Random mostly-parenthetical stuff

[kcobweb]

More funny toddler things - she's obsessed with a certain book right now, which she insists on calling "Green Eggs OR Ham". Weird funny thing: she will occasionally grab my arm, sniff it loudly, and say "So good! I eat!" and then giggle. Lately she's been doing this to galagan's head when he carries her on his shoulders: "So good! I eat!" He responds: "oh no, don't eat my hair!" And then she does it again and again, cracking up the whole time. It's really bizarre, but also bizarrely funny.

Did I mention that we have walnut trees here at our house? Since we got back from our week away, the walnuts seem bigger than ever - slightly larger than eggs, and bright green. I really want to try to harvest them when the time comes (fall harvest, basically) - it is not supposed to be easy to crack the outer hulls (according the internets, there are a variety of ways, but you can resort to driving over them with your car) and they stain badly as well - but I've never had nut trees before, and I gotta try, just to *see*, just to do it. If anyone wants to help with this near-certain fiasco, I'll let you know as the time gets closer to harvest.

Random thought: I realized I know nothing about any Australian writers or literature thereof. Huge blank spot in my knowledge. Anyone have any recommendations, or anything they know about this?

Also, I wanna know more about the Gaulish/Germanic tribes/people in the early medieval period - Merovingians, Visigoths, Gauls, etc. - any recs there? Historical fiction welcome, but other sources would be great too. No particular reason, just idle curiosity.

Comments

[allthatjazmyne.livejournal.com]

Merovingians, Visigoths, Gauls, .
My first thought was "Well, Astérix, of course." However, he's not all that historically accurate, although he's very funny. Those kooky Belgians and their comics, you know. I'll think about this, though, and get back to you.

[squirrelhaven.livejournal.com]

Re Australian literature -- I don't know a ton of Australian writers, but I can highly recommend two: Peter Carey and Thomas Keneally.

I've read three books by Carey, all of which were fantastic. My Life As a Fake is quite recent, and concerns a literary hoax that bizarrely comes to life. The True History of the Kelly Gang deals with the Australian outlaw legend, Ned Kelly, and purports to be narrated by him. Oscar and Lucinda is about a pair of obsessive gamblers finding each other in rural 19th century Australia (and was made into a movie with Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes).

As for Keneally, he's best known for writing Schindler's List -- which is a staggeringly good book, whether or not you've seen the movie. It's nonfiction presented in novelistic form, an incredible story and powerfully written. More recently, he published The Tyrant's Novel, which is a spectacular novel that I'm having a lot of trouble summarizing. (I've tried several different ways of describing it, but you know what? I give up. Go here (http://www.amazon.com/Tyrants-Novel-Thomas-Keneally/dp/034082526X/ref=sr_1_2/103-0590746-2373409?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186867543&sr=1-2) and read the amazon.com description.)

[nadyezhda.livejournal.com]

yes, wait until the skins dry. They will most definitely stain, and you'll tear your hands on the husks and shells if you're not careful. Regardless, be prepared for dark blotchy bits on your hands. We've got a walnut tree leaning over our parking lot. I might poke around with it later this fall...

[sylvantechie.livejournal.com]

re: walnuts - around here they're probably black walnut rather than english walnut. Edible, but very bitter. Both kinds stain like crazy, and in fact make a good dark brown dye.

re: australian authors - in the scifi/specfic-y end of fiction:
Max Barry (alt reality) - OK
Greg Egan (hard SF) - pretty good
Sean McMullen (SF/spec and SF/fantasy) - very good