Friday, April 29, 2011

AUSTRALIA APPRECIATION MONTH: Part 1

In honour of my impending trip to the wonderful land of Oz, I’ve decided to celebrate.
I have to just mention here that there is an ongoing mud-slinging match between South Africa and Australia. It mostly revolves around sport, and some other random silliness, but it gets quite ridiculous and out of hand sometimes. And I’m rather ashamed to say that, in the heat of a tense rugby match, I may have lowered myself to yelling nastiness at Australian teams and referees on occasion. Despite this, and watching too much Border Security, I am looking on the bright side. Which is turning out to be pretty damn bright! Aside from the obvious – my best friend’s wedding and all the awesomeness that surrounds it – I’ve discovered some pretty cool things about Oz.

Now, if you’re expecting a post filled with cutesy baby koalas and kangaroos and platypuses (platypi?) (why do I always feel like a dirty sailor when I say 'platypuss'?), I’m going to tell you now that you’re going to be disappointed. While I am looking forward to seeing that kind of thing, the kind of thing that Australia Appreciation Month consists of is equally as squee-worthy, but in a completely different way. As in: you will be squeeing, but if you’re doing it at your desk, you might get fired. *ahem*

So, without further ado, I give you:



NICK CAVE

* Disclaimer: I have what some might call an unhealthy obsession with Nick Cave. Justsayin'... (Dare I remind you that my alias and blog name orginiate from a Nick Cave song?)


Born on 22 Sept 1957,  Warracknabeal, Australia but left Australia at 19, shortly after his father’s death. Since he left, he hasn’t lived in Australia again, and yet he’s maintained a distinctly Australian-angled persona and identity. His humour is dry, self-depreciating and sarcastic (an Australian special blend), his style is unique and mixes the sharp with the edgy and the totally weird in perfect synchronicity. The best part? He’s batshit insane!


Known for: 
The Boys Next Door, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Grinderman


Where you might recognise him from: 
Murder Ballads, an album released in 1996. His most mainstream hit came from this album; it was a duet done with Kylie Minogue (the total antithesis of Cave) called Where the Wild Roses Grow.

Whoooahh! Bite! Whoooah! Bite!
Release the bats! Release the bats!
Don't tell me that it doesn't hurt
A hundred fluttering in your skirt
Don't tell me that it doesn't hurt


O God, what have I done, he said
As her blood pooled in the sheets
But in his heart he felt a bliss
With which nothing could compete
O Mamma O Mamma
  
O ah hear her walkin',
Walkin' barefoot 'cross the floor-boards,
All thru this lonesome night,And ah hear her crying too.
Hot-tears come splashin' down,Leaking thru the cracks,
Down upon my face, ah catch'em in my mouth!


I keep hanging around your kitchenette
And I'm gonna get a pot to cook you in
I stick my fingers in your biscuit jar
And crush all your Gingerbread Men

I don't believe in an interventionist God
But I know, darling, that you do
But if I did I would kneel down and ask Him
Not to intervene when it came to you
Not to touch a hair on your head
To leave you as you are
And if He felt He had to direct you
Then direct you into my arms

A custard-coloured super-dream
Of Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen
I give to you

Somewhere she lies, this lovely creature
Beneath the slow drifting sands
With her hair full of ribbons
And green gloves on her hands
I hope you've enjoyed Part 1 of Australia Appreciation Month!
Until next time!

Love and platypi,

X


*Note: All picture captions are links to music videos

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Wednesay Wonders - Freedom Day Edition


Via

The past week has been a bit disjointed with the public holidays and the sugar highs and crashes that come with Easter. In between the sugar crashes, these are the things that have made me smile.

* Freedom! Today is Freedom Day in SA, which is more than just another public holiday. It commemorates the first free elections in SA, and the changes that came with that.
Today I’m celebrating my own personal freedoms. I’m free from things that used to define me, things that I used to do and say that made me feel bad about myself, but I did them anyway. I’m free from old bad habits and of being blissfully ignorant of the important things. And this.

* Iron Fist Ruff Rider Platforms! Yes, still. I tried a pair on over the weekend and strutted around the store like Queen Bitch. The skater boys were enthralled with the rock-star girl prancing around their shop, grinning like a Cheshire cat. In the time I was there, they sold two other pars of Iron Fist shoes to curious girls yet to experience their magic. I,m heading back there this weekend to buy them.

* Road trip countdown!!! In just a few days, La, Ang and I descend on Secunda to create madness and mayhem. It’s going to be epic and I can’t wait!

* Finally - FINALLY - doing our wedding Thank-You cards!

* Snatch. Again. And finally understanding Mickey.

* After hesitantly thanking the stars that the plague didn’t get hold of me last week, it got me in its clutches on Thursday, and hung on tight. Nonetheless, I think I’m starting to shake it, and I’m hoping that once it’s gone, it’s gone. For good. Once is more than enough for me.

* On that note, Scott’s Emulsion! I’ve been dosing up on it since Friday, on La’s advice. It’s kept me from feeling too rough through the plague, which rocks my world. I’ve been mostly functional the past few days. Thanks La!

* Birthday Present Making. *smiles secretively*

* Runaways-inspired outfits (I watched it for the first time {!!!!!} over the long weekend, and have soooo many outfits planned out in my head!)

* 1 MONTH TILL AUSTRALIA! Woooot!!

Little things that made me smile:

* Avon Black Matt Nail polish * Rocket-Shoes * Tangled * Beetlejuice * Coraline * Reading the signs and understanding where they're leading me * Planning on starting to walk again with Dinee soon. Since the plague descended upon our home, it’s been a bit difficult, but now that it’s on its way out? Walkies!!! * Being a scanner *
X

Sunday, April 24, 2011

EASTER SONG: Tom Waits - Chocolate Jesus

I'm not big on celebrating Easter. For various reasons, I've kind of avoided it for a few years now, and prefer to do my own thing over the long weekend. Usually, things that don't involve chocolate, because Easter seems to have become a celebration of chocolate more than anything in so many homes. Nonetheless, I don't really want to get started on social commentary today. I'll let Tom Waits do it for me...





Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Wednesday Wonders 20.4.2011

I wrote down where I found this, and now I cant' find where I wrote it! G-Dammit!

I've had a pretty quiet 7 days, so there aren't very many exciting things on today's list. It's actually been a bit of a bleak week (ha!), but I'm not entirely sure why. At least I'm not feeling as agro as I did last Wednesday, so it's not going to be such a 'Grrrrr' post either!

This week I've loved:

* Shine A Light - The Rolling Stones DVD. Man, Keith Richards is my hero. Maja Boo just finished reading his autobiography, Life, so in celebration, we snuggled down and watched Shine A Light again. All of them are amazing, naturally, but Keith? Inimitable. Indestructible. Incredible.



* Midnight inspiration. I don't know why, but inspiration and ideas so often strike as I'm slipping into bed. Then I haul my laptop out and write away for an hour or so, or until I fall asleep. When the latter happens, I have been known to wake up to pages of llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll or some such nonsense, which always makes me giggle.

* Iron Fist Ruff Rider Platforms! These are like the Keith Richards of shoes for me at the moment. And the fact that I'll be getting my paws on them very soon, and rocking them to Stephy's wedding... Let's just say I feel like a rock-star already, and I haven't even tried them on yet! Woo-Woo!!!
Fuck yea!

* Impromptu one-woman movie fests! I wasn't really in a very social mood this weekend (which might have had something to do with the fact that it was the 2nd anniversary of Faja Boo's death) so I installed myself on the couch with my laptop, flash drives, DVDs, books, juice, wine, music and loads of pens. You know, the usual supplies one might need for a Saturday afternoon spent doing not very much at all. I have a whole stack of movies I haven't watched for ages, if at all, so I pulled the old favourites out first. Things like The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Idle Hands, 12 Monkeys, Sleepers... You know, lighthearted stuff.

* The Doors vs Blondie - Rapture Rider

* Nick Cave. Specifically, listening to Nick Cave and heavy rain on rotation and feeling content. (Some of the songs on rotation over the weekend.)

* Down another 3.4 kgs!!! Yay!!! That's 9 down in total now!

* Family time! We didn't get to see Bren, Mark & Megan on Thursday because Maja Boo was sick & potentially contagious, but we got to see them on Sunday, and it was GREAT! So So SO awesome to be together again, even if it was just for a few hours! Can't wait for them to get back from the coast and catch up a bit. Yay!

* Road-trip planning! Next weekend, La, Ang and I are undertaking a quest of potentially epic and disastrous proportions. We are going to Secunda (read: middle-of-nowhere, but with pretty flowers on the way) in search of a tiny - and I mean tiny - make up store that sells hundreds of brands at insanely low prices. Last time La & I were there with Maja Boo, we bought ridiculous glittery turquoise nail polish and glitter. motherfucking. hair gel, as well as some more practical eye shadows and lipsticks. This time? Practicality be damned, I'm going for the showstoppers!

Little things which made me smile:

* Mister Boo's crazy, random and usually nonsensical songs which he makes up on the fly and sings to me in his best chipmunk voice * "She reminds me of a psychedelic ostrich" * You Can't Always Get What You Want blasting in Bella, Maja Boo's car. The sound in that car is incredible. And don't get me started on that song! * Writing all night, sleep be damned! * Chocolates for Easter which have little surprise pop-rocks in them! Crackle for hours! WoooHoooo! * A quick walk last night, after a week off because of the plague that has struck down everyone around me. * On a related note, and at the risk of jinxing things, feeling healthy even though everyone around me is plagued out. Long may it last! * Aus Anticipation! 37 more sleeps!!! OMG! * Speaking Pirate to Mister Boo as we debate the merits of setting sail on his imaginary boat, which has a submarine following it, to hunt his imaginary nemesis down. I said I wasn't going unless it was a yellow submarine and we were all issued with blue shorts and red beanies, and a complimentary glock. * 4 year olds with mohawks. *

Et vous, preciouses? What's made you binky this week?

X

Monday, April 18, 2011

MUSIC MONDAY: Keith Richards & Ron Wood - You Got The Silver

This is one of my favourite songs of all time.
When we were still planning to have a more 'traditional' wedding, with me walking down the aisle, the plan was for a very good friend to play this as I walked into the chapel and down the aisle.
It's a truly beautiful and timeless piece of music.
Enjoy!


(From the 'Shine a Light' DVD (2007), which Maja Boo and I watched again on Friday night.)

Cool, huh? :)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Wednesday Wonders - 13.4.2011



Well, that picture pretty much sums up how I feel about the past week. It's been crazy, it's been wild, it's been pretty damn fucked up. But through it all, I've managed to find a whole lotta things to keep smiling about. It might be a crazy smile. It might be the kind of smile that makes you want to back away slowly and bolt into the darkness as soon as you're out of arm's length, listening for the sound of a twig snapping behind you. Or a chainsaw. 
Still, I'm smiling. This is why:

* Doors on Friday night. The party was a bit of a dud - hello, 5 Nirvana songs at a Kurt Cobain tribute party? Fail. - but it was so good to see everyone again, and catch up with friends I haven't seen in aaaaaages. And to jam around to part of 'Roadhouse Blues' by The Doors. Until the stupid DJ cut it to play some dumbass wiki-wrr song that everyone hated. Pffft.




* Wardrobe organising! Yay! It was actually quite a lot of fun, given that the seasons are changing and I pulled out stuff I forgot I own. I put together outfits in my mind, tried stuff on, gave away a stack and re-categorised my cupboard. (Yes, I'm that anal about my clothes. Deal with it!)

* Visiting my sister and brother-in-law on Sunday! I haven't seen them since before they went down to Cape Town for the Argus, so we had soooo much to catch up on! It was so great to be with family again.

* On a related note: 1 MORE SLEEP TILL BREN, MEGS AND MARK ARRIVE! Excited much? *pops*


* I booked my ticket to Aus on Friday!!!!! Fuck yea! Wooohooo! Now to find the dress and shoes.... Hmmmm.... Iron Fist? Any help?


* This Iron Fist t-shirt.

I die
 * The Lovely Bones. I've been dying* to get my hands on the book for months now, but in the meantime, I watched the movie on Saturday night. Of course, Maja Boo and Mista Boo think I'm even creepier and weirder than they did before, but hey... I can live with that. It was a spectacular story, and a beautifully shot movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. *excuse the pun

* I picked up my guitar last night, after guiltily letting it gather dust for a while. I was floored to find out that I remember what I learnt last year, and played away for about an hour. And then: I played around with another song and kind of taught myself using the notes I have and my iPod. FOR THE FUCKING WIN!!! (Granted, it's an easy song, but I'm so soooooper-amped about that!)

* This morning, I put on a tunic that's always been a little tight around the tummy. And... IT FLOWS RIGHT OVER MY TUMMY!!! I did a little dance of joy and woke Mista Boo up with my squeeing. WIN!

yay
* Finding a crow's feather in reception a couple of days ago, just when I was feeling low about missing my Daddy. The next day, I saw a family of crows living on the roof of the building opposite my office. Yay!

* Talking about crows, I have finally taken the first step in the half-sleeve process. I've asked a very good friend, whose art is spectacular, to take a few ideas and put them into a sketch for me. I'm so fucking excited about this!

* Moths. Yes, bugs have been the bane of my existence, but I've been trying to figure out why they're following me around so much lately. Especially the moths. Mista Boo would say something now about the Mothman Prophecies, and maybe I'm going to be the subject of a movie that doesn't live up to its hype. Which could still happen. BUT, I did a little research on the symbolism of moths, and here's a rundown of what I found:
  ~ They represent determination, attraction, subtlety, intuition and faith, among other things.
  ~ In the absence of moon-light, the moth moves on to man-made light; even at the risk of losing its life, the moth is ever vigilant in following its path of light. This may serve as a moral to us to keep our own vigilance, but not fall victim to blind faith.
  ~ Because the moth is guided by the moon, and will follow it at any cost, it represents psychic awareness, but reminds us to follow the signs along our path while still keeping our destination in mind.
  ~ They remind us that we don't have to be overt in our dealings with others. They are masters of camouflage, and we can learn from them that we don't have to reveal everything immediately.


I see you!

Little things which made me smile this week:

* Last night's workout - FEEL THE BURN * Chai (I refuse to say chai tea, because that's saying tea-tea, which is just rude.) * Gala is giving away a light up fucking tutu. Holy crap. If Steph didn't specifically say "Long black dress" as a bridesmaid's dress, I would SO hit this as an option! * This Iron Fist dress * Packing lists for Aus. LISTS LISTS LISTS. My spontaneous side just threw up on itself. * Knowing that, even though it's been almost two years since he left us, my Daddy is still with me. I feel him with me, and when I'm feeling really bleak, the radio somehow plays songs that make me think of him and smile instead of being as sad. * To appease the spontaneous side of me which is rolling its eyes at every list I make, I went on a little spur-of-the-moment lunch time shopping trip. And I got some pretty cool items, for not very much money. So yay! *

So, shnuggums, what's made you happy this week?

X

Friday, April 8, 2011

I Miss the Comfort in Being Sad

*

17 years ago the face and future of music was struck a blow from which it has yet to recover. Nirvana co-founder, singer and lead guitarist, Kurt Cobain was found dead in the greenhouse / room above his garage. I'm sure you know the story by now. If you don't, may I recommend venturing out from your bubble for a moment and reading up on the band, the music, the fury and the tragedy?


*
 I was too little to really appreciate Nirvana and Cobain's lyrics when he was still alive, but I do remember seeing something on TV when he died, and thinking that his eyes seemed sad. I liked him immediately.
Fast forward a few years... I was in my last year of primary school and discovered music that went past the candy floss fluff and straight to my spirit. Things like Nirvana, The Offspring, Greenday... I was a pretty angry pre-teen for various reasons. The thing was, all the popular kids started listening to Nirvana, and even back then, I was the kid that deliberately wrote off anything the popular kids liked. So... I didn't really get to appreciate Nirvana then either.


*

Another few years went by, and finally it was my turn. I'd given up on stubbornly avoiding anything popular. I didn't go around trying to be popular, but I paid attention. Sometimes what's popular isn't necessarily bad. Sometimes. Since then, I have these random Nirvana- attacks. I'll go for months, or even years, listening to the music, appreciating everything that was good about it, being sad that Cobain exited stage left as early as he did, but going on with life. But every now and then, a line with catch my attention, a riff will slip into my soul, and BAM, I'm gone for months again. The first song I learnt to play, in my first guitar lesson, was About A Girl (still a work in progress, I'm afraid, but we persevere!)

Source
And so, in my little corner of the universe, the internet and the sphere of weird that is society today, this week has been Kurt Cobain week. It's mainly about the music. Cobain believed in the music more than anything else in the world, including himself. I do too. Music can change the world, if we just stop and listen. 


*
As much as he would hate the attention, there are thousands who've spent some time this week going through Nirvana albums, old articles and reading Cobain's journals and stories; I've no doubt that every single on of those people has caught themselves thinking "If only..."

*


* 44 Things You Didn’t Know About Kurt Cobain How many did you know?

* Rolling Stone's 1994 Obituary Feature - Kurt Cobain's Downward Spiral


* A statue of a Fender Jag-Stang guitar (the guitar Cobain himself designed) unveiled in Aberdeen, Cobain's hometown

*

* Jared Leto's tribute to Kurt Cobain has been slammed by a lot of fans, but for me? It's a really good tribute. He was an icon of one generation and is an inspiration to the next, so why not?. Maybe Leto's timing wasn't great, but the video is ace.

*

* I don't know where some of the images I have on my PC were originally saved from, but it's most likely to be Fuck Yeah Kurt Cobain. If the art is yours, please let me know so I can credit it. Thanks!

Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle // Nirvana



Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Wednesday Wonders

Source Unknown

Well this week has been better than the last two so far! Yeah! The weather is finally co-operating (i.e.: it's rainy and gloomy and grey - LOVE!), my sleeping pattern is changing again (for the better) and the Universe and I aren't at loggerheads at the moment. For the WIN!

These are some of the things have have made me grin like a guppy in the past 7 days:

* Speaking to my bestie, Stephy, today! It was a very interrupted call, but it was awesome all the same! FIFTY-ONE DAYS!!!!!!!!!

* Writing my 6-month goals out and sticking them on my wall, where I can see them all the time and not lose sight of them.

* Lists! They make life in general, and travel planning in particular, that much less stressful for a scatterbrain like me. I used to scrunch my nose up at the thought of them, but I just can't live without them anymore.

* Initiating my own Kurt Cobain week. It’s 17 years this week since he died! And the world still sucks balls without him. 



* Impromptu movie Sundays which turn out infinitely more awesome and inspiring than I could have hoped for.


* Middle-of-the-night insomnia-induced creative-brick-wall busting. Now in English: When I couldn’t sleep on Sunday night, I was hit by a huge wave of inspiration and it ROCKED my world!

* Following the Surfer Dude thing: Surf photography. So awesome!

* Upcoming fabric projects.


* Planning coffee dates.

* Discovering how many awesome movies I have that I didn’t even know about.

* Plane ticket booking! This week!!

* Bridesmaid dress sashes arriving and looking ah-mah-ZING!

* ‘Homemade’ mani and pedi that looks like a fairy that was drunk on Pinot Noir got squashed on my nails. (IE: Midnight Grape and Magenta Sparkle). Naturally, because it looks so awesome in real life, it photographs like crap. *rolls eyes*

* Writing. Always.

* My husband’s cooking, especially his signature bolognaise.


* Planning for Doors on Friday night! Now with added Simba! It's the Kurt Cobain Tribute Party, and it's gonna be amazing. I cannot fucking wait! Here comes another 4am stop at McDonalds!

* Avon deliveries full of sparkle and goodness.

* Matthew McConaughey in Surfer Dude. For me, it was all about the wonderful costume design. See? 



What an innovative wardrobe!
 
* Finding stuff I’d resigned myself to having lost. And suddenly, when I wasn’t aching over it anymore, there it was! Yay!

* My laptop. It needs a clean, but I still love it; maybe even more now that it’s dirty and scruffy hehe

* Aus Anticipation! (More on this soon)


* The new laptop bag / handbag / carry all bag that I’m saving for my flight. Maja Boo and I went halvies on it last week, and I’m so excited to use it! Gawjus!

* Never failing to surprise people. I’m pretty much an open book most of the time, but every now and then I still manage to leave people speechless at my random revelations. It’s never epic stuff, just stuff that nobody would believe if they didn’t hear it straight from me.

Little things that made me smile this week:

* Snatch * Ampedness * Xavier Rudd * Nick Cave dreams (Get your mind out of the gutter, people, it wasn’t that bad!) * “Dude, you’re harshing my morning mellow, man.” * Mr. Sunshine, Yay * “D’ya like dags?” * Simon Baker. Yes, this is going to be an ongoing thing. Deal with it. * Writing, and then falling asleep, listening to the heavy rain * About A Girl * Random Mix CDs (Llama Collection 2011 in all its glory, baby!) * Edward Scissorhands *

What's made your week worthwhile?

X

Monday, April 4, 2011

It's Monday...

Source Unknown (If it's yours, please let me know and I will credit you)