Moonflower's Sphere

Yesterday when I was out walking, I heard the church clock strike eight… at four! What was that all about? After the first four, there was a fifth sort of halfhearted one, then three more. Weird.

Phone providers, internet providers… providers of digital tv… For years now we struggled to switch away from one to another, and now suddenly, we’re going the other way. Twice in just a few months, salespeople from the provider we’re leaving, called and bullied mom, who is severely depressed, into signing up for new expensive services, that we might not even be able to use here, in my name or using my info, and her name. I’m surprised that’s even legal, quite apart from the lack of business ethics, not that people like that have morals.

So, my sister and I decided to move our phone subscriptions to the old provider. Back to them, you might say. In any case, we’re stuck with them for everything else – internet, digital tv, landline… So we thought why not move our mobile phone subscriptions to them too? When we left them they were more expensive than the ones we left them for, but now they’ve changed their prices.

I have to admit that I wanted this switch primarily to get back at the phone provider (the one we’re leaving). No one treats my mom that way, no one treats us that way and gets away with it. Besides, no matter who gets treated this way, it’s something that needs to be confronted.

Anyway, my sister called to give them a piece of her mind and fortunately, she was able to make them tear up the agreement, which probably wasn’t valid anyway.

I suppose that should make it alright, but grrr I’m so angry with them. That makes the third phone company we don’t like, for various reasons. Sigh. Maybe in a small country like ours, you can’t afford to be so picky, but at least so far, I don’t care. I’ll do as I like. (And don’t even get me started on salespeople in general…)

Brazilian Domestic Animals Action – WSPA International

Brazilian Domestic Animals Action – WSPA USA

I haven’t really listened to any podcasts and very few audiobooks. Generally, I prefer to read – ordinary paper books, and tv series and movies. However, I think I could get into podcasts (or video podcasts), at least a little, if the subject was one that I’m very interested in. Audiobooks on the other hand, they’re probably not for me. Mom likes them and I’ve tried to listen to some of hers, but I never really got into them. One reason is that the translated ones are by necessity read by Swedish actors. They’re reading books that have been written in another language – these days almost exclusively English.

I never read the first book in the series about The Ladies’ Detective Agency, I listened to it on a cd player. The actress reading it could be said to be ideal in most ways – like Mma Ramotswe she’s ‘of traditional build’ and she’s very funny, or at least used to. However, when the topic of lady detectives came up, the British mystery writer Agatha Christie was mentioned and the actress pronounced that with the stress on the second syllable. That was it for me… Funnily enough, I think she got the African names about right. At least as far as I can tell.

The other memorable audiobook I tried was one about Jeeves and Wooster (I’ve forgotten the title). Again, the ‘cast’ – a group of famous comedy actors – should have been ideal, and maybe they would have been, if someone had adapted the entire book to a Swedish setting with Swedish names. As it was, naturally they hadn’t. One member of the ‘cast’ was able to correctly pronounce the UK county Worcestershire (I hope I spelled that right), the others couldn’t. No one could pronounce the more unusual personal names – like Bertie’s friend Barmy Fotheringay-something or other (?) which I think is to be pronounced Fungy- Phipps? In any case, they all botched the names. One of them, who is really famous, and a movie maker/director as well as an actor let one of his characters (he played two) use a southern Swedish accent. Never again, that’s all I can say.

Of course, that’s not really why I don’t like audiobooks, I just – well, don’t. For me, books are about reading, not listening. If I want to listen, I’ll turn on my iPod for some music, or I’ll watch tv/dvd.

Remember Tibet! Don’t forget, put a candle in your window tonight.

Happy Losar!

Here’s a simple Meme…answer the following questions:

1. What Book Are You Reading Now?
2. Why did you choose it?
3. What’s the best thing about it?
4. What’s the worst thing about it?

Here are my answers:

1. History of Sweden, part 2
2. I’m very interested in history and when a new series of books – there will be eight eventually – I just felt I had to have all of them.
3. It’s a well written book, about a subject I find interesting.
4. This part as well as the first one deals with matters that I find extremely distressing – war, hunting/killing, cannibalism, sacrifices. It seems for greater part of our history – and that goes for World History too – anyone smaller and/or weaker was considered prey, meaning anyone – animal, child, woman, man.

Believe it or not, there’s a hedge underneath all that snow. Don’t ask me what caused the sort of slot to form. It’s about a hand high and an arm wide.

This is a snowcovered wall.

1

I’ve had it with winter! No more snow!