3/14/2012

Book review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Although Im awful at reviews I thought Id share my opinion on a book Ive finished reading a few days ago.
ps: they say its gonna be made into a movie - makes me wonder who will play both title characters? And special effects people will surely have their hands full. :)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #1)Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was in a foreign city and desperate for a good book to keep me company. After a long rummage in the "fantasy" section at some bookstore I was faced with a choice between 3 possibilities, including this one. What made me favor this book was a quote by Patrick Rothfuss on the back cover. So I thought to myself - if my favorite writer wishes he had written this book then it must be good. And oh boy was it good... It was AMAZING!!! Its a wonderfully written book with a great storyline and such a beautiful love story to go with it. Cant wait for part two!!!

View all my reviews

The Aim

The Aim. 2012
Once the flirty God of Love aimed for yet another maiden's heart.

But by mistake he chose a poisoned arrow making the hearts of lovers rot, and their love went terribly awry.

Since then he dares not face his shame.

Since then, they say, she does not believe in love...

3/09/2012

The unbelievable

Its unbelievable to think that only 1681 km aka 150 minutes worth of flying away from here the trees are in bloom and the air is full of spring. Here you can find hints of spring in the air as well, but here that fragile spring is still fighting off the grabby hands of winter.

The Sunset in Bloom, St James Park, 2012
The view she faced was stunning. She almost didn’t recognize the City. Streets lined with magnolia and white lilac in full bloom. The change was too unexpected from the winter scenery she remembered. White flowers now filled the streets instead of snow, yet the reflective cobblestones of the pavement and liquid emerald of the bay where exactly the way she remembered.

A soft breeze of warm spring air saturated with the sweet delicious scent of lilac wrapped around her like a shawl.

/Biankonera "The Beautiful Lies. Legends from the City of Water Mirrors", 
an excerpt/


3/02/2012

The world through 50 mm

Ornamentale, Cesis, Latvia, 2010

Different lenses offer different ways of seeing the world. The telephoto lenses tend to make a photographer lazy, since you have the comfort of a zoom at your fingertips, and laziness tends to scare away creativity. So, to prevent that from happening, and also since its almost springtime, Ive decided to create a challenge for myself. The challenge of the "nifty fifty" that many photographers have tried before me and found to be an absolute success and enjoyment.

This means that from March I will "glue" the gem that is 50 mm / f 1.8 lens to my trusted camera and see the world only through this magical perspective. The idea is to keep this up all spring but you never know...

And what better way to get it started than in one of the most exciting cities of Europe (if not the world for that matter). Which one is that, you might ask? Now that will have to remain a little secret until my return. :)

2/23/2012

Discovery. Of sorts.


Kensington Gardens, London, 2009

She started towards a white palazzo she noticed hiding behind a bunch of snow-covered trees and a vast pond of an undefined shape. 

The façade of the building was clad with snow-white marble. The light and shadow effect the arcades created along with incredibly powerful sculptural features on the sides of the façade contrasted with the flat surface of its centre decorated with elaborate decorations made in white gold. The façade spoke perfectly of splendor, there was no doubt in that, yet the statement was not as blunt and in-your-face as that of the Ca’ Diamante’s façade.


The building seemed immense, but she was fascinated by its lightness which – she reasoned – must have been due to its massive windows. The palazzo appeared floating atop the vast, mirror-like pond, where its façade was reflecting in all its glory.

Everything – the ground, the sculptures, the benches, the trees and the shrubs – was covered in snow. The pathway was cleared, though, revealing white marble tiles under the powdery snow. There was no wind here, which was a sharp contrast to the storm raging outside and within the white wall of fog. And it was peacefully calm and quiet with the only sound now and then coming from the wings of white birds flying around and the snow quietly crunching beneath her feet.


/Biankonera "The Beautiful Lies. Legends from the City of Water Mirrors", an excerpt/

2/18/2012

Inseparable

Elly and her clones :)
once went for a walk on a beach
on a not so sunny day
when the sea was flat as a board 
and one color with the sky above.
You really couldn't tell them apart that day...

Beach stories, 2009