Crimes and places (and Deon Meyer)

I was thinking about this post about the Swaziland coin that ended up in my pocket, and wondering where I had heard of Swaziland before. And then I (re)discovered, or remembered that it is mentioned in Blood Safari, the crime fiction novel by Deon Meyer I am reading at the moment. Boy I can be clueless. Deon Meyer is high on my list of crime writers, although not nearly as high as George Pelecanos. I follow him on Facebook, where I learnt he is shooting a movie in Loxton. Loxton is also, incidentally, mentioned in Blood Safari. I have now a strange feeling of familiarity reading about those places, one because I have a coin from there as a lucky charm, the other because I can now see on Facebook all the pictures the author has the kindness to share with his readership. Crime fiction suddenly takes a different colour, texture, something more palatable, if that makes any sense.

Le solarium

Petit billet nostalgique et un tantinet trivial. En fait non, je dois admettre en toute honnêteté que le sujet du billet est profondément trivial. Ceci est une photo du solarium de mes parents à Chicoutimi. En fait c'est là où mon père entreprose un bon nombre de ses orchidées. C'est aussi un endroit idéal pour lire ou pour passer le temps. J'ai pris cette photo en février 2012. Le solarium est assez impressionnant en hiver, on sent une proximité avec les éléments tout en demeurant à l'intérieur.

A Pinewood Studios anecdote

I don't know why, but I thought today about my personal experience with Pinewood Studios. I say experience, it was not exactly an epiphany, although it was a bit of an officious a pilgrimage, as it is an institution of British movie making. I did not stay very long, but here it is.

So a few years ago, in early May, I went to an interview in Pinewood Studios. I was very excited, not so much because of the job, which was temping, but because I was going to be where James Bond movies were shot, and maybe even work there, although obviously it was not for something nearly as glamorous as a James Bond movie, the series was in hiatus at the time anyway. It was quite moving walking around the place. I took a few snapshots with my old phone, which are now sadly lost. After my interview, which had gone very well, I was famished and I had my lunch in one of cafeterias there. It was a clean, glamorous place, especially for a simple cafeteria. The food however was pricey. And it is there that I had by far the best chicken sandwich I ever ate. It had chutney for condiment instead of mayonnaise. The meat was carved on the place, right in front of me. Two thick slices of multigrain bread held the filling. The sandwich as far as I remember, cost the price of a whole lunch. But it was worth every penny.

I did not take the job because it was conflicting with a job I still had and I had already found better opportunities. The people doing the interview were gracious when I refused it, which almost made me regret it. I do wonder sometimes about it, if I would have enjoyed it there just because of the settings. I do also find it strange that my most vivid memory of Pinewood Studios is the chicken and chutney sandwich.

Question existentielle (169)

J'ai un torticoli qui me gâche la journée un peu, étant en vacances impromptues. Cela dit, je remarque que souvent, quand je suis en congé pour une raison ou pour une autre le lundi, je me sens assez peu en congé et j'ai comme un sentiment de mélancolie. D'où ma question existentielle:

-Comment se fait-il que le lundi peut être si mélancolique même lorsqu'on est en vacances?

The Detective Tales cover for February

I have decided to upload the monthly cover picture from Detective Tales early on. I thought about which one to upload since January, but nothing came to my mind until now. It was difficult to top the brilliant one I uploaded last year (from the February 1937 issue). Last month I chose a sober one, so this time I decided to go for something melodramatic. This is from the issue of February 1939. You have the (private eye?) hero punching square in the jaw a doctor/chemist holding a scalpel, while the damsel not so much in distress shoots at a mostly unseen gun holder. Another badguy, a doctor or a chemist, in any case probably a mad scientist, is holding a huge vial of chemicals (acid?) and is about to hurl it on the hero. The setting is a lab, they are maybe making some drugs there. Or maybe biochemical weapons. This could for a story bordering on the science-fiction genre. In any case, I love how filled with details this cover is.

Une photo pour février

Non, non, ceci n'est pas la photo du mois. J'ai trouvé cette photo dans des vieux fichiers sur le plus vieil ordinateur. Elle date de février 2008. Je ne crois pas l'avoir publiée jusqu'ici et pour cause: elle est plutôt moche. Mais c'est le problème du mois de février en Angleterre (et souvent ailleurs): tout est plutôt gris, brun, beige. C'est ce que je vois quand j'ouvre les rideaux. Le thème de la photo du mois est "bleu". Je me demande bien où trouver du bleu ici. Il faudra être inventif. D'ici là, voici une photo pour le mois de février.

Catwoman's theme

I thought about uploading some more music here, for the heck of it. I am a huge fan of Batman, he is my favourite superhero. I love the Batman trilogy Christopher Nolan made, the movies are my favourite superhero movies, bare none. I like The Dark Knight Rises a bit less than the previous two, mainly because it is the ending of the story, but there are a thing or two that I enjoy less than the movies that came before.That said, it is still a quality movie. And I LOVE the score by Hans Zimmer, by far the best superhero movie score, again bare none.

So this leads me to Catwoman. The character is great, a morally ambiguous antihero, cat burglar and femme fatale. And she is a cat-lover like me. I even sometimes prefer her spin-off comic books series to the Batman ones. I really loved the take Nolan had on Catwoman, and Anne Hathaway is so natural in the role she seems to have just burst out of the comic books' pages. Catwoman is never referred to by her nickname in the movie. So the title of my post should be "Selina Kyle's theme". All the same, we know who the character is. The theme is a beautiful, subtle piece that is full of feline attitude, first aloof and mysterious, with a bit of menace, then becomes nervous and agressive.

La Chandeleur

Cette photo a été prise par mon filleul, ce qui explique qu'elle est un peu croche. Mais elle n'est pas si mal pour une photo prise par un enfant de six ans (à l'époque il avait six ans). C'est la photo d'un chandelier suédois. Je la publie ici parce que c'est aujourd'hui la Chandeleur, le jour où "l'hiver passe ou prend vigueur", le jour où l'on allume des chandelles (ce que je n'ai pas encore fait) et où l'on mange des crêpes (ce que j'ai fait au déjeuner).

Je fête peu la Chandeleur, mais j'aime tout de même la souligner depuis qu'une amie française m'a expliqué la tradition française de manger des crêtes le deux février. Je ne suis pas particulièrement un amateur de crêpes en temps normal, mais autant en avoir envie le jour de la Chandeleur. Et j'ai des réserves pour demain en plus.

Swaziland currency

Sometimes the most unexpected thing end up in your pocket or, in this case, your (my) wallet. Today I went to the local sweet shop to treat myself with chocolate. I bought one sterling pound worth of chocolates. When I gave (what I thought was) the sterling pound coin to complete the purchase, the girl at the till told me it was not a sterling pound coin. In fact, it was a coin from Swaziland. Today I knew nothing about the country and now I have a coin from it. I will keep it as a lucky charm.

Le Secret de l'étrangleur (suggestion de lecture)

Parce que Film4 passe Les Aventures Extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec ce soir, je me suis rappelé que j'avais ici Le Secret de l'étrangleur de Tardi. J'ai découvert Tardi vers l'âge de douze ans avec Adèle Blanc-Sec, ce n'est pas mon bédéiste préféré mais il demeure que je trouve parfois très plaisant de le lire. J'ai lu une de ses adaptations des romans de Jean-Patrick Manchette, je veux en lire d'autres.

Mais enfin bref, Le Secret de l'étrangleur, donc. Une histoire de tueur en série qui se passe dans le Paris de février 1959. L'intrigue est volontairement tirée par les cheveux, tellement qu'il y a plus d'une fin, cela dit c'est une bande dessinée pleine d'atmosphère, d'humour noir, de références paralittéraires au genre policier et au cinéma à suspense, influencé par Hitchkock et Truffaut (Tardi semble avoir emprunté aux Quatre Cents Coups). Si vous vous ennuyez un soir de février, je la recommande.

First day of February

I am blogging about very little with this post, but here it is, we are the first day of February and I am on a short, one week holiday. February 2013 is not a leap year, so I guess there is not much to say at the moment. Wikipedia has an interesting entry about the month. Incidentally, February was the month when I started blogging.

Dernier jour de janvier

C'est le dernier jour de janvier, enfin, au moment où j'écris ces lignes la dernière soirée de janvier. Janvier au travail est relativement tranquille, alors ça n'a pas été une fin de mois trop difficile. Tout de même, il y a toujours une certaine fatigue qui vient à la fin du mois. Et le mois se termine un jeudi, ce qui donne une certaine nature à la fin du mois: une certaine énergie en réserve parce qu'on n'est pas tout à fait la fin de semaine. Je dis sans doute n'importe quoi. Cela dit, j'aimerais entendre votre avis là dessus.

The Day of Odin

I know I have blogged about the very same topic before. Maybe this post is just a cheap excuse to upload another picture of Giovanni Caselli from Gods and Heroes from Viking Mythology. But I love this picture, heck all the ones of this book and today is, well, Wednesday, the Day of Odin. At the beginning of each chapter, there is a drawing by Caselli that looks like a bookmark, reprensenting symbols related to the story or the subject featured in the chapter. This one is for the chapter called Odin prepares for the Ragnarok. You see the throne of Odin, his spear, his two ravens Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory), the eagle "from his helmet", his two wolves Geri Greediguts and Freki Gobble-up and his eight legged horse Sleipnir and I think what seems to be at the bottom an hourglass, obviously to symbolise the passing of time and the upcoming doom that it the Viking end of days. Pretty much how I often feel every Wednesday, with a certain ominous unease, as if some catastrophe was about to happen. Apart from this flimsy association, the image is just... cool. With two of my favourite animals, the ravens and the wolves. I hope you enjoy. In the meantime, try to remember all these names and you'll impress people with your knowledge of Viking lore.

Un air d'opérette

Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais j'écouterais/je regarderais une opérette d'Offenbach s'il y en avait une produite quelque part aux alentours d'ici ce soir. Je crois que je m'ennuie de l'opérette du défunt Carnaval-Souvenir de Chicoutimi. Ca m'arrive parfois. L'aria que j'ai décidé de télécharger vient de La Fille du Tambour-Major, l'une des dernières opérettes que j'ai vue. La cantatrice est Anne Sofie Von Otter. Une Suédoise, chantant le rôle d'une Française qui se croit italienne. Ca a disons déjà un certain charme. Quand je l'avais vue à Chicoutimi, la production avait ajouté pleins de québécisme à l'opérette, changeant notamment le tricolore pour le fleurdelisé. Enfin bref, j'espère que vous apprécierez l'interprétation pleine d'énergie.

January in a nutshell

Today, I asked a colleague how he was. he said "Ok". I asked: "Only ok?" he answered, laughing: "Well, it could be worse." To which I replied: "Ok is as good as it gets in January". It qualifies, I think, as a great unknown line. And it describes January in a nutshell, at least in the Northern Emisphere.

Les Bouquinistes (encore)

J'ai été très dur envers ma région et ma ville dans mon dernier billet en français. Or, il reste quand même que c'est ma région, ma ville et qu'il y a quand même du bon en elle. Je me suis rendu compte que, lors des dernières vacances de Noël, je ne suis pas allé aux Bouquinistes. Ma dernière visite date de bientôt un an. Les Bouquinistes, c'est sans doute la meilleure librairie de la région. Elle m'a fait découvrir Oscar Wilde, Anthony Burgess, Walter Scott, William Shakespeare, Gaston Leroux, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Tonino Benacquista, Racine, Molière, Machiavel et beaucoup d'autres, de grands et petits auteurs. La librairie me rappelle que les Saguenéens ne sont pas tous des grenouilles de bénitier ignares. Ils ont une page Facebook, soit dit en passant. Avoir pignon sur rue à Chicoutimi ne doit pas être facile tous les jours, alors je tenais à leur rendre hommage ici et à les faire connaître. Si vous faites un tour dans le coin, allez les voir.

I missed Mozart's birthday

Well, I did not miss it completely, as I remembered it at the end of the day yesterday. But I did not blog about it until tonight. Last time I blogged about Mozart and uploaded his music here on Vraie Fiction was a very long time ago, so it is about time I add some. I tried to find something I had not uploaded yet. I hope nobody minds if it is more opera. An aria I sang myself, here interpreted bu Erwin Schrott. it is Se vuol ballare from Le Nozze di Figaro.I know Mozart wrote so much more, but I truly discovered him through opera and it is by far this part of his work that I love most.

Le Saguenay soviétique

Il y a des jours comme ça... J'ai lu cette nouvelle hier, ça m'a gâché mon dimanche. Jean Tremblay, le misérable petit potentat qui sert de maire à Ville de Saguenay, est appuyé par 87% de la population. C'est tout simplement un appui soviétique. J'ai honte d'être Bleuet à en rougir. Un ami m'a dit sur Facebook, où tout le monde se passait la nouvelle: "j'espère que tu n'es pas surpris". Je ne suis pas surpris, simplement déçu. Je vais donc souligner la nouvelle comme je peux, en téléchargeant ici pour ce billet Le roi des cons de Georges Brassens. je me console en me disant qu'il y a des cons partout, qui élisent souvent plus cons qu'eux. En l'honneur de Jean Tremblay et de 87% de la population saguenéenne:

A great villain

I have finished reading Ice by Ed McBain at the beginning of the month. I blogged about it here. It is from the 87th Precinct series, which I find thoroughly entertaining. McBain's novels are police procedural, so the criminals in them are often common, ordinary people. Either men who killed, or small time hoods. They are rarely larger-than-life, except a few like the Deaf Man, who is a recurring nemesis akin to Moriarty. In Ice, I was surprised to see in Ice a larger than life villain. He is a massive (but without an ounce of fat), hardened ex-convict wanting to have a piece in the local drug trade and dressing himself and passing as a... Catholic monk. He calls himself Brother Anthony. In the movie adaptation, he was played by British actor Nigel Bennett. I don't think I watched Bennett in anything else than this.

Brother Anthony is a great badguy for many reasons. I am usually not keen on weirdos in crime fiction, because they often end up too eccentric and thus not scary, but his anachronistic monk's clothes and tonsure make him just this side of weird, enough to be unsettling, but too much to make him unbelievable. And it makes sense that he tries to hide his true nature by disguising as a monk: people forget the huge frame, the thugish look and think he is a man of God. His disguise is in such contrast with his personality. Brother Anthony is not ascetic, he likes food and drinks and women (his girlfriend is a large lady just as evil as he is), he is eager to use violence and even torture to get what he wants. I don't want to give too much away, but as far as I know Brother Anthony was a one novel character in the novels of Ed McBain. I wish I could see more of him. At least, he could be the prototype of some badguy in another series of novels. Just a thought.

Question existentielle (168)

J'écris des questions existentielles de moins en moins (la dernière date de presque deux semaines), d'abord parce qu'à plus de 150, ça devient de plus en plus difficile d'en trouver des originales, ensuite parce que j'ai peur de me répéter. Enfin bref, voici la 168:

-Quelle est l'heure idéale pour se lever un samedi matin?