'the whole summer lay ahead'

good morning! good morning!

horsemouth types very quickly (says his father approvingly) but not very accurately (says horsemouth's own internalised censor).

he has his cup of coffee. outside it is a grey morning (but horsemouth does not care because he has seen sunshine and it is good). 

'it was only the beginning of may and the whole summer lay ahead' 

so starts chekhov's the black monk. it starts hopefully (at least). later, in the same 10p pocket book, is peasants, servant loses his job in moscow and returns to his village with his family only to discover everyone is sunk in grim poverty and drunkenness when he gets there. 

horsemouth's unfashionable targets for compassion no.1 - russian squaddies.

join the army. see your neighbours. drive around in antiquated vehicles being shot at by enemies with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of the very latest western technology. if you attempt to run away the chechen punishment battalions will do something grim to you (and where are you going to go? it is after all a police state).  you are 21. you are 19. at some point you will shoot a civilian (because it is their fault you are here - or rather, them you can shoot with no comeback). you will then be captured and cctv footage of you shooting the civilian will be found. you will be put on trial as a war criminal.

last night horsemouth watched jean gabin dubbed (he presumes) into italian in le mura di malapaga (1949 rené clément). it is immediately post-war, italians in genoa live a hardscrabble existence in the ruins of antiquity, jean gabin (french murderer on the run) arrives and takes up with divorcee isa miranda (but the cops are closing in).  

upon examining the two photos horsemouth has seen of the fall of the house of fitzgerald being shown at the renaissance festival horsemouth is interested to see that it appears to have been projected so that, for the audience, left and right were reversed (like so). this effectively recomposes the shots (which horsemouth finds most interesting). 

the re-photography also alters the colours and the degree of focus and also enables horsemouth to see individual shots from the film. there is always more to see. horsemouth is not complaining he's delighted people got to see it. 

under the screen the audience are visible (so horsemouth has the satisfaction of knowing that they are there). now he gets greedy and wants even more people to see it. at one point he had some momentum on this (but then it went). 

a youngsster plays a late fahey tune springtime in azalea city (open G tuning horsemouth thinks). 

yesterday horsemouth went for a walk. then he sat out in the back garden and read. today more of the same. tonight is bin night (when horsemouth puts out the recycling and the rubbish for the bin men).