So here is summer, in my own words, ft. my brother, dogs & co.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
TODAY
TODAY (and yesterday), I have:
Been at Yani's for most of the day
Friend, model, lunatic, blogger, fashionista, owner of We Live Like This., which you should visit to see some photos we took, based on Valley of the Dolls, a book I never read but a title that interested me. We also went thrift shopping at good ol' St. Vinnies, which stocks a variety of everything, ranging from "how could you throw that away?!" to "someone probably died in this". I bought a Jag bag (strapless = useless, you say? Never!) for a glorious $2. I also bought some giant silk sleeping shirts, which, for the clueless, are basically MASSIVE pajama tops. One has teddies on it. Not the sexiest apparel in the universe, but screw it, I'm a very sexy person, I need some time to rest.
Eaten brownies
I have a saying which goes "I'll be fat and happy." Everyone who reads this blog has probably heard me say it, because you are all my nearest and dearests who humour my "blog-phase", but it is genius, like most of what I say. Not only does it justify eating whatever you want, but it also promises that happiness will be gained from eating it, which is not true.
Slowly contemplated the prospect of returning to school
It hurts. Oh so much.
Seen Black Swan
This movie terrified me. It's things like (spoiler alert) a crazy lady stabbing herself in the face with a nail file that keep our generation wholesome. Begrudgingly, I admit that Natalie Portman was brilliant, but the image of both her legs spontaneously snapping for no particular reason other than to make me cover my eyes and yell "Oh god make it stop!" will never leave my head. Sure, it's well made and great if you like horror/thriller themes, but for me, someone who hides behind pillows from the monsters in Buffy while her friends mumble "grow a pair", it was more than a little traumatic.
That's pretty much it. I know, I live wild, what can I say.
Been at Yani's for most of the day
Friend, model, lunatic, blogger, fashionista, owner of We Live Like This., which you should visit to see some photos we took, based on Valley of the Dolls, a book I never read but a title that interested me. We also went thrift shopping at good ol' St. Vinnies, which stocks a variety of everything, ranging from "how could you throw that away?!" to "someone probably died in this". I bought a Jag bag (strapless = useless, you say? Never!) for a glorious $2. I also bought some giant silk sleeping shirts, which, for the clueless, are basically MASSIVE pajama tops. One has teddies on it. Not the sexiest apparel in the universe, but screw it, I'm a very sexy person, I need some time to rest.
Eaten brownies
I have a saying which goes "I'll be fat and happy." Everyone who reads this blog has probably heard me say it, because you are all my nearest and dearests who humour my "blog-phase", but it is genius, like most of what I say. Not only does it justify eating whatever you want, but it also promises that happiness will be gained from eating it, which is not true.
Slowly contemplated the prospect of returning to school
It hurts. Oh so much.
Seen Black Swan
This movie terrified me. It's things like (spoiler alert) a crazy lady stabbing herself in the face with a nail file that keep our generation wholesome. Begrudgingly, I admit that Natalie Portman was brilliant, but the image of both her legs spontaneously snapping for no particular reason other than to make me cover my eyes and yell "Oh god make it stop!" will never leave my head. Sure, it's well made and great if you like horror/thriller themes, but for me, someone who hides behind pillows from the monsters in Buffy while her friends mumble "grow a pair", it was more than a little traumatic.
That's pretty much it. I know, I live wild, what can I say.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Plane & Simple
Yes, devoted readers*, I have an excuse for the tragic lack of posts recently.
I have been out of the state! Oh yes, be still my heart! I jet-set off to Sydney for the last four days to spend time with the fam (pictures to follow!) It was ridiculously fun and I also had the chance to go to a party dressed as Hermione (surprised? really?) and I felt gloriously chic and independent strolling onto planes.
However, it has become apparent to me that I always, ALWAYS make a fool of myself on planes. Like today, my flight this morning included a frantic search for my boarding pass, which I got from one of the electronic checkouts when I left, and after finding it, saw that it had no gate number on it. I assumed I would just print it again, but then the machine bitchily said "No booking retrieved". Panicking, I went through security and asked several people who all looked at me like I was asking them to assist my suicide. Eventually, I found my gate, and waited awkwardly for boarding. I sat in the wrong seat, held up the queue, was glared at by a waspish blonde woman in pearls and banged my head on the low ceilings. Epitome of sophistication right there.
Also, those people who look clean, polished and beautiful while traveling should really not exist. On a one or two hour flight, it's manageable - although my hair still goes static and I end up looking like I stuck my head in a plug point - but those freaks who maintain their dignity after a twelve-hour flight or after several stopovers are just offensive. Here is a rough guide.
Point made.
I have been out of the state! Oh yes, be still my heart! I jet-set off to Sydney for the last four days to spend time with the fam (pictures to follow!) It was ridiculously fun and I also had the chance to go to a party dressed as Hermione (surprised? really?) and I felt gloriously chic and independent strolling onto planes.
However, it has become apparent to me that I always, ALWAYS make a fool of myself on planes. Like today, my flight this morning included a frantic search for my boarding pass, which I got from one of the electronic checkouts when I left, and after finding it, saw that it had no gate number on it. I assumed I would just print it again, but then the machine bitchily said "No booking retrieved". Panicking, I went through security and asked several people who all looked at me like I was asking them to assist my suicide. Eventually, I found my gate, and waited awkwardly for boarding. I sat in the wrong seat, held up the queue, was glared at by a waspish blonde woman in pearls and banged my head on the low ceilings. Epitome of sophistication right there.
Also, those people who look clean, polished and beautiful while traveling should really not exist. On a one or two hour flight, it's manageable - although my hair still goes static and I end up looking like I stuck my head in a plug point - but those freaks who maintain their dignity after a twelve-hour flight or after several stopovers are just offensive. Here is a rough guide.
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| THEM |
 |
| ME |
Point made.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
London Calling
As most of the readers of this blog know me personally (I beg them to read this), they will know that organization is not one of my many skills. I tend to ignore deadlines and do things when I think they deserve to be done. Things that don't deserve to be done include returning movies to the hire place, cleaning, fixing things (mostly because when I try, they explode) and writing things down. Consequently, I am constantly in debt, filthy, surrounded by useless broken things, and always forgetting information. I suppose the moral of the story is that I am a stupid human being, but my intention was to portray to you, my loyal and devoted fanbase, that my posts will never be particularly sensical, or organized. They will also not be in chronological order, because another thing that does not deserve to be done is organizing my photos. My iPhoto library is like a giant landfill site: it is unstructured, smelly and impossible to find anything, it takes up a lot of space and, while occasionally you might stumble upon useful or interesting stuff, most of it's just crap.
Basically, I will put up photos when I find them. So, let's pretend it's September, 2010, and I have done the normal, responsible thing and dumped all the photos of my family holiday to London (which was in August, a mere month ago!) onto a computer and sorted through them. So here are some of the interesting characters I found there.
Also, it may seem like I've forgotten about the whole "Interesting People #blah blah blah" thing I started. It may SEEM like that. I totally haven't, and this counts, so suck it.
PLUS, I made a video of my time in the Mother City (my place of birth, yeah, I'm cultured), which includes other photos, videos and coolness, and which is viewable here. It is an unlisted video though, so you'll need this link to view it.
Thank you, and GOODNIGHT.
Basically, I will put up photos when I find them. So, let's pretend it's September, 2010, and I have done the normal, responsible thing and dumped all the photos of my family holiday to London (which was in August, a mere month ago!) onto a computer and sorted through them. So here are some of the interesting characters I found there.
Also, it may seem like I've forgotten about the whole "Interesting People #blah blah blah" thing I started. It may SEEM like that. I totally haven't, and this counts, so suck it.
PLUS, I made a video of my time in the Mother City (my place of birth, yeah, I'm cultured), which includes other photos, videos and coolness, and which is viewable here. It is an unlisted video though, so you'll need this link to view it.
Thank you, and GOODNIGHT.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Wet wet wet
Good luck and love to those having to evacuate their homes or areas, who are without power or comfort, the families of those who are lost or dead, for friends and lovers and neighbours and acquaintances.
I volunteered with my friend, Yani to help cleanup - read it here.
Friday, January 07, 2011
New Years Resolutions
The irony of new year "resolutions" has struck me, officially.
I think the root of the problem is that New Years is an Event. It has greeting cards, a place in my mobile calender, a chirpy saying to throw across the office to a depressed coworker. Although it is an awkward saying, I think. "Happy New Year!" doesn't seem to have anything remotely personal implied. It's not like "Happy Birthday", where you know that the sayer at least has some kind of genuine connection with you, and thus wants to congratulate you on being born (which seem stupid - surely they should congratulate the mothers: "Happy day-you-spent-six-hours-pushing-a-large-object-out-of-a-small-space!"). But "Happy New Year" is about as exciting as "Happy Tuesday!". Yes, it happens to everyone. The only change is writing 11 instead of 10 when dating things, and most of us won't even register that and will continue to confuse administrators by writing the wrong date on insurance forms.
So it's an Event, on facebook and otherwise, and everyone loves to get excited for these things. Events are times in which basic human courtesies and polite rules of society can be broken. Lines can be toed! And further than that, the new year gets people thinking "Hell, I've made it through 2010, I deserve to go wild!" People take crayons and scribble all over the lines!
My point being that when everyone's going insane, getting fat and drunk leading up to midnight, they seem to forget that at 12:01, the resolutions they responsibly and inevitably made kick in. So, quitting drinking, going for runs and eating organic, saying sorry to your neighbour for all the house parties, starting stamp collecting and buying an iron are all on your head. And you know you can't just ignore them. The way resolutions work is that you struggle to maintain them and then, three months later, justify giving them up and pretend they never happened. But to throw them in within the first ten minutes? The guilt would drive you mad.
So you're stuck, at 12:06 on New Years Day, at the pinnacle of your madness and badness, thinking "I MUST GO JOGGING, A LA NEW YEARS RESOLUTION, OR I AM A PATHETIC HUMAN BEING WHO HAS THE PUNY WILLPOWER OF TRASHY CELEBRITIES LIKE LINDSAY LOHAN AND BRITNEY SPEARS. OH MY GOD I AM GOING TO END UP BALD IN COURT WITH A MONITOR AROUND MY ANKLE. SPIRALING ADDICTIONS HERE I COME."
Case study: since New Years, I have spent my days in bed, on the phone for stupidly long periods of time, eating whatever is closest and googling things. It is 7th January (thankfully my new years resolutions did not include such blatantly unrealistic goals as "get fit" or "be more positive". But whatever they were, they have definitely not been in action the past week.)
The only sensible solution is to have New Years (the Event) and then, much later, new years (the day the resolutions actually start). I'm thinking some time in May.
I think the root of the problem is that New Years is an Event. It has greeting cards, a place in my mobile calender, a chirpy saying to throw across the office to a depressed coworker. Although it is an awkward saying, I think. "Happy New Year!" doesn't seem to have anything remotely personal implied. It's not like "Happy Birthday", where you know that the sayer at least has some kind of genuine connection with you, and thus wants to congratulate you on being born (which seem stupid - surely they should congratulate the mothers: "Happy day-you-spent-six-hours-pushing-a-large-object-out-of-a-small-space!"). But "Happy New Year" is about as exciting as "Happy Tuesday!". Yes, it happens to everyone. The only change is writing 11 instead of 10 when dating things, and most of us won't even register that and will continue to confuse administrators by writing the wrong date on insurance forms.
So it's an Event, on facebook and otherwise, and everyone loves to get excited for these things. Events are times in which basic human courtesies and polite rules of society can be broken. Lines can be toed! And further than that, the new year gets people thinking "Hell, I've made it through 2010, I deserve to go wild!" People take crayons and scribble all over the lines!
My point being that when everyone's going insane, getting fat and drunk leading up to midnight, they seem to forget that at 12:01, the resolutions they responsibly and inevitably made kick in. So, quitting drinking, going for runs and eating organic, saying sorry to your neighbour for all the house parties, starting stamp collecting and buying an iron are all on your head. And you know you can't just ignore them. The way resolutions work is that you struggle to maintain them and then, three months later, justify giving them up and pretend they never happened. But to throw them in within the first ten minutes? The guilt would drive you mad.
So you're stuck, at 12:06 on New Years Day, at the pinnacle of your madness and badness, thinking "I MUST GO JOGGING, A LA NEW YEARS RESOLUTION, OR I AM A PATHETIC HUMAN BEING WHO HAS THE PUNY WILLPOWER OF TRASHY CELEBRITIES LIKE LINDSAY LOHAN AND BRITNEY SPEARS. OH MY GOD I AM GOING TO END UP BALD IN COURT WITH A MONITOR AROUND MY ANKLE. SPIRALING ADDICTIONS HERE I COME."
Case study: since New Years, I have spent my days in bed, on the phone for stupidly long periods of time, eating whatever is closest and googling things. It is 7th January (thankfully my new years resolutions did not include such blatantly unrealistic goals as "get fit" or "be more positive". But whatever they were, they have definitely not been in action the past week.)
The only sensible solution is to have New Years (the Event) and then, much later, new years (the day the resolutions actually start). I'm thinking some time in May.
Monday, January 03, 2011
Sunday, January 02, 2011
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Yes, happy new year! I have returned from Woodford! Observe some pictures!
More pictures will follow. Some more incredible artists we saw were:
The Cat Empire - we were fairly far back and dancing on chairs but these guys were awesome. They were promoting their new CD, Cinema, which is more chilled than their last, So Many Nights, but really good.
Kate Miller-Heidke - her cover of Eminem's The Real Slim Shady was imaginative and so much fun! She also did a song about a guy who had broken her heart and then added her on facebook, naming him (very melodically) as a "fucking fucking fuck". I got a signed CD and photo, which was a dream come true.
Kim Churchill - an amazingly talented singer/guitarist who also plays the piano, harmonica and kickbox. I bought his CD, called With Sword and Shield, which I have been listening to constantly.
Mr Percival - this guy makes all his songs by looping his own voice over and over. He is really unbelievable to watch - I bought his newest CD, Microphones, which includes the famous Woodford song, "That's What Donny Said". So sad I missed his workshop though!
The Twine - we went crazy dancing to this music! He is on didgeridoo, bongos and a drumkit, she is on guitar, voice and a drumkit, their eight-year-old son Obey is on drums and bongos! Their CD, Granma is stunning and so much fun to listen to.
Avaberee - unfortunately these guys don't have a CD out yet, but they were so beautiful to listen to, and with their sweet harmonies and 20s style songs, are reminiscent of my idols, The Pierces. Listen to their myspace here!
Emma-Louise - also lacking a CD, she has the most magnificent voice and great song-writing skills. Think Sarah Blasko/Bertie Blackman. Listen to her here!
Jambezi - fantastic Marimba band ! They are on iTunes.
Dubmarine - best dance music! Coming from someone who likens dubstep to being spun round many times in a dark room and then shot repeatedly, that means something. More jungle reggae with dub vibes. Had us all rolling in the mud.
Dead Letter Chorus - the epitome of Indie. Nada Surf meets Modest Mouse.
The Rooftops - a Brisbane band with great funk/jazz sounds. Their new CD, Something So Familiar, is also now mine!
Lior - great voice, songs got a bit repetitive, but the crowds were going wild!
Basement Birds - Josh Pyke's new band are so chill.
BRIEFS: AN ALL-MALE BOYLESQUE CABARET - I laughed til I cried.
That 1 Guy - weird and wonderful. Like honkey-tonk on acid.
I had a truly unbelievable experience. I miss it very much now I am back in normal, conservative society. I think I will mourn by drawing all over myself with henna and wearing something from my harem pants collection.
Au Revoir, my Indie pals.
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| This sign was at a venue called Trailer Trash, which includes lots of trailers decorated by local artists. This never fails to make me laugh! |
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| A watch I bought from a stall - je l'aime. |
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| A henna tattoo I got: it's a Native American symbol of a bird in flight. I bought a kit. Be warned. |
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| My friend Jemima trying on some awesome glasses. |
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| Cutest kids busking with ukuleles. |
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| Our gumboots (a must-have, it was so muddy!) and a passage where festival-goers make their own bricks to pave it. |
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| My hero. |
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| My favourite place. Inside there were herbs hanging from the ceiling, lots of chairs and instruments where people just jammed all day. There was always someone playing a guitar and harmonica. |
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| The menu at the gypsy cafe (seen above). I had an absolutely incredible hot chocolate with cinnamon and "Gypsy Spiced Love Potion". |
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| Another amazing sign. All the street names were hilarious as well, we were near Embarrassingly Close and Lois Lane. |
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| The Chai Tent - my second favourite place. We spent on average about six hours a day in this place chilling, listening to the live bands and sleeping on the sandbags. Great place to meet people and strike up philanthropic discussions too. |
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| On our last day, we stumbled across these guys playing in a health foods cafe. They are Dan Parsons (whose new CD 'Firestarter' I bought) and Glen Grady and they are great. They had everyone singing along to "Thunder Only Happens When It's Raining". We saw so many more fantastic acts, all of whom I will mention later. |
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| The massive countdown to New Years at the amphitheater. |
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| There is a story to this. On the first day, someone started a little pile of rocks. After that, every time I walked by, a bunch of people would be playing with it and/or building it, until, on the last day, it looked... |
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| ...Like this! |
More pictures will follow. Some more incredible artists we saw were:
The Cat Empire - we were fairly far back and dancing on chairs but these guys were awesome. They were promoting their new CD, Cinema, which is more chilled than their last, So Many Nights, but really good.
Kate Miller-Heidke - her cover of Eminem's The Real Slim Shady was imaginative and so much fun! She also did a song about a guy who had broken her heart and then added her on facebook, naming him (very melodically) as a "fucking fucking fuck". I got a signed CD and photo, which was a dream come true.
Kim Churchill - an amazingly talented singer/guitarist who also plays the piano, harmonica and kickbox. I bought his CD, called With Sword and Shield, which I have been listening to constantly.
Mr Percival - this guy makes all his songs by looping his own voice over and over. He is really unbelievable to watch - I bought his newest CD, Microphones, which includes the famous Woodford song, "That's What Donny Said". So sad I missed his workshop though!
The Twine - we went crazy dancing to this music! He is on didgeridoo, bongos and a drumkit, she is on guitar, voice and a drumkit, their eight-year-old son Obey is on drums and bongos! Their CD, Granma is stunning and so much fun to listen to.
Avaberee - unfortunately these guys don't have a CD out yet, but they were so beautiful to listen to, and with their sweet harmonies and 20s style songs, are reminiscent of my idols, The Pierces. Listen to their myspace here!
Emma-Louise - also lacking a CD, she has the most magnificent voice and great song-writing skills. Think Sarah Blasko/Bertie Blackman. Listen to her here!
Jambezi - fantastic Marimba band ! They are on iTunes.
Dubmarine - best dance music! Coming from someone who likens dubstep to being spun round many times in a dark room and then shot repeatedly, that means something. More jungle reggae with dub vibes. Had us all rolling in the mud.
Dead Letter Chorus - the epitome of Indie. Nada Surf meets Modest Mouse.
The Rooftops - a Brisbane band with great funk/jazz sounds. Their new CD, Something So Familiar, is also now mine!
Lior - great voice, songs got a bit repetitive, but the crowds were going wild!
Basement Birds - Josh Pyke's new band are so chill.
BRIEFS: AN ALL-MALE BOYLESQUE CABARET - I laughed til I cried.
That 1 Guy - weird and wonderful. Like honkey-tonk on acid.
I had a truly unbelievable experience. I miss it very much now I am back in normal, conservative society. I think I will mourn by drawing all over myself with henna and wearing something from my harem pants collection.
Au Revoir, my Indie pals.
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