Dracula Day

 Today is World Dracula Day, as it is the anniversary of the publication of Dracula by Bram Stoker. It is by far my favourite horror novel ever and also one of my favourite novels all labels aside. I have lost count on how many times I read it. So I find it important that I commemorate today. Also, in my long countdown to Halloween, or my countdown to the countdown, today is also a stepping stone. Stoker's novel is an essential read for any horror fan ans it remains to this day the greatest vampire story ever told.

"Beware the Ides of March"

 Today is the 15th of March, therefore, this is the Ides of March. Which means that it is the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar.A rather gruesome anniversary, but it shapes the world like not many others did, for centuries to come. I blog about it every year, it's a sort of tradition, because I love history and I get in an Ancient Rome mood round this time of year. That and an Irish mood, too, but I digress. So yeah, as you probably, we owe to Shakespeare the line "Beware the Ides of March," you can hear it in Julius Caesar. I have yet to see the whole play, shame on me. For me, it reminds me of this scene from the HBO series Rome. I am going to watch it. If you do, fair warning: it is very bloody.

Thunderball

I learned thanks to the Facebook page of Ian Fleming that yesterday was the anniversary of the publication of Thunderball. The book has a special place in my heart. First, it is the source material for one of my favourite James Bond movies, then it is the very first Bond novel I purchased and read. The very edition you see on this picture. It also marks the first apperance of Bond nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, one of my favourite villains ever, head of SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extorsion). Let not the movies and their many parodies fool you: in the original novels, the organisation is almost inhumanly sinister. I want to revisit Thunderball one day, I suggest you give the novel a try in the meantime.

The Birthday of Amadeus

As you probably know by now, today is the birthday of of Wolfgang Johannes Chrysostome Amadeus Mozart, the heart of Mozart Week. I commemorate it a picture with his most famous (although not his most accurate) portrait, which I took in Vienna. I am also sharing a bit of his music, the Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra. I thought I would give you a break from opera. And that a birthday needed something joyful and youthful.

Grieving for Mozart

Sad anniversary which I commemorate every year: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died on the fifth of December 1791. His Requiem is  played all around the world to commemorate, I am doing the same here on this blog. It's been centuries, but the grief is still fresh: Wolferl died young, he died with an unfinished masterpiece. And I also thought this is a good opportunity to share a picture from our last trip to Austria. His statue in Salzburg. Sadly we didn'y visit his grave, even though he does not rest in it. Be that as it may, Requiem Aeternam, Amadeus. Dead, but truly immortal.

Mince Pie Day

My wife said earlier: "Isn't today Mince Pie Day?" It is and her question deserves to be a great unknown line. And don't for it on Google, this is not the official Mince Pie Day, which was actually yesterday here in the UK. But today is Mince Pie Day in our household. If you have been following this blog, you know what I am referring to. One evening a few years ago, back when I was studying at uni, I was bored and feeling peckish, so I went to the residence's kitchen to eat a mince pie. Then in walked an English girl, who was visiting a friend, housemate of mine. The English girl, of course, was Veggie Carrie. And this was our very first meeting. Since then, I always eat a mince pie on that date.

The Dracula Game (a memory)

 Long time readers may remember that I blog from time to time about the Dracula Game. This was a make belief game my brothers and I played with some friends back in 1989, freely inspired by J.H. Brennan's gamebook Dracula's Castle, before I read the original novel. We only truly played it once, but it was one of the most exciting games we ever played, one that got us in an early Halloween mood, and I remember it fondly to this day. I am mentioning it again because after doing a bit of research I can say with a fairly strong amount of certainty that today is the anniversary of the day we played. It might sound silly to keep track of time like this, for one afternoon in our childhood, but that fateful day was important: my brothers and I made a new friend (read the original post for more details) and it was my first proper introduction to classic horror and to my favourite horror story.

9/11... again

I always commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. I am doing it this year again with this post, although I don't write long posts about it. From my thoughts and memories about it, read this post from 2008 and that post from 2009. However, I will say one of thing of what happened in the USA since. On the 11th of September 2001, democracy in the West and in the USA in particular was attacked. Islamic fundamentalism showed its ugly nihilistic head. Sadly, nowadays democracy in the US is falling apart, not because of an alien force of Islamifascists, like almost a quarter of of a century ago, but because of the Xian fascists who took power. So yeah, I am feeling a tad cynical and gloomy today, thinking about it.

Porcelaine anniversary

Today is my wife and I are celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary. From what I read online, it means we are celebrating our porcelaine anniversary. Although, according to Wikipedia, the 20th year of marriage is marked by the porcelaine anniversary and there's nothing between the 15th (crystal) and the 20th. So I am quite confused. Its gemstone is the chrysoberyl, commonly known as cat's eye. But in the end, what matters is that we will celebrate today with our little boy and that we built a family together.

Jour du Déménagement (le mien, le vôtre)

 Nous sommes le 1er juillet aujourd'hui, ce qui, bien entendu, veut dire... le Jour du Déménagement. C'est le cas au Québec en tout cas. Incidemment, c'est le 1er juillet 2016, il y a quasiment dix ans, que nous sommes devenus propriétaires, quelques mois avant la naissance de petit loup. Nous avons emménagé dans la maison le lendemain, mais on a livré quelques boîtes la journée même. Je ne fais pas de grandes célébrations comme je le faisais lorsque l'on fêtait l'anniversaire de notre arrivée dans notre ancien appart. Surtout qu'aujourd'hui, l'anniversaire tombe en pleine semaine. Mais je trouve ça assez amusant que, même en Angleterre, j'ai "déménagé" à la même date qu'au Québec on déménage.

"Beware the Ides of March"

 Today is the 15th of March, the Ides of March. People who are into history will of course know that this is the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar. That's how the Ides of March are most (in)famous for. The expression "Beware the Ides of March" is taken from Julius Caesar. Which I haven't seen, to my great shame. But anyway, every year, I go full on Roman and I blog about it. And I try to remember the lesson of that fateful date. I mentioned them in 2022 and again in 2024. I am sharing them again: "1)even the most powerful man in the world is vulnerable, especially when he made himself enemies, however subservient they may appear to be. 2)we must be wary of the power vacuum created after a coup d'état." So yeah, enjoy your 15th of March.

Wismar and Nosferatu

 Halloween is a long time away, yet I often get in a spooky mood these days. I am already anticipating and preparing myself mentally. So I stumbled upon a BBC article about the city of Wismar, which was used for the filming of the original Nosferatu (and its remakes). Being a big fan of Dracula, which is of course the source material of the horror classic, I think I should visit the city one day. From the pictures I saw, it looks like a warm and friendly place, very quaint, utterly unsinister, but I guess that's what can make it eerie. I have been wanting to make horror pilgrimages in various places associated with classic scary stories. I haven't really made much if any headways, but Wismar is definitely on my list.

AB's B'day

 Today is the birthday of Anthony Burgess, my favourite writer. I try to commemorate every year. The big anniversary was in 2017, when he would have turned a hundred. be that as it may, I will try to do something special about him, like read passages of some of his best novels. One day, I hope to do another pilgrimage in Manchester, where he was born, and visit the Anthony Burgess Foundation there. It's been long overdue. Otherwise, it's also Vraie Fiction's blogging anniversary, which is entireyl accidental, yet very fitting.

"Un deux, test": un anniversaire

C'est un anniversaire d'une certaine importance aujourd'hui: le tapais "Un deux, test" le 25 février 2008, commençant ainsi Vraie Fiction. Il était 21:41 quand mon tout premier billet a été publié. Je sais que bloguer est un art assez oublié de nos jours, c'est un peu perdu dans tous les réseaux sociaux, mais je ne m'en lasse pas, même quand je manque un peu d'inspiration.

Happy Birthday Wolferl!

Today is the birthday of of Wolfgang Johannes Chrysostome Amadeus Mozart, aka Trazom when he signed his documents, aka Wolferl as he was called by his family, aka that kid from Salzburg, aka the greatest composer who ever lived. And my favourite. I have been listening to his music all weekend and will obviously listen to his music more today, non stop. To celebrate on this blog, I have decided to share the sextet from Cosi fan tutte. I came to Mozart through his operas, so it makes sense that I use them toc elebrate him. I think this one shows very well Mozart's virtuosity and art. It's dynamic, it's funny, it's joyful, it's gorgeous, so it should put you in a dreary January Monday.

Le Palais Garnier a 150 ans

 Bon, ben, comme le dit le titre, le Palais Garnier a 150 ans. Il fêtait son anniversaire hier, je crois. Mon père m'a envoyé un article/vidéo sur le sujet. Mais je le savais déjà, car je suis la soprano Lisette Oropesa sur les réseaux sociaux et elle l'a mentionné. Garnier, c'est pour beaucoup de monde qui ne sont pas amateurs d'opéra une fiction, un roman qui est lui même dans l'ombre d'une comédie musicale que l'on confond avec de l'opéra. C'est d'ailleurs à cause de ladite fiction que j'ai fait la connaissance du lieu d'abord, avant de visiter Garnier à Paris moi même. Jamais vu de représentation là bas, malheureusement. Avoir fait autant de séjours à Paris, et je n'ai pas passé une fois à Garnier comme mélomane. C'est malheureux. Mais l'architecture est magnifique, bien que faut aimer la lourdeur. C'est imposant, mettons. Il y a de quoi cacher un fantôme ou deux, mais je garde ça pour un autre billet.

Mozart: Requiem Aeternam

Today, I take a short break from my seasonal Christmas post to commemorate am anniversary: the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As per a musical tradition among Mozart's lovers around the world, I will listen to his Requiem. I am also sharing it on this blog. It's been 233 years and I'm still grieving.

Mince Pies (an anniversary)

 Who likes mince pies? I don't like them particularly, yet I always have some this time of year, and on this very date. You may know why, but for the people who are new to this blog, let me tell you the story again. So this evening 22 years ago, after spending ages on my PhD thesis, I went to the kitchen on my hall of residence to eat a mince pie, because I was feeling peckish. Why did I buy mince pie? I can't remember, because it's not my kind of dessert. Maybe I was curious, because they're everywhere in England this time of year. Anyway, as I was indulging my Québecois sweet tooth, in walked Veggie Carrie. In the kitchen and in my life. So since then, I have a mince pie to celebrate.

Fragments of 9/11

 Today is the anniversary of 9/11. I always commemorate it on the blog.I once used to blog about deeper stuff, when I started blogging in fact, and I gave this date a lot of thoughts back in the days, As you can read in this post from 2008 and that post from 2009. In the latter, I said that I remembered the most trivial thing about it. What I ate that evening for instance: shepherd's pie, or pâté chinois as we call it, with beetroots on the side, and a chocolate cake for dessert, which my mum made as a goodbye treat because I was going back to England a week or two later. I remember reading the morning newspapers and just stopping, because it felt absurd to read old news. I went to the bar that night, but did not get drunk. I discussed this with my wife a few days ago: she was then living at her parents' house, she had walked the family dog and in the park where she walked, she saw people doing tai chi, which she thought was a strange activity to do in a park. Then she walked home and she learned the news. That night, she thought that if the terrorist attack had not happened, she would have thought the 11th of September 2001 to be a day like just any other. Now she remembers these people doing tai chi. And I find it strange and a little bit eerie that for so many people this date in history has been crystallised like this, with every single trivial detail of their day forever in their memory.

Until I Found You

To celebrate our wedding anniversary, I am puting this song from singer Stephen Sanchez. Of course, it wasn't sung on our wedding day, Sanchez was at the time about Wolfie's age, but both my wife and I love it, and it is fairly rare that we both love the same song (not sure if Wolfie likes it though). In any case, the song reminds me of us, so it is a fitting one.