I'll take my clothes off, and it will be shameless, cause everyone knows that's how you get famous

Just got back from an eve of debauchery with Jackii! For once, however, we were not almost kicked out of any stores today--shocking, eh? So. She got (notice the use of the word 'got') Demian and... and... Could that have been it? Maybe? Well. I was going to choose a random Michael Chabon book, but they're all the size of a house--so I got Post Office by Bukowski--it was the only book by him there. Already I'm a little disheartened by it though, now that I've actually had a chance to read the back. It seems Chinaski is the 'hero' of this too... and I'm assuming it's set after Factotum because it mentions that he's given "ten years to the postal service"... so... I always assumed at the end of Factotum Chinaski just went off and died in some gutter somewhere--I always thought that end "I couldn't get it up" was supposed to be... well, symbolic. Yes, I found it symbolic that he couldn't get a boner, okay? I figured it meant (oh god, this always sounds so ridiculous when I try to explain it) that it was like his life--he wouldn't be able to 'get it up' that is, recover from his gutter-crawling, boozing state--and that shortly after that he'd starve, or die of alcohol poisoning, or... something... uhm... So. I guess I'm angry he's not dead? Okay, look, sometimes it's better that way! I would have personally murdered Palahniuk if Survivor had had a happy ending. I mean, you think you'd love one, but when you think about it, sometimes they just don't work. As much as you'd like them to. (And no, I haven't figured out how he could have saved himself--was it obvious?)

And, as you've gathered, I guess, I'm in the midst of Demian. I like it more than Journey to the East, that's for sure. It's kind of reminding me of Angela's Ashes, and even a little of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The theme of the search for good versus and evil and such, Emil's growing up and various epiphanies, sometimes given to him by Demian and sometimes him realizing it himself--for example, when he realizes the world isn't just black and white... well, they didn't have Animorphs back then, so he had to learn somehow. But yeah, at the moment he's drinking himself into constant stupors (oh hey, Chinaski!) and it's like Angela's Ashes, only that McCourt was sleeping around (for a Catholic schoolboy, he got loads of action) as opposed to the drinking. It's a kind of cursory connection but hey. You write a book reaction out of the school year. Yeah. That's what I thought.

And there was one book in the store about Rasputin--unfortunately, it was written by the hackneyed untalented man who wrote a book on Czar Nicholas II which I also read in France... I can't remember the book's specific title, nor can I remember his exact name... something like Edvard Radulovich? The point is, I wouldn't get it, because he is just a crappy writer. Even James Patterson beat him out. James Patterson beat you. Let that sink in, bro. You suck! The book... it was L&C's Antichrist. My inner mind commentary through the whole book was basically "That was another fragment, asshole! HEY! Pick a goddamn tense and stick with it! God!" I'm not even kidding you. That book is the bible of what not ever to do when writing. Marky Marky would not approve! It's a wonder I didn't go irrevocably insane during the process of reading it. The only reason I could press on is because the revolution interests me so... Unfortunately, the book made it pretty clear that no Romanovs survived. *sigh* You see (oh god here she goes....)
It is mentioned briefly that Anastasia had a King Charles spaniel that was small enough so that she could carry it around in her muff, or puffy princess sleeves. After the family was shot and killed, one of the generals on the scene reported that he was quite shocked when the corpse of a small dog fell from the sleeve of one of the girl's bodies. So most likely, that's an x for Anastasia as well, unless the dog managed to be some sort of shield, which even so... And okay, two of the bodies were missing--and they gave the names Alexei and Anastasia. But it's likely the names were just being pulled out of a hat, there. It could have been Tatiana... (I'll get back to that thought!) and Alexei surviving is the stupidest--sorry, but the kid was a hemophiliac. He was shot a ridiculous number of times, because he just wouldn't die--Not only that, he was stabbed with a bayonet. Even if he somehow managed to escape the troops (crawling? How?) he would have very easily bled out within, say, four or five hours at the most. And it must have been excruciating--just bruising his knee made him unable to stand and walk around, so I can't help but discredit any idea that he could have survived. Well, maybe if Rasputin was around... But he had been dead for quite sometime at that point... and yes, I know it sounds somewhat unintelligent, but I do believe Grigori had some sort of inexplicable power. That's why I wanted to get a book on him, and look more into the existence or nonexistence of it, but Edvard "I suck" got in the way of it.
What I said about Tatiana--well, apparently, a dazed and all but in shock girl claimed that she was the Romanov princess--but then claimed she was Anastasia later on. The dog thing makes me feel doubtful it was Anastasia, but the girl was practically in shell shock, and if it was the truth, you can't really blame her for being so befuddled. Being the only survivor of your family's regicide is an event that really tends to leave a mark on you. At the time of the writing, there was no conclusive evidence regarding her lineage... that is, genetic tests or some such, but 'Little K', Niocholas's former girlfriend when shown a picture of the girl (whose name was not even included! Mrs A would not approve of that--) said something along the lines of that their (the girl's and Czar Nicholas II) eyes and their faces were too similar... you'd never forget the intensity of those eyes, etc. I mean, that's not perfect, by no means... but. Well, I guess I'll have a chance to do more research on the subject when I find books regarding it that are written by someone who knows how to write. I'll get back to you guys on this one.

Anyways. Here're some pictures from France... That is, Oscar Wilde's grave.
And, for added fun--guess which set of lipstick is from me!:
.... It's actually really hard to see in that photo....