my poor caption. I tried not to make this but couldn’t help it.