Do you know, I always thought unicorns were fabulous monsters, too?

These days I have enjoyed an unexpected break from daily duties. My Friday classes were canceled, so International Worker´s Day holidays let me free until next Wednesday. Well, certainly I am not fully exempt from schoolwork at the moment (semester´s exams are around the corner again) but at least I have some extra time for writing essays. 

On Thursday evening I visited my parents´place. It was really nice because I could study harder with no better halves around to get me distracted all the time. Besides, I met many friends once my work was done: two of my long-term darlings came back from Japan after visiting my sister (http://petitsuisseinformativo.wordpress.com) and we had a great time talking about their adventures. Moreover, I was given many charming presents that deserve their own post.

Though there are no pictures from last Thursday meeting, I have many others from a little assembly with my secondary school friends a short time ago. There´s something nice about meeting old friends, right?

Another good thing about this weekend is that I almost nailed down the details about my academic research work next year. It sounds like I am finally working on North American horror fiction in the first half of the XX century (specifically the work of H.P. Lovecraft and its circle). I am really excited about this as long as it is going to be my first serious experience as a literary researcher at university.

 Of course, I also spent some quality time with my mother and my youngest sister. She is twelve years old now and I can say she is following the personal footprint of the family, which means she is becoming a little nerd. I am very proud of her! On Saturday she made me drive her into the local human evolution event and she had lots of fun learning about Neanderthalis and Homo Antecessor. She aldo made me promise to take her to the premiere of Dark Shadows in Spain. She is a sweetheart, isn´t she?

Finally we went for some shopping together, and it was full of funny suprises. We found a little treassure to combine with the customized shoes my friend Morgan gave me for my birthday (above).

In general, we had a great weekend.

So tell me, have you done recent findings of any type?

 

How to stop being a Goth

This weekend a friend of mine let me know about a blogger who, some time ago, made a post about how to leave the gothic scene. The polemical entry was called "Style advice for gothic girls in rehab". It was published about one year ago but you can read it in the original website (http://acapulco70.com/consejos-de-estilo-para-goticas-en-rehabilitacion/). It is written in Spanish, so if you cannot read this language I am sure you´ll find many traslators online.

I read the post several times and dedicated some time to find out what made me feel exactly and why.

I felt deeply dissapointed by its general undertones, but also because of the sarcasm and little sensivity of the author. As a consequence, in this occasion I´ll be trying to explain in which points I think the writer is wrong and how her review is, from my perspective, offensive and poorly built. 

First of all, the introduction or approach is pretty belligerent by itself. I´m going to do my best for translating. After a couple of lines about common style mistakes during youth, it is said:

 "A goth girl who wants to change realizes that there is nothing as sad as a woman in her thirties striving to wear a vinyl corset and interacting with teens like the most natural thing in the whole world".

  Why do I think this is disrespectful? Obviously, there is nothing nice about saying that a person (independently of his/her preferences, tendencies and manners) is ridiculous just because his/her lifestyle is non-conventional. Out of this, I do not feel myself identified in this first description: I am nearly thirty years old and my friends share, generally, my age. I am a young adult and I have healthy relationships with classmates and colleagues at work. In relation to the "vynil corset", well, it is not my cup of tea but I don´t think wearing PVC makes you less than human. After reading the introduction one can start appreciating a certain kind of prejudice in the whole thing. Let´s move on.

The author goes on to describe what makes a gothic closet unmanageable.

On the one hand, she explains that every goth´s wardrobe is composed just by black items in a wide variety of clothes more or less ruined by the usage. Well, I think is pretty naive to take this for granted, isn´t it? Personally I (as many of other gothic ladies out there) like to wear a rich variety of colours, those includying purple, crimson, moss green, scarlet etc, and I do not wear old stuff outdoors. Old clothes are used at home if they´re cozy or just removed for making room to new things.

On the other hand, this person insists in the goth "tasteless" pointing that we all use ruined stocking and sexshop accesoires (?). As a solution, she suggests to classify our clothes in two different categories: Halloween products and garbage. 

 Then, she proposes to us getting all the fashion magazines we can find and/or checking an alternative post in her blog where we can read a list of fashionable basics, this way we´ll find style guidance. Everything here lacks of sense. First of all, this person is convinced that gothic style is based in cheap costumes. I checked her list about basic items for women and, as I thought, it was full of things that I own myself. What leads this lady to think that we (poor little creatures) do not have a pencil skirt or a couple of boots with cords if they are almost a daily basic for many our outfits? Besides, we are supposed to wear just current new fashionable stuff chosen by other people (the workers of Vogue, Harper´s etc) who do not consider our tastes or personality.

After all, the reader suggests to erase all our pictures from the internet, all our music from shelves and PC, and all our contacts from Social Nets (we can add her, she says, to start new and normal relationships). Moreover, we MUST stop talking to our friends. Delicious. 

Several people left comments in her blog but she was pretty rude with them, even when many tried to make constructive critics. 

I am not against changes. 

Many of my long term friends left the scene long time ago and I kept having a good relation with them because I love them as they are.

 The real sad thing about this post is that she defends that all those radical changes in our lifes have to be done because we are not normal. We are not what is desirable and, as a consequence, we do not have a real place in society. Society keeps the right to tell eveybody how to behave and this, my friends, is dangerous. Cultural studies and philosophy call this attitude alienation.

Risen from the Dead

The picture, the artist and the model.

Portrait by J. Carou

Hello, dears, how are you doing? I hope everything is fine.
As you may have noticed, I´ve been away from the blogosphere for a couple of months. This was not a decission, but an urgent necessity as long as my life went mad. After Christmas I started working hard for my semester exams which were really difficult. My current subjects were all about grammar and history, so never ending studying seasons became compulsory. I began spending five or six hours on the library in a daily basis. No time for books, movies, walks and of course no time for blogging. However, I ´m glad to say I got brilliant qualifications in this occasion, so effort was worth it.

                                                                                

The artist and I.

March came and my semester tests went away but I had to go back to my reading schedule for literature classes. Besides, I started looking for a new job because, sadly, my boss isn´t able to hire me anymore (damn you, financial crisis!).
My Easter holidays were not completely relaxing either (in Spain spring break is a little earlier), but at least I found little time for myself. I am even able to steal some minutes from day and recovering my blog at once. Besides this, on Thursday The Gentle One and I visited the art exhibition of a friend. We hadn´t seen her work before I am glad to say she´s a real artist. The whole collection was formed by hyperrealistic portraits. It was simply amazing.

                                                                                

My friend Elisa

Many of our pals went to the exhibition as well, so we had a great time chatting, drinking and tasting the lovely vegetarian snacks made by the place owners. It was really nice to break up the routine. So, tell me: what have you done to escape from the routine lately? What special plans do you have for holidays?

The girls just wanna have fun

Yule around the corner

I cannot believe it but It´s been a year since I returned from UK.
Sometimes I still have a strange feeling when I look around and realize that I am not walking by the Thames side anymore. Long walks through the hills have been replaced by the constant view of old inclined towers and narrow stone streets.

However, the same mist hangs in the air.

Yule is just around the corner, so I cannot feel sad anymore.

Sadness is replaced immediately by a pleasant sense of familiarity when Christmas arrives and I can meet my loved ones. Unluckily, I am not meeting all of them. I will be specially missing my sister, who is not able to come to Spain from Japan this year (miss you, darling). Thanks to the providency (and the wonders of modern technologies) we´ll be chatting on Christmas day via Skype.

Anyway, despite this I feel happy about the last days of the year.
I do appreciate the opportunity of having a delicious dinner with family, drop my youngest sister to ice skating by her very first time, drinking hot chocolate with my parents and enjoying the most of the holidays with The Gentle One.

The first Spanish edition of The Hobbit rescued from a vintage store for my little sister.

Many people do not feel comfortable with the radical commercial mood of Christmas nowadays.
I can see their point: we do not need to spend hundreds of euros just to demonstrate our love. I think we don´t need every single thing we see in the mall to be happy though society tries to convince to us we do. For me, personal details are more accurate and I prefer to find one perfect gift rather than a mountain of impersonal stuff.
This year I got just a few things but very special. I bought the first Spanish edition of
The Hobbit for my youngest sister (she is just eleven years old and is discovering the pleasure of reading) in a vintage store. Then, I chose a wonderful artisan paper on a beautiful violet color to replace the old fashioned covers as long as they were a little damaged. I also bought a pair of Sweet Lolita inspired leggins for her and a pair of funny strawberry earrings. She does not have earholes but she´s dying for.

I became a big fan of Whittard of Chelsea this winter.



I had two or three good ideas for my parents but not too much to spend (charming writers graduating have small salaries as teachers), so I spoke to my other lovely sister and she decided to help with the presents (thank you once again, darling). So we could finally get something gorgeous for our parents. They are fond of staying home in the weekends and spending long hours having hot drinks and never ending conversations, so what more accurate than a luxury selection of teas and chocolates?
Normally they prefer the kind of gifts they can share with the others (being generous as they are), which converted this idea in the perfect one. Besides, they are chocoholics!

Big variety of treats for a chocoholic couple.

In the last weeks I also found the perfect gifts for my fiancée but I am not posting pictures or a description here at the moment. He is a little gossip, so he will be probably checking this place for some information. Sorry, dear, you are not lucky today ;)

Yummy, I am sure!

Extraordinary, this year we are not celebrating Christmas at our parents, but they are coming home. I am really fond of spending these very special days in my city. The medieval town will be beautiful with all the lights. Actually, I am dying for holidays. I have not enjoyed too much in the last weeks and I do not have spare time at all. To break up with the routine, I attended a Lolitas´ meeting on Saturday and met lots of nice people. I will be giving more details as soon as I get some pics. Stay tuned!

Tales from a Bookworm

 

This is how a wormbook looks on a Friday evening.

The last past weeks have been a madness.
Stuck on a metaphorical pillory of duties those including seminars, job, essays, private classes and a brand new little bussiness of my own, it has been kind of hard to find spare time for little pleasures. Sadly, this means no time for blogging at all. Modern times demand an unrealistic efficiency from everyone.

However, sometimes one have to stop and breath.
In my case, there is a huge breed of things I use to indulge myself. No eccentricities neccesarily but just small treats. From a luxury capuccino with floating marshmallows to a single walk under the autumn trees, everything may help to relax. One of my favourite things in the whole world consists on spending evenings in a library just for pleasure. On Friday night I had to go to the public library to pick one of the novels I previously booked for my American literature classes. So I decided to transform commitment into a chance to enjoy.

It´s kind of fascinating the way in which these places have changed in the last ten years.
As a curious child and a remarkably antisocial teen, I got used to see the same kind of people consulting books day by day. They were mainly retired people, undergraduates or just solitary kids like me. Nevertheless, the net grew up and computers were introduced even in the most conservative book stores. As a consequence, you can find hordes of teens checking their emails every Friday night nowadays. Little coffee shops have been even installed, offering a smart variety of sandwiches, tea and other refreshments to have while you´re reading your favourite novel. Funny thing this new and modern world.

Anyway, I exploited the opportunity and met my fiancé there.
Being another paper-eater, we simply toured the three level floor building snooping the shelves. What a delight! I like to learn the new material everytime and - oh, man!- in this occasion the horror department was full of shinning trasures. Somebody asked for the beautiful ( and expensive) gothic editions from the Spanish publishing house of Valdemar. And there they were! The complete works of H.P. Lovecraft on that very desirable edition. A chip on my shoulder. Actually, I do not have spare time to read random books now. I have a stressing reading schedule because of my classes at university, so I won´t be able to make it until Christmas.
I simply was a modelic school girl and picked my copy of The House of the Seven Gables by N. Hawthorne. Yes, Hawthorne is a genious and I know it but sometimes you are not happy reading the works that other people chose for you.

At the end of the day, The Gentle One and I got home carrying our paper provisions. And yes, I must confess he was happier than me about that.

 

Fuzzy and lovely reader looking for new treasures

And Wrought Upon the Clothes in Patterns of the Most Jetty Black

We suffered the terrible hot weather during the whole month, but the temperatures went down on the weekend. The only inconvenience is that, unfortunately, my obligations are not leaving me too much spare time to enjoy. We´re in the last week of the month and the term exams are far, nevertheless academic tasks pile up on a essay´s ocean.

Happily, not everything is bad.

Among all these obligations some attractive loads are hidden.
My north American literature seminars has been dedicated, almost exclusively, to the life and work of E.A. Poe. The author is always a delightful pleasure in which I adore to fall once and again. And there´s not such a big thing as reading it in this season.

There´s nothing spookiest than Poe in a dark October night.

Leaves have begun to fall, rain hits the windows and I ( lucky me) read Poe´s stories with a warm tea for my classes. This drove me to a wonderful mood disposition. I can just ponder about candles and pumpkins!

I don´t know if I mentioned it, but this party is special for two reasons: on the one hand, I enjoy the spirit´s night like one more kid and, on the other hand, this year I am celebrating my seventh anniversary with The Gentle One, ( a gothic couple celebrating their anniversary in Halloween, what a cliché we are). However, unlike it can be interpreted, the date was not chosen on purpose. Destiny linked us that night, which is pretty romantic if you think about masks and red wine every year.

This time I intended to celebrate it with something special, so I started to look for new ideas and accidentally stumbled upon Neil Gaiman´s blog. He proposes to give away horror books in Halloween and turn the party into a literary event. Personally, I think it is a brilliant idea.
What do you think about it?

She Spoke and Winter Left

My friend Elisa and I on a semi-melted mood.

As my readers know, I mentioned the early coming of fall a couple of times.
It could be thought that my words played as a hocus-pocus, as long as the season magically dissapeared. Literally. One day we woke up and Father Autumn had just vanished! Its grey beard made of wind and mist was replaced by the burning sun and its lovely golden leaves cloack is not here anymore.
Usually, I smile when people say climatic change is just politic maneuvre. I had never have so strong impression about this truth. October is here but cold is not coming! Many of you can think this is a regular thing in such a warm place like Spain but not in the north. Galicia isn´t a well-known region out form our boundaries, so try to imagine a fairy-tale kingdom full of green woods and gardens, the most similar landscapes across Europe can just be found in Ireland. Evidently, the situation is uncanny.
On a personal level, one may consider the obvious consequences of unusual weather for an academic gothic-victorian lady: on first place, attending classes is a nightmare in the stuffy rooms inside the faculty building. I heave a sigh every morning while choosing an outfit and look with dreamy eyes at the vast variety of wooden shawls, soft knit jumpers and dresses. Of course, they´re not an option these days, unless you wish passing out.

My dear friend Iago getting annoyed by weather and pics.
But he stills so cute!

I am concious that many people would be glad about it, however the little spooky girl inside me is praying for her favourite season: Halloween. And honestly, I cannot conceive it without a former period of dead leaves and misty grounds for getting me ready. There are so many details to inspire me!

• A good cup of cinnamon tea or hot mint chocolate.
• Silky cashemere shawls.
• Tartan blankets.
• Sacher cake.
• Victorian tea rooms.
• Reading by the fireplace.
• Flaper hats.
• Synthetic furs.
• Twilight walks across haunted woods.

My beloved sister (who, by the way, can be read here) want me to upload some pics inspired by the romantic beauty of autumn, but I am just in the position of posting these summery impressions at the moment (sorry, darling). However, inspiration is in the air and I´ll be making my best as soon as cold comes back. One of the new projects in my mind include a wintery Victorian picnic. Just imagine a bunch of ladies and gentlemen sharing hot drinks served from silvery teapots in a magnificent park, surrounded by golden trees... I just need the proper background.

So, please, please, send the season back to me!

Habits make the man an old monk

The pleasure of learning.

Going back to rutine can consitute an unexpected pleasure.
A relatively long period far from daily life is very similar to discover an old pair of shoes in the closet which we forgot but still fitting perfect. I spent September at my parent´s, I did not suspect it when I moved away but discovered a wide range of new feelings: one can learn to value little things, even those that you normally don´t think about.
I missed my apartment, my books and films, my teapots and cups, my collection of shoes, my cds and even my sheets. But materialism is not everything. I specially felt melancholy when I thought about shared dinners and breakfasts with The Gentle One (my soulmate), naps on my little and unconfortable sofa accompanied by my two charming kitties and the never ending wine parties with friends on the living.

Autumn´s light is already here.

Fortunately, this forced holiday period is done and I went back, not only home but also to daily life. Seminars at university started on Monday (meaning to meet with my friends after a complete year of social isolation) and I returned to job this evening. The huge change of habits cannot be ignored as long as I went from being completly idle to have almost too much to do. However, being useful is always very nice.

Am I the only one with an antithetical post-holiday syndrome?

Haunted Walks Under the Big Silver Moon.

The time I resided in London museums became home.
Every single time I felt sad or melancholic inevitably tended to overpass the golden doors of an art building. Recognizing me was easy those days: a tall, pale girl with floating black hair wandering through the galleries as a spectre.

Since I was a child, I never felt really comfortable with other people.
I am not a total misanthrope (well, no too much), it´s just I rarely feel myself in the crowd. In this sense, nature made me following some uncanny mold which disables my emotional reaction to daily events and social feedback but magnify my feelings about painting, sculpture and any kind of artistic manifestation. So, as I said, I spent great quantities of my time in the UK exploring these hidden chambers full of treasures. At that time my favourite shelters were Victoria and Albert Museum and the Wallace Collection. It´s hard to explain the peaceful feel when I contemplated the inexhaustible succession of marbles, Venice cristals and pre-Raphaelite allegories.

However, everything has an ending and I had to come back to Spain for finishing my degree.
My homeland is very popular in honour of its landscapes with magic woods and cliffs and the magnificent ancient cities but - oh, alas! - we don´t have a single remakable museum.
As long as I remain here I had to look for new sources of contemplative pleasure.

It is told that wit is the father of genius, so after a reasonable time scanning different possibilities, I declined to look for more galleries and started thinking about classic buildings. This was the best I could do. One cannot ignore the huge variety of historical places around and these old fashioned haunted mannors will be always my best friends.
Walking under the charming shadow of an isolated victorian house or inside the corridors of a ballroom is one big pleasure. The best thing: absolutely free.
If you were asked for, what place would you choose as your favourite shelter?

Last Summer Days in the House of Despair

There are few things to do these days.

Summer is almost over and evenings are becoming shorter, chilly and windy. Human beings (poor little things) must leave their delightful walks under the sunshine and going back indoors. One can easily presage the winter coming.
When September arrives I do not feel Spanish anymore, the rest of the country will have one more month of shinning existence but in this small northern corner the warm season is gone. My homeland is a vission composed by wild landscapes, merciless wind, stone cities and deadly coasts dreamt by a Pre-raphaelite painter or some ancient storyteller, and we - the inhabitants - behave as sleepers.

Mornings are not usually different.
Three days ago I woke up just for finding an insidious grey daylight slipping through the curtains. Then, a sudden thunder sounded somewhere and rain began falling. With so little options and the majority of my books miles away on my apartment (I am spending the last holidays at my parent´s) I decided to sanctify this unexpected captivity to good films.
The winner was The Call of Cthulhu, a 2005´s production.

For being honest I did not expect too much from it. Normally, Lovecraft´s adaptations are poorly based on texts and too much focused on special effects. However, this one was the opposite. The project, distributed by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society, recreates the misterious universe in a terrific movie. The Call of Cthulhu was recorded by using many of the most popular techniques from the 20´s. As a consequence, the final product it´s a exquisite silent film with a strong artistic design. It is the best adaptation I´ve watched the last month by far.
So if you find yourself imprisoned by a storm at home as I did, don´t waver to give it a chance.