談談圖，笑笑口

你認為圖畫最大的趣味在哪兒呢？

歡迎踴躍留言。

Third Girl by Agatha Christie

我是個膽小鬼，大部份時間不能受驚嚇。但女人是矛盾而呢樣果樣的，所以我雖然蛇gwaai，卻又喜歡緊張大師希治閣及謀殺天后亞嘉莎。

[第三個女郎]橋段不新奇，簡單來說就是掩眼法，但因為內容圍繞「三個」獨立在倫敦找生活的女孩子，所以我有特別的體會。

話說回來，雖然橋舊，但讀者很受，這就是阿嘉莎的魅力了。

睡前讀阿嘉莎，我又發惡夢了。

The Body in the Library and The Jackie O in the Tribunal

We were watching on the TV how Jackie O was accused of murder and finally found guilty at the tribunal. I opined that the Jackie O showed up at the tribunal was a fake one. My boyfriend burst out laughing. He wrapped me with his strong arms and whispered "Sweet heart, you are way too creative."

I am not creative. I am just educated by Agatha Christie over her novel "The Body in the Library". A swap of identity is a common trick.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_in_the_Library

Plot summary

The story starts with Mrs Dolly Bantry waking up from a pleasant dream, and noticing that the maid has not been in yet. Suddenly, the maid, Mary, dashes in, tearful and breathless, and informs Dolly that there is a body in the library, before running out again.

Colonel Arthur Bantry then goes downstairs and learns from his butler, Lorrimer, that there is indeed a body in the library, sees it, calls PoliceConstable Billy Palk, and then Mrs Bantry calls her friend, Miss Marple (revealing that the victim has been strangled).

Miss Marple is picked up by Mrs Bantry and her chauffeur, Muswell, and taken to Gossington Hall. There she sees the body. It is a very young girl withplatinum blonde hair, with lipstick and painted nails like a gash, wearing a old but glittery, satin, cheap, black and white evening dress of rather poor quality, with silver sandals. The girl is also wearing a considerable amount of make-up. Soon, the police arrive, the senior officers being DetectiveInspector Slack and the Chief Constable of the County, Colonel. Terence Melchett. Nobody in the household recognises the body, though.

Miss Marple states to Mrs Bantry, that a good suspect in the Bantry's neighbour, Basil Blake, the son of an old school friend of Mrs Bantry's, who is mutually disliked intensely by Colonel Bantry. Basil is well known for dating a young platinum blonde girl, called Dinah Lee. Colonel Melchett visits Basil, but soon discovers that Dinah is not dead, as she comes and argues with Basil.

The autopsy arrives, revealing that the girl was strangled with the belt of her own dress, and that death took place between 10:00 and 12:00 at nighttime. She was also heavily drugged first. Despite her appearance, she died a virgin.

Finally, the body is identified as "Ruby Keene" (her real name being "Rosy Legge"), an 18 year old dancer who worked at a hotel called the Majestic in Danemouth. The body is identified by Ruby's great-cousin and colleague Josephine "Josie" Turner, who explains that she is dance and bridge hostess at the Majestic, but required Ruby to fill in a as dance hostess, due to Josie suffering injuries sustained to her ankle, whilst sunbathing. Ruby would just do the dancing with men, and the exhibition dances with Raymond Starr, the tennis and dancing pro. But the previous night, Ruby went missing, and Josie was forced to do the dance.

After Josie has visited Gossington, Mrs Bantry realises that the one who called the police was Conway Jefferson, an old friend of the Bantry's. Conway had a wife, a son, and a daughter (Margaret, Frank and Rosamund) all of whom were killed in a plane crash. Conway had both legs so badly injured, they were amputated. He lives with Frank's widow, Adelaide, Rosamund's widower, Mark Gaskell, and Peter Carmody, Adelaide's son from her first marriage. And then there is Edwards, Conway's valet. Mrs Bantry then decides that she and Miss Marple will go to Danemouth, stay at the Majestic, and find the killer.

Meanwhile, Melchett has appointed a new assistant, Detective Superintendent Harper. Together they interview Conway and discover that he was going to adopt Ruby, disinherit Mark and Adelaide, and settle £50,000 on her. Despite this, Mark and Adelaide both have alibis. They were playing bridge watching Ruby dancing.

Melchett and Harper interview George Bartlett, who was the last one to see Ruby alive, and who has had his car stolen.

Conway, now tired, orders Edwards to call Sir Henry Clithering. When Sir Henry arrives, Conway asks him to investigate. Sir Henry tells him about Miss Marple. Later after dining, Miss Marple tells Sir Henry that if the case is not solved, the Bantry's lives will be ruined forever.

The police suspect that Ruby went to change to meet a boyfriend, who found out about her and Conway, making him panic and strangle her, leaving her at the Gossington library, and drives away to London. Sir Henry interviews Edwards, who tells him that he saw a snapshot of Basil Blake fall out of Ruby's handbag, making Conway and the reader suspect that Ruby had a lover.

Then, Bartlett's Minoan 14 car is found burning in Venn's Quarry, with a charred and blackened corpse inside. With a few scraps of clothing surviving burning, it is identified as Pamela Reeves, a 16 year old Girl Guide reported missing a few days. Pamela was last seen going to Wallworths. Miss Marple interviews Pamela's friends, and discovers that Pamela was actually going to a hotel, for a film test, after being approached by a "film producer", but Pamela never returned from this appointment.

Miss Marple then goes to Basil Blake's house and informs Dinah Lee that she has discovered that she and Basil are married and that Basil will be arrested for killing Ruby. Basil returns and confesses that after getting drunk and fighting with Dinah at a studio party, he returned and found Ruby lying strangled to death on "his" hearthrug. Panicking, he dumped Ruby in the Bantry's library. The police arrive and Basil is arrested.

Miss Marple, Sir Henry and the Bantrys once again book into the Majestic (they had briefly left), but this time with Colonel Bantry, Melchett and Harper. Miss Marple makes a quick trip toSomerset House (something about marriages) and ask Conway to tell Mark and Adelaide that he is leaving the money to a hostel for young dancers in London, and that he will visit a solicitor to finalize the details tomorrow. Conway does so, and they ask Det. Supt. Harper to keep a watch on people, with his men. Then the Bantrys and Miss Marple (along with the staff and other guests) retire for the night.

At 3:00 in the morning, someone breaks into Conway's bedroom, via the window and balcony, and tries to murder Conway by injecting him with poison, through a needle, but the attacker is stopped by Melchett, Harper and Clithering. But the intruder is not named.

Miss Marple then reveals all to the Bantrys, the Blakes, Melchett, Harper, Clithering, and the Jeffersons. Although nail clippings were found in Ruby's room, the girl in the library had bitten hers, which meant that the body in the library was not Ruby's. When Dinah mentioned Somerset House-marriage, Miss Marple found out that Mark was married to Josie. Upon finding out about Conway and Ruby, they decided to murder her and frame Basil. Mark and Josie approached Pamela regarding a film test, and when she accepted, they bleached her hair, put make-up on her, varnished her nails, put her into one of Ruby's dresses, and drugged her. Mark then slipped away to write letters, and drove down to the sea-front. But that was when he drove Pamela to Basil Blake's house, and strangled her. So when the doctor said the time she died, Mark and Josie had solid alibis, they were playing bridge watching the real Ruby Keene alive and dancing, and they did not leave the table until after midnight. Josie told Ruby to go and lie down in Josie's room. Ruby, as well, had been drugged. When changing for the dance, Josie murdered Ruby, either by strangulation, a poisonous injection, or a blow on the back of her head. In the early hours of the morning, Josie dressed Ruby in Pamela's Girl Guide uniform, stole Bartlett's car, drove to Venn's Quarry, and incinerated the lot.

Killing Silly Billy

我懷疑因為我是潛意識的信徒，所以我跟 Hitchcock，Dali, Rene Magritte，以至 Anthony Browne 一見鍾情。唔係咩？近日給母親煩得要死，勾起很多童年陰影，昨晚發惡夢母親把我的 Omega 胡亂交託給人修理，手錶拿回來，錶面的寶石都給人盜去了。

多麼 symbolic 的一個夢。夢中驚醒後一身冷汗，不知所措，只有連忙沐浴穿戴整齊上班去，但成天都心事重重，不能自己。

下午開完一個 WebEx 會議，曲終人散後我按著自己的心口跟自己說：「喂，焦慮發洩左啦。Let go 啦。」

我不知怎說。但這情況就像我失眠，然後擔心自己失眠，結果剪不斷理還亂，失眠的問題更行更遠更深。

很 Silly Billy 呀可？！

"Billy used to be a bit of a worrier." Billy worried about everything from hats, shoes and clouds to rain and giant birds. Both his parents tried to soothe and reassure him, but Billy still worried.

One night, while sleeping over at his grandma's, Billy confides in her. Grandma says, "Well, my goodness, dear. You're not silly. When I was your age, I used to worry like that. I've got just the thing for you." She returns with Guatemalan Worry Dolls and tells Billy to share his worries with them then put them under his pillow and they will do the worrying for you.

Billy does this and has quite a few restful nights until he begins to worry about the burden he is placing in the worry dolls. It doesn't seem fair, he thinks. Browne resolves the problem in this way, "The next day Billy had an idea. He spent all day working at the kitchen table. It was difficult. At first he made lots of mistakes. He had to start again many times. But finally Bill produced something very special..."

Willy the Dreamer

Can you identify all the Magritte, Rousseau, Dali parodies? Or can you count how many bananas are there?

The daddy who read the book to his girl is great. Comforting voice, steady pace, unlimited patience, up-front encouragement and genuine interest.

At the very last page when his baby girl made a count in a different way the daddy made a witty conclusion. How amazing!

星座與你

September 2011
Congratulations, Scorpio! You're really growing in matters of the heart. That's because Jupiter, planet of expansion, is well into its yearlong tour of Taurus, your relationship sign. Jupiter entered Taurus on June 4, making normally risk-averse Scorpios loosen those ironclad boundaries. You may have opened your mind to a new "type" or stepped up into a more supportive role in your current relationship. Because Jupiter rules long-distance travel, you may have fallen for someone from a faraway city or even country! Optimistic Jupiter blesses you with a spirit of adventure and the willingness to try anything once. Now, it's time to pull back just a little bit. From August 30-December 25, Jupiter slows down to retrograde motion, a time that's best used for reflection. Sure, you felt a soulmate connection with that eHarmony guy you've been IM-ing every day. But he lives in Maui and you're in Minneapolis. So...is one of you gonna move? How realistic is this-and if it doesn't make immediate sense on paper, are you both willing to uproot your lives to be together? Perhaps you've sacrificed some of your usual standards for the good of the relationship, like our Scorpio friend who swapped her posh, condo-style apartment to move into her boyfriend and his roommate's dingy fifth-floor walkup. It's definitely improved their relationship to live together (and her rent is so cheap it's almost criminal). But the lack of privacy, charm, and a decent local grocery store is starting to wear on our friend, who loves to cook gourmet meals and flounce around in sexy lingerie. Jupiter retrograde poses the challenge: how much compromise is too much? The September 12 Pisces full moon is a good day to get this out into the open. Pisces rules your passionate, expressive fifth house, and it's a fantastic day to confess a crush or just talk openly with your sweetie about how to make the relationship more romantic, exciting, and workable for you both. Sexy Scorpios have needs-all kinds of them-and you can only sacrifice to a point before you want to explode. The fifth house also rules fertility, so this full moon supports any Scorpios who are trying to conceive. In need of closure? (Let's face it, you're a Scorpio, so there's always somebody you're obsessing or ruminating over.) On September 27, the new moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus AND Saturn are all in Libra, your twelfth house of endings and release. This part of the zodiac rules what's been hidden, so things that have been kept secret could come to light. If you've been wondering whether someone is trustworthy-or just worthy at all-meditate on this at the Libra new moon. Evidence one way or another will definitely reveal itself if you make that your intention. For some Scorpios, this new moon cycle may just mean that you begin a period of greater emotional transparency. Scorpios tend to be uber-private, but if you don't let down your guard a little, nobody will ever see your most vulnerable and lovable parts. YOU may fancy yourself a mind reader, but most other people aren't quite so intuitive. Don't wait around for them to guess how you really feel or make getting to know you harder than a "Where's Waldo?" game.


好悶呀呵？這個下午好悶呀！

閱讀

我幫一位部門主管舉辦 skip level breakfast，有六十多位同事出席活動，說了很多意見。部門主管表示謝意，請我吃午餐，地點又當然是我最喜歡的 Living Room。

在 Living Room 的大樹幹旁，我穿一條雪白長裙，背後綁一個大蝴蝶結，正午的陽光肆無忌憚地照出一室的明媚。我掀開 Rene Magritte 的畫冊，向部門主管逐一介紹 Rene Magritte 的圖騰。

我的意思是：生活除了工作，還有很多美好事物。

IT 的同事們大部份都沒有閱讀的習慣，而閱讀，能讓我們的世界豁然開朗。開卷，真的很有益。

我的 IT 男朋友也閱讀，但他讀的東西我都沒興趣，也看不懂。不過這是好事，我喜歡去喜歡一個我不能夠完全懂得的男人。

嘿，我喜歡找一個對像去祟拜，這樣我的心便有了著落。

ABC 謀殺案

中學上心理學堂，Mr. Bean 教我們 1+1 不一定等如 2。比如說數個明滅明滅的燈泡，獨立來看就只是一明一滅，但把這些明滅明滅的燈泡順序排成一行，便是一個閃燈訊號。

ABC 謀殺案 (The ABC Murders）是我首本 Agatha Christie 的書。

名偵探白羅正面臨一個挑戰。挑戰者可能是一個連環殺手。殺手好像是順著一本按英文字母排列的英國火車時刻表來殺人：安多弗(Andover)的阿雪爾( Ascher)首先死於棒擊，接著是少女巴納德( Bernnard)在貝斯希爾(Bexhill)海濱被勒死，兇器似乎是少女自己的皮帶。第三起謀殺案即將來臨，是哪個城市哪個人呢？

:-)

我喜歡看 Agatha Christie，因為我喜歡從微小的事物看全局；又或相反，考考自己，跳出作者的佈局，合縱連環，由大前題推理出小節的前文後理。

阿珍

笑，像世間一切美好事物，是令人戀棧的。

晚上二人晚餐，對方說起樓宇維修保養，我竟然一諗就諗左去楊學德......的【囡囡大廈】（冇圖）。

嗯。諗起楊學德，自不然諗起我最愛的威珍：


可愛路線的小克都有寫過阿珍。見【十分蓋】中 0:35 的「愛你阿珍隔個膠袋太難耐。」：



星期日檔案那個表現棟篤笑的女子話觀眾在劇場一啲都唔笑，但向條街撞返卻蠻話好好笑。棟篤笑女子自己覺得觀眾好好笑，在鏡頭前係咁笑。

嘿。

agatha christie

十月號的 Jet Magazine 談推理小說。其中一個雙連頁列出了古今中外推理偵探--沒有 Agatha Christie 筆下的白羅和瑪波小姐。

我實在不明白。

金田一那個悲報島的故事，是抄 Agatha Christie 的 "Ten Little Indians"。東野圭吾的【容疑者Xの獻身】那個死者不是死者的橋段，Agatha Christie 在 "The Body in the Library" 中一早做用了。

就小說而言，令我最著迷的是“ABC Murder", " A Murder is Announced"，和“ The Murder of Roger Ackroyd“。

而在白羅和瑪波小姐之間，我比較偏好後者。瑪波小姐認為人與人之間的差異是相當微小的，只要你對人生有足夠的體驗，再加上細心一點的觀察，你會發現任何人的行為都是有跡可尋的。

我喜歡觀察別人，亦對 unreconcilable 的細節非常敏感。我曾經想做 forensic accounting 的工作，但沒有機會入行。噢。

嘿。

Until somebody says YES

I told mother I am badly hurt and I want to be loved and I want to have someone telling me bedtime stories. Today she got for me this book borrowed from the library.

The Cat and the Mouse

Played in the House.

Then they played in the barn

‘Til the Mouse came to harm.



The Cat bit the Mouse’s tail off. “Please, Mr. Cat,” said the Mouse. “Give me back my tail.”

But, the Cat said, “No! I will not give back your tail until you go to the cow and get me some milk to drink.”

So she jumped and she ran and soon she began, “Please, Miss Cow, give me milk that I can give to the Cat so I can get my tail back.”

But, the Cow said, “No! I will not give you any milk until you go to the Farmer and get me some hay.”

So she jumped and she ran and soon she began, “Please, Mr. Farmer, give me some hay, so I can give it to the Cow. Then the Cow will give me milk that I can to the Cat so the cat will give me back my tail.”

But, the Farmer said, “No! I will not give you any hay until you go to the butcher and get me some meat.

So she jumped and she ran and soon she began, “Please, Mr. Butcher, give me some meat, so I can give it to the Farmer. Then the farmer will give me hay that I can give the hay to the Cow. The Cow will give me milk. I can give the milk to the Cat, so the cat will give me back my tail.”

But, the Butcher said, “No! I will not give you any meat until you go to the baker and get me some bread.

So she jumped and she ran and soon she began, “Please, Madame Baker, Give me some bread so I can give it to the Butcher. Then he will give me some meat that I can give to the Farmer. The farmer will give me hay, so I can give it to the Cow. The Cow will give me milk. I can give the milk to the Cat, so the cat will give me back my tail.”

And the Baker said, “Yes!” I will give you some bread if you will promise never to come into my Bakery and eat my baked goods and scare my customers away.

The mouse promised she would not bother the baker and her customers. The Baker gave her bread. Then, she jumped and she ran and soon she began to take the bread to the Butcher. The Butcher gave her meat. She took the meat to the Farmer. The Farmer gave her hay. She took the hay to the Cow. The Cow gave her milk. she took the Milk to the Cat who gave her back her tail.

Then the Cat and the Mouse

Played in the House.

Then they played in the barn

And NEITHER came to harm.

Walker Books

Children books publisher Walker Books is celebrating her 30th anniversary. A shooting on the sky, echos the light being held by the walking belly belly bear.

I enjoy reading picture books a lot. Walker Books’ founder, Sebastian Walker, had a simple vision for the company: “All that counts,” he said, “is that a child says at the end of the book, ‘Again!’”

Exactly. Definition for nice stuffs is simple and straight-forward. Be it the food, be it the wine, be it the place, be it the people. When you feel like to have it again, the stuff is nice. And you should not need a checklist b4 of after your encounterment.