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Author: Julia Shuvalova

Julia Shuvalova is the author of Los Cuadernos de Julia blog. She is an author of several books, a translator, and a Foreign Languages tutor. She lives and works in Moscow, Russia.

London Walks – 1

Botolph Alley, London

Every time I come to London I find it mysterious. When I go by taxi from Euston to elsewhere in the early hours of the morning, the streets and people look so strange. It’s like they’ve just stopped being someone else, and are now becoming someone they are going to be until dusk. As I ride past, I see them gradually turning into clerks, executives, cleaners, and students, while at night they were all seducers and innocentis, pagans who dance and sing their sacred hymns in crowded neon temples and dedicate every act of copulation to the Almighty Deity that is thought to endow you with eternal youth and freedom.

Westminster, London

I have always used to stay in a different part of London. The first time there I lived in a student hostel in Fitzroy Street; the second – in a friend’s flat at Beckenham Junction; then in a hotel in Sussex Gardens, with the Hyde Park just down the road;then in South Kensington; then again in Sussex Gardens, again close to the Park. I don’t know where I stay next time, but my dream is to spend the entire night walking in the streets. I’ve walked in London until early hours of the night, but never in the early hours of the morning.

I love this London’s mystery because I am a dreamer. Where you normally find sleep-walkers, in me you find someone fascinated by illusions. They are not hallucinations; they are illusions of what is around me, and what I see happening. This is why I write, and this is also why I love cinema. I cherish the dream of immersing myself into the bowels of this monster, the city that many people fear so passionately, deny so resolutely, and admire so grudgingly.

© Julia Shuvalova 2006 (additions 2009)

My Father, a Photographer

Julia at 18 months…

I posted my dad’s photos previously; on the photo on the right you can see a colour version of the famous triptych where I was posing with his camera, not yet 2 years old. As you may notice, as well, I changed a lot: I used to have blonde hair and blue eyes, mais non plus :-).

Just days ago my dad sent me several photos of the Russian wintery forest, which I would like to share with all of you. Along with what you have seen previously, this is yet another proof that some things do run in the family.

Song (Love Is the Colour of You)

At the end of 2009 I had the chance to write the lyrics to the music. This basically meant that I had to “find” the melody and to adapt the lyrics to it. I loved the experience, all the more so because I had to sing it, as well. The composer is based in Russia, and alas, the fruits of this collaboration are yet to ripen. But the lyrics are already written, and I thought it would make no harm posting the text here.

Love Is the Colour of You

And so I fly away again.
I get up early and take the plane
And it will take me far away,
To the land of summer and no rain.

I love the colours of distant lands,
The purple mountains and yellow sands,
But there is just one precious colour
That I cannot find…

It is the colour of you
When I see you in my dreams.
Baby, I know it’s you
But I’m yet to find you here.

I catch your rare shades
In the glow of sunrise.
Baby, you must be there,
For I can see your eyes,

For I can feel your skin,
For you’re already in,
Deeper than anything.

And I have been drawing and drawing
You in my notebooks, forever drawing,
So that you get closer and closer,
So that I can hold you, and hold you.

Love is the colour of you
That nobody knows but me.
Everything that I do
Carries your shade in it.

I see it through the smoke,
I feel it in the rain,
But maybe with the snow
Here will you come and stay.

Baby, I know you will come true.
There’ll be a day when I wear the colour of you.

© Julia Shuvalova 2009

Image credit: MILAN

Arthoughts

…I am thinking of one artist. Like him, I am not interested in goblins and airy castles. Certainly, there is certain beauty in all this, but I need real people. And it is them whom I want to write about. 

Schnittke was prepared to break his neck but to find the fusion of classical and popular music. “A Paganini” sounds even more Paganini than the latter’s work. 
 
Mario Vargas Llosa writes cinematic novels. Kurt Vonnegut was the master of telegraphic style. Peter Greenaway makes films like a painter. 
 
“Art is a lie”. “All art is quite useless”. “Culture neither saves, nor justifies anyone”. “This illusion is the only reality”. 
 
In reverse order, these phrases belong to Maugham, Sartre, Wilde, and Picasso. But art and culture is the mirror in which the man looks. It is the portrait of Dorian Gray that grows older, while its sitter remains youthful. Mankind constantly rejuvenates itself, every day it becomes younger; meanwhile the paintings perish and statues lose body parts in fires, floods, and bombings. We admiringly gaze at the heads without noses and armless torsos. Is there any wonder that Death exists not only because its mystery is unfathomable but because it remains unnoticed?  
 
Original Russian text
Я вспоминаю одного художника. Как и ему, мне не интересны гоблины и воздушные замки. Безусловно, во всем этом есть своя прелесть, но мне нужны живые люди. И писать я хочу о них же. 
 
Шнитке собирался свернуть шею, но найти-таки способ соединять классическую и популярную музыку. “К Паганини” звучит еще более как Паганини, чем все произведения последнего. 
 
Марио Варгас Льоса пишет кинематографичные романы. Курт Воннегут – мастер телеграфного стиля. Гринуэй снимает кино, как живописец. 
 
“Искусство – ложь”. “Все искусство практически не нужно”. “Культура никого ни от чего не спасает, да и не оправдывает”. “Вот эта-то иллюзия и есть единственная реальность”. 
 
Это сказали, в обратном порядке, Моэм, Сартр, Уайльд, Пикассо. Но культура и искусство – это зеркало, в которое глядится человек. Это портрет Дориана Грэя, стареющий по мере того, как сохраняет молодость модель. Человечество все время обновляется, каждый день оно становится моложе; а в это же время в пожарах, наводнениях и бомбежках погибают картины и теряют части тела статуи. Мы восхищаемся, глядя на головы без носов и безрукие торсы. Стоит ли удивляться, что Смерть существует не только потому, что ее тайна непостижима, но и потому, что ее не замечают?
 
Image credit: Wikimedia

The Great Unknown (Julia Shuvalova)

From time to time during our life we find ourselves in the Great Unknown. It’s possibly similar to the proverbial situation when things are moving very fast. I do feel like they are moving very fast for me, even though I am actually taking time. I am sure I have been here before, but it was this year that I wrote the poem about the “experience”, and I dedicate it to all of us who are going, or have ever gone, through this stage.

The rock of life is overthrown,
All novel streams are flooding in.
I’m now in the Great Unknown:
No peace without or within.
I’ve almost shedded all illusions,
Like autumn leaves in winter winds.
Oh, happy thoughts and sad conclusions!
Whatever may the future bring,
I’m now in the Great Unknown,
But there is no better place
To be for someone, so prone
To change their voice, and name, and place.
Oh dear stranger, don’t be jealous!
But if you’re strong in heart and faith,
Do follow us, the reckless fellows,
The Great Unknown’s almighty race!

November 2009

© Julia Shuvalova

Things to Do Before You Die? Waterstones Can Help!

During my journey to Liverpool in early December I went in Waterstones where I was instantly greeted by this display. Christmas time undoubtedly brings with it thoughts about both life and the end thereof, so the prominence of stuff “to do before you die” should not be surprising. Yet the titles of the books do not cease to strike me. Nor their potential content.

Things to do before you pop your clogs: ideas from Waterstones

Earlier this year I compiled a list of books of things and places to “cover” “before you die”, having goldmined Amazon: 1000 Things to Do Before You Pop Your Clogs. But following my Waterstones’ walk-in I decided to check whatever their online outlet had in store. I wasn’t disappointed, to say the least. As if we didn’t think this could be so, there was a book literally on every subject of one’s life, including the most intimate moments. And so, I collected the most jaw-dropping titles, although not omitting some conventional ones, like “Classical Recordings“. A lot still remained behind, so jump to Waterstones’ list to plough through.

For the purposes of the post, let’s imagine you’re planning to travel somewhere. You may refer to my original post, or you may opt in for a more structured compendium: 1001 Places to See Before You Die: Page a Day.

Thinking of what you may be doing in all the places? Legion is the name to your choices. To help you cope, here are 1001 Paintings you must see and 1001 Classical Recordings you must hear before you die. Add to this a touch of luxury by choosing from 1001 Wines and 1001 Foods.

A nature lover? Here is 1001 Gardens you must see before returning to the Garden of Eden. You can go birding, although the authors of the book only scratched some 50 places for that. However, if you are seriously after “1000 things” and birds, why not scoring a birdie at any of 1001 golf courses? Prefer fishing rods to golf clubs? I am sure some of 1001 places to see will have fishing facilities where, with any luck, you will catch one of sought-after 50 fish.

Shopaholics can spice things up with 101 Things to Buy and 52 Things to Do in a Car. The latter may particularly be useful for those who have exhausted the repertoire of Crash the movie and got enough of Roxette’s antiques. Beer lovers aren’t forgotten either: there are a book about 300 Beers and then a special book on 100 Belgian Beers. Absolutely to die for, I say.

Your curiosity will be tempered by Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die. And if you ever exhaust any one thousand of things, try 2001 Things to Do Before You Die. Never forget: the proverbial perpetuum mobile is you, so keep going.

The younger generation may refer to 10 Things to Do before they turn sweet sixteen, and 1001 Videogames to play. (You can refer to the latter book, too, if you are their parent).

Understandably, carrying the world on your shoulders while also trying to do all those things may be difficult. If you can’t be arsed, then you can surely sod that; I am sure there will be no harm in doing so. However, you may just make an escape to one of the unforgettable islands.

Whatever takes your fancy – paintings, shopping, videogames, one hundred or two thousand of those – there will always be a moment when you crave the most natural and intimate experiences. And sometimes you will have obstacles in your way. To help overcome them and to sparkle your imagination, there are 1001 places to pee and 101 places to have sex. Before you die, of course.

 

Christmas on the Web: Doodles, Logos, and Gifts

“Big” events usually offer a great opportunity to various sites to add that “festive” touch to their logos. Google has been prolific for a number of years with Google Doodles, but what about other sites?

Starting with Google, this has been their Doodle throughout the build-up to Christmas. Cards did change, though. On the other hand, Bing dedicated its entire mainpage to a festive display.

Surprisingly, Twitter did not add any festive notes to its logo or main page, and neither did YouTube or Flickr. Quite unlike FriendFeed that revamped their logo Xmas-style. And it only seems to be LiveJournal that showed some festive love in their logo.

And out of many Social Networks, my eye caught the German StudiVZ and the Russian Odnoklassniki.ru and VKontakte.ru making an effort to mark the day on the “surface” of their websites.

Finally, a few days ago I’ve received the link to Google’s Gift. “Because charities are experiencing their toughest year in decades, we have committed $20 mln (£12.4mln) to helping those who help us all. Our gift to you is a gift to them”, reads this page.

Thank you, and Merry Christmas to everyone!

Christmas in Poetry and Song: Gladys Knight

All of us who love soul will know Gladys Knight. Midnight Train to Georgia, I Heard It Through the Grapevine… And a wonderful version of a traditional Christmas song, Do You Hear What I Hear? I don’t know about you, but for me Knight’s has long been the best version of this song, soulful, strong, magical, and the most hopeful. And the video below contains not just this beautiful song, but also Gladys Knight’s recital of a poem ‘Twas Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863).

Image credit: Christmas Carols.

How I Didn’t Recognise Parma Ham

Do you remember this passage in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, chapter IX ‘Queen Alice’?

Sir John Tenniel,
A Leg of Mutton
At last the Red Queen began. “You’ve missed the soup and fish”, she said. “Put on the joint!” And the waiters set a leg of mutton in front of Alice, who looked at it rather anxiously, as she had never had to carve a joint before. 
“You look a little shy: let me introduce you to that leg of mutton”, said the Red Queen. “Alice – Mutton: Mutton – Alice”. The leg of mutton got up in the dish and made a little bow to Alice: and Alice returned the bow, not knowing whether to be frightened or amused. 
“May I give you a slice?” she said, taking up the knife and fork, and looking from one Queen to the other. 
“Certainly not”, the Red Queen said, very decidedly: “it isn’t etiquette to cut any one you’ve been introduced to. Remove the joint!”

Believe it or not, I recently re-enacted the scene almost entirely…

In early December I went to Liverpool and on my way back to the station after 9pm I had to walk past San Carlo restaurant in Castle Street, described as “the best Italian restaurant outside London” by A. A. Gill of The Sunday Times. I had to stop by their window that offered a generous look at their stupendous bar. I’d never been to San Carlo, and I was really impressed with a variety of bottles of all sizes…

…including the one that was beige and looked like a wine vessel made of animal skin. Due to its guitar shape, it stood on its side, supported by a wooden base, with a piece of cord around its neck.

I was amused, for never before did I see such bottle. Intrepid as I am on such occasions, I walked into the restaurant where I was instantly welcomed by un Italiano vero: a gentleman with a small beard, his black hair streaming down to his shoulders.

He wanted to invite me in, but I explained that I was impressed by the bottle I saw in the window. “Oh yes, we have many bottles“, he nodded with a smile. “Which one was it?”

“Oh, it was beige, and it stood on its side…“, I began.

I wanted to show it, and as I turned I noticed exactly the similar bottle standing by the door on the counter. Next to it there were eggs on a heap of flour and a basket with fresh paninis.

“That’s the bottle!” I exclaimed.

“This is not the bottle“, the gentleman replied. “It is Parma ham“.

Credits:

The images for this post are taken from Rolf Hicker‘s website and from Cartoon Stock. Rolf is a professional photographer; and over at Cartoon Stock you can find a gallery of illustrations to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by the renowned illustrator, Sir John Tenniel. And if you feel like diving into Carroll’s imaginary world, go to Project Gutenberg for Through the Looking Glass’s text, or to LibriVox for Through the Looking Glass as an audiobook.

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