Hazel Ceej

L for Ligeia L ydian L igeia didn't l ast would she have given up forbidden wisdom in exchange for l yterian? A ll an gulps in l ypemania as she sleeps underneath the earth  where a l ychgate stands  even in her l ysis she l ies l yncean - Hazel, Stasia Desiderata Wikipedia Ligeia is a story about female beauty, intelligence, human mortality and opium-induced hallucinations of  resurrection, by Edgar Allan Poe. Trust Poe to weave brilliant tales out of his drunken episodes.  Now we have film adaptations as well as moments of l iterary l uxury l istening to his genius, The Conqueror Worm.     Witch Ghetto In beauty of face no maiden ever equaled her. It was the radiance of an opium-dream – an airy and spirit-lifting vision more wildly divine than the fantasies which hovered about the slumber... ( source ) This post is linked with ABC Wednesday .

Anyone out there who is under pressure , please raise your right hand. There goes mine. Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Bonnie Tyler are some of my favorite songsters who have hits among the top 100 songs of the 80s. Resisting them was hard. The Queen and David Bowie's Under Pressure is, as far as the title goes, what I exactly am nowadays. Here's hoping some of the pressure get kicked away by the beats that also move me today. This post is linked with: XmasDolly @ XmasDolly , Lori @ Shewbridges of Central Florida , Callie @ JAmerican Spice and Stacy @ Stacy Uncorked Denise @ Run DMT hosts Music Monday Blog Hop

A BBC meme asks how many of the 100 books of a list they published have you read.  Library Thing comments that "the BBC apparently believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books."  It's probably true to me. While I read two Harry Potter books and Da Vinci Code twice, I managed only parts of numbers 7-13 on my list: (Library Thing link has the complete list; see how many have you read) 1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 3. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling 4. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 5. Bleak House - Charles Dickens 6. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown 7. Adventures of Sherlocke Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 8. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott 9. Anne Shirley of Green Gables - Lucy Maud Montgomery 10.  The Bible 11.  The Complete Works of Shakespeare 12.  Moby Dick - Herman Melville 13. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens Megan and Janet host Thursday Thirteen

Music Monday: Song from your birth year Monday Mayhem follows As to what songs came out when I came out - I do not have any idea. It was fun recognizing titles as soon as I skimmed a hundred of them on Music Outfitters.  Images resonate with femmes fatales. Or it's just me. Here's She's a Lady by Tom Jones . And one that flashes Helen of Troy and awakens nostalgia, a fave - If by David Gates   This post is linked with: XmasDolly of XmasDolly , Lori of Shewbridges of Central Florida , Larry of Cakeblast , and Callie of JAmerican Spice Denise @ Run DMT hosts Music Monday Blog Hop ****** Monday Mayhem What's the best way to get rich? Write wacky blogs like why you were dumb to major in Literature or some obscure discipline in the Humanities. Market your creative juices. Have you ever eaten anything that you once saw alive? My plan was to make that brown hen a pet. She ended up on our dining table two days later. What creeps you out the most about clowns? The never-endi

Do your dreams and realities interlap? 1. Herbs . I vaguely recall being hazy on the indication that I "need to take a new approach toward some situation or relationship."  Dream Moods Dictionary , which is my reference for today's T13 offers an alternative: "herbs are symbolic of healing and magic." I say AMEN. 2. Hero . Nope, didn't dream I was a hero but its significance on "innner strength and weaknesses; ability, determination and level of confidence" seems to be in the works for me. The power to "bravely face the secrets of my unconscious mind and confront life's challenges..." well, I need that power. 3. Hieroglyphics. I tend to drift with it whenever I visit art museums. 3. High Heels "represent femininity and glamour, you feel confident and self-assured." I am wearing Vivienne Westwood to a church concert, the Marinsky Ballet and a kick-ass meeting with university bigwigs tonight. 4. Hijack  is "analogous to s

H for Hazel I went out to the hazelwood because a fire was in my head. The Song of Wandering Aengus - W.B. Yeats Well I went out to Kuala Lumpur because I was such a crackling dormouse for two days a nibbling nut I so forgot to take a shot of the tower. The hazel might be said to be the quintessential Celtic tree because of its legendary position at the heart of the Otherworld -  Hazel - Coll - Expansive during the Mesolithic effects of its brew are said to be psychotropic It endows Druids with powers prophetic,  and now before I wax poetic what I really mean is it is as a tree that I love my namesake best. Trees for Life   This post is linked with ABC Wednesday .

Things on my mind that begin with letter F: 1. fairs : country, book 2. fairies : flower and forest 3. faith : I have yet to witness the one that can move a mountain 4. flowers: arrangements of lilies, orchids and roses in weddings 5 . forests: the ones in Sintra, Portugal. I read they are magical 6. friends : I appreciate those I heard from in Facebook on August 30th 7. forty : crap! how did I get to be that? 8. food : I went restaurant-hopping during my birthday - hors d' oeuvre at Vie Ha Lung, main course at It's Happened to be a Coffee Shop (if there is a next time I will analyze that "Satanic Majesty" on their menu before ordering their mediocre lamb steak in red wine sauce), dessert at Sweet Secret, and cocktails at The Landmark 9.  farms : upon my word, farms! the charming places that they are. 10. fairy tales: I have never stopped believing in them. At least not yet. Or maybe I never will. 11. fig: there is a sacred fig near the spirit house at work. Next to

F for Frangipani worn on a wrist or crowning a maiden's head fragrant and fresh flawless on a garden shed fair and dainty lovely as a bride's bouquet This post is linked with ABC Wednesday .

E for Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations Edward Elgar, Sir! You hid your Enigma well Out of its fourteen variations They have made some commotion Offering their solutions Friends portrayed theme not played.... Edward Elgar, Sir!  Puzzlingly they would confer. photo Enigma Variations is a set of a theme and its variations written for orchestra - Wikipedia This post is linked with ABC Wednesday .

Music Monday: Pomp and Circumstance by Edward Elgar Monday Mayhem follows School. Your imagination must have gone rainbow-colored what with everything that school life is. Let me cut to the chase - it's great to graduate. . This post is linked with: XmasDolly of XmasDolly , Lori of Shewbridges of Central Florida , Larry of Cakeblast , and Callie of JAmerican Spice Denise @ Run DMT hosts Music Monday Blog Hop ****** Monday Mayhem: Ticked off Welcome to Monday Mayhem. This is indeed the coolest place to be on a Monday. Today we are going to share what ticked us off about. What a great way to vent! Be sure to have fun! 1. What made ticked off the most yesterday? a headache 2. What ticks you off about your local mail service? Hollow parcels. And as if it's not jarring enough the letter that tells you what to expect in the parcel arrives slashed. That's corruption, third-world style. 3. What ticks you off about the opposite sex?  Some of them 'care too much' they invad

Lumos Maxima! A bored muggle needed sufficient light to pore over the final Harry Potter book not once but twice, thrice or Voldy knows how many times. Yes, we can say the name now . These are lines I remember from The Deathly Hallows for reasons bubbling with toads and whiskers in my cauldron recently: 1. All's fair in love and war and this is a bit of both. - Ron Weasley 2. Mudblood and proud of it! - Hermione Granger 3. Of course it is happening in your head, but why on earth should that mean it is not real? - Albus Dumbledore to Harry 4. I think the answer is: a circle that has no beginning. - Luna Lovegood 5. We teachers are rather good in magic you know. - Minerva McGonagall 6. We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter's the one, And Voldy's gone moldy, so now let's have fun! - Peeves 7. It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up t

Music Monday: High upon this love, Dionne Warwick, The Bold and the Beautiful Monday Mayhem follows The closest I could get to a TV show is The Bold and the Beautiful. In the early 2000s I tempered vicious gradschool Stats with the entertainment  B&B offered.  Eric Marienthal renders a prominent saxophone feature and Dionne Warwick does the vocals. I love the combination. This post is linked with: XmasDolly of XmasDolly , Lori of Shewbridges of Central Florida , Larry of Cakeblast , and Callie of JAmerican Spice Denise @ Run DMT hosts Music Monday Blog Hop ****** Monday Mayhem: Hot Mayhem 1. Were you a fan of Amy Winehouse? Were you surprised about her?  No and no 2. What have you always wanted to try doing during a heat wave? Have you done it? What's holding you back? Heatwaves are an almost daily experience where I live. I'm probably too used to being dehumidified to think of exotic ways of dealing with the usual cold edibles, light clothing or freezing AC's. 3. &q

A for Antique design A full century is the debate Some in the a rts attempt to halve it To this a lternative a sset-loving a rm An a ntique design is quite a charm. This post is linked with ABC Wednesday .

If you like period films you must have seen most if not all of these titles. I am fond of such films but this list consists of what I haven't watched; except nos. 4 and 12: 1. Love on the Land   post civil war America 2. Versailles: The Dream of a King   Versailles, Europe's most splendid palace 3. Bleak House  mid 19th century England about British judiciary system 4. Under the Green Wood Tree   rural town life in the mid 19th century England 5. The Buccaneers   four American girls in London searching for husbands 6. Upstairs, Downstairs   servants and masters in Edwardian London 7. Angel   Edwardian Cheshire about an eccentric British writer 8. A Month in the Country   1920s rural Yorkshire 9. Circle of Friends   1950s Ireland 10. True Women saga of love, war and adventure; Texas Revolution thru the Civil War 11. Sally Hemings: An American Scandal   Thomas Jefferson and his slave mistress 12. From time to time   ghost story spanning two worlds two centuries apart 13. Gl

Orchid An aircraft takes off and she's not in it the clock ticks as she heads back for the exit Christmas is nigh and alone she passes by Just in time for the orchid to sigh. Suvarnabhumi (Thailand international airport), almost midnight, December 24th 2010. I sent off friends who flew home for Christmas.   This post is linked with ABC Wednesday .

Music Monday: Light and Shade, Fra Lippo Lippi Monday Mayhem follows ... of words, music and images are what I am happy to share today. Fra Lippo Lippi is popular in my home country (Philippines). Thanks to people who put together media like this for all of us to enjoy. This post is linked with: Amanda @ Bloggin with Amanda XmasDolly of XmasDolly , Lori of Shewbridges of Central Florida , Larry of Cakeblast , and Callie of JAmerican Spice Denise @ Run DMT hosts Music Monday Blog Hop ***** Q1. What brand/flavor of chewing gum would you recommend to the rest of us? Dentyne Ice Midnight Mint . Guaranteed to funnel chili oxygen to your nostril. If you don't want your tongue convulsing in strong mint, stay away from it. (But it's my favorite) Q2. What brand/flavor of beverage would you recommend to the rest of us? Water from a mountain spring . I never drank anything like that from the shelves. But I have from a real mountain which took 8 hours to reach the peak. Just missing t

N ever Let Me Go   Kazuo Ishiguro - a novel I am reading for a book club meeting I am attending on the last week of this month. Being 'pop sci-fi thriller' it's not what I normally read but exploring new nooks of genre is nifty.   Characters of this novel (2005) are children raised in a boarding school in East Sussex, England as clones intended to provide organs for non-clones. A film adaptation of the same title was released in 2010. Never Let Me Go Hazel, Delineating Des   Baby, never let me go Kathy sings as she hugs her pillow Madame watches her and cries Kathy later asks her why And Madame replies: because I see this little girl A new world she is facing An efficient but cruel world But it is emerging Never let me go To the old world The little girl is asking. This post is linked with ABC Wednesday .

Thailand has just concluded Songkran (traditional Thai New Year), which is celebrated on April 13-15.  The festival has many fun features, most significant of all is water.  People are out on the streets getting drenched, dancing, eating, greeting each other a happy new year. This is a scene in Huahin last week. Hilton Hotel is behind that old house which is actually a bar. Behind it is Hard Rock Cafe, and the opposite side are an assortment of shops and restaurants.  White foreigners participate in this event too as you can see.  They have as much fun as the locals.     My World Tuesday is brought to you by Klaus and the My World Team Sandy , Wren , Fishing Guy , Sylvia

Music Monday: It's My Life Monday Mayhem follows A friend celebrated an approaching change on her civil status Saturday night. When documents are sorted she will be officially single again. "Better get on with it," I thought. Down at Hard Rock I noticed for the first time a reference to Sinatra on Bon Jovi's It's My Life . I never really paid attention to this hit until I admitted I did relate with the message coming off the lyrics. My two left feet were exploiting the dance floor when this was played. This post is linked with: Amanda @ Bloggin with Amanda XmasDolly of XmasDolly , Lori of Shewbridges of Central Florida , Larry of Cakeblast , and Callie of JAmerican Spice Denise @ Run DMT hosts Music Monday Blog Hop ***** Q.1- Why does it seem that every TV station goes to commercial at the same time- when you are checking to see what's on the other channel? Financiers probably want it that way - commercials get about the same amount of exposure at simila

You know what happens when you live in a normally boiling hot city and it suddenly turns cold? Instead of staying where you are you wander... Half an hour into looking around your empty stomach growls and you remedy it with a cup of coffee - And then you become curious what's on the other pages of the menu.  Ok, that's my routine, sort of. A month ago this was what I experimented on: Chikuyoh Yakiniku @ Yagura Chaya Fumi. Loved it! This post is linked with Food Trip Friday and Friday Food Fight

Sent via email from Forbes, I didn't pay attention to this list until probably last week when I was at the Stock Exchange of Thailand to attend a classical concert for Japan. No royals there; just approximately seven ambassadors in attendance, but enough to see some connection to draw up an 'affluent' list. 1. Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, worth $30 billion 2. Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, worth $20 billion 3. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud, worth $18 billion 4. UAE President Sheik Khalifa bin-Zayed al Nahayan, worth $15 billion 5. Dubai ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashedal Maktoum, worth $4.5 billion 6. Liechtenstein's Prince Hans-Adam II, worth $3.5 billion 7. Morocco's King Mohammed VI, worth $2.5 billion 8. Qatar's Sheik Hamid bin Kalifa al-Thani, worth $2.4 billion 9. Prince Albert II of Monaco, worth $1 billion 10. His Highness the Aga Khan, worth $800 million 11. Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said, worth $700 mil