The Dog Burial

Because, of course, I search YouTube for dog burial related items I give you the following:

"The Dog Burial" by Sopor Aeternus

"Be quick, be quick, you must climb down!
I heard him breathing below the ground!
Bring forth some light and break the lid!
What is wrong with you, why do you hesitate?!
Open the grave, oh please be quick, before his poor heart gives up its last beat!"

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Last night saw the Swedish movie Girl with the Dragon Tattoo based off the book by Swedish author Stieg Larsson. I hadnt read the book and wasnt really sure what to expect with the movie. All I had heard was that it was 'good', 'controversial' and that they were planning to make a US version of the movie soon.

Leaving the theater after the movie I was in a bit of a daze. Im not sure what I was expecting, but that movie rocked my senses. I think I barely breathed for the whole 2 hours. Its like taking Saw, Underworld and some vintage murder mystery and putting it into one movie. The friend I was with said that the movie was much more tame than the book, and that was not a tame movie. The sex, violence, sexual violence and perversity are on a pretty high scale, but it all seemed critical to telling the story.

It will be very interesting to see how they make a US version of this movie. I can see this movie being much too graphic for a majority of US audiences. I cant imagine an American actress who could pull off the lead role of Lisbeth. Im not convinced some of the themes of the movie are something that a US audience would handle very well unless it is watered down significantly. Will be interesting to see how they pull it off.

My life this month...

I saw him standing there

I decided to take a little stroll through the Botanical Gardens here in Durham the other day on one of the few sunny days we might have this year. A little stroll turned into a long stroll when I realized that the gardens are 60 acres of winding paths through meadows, forests and swamps.

At the end of one quiet, empty path through a forest I came to a sort of clearing. Looking around and listening to the birds and the movement of the leaves I had the strange feeling that someone was watching me. I scanned the treeline. No one. I looked down the path, but no one else was headed my way. Then I saw him, with a look on his face that encouraged me to keep walking.


Move along, sister.

18 weeks without a cell phone and loving it...

Impressions

Recently been having a series of very - colorful - dreams which often include vivid impressions of past events in my life, particularly places I have visited. Here are some of the most memorable experiences.

• Seeing a poisonous sea snake swim right under me while snorkeling in Jamaica when I was 12. I clearly remember thinking that the only reason I didnt get bitten was because it chose not to bite. Thats when I realized that being in the sea is really being out of the human element.
• Waking up pre-dawn on a 19hr. train from Chennai to Delhi, India with four older men staring at me, waiting for me to get up so they could play cribbage.
• My first time using Spanish while on vacation in Mexico during junior high. I was really proud of myself.
• The looks you will get as a single woman standing alone in a movie line in Cairo.
• Winning a booty-shaking contest in a Winnipeg, Canada bar (yes!)
• The pure joy of everything about the town of Dalyan, Turkey. The Kaunos ruins, families that sell honey on the side of the road. Lemons the size of your head.
• Realizing that street vendors in Bangkok are very serious when they say 'last price'. They hold grudges.
• Watching my best friend Nichole chugging mass amounts of root beer in a contest (we were 14) in Laughlin, NV then watching it all come back up. Some through her nose. (Yes, Nichole!!)
• The hurried Londoner that looked at me and shouted, "MOVE" on my first day figuring out the London subway system. Thank you random Londoner, you inspired me to figure it out very quickly.
• Sitting for seven hours in a grungy beach bathroom in Haiti while a woman braided all my hair into tiny plaits.

Intolerance

So, Ive given in.

I am eternally, terribly, horribly lactose intolerant. Cow, goat, sheep - if it makes milk, I cant process it. I am not alone in this, but there are many of you out there who still dont realize how intolerant of dairy products you may be.

I have now gone about six months without dairy products of any kind and it has made a world of difference. A WORLD. Anyone very close to me knows about my long battles with stomach problems (sorry to share) and I have finally realized the culprit (after years of trying to eliminate everything else). Dairy is like poison to my body. This is a lesson I have recently had to learn again when I got weak last week and had some goat bleu cheese. Not pretty.

If you are interested in seeing if you have a dairy intolerance (anything from very mild to strong) there is a ton of information out there. I suggest everyone try at least a month without dairy to see what sort of differences it can make for you. I will warn you that the first week isnt the greatest as your body is busy purging itself of milky toxins, but after that it is smooth sailing. There are lots of great blogs about dairy-free cooking and living, but this is one of my favorites.