Are we all glad it's over?

Yay, another Christmas bites the dust. It's taken me a week to get the strength back to blog. And now it's almost time to start back into some work. The crap thing about being self-employed (and I'm sure this isn't the first time I've moaned about this) is NO PAID HOLIDAYS! All you lucky lucky lucky people out there being paid to swan around at the beach by your employer - well, I guess I should stop moaning and remember that I can swan off to the movies or shopping any old day I want to and not have to think up some lame excuse for my boss...

Anyway, I've decided that next year I will have to change the name of this blog, because I'm going to get an office again. Woohoo! This is making me happy now even just typing these words. It's been a weird year working from home. In fact, it hasn't even been a year yet. I've decided I'm just not suited to working in the confines of my living space. I need the feeling of "coming home" at the end of the day and also the feeling of entering my creative office space at the beginning of my day - somewhere near a busy cafe! So, in the New Year I'll be looking for a place with some friends in the city. Looking forward to it.

Ugly Blogs Make Me Vomit

And this one wins the biggest pool yet.

Does anyone really enjoy xmas?

Dunno about this - of course, we all loved it as kids, but a) we got presents (usually lots of 'em) b) we could escape the adults after the big lunch when they'd get drunk or nap - then we could go play with our new toys and c) we didn't have to do all the work and spend all the goddamn money. Right? So this year it's just me and my three kids. We're chilling by ourselves - no pressure from relatives, no huge meal to cook, not small talk to be made. Just better prepare ourselves with some movies - can't possibly risk having to watch xmas television. Even SOD's not gonna be here - house sitting for some friends so he can get some painting done. Lucky old him. He can even ignore the entire 25th of December.

Madness!

Just got an email from a friend of mine who is spending an interesting two weeks driving through the Sahara. She's going as part of the Hoggar. Check it out - it's mad.

Evil Paisley!!

Okay, just stay away from paisley. That's what they tell me on this site. I think my sister has a paisley shirt - I'd better tell her not to wear it any more!

got a new look

Just got my hair cut. Lots of hair fell on the floor. It was freaky. Got it cut at Buoy.



Am now at home and listening to cLOUDDEAD. On my headphones cos the kids are watching the box. Going to see Garden State tonight. Went to see two plays this week. Upping the culture content of my life.

I've started a new blog

Not a replacement one, no, but an extra one, purely to document a bit of Wellington Street Art. Go check it out.

retail therapy

Just got a nice chunk of money from a job, so decided it was time to buy a few new clothes. Got three nice tops from Artikel, one of them by some great Wellington guys by the name of The Stitches. Also a cute little Lisa Ho skirt and an Italian paisley muslin shirt with odd little bits of embroidery on the yoke and cuffs. Very happy!

RED-LIGHT VORORTROMANTIK ARCHITECTURE DEATH

Four of our friends had a show out at One Eye Gallery in Paekakariki last weekend. Here's some pics of some of their work.

These two are from the lovely Jo Russ.





Sandra Schmidt's little plastic houses:



Stephen Clover's drawings and photocollage





And from Matt Couper, a couple of large works on paper.

Underland and more

Nick Cave music with ballet. Who would have thought, eh? Well, they did it with The Fall (I Am Curious Oranj) - I would have loved to have seen that one - dancers in Doc Martens... Anyway, went to see the Sydney Dance Co dance to the music of Nick Cave in Underland last week and it was pretty stupendous. Some glorious moments. And what else have I done of interest lately - oh, yes - went to see the director's cut of Donnie Darko. Great to see it on the big screen again and all those little extra bits that fleshed out the story were worth seeing but I'm not sure if it made it any better than the original. Just worth seeing cos I'm such a Darko fan.

american art in nz

Harry from Tennessee asked me in a rare comment if we see much in the way of US art in NZ. Well, Harry, I had to really think about that one and try to dredge up what would be the last piece of American art I have seen in a local gallery and I'm guessing it would be an exhibition of Tony Oursler installations. We get a bit of UK stuff here - saw a Tracey Emin exhibition not so long ago. But we are far away from anywhere so we don't get a lot from overseas really. But the local art scene is pretty strong so who cares!!! And also, I guess, it's why NZers like to travel...

cafenet

This is cool. I'm sitting working in a cafe in town and can check my mail.I've just hooked myself with a cafenet account - there's a big list of places about town (mainly cafes, but other spots as well) where I can connect to the net with my wi-fi card. Sweet. Got my car in being fixed so I'm hanging out in town trying to get some work done. Just thought I'd blog, just because I can!

and much blood was spilt

Anyone been to see Zatoichi? Man, how was all that blood. Started to make me feel a bit queasy, and that's saying a lot because I have a pretty strong stomach. Very entertaining nonetheless. Of course, it was one of those films I missed during the festival that I am now trying to catch up on before the onslaught of the next festival (which comes round only too quickly).

my brand new brand

Well, I've finally done it! After much deliberation (getting votes from family and friends) I've come up with the brand to represent my design business. I do miss my old logo, but it really was time for a change after three years with my old pink victorian version. This is a bit fresher. I've gone all out on stationery - letterhead, compliments slip, envelopes and business cards. Now I just have to get the website designed to complete it all. That's the work for this weekend.


I've started up a bit of a health regime for the summer - a daily swim or walk (or both if I can manage it). Let's see how I get on. I'm pretty unfit at the moment, so it's a bit of a struggle.


SOD's bro, Ben Cauchi, has an exhibition on at the moment - Ghosting - I think he's already sold quite a few of the works. The opening was fun as usual - a chance to catch up with people and to down a few wines and scoff some bread/cheese/olives. Check out the pdf of the catalogue. I helped him out with designing the invites and catalogue - always a nice job cos I love his work.

look mum, no wires!

Yep, I got airport, and it's cool. This is my first post in quite some time and I'm doing it with a wireless connection. Yes, I'm bragging. Sorry. I just can't help it. And SOD (Significant Other Dave, for initiates to my blog) is also connected wirelessly upstairs as I type this. Oh happy days.

I've been managing some swimming over the last month - woohoo, it's been up to 25 degrees. Still a bit chilly on first entry, but once you get your head under, it's really rather nice. I've been doing a lot of backstroke and a bit of floating around with my eyes closed and one of those flotation stick things behind my neck, which is fun if you're in the pool on your own. I like to imagine it's what a flotation tank is like, without the claustrophobic sensations.

I'm about to rebrand my design business. Been thinking about it for a while and now that it's kinda quiet I thought it would be a good time to give it a go. Of course, that means getting my website (well, let's be honest, webpage) revamped as well. Better get busy!

And why have I been so remiss with my postings? Well, a little slump really. I just haven't been feeling like it. Work has become a drag and life has been a little on the dull side. Now that the weather is starting to perk up and become springlike (as it bloody should now that September is almost over), I'm feeling a little more chatty. So hi to anyone who is still bothering to visit this wasteland of a blog.

accounting work sux

I've just spent the last two days getting up to date with my business accounts. I use Mind Your Own Business accounting software which makes it all pretty simple, but the trouble is I've been so busy that I haven't been entering in any transactions for months and was really behind on my GST (Goods and Services Tax, for those outside this country) - a ridiculous system that taxes almost everything you buy and causes most people in business to have to spend vast amount of time tallying up everything coming in and out of your business. The only advantage that I can see, from my point of view, is that it makes me keep up with all my accounting which is very handy for when it comes to sort out income tax (which is next on my list and is waaaay overdue). The New Zealand Inland Revenue department is a little more understanding these days about late payments and penalties since they copped a great deal of flack over a spate of suicides after business people were charged so many penalties that they just plain couldn't cope any longer. IRD have a lot to answer for. Hearing about some cases at the time was heart-breaking. Bureacracy gone mad. So, it's all done for now and I can go to bed with a clear conscience (and a couple of red wines under my belt).

Oh! Just remembered - I had my very first swim today. The waters's still only 20 degrees celcius - not all that warm - but once I was in for a while it was fine. It's about up to my neck which is a nice depth - the same depth for the whole length. Fun, fun, fun! I'm planning on a daily swim. Good exercise for someone who spends almost their entire day on an office chair. My morning dog walks down to the beach have come to a quick standstill.

A new sexy look?

No, not really, I'm just kidding myself. Trying to make myself feel okay about the fact that I now have to wear glasses. Just for computer work and reading, but still... it's gonna be weird. I tried on a few different frames and found some pretty quickly that looked okay. The trouble is, I don't have much of a bridge to my nose. It's one of those button noses that dips right in between the eyes, so there's not much to hang the glasses off. Lots of frames slip down and then I end up peering over the top of them, sot the heavy-framed secretary look is totally out of the question, which is a shame cos I kinda like it. I've chosen some rimless ones - a contemporary sort of design. Gotta wait 3 weeks though. In the meantime I'm meant to be doing eye exercises. Like I have the time!

Still haven't tried out the pool! Had problems with the heat pumps which is now sorted out, but has been a bit of a setback in getting the water up to a reasonable temperature.

street art

Saw this yesterday - great to have the camera on the phone when you want to record a visual moment.

Finally starting to catch up on all my work. Got a tasty job coming up that I'm putting in a proposal for. Fingers crossed that I get it! Going to have to collaborate though cos it involves doing some TVC work which I've never been invloved in before. It's only between me and one other company. Worth a shot.

It's all over

Oh, so sad! The film festival is over for another year. It always goes so quickly. SOD and I have been bemoaning all the films we managed to miss, mainly Screaming Men and Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst. The Anatomy of Hell was one that we had tickets to but still managed to miss. That's SOD's story, which I will leave him to tell if he feels like it. Suffice to say, I was pretty disappointed since that was a film on my initial "must not miss" list.

Anyway, I have managed to see 31 films - not nearly as many as I would have liked - mainly cos the daytime screenings that I planned to attend were pretty impossible to get to cos of my workload. It would be so nice to take the two weeks completely off, but it's too hard to do that when you are self employed. You'd think it would be easier, but no - essentially the equation is "no work = no money". Just doesn't work out.

Films I saw (in the order I saw them):
Hero (martial arts eye candy)
Old Boy (over-rated Korean shock-fest, Tarantino-style - morally queasy)
Super Size Me (30 days on Mackers - should be obligatory viewing for all western teens)
The Motorcycle Diaries (Che-the-man in his formative years, on a craZy roadtrip across the Andes)
Touching the Void (True story of grit and sheer dogged determination - if a little nuts)
Aaltra (Belgian road movie in wheelchairs - superb black comedy)
The Saddest Music in the World (genius Canadian Guy Maddin with a tale of a legless woman and the quest to find the most melancholy music. This film was indescribably gorgeous)
Father and Son (Vaguely disturbing offering from Russian Ark director - tale of an obsessive father and son relationship. Homoerotic and gorgeously shot)
The Yes Men (Anti-globalisation hi-jinx - lots of fun and thought provoking)
Control Room (Inside Al-Jazeera - the news we never bloody hear)
Our Music (my only dud film - Jean Luc Godard has lost the plot - overtly intellectual nonsense)
A Page of Madness (huh! Whoever went to Fahrenheit 9/11 missed this gem - 1920s silent era Japanese avant-garde accompanied by twin british duo In The Nursery. My number one film from 2004 festival. I was gobsmacked)
In Your Hands (This year's Dogme film. Made me cry bucketloads. Gutwrenching tale of a spiritual event in a women's prison and the aftermath. Excellent. I think the guy beside me was crying. On ya mate)
Dias de Santiago (Peruvian film - as depressing as they come, but very worthwhile. Saw this straight after In Your hands and was an emotional wreck by the end of the night. Tale of ex-soldiers attempts to make sense of life after four years of jungle warfare. he couldn't)
Tropical Malady (Not for everyone, but I was glad I gave it a go. Sexy boy-love between a worldy Thai soldier and a village boy. Big surreal jungle sequence during the last half. Weird and wonderful. Wish I'd seen his other films)
Intimate Strangers (Quiet french comedy of mistaken identity. Okay, but nothing special)
Any Way the Wind Blows (Cool Belgian film - think Magnolia in it's structure, but add some hipster Belgians, a plot that culminates in one big groovy party and a wicked soundtrack. I wanna see this one again and I'll be buying the soundtrack for sure. I wish I had been at that party...)
Bukowski: Born Into This (What a foul-mouthed sod, but what a poet. Good doco on the life and times of american writer Charles Bukowski)
In My Father's Den (Forecast to be the next "The Piano" or "Heavenly Creatures". I concur. Superb acting, an emotional rollercoaster of a movie. Hope it does well in the international marketplace - it deserves to. Based on a novel by Maurice Gee who was there at the screening)
The Corporation (Two and a half hours of corporate exposé. Conclusion? Corporations are unhealthy for humankind. They need to be disbanded. People need to see this film!)
The Return (Another Russian gem. Creepy father comes back after twelve years to take his kids on a "holiday". Great cinematography)
Coffee and Cigarettes (Jim Jarmusch as wonderful as ever with this series of vignettes all involving coffee and cigarettes. Wellingtonians will love this take on cafe life. Lots of fabulous faces including Iggy Pop, Steve Coogan and the boyz from Wu Tang Clan telling Bill Murray to stop drinking so much coffee as we watch him swigging straight from the filter jug. Loved it. Oh, and Jack and Meg White are in there too. It's all good)
Vibrator (Dark but beautiful story of the meeting of two lonely people - alcohol-dependent early 30s woman who is spinning out and spunky late 20s trucker bloke hit the road in his truck after chance meeting in a late-night store. Neuroses abound. Raw camera work and raw emotions. One of my faves)
Cowards Bend the Knee (More craziness from Guy Maddin - it's hard to describe his films. This one contained ice hockey, amputation, incest, murder, and a breast made of ice. Freaky fun)
Shaun of the Dead (Took two of my kids to this UK zombie spoof. Plenty of gore and laughs. Starring Dawn from The Office and Bernard from Black Books)
The Stroll (I didn't know Russian film could be so bubbly. I heard some people didn't like this - I loved it. Sexy Russian girl and two young men-about-town walk through the streets of St Petersburg flirting. She's a bit crazy and the boys fall in love with her and who wouldn't. Sexy fun)
Ramones: End of the Century (Never been a big fan of the Ramones, but great music history. There's no denying the influence these guys have had on other bands and of course, they were the main influence on the punk movement in the UK. The doco highlighted their early years through to their final demise and the death of Joey. A thoroughly disfunctional bunch of guys)
The Battle of Algiers (1965 classic dramatising the struggle of the Algerian Liberation Front against the french colonialists. Gripping realism, and still entirely relevant)
Hollywood Respliced (My shot of experimental film - small audience, and some that walked out. But for those that stayed, a treasure trove of decontructed/reconstructed short films. Who needs drugs when you can watch film like that?)
Ong-Bak (What's the boy's version of a chick-flick? Whatever it's called, that's the genre for this film. Great Muay Thai fighting scenes and lots of action. I liked it, but it's not really my kinda flick, but it was closing night film, so I wanted to see it)
And the last one, which was this morning's viewing:
Checkpoint (This film had my friend Steve clenching his fists and sweating profusely with anger. We all took a while to calm down afterwards as the four of us sat over coffee and vented. Simple footage of checkpoints on the Gaza Strip, filmed between 2001 and 2003. Makes you understand the reason for Palestinian suicide bombers)

Well, that wraps it up for another year. I'll try and watch some of the stuff I missed on tape if I can.

Here's the house

It's about time I got these pics up, eh? Well, when you're seeing so many films, it's hard to keep up with the normal routine. Since I moved house I think I've only made a couple of proper meals and still have stacks of boxes to unpack. Anyway, here's some images of the new place. Firstly, the kitchen.

The dining room...

Lounge...

Check out the view.

Haven't taken any photos of the pool yet - tried using the pool yesterday and still too cold! I hope it doesn't take too much longer to heat up.
Much to say about films I've seen, but not enough time. Next blog, I'll be filling you in on what I've been seeing. And it's been good!

the festival begins...

Thursday night was the Gala Opening - Hero. Beautiful, gorgeous. Amazing fight choreography. Shame I kept falling asleep. Last night SOD and I saw Super Size Me - all fast-food-consuming teens should see this film. Then Motorcycle Diaries - the story of Che Guevara's trip through Chile on an old Norton with his friend. Recommended. Makes me want to hunt out a good biography on the man. Looking forward to more films tonight...

should be working...

I'm really in a bind. I have a job that must be finished by Monday and I have many many tickets for films for tomorrow and over the weekend. Can't do both. Am way behind because of the shift. What the fuck, I'm gonna try and get to the most important films (Super Size Me, The Saddest Music in the World, Motorcycle Diaries) and get the work done as well. That means getting up at some ungodly hour tomorrow to try and nail a large chunk of the work.


Hey, here's a pic of the new house - bad pic, but can't be buggered getting the digital camera out, so this pxt will have to suffice. This is the lounge area taken from the dining area. Most of the house is set up now, except for the huge unsorted mountain of clothes on the floor of my - get this - walk-in wardrobe. And the stacks of yet-to-be-hung paintings lining the hallway. And the embarrasingly large amount of cartons of books, most of which will probably remain in their cartons because we have no shelves to put them on. At least the essentials are sorted - clean towels, food in the cupboard, living area clear of boxes. We had the pool man around today. We have a pool man! I didn't get to meet him, but I'm guessing he's not gonna be one of those sexy latin guys you see on TV/porn films. Oh well. Maybe a kiwi equivalent...

Gotta go. Early start in the morning.

The Big Shift

We have too much stuff. We really do. But I guess that's not surprising with three teenagers and a kitchen gadget collector in one house. And my home office takes up a lot of room. We move out tomorrow and the packing is well under way. In the midst of this, I am trying to work. Pack a box here, clean out a cupboard there, and then lay out a quick page in between. It's insane. Ideally, of course, I'd be taking a few days off, but being self-emloyed just isn't like that. In particular, you have to look after your regular clients. If I was to turn down a job, they'll have to find someone else to do it, then I may lose that client entirely. There goes the rent money!

Ang is coming over today to help me - that'll be great. And I'll get to show the house off to her. I suspect quite a few people we know will think the house is pretty gross - a pretentious and tacky display of wealth. And they'd probably be right, but if the owners are happy to rent it to us for the incredibly cheap rent that it is, then I'm happy to live in comfort for however long we can stay there. I don't mind living with central heating, views of the sea, loads of room, an indoor swimming pool and all mod cons. The decor is not at all offensive - quite neutral with a few of those coloured "feature walls" in muted tones. (I sound like a real estate agent - maybe I should take up a new career.) I guess what is offensive is the proportions of it all. Quite vast. And the curved walls. We're a bit annoyed with those - not so good for hanging art.

So, next time I post we will be all moved in. Maybe some pics may be in order.

Decision made

Omigod. We're moving into the house with the swimming pool. I hope this is the right decision. SOD hasn't even seen it! Hope he won't be pissed at me when he sees it. And the craziest thing of all is that we are moving NEXT WEEK! Aaargghhhhhhh! this is going to be bloody hard going. I have loads of work to get finished and packing and organising new phone/internet/fax/change of address/Post Office Box - freaking out here! Wait till I put a pic up here though and you see why I just had to take it. It's pretty mind-blowing.

consternation!

I have a major dilemma on my hands. We've found a house (already!). We went to look at it on Sunday and yesterday we put in an application and found out that they were fine with a dog in the house (our border collie, Laika). It's go what we need although the kids don't get their own lounge and it's not as big as where we are now, although that is difficult to find as this place is pretty huge. BUT I had booked in to go and see a house yesterday morning which I have completely fallen in love with. Dilemma: the house we have signed up for is more practical - it's close to school for Wendy and Jules (walking distance) and close to the train. But it's kinda bland and not very spacious. The other house, in Camborne, is simply amazing. It's architecturally designed, has an indoor swimming pool and views to kill for - open vista of the inlet. The whole place was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. It was like something from House and Garden. BUT it's twenty minutes walk to the train station and the kids would have to take two trains to get to school. Cheaper house (unbelievably!) but more transport time and cost. The kids say they would be fine with that, but I just dunno. I think they would get sick of it. For me, the cost of couriers would be ridiculous and it's about 25-30 mins into the city, something I have to do quite regularly. Oh, and we would need to put up a gate for the dog. Decisions! I hate them!

Old friends

Found this fun site the other day where you can track down old classmates or people from old workplaces. I've put my name up there and put myself forward to contact some people I used to know. Have got a few emails back. So many years ago, but when you start remembering back it doesn't seem that far away at all.

Sleeping is so niiiiiicce

Oh man. I feel like a new person. Yep, I've been working over the weekend, but it's been from home and the night before last I slept for thirteen hours! I feel like an early night tonight, but there are still a couple of things for the festival that I need to get finished.

We've started looking at houses - checked a few out on the internet and got the paper on Sat morning to suss out the To Let column. Pretty hard for us cos we need lots of room with both SOD and I needing work space, plus room for three teenagers and the dog. My hope is the 7 bedroom house in karori. I thought we could get a boarder or an overseas student to help pay the rent. We looked at one today but it was so ridiculously clean and tidy that I reckon they won't be into tenants with pets. We'll see. The house was nice and big but not really my cuppa tea. Underfloor heating though - mmm. And 3 bathrooms.Fuck we're lucky in New Zealand. Imagine what something like that would cost in London!

enough is enough!

Gotta get outta here!!! Got up at 10.30 this morning after small amounts of interrupted sleep - have been back working since midday and now it's nearly 6. Not much longer. Sleep deprivations does very strange things... I'm almost at the not-coping level. I think on the way home I might have a little cry :( Oh, and yesterday we found out that our landlord is kicking us out in 6 weeks cos he wants to move back into the house. Crap. Wanker. We only moved in last November.

sleepy rosie

nearly six in the morning - have just finished sending the files to Auckland for printing - will get proofs tomorrow. very very tired and feeling pretty spacey

web page

check it out - finally got something up to advertise my business - not that whizz-bang, but it'll do for now. now 2.37 in the a.m. and still working. just drank a beer. wish it was ten of 'em.

I'm sick as a dog...

(whateva the hell that means - if someone knows, tell me.) Anyways, I'm feeling more congested than ever and after working the last two nights till nearly 3am I'm feeling less than okay. Coping. Just. Here's how my desk is looking. Note: bottle of V and various cold medications. I'm not looking too good, am I? Another late one tonight I think. The Souvenir programme is looking pretty goos so far. Sending most of it to print today and the front and back sections tomorrow. It's nearly over!

still alive

Been a while since I last blogged - reason being that this is the craziest few weeks of the year. Last year around this time I did a 23-hour day. Let's see if I can beat my record! Last two nights I've worked till 2.30am. Tonight will be the big one. PLUS I have this incredibly bad cold, which surprisingly is getting better. Been downing the garlic, Vitamin C, plus soome good pseudo-ephidrine drugs.

Got my festival tickets booked - 35 films booked and then there's all the non-bookable day sessions I'll try to get to as well. There were a few clashes which mean I'll miss a few films, Bad Santa in particular, but that's okay, it'll come back. Fahrenheit 9/11 sold out in 24 hours.

Okay, back to it. The Souvenir Programme (192-pager that gets sold and also sent out to international festival contacts) goes to print tomorrow... and still so much to do. Keeping sane by chucking on the headphones. Listening to The Sea and Cake, Department of Eagles and Elliot Smith, plus lots of odd downloaded stuff.

Still gotta put up those birthday pics!

Happy Birthday to ME

Well, 40 ain't so bad. Not that I thought it would be. I had an unfortunate moment on the second day of my 40s where that stupid stupid song from 80s (?) "Life Begins at Forty" got stuck in my head. I think part of it was that my brains were very very fried from the celebrations the night before. It had all started off very sedately - brunch with my kids, then a crazed shopping expedition with SOD where we bought 24 DVDs (!) at a sale and then some cute black boots for me, as well as a new black jacket for SOD cos his old one is a bit holey and paint-stained, from wearing it on cold nights in the studio. The evening began with drinks, then, since I didn't know what restaurant we were going to, SOD hald his hand over my eyes during the trip to the restuarant. Francois! Lovely little french place. The food was fanatastic. Big surprise at the end was THE most delicious cake. From there it was a few bars and much deliberation at about 3am as to what to do next. We ended up at a strip bar. Blimey. The night's all a bit hazy from there - not hazy enough to block out the memory of me getting a bit friendly with the staff... enough said. Not the kind of place I would normally go - not out of prudishness, but just that I find it exploitative and sleazy, but it was interesting. A very memorable birthday. It was weird checking into our hotel room at 5.30am. God we must have looked a sight. Some photos will be posted soon! None from the strip club fortunately.

the launch

Had a good night going to the launch of the programme last night. We stood at the door of the theatre and handed out "goodie bags" (having a big sponsor like Telecom this year allows us to do these things). It was funny how some people looked suspiciously, thinking we were foisting some kind of unwanted advertising on them or something. But once they opened their bags and saw choccies, bottle of water, pen, pad, blah blah, they were okay of course. The flick was Touching the Void - pretty good doco. Amazing shots of the mountains of Peru. Totally incredible tale of bravery and sheer madness. Dinner afterwards at the Grand Century was delicious. Feeling a bit jaded and weary today even though it wasn't all that late. Fridays I guess! Started the morning at the local beautician's with a leg wax. Yow! I just never get used to the pain of my bikini line hair being ripped out by the roots. If you ever wanted to torture someone...

rock'n'roll

Got sent some pics from the Pretty Horses gig. Here's one of Venus and the bass player. Great outfits. Wouldn't mind having their legs - they suited fishnets better than I do.

breening

Check out piggyback art. I'd buy one if i could afford it.

help!

OKAY - it's my last day of being 39 tomorrow. It's the big four-oh on Saturday. What am I gonna do to celebrate the final day of my thirties? Suggestions please! (Not sitting at my computer watching my age change on my blogger profile - I already thought of it and it sounds dull.)

let's launch this baby!

Woo hoo! Oh yeah! Tonight the Wellington Film Fest programme is launched - not exactly a grandiose affair, but it's an "invites only" screening of one of our films Touching the Void, and we get to hand out goodie bags, compliments of our sponsors. Afterwards we're all off to a nosh up at a local chinese restaurant. Nicing it up with the festival crew (who are paying for the grub). BYO plonk (which I will be doing - nice spicy Reisling, methinks).

Got another order of music in the post the other day from Warp Mart - they were having a sale of their Lex stuff. Got some real fine hip hop. Boom Bip, Dangermouse and Jemini, and a couple of compilations of Lex artists. Loving Boom Bip/s remixes of the likes of Mogwai and Boards of Canada.

Hey, check this out - this is pretty cool - I could spend a while on this site (thanks to Liv's links...)

All the Pretty Horses

Sunday night topped off a great weekend. Here's Ang and I all dollied up to go out (that's me on the left for those who don't know me). All the Pretty Horses was lots of fun - I haven't seen so much shiny PVC in one place ever. They all looked extremely glam - big high boots, corsets, fishnets and lots of long hair - black PVC of course. Can't say the music was to my taste but they sure rocked and were fun to watch. The finale was a fetish performance piece - Venus held a metal plate against her crotch while Madmat used a metal grinder - sparks flew. Pretty spectacular. I heard that the night before Venus had cut a chunk off her hand and had blood all over her guitar. Ow. I went and said hi to Venus before the show. She was sitting watching the support band play. Her makeup was sexy - a strip of red across the eyes like Daryl Hannah in Bladerunner. She/he seemd very very nice. Very quietly spoken. When I introduced myself and said I had done the posters, she gave me a hug. Didn't get home till round 2'ish. Have had a fairly low-key day working on my laptop from the comfort of the couch. Have got most of the way through two of my Caritas projects today. I think I'm winning the battle (just!).

getting out and about in the real world

They've let me out! I'm actually having a life this weekend, and a busy one it is, too. Friday night was spent having a quiet one while SOD went out to visit a mate - lay around on the couch not doing very much at all. Saturday - went off to see a doco at Out Takes Gay & Lesbian Film Festival called Venus of Mars. Really loved it - totally uplifting and honest story of a transgender man (Venus) living in a relationship with his wife of 20 years. They're an amazing couple - very inspiring. Venus is lead singer/guitarist in a band called All the Pretty Horses - dark glam rock - who are on tour in conjunction with the release of the documentary. I met a few of them and also the filmmaker because I had done their poster - when I heard from the Out Takes crew that Pretty Horses were coming over I volunteered to do the poster for them and anything else I could do to help cos they were on a shoestring budget. Anyway, tonight they are going to play tonight at Bodega bar. Yay! It's gonna be fun. Getting dollied up - might put on my big fuck-off shelly boots and get my hair teased ad coloured up. Might even manage getting a pic up on the old blog.

Oh, but there's more! As part of the Prospect show on at the mo' at the local galleries, there was a sound art performance up at Adam Art Gallery at the University. Cool, cool. Not many people there really, although the small amount of seats would have been 3/4 full. Small interest group I guess. Not everyone's cuppa tea, but we reall liked it. Something to close your eyes and get lost in. Big soundscapes, pretty much all computer generated, but not cold at all - some of it was very organic sounding. Nice.

And today we went to see The Life and Times of Count Luchino Visconti, a BBC doco on the renowned Italian filmmaker. It's spurred us on to see some of his films, which we will try and do soon while the doco is fresh in our minds. Interesting man - apparently a communist since his 20s, but happy to live a life being waited on by 8 servants who he hardly ever spoke to. Bit of a dichotomy. Guess he had his ideology, but didn't manage to live by it. There were some shots of the houses he was brought up in - his father was a duke in Milan and he lived the life of the privileged few. I wouldn't have minded living in one of those castles. They were prety freaking cool.

And so.... just cooking dinner, and waiting for the lovely Angela and Ben to turn up and drink some wine with us before we head out. Angie's gonna help me with my hair.

Have been listening to Franz Ferdinand and it's growing on me. But you're right Mr Couper, the first few tracks are the best.

...and back to you, FF

I'm not so sure about Franz Ferdinand. Part of me liked it, another part thought, "oh, I've heard this all before" (as it so often does when you get to nearly 40 and listen to a lot of music). I'll probably have a few more goes at it. It might be a good sign that I didn't think much on the first play. It just might grow on me. Here's what Pitchforkmedia says about it - they're always good for reviews...

Out Takes

Went to an Out Takes film last night. I got some freebie tickets which was great - not really for designing the their print stuff, but more cos this year I took out an ad in the programme. (Advertised my business' website, but still haven't got anything up there - god I'm stupid.) Anyway, went along to see Madam Sata - set in '30s Rio de Janiero. Sexy and beautifully shot. It was about a drag queen living a difficult life in the brothel district of Lapa in Rio. Based on a real person - Joao Francisco de Santos (I think) there was a brief bio at the end which left me wanting to know more. I'm off to see another couple of films in the weekend as well, which I'll have to fit in around work. The Wellington festival programme went off to print yesterday, but now I have all my other work to catch up on - a newsletter for Caritas and some work for Council for International Development, along with a couple of jobs for Huia Publishing - one needs finishing and the other needs starting. I need a holiday!

FF so far

hmmm - first three tracks in and I'm thinking White Stripes-meets-Blur-meets-Beach Boys - with a smatting of ska beats and some 80s sensibilities... to be continued...

my car is clean

Just for anyone who cares, I put my car through the car wash this morning. I realised a while ago when someone wrote "hi" in the dustiness of the rear window that my little red rover was actually rather grimy. I love my car, so somehow I managed this morning to get it dealt with. She looks so sparkly-clean! Just thought I'd tell you that incredibly exciting news. Just had to share...

Franz Ferdinand (again!)

Stopped in at the music store on the way to the Film Festival office this morning and grabbed a couple of CDs (as you do) - one being Franz Ferdinand (let's see what all the fuss is about) - and the other the latest Sonic Youth (Nurse). Gonna have a listen now. Let's see if FF will make it onto my profile. To be continued... (Might be a while though. I think I am about to be annoyed by a pesky client to do some work. Oh how difficult life can be!)

Franz Ferdinand

Why does this come up all the time on people's profiles as favourite music. I think this must be another White Stripes phenomenon. I keep hearing about it for ages, then finally listen and think - oh yeah, that's okay. I did end up buying a White Stripes album after hearing the hype for ages, and yeah, they're pretty good, but you listen a few too many times and you don't want to hear them again. I like an album that grows on you - lasts longer, and, in the end, sounds way better. Must have a listen to Franz Ferdinand though. See what all the fuss is about...

More on music

When I bought my music in the weekend I had been shopping with SOD who also made some purchases. I commented afterwards that it was funny how he always buys the old stuff and I always buy the new stuff. Funny because I'm the older one by six years. His is normally stuff that he used to listen to but either has sold off, lost along the way, or never owned. Unfortunately his nostalgia crosses into mine only occasionally with the likes of David Bowie or some old Dunedin stuff. Some of it I don't at all like, and I'm sure the same goes with my choices. I think that on the whole though, we tend to have similar taste in music which I think is a really important thing. I can't imagine having disparate musical tastes. Imagine if my boyfriend liked Bucks Fizz (no offence Angie-baby, in case you fancied them!). But having a bit of your own thing going on with music as well, like SOD's boysie-noisie stuff and some of my more mainstream hip hop, is probably a healthy thing as long as you don't drive each other crazy with it.

Spending money on music is good

After so much work lately I took some time out for some retail therapy. Got myself a delicious double album by Themselves, along with 4 CDs - double CD of cLOUDDEAD, a Stereolab album from '01 that I didn't have, Boom Bip (had THE most wonderfully designed sleeve - yum, yum) and a bunch of remixes of Can tracks. All in all a jolly good haul. I've been enjoying the cLOUDDEAD - among my internet purchases a while ago was a cLOUDDEAD DVD of their tour in '02 in the States. Most of the footage was them in San Fran. They rocked. Oh hell, living in NZ is all very nice - we have a beautiful country and lifestyles that many would envy - but all this amazing live music we miss out on just kills me. Thanks goodness for the live music scene in Wellington or I would go mad, but some overseas talent would be very nice. (Not that I get out all that much cos I'm always working!) Mostly I want to go to an ATP gig in Europe. My friend Caron is working in London and has been for a few years. She was telling me about the last ATP gathering she went to where she met Vincent Gallo at the local pub and was chatting to him for some time. She told him, in her straightforward kiwi way, that she heard his album was actually pretty good, although she hadn't listened to it herself. She then asked him if she could cop a snog. He said "no - kissing was just too intimate" so she got a few pecks on the cheek instead. She said it was worth a crack. Good old Caron. I wouldn't have the balls. Okay, back to work - getting the Wellington Film Festival programme file into shape now. And when that is finished, I CAN BOOK MY FILMS!

If any of you follow those music links, you'll see these guys are under a label called Anticon. Most of the artists on this label do a fair bit of cross-pollination. I guess they are a kind of collective. Some say this is the future of hip hop. I would say, I wish, but I doubt it. I enjoy hip hop a lot, but the majority of hip hop these days focuses on bling bling and pussy - totally misogynistic and pretty depressing. Mind you, it ain't just the guys. Missy Elliot is great, but what is the total obsession with sex. Not that I'm against it, but it seems to be all they wannna sing about. They living in their lower chakras, man!

One down, thirteen to go.

It's done, and so am I. Still thirteen to go though (for the rest of New Zealand). The programme for the International Film Festival went to print yesterday afternoon after many hours of work by many people. My part consisted of laying out the programme (and salivating over the films). Checked out the proofs today which look great except of course for the occasional hideous ad. These morons pay heaps of money for the placement of the ad and can't bear to part with some cash to pay a designer to make a decent job of it - yes, it's DIY advertisement design. Of course, there are som gorgeous ones too. But who cares about the ads - you should see the films coming up! I've started my "must see" list - always difficult. I saw 40 last year, including a few that I took home on tape. Big one on the list for me is Catherine Breillat's Anatomy of Hell. I should see some more of her films - I've only seen Fat Girl (aka À ma soeur) and Sex is Comedy. She's so post-feminist. I love the way she cuts to the quick and fights against false morality. She depicts female sexuality in such a cutting but honest way. Not for the faint hearted, of course. And Sex is Comedy was such a piss-take of herself, portraying herself as manipulative, twisted and egocentric. I wonder if it was how she thinks others see her. I'm sure it's not how she thinks of herself. Maybe it was some of the negative aspects of herself she was drawing upon. If you are going to watch both these films, you must see Fat Girl first - Sex is Comedy shows the making of the controversial anal sex scene - almost as docudrama. We see the fighting and bitching between the stars (the lovers in the scene can't stand each other) and the director, who must make the scene work, has to cajole, flirt with, and shout at, the crew and stars, to get her way. She's such a bitch. I recommend it. I can see Breillat becoming a classic of this time.
Just found a cinema site that I want to explore more. After this I'm off to have a search around - looks like they have some good stuff going on. I only ended up there cos apparently they have a link there somewhere to my blog. Couldn't find it though. SOD found it out with some dinky web gadgetry he has mastered to find out interesting data about who looks at your sites and how they get there. It's very intriguing. He's turning into a detective. I could see him as a detective actually...

Out Takes Opening

Got a bit of juggling to do next week. We go to print for the Auckland Film Festival on Thursday night, but it's also the Opening Night of Out Takes Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Damn! Sure hope I can manage to get along for a quick drink. I designed the Out Takes brand and all print material including the programme. If you go to the sponsor's page you'll see my pretty little logo - that's me - PARLOUR! I hope to go to a couple of films, but what with the work load it'll be unlikely. C'est la vie.

success at last

Now I can add links. Yay! Got an email back from Blogger.com advising I switch to Firefox browser, which they support. Am working busily away at the Film Festival, producing the programmes for the whole of NZ. Big job, long hours. Check out the films - they are being loaded on a daily basis as they are confirmed and the programme notes become available (ie the proofreaders have scoured through them and they are all signed off as okay to go). One week countdown till the first one goes off to print. Better go and buy some frozen dinners for the kids.

It's Sunday and I should be working

Once again I'm taking up a big chunk of my potential work day by trying to blog. Yes, trying!! I still haven't sorted out this major problem I seem to be having with links, hence, I just can't bloddy put any in. I've sent a query to Blogger - let's see if they can sort it. Of course, I could actually type the code in myself, but I can't be arsed. So, what to tell? Well! I have my package from Turntablelab, which was all very exciting. It actuall sat in the back of my car for a large portion of the day cos I couldn't get into it without a boxcutter. I tried vainly and ripped a nail off in the process. Had to wait like six hours till I got home! Happiness ensued - three mags, one with a cool typeface on disk - three DVDs (Chris Cunningham vids on one - you know, the guy who did the freaky Aphex Twin vid Come to Daddy) - and three CDs which have been getting a load of airplay both in the house and in the car. My fave is Whitey on the Moon UK by Department of Eagles. Hope I don't get sick of it too quickly.
Most of my working time at the moment is taken up with production of the Film Festival programmes. A busy but rewarding time of year. Bonus is seeing all the films coming up before anyone else and getting really excited thinking about those few fleeting weeks that are the festival. Total movie saturation. It's a lot of work though - last year I did a 23-hour day. No kidding. Then went home for two hours nap, then back to work again. Craziness. Guess it'll be all happening again in a couple of weeks when we have the first print deadline.
See I have a profile up now? That's fun, cos when you go to your own profile, you can click on one of your interests and see all the other Bloggers who are into the same shit. How cool is that when you have interests in some arcane or obscure subject/band/author blah blah. The joys of the information age. And of the more positive aspects of globalisation. Cos there sure are some really negative ones too. Unless you love the free market and are a megolomaniac captitalist. bye for now

grizzle grumble

Grrr! Blogger may have a nice new snazzy interface, but it's not behaving itself! I had just typed screeds and then went to add a link and everything I typed disappeared and there was no undo. Very cross! Abbreviated form here cos I can't be bothered typing it all over again. Going to Palmerston North for Dave's opening on Sat. Should be lots of fun. Hope to go shopping. (This is where I added a link to the shop I want to go to - it's www.kilt.co.nz - and I daren't add the link!) And the other thing I mentioned was lookiing forward to my package arriving from Turntablelab. Hurry up, package!
Work is constant and unrelenting at the moment. I do a yearly contract with the New Zealand Film Festival, producing all the programmes for print. It becomes fulltime a bit later on but at the moment I am fitting it in around other work. It's getting a little crazy - popping in and out of the festival office and fitting in the needs of kids in between. Being a working mother is not easy. Back to the slog...

my clever SOD

SOD took part in his first art exhibition today - the opening was at 5 in the evening up the coast at a gallery called Mahara in Waikanae. It was pretty cool - it was a group show and all the artists' work hung together really well (no pun intended!). What's up with skulls at the moment - they seemed to be a recurring symbol in a fair bit of the work. And then in walked SOD's bro with a skull and cross bones on the sleeve of his jumper. After swearing off buying art any more this year - 'cos I have spent quite a bit on it in the last year - what did I do? Bought something. A skull of course - it's a cool little bag shaped as a skull and decorated with appliqué with pearl teeth. Very cool. Apparently they sell at Karen Walker. Dunno if I'll be sporting mine about town - I think I prefer it as an art piece on the wall somewhere. My excuse for buying it was that it wasn't all that expensive. I like to kid myself like that.

I took a break from work today and mowed the lawns. I need to get a life.

Bad Blogger

Well, I wasn't sure if I could really do this blogging thing. I'm not very good at making time for anything other than working and running about after my three kids. But I'm back! I shall perservere and see if I can manage to add something AT LEAST once a week.
I went out to have a few martinis with my friend Jeremy last night. What a refreshing break. I've been a very busy Rose At Home of late - working all possible hours when not sleeping so getting out into the real world was excellent. So were the martinis. Went to a nice little bar called Juniper which I hadn't visited before. Speaking of martinis, has anyone seen a wonderful little film called The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie? Watch it and you'll see the connection. It's one of those films I just grabbed from the video store knowing nothing of it beforehand. Very enjoyable. If I knew how to put a link in here I would point you to the Criterion Collection website - it's part of their collection. Hmmm, might be one to get on DVD some time. Oh well, back to work. Have just started work on the Film Festival publications - someting I do every year. It's fun and I get to go to lots of cool cool movies!!!

hey big spender

Omigod! I just drank five beers and got a bit carried away and just spent nearly US$200 on music, DVDs and design books... hey, it's gonna be cool when the package arrives! But it's gonna be equally the opposite of cool when the Visa bill gets here. Que sera sera. The place I bought the shit - turntablelab.com - they got it going on. I swear, I could've spent a lot of money. Well, actually I did, but I could've spent more.

Today's been busy. Meetings (two); taxi service to teenagers (twice); loadsa work into the later hours of the evening. And now, due to internet spending and drinking of beer product, it is 1.41am and I'm gonna crash. Night-night!

Growing up

I can't believe that at the age I am (which I'm not divulging here) I have finally got around to thinking about saving money. I've just had a meeting with a financial consultant (what a horrid job that would be...) and have decided to salt away some of my hard-earned cash. About a year ago he talked me into life insurance (!). I have problems with these grown-up concepts. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live in a moneyless society. Something like subsistence farming I guess - kinda boring and lots of digging about in the dirt.

Later today I might try to add a "comments" field. My Significant Other Dave (henceforth to be referred to as SOD) tells me it's fairly easy...

Mucking about in the html

Oh dear. I've just spent an hour fricking about with the template. I know next to nothing about html and decided I would have a go at editing the template to get some rosy tones happening on my blog. Notice my big f**k-up? Yes, I've managed to do something fatal to the "Powered by Blogger" thing that is meant (by agreement with the terms as spelled out by Blogger!) to appear beneath my posts. Oh well, let's see if the powers-that-be notice. I doubt it.
I've just managed to waste an hour on this tinkering, by the way. I hope I can continue this new-found interest without it interfering with my work. We shall see.

Well now, this is my first post. Hi, I'm Rose and I'm a graphic designer and have just moved my office home. Three weeks ago approximately. And it's weird. I've decided to do this because I'm ALWAYS working and it might be fun to take some time out and go "blah blah blah" about stuff every now and then. Maybe someone might read it. Who knows. Here goes. First blog.