THAT said, anyone who truly knows me knows I love curries and pizza. On the topic of curry, Zan, Amma and I spent some of the day in Town looking for a pipe for P, as well as just walking around Shortmarket Street for a bit and popping into the Golden Acre Mall to see the ruins of the original reservoir. Nice little piece of history.
On the walk back up from Golden Acre we stopped, as we are wont to do, at a stall with shiny things. The stallholder's name is Myroenesa (may-rrho-nee-sah) and when asked for a suggestion for a lunch spot sent us to the Eastern Food Bazaar. That involved walking all the way BACK DOWN Shortmarket, crossing the road, and following the smell of curry to what we were told would be an Indian restaurant. Well, the smell of curry certainly led us to Indian food.
Bunny chow - Amma was rather surprised when she saw the men at the next table eating this. When she asked for a photo, he looked at her funny, but let her snap one anyway.
We all had the 405 from the Madras Dosa House: a Chicken Masala Dosa. It. Was. Stunning!! And so filling, too, that we all brought most of it home and had it for supper.
The menu for the Madras Dosa House. You order and pay at the far right end of the counter (out of shot - obviously), then hand the (apparently arrogant) Indian chef your slip for your order. In the silver bowl to the right (also out of shot) is a bowl of coconut chutney - amazing, but f***ing hot!
a) This is the nice gentleman that let Amma take the photo of his food.
b) The chandeliers are pretty, aren't they?
The whole bazaar was fitted into this one corridor in the... well, some building in Town. The decor was provided mostly by beautiful old Indian doors, with "typically" Indian music playing in the background. The whole feel of the place is one of relaxation and simply enjoying an incredible meal.
And this is Myroenesha. She gets full credit for the amazing lunch we had (^_^)
Lately I've been stuck on old, medieval / middle-aged instruments. Now, let it be known I can't play an instrument to save my life (I can barely hold three notes on a recorder), but I so badly would love to learn to play a citole. The reason for this is that I quite honestly find guitars, pianos and even Western-style violins overplayed. I don't find them as exciting as I did before, and since importing a Pipa isn't very financially viable (never mind getting new strings or finger plectra). With a citole, strings are made of the normal nylon/gut we use on classical guitars, and other types of gut strings are also easier to get hold of. As it is, a gentleman by the name of Paul Butler has greatly inspired me to at least try and make a citole. Also, having a guitarist and former instrument repairman in my life isn't hurting my chances of (at least partial) success.
Let's all hold thumbs and see what happens, eh?
On to tarot (my greatest love). I've been listening to Dan Pelletier's "The Process: The Way of the Tarot Reader" and can quite honestly say that it's only the second piece of tarot "literature" I've truly enjoyed, the first being Christine Jette's "Professional Tarot". As whacky as it sounds, his voice is comforting, and I can honestly say he regularly has me laughing at things that wouldn't make sense to other people. He makes you listen, even if you don't immediately absorb the information, and though the best idea is to sit and take notes, it's easy enough to listen to while you're busy and still be learning something. What's nice about it - since it isn't a paper-and-ink book - is that you can rewind something if you've missed it, and where you might sometimes not understand something written down, Mr Pelletier's voice immediately makes any meanings clear.
The entire audiobook starts with him speaking to "you" on the phone and making an appointment for noon the next day; from there, he takes "you" through rose-garden related activities and likens the tarot to his roses, people and experiences in his life. He often speaks of his friend Dutch and his cats.
As a teacher he is stern and to the point, but also funny and aware (constantly reminding "you", actually) that his path in the tarot isn't "your" path in the tarot. Besides constantly telling "you" to get rid of your LWB and giving you general tips and pointers in regards to the cards, he doesn't try and teach you meanings or how the cards "should" be read. All of this he leaves up to "you", and rather enjoys "shooting down", for (current) lack of a better description, authors and experts on the history and interpretations of the cards. One example that springs to mind is from the "Interpretations" section of the audiobook, where he quotes an author on his/her interpretation of the Empress in combination with three other cards: pregnancy, pregnancy, pregnancy (in summary). He shoots these "interpretations" down and justifies this by mentioning hysterectomies, barrennes and a lack of an active sex life.
The best way to experience this audiobook is to get hold of it for yourself.
All in all, "The Process: The Way of the Tarot Reader" is an incredible audiobook and well worth acquiring.
Blessed be!!
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