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.

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?
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An up close look at life

Did you ever wonder what velcro looks like up close up? Well this is it.



And there's more...

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.

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.

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.