.: so comes snow after fire :.

I'm back!!! And I'm staying home for a whole month, no more travelling for me until Lucca in November. It's great but quite tiring too, and at my core I'm a lazy cat. Brace yourselves for some beautiful pictures, a Frankenstein review, and some more deliciousness, keeping with this week's theme.

First, Danny Boyle's Frankenstein. My reaction can be thus summarized: hfakgsdasdggdsakfg. It literally blew my mind, and I'm still picking up the pieces. We got so unbelievably lucky, and got the version with Benedict as the Creature. Having seen that, I can't imagine the roles inversed. He IS the Creature, come to life from the pages of the book. It was amazing and like being punched in the gut at the same time, and may I send my thanks to space_oddity_75 for letting me crush her hand during a couple of particularly shocking scenes. It was an intense experience.

The bad side of the coin was that there was an entire high-school class watching it with us too, presumably because their English teacher hit her head before breakfast or something. They kept laughing, talking, and a few of them giggled during the rape scene. What the frigging hell. It was even worse that what was going on on the screen. Are teenagers really that cruel and dehumanized now? It's an horrific thought.

After that space_oddity_75 went back home, we two had Chinese for dinner (always yummy!), didn't sleep at all because the road just outside the hotel harbored tram rails, and there was a tram going every five minutes all night. On wednesday we had the whole day to walk around Milan, since our trains back were at 6 pm, so tsuki_yagami and I grabbed our stuff, got on the subway, and emerged in Piazza Duomo. I lived in Milan for a year when I was a kid, but seeing it with grown-up eyes, in the wonderful sunlight of a hot autumn day, it was a wonderful sight.


The Duomo. We wanted to go inside, but we were carrying our backpacks, and we thought they couldn't let us in. I braced myself, and asked one of the security guys if we could go inside anyway, and he told us there were soldiers checking the bags. So I approached the closest one and asked her if she could check my bag. I opened it, and started explaining to her the contents "we just left our hotel, see, so that's my pjs, that's yesterday's shirt, that's my make-up kit, oh, and there's a jar of marmalade somewhere in there", I looked up and noticed she was fighting back a laugh, and she nodded towards the entrance. It was both hilarious and weird. :D I couldn't take any pictures inside, but believe me, it's incredibly beautiful.

( More pictures of beautiful Milan under the cut. )


This was space_oddity_75's birthday gift to me. It's Lemon marmalade. My Jam Now. And a pencil with GERTI on it and a cupcake for my bag. I'm still squeeing now just thinking about it, I have the best friends. :D


And today this was my breakfast. I woke up at 9 (I overslept, but hey, no trams!), and prepared the best possible breakfast for the Supernatural premiere. There was indeed much need of sugar and biscuits. The Stiles tea blend is now my favourite, along with Clint Barton. It's sweet and spunky and it has hints of cherries and cookies, it's amazing and funny. The cookies are the british ones, orange-flavoured with bits of ginger in them, so good. And the Winchesters are back with a new great storyline, all is well with the world! \o/


Yesterday there was a RedBubble package sitting on my doorstep, but I only opened it this morning while waiting for the tea to be done, because I have to be lucid to take proper pictures. I'm wearing the Supernatural shirt right now, actually. It's one Hell-uva shirt indeed. The Teen Wolf one reads "The Derek Hale center for werewolves who can't werewolf good and want to learn to do other wolf stuff too". :D


But the best part about that package is this Cabin Pressure hoodie. I needed one for the gym, I only have the one, a lilac Mickey & Minnie one, and I needed another for when that's in the washer. So I looked online, and found this one, Travelling Lemon 2012 championship. It had to be mine. :D

I loved going back to Milan, I loved Frankenstein, but the best part about it was meeting space_oddity_75 and tsuki_yagami in person. You girls are amazing, thanks for the great time together, and I can't wait to see you both again! \o/

Bad news of the day: I hurt my left toe. I had to fix it up on the sink, with Sakura fussing over, and blood makes everything slippery! There was much cursing, but it looks like it's fixed now. Obviously it has to happen the day before I leave for Milan, where there'll be much walking around, what with the bus and subway strike. Curses.

And now on to the (many) good news. First, there's me leaving for Milan tomorrow, to see Frankenstein! Yes! I can't wait! I only have to print the maps left and I'm ready. Both the hotel and the cinema are close to the railway station, so there's that.

Then there's the Once Upon A Time premiere, and it was amazing! So many things happening, lots of squeeing involved, and this new storyline looks even better than the last. I love all the new characters, they opened with a Lou Reed song, and they even did a little homage to Harry Potter. I want to hug them all!

Today was also the day of much deliciousness arriving by mail. My order on the Fortnum & Mason website arrived four days earlier:


I re-stocked mine and Tati's British teas, the ones we bought in London when we had that wonderful afternoon tea at Piccadilly. And since I was there, I bought some orange and ginger biscuits, and a jar of sweets I had never heard of before, called Black Jacks. God, I love trying new things. *_______*


And the rest of the Teen Wolf teas arrived, ten days early! Now my tea cabinet is exploding, and since it's 50 cups of tea each, I'm covered until late 2014. I must avoid new fandoms at all cost, or I'll fall into temptation, order new teas and I literally don't have the room. XD Yesterday I tried the Derek one, and it was GREAT. A peculiar taste, it made me think of... woods, and fog, and then there was the aconite taste, it was great and all the while it needs time to be fully understood. I have no idea how that woman manages to make these blends that taste great and at the same time describe the character in question perfectly. :D

Then, there's the new Green Day album, which I fell in love with at once. I first knew them with their concept albums, so it was weird to have new songs that remind me of the old ones, but in a good way. I'm especially in love with Carpe Diem and Oh Love, I keep finding myself humming them. *_____*

And of course, I saved the best for last, with the new Mumford & Sons album. It was well worth the wait, it's absolutely amazing. I keep changing my mind about my favourite song, at the moment it's a death match between Lover's Eyes (which is my Derek Hale number one song) and Not With Haste, but they're all so beautiful my heart can't choose.

The next entry is going to be in two days when I come back. Or tomorrow, if I get bored and my phone has good reception. See you on the flip side of the safety demonstration. Ciao!

I'm writing this entry using the new Update page. It looks... huge? I'm not sure I like it, but I guess I could get used to it. My only complaint regards the userpics, that window was already sloppy when writing comments, I wish they hadn't put it in the update page too. Oh well.

Sorry I dropped off the map for a few days, but Tati is finally on holiday, so summer is officially over for me too. And it's that stupid week of the month, with bonus hormonal storms that messed a lot with my mood. PMS, you're the opposite of Batman. You're so not invited to my birthday party.

This morning I got a new package from Amazon, and now I know how I'm going to spend my weekend:


I was watching the movie last week for the hundredth time, and halfway through my brain got lost in a conversation with itself, "this is so good, I should re-read the books too - I haven't read them in years - wait, now that I think about it I only have the Italian editions - to Amazon!". And there's also the new album by Amy MacDonald, and Cherry Tree by the National because it was the only one missing from my collection. Blasphemy, because it's the one with About Today, and that's one of my favourite songs ever.

When I came back home I stopped by the railway station and bought train tickets for Milan in two weeks. Now I'm all set, Frankenstein, here I come! ♥

EDIT:
What the frak is wrong with the mood, I completely missed it the first time, and I can't preview it!?

What a lovely weekend! We had our first storm in months, complete with random twisters all along the country, and me having to turn every electronic appliance off, and sit on the couch with a very distressed Sakura in my lap waiting for the lightning and thunder to subside. She does hate this kind of weather. I love it, because today the air is crisp and fresh, and I feel more energetic than I've felt all summer!

Yesterday I pre-ordered the Frankenstein tickets! 2nd October, 3 pm, no idea which version it'll be, which is a good thing because if it had been up to me to choose I would have just thrown the computer out of the window. Instead, it's going to be surprise!Creature day. :D

I should also add that I really, really love the Teen Wolf fandom. During the last few days I've downloaded a few fanmixes that introduced me to new amazing artists such as the Avett Brothers, A.A. Bondy and Johnny Flynn! Well, they're new to me anyway. It's like my first days in the Sherlock fandom, so much wonderful new music, so little time. ♥

And they also have amazing crossover videos as this one. I've been waiting for a Supernatural/Teen Wolf crossover since the first episode when they introduced the hunters, and this video is more than I could hope for. *_________*

Yesterday evening it finally rained. It's been the first time in two months at least. I had actually forgotten what the rain sounded like. This morning the air was crisp and fresh, and leaving the house was finally pleasant, instead of reminiscent of Dante's Inferno. And the meds I had to buy for my mom finally arrived (seriously, three pharmacies, and when I found someone who had them I had to wait three days for them to actually arrive, what the hell, are they made of plutonium or what), so that's a huge thing off my list.

Earlier I was reading on the couch, when Sakura decided that my leg was apparently the comfiest place to fall asleep on, and she stayed that way for more than an hour. I didn't move, because she was snoring and everything, but I managed to take a picture with my phone.



Her head is on the right, behind my calf. I still have pins and needles in my left leg, but she was so cute!

I also found a great Travelling Lemon picture, here on tumblr. I'm sure all you Cabin Pressure fans will appreciate it. ;) Speaking of which, John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is coming back on 22nd August, I'm so excited! I thought it was coming back in the fall, or even later, so glad to be proven wrong. \o/

Sort of still in topic, I'm going to see Frankenstein in a cinema in Milan on 2nd October. So excited about it! I booked the motel, and I'm waiting for the tickets to be available so that I can pre-order them. *_________*

And I finally got the Unbound Keyblade for Sora! It's ugly, but hey, I need it to defeat the secret boss. I'm way behind with Riku, as his enemies are obviously stronger. I have a feeling it'll be easier to just level him up to 99 first, and then finish doing his secret bosses.

Comunicazione di servizio per tutti i fan italiani di Benedict Cumberbatch! Arriva alfine nei cinema del nostro amato paese Frankenstein di Danny Boyle, "dal romanzo di Mary Shelley una nuova visionaria opera teatrale registrata Live al National Theatre di Londra e da settembre al cinema con Benedict Cumberbatch e Jonny Lee Miller". Versione originale, sottotitolata in italiano. Alla pagina linkata trovate le date uscite finora, anche se a quanto pare potrebbero aggiungerne altre. Al momento sono queste:

CALABRIA
Reggio Calabria
Lumiere
www.multisalalumiere.it/
25/09/2012

EMILIA ROMAGNA
Faenza
Cinedream
www.cinedream.it
11/09/2012

EMILIA ROMAGNA
Modena
Victoria
www.victoriacinema.it
11/09/2012

LOMBARDIA
Bergamo
San Marco
www.freecinema.eu
28/08/2012

LOMBARDIA
Milano
Anteo
www.spaziocinema.info
01/10/2012

LOMBARDIA
Milano
Arcobaleno Filmcenter
www.cinenauta.it
02/10/2012

LOMBARDIA
Milano
Mexico
www.cinemamexico.it/
04/10/2012

LOMBARDIA
Paderno Dugnano
Area Metropolis
metropolis.cinetecamilano.it
26/09/2012

LOMBARDIA
Treviglio
Ariston
www.aristonmultisala.it
15/10/2012

PIEMONTE
Dogliani
Multilanghe
www.multilanghe.it
04/09/2012

PIEMONTE
Torino
Massimo
www.museonazionaledelcinema.it
25/08/2012

PUGLIA
Bari
Galleria
www.multicinemagalleria.it
27/09/2012

Con Tati si pensava di andare a una data a Milano. E' relativamente vicino, conosciamo entrambe bene la città. Certo, dovessero aggiungere una data a Venezia, sarei ancora più felice! Staremo a vedere. ^^

Gioite e diffondete la notizia! \o/

Sorry for disappearing on you! It's been a tiring week, mostly because of the african weather. It's the worst we've had in 200 years, and for once I'm glad my aunt isn't here because she could never stand it. Walking down the street it feels like someone's holding a damp cloth over one's mouth and nose. My fridge is full of fruit and various kinds of juice, and almond milk, which is a very sicilian thing, and I love it. So sweet and refreshing. And I haven't actually cooked anything since monday, I've only been eating raw meat, salads, fruit salads, sandwiches, and the like. I get a vampire-in-a-sunlight-beam reaction as soon as I get close to the kitchen stove, hissing and wailing of the arms included. With my low blood pressure "ditzy" is what I am every hour of the day.

Sakura is suffering the heat even more than me. She spends the day curled on the marble floor under the air conditioning unit, and I have to physycally remove her and put her on the couch when I think she's had enough. And she sleeps even more than usual, which means she's awake only for two hours everyday.

Let's try and update this journal even during the heat: it's time for my usual meme.

day one • a song
day two • a picture
day three • a book/ebook/fanfic
day four • a website
day five • a youtube clip

Let's go with Give A Little Bit by Supertramp, as featured in this beautiful CocaCola commercial:



And I'm hitting PMS pretty hard, because this thing made me actually tear up. That and the latest Naruto chapter too. And every other fanfic I've been reading recently. I feel fine, happy even, and yet as soon as I read/watch something even remotely moving, here comes the sobbing. What the hell.

Amazing news on the gaming front, Capcom is releasing Okami in HD this fall. Okami is one of the most beautiful videogames ever made, and one of my personal favourites, and I just bought the artbook. This is the best news ever! ♥

EDIT And I just got some wonderful news, Frankestein is coming to theaters in Italy on September! I still don't know which towns, but I'm most certainly going to see at least one version. Never in a million years I would have thought they would release it here, and I've never been happier to be proven wrong. \o/