Why are people so tired on the first day of April?
Try to guess - go on. Answer on next blog entry.
So... Merry Christmas and all that. Lots has gone on since my last blog. Lots. Too much to mention here. All I'll say is that I have just gone out and bought three self-help books. Let's hope this coming year improves upon the last two.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Sunday, December 18, 2005
christmas tree oh christmas tree
It's going to be a funny old Christmas. I'm not sure if we are all going to be together so it's a bit hard to plan, but whatever happens it will be a quiet one that's for sure. Haven't done any shopping yet, but I did manage yesterday to go and acquire a small pine tree and stick some glittery nonsense up on it. Here it is in all its finery.I have been very spoiled by the Auckland printer that I use for my magazine work. He has sent me the most amazing bunch of flowers - so big I could barely fit it in the largest vase. What a lift it gave me. I almost wanted to be a florist when I was a teenager - my nana was a florist and I thought it would be cool to follow in her footsteps, but somewhere I gave up on the idea.
King Kong
I managed a birds-eye view of the red carpet at the New Zealand premiere of King Kong. Not a ticket to the actual premiere unfortunately, but I was watching from the 2nd floor of the Embassy Theatre where it was being screened. The Film Festival office is up there, hence the special staff security pass (I have one from when Lord of the Rings screened too - nice memento). I spent my time critiquing the fashion faux pas and picking out the celebrities whilst knocking back a few glasses of bubbles. Jack Black wasn't there but Jamie Bell, Naomi Watts and Adrien Brody were. I nearly didn't recognise Peter Jackson - he's such a shadow of his former self. He wasn't wearing the usual purple shirt - I guess it's too big for him now.
Monday, November 28, 2005
worst album covers
And there are some doozies...
See how many of these you own. Once you get there you'll need to scroll down to see the art.
See how many of these you own. Once you get there you'll need to scroll down to see the art.
Beatles fans...
Okay, this isn't that new. In fact, Pitchfork's review went up in January this year. Oh hell, guess I'm a bit behind on the music news!! Oh my.
Anyhoo. There's this great tribute album - 40th anniversary of the release of the wonderful Rubber Soul. It's called This Bird Has Flown. Check it out on download.com - they have audio samples. I haven't heard the full album yet, but it's on my To Buy list. I like the sound of Low doing "Nowhere Man" - a very straight version with their usual gorgeous but simple harmonies. Ben Lee's "In My Life" is also nice. I think that I would keep Ben Harper's "Michelle" on skip though. I just don't like that guy. He's so earnest. His voice grates simply 'cos he annoys me as a person. I have a mean streak sometimes. I swear I will end up a crotchety old woman with lots of cats.
Life the universe and everything
Well, actually, just life. Here's where mine is looking.
| This Is My Life, Rated | |
| Life: |  6 |
| Mind: | 6.1 |
| Body: | 6.1 |
| Spirit: | 6 |
| Friends/Family: |  6.9 |
| Love: | 7.3 |
| Finance: | 6.7 |
| Take the Rate My Life Quiz | |
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Hey! What's your world view?
You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.
What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com |
Monday, November 21, 2005
Metal
I have a new-found respect for metal. Music that is. Having gone to experience once more a sonic assault by the wonderful Yellow Swans, I got to hear also the "shamanic black hole doom" of Black Boned Angel. (Their words, not mine.) They came on first - Campbell Kneale on guitar (Birchville Cat Motel) and the drummer from The Stumps on bass. Between them they conjured up a glowering mass of noise that filled every crevice and orifice of everything and everyone at the little Valve bar. Big shuddering guitar, deeply primal. Kneale's connection to his guitar, and at times, the speaker, looked deeply sexual. Or had I drunk too much beer. And then, my initiation into the metal scene: Backyard Burial "Lower Hutt Grind Scum". It was as much fun to watch the crowd as it was the band. Since I listen mostly to indie pop, alt country, electronica in many forms and a bit of what could be described loosely as rock, this was totally new to me. I hear something of it's ilk out of my son's bedroom. I kinda liked it. I got myself into a headspace that was just taking it in: watching, observing, listening, and trying not to judge. I ended up coming to the conclusion that there were similarities here with jungle - fast dirty jackhammer beats - than with any other music I knew. And then - another dose of Yellow Swans. These guys play for a short time, but with music as intense as theirs it's long enough. It was so intense I nearly peed my pants. Okay, that's a lie, but I don't know how else to describe how it built up internally till I felt like I was gonna burst. I wonder what it must feel to make music like that. It's like an incanatation - summoning up some kind of ferocious manifestation of noise. Exhilirating. Saying that the music has an orgasmic nature sounds trite, but it's kinda true. I don't know that I would want to listen to them recorded. I imagine it would lose it's intensity.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
It's been over a month!
Bah, it's happened again. I've left my blog for over a month! But then again, not a lot has happened. For a while I was insanely busy with work - like the most work EVER! That meant evenings and weekends and every fricking minute of every fricking day. But it did mean a whopping round of invoicing for last month - a wonderful feeling, and it will be even more wonderful when the cheques start rolling in around the twentieth. However, now it's quiet. I've been spending the days rebuilding my Mac and installing Tiger (bloody clashes with existing software, of course), sorting out the box of various business cards from suppliers, clients and friends and putting them into separate business card folders, catching up with admin, and generally freaking out that I need more work! BUT I have also been taking the time to enjoy the fact that I have some spare time, so I've also potted up some tomatoes, planted herbs, and am about to get some veges into the garden - lettuces, aubergine, two kinds of beans, spuds, carrots. Oh, and some pretty little flowers for the garden. Awwww. Including a rose, naturally.
I'm trying to remember any sparkling social moments over the last month, but they are few and far between. SOD and I went up to Palmy for Ben's show at the Manawatu - great show, but the night out on the town in Palmy was strange - it was Hallowe'en and there was some themed street party going on in town so we hung out there and drank beer with the locals. I don't understand why NZ has wholeheartedly adopted this American tradition. We never celebrated it back in my childhood. I think it snuck in over the 80s. Fucking TV culture. (Am I sounding old or what?)
Had some fun on the way back home in a little town called Shannon - bought some stuff from their little antique store, including this ring and this cool little Welsh pipe for SOD. Also some books on theosophy from their weird little bookshop.
On Friday night I went to see Hollie Smith at Indigo - it was her EP launch and it was so so great. She has the best voice in Wellington. Truly an inspiring woman. And sexy. It was almost 1am when that finished so I headed off to Happy where they were having a late night noise/drone evening, featuring a couple of friends and ending with an outfit called Yellow Swans from the US (Portland Oregon no less). See Stephen's blog about them. They were pretty impressive. Had a most excellent stint in town drinking far too much and got home at some ridiculous hour. A sign that I am indeed getting old is that I spent almost my entire weekend recovering. Sad but true.
On the work front, I've just finished a magazine in German. That was fun - it's a new tourism mag aimed at Germans planning to visit NZ. And it looks pretty good, I reckon. Also just completed all the promo material for Circa's production of their yearly Xmas show. This year it's Cinderella (flyer pictured here). Should be some fun. I'm planning to head along with my girls.
Next on the agenda is getting a project underway as I might be in a group show at the beginning of the year, so I had better get myself organised!
I'm trying to remember any sparkling social moments over the last month, but they are few and far between. SOD and I went up to Palmy for Ben's show at the Manawatu - great show, but the night out on the town in Palmy was strange - it was Hallowe'en and there was some themed street party going on in town so we hung out there and drank beer with the locals. I don't understand why NZ has wholeheartedly adopted this American tradition. We never celebrated it back in my childhood. I think it snuck in over the 80s. Fucking TV culture. (Am I sounding old or what?)
Had some fun on the way back home in a little town called Shannon - bought some stuff from their little antique store, including this ring and this cool little Welsh pipe for SOD. Also some books on theosophy from their weird little bookshop.On Friday night I went to see Hollie Smith at Indigo - it was her EP launch and it was so so great. She has the best voice in Wellington. Truly an inspiring woman. And sexy. It was almost 1am when that finished so I headed off to Happy where they were having a late night noise/drone evening, featuring a couple of friends and ending with an outfit called Yellow Swans from the US (Portland Oregon no less). See Stephen's blog about them. They were pretty impressive. Had a most excellent stint in town drinking far too much and got home at some ridiculous hour. A sign that I am indeed getting old is that I spent almost my entire weekend recovering. Sad but true.
On the work front, I've just finished a magazine in German. That was fun - it's a new tourism mag aimed at Germans planning to visit NZ. And it looks pretty good, I reckon. Also just completed all the promo material for Circa's production of their yearly Xmas show. This year it's Cinderella (flyer pictured here). Should be some fun. I'm planning to head along with my girls.Next on the agenda is getting a project underway as I might be in a group show at the beginning of the year, so I had better get myself organised!
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
the last days of freedom (if only we knew)
Thanks to Paintergirl for this one.
First go here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the year you graduated high school. Bold the songs you loved to hear, italise the ones you hated and red the ones you don't remember.
Oh god, this doesn't really work for me. I hated almost all commercial music.
1. Physical, Olivia Newton-John
2. Eye Of The Tiger, Survivor
3. I Love Rock N' Roll, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
4. Ebony And Ivory, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
5. Centerfold, J. Geils Band
6. Don't You Want M, Human League
7. Jack And Diane, John Cougar (hated it but knew all the words)
8. Hurts So Good, John Cougar
9. Abracadabra, Steve Miller Band
10. Hard To Say I'm Sorry, Chicago
11. Tainted Love, Soft Cell
12. Chariots Of Fire, Vangelis
13. Harden My Heart, Quarterflash
14. Rosanna, Toto
15. I Can't Go For That, Daryl Hall and John Oates
16. 867-5309 (Jenny), Tommy Tutone
17. Key Largo, Bertie Higgins
18. You Should Hear How She Talks About You, Melissa Manchester
19. Waiting For A Girl Like You, Foreigner (I had a soft spot for Foreigner even though they were totally bogan)
20. Don't Talk To Strangers, Rick Springfield
21. The Sweetest Thing, Juice Newton
22. Always On My Mind, Willie Nelson
23. Shake It Up, Cars
24. Let It Whip, Dazz Band
25. We Got The Beat, Go-Go's
26. The Other Woman, Ray Parker Jr.
27. Turn Your Love Around, George Benson
28. Sweet Dreams, Air Supply
29. Only The Lonely, Motels
30. Who Can It Be Now?, Men At Work
31. Hold Me, Fleetwood Mac
32. Eye In The Sky, Alan Parsons Project
33. Let's Groove, Earth, Wind and Fire
34. Open Arms, Journey
35. Leader Of The Band, Dan Fogelberg
36. Leather And Lace, Stevie Nicks and Don Henley
37. Even The Nights Are Better, Air Supply
38. I've Never Been To Me, Charlene
39. '65 Love Affair, Paul Davis
40. Heat Of The Moment, Asia
41. Take It Easy On Me, Little River Band
42. Pac-man Fever, Buckner and Garcia
43. That Girl, Stevie Wonder
44. Private Eyes, Daryl Hall and John Oates
45. Trouble, Lindsey Buckingham
46. Making Love, Roberta Flack
47. Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me, Juice Newton
48. Young Turks, Rod Stewart
49. Freeze-frame, J. Geils Band
50. Keep The Fire Burnin', REO Speedwagon
51. Do You Believe In Love, Huey Lewis and The News
52. Cool Night, Paul Davis
53. Caught Up In You, 38 Special
54. Why Do Fools Fall In Love?, Diana Ross
55. Love In The First Degree, Alabama
56. Hooked On Classics, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (I REALLY hated this one)
57. Wasted On The Way, Crosby, Stills and Nash
58. Think I'm In Love, Eddie Money
59. Love Is In Control, Donna Summer
60. Personally, Karla Bonoff
61. One Hundred Ways, Quincy Jones
62. Blue Eyes, Elton John
63. Our Lips Are Sealed, Go-Go's
64. You Could Have Been Wih Me, Sheena Easton
65. You Can Do Magic, America
66. Did It In A Minute, Daryl Hall and John Oates
67. I Ran, A Flock Of Seagulls
68. Somebody's Baby, Jackson Browne
69. Oh No, Commodores
70. Take It Away, Paul McCartney
71. It's Gonna Take A Miracle, Deneice Williams
72. Love Will Turn You Around, Kenny Rogers
73. Don't Stop Bellevin', Journey
74. Comin' In And Out Of Your Life, Barbra Streisand
75. Gloria, Laura Branigan
76. Empty Garden, Elton John
77. Yesterday's Songs, Neil Diamond
78. Crimson And Clover, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
79. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Police
80. Here I Am, Air Supply
81. I Keep Forgettin', Michael Mcdonald
82. Get Down On It, Kool and The Gang
83. Any Day Now, Ronnie Milsap
84. Make A Move On Me, Olivia Newton-John
85. Take My Heart, Kool and The Gang
86. Mirror Mirror, Diana Ross
87. Vacation, Go-Go's
88. (Oh) Pretty Woman, Van Halen
89. Should I Do It, Pointer Sisters
90. Hot In The City, Billy Idol
91. Kids In America, Kim Wilde
92. Man On Your Mind, Little River Band
93. What's Forever For, Michael Murphy
94. Waiting On A Friend, Rolling Stones
95. Do I Do, Stevie Wonder
96. Working For The Weekend, Loverboy
97. Goin' Down, Greg Guidry
98. Arthur's Theme, Christopher Cross
99. Through The Years, Kenny Rogers
100. Edge Of Seventeen, Stevie Nicks
First go here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the year you graduated high school. Bold the songs you loved to hear, italise the ones you hated and red the ones you don't remember.
Oh god, this doesn't really work for me. I hated almost all commercial music.
1. Physical, Olivia Newton-John
2. Eye Of The Tiger, Survivor
3. I Love Rock N' Roll, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
4. Ebony And Ivory, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
5. Centerfold, J. Geils Band
6. Don't You Want M, Human League
7. Jack And Diane, John Cougar (hated it but knew all the words)
8. Hurts So Good, John Cougar
9. Abracadabra, Steve Miller Band
10. Hard To Say I'm Sorry, Chicago
11. Tainted Love, Soft Cell
12. Chariots Of Fire, Vangelis
13. Harden My Heart, Quarterflash
14. Rosanna, Toto
15. I Can't Go For That, Daryl Hall and John Oates
16. 867-5309 (Jenny), Tommy Tutone
17. Key Largo, Bertie Higgins
18. You Should Hear How She Talks About You, Melissa Manchester
19. Waiting For A Girl Like You, Foreigner (I had a soft spot for Foreigner even though they were totally bogan)
20. Don't Talk To Strangers, Rick Springfield
21. The Sweetest Thing, Juice Newton
22. Always On My Mind, Willie Nelson
23. Shake It Up, Cars
24. Let It Whip, Dazz Band
25. We Got The Beat, Go-Go's
26. The Other Woman, Ray Parker Jr.
27. Turn Your Love Around, George Benson
28. Sweet Dreams, Air Supply
29. Only The Lonely, Motels
30. Who Can It Be Now?, Men At Work
31. Hold Me, Fleetwood Mac
32. Eye In The Sky, Alan Parsons Project
33. Let's Groove, Earth, Wind and Fire
34. Open Arms, Journey
35. Leader Of The Band, Dan Fogelberg
36. Leather And Lace, Stevie Nicks and Don Henley
37. Even The Nights Are Better, Air Supply
38. I've Never Been To Me, Charlene
39. '65 Love Affair, Paul Davis
40. Heat Of The Moment, Asia
41. Take It Easy On Me, Little River Band
42. Pac-man Fever, Buckner and Garcia
43. That Girl, Stevie Wonder
44. Private Eyes, Daryl Hall and John Oates
45. Trouble, Lindsey Buckingham
46. Making Love, Roberta Flack
47. Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me, Juice Newton
48. Young Turks, Rod Stewart
49. Freeze-frame, J. Geils Band
50. Keep The Fire Burnin', REO Speedwagon
51. Do You Believe In Love, Huey Lewis and The News
52. Cool Night, Paul Davis
53. Caught Up In You, 38 Special
54. Why Do Fools Fall In Love?, Diana Ross
55. Love In The First Degree, Alabama
56. Hooked On Classics, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (I REALLY hated this one)
57. Wasted On The Way, Crosby, Stills and Nash
58. Think I'm In Love, Eddie Money
59. Love Is In Control, Donna Summer
60. Personally, Karla Bonoff
61. One Hundred Ways, Quincy Jones
62. Blue Eyes, Elton John
63. Our Lips Are Sealed, Go-Go's
64. You Could Have Been Wih Me, Sheena Easton
65. You Can Do Magic, America
66. Did It In A Minute, Daryl Hall and John Oates
67. I Ran, A Flock Of Seagulls
68. Somebody's Baby, Jackson Browne
69. Oh No, Commodores
70. Take It Away, Paul McCartney
71. It's Gonna Take A Miracle, Deneice Williams
72. Love Will Turn You Around, Kenny Rogers
73. Don't Stop Bellevin', Journey
74. Comin' In And Out Of Your Life, Barbra Streisand
75. Gloria, Laura Branigan
76. Empty Garden, Elton John
77. Yesterday's Songs, Neil Diamond
78. Crimson And Clover, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
79. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Police
80. Here I Am, Air Supply
81. I Keep Forgettin', Michael Mcdonald
82. Get Down On It, Kool and The Gang
83. Any Day Now, Ronnie Milsap
84. Make A Move On Me, Olivia Newton-John
85. Take My Heart, Kool and The Gang
86. Mirror Mirror, Diana Ross
87. Vacation, Go-Go's
88. (Oh) Pretty Woman, Van Halen
89. Should I Do It, Pointer Sisters
90. Hot In The City, Billy Idol
91. Kids In America, Kim Wilde
92. Man On Your Mind, Little River Band
93. What's Forever For, Michael Murphy
94. Waiting On A Friend, Rolling Stones
95. Do I Do, Stevie Wonder
96. Working For The Weekend, Loverboy
97. Goin' Down, Greg Guidry
98. Arthur's Theme, Christopher Cross
99. Through The Years, Kenny Rogers
100. Edge Of Seventeen, Stevie Nicks
I AM NOT DEAD
Okay, it's been over a MONTH since my last confession, I mean, blog. Really, it's pretty sad, but my excuse is that I've been almost continuously working since I got back from holiday. Truly! I know that as a self-employed person I should be pleased about the fact that I am so busy - lots of other people in business would be over the moon. But I would be pleased to have just a little less work. Working till one last night did not have me in raptures going "gosh business is going so well!". I can tell you.
So, has there been anything of interest in my life that I feel like sharing? Let me see. I did have people commenting last week about what a socialite I was. It seems that my photo managed to appear twice on the social pages of the local free rag, the Capital Times. Which ius kinda funny cos I've been too busy to go out much. The two nights I go out I manage to get in the papers. Very amusing. To me anyway.
The holiday was great. Not long enough and way too much driving. SOD doesn't drive and I like to drive very much but there was probably too much time behind the wheel and not enough time doing other things. But it was fun. We had a great night with my brother drinking wine. We ended up putting on all the old records of our childhood which Greg still had stashed away in a big trunk. Was that ever great. Nostalgia is a strange thing. Especially under the influence of copious amounts of wine. (Very good wine too.) SOD and I couldn't remember going off to bed. Smoked too many cigarettes and felt rough doing the trip from Christchurch to Dunners.
And so, what else. Went to Fly My Pretties - only relevant to NZ readers. It was so very very good. It was the Saturday night - the final night - so the vibe was great. The only problem was how much people were drinking which made everyone a bit loud. I had to put on my scary authoritarian voice and told the giggling tittering bimbos in front of us to "shut the fuck up". Wow, rather than turn around and give me the finger they were actually really apologetic. It was pretty funny. I hope it wasn't a respect to an elder. If it was then I should also have slapped them. Hopefully it was just human decency - which makes me feel bad for swearing at them. But at least it shut them up and we happily enjoyed the remainder of the gig.
Sadly that is about all I have to impart. Except that I just bought some new CDs. Oh, and I recently managed to finish a book. But that was mainly read just before going on holiday. Debut novel by Louise Wareham, American writer living in NZ, called Since You Ask, published in NY. Really enjoyed it. A writer to look out for. Back into NZ fiction now for a while with Elizabeth Knox's Dreamhunter.
Listening to: Ivy, assorted downloaded files
So, has there been anything of interest in my life that I feel like sharing? Let me see. I did have people commenting last week about what a socialite I was. It seems that my photo managed to appear twice on the social pages of the local free rag, the Capital Times. Which ius kinda funny cos I've been too busy to go out much. The two nights I go out I manage to get in the papers. Very amusing. To me anyway.
The holiday was great. Not long enough and way too much driving. SOD doesn't drive and I like to drive very much but there was probably too much time behind the wheel and not enough time doing other things. But it was fun. We had a great night with my brother drinking wine. We ended up putting on all the old records of our childhood which Greg still had stashed away in a big trunk. Was that ever great. Nostalgia is a strange thing. Especially under the influence of copious amounts of wine. (Very good wine too.) SOD and I couldn't remember going off to bed. Smoked too many cigarettes and felt rough doing the trip from Christchurch to Dunners.
And so, what else. Went to Fly My Pretties - only relevant to NZ readers. It was so very very good. It was the Saturday night - the final night - so the vibe was great. The only problem was how much people were drinking which made everyone a bit loud. I had to put on my scary authoritarian voice and told the giggling tittering bimbos in front of us to "shut the fuck up". Wow, rather than turn around and give me the finger they were actually really apologetic. It was pretty funny. I hope it wasn't a respect to an elder. If it was then I should also have slapped them. Hopefully it was just human decency - which makes me feel bad for swearing at them. But at least it shut them up and we happily enjoyed the remainder of the gig.
Sadly that is about all I have to impart. Except that I just bought some new CDs. Oh, and I recently managed to finish a book. But that was mainly read just before going on holiday. Debut novel by Louise Wareham, American writer living in NZ, called Since You Ask, published in NY. Really enjoyed it. A writer to look out for. Back into NZ fiction now for a while with Elizabeth Knox's Dreamhunter.
Listening to: Ivy, assorted downloaded files
Friday, September 09, 2005
blog interrupted
The Mountain Goats were so great. Really great. Astonishingly great. Just as much storytellers as musicians. Chatting between songs. I laughed a great deal. Music reviewers are funny people. I met one of them last night. There was another music reviewer there that we were laughing at. I'm not naming names. I drank more than I should and today has been a bit rough. But it was worth it. Had lots of fun and caught up with a few friends. One thing I didn't point out is that the Mountain Goats featured on the soundtrack of Campbell Walker's film Little Bits of Light which I raved on about in another blog post. In fact, they were the soundtrack. And it was a perfect match to the film.
Anyway - heading off in the morning so won't be posting for a while.
Got to remember to:
charge the camera
charge the phone
make a thermos of coffee for the trip
collect together phone numbers of southern friends
make sure I've got the hotel info
get up in time for the ferry
make sure there's enough food so the teenagers don't starve (yes, I'm escaping sans enfants)
Later.
Anyway - heading off in the morning so won't be posting for a while.
Got to remember to:
charge the camera
charge the phone
make a thermos of coffee for the trip
collect together phone numbers of southern friends
make sure I've got the hotel info
get up in time for the ferry
make sure there's enough food so the teenagers don't starve (yes, I'm escaping sans enfants)
Later.
Smoke and Mirrors
SOD's brother Ben has a major show of his work at Aratoi Museum, and the opening is tonight. We've timed our holiday rather badly - we don't have time to head over the hill to Masterton to get to it as we are booked for the early ferry in the morning. How disorganised is that? Anyway, I designed his catalogue for the show and thought I'd get it up online. Here's the link. It's about 1Mb. The cover looks great. The title in the printed version is done in UV overgloss (printing/design geeks will get this). Looks pretty cool. Hopefully we'll get to check out the show the weekend we get back.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
O O O I'm so Excited!
Yes indeed I am. I've been dabbling in the downloading lately. Just picking up a bit of new music here and there. I was doing a search for Dntel (essentially Jimmy Tamborello, who put out the fantastic Life is Full of Possibilities a few years back and who is also half of Postal Service together with Death Cab for Cutie's Benjamin Gibbard) and found an album with a Dntel mix. It's called Monika Force. Celebrates 40 releases under the german label of the same name. This is the first time in ages I've listened to something and just immediately loved it. It's got some chocolatey smooth synth but with that slightly dark germanic edge at times. Nice electronica, slightly glitchy. European sensibilities. What fucking topped it all off with a cherry was a cover of Brian Eno's "I'll Come Running" off Another Green World. In a German accent. Loving it. Hey, and there's a song called "Burka Blue" by an Afghani all-girl band. First listen only so far, but I can see this being on heavy rotation for a few weeks at least.
And I was right about my "Masochistic Tendencies" post. Three hits a day at least for specific searches. I wonder if many of them stick around.
Monday, September 05, 2005
holiday highlight
One of the highlights of our little southern tour is the opening of Matt Couper's show Arbroath Devotional in Christchurch on the night before we head home. Looking good, Mr Couper!
bloc party
Got my ticket for Mountain Goats. Picked up a ticket for Fly My Pretties while I was there. And, of course, there had to be the obligatory CD purchase while I was there. Picked up Bloc Party, Silent Alarm. Not bad. Still on the first listen. Very Brit-pop.
Holiday countdown: five days to go.
Holiday countdown: five days to go.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Polanksi No. 2
Listening to: Department of Eagles, Whitey on the Moon UK LP
I just LOVE these guys. Favourite song on the album: Piano in the Bathtub.
Here's a nice little quote about them.
***"A curiously charming, genre-jumping music that carries trace echoes of the Beta Band, Beck, and (on occasion) Blur at their most whimsical. Eclecticism can often seem forced, but Department of Eagles' magpie instincts are waggish, beguiling, and natural." - Record Collector
Okay, we watched Repulsion this afternoon and I was suitably impressed. I'm glad we saw it soon after his first film – I could spot a few recurring character traits in his characters that I wouldn't have noticed if I'd left more time between viewing. His detached women. His nervous strained men. The cigarettes smoked when under duress. The draped bodies. He likes to film women undressing. The casual disrobing. The only thing that annoyed me was her false eyelashes. Really Roman, they just don't stay on after a rough night of insomnia. And your hair doesn't stay that pretty. But hey, it's only recently that we have come to expect some naturalistic fashioning to our films. But fuck, I loved it. The shot composition was something to be wondered at. You just don't get that nowadays.
I just LOVE these guys. Favourite song on the album: Piano in the Bathtub.
Here's a nice little quote about them.
***"A curiously charming, genre-jumping music that carries trace echoes of the Beta Band, Beck, and (on occasion) Blur at their most whimsical. Eclecticism can often seem forced, but Department of Eagles' magpie instincts are waggish, beguiling, and natural." - Record Collector
Okay, we watched Repulsion this afternoon and I was suitably impressed. I'm glad we saw it soon after his first film – I could spot a few recurring character traits in his characters that I wouldn't have noticed if I'd left more time between viewing. His detached women. His nervous strained men. The cigarettes smoked when under duress. The draped bodies. He likes to film women undressing. The casual disrobing. The only thing that annoyed me was her false eyelashes. Really Roman, they just don't stay on after a rough night of insomnia. And your hair doesn't stay that pretty. But hey, it's only recently that we have come to expect some naturalistic fashioning to our films. But fuck, I loved it. The shot composition was something to be wondered at. You just don't get that nowadays.
Polanski trio
Went to the vid store last night and got out three Polanski films: Knife in the Water, Repulsion, and Cul-de-sac.
I realised that I've only seen one Polanski film. Good lord. I've only seen Rosemary's Baby. How slack of me.
We've decided to watch the films chronologically, so we watched Knife in the Water (1963) last night. This was his feature debut, made in his native Poland. The next two films made were UK productions: Repulsion and Cul-de-Sac.
I enjoyed Knife in the Water. It's great to see a psychological drama that doesn't stoop to sensational plot devices. Set on a yacht over a period of two days, with only three characters, it was still totally engaging. I'm looking forward to watching the other two films.
I realised that I've only seen one Polanski film. Good lord. I've only seen Rosemary's Baby. How slack of me.
We've decided to watch the films chronologically, so we watched Knife in the Water (1963) last night. This was his feature debut, made in his native Poland. The next two films made were UK productions: Repulsion and Cul-de-Sac.
I enjoyed Knife in the Water. It's great to see a psychological drama that doesn't stoop to sensational plot devices. Set on a yacht over a period of two days, with only three characters, it was still totally engaging. I'm looking forward to watching the other two films.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Goats
Hey hey! The Mountain Goats are coming to Wellington. Thursday 8 Sept at Bodega. Gonna be there. Woohoo.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
nostalgia
A night of red wine and an old friend = nostalgia.
First the music. We remember the two records (vinyl, of course) that SOD and I had in common when we got together (1997). The Fall, I Am Curious Oranj and the 12" of New Order's Blue Monday. Actually not that inidicative of our musical tastes, but an interesting cross-section nonetheless.
We are right now listening to our pick of the bunch, and presently we are listening to one of my Cilla Black records (whom I adore). Paul has fixed our turntable connection. Listening to What the World Needs Now (Bacharach). Romantic childhood music.
Have also been trawling through some old digital snaps. Bought my first digital camera in December 2001 just before heading off to East Timor on a three-month contract for the UN.
Going to Timor was pretty mind blowing. The only time I had been overseas before this was going to Brisbane, Australia with my Nana at age 13. Doesn't really count, eh? So heading off to war-torn East Timor was a bit of a shock. Here are some pics. Beautiful country. Beautiful people. I met some people I will never forget.. Viva Timor Lorosae!
Here's some pics. Maubisse at dawn (the most magnificent view I've seen in my life - the pic doesn't do it justice).
Timorese family at Maubisse.
Grave sites at Maubisse. There are many pre-1999 grave sites. Casualties during the Indonesian occupation were large.
I really want to go back to Timor one day. I know I haven't travelled much, so don't have much to go by. But hey, they is one beautiful country.
First the music. We remember the two records (vinyl, of course) that SOD and I had in common when we got together (1997). The Fall, I Am Curious Oranj and the 12" of New Order's Blue Monday. Actually not that inidicative of our musical tastes, but an interesting cross-section nonetheless.
We are right now listening to our pick of the bunch, and presently we are listening to one of my Cilla Black records (whom I adore). Paul has fixed our turntable connection. Listening to What the World Needs Now (Bacharach). Romantic childhood music.
Have also been trawling through some old digital snaps. Bought my first digital camera in December 2001 just before heading off to East Timor on a three-month contract for the UN.
Going to Timor was pretty mind blowing. The only time I had been overseas before this was going to Brisbane, Australia with my Nana at age 13. Doesn't really count, eh? So heading off to war-torn East Timor was a bit of a shock. Here are some pics. Beautiful country. Beautiful people. I met some people I will never forget.. Viva Timor Lorosae!
Here's some pics. Maubisse at dawn (the most magnificent view I've seen in my life - the pic doesn't do it justice).
Timorese family at Maubisse.
Grave sites at Maubisse. There are many pre-1999 grave sites. Casualties during the Indonesian occupation were large.
I really want to go back to Timor one day. I know I haven't travelled much, so don't have much to go by. But hey, they is one beautiful country.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Indoctrination at an early age
Listening to: Autechre, Draft
If you're going to indoctrinate your kids you've got to start at 'em early. So say these lovely folk who have put out such a useful book. If you vote don't like paying taxes to look after the poor and disadvantaged then here's the book to convince your kids in a really simplistic way that being greedy and self-centred is not just okay, but admirable. "Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed combines an ingenious story with hilarious illustrations to teach kids about the value of hard work and the threat that taxes pose to the American Dream." – Grover Norquist, president, Americans for Tax Reform.
It just wrong!
If you're going to indoctrinate your kids you've got to start at 'em early. So say these lovely folk who have put out such a useful book. If you vote don't like paying taxes to look after the poor and disadvantaged then here's the book to convince your kids in a really simplistic way that being greedy and self-centred is not just okay, but admirable. "Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed combines an ingenious story with hilarious illustrations to teach kids about the value of hard work and the threat that taxes pose to the American Dream." – Grover Norquist, president, Americans for Tax Reform.
It just wrong!
tripping around in the red rover
Had a nice afternoon up the coast today. I had organised a photo shoot up in Otaki so most of the afternoon was spent kicking around on the sand. Warm and sunny and made me want summer to hurry the fuck up. Heres' a photo of the beach. Otaki Beach.
Headed over the big hill to Masterton in the weekend. It was so sunny over there - not like cloudy old Wellington. Shiny sun. Kids in the car. Off to see their dad. Caught up with Ben and Ang on the way home and checked out their kitchen-supreme and newly painted Persimmon Lounge. They are my DIY heros. Did the usual buy-up of fresh veg and some yummy manuka honey. Blah blah, boring incidentals.
It's nice to get out of Welly - just don't do it often enough. I love to drive the red rover. Can't wait for my trip down south in a couple of weeks. vroom vroom go red rover.
Kicking around home tonight. Should be doing some work - I'm such a slavedriver of a boss to myself. Always making myself work weekends and evenings. I'm a crap boss. Although I did just let myself lay around on the couch watching John Safran vs God on DVD. The final episode devoted to his exorcism was creepy. John was making some scary demon noises. John, I didn't think you were that kind of boy. Anyway, it was a great series. I just hope the next series he makes isn't him teaming up with that freaking exorcist roaming around Australia casting out the devil. But really, he did seem to be taking the casting-out-satan thing a bit seriously. And so did the camera guys.
Okay, on to the work now. Sadly so.
Headed over the big hill to Masterton in the weekend. It was so sunny over there - not like cloudy old Wellington. Shiny sun. Kids in the car. Off to see their dad. Caught up with Ben and Ang on the way home and checked out their kitchen-supreme and newly painted Persimmon Lounge. They are my DIY heros. Did the usual buy-up of fresh veg and some yummy manuka honey. Blah blah, boring incidentals.
It's nice to get out of Welly - just don't do it often enough. I love to drive the red rover. Can't wait for my trip down south in a couple of weeks. vroom vroom go red rover.
Kicking around home tonight. Should be doing some work - I'm such a slavedriver of a boss to myself. Always making myself work weekends and evenings. I'm a crap boss. Although I did just let myself lay around on the couch watching John Safran vs God on DVD. The final episode devoted to his exorcism was creepy. John was making some scary demon noises. John, I didn't think you were that kind of boy. Anyway, it was a great series. I just hope the next series he makes isn't him teaming up with that freaking exorcist roaming around Australia casting out the devil. But really, he did seem to be taking the casting-out-satan thing a bit seriously. And so did the camera guys.
Okay, on to the work now. Sadly so.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
My Big Fat Film List
Okay, I said I was gonna do it, so here it is: all the movies I saw at this year's film festival. No links - feeling lazy. Some ratings added where I can remember if I really liked the film or really hated it.
9 Songs (yep, it was okay really)
Hidden
Cinévardaphoto (excellent)
Délamu
Le Pont des Arts (gorgeous)
Decasia (excellent)
Little Sky
Little Bits of Light (yay, so good)
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse
The Future of Food
It's All Gone Pete Tong (good for a laugh)
World Mirror Cinema (made me fall asleep - and I like slow films...)
Tony Takitani (stylish and beautiful)
3-Iron
Pin Boy
Mysterious Skin
Late Bloomer (one of the very best)
Fiction Artists (up there with Decasia for experimental film)
Bombón - El Perro
2046 (over-rated - I never really got In The Mood for Love either)
Godzilla Final Wars (crazy and fun)
A Decent Factory
Grizzly Man (excellent)
In the Realms of the Unreal
Yes
Sorceress of the New Piano
The White Diamond (excellent)
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (excellent)
Forty Shades of Blue
Kings and Queen
The Wayward Cloud (I did not enjoy this much at all, but can't say it's a bad film - I just found it disturbing)
Czech Dream (excellent)
Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (excellent)
Occupation: Dreamland (great)
Rize (woohoo! loved it so much)
Bill Morrison Short Films (very cool)
Inside\Out (great)
Broken Flowers (not Jarmucsh's best, but good)
Duck Season (beautiful and funny)
Dig! (good music doco)
The Edukators (great)
Look Both Ways
Darwin's Nightmare (great but frightening doco)
Monster Road
Tarnation (great! but a little morally repugnant in a way)
9 Songs (yep, it was okay really)
Hidden
Cinévardaphoto (excellent)
Délamu
Le Pont des Arts (gorgeous)
Decasia (excellent)
Little Sky
Little Bits of Light (yay, so good)
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse
The Future of Food
It's All Gone Pete Tong (good for a laugh)
World Mirror Cinema (made me fall asleep - and I like slow films...)
Tony Takitani (stylish and beautiful)
3-Iron
Pin Boy
Mysterious Skin
Late Bloomer (one of the very best)
Fiction Artists (up there with Decasia for experimental film)
Bombón - El Perro
2046 (over-rated - I never really got In The Mood for Love either)
Godzilla Final Wars (crazy and fun)
A Decent Factory
Grizzly Man (excellent)
In the Realms of the Unreal
Yes
Sorceress of the New Piano
The White Diamond (excellent)
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (excellent)
Forty Shades of Blue
Kings and Queen
The Wayward Cloud (I did not enjoy this much at all, but can't say it's a bad film - I just found it disturbing)
Czech Dream (excellent)
Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (excellent)
Occupation: Dreamland (great)
Rize (woohoo! loved it so much)
Bill Morrison Short Films (very cool)
Inside\Out (great)
Broken Flowers (not Jarmucsh's best, but good)
Duck Season (beautiful and funny)
Dig! (good music doco)
The Edukators (great)
Look Both Ways
Darwin's Nightmare (great but frightening doco)
Monster Road
Tarnation (great! but a little morally repugnant in a way)
taking the piss out of art
Got sent links to some extremely funny piss-take songs by The Histrionics.
Check out:
From their album Never Mind the Pollocks (I just love that title)
Hip to Paint Squares
Me and My Third Hand
From their album The Histrionics
Tracey (as in Tracey Emin)
I Shot Andy Warhol (I imagined this was going to be to the tune of I Shot the Sheriff, but no, it's to I Love Rock'n'Roll)
Thanks for the links Ben and Ange!
Check out:
From their album Never Mind the Pollocks (I just love that title)
Hip to Paint Squares
Me and My Third Hand
From their album The Histrionics
Tracey (as in Tracey Emin)
I Shot Andy Warhol (I imagined this was going to be to the tune of I Shot the Sheriff, but no, it's to I Love Rock'n'Roll)
Thanks for the links Ben and Ange!
Monday, August 15, 2005
masochistic tendencies
Not only did I join WeightWatchers today, I also joined the fricking gym. I already had the idea of joining the gym but it became a little more obvious that I needed it when I did the weigh-in at WeightWatchers - I hadn't weighed myself in ages and it was a little alarming. Soooo, I'm off to the gym tomorrow for the first time. Need to get some of those silly gym clothes. I don't have any of that kind of stuff cos I'm just not that kind of person. I think my body is in for a rude shock. I'm not going to divulge my weight here, but I will update the blog on how much I lose.
I wonder how many hits I'll get for people searching for "masochistic tendencies". Well they won't find much of interest here unless they have a strange fetish for weight loss and excercise...
I wonder how many hits I'll get for people searching for "masochistic tendencies". Well they won't find much of interest here unless they have a strange fetish for weight loss and excercise...
Sunday, August 14, 2005
blogger block
Listening to: Elliot Smith from a basement on the hill
Haven't blogged for a while and all my most recent blogs have been about films. Seeing shitloads of films all in one go does something weird to my brain. I still haven't quite recovered. It's like my brain got all filled up with images and ideas from the films and my grey matter is still sorting and deciphering on the fly and there isn't any room for anything else yet. I get mental images from the films every now and then jumping into other thoughts. Sometimes when I try to think about some of the films they get jumbled up with other ones. I'm thinking that something about the way my brain works now is not as sharp as it used to be. I used to have a real sharp brain (I like to think) but at times I go to pluck for a word from my brain and I get a blank. Like, I don't even smoke weed so I can't used that as an excuse, so I guess I have to put it down to being over 40 now. It all sucks. And then there's the effect of ageing on my body which I don't want to think about at all. I noticed the other day that I have the beginnings of an "old lady neck" where gravity is starting to do it's nasty nasty work and there's no holding it back. Fuck I hate it. I don't feel at all like a 41-year-old but I'm sure starting to look it. The old metabolism is slowing down and I'm even sending myself off to Weightwatchers next week. Yuck yuck yuck! It makes me feel shabby and it's such a boring thing to be doing. I have way better things to do with my time.
Anyway, cheered myself up with some music purchases. First a big bunch of stuff at Real Groovy along with some new CD shelves to replace the big messy piles of CDs that my office usually full of. Which made me realise how few CDs I actually have - they looked a lot more impressive in their wonky piles, but a bit hard to sift through. So of course I had to buy more so I went off to the Big Smoke sale at Smoke CDs. Was served my lovely friend Jules which was very nice. My favourite buy was Venetian Snares.
I'm really procrastinating right now cos I'm meant to be doing stinky old work. I have a couple of deadlines at the moment. Also, I can't invoice these jobs till they are done and I need the money rolling in. SOD and I are off to the South Island for a short road trip. Taking the little Red Rover rather than flying. Will be down in Christchurch for the opening of Mr Couper's show so hanging with Matt and Jo that night will be sweet. BUT we are going to miss Ben's show at Aratoi in Masterton. Most annoyed, but just didn't check the goddamn dates before organising our trip.
Okay gotta do some stinky work.
Haven't blogged for a while and all my most recent blogs have been about films. Seeing shitloads of films all in one go does something weird to my brain. I still haven't quite recovered. It's like my brain got all filled up with images and ideas from the films and my grey matter is still sorting and deciphering on the fly and there isn't any room for anything else yet. I get mental images from the films every now and then jumping into other thoughts. Sometimes when I try to think about some of the films they get jumbled up with other ones. I'm thinking that something about the way my brain works now is not as sharp as it used to be. I used to have a real sharp brain (I like to think) but at times I go to pluck for a word from my brain and I get a blank. Like, I don't even smoke weed so I can't used that as an excuse, so I guess I have to put it down to being over 40 now. It all sucks. And then there's the effect of ageing on my body which I don't want to think about at all. I noticed the other day that I have the beginnings of an "old lady neck" where gravity is starting to do it's nasty nasty work and there's no holding it back. Fuck I hate it. I don't feel at all like a 41-year-old but I'm sure starting to look it. The old metabolism is slowing down and I'm even sending myself off to Weightwatchers next week. Yuck yuck yuck! It makes me feel shabby and it's such a boring thing to be doing. I have way better things to do with my time.
Anyway, cheered myself up with some music purchases. First a big bunch of stuff at Real Groovy along with some new CD shelves to replace the big messy piles of CDs that my office usually full of. Which made me realise how few CDs I actually have - they looked a lot more impressive in their wonky piles, but a bit hard to sift through. So of course I had to buy more so I went off to the Big Smoke sale at Smoke CDs. Was served my lovely friend Jules which was very nice. My favourite buy was Venetian Snares.
I'm really procrastinating right now cos I'm meant to be doing stinky old work. I have a couple of deadlines at the moment. Also, I can't invoice these jobs till they are done and I need the money rolling in. SOD and I are off to the South Island for a short road trip. Taking the little Red Rover rather than flying. Will be down in Christchurch for the opening of Mr Couper's show so hanging with Matt and Jo that night will be sweet. BUT we are going to miss Ben's show at Aratoi in Masterton. Most annoyed, but just didn't check the goddamn dates before organising our trip.
Okay gotta do some stinky work.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
I'm pooped
It's all over. I saw 43 films this year. Yay! Will post a list soon. But for now, it catching-up-on-work time. Boo hiss.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Almost halfway
It's just after 11.00pm and I just got back from Late Bloomer. I bet there'll be a few people doing searches for world's end girlfriend when they get home. They did the freakily sublime soundtrack. This is a bit of an outsider debut for Shibata Go, who was a guest of the festival and who stayed after the screening for a Q&A, assisted by a translator. It was the story of a handicapped guy in a wheelchair who turned mean when his crush on his cute new college girl caregiver turned sour - firstly killing his other (male) caregiver (who was started to cosy up to his colleague), and then going on to knife total strangers in the street. It was shot in grainy black and white digital and was edited with mad genius, sometimes with sudden explosive frenzies of chopped up images echoed by mad rushes of distorted electronic music, courtesy of the aforementioned soundtrack artists. This has been one of the highlights. What a shame the audience wasn't bigger.
I can't say the same for the film I saw last night - Pin Boy. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was no good - for what it was, it was quite lovely. It's just that what it was wasn't really very much! A quiet, sparse story teamed with some authentic characters with little dialogue and long long shots. A young man from the sticks who has moved to the city to stay with his cousin and work as a "pin boy" in a blowling alley. SOD slept through it and really I could have missed this one. Still, as I say, I didn't really dislike it, it just didn't move me much.
Wednesday night was 3-Iron, a Korean film about a young guy who broke into people's houses while they were on holiday, ate their food, watched their TVs and generally made himself at home for a day or two and... washed their clothes, tidied up and fixed broken appliances. One of the houses isn't empty though and he meets a young battered wife of a rich bastard of a husband... and we have a quirky little love story. I enjoyed the quiet humour of this film and the minimal use of dialogue. Nice.
Today I went to see Mysterious Skin. I feel uncomfortable about this film. I guess it's thhe one that David Lane (Society for the Promotion of Community Standards) should have gone for if he had any brains. 9 Songs may have included explicit sex, but it was straightforward sex between consenting adults, unlike Mysterious Skin which included descriptions of a paedophile instructing an 8-year-old to fist him. I get what the filmmaker is trying to say. There are two kids, each sexually abused at the age of 8 by their Little League coach. One is a sensitive little guy who is emotionally scarred by the event, the other is a sexually precocious little boy who is already finding something attractive about grown-up men and who looks back with a strange fondness towards the man who abused him. He sees the summer of his abuse as a defining time in his life, and in a positive way. The other boy blanks out his experience and concludes from the bits he can recall that he was abducted by aliens. The film culminates in his realisation of the truth. So, different people are affected differently by their childhood experiences. But what bothers me by this film is that when a paedophile sees it they may feel somehow vindicated by it - that maybe their victims really enjoy it and that an 8-year-old can participate willingly and enjoy the experience. I don't know the statistics, but I can't imagine that very many 8-year-old molestation victims would fit into this category. I dunno, I have to think about that one some more. It was a good film, and having had conversations in the past with gay guys, I know that they came to the realisation of their sexuality early, and also had sexual feelings really early, but I just feel uncomfortable about the message that the film could be giving to sexual predators.
Well, that's me for now. I'm off to four films tomorrow. Still nine days to go!
I can't say the same for the film I saw last night - Pin Boy. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was no good - for what it was, it was quite lovely. It's just that what it was wasn't really very much! A quiet, sparse story teamed with some authentic characters with little dialogue and long long shots. A young man from the sticks who has moved to the city to stay with his cousin and work as a "pin boy" in a blowling alley. SOD slept through it and really I could have missed this one. Still, as I say, I didn't really dislike it, it just didn't move me much.
Wednesday night was 3-Iron, a Korean film about a young guy who broke into people's houses while they were on holiday, ate their food, watched their TVs and generally made himself at home for a day or two and... washed their clothes, tidied up and fixed broken appliances. One of the houses isn't empty though and he meets a young battered wife of a rich bastard of a husband... and we have a quirky little love story. I enjoyed the quiet humour of this film and the minimal use of dialogue. Nice.
Today I went to see Mysterious Skin. I feel uncomfortable about this film. I guess it's thhe one that David Lane (Society for the Promotion of Community Standards) should have gone for if he had any brains. 9 Songs may have included explicit sex, but it was straightforward sex between consenting adults, unlike Mysterious Skin which included descriptions of a paedophile instructing an 8-year-old to fist him. I get what the filmmaker is trying to say. There are two kids, each sexually abused at the age of 8 by their Little League coach. One is a sensitive little guy who is emotionally scarred by the event, the other is a sexually precocious little boy who is already finding something attractive about grown-up men and who looks back with a strange fondness towards the man who abused him. He sees the summer of his abuse as a defining time in his life, and in a positive way. The other boy blanks out his experience and concludes from the bits he can recall that he was abducted by aliens. The film culminates in his realisation of the truth. So, different people are affected differently by their childhood experiences. But what bothers me by this film is that when a paedophile sees it they may feel somehow vindicated by it - that maybe their victims really enjoy it and that an 8-year-old can participate willingly and enjoy the experience. I don't know the statistics, but I can't imagine that very many 8-year-old molestation victims would fit into this category. I dunno, I have to think about that one some more. It was a good film, and having had conversations in the past with gay guys, I know that they came to the realisation of their sexuality early, and also had sexual feelings really early, but I just feel uncomfortable about the message that the film could be giving to sexual predators.
Well, that's me for now. I'm off to four films tomorrow. Still nine days to go!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Six days in...
Well, it was the sixth day of the Film Festival today and I only managed one film, although I had planned for three. I missed the Uruguyan sock factory movie, Whisky, and that's a damned shame. And I was meant to see Claire Denis' L'intrus (The Intruder), but after sitting through ninety minutes of very repetitive found footage going under the name of World Mirror Cinema, I just flagged. What I had thought was going to be captivating cutting edge cinema turned out to be a sadly miscontrued effort at reconstruction with a thematic approach. I was pretty bummed and ended up sleeping through long spells. It was just not worth the effort of trying to stay awake (although embarassingly I woke myself twice with the sound of my own snoring).
Fabulous though, was much of my Sunday viewing. I started the day with the marvellous Decasia by Bill Morrison. He takes found footage, but not just any old stuff, it has to be decaying. It's amazing the forms this took - from milky opalescence to crackling edged eye-popping bacterial scourges. There were pulsating shimmering halos around dark black shadows. From the midst of the decay were the remnants of the original images, at times emerging from amorphous blobs, at others being swallowed up by melting milkyness. The old footage in itself was gratifyingly gorgeous - a whirling dervish spins into decay; two nuns stand with their backs to us like forboding black sentinels while little children run in a line (at an orphange?) while the film decay causes apocalyptic light effects; a kimono-clad Japanese woman merges in and out of intricate organic blobs; planes fly through a decaying sky dropping little parachutists. This was a gorgeous eye-fest and anyone who can only handle narrative should go along to film like this and think "art gallery" - this isn't a story, don;t expect a story, just love the images. Meditate upon the beauty. This is the stuff that feeds my soul.
My next film on Sunday was Little Sky. Had quite a cry at this one. Delicately shot social realism in Argentina. Harrowing but inevitable ending.
Oh, and then Campbell Walker's latest, Little Bits of Light. I understand people walking out - I heard a few behind me not too far into the film - as this is not fare for the everyday festival-goer. It's not an easy experience: it's not entertaining, it's discomforting, it makes you feel claustrophobic in its closeness to the characters. Just one couple, just one weekend, and we're up close and personal with them all the way. 9 Songs has the intimacy of a quiet afternoon tea next to this, and I'm not talking sex. Helen is depressed and Alex tries all he can to help her through the darkness of it all - the days are bad but the nights are hellish. Now, I've been in the place she findshttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif herself, and I must commend Nia Robyn on her amazing portrayal of the depressed pysche. It was a rewarding and emotionally satisfying film and the soundtrack of the Mountain Goats went so well with the Taranaki landscape.
To top off the day I got along to League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse. Light relief it was, which is just what I was after since it had been a full-on day.
Monday was good too - The Future of Food - made by Gerry Garcia's wife, nonetheless. US patenting laws are totally scary. Anyone who saw The Corporation last year should get along to this. I sincerely hope this gets general release. People need to know about this shit. Then a bit of fun - - what I would call a Spinal Tap movie for the rave generation. Some great moments and a total pisstake of the Ibiza scene.
Got to try to make it to Tony Takitani in the morning. Let's see if I can get up early and get all my work done!
Fabulous though, was much of my Sunday viewing. I started the day with the marvellous Decasia by Bill Morrison. He takes found footage, but not just any old stuff, it has to be decaying. It's amazing the forms this took - from milky opalescence to crackling edged eye-popping bacterial scourges. There were pulsating shimmering halos around dark black shadows. From the midst of the decay were the remnants of the original images, at times emerging from amorphous blobs, at others being swallowed up by melting milkyness. The old footage in itself was gratifyingly gorgeous - a whirling dervish spins into decay; two nuns stand with their backs to us like forboding black sentinels while little children run in a line (at an orphange?) while the film decay causes apocalyptic light effects; a kimono-clad Japanese woman merges in and out of intricate organic blobs; planes fly through a decaying sky dropping little parachutists. This was a gorgeous eye-fest and anyone who can only handle narrative should go along to film like this and think "art gallery" - this isn't a story, don;t expect a story, just love the images. Meditate upon the beauty. This is the stuff that feeds my soul.
My next film on Sunday was Little Sky. Had quite a cry at this one. Delicately shot social realism in Argentina. Harrowing but inevitable ending.
Oh, and then Campbell Walker's latest, Little Bits of Light. I understand people walking out - I heard a few behind me not too far into the film - as this is not fare for the everyday festival-goer. It's not an easy experience: it's not entertaining, it's discomforting, it makes you feel claustrophobic in its closeness to the characters. Just one couple, just one weekend, and we're up close and personal with them all the way. 9 Songs has the intimacy of a quiet afternoon tea next to this, and I'm not talking sex. Helen is depressed and Alex tries all he can to help her through the darkness of it all - the days are bad but the nights are hellish. Now, I've been in the place she findshttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif herself, and I must commend Nia Robyn on her amazing portrayal of the depressed pysche. It was a rewarding and emotionally satisfying film and the soundtrack of the Mountain Goats went so well with the Taranaki landscape.
To top off the day I got along to League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse. Light relief it was, which is just what I was after since it had been a full-on day.
Monday was good too - The Future of Food - made by Gerry Garcia's wife, nonetheless. US patenting laws are totally scary. Anyone who saw The Corporation last year should get along to this. I sincerely hope this gets general release. People need to know about this shit. Then a bit of fun - - what I would call a Spinal Tap movie for the rave generation. Some great moments and a total pisstake of the Ibiza scene.
Got to try to make it to Tony Takitani in the morning. Let's see if I can get up early and get all my work done!
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Le Pont des Arts
It's 11.30pm and I just got back from Les Pont des Arts. I'm glad I took my daughter Chloe to this rather than SOD as I'm not sure he would have enjoyed it at all. The final scene was a little on the metaphysical side and some of the acting was a little theatrically inclined. Anyway, I rather liked it. The only thing I found a bit pissy was the way the gay men were portrayed, but it was fairly integral to the story and also gave some light relief. I'm gonna have to go out and get some baroque music now. The main piece of music in the film was sublime - Monteverdi's Lamento della ninfa.
Spending all day at the movies
The Film Festival has started. I'm about to exhaust myself with a two-and-a-half week movie marathon. Fun. Thursday night was Gala Opening with then copius amounts of bubbly and beer. Movie was okay. Anime not really my thing.
Next day had 9 Songs on a hangover. Too many grotty old pervy men who didn't look like they belonged at a festival film. Managed to block their presence out for most of the film. The sex scenes to Michael Nyman's piano was by turns erotic and sweet. It was better than I expected. I had read a bit about it and knew it was essentially sex interspersed by rock gigs all the way through, but the sex marked points in the relationship until the end when she left. You could see the relationship faltering towards the end when they started getting into sex toys and domination. At the beginning all they needed was each other. Interesting film. I can see why some people don't like it, but my thinking is that sex is mostly portrayed in our cullture through pornography, and it was enlightening to see a mature film deal with it as pure subject matter instead of titillation. In the context of the film I didn't find the explicit portrayal of intercourse at all degrading or offputting. I wonder if the raincoat brigade got anything out of it?
Last night was the public opening with Hidden, a film that still has me thinking.
Today started with Cinevardaphoto, three films by Agnes Varda. Exquisite. Had moments of overwhelming sense of wonder and joy contemplating how much humans can express with their art. I know there will be films I will see during the festival that will have me crying tears for the other end of the spectrum of life as a human being. That's what the festival is all about.
Now off to Delamu, then tonight to Les Pont des Arts. Four films tommorrow!
Next day had 9 Songs on a hangover. Too many grotty old pervy men who didn't look like they belonged at a festival film. Managed to block their presence out for most of the film. The sex scenes to Michael Nyman's piano was by turns erotic and sweet. It was better than I expected. I had read a bit about it and knew it was essentially sex interspersed by rock gigs all the way through, but the sex marked points in the relationship until the end when she left. You could see the relationship faltering towards the end when they started getting into sex toys and domination. At the beginning all they needed was each other. Interesting film. I can see why some people don't like it, but my thinking is that sex is mostly portrayed in our cullture through pornography, and it was enlightening to see a mature film deal with it as pure subject matter instead of titillation. In the context of the film I didn't find the explicit portrayal of intercourse at all degrading or offputting. I wonder if the raincoat brigade got anything out of it?
Last night was the public opening with Hidden, a film that still has me thinking.
Today started with Cinevardaphoto, three films by Agnes Varda. Exquisite. Had moments of overwhelming sense of wonder and joy contemplating how much humans can express with their art. I know there will be films I will see during the festival that will have me crying tears for the other end of the spectrum of life as a human being. That's what the festival is all about.
Now off to Delamu, then tonight to Les Pont des Arts. Four films tommorrow!
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Old school remedies
Listening to: my HP printer at 12.43 at night. The end of my working day.
I had a weird moment tonight. I came home and found that a couple of embers had left some nasty burned marks on the carpet in front of the fire. We rent our house, so these kind of things make me gasp. (I guess if you own your own home, you might also gasp a smidgen.) Anyway, from the depths of some part of my brain came the memory of reading something about rubbing a silver coin on the burned spot. And it worked. Where had I heard this from? My mother? Some old magazine from back in the day? (They used to have handy tips for the housewife back in the old times you know, not the latest on Brad and Angelina.) Memories are so strange like that. You remember something but you have no idea where the hell it came from. I just DO NOT know where that came from, but it surfaced when needed. God, I think I'm getting old.
I had a weird moment tonight. I came home and found that a couple of embers had left some nasty burned marks on the carpet in front of the fire. We rent our house, so these kind of things make me gasp. (I guess if you own your own home, you might also gasp a smidgen.) Anyway, from the depths of some part of my brain came the memory of reading something about rubbing a silver coin on the burned spot. And it worked. Where had I heard this from? My mother? Some old magazine from back in the day? (They used to have handy tips for the housewife back in the old times you know, not the latest on Brad and Angelina.) Memories are so strange like that. You remember something but you have no idea where the hell it came from. I just DO NOT know where that came from, but it surfaced when needed. God, I think I'm getting old.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
too much chocolate
Listening to: Bailter Space, Wammo
We have a few chocolate goodies left here at the Festival office after our programme launch (they were from the goodies bags given out to the invited guests). I just ate an Enduro bar (thoroughly recommended) and then a Toffee Pops bar. I feel sick. Unsurprisingly. Why do we do these things to ourselves.
Busily working at the moment on the Updated Schedules. These include late confirmation films and visiting guests. And hey! We have finally confirmed the latest Jim Jarmusch film, Broken Flowers. It's gonna be good.
We have a few chocolate goodies left here at the Festival office after our programme launch (they were from the goodies bags given out to the invited guests). I just ate an Enduro bar (thoroughly recommended) and then a Toffee Pops bar. I feel sick. Unsurprisingly. Why do we do these things to ourselves.
Busily working at the moment on the Updated Schedules. These include late confirmation films and visiting guests. And hey! We have finally confirmed the latest Jim Jarmusch film, Broken Flowers. It's gonna be good.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
It's my birthday and I'll work if I want to.
Yes, it's my birthday, but it doesn't slow down the machine that is my working life. I've had lots of nice phone calls this morning and a couple of texts to remind me that it's a celebratory occasion today and I'm meant to be going out for dinner with SOD tonight, although I haven't booked anywhere. Hopefully I don't end up having to go somewhere crap because I haven't got it organised...
Anyway, back to work. I also really need to do some invoicing this month if I want to get paid. Still some May work I haven't invoiced for.
Oh and yeah, the Film Festival programme for Wellington is now out on the streets. Get your tickets booked, everyone! I've now got to work out what I'm going to get along to. Already watched five on tape, so still around 135 to choose from!
Anyway, back to work. I also really need to do some invoicing this month if I want to get paid. Still some May work I haven't invoiced for.
Oh and yeah, the Film Festival programme for Wellington is now out on the streets. Get your tickets booked, everyone! I've now got to work out what I'm going to get along to. Already watched five on tape, so still around 135 to choose from!
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Flagging
I was meant to be working tonight and getting some of my projects underway, but I made the mistake of buying one of those little half bottles of wine at the supermarket on the way home. It was Chianti and my reasoning was that if I had just a couple of glasses then I would be fine and I could do all my work. But no - SOD and I drank the little bottle and then wanted more. SOD went down to the diary (they sell wine!). So here I am, with a tiny bit of work done and a little on the drunk side. If feels nice - it's been a while. But how will I feel about it in the morning?
Anyway - on the work side - the film festival programme goes to print on Friday - the files need to be off in the ether around 5 in the afternoon. It's still in the process of being scheduled - and one film in particular is still being waited on - will we get it or won't we. And I can't tell you what it is, but I CAN tell you that it's very important in the scheme of things. All in good time.
Have been listening to the latest Boom Bip - Blue Eyed in the Red Room. I downloaded it with the wonderful SoulSeek, but really really want the real thing. I think Boom Bip is my musique du jour, but am experiencing a wondrous rebirth of Bailter Space. What does Bailter mean?
Anyway - on the work side - the film festival programme goes to print on Friday - the files need to be off in the ether around 5 in the afternoon. It's still in the process of being scheduled - and one film in particular is still being waited on - will we get it or won't we. And I can't tell you what it is, but I CAN tell you that it's very important in the scheme of things. All in good time.
Have been listening to the latest Boom Bip - Blue Eyed in the Red Room. I downloaded it with the wonderful SoulSeek, but really really want the real thing. I think Boom Bip is my musique du jour, but am experiencing a wondrous rebirth of Bailter Space. What does Bailter mean?
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Fucking with signs
This a sign SOD and I saw on our holiday travels not so long ago on the back road along Queen Charlotte Sound.
And here's another example of creative sign additions I was emailed today.
And here's another example of creative sign additions I was emailed today.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Bridget Riley
Anyone living in Wellington should definitely try to get along to the Bridget Riley show at the City Gallery.
Here's a taste:
Eye-assualting genius. Take some dark glasses and panadol.
Actually, make an evening of it, like I'm going to do and catch the sublime music of Seht at one of the City Gallery's Late Night Sessions (god, aren't they getting so hip at the gallery!?).
Here's a taste:
Eye-assualting genius. Take some dark glasses and panadol.
Actually, make an evening of it, like I'm going to do and catch the sublime music of Seht at one of the City Gallery's Late Night Sessions (god, aren't they getting so hip at the gallery!?).
My street art blog
Just updated the old ARTONTHESTREETS, and it's been quite some time since I did that. Nice to put some new stuff up.
I've just spent Mothers Day working, but did manage to crack open a bottle of bubbles tonight. A nice celebration because a.) it was Mothers Day and I'm a mother, and b.) SOD has just moved back in with me so it is all Happy Families. Hurrah!! It wasn't just any old bubble either, it was a bottle of Veuve Cliquot that my printer gave me a while back because he hadn't managed to take me out for a Christmas lunch.
Been working most of the weekend. It's been kinda nice 'cos I'm feeling as though I am almost caught up with my work. And I've been happy with my creative levels - not something I can always say, but at the moment the ideas are flowing. Thankfully.
I'm now at the beginnnig of my film festival work - I received the first bunch of film blurbs for layout on Thursday. The next two months are going to be scary and crazy. But strangely I look forward to this time of year. What the hell is wrong with me? Do I have some freakish masochistic tendencies? Let's not go there.
I've just spent Mothers Day working, but did manage to crack open a bottle of bubbles tonight. A nice celebration because a.) it was Mothers Day and I'm a mother, and b.) SOD has just moved back in with me so it is all Happy Families. Hurrah!! It wasn't just any old bubble either, it was a bottle of Veuve Cliquot that my printer gave me a while back because he hadn't managed to take me out for a Christmas lunch.
Been working most of the weekend. It's been kinda nice 'cos I'm feeling as though I am almost caught up with my work. And I've been happy with my creative levels - not something I can always say, but at the moment the ideas are flowing. Thankfully.
I'm now at the beginnnig of my film festival work - I received the first bunch of film blurbs for layout on Thursday. The next two months are going to be scary and crazy. But strangely I look forward to this time of year. What the hell is wrong with me? Do I have some freakish masochistic tendencies? Let's not go there.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Gingerbread yum yum
Inspired by Stephen's latest kitchen craftery, I have been busy this evening whipping up a quick Old-fashioned Gingerbread. It's bloody nice. (I wonder what it would be like with a little quince jam?) It's made with molasses and treacle, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Still another forty minutes in the oven. Looking forward to scoffing some tonight with a nice cup of tea. Ah, homely pleasures.
Watched the Metallica doco last night. Managed to sleep through quite a bit of it unfortunately due to imbibing a few glasses of red wine. Proved to be quite soporific combined with a nice blazing fire. Stupidly we started watching the movie at 11pm, and it was quite long. Very amusing - heavy metal musicians going through new age therapy, and using it to aid in the making of their album, St. Anger. There were some great lines.
Tomorrow is not going to be much fun. I'm not looking forward to spending the day doing my GST, but that's what I have in store. It should have been done last week, but I find it really hard to concentrate on a week day when the phone keeps ringing, so the weekend is the best time to tackle the job. I haven't input anything into my accounting system for yonks, so it's not going to be much fun. Crap. Being self-employed is fun most of the time, but the tax side of things is truly boring and vexatious.
Watched the Metallica doco last night. Managed to sleep through quite a bit of it unfortunately due to imbibing a few glasses of red wine. Proved to be quite soporific combined with a nice blazing fire. Stupidly we started watching the movie at 11pm, and it was quite long. Very amusing - heavy metal musicians going through new age therapy, and using it to aid in the making of their album, St. Anger. There were some great lines.
Tomorrow is not going to be much fun. I'm not looking forward to spending the day doing my GST, but that's what I have in store. It should have been done last week, but I find it really hard to concentrate on a week day when the phone keeps ringing, so the weekend is the best time to tackle the job. I haven't input anything into my accounting system for yonks, so it's not going to be much fun. Crap. Being self-employed is fun most of the time, but the tax side of things is truly boring and vexatious.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Shake it up baby
Yes, I'm afraid it's back to quizzes again.
What Beatles album are you? This is me...
Revolver
Which Beatles Album Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
What Beatles album are you? This is me...
Revolver
Which Beatles Album Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Friday, April 22, 2005
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Short film successes
Just as I love reading short stories when I'm in the mood, a short film is rewarding to watch in the same way. With little chance to portray a complex narrative, I find they rely more on connecting with the viewer in a more intense emotional way than a feature film. You could never sit and watch a completely abstract film for 6o minutes, but three or four minutes of experimental film can be a totally enveloping experience. A story can be open-ended. There is no need for resolution or closure as there is in a feature. It would be nice to have a DVD of a short film collection, much the same as a collected book of short stories. I guess they could be available. If not, it's a good idea. I'd buy them! Nice to sit down and watch a couple of short films as you would read a short story, especially if you don't have the time to sit down to a feature.
It's wonderful to see New Zealanders being able to find a voice in this medium. It's not an easy one to make any money from - the only way to get them out in the public sphere seems to be through festivals. But, similar to the music industry, the changes in production technology means that much of the work can be done by the filmmaker themselves. First there was the wonderful Two cars, One Night and now there's Boy winning acclaim overseas. It's going to be screened in Out Takes Gay and Lesbian Film Festival shortly.
It's wonderful to see New Zealanders being able to find a voice in this medium. It's not an easy one to make any money from - the only way to get them out in the public sphere seems to be through festivals. But, similar to the music industry, the changes in production technology means that much of the work can be done by the filmmaker themselves. First there was the wonderful Two cars, One Night and now there's Boy winning acclaim overseas. It's going to be screened in Out Takes Gay and Lesbian Film Festival shortly.
Eek
Listening to: various recent downloads
It's half past midnight. I've just made a list of all current projects. They amass to the shocking total of fourteen and that doesn't count the Film Festival which will I'll be starting on in a couple of weeks (possibly less). This is going to be taxing. I'm trying very hard not to get stressed, but to just attack the workload a chunk at a time, while also staying supremely organised. And keeping up with the housework as much as possible and making sure my kids get fed. In the meantime, my admin is getting soooo behind. I need a maid. I need an accounts assistant. Oh, and I need a life outside work, but that ain't gonna happen. I hate it when I bump into people at this time of year (always my busiest) and they ask me how I am and what I've been up to and it's always zippo. Oh, you know... working. Oh, it's so very dull, and at the end of these few months (around Sept) I come out like a wrung out dishrag. Still, I always enjoy a challenge. The blogs are gonna get dull. There'll be no nice little links or pics - there just won't be time, so I'm afraid it's gonna be my constant moaning, and maybe the occasional exclamation when I see what films have been confirmed for the festival. Oh, except that's probably confidential and I can't mention it!
Anyway, my jobs at present are a varied bunch. Two branding/identity jobs (fun); one brand implementation for a new store opening in town (not so fun, but interesting); some arts promotional work (Circa - always nice to work for); a magazine (almost gone to the printers - woohoo); a couple of publishing jobs (two educational books and a newsletter); a book for an NGO; promo stuff for Out Takes Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (lots of fun and nice folks); a poster for an NGO... and of course there's more due to come in over the next few weeks.
Have been downloading some stuff on Limewire lately - really like Iron and Wine - ahve been meaning to check them out for some time. And got some more Broken Social Scene who I adore, and as soon as I'm up to spending some money on music (a long way off..) I'll be getting some of their albums. Got some old stuff too - Desmond Dekker, The Israelites; Nancy Sinatra - Bang Bang; Prince - Let's go Crazy; Al Green - Let's Stay Together. Oh, too weird - Ryan Adams singing Wonderwall! Limewire is fun. Oh yeah.
It's half past midnight. I've just made a list of all current projects. They amass to the shocking total of fourteen and that doesn't count the Film Festival which will I'll be starting on in a couple of weeks (possibly less). This is going to be taxing. I'm trying very hard not to get stressed, but to just attack the workload a chunk at a time, while also staying supremely organised. And keeping up with the housework as much as possible and making sure my kids get fed. In the meantime, my admin is getting soooo behind. I need a maid. I need an accounts assistant. Oh, and I need a life outside work, but that ain't gonna happen. I hate it when I bump into people at this time of year (always my busiest) and they ask me how I am and what I've been up to and it's always zippo. Oh, you know... working. Oh, it's so very dull, and at the end of these few months (around Sept) I come out like a wrung out dishrag. Still, I always enjoy a challenge. The blogs are gonna get dull. There'll be no nice little links or pics - there just won't be time, so I'm afraid it's gonna be my constant moaning, and maybe the occasional exclamation when I see what films have been confirmed for the festival. Oh, except that's probably confidential and I can't mention it!
Anyway, my jobs at present are a varied bunch. Two branding/identity jobs (fun); one brand implementation for a new store opening in town (not so fun, but interesting); some arts promotional work (Circa - always nice to work for); a magazine (almost gone to the printers - woohoo); a couple of publishing jobs (two educational books and a newsletter); a book for an NGO; promo stuff for Out Takes Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (lots of fun and nice folks); a poster for an NGO... and of course there's more due to come in over the next few weeks.
Have been downloading some stuff on Limewire lately - really like Iron and Wine - ahve been meaning to check them out for some time. And got some more Broken Social Scene who I adore, and as soon as I'm up to spending some money on music (a long way off..) I'll be getting some of their albums. Got some old stuff too - Desmond Dekker, The Israelites; Nancy Sinatra - Bang Bang; Prince - Let's go Crazy; Al Green - Let's Stay Together. Oh, too weird - Ryan Adams singing Wonderwall! Limewire is fun. Oh yeah.
Friday, April 15, 2005
I still exist
For anyone who thinks I have expired or am incapacitated, I thought I had better let you know that I am still alive and well. Hmm, perhaps less of the well if you count stress factors. I have a huge glut of work on at the moment which is likely to last for some time. Perhaps if I just do some little tiny wee blogs every now and then, although the fact that I am working nearly ALL the time means they will be dull little entries.
I hope to try and find the time soon to put up some pics from my recent trip to the Marlborough Sounds with SOD. It really was pretty bloody nice. Eating, sleeping, a bit of playing around in boats (well a small dinghy), and lying about reading on the beach and in our little room which looked out onto the beach. And a little bit of drinking which lubricated the whole weekend into a state of satiated bliss. Oh my, I wish I could go back right now, but no! I have a weekend of work ahead and no end in sight. Wish me well.
I hope to try and find the time soon to put up some pics from my recent trip to the Marlborough Sounds with SOD. It really was pretty bloody nice. Eating, sleeping, a bit of playing around in boats (well a small dinghy), and lying about reading on the beach and in our little room which looked out onto the beach. And a little bit of drinking which lubricated the whole weekend into a state of satiated bliss. Oh my, I wish I could go back right now, but no! I have a weekend of work ahead and no end in sight. Wish me well.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Searching for Daryl
For any of those with Site Meter on their blogs, having the occasional review of how people have got to their blogs can be amusing, especially when they've found your blog through a search. I just found that someone got to my blog through a search for "Daryl Hannah and horses". Just don't think about it...
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Family visit
Oh, I'm excited! I have my sister, Jen and her partner and kids coming to stay over Easter. Of course, being the stupid perfectionist that I am means I will have to clean the house from top to bottom. I started clearing stuff out of my son's room this morning, mainly a huge stack of dishes that he somehow manages to squirrel away in there. I found a dinner plate from two nights ago and various glasses and cups. On my way down the stairs with these I manage to trip near the bottom and let the lot fly - shattered glass everywhere, but fortunately I didn't end up colliding with it all - I managed to fall backwards rather than forwards. I guess I was pretty lucky, but that didn't make clearing the lot up much fun at all.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Productive day
Just to carry on my recent obsession with domesticity, I have been getting busy in the newly created vege patch and now have cauliflower, brocolli and cabbage plants settling into the soil. I felt ever so virtuous after that. Now I just have to stop the dog from trampling them. I can see that this is going to be an ongoing battle. Oh, and fighting the weeds of course. But it'll all be worth it when we get to eat the end result.
It was the end of daylight saving today. Another summer over.
It was the end of daylight saving today. Another summer over.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Just one more, then it's off to bed.
I must stop this insanity! This is the last quiz. I'll be seeing multiple choice tick boxes in my sleep.
 | You scored as Hinduism. Your views are most similar to those of... Hinduism! Do some research on Hinduism and possibly consider becoming Hindu, if you aren't already.
Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com |
MP3s on Blogs
The MP3Blogs Aggregator. A handy RSS feed aggregator of blogs harbouring MP3 files - a treasure trove of audio files - updated every hour.
Everything Reviewed
... and the night wears on. Still bloody blogging.
Listening to: Merzbow, Amlux
I just found this blog and I rather like it.
Listening to: Merzbow, Amlux
I just found this blog and I rather like it.
I'm not this nice.
There's something wrong with these fucking tests. I mean, really! I'm just not that nice!
Pavlova (just like my mother used to make)
I have been going through a Pavlova Renaissance. My mum used to make these for "occasions" - birthdays (we got to request the dessert we wanted, and we mostly opted for the good old pav) and of course Christmas. I think at Christmas there was the usual trifle as well, but Nana poured half a bloody bottle of sherry in there and it was a bit strong for the kids. Anyway, I have now made pavlova two weekends in a row. I now have 12 egg yolks in the fridge and need to now think of something to do with them besides feeding them to the dog (canine coronary material, I would think). My pavs have both been perfection. It all comes down to the recipe I reckon, and I have my mum's recipe - it always works. Oh, and your oven. Gas just doesn't do it.
Here's the recipe, if you're game to try. Really, it's very easy, but you'll probably need an electric beater or cake mixer.
Pavlova
Ingredients:
4 large or 5 small egg whites
2 tablespoons of cold water
2 teaspoons of vinegar
vanilla essence
Beat all of the above till stiff peaks form.
Next, fold together 2 teaspoons of cornflour with 2 cups of white sugar.
Slowly add this mixture to the egg whites while beating all the time.
Now pile this mixture onto an oven tray in and using a spatula shape into a circular mound (approx 25cm in diameter).
Cook in a preheated low oven (125 degrees centrigrade) for one hour. The outside should be crunchy and the inside marshmallowy and light.
When cool, spread liberally with whipped cream. Typically, New Zealanders will top with slice kiwifruit. I prefer a crumbled Flake or chocolate chips.
Here's the recipe, if you're game to try. Really, it's very easy, but you'll probably need an electric beater or cake mixer.
Pavlova
Ingredients:
4 large or 5 small egg whites
2 tablespoons of cold water
2 teaspoons of vinegar
vanilla essence
Beat all of the above till stiff peaks form.
Next, fold together 2 teaspoons of cornflour with 2 cups of white sugar.
Slowly add this mixture to the egg whites while beating all the time.
Now pile this mixture onto an oven tray in and using a spatula shape into a circular mound (approx 25cm in diameter).
Cook in a preheated low oven (125 degrees centrigrade) for one hour. The outside should be crunchy and the inside marshmallowy and light.
When cool, spread liberally with whipped cream. Typically, New Zealanders will top with slice kiwifruit. I prefer a crumbled Flake or chocolate chips.
Pavlova and beer
Listening to: Boards of Canada, Geogaddi
Last Saturday night was SOD's 35th. We celebrated it at my place with friends. Beer, wine, pizza (home made naturally), and various other food stuffs were consumed. Dave received a nice bottle of single malt whiskey which was almost polished off by the end of the night. Oh, and there was pavlova too, but more on that later (or earlier, depending on the order you read these postings). This is after the whiskey drinking.
Last Saturday night was SOD's 35th. We celebrated it at my place with friends. Beer, wine, pizza (home made naturally), and various other food stuffs were consumed. Dave received a nice bottle of single malt whiskey which was almost polished off by the end of the night. Oh, and there was pavlova too, but more on that later (or earlier, depending on the order you read these postings). This is after the whiskey drinking.
Pointless and Absurd
Woohoo! On Monday, SOD's exhibition at 91 Aro Street Gallery opened. We drank wine. We ate food. We stood around on the street outside the gallery smoking cigarettes and talking about pointless and absurd things, just to keep to the theme of the evening. No, really. I never usually talk about pointless and absurd things. Skeleton Guy looked excellent en masse, lining the white walls of the gallery with his bony grinning presence. We followed with dinner a cheapo Malaysian Curry House and then on for some celebratory beers, of course. A night is never complete if you don't get to swill some beer. Or so it seems. Here's Dave hanging out with the SGs.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Is this me?
Just took one of those personality tests. Am I really that much of a perfectionist? How scary. Other than that, I look kinda dull. Nothing weird here.
Take Cattell 16 Factor Test (similar to 16pf)
personality tests by similarminds.com
| Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results
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personality tests by similarminds.com
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Busy old day
Listening to: Can, Tago Mago
Drinking: Whiskey, neat.
Just been to see a play tonight. I do some design work for Circa Theatre, so I get comps for whatever play I've done promo work for. I find most of the plays a bit dry, Their target market is considerably older than me though, so it's not surprising. I enjoy getting out to a play though, and hey, it's free! The play I went to tonight was "An Inspector Calls" - J.B. Priestley.
I've been a busy little woman today. I have a load of firewood arriving on Monday (yay! I still think it's totally exciting that I will be sitting by an open fire this winter) and I had to make room in my little garden shed for the cord and a half of pine and mixed gum. It'll be a bit gruelling getting the wood from the street down to the shed, which is by the back door so I've offered my 17-year-old son and his friends some money to do the job. Fuck, I hope they say yes, otherwise I don't know how I'll get it done. So yeah, cleared out the shed - lots of sneezing in the dusty mess, but it's done now.
Tomorrow I might be making tomato relish. That's the plan anyway. Okay, I'm sounding scary and domestic. Fun takes many forms, okay?!
Drinking: Whiskey, neat.
Just been to see a play tonight. I do some design work for Circa Theatre, so I get comps for whatever play I've done promo work for. I find most of the plays a bit dry, Their target market is considerably older than me though, so it's not surprising. I enjoy getting out to a play though, and hey, it's free! The play I went to tonight was "An Inspector Calls" - J.B. Priestley.
I've been a busy little woman today. I have a load of firewood arriving on Monday (yay! I still think it's totally exciting that I will be sitting by an open fire this winter) and I had to make room in my little garden shed for the cord and a half of pine and mixed gum. It'll be a bit gruelling getting the wood from the street down to the shed, which is by the back door so I've offered my 17-year-old son and his friends some money to do the job. Fuck, I hope they say yes, otherwise I don't know how I'll get it done. So yeah, cleared out the shed - lots of sneezing in the dusty mess, but it's done now.
Tomorrow I might be making tomato relish. That's the plan anyway. Okay, I'm sounding scary and domestic. Fun takes many forms, okay?!
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Destiny
In case you can't read this, it says "www.happyclappinghomo.com Brian Tamaki says he's liberal"
There was a Destiny Church march in Auckland today. Gone are the black t-shirts - now they don't want to look too right wing. Now Brian Tamaki is going public on his desire to entire the political arena (like we didn't see that coming). He says that since no MPs appear to believe in God, then Destiny needs to involve itself in political matters. Oh, so the previous march in Wellington had nothing to do with politics? Puh-lease. I wonder where the 10% tithe is going? What's scary is that Brian could possibly do quite well. Just look at the States.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
I Heart Huckabees
Not often do I recommend films to all and sundry. Normally I might recommend a particular film to a particular person, knowing that it might suit their sensibilities, but I just saw a film tonight that I think most of the people I know would like. I haven't laughed so much in ages. It's got the dirtiest sex scene of any film I've ever seen. If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean. I checked out Rotten Tomatoes and they didn't even have anything bad to say. Well, not so far anyway. Some crap reviewer will find something bad to say about it at some point I'm sure.
hedgies
I didn't know anyone actually kept these little beasts as pets. I wonder if you can train them...
I've been pretty busy with work. Hence the lack of blogging. Going to try to get out tonight to catch a flick. Would like to catch the new Mike Leigh film (always been a bit of a fan) but SOD thinks his films are depressing. Hmmm, will report back later.
I got all enthusiastic today about setting up a vege garden, but the part that requires hard work and lots of time is what puts me off. The upkeep is fun, but digging it up in the first place is a bit of a mission. I've rung a local handyman/gardener who put a flyer in my letterbox and he's coming round tomorrow to quote me on the work. Exciting!
I've been pretty busy with work. Hence the lack of blogging. Going to try to get out tonight to catch a flick. Would like to catch the new Mike Leigh film (always been a bit of a fan) but SOD thinks his films are depressing. Hmmm, will report back later.
I got all enthusiastic today about setting up a vege garden, but the part that requires hard work and lots of time is what puts me off. The upkeep is fun, but digging it up in the first place is a bit of a mission. I've rung a local handyman/gardener who put a flyer in my letterbox and he's coming round tomorrow to quote me on the work. Exciting!
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Pumpkin
I flagged going to the outdoor NZ short film screening, Frugal Pleasures, last night. Instead, went to Aro Video and got out Pumpkin. Man, what a waste of time. I don't often push the stop button part way through a film - but really, there just was no choice. It was that or vomit. I just checked the listing on Rotten Tomoatoes to see what other people thought. It definitely get the Rotten rating, but I must take note of the reviewers who liked it and never never trust their judgement. I wonder why the hell Christina Ricci took the part. I imagine her career is taking a dive.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
The Shins
Listening to: The Shins, Chutes too narrow
Oh, well, what can I say? It was head-swimmingly wonderful. Shame about Julia Deans who supported. I never really liked her in Fur Patrol, and I definitely disliked her solo. I think it is usual to match a support act to the main act. Like John White with Cat Power. What a shame I didn't time it so we missed her. But it didn't ruin the night - all was forgotten when The Shins started up with their big jangly chords and the beatific tones of James Mercer. I'm really crap at writing any sort of music reviews, so I won't try - Stephen does a good one if you wanna read about the gig. Suffice to say, a very good night was had and my ears sure rung a lot when I got home. Gigs like that though, remind me of how old I'm getting. It's not 'cos there were young people everywhere - of course there were going to be - it was an Orientation gig for the uni students. I couldn't give a shit about my age - it's just that your body doesn't put up with quite as much punishment as it once did. Standing in one spot for three to four hours in the sweltering heat now takes its toll. Aching ankles, sore lower back. It's not like it used to be... Will I still be able to do it at 50? I hope so. Maybe it's a sign I need to do some exercise...
Anyway, next on the music calendar is this:
I realised today that I'm bloody not going to be able to go - one of my kids has glandular fever and I'm having to do her office cleaning job for her. Grrr. Oh well, I really have been going out way too much lately and tomorrow night I want to go to CafeX the MediaTheatre at the Film Archive which will be fun.
Oh, well, what can I say? It was head-swimmingly wonderful. Shame about Julia Deans who supported. I never really liked her in Fur Patrol, and I definitely disliked her solo. I think it is usual to match a support act to the main act. Like John White with Cat Power. What a shame I didn't time it so we missed her. But it didn't ruin the night - all was forgotten when The Shins started up with their big jangly chords and the beatific tones of James Mercer. I'm really crap at writing any sort of music reviews, so I won't try - Stephen does a good one if you wanna read about the gig. Suffice to say, a very good night was had and my ears sure rung a lot when I got home. Gigs like that though, remind me of how old I'm getting. It's not 'cos there were young people everywhere - of course there were going to be - it was an Orientation gig for the uni students. I couldn't give a shit about my age - it's just that your body doesn't put up with quite as much punishment as it once did. Standing in one spot for three to four hours in the sweltering heat now takes its toll. Aching ankles, sore lower back. It's not like it used to be... Will I still be able to do it at 50? I hope so. Maybe it's a sign I need to do some exercise...
Anyway, next on the music calendar is this:
I realised today that I'm bloody not going to be able to go - one of my kids has glandular fever and I'm having to do her office cleaning job for her. Grrr. Oh well, I really have been going out way too much lately and tomorrow night I want to go to CafeX the MediaTheatre at the Film Archive which will be fun.
Bad eighties decorating
I really do love this new house I'm renting, but it's such a pity about the bad wallpaper. Probably the height of suburban sophistication in the 80s, it's not really stood the test of time. No, when I sat on the stairs while I was on the phone the other day and noticed that I could see three different wallpapers all in one go, I knew it was really too much. Especially the matching friezes. They suck. But I've kinda got attached to the big dark rosy floral number. I almost like it. In the upstairs bathroom they got into the entire matching gig - the tiles have a matching motif to the blinds. Eugh!
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Yay, The Shins
Listening: Low, The Great Destroyer
Got my Shins ticket - very happy about that. Of course, since I was in Real Groovy, I just HAD to buy a CD. I had a $20 voucher and was gonna buy one CD, but then I found three that I liked and just couldn't decide. Got Low, The Great Destoyer, The Handsome Family, singing bones and Bonnie Prince Billy, I see a darkness.
Got my Shins ticket - very happy about that. Of course, since I was in Real Groovy, I just HAD to buy a CD. I had a $20 voucher and was gonna buy one CD, but then I found three that I liked and just couldn't decide. Got Low, The Great Destoyer, The Handsome Family, singing bones and Bonnie Prince Billy, I see a darkness.
Fatso
Listening to: Postal Service, Give Up
Recently I subscribed to Fatso - an online DVD library. I bought Hell Pizza over the net for the kids one night and received a trial offer for a three week subscription. Of course, it's one of those subscriptions where, if you don't get around to cancelling, it will continue on a basis where you are charged. But I reckon I will keep it up, maybe not at the trial rate of three disks, but maybe two at at time. So far I've watched Truffaut's 400 Blows and The Son's Room. 400 Blows was great. Truffaut is on my list of directors whose films I need to see more of. SOD got me 1001 Movies you must see before you die last christmas (another one marked down) and it says that Truffaut revealed some time after the film was made that "he boosted the intensity of the 15-year-old's performance by joining him in a private conspiracy against the rest of the cast and crew". All in the name of art eh, François?
Recently I subscribed to Fatso - an online DVD library. I bought Hell Pizza over the net for the kids one night and received a trial offer for a three week subscription. Of course, it's one of those subscriptions where, if you don't get around to cancelling, it will continue on a basis where you are charged. But I reckon I will keep it up, maybe not at the trial rate of three disks, but maybe two at at time. So far I've watched Truffaut's 400 Blows and The Son's Room. 400 Blows was great. Truffaut is on my list of directors whose films I need to see more of. SOD got me 1001 Movies you must see before you die last christmas (another one marked down) and it says that Truffaut revealed some time after the film was made that "he boosted the intensity of the 15-year-old's performance by joining him in a private conspiracy against the rest of the cast and crew". All in the name of art eh, François?
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